Deep Dive into Strange Waters [Manasa, Priscilla]

A sandaled foot stretched from the void and clacked on the ground. Following behind was a second foot, which brought with it a bright red-haired woman with eyes as green and sparkling as oceans. These eyes were wide with wonder as they absorbed the world around them, one filled with dewy plants reaching toward the heavens and great buildings entirely unlike the ones on the other side of the portal she'd stepped through.

It had been ages since Priscilla Tintalla had traveled to the land of the living. She wasn't one to stray often from her desert home in Hueco Mundo, certainly not to go sight seeing in a strange place like this. What had driven her here was curiosity born of the whispering rumors telling tales of incredible Hollows and Arrancar, her people, appearing on Earth. When she pressed the issue, Priscilla was able to discern this location as one owned and operated by some of those diabolic denizens of her homeland.

As she looked around her, Priscilla realized she fit right in here at this oasis of a Brazilian resort. Dressed similarly to a Raqs sharqi dancer, she looked and felt ready to revel on a beach somewhere; in fact, one of the things she remembered loving about this odd world was the abundance of water in which to swim and frolic. Priscilla turned her gaze to what appeared to be the front entrance of the resort and stepped through a revolving door, nearly getting trapped in an endless left turn as she did. Maybe the beach is through there? thought Priscilla as she moved to enter the resort proper, oblivious to the ideas of "checking in" and paid entry.

All of Priscilla's focus was on getting to that hidden beach and spending the day relaxing. Maybe she would meet some fun people, maybe she wouldn't; either way, it had to be better than walking through an endless desert, the sand between her toes ice cold instead of sun warmed. These thoughts were interrupted by the questioning look of a young woman with viridescent hair and mismatched eyes.

If her spiritual presence wasn't enough of a giveaway, the stranger's awkwardly reworded question made clear she was also an Arrancar. Just bothering to come across with less hostility made Priscilla like her, as it showed she wanted to be friendly. "I'm Priscilla, nice to meet you! What's your name?" she said with a cheery jubilance somewhat rare among their kind. As she answered the stranger Priscilla spread her arms wide and moved in to pull her in tight and smother her with a friendly hug. After a second she pulled away and asked a question of her own.

"I heard about this place from some silly gossipers in Hueco Mundo. Could you tell me how to get to the beach from here? I just got here and don't want to waste another minute of sunshine!"

"Huh?" said Priscilla as she confusedly looked at the marble floor beneath her. She didn't know what her new friend meant, so she just shrugged her shoulders and brought her cerulean eyes back up to meet hers. Priscilla marveled at Manasa's heterochromic eyes, which in this moment she thought were the most amazing things in the world. She thought about how many wild and interesting Arrancar she had come across over the years, yet somehow just like in humans heterochromia was a rarity.

"Kind and cute as a button, Manasa!" As she gave out compliments Priscilla reached forward and playfully touched the other Arrancar on her nose. "I'm glad you're here. Truthfully I don't really ever come to the Living World so it's still really weird to me. I've never really had to leave Hueco Mundo, you know. But there's no sunshine and beaches in that old desert, so who needs it!" There also weren't bad memories here on Earth for Priscilla, so she had double the reason to put some distance between herself and her homeland.

When Manasa grabbed her wrist, Priscilla didn't bother resisting the woman's grasp. She didn't want to anyway. It seemed to her Manasa was as excited as she was to make a new friend, which made her even more glad she decided to come here. Back in Hueco Mundo it wasn't so easy to get companions, last time she found a group that accepted her it took years of wandering. Here on Earth her people are apparently much friendlier towards each other.

Priscilla listened to Manasa with wide eyes, intrigued by her words. She wasn't quite sure what she meant, but it sure sounded fun! "It's been a long time since I swam but I don't think I could stop myself from drinking when I did, it kinda just worked out that way!" She could at least still remember the taste of seawater and how strangely salty it was. It wasn't her favorite part of swimming, that's for sure.

At first Priscilla felt herself being pulled along by her new friend, but with no doubts about following her she sped up to walk side by side with her. She was buzzing with excitement! Her eyes darted in every direction as they walked as she took in their surroundings. Strange and fancy floors and walls not remotely resembling the sad limestone-like structures in Hueco Mundo, brilliant and blooming flowers seen through windows, and glittering light fixtures hanging from the ceilings all captivated the fish out of water Arrancar.

"So Manasa, what do you do here?"

A boss?! Wow! Priscilla hadn't expected this otherwise-unassuming girl to be a head honcho of this place. She perked up at this revelation and appeared visibly surprised as she stared into Manasa's eyes. "Wow! Lucky me, making friends with the big boss lady!" responded Priscilla, as quietly as Manasa had spoken. She wasn't sure why they were whispering, but once Manasa did it, it seemed like the thing to do.

Giddily, Priscilla turned forward again. She couldn't be more excited! The prospect of being able to do whatever they want was incredibly appealing to the air-headed Arrancar. She was never so lucky in Hueco Mundo, everything was always a battle in that gross old desert. Priscilla inwardly groaned as she thought about how much of a headache her homeland was. But that was behind her. Now she was with Manasa!

"Soooo, what kind of fun do you want to have Manasa? I'll follow your lead! Oh and...why are we whispering?" As Priscilla questioned her new friend, a confused look came across her face. Maybe Manasa was just being cute, she thought.