"Of all the bloody days to rain, NOW it decides to do so! Ah well, not like we ain't gonna get wet today, right?" Magnus would be heard speaking, seemingly to himself. He'd be huddled up under an improvised tent, formed from some cloth and four support struts raised and formed by a quartette of wooden poles. It's as basic a basic shelter can be, but it served its purpose. Why, keeping the fennec nice and fluffy ofcourse! What else?

"Yes, yes, I know. Aren't you curious though?!" the fox would exclaim, a wide smile tugging at his lips as he seems to be speaking to no one. "Who knows what could be causing those disturbances! We have to find out! All the better if we do manage to salvage that wreck, but for now just let me indulge in my curiosity." He'd pause and roll his eyes, then sigh softly. "Well, it's a good thing I'm not a cat, isn't it? Now shut your pretty face before I shut it for you when we meet up again."

He'd pause once more and snicker into one hand "Oh, you know exactly what I'll shove in there, but let's not discuss that, the scavvies are coming." He'd then poke the side of head and tuck his hands behind his back, watching the arrivals with a vibrant gaze and a welcoming smile. There would be a small table under his shelter, covered with basic swimming equipment if anyone needed it.

The rain was rather light, but goodness gracious, was the wind a different story all together! Behind the rest of the scavengers, a certain catfish the fox knew judging by that overhead halo could be seen ecstatically running amok in the graces of the cloud tears, dancing and rolling on the ground in the moist nature of the afternoon. In spite of his calm demeanor during missions, the spaz clearly enjoyed rainy days, eventually coming to a halt with an over-relaxed expression. "Okay, I'm done being me," Borneo says with a delighted purr in his voice.

Arris approaches Magnus' tent, scuba gear rested over her shoulder by her arm, and a cooler full of assorted drinks (mostly beer) held by the other. "Hmmmn. I don't think I've ever came here during the winter." She snerks lightly as she sets down the cooler, pulling her goggles over her eyes as she starts putting on the scuba gear. "'Fun in the sun' sounds more like 'pain in the rain' right about now. Hopefully, today's expedition won't be so bad." She was dressed in her usual swimsuit and a jacket, resting the latter on top of the cooler.

Zophah has come as a squid girl today to facilitate underwater work, wearing her flame-patterned bikini with webbed gloves and small flippers. She aproaches the tent quickly soon after Arris, carrying what looks like a nanite-crafted toolkit modified for use under water. "The weather won't matter as much once we're in the ocean, but it will get really dark, especially as time goes on. I brought a few extra waterproffed flashlights if anyone needs them." Zophah then gives her mate Arris a hug and stands beside.

The wind was blowing, yes, and it was in fact raining but it'd take more than that to even slow down Ebreus. Defiant of the weather the grand Hellhound flew on his bat-like wings toward the meeting place... it was only once the 'hound came in for his landing and a particularly strong gust of wind caught his wings that nature explained to him just how displeased it was with his defiance. Pulling his wings in close well above the ground the 'hound, weighing as much as a small car, impacted the ground with a noteworthy thud and plume of sand around him... which immediately begun to cling to the wet... everything.

Rising from his crouched landing position with a light groan he says, "I

Walking along the beach from the direction of the path leading from the city, an approximately feline form approaches across the damp sand. Getting closer, it resolves into a snow leopard wearing a thick padded coat and either some kind of scaled leggings or a reptillian lower half. Spotting the group at the makeshift tent she changes direction towards them, approaching with a friendly wave. Heading in under the cover she shakes off some rain, running a hand across her glistening latex head to dry herself off and thinking she never used to dislike rain this much before she became a cat. Seeing a couple of familiar faces around the table she greets Magnus and Borneo. "Hey guys, neighbour" she says with a nod to Borneo before introducing herself to the squid girl. "Hi there, I'm Kamryn. Don't think we've met before, unless I'm just not recognising yuor form today"

The wind was blowing, yes, and it was in fact raining but it'd take more than that to even slow down Ebreus. Defiant of the weather the grand Hellhound flew on his bat-like wings toward the meeting place... it was only once the 'hound came in for his landing and a particularly strong gust of wind caught his wings that nature explained to him just how displeased it was with his defiance. Pulling his wings in close well above the ground the 'hound, weighing as much as a small car, impacted the ground with a noteworthy thud and plume of sand around him... which immediately begun to cling to the wet... everything.

Rising from his crouched landing position with a light groan he says, "I'm alright." as he brushes off what sand he can. Making his way to the small tent as he unpacks his scuba gear from his bag he says, "So a bit of winter diving. Sounds fun... wonder how much the water will fuck with thermal vision if it gets dark." he says with a light hum.

"Hey uncle." Magnus snickers quietly and moves in to give Borneo a quick hug. "You be you, it's worked out fine so far. Hope you're ready. We're going in deep." His fist would impact the other's shoulder lightly, before he would turn his attention towards Arris and her keg. "Oh, so you brought booze to warm us up, then! How lovely." he'd tease and move in to give her a quick kiss on the nose. "You look as voluptuous as ever, I need not worry about your swimming ability, then. You're practically always ready to dive, always in the wetsuit every time I see you... well, until it comes off." he'd cast her a wink and turn slowly towards the next arrival. As he turns, she might notice his fluffy tail was gone, replaced instead by a familiar looking fish tail. Seems the fox had taken some notes, eh?

Zophah was nigh impossible to place in that form. Her voice was what gave her away more than anything, and she'd soon find two fennec arms wrapped around her back, the rest of the fox at her front ofcourse. "Thank you. I was hoping someone would bring these. I didn't have spares." Standing on his tiptoes, he'd give the squid girl a lick on the cheek, then part from her with a smile. Once Kamryn arrives, he hands her one of the waterproof flashlights Zophah so generously provided, then casts a soft wink her way. "Welcome to the squad. Happy to have another spellunker. We'll depart in a bit." Upon Ebreus' arrival, Magnus snickers and greets with a nod. "You tell me, I ain't got a frickin' clue! My eyeballs are those of yon' regular measly moral. ANYWHO!" his hands clasp together and his foot *THUD* impacts the ground, sharply forcing a small slab up a foot from the ground to elevate him a little.

"You know how I feel about dawdling! Here's what's up! The cost of materials! What's going down! Us, down due 225 degrees southwest of here!" he'd snap his fingers, bringing up a visual manifestation of a rough topgrapical preview of the area. "There's a powerful current running across here." the curve representing it lights up in red "We're gonna dive down and merge with it, see?" Six small dots appear on the map, representing the six of them, gradually making their way to the nearest piece of the curve, before being swept away by it "Aaaaall the way down seven and a half nautical miles along its length, we'll..." *POP* he makes a loud noise with his lips "...flop out of the current and be but a measly two hundred or so meters from our target!"

Upon the map, the vague location of their goal is highlighted in red "Seven hundred and thirty four meters under the surface, a sunken vessel with a reinforced hull, picked clean for electronics already no doubt but the plating will do just fine for our good folks at big Z's R&D! SO! Grab what you need!" the illusion vanishes into a cloud of mist and the fox pulls out a face-concealing mask from the pack on his back, attaching it to his muzzle. He'd take out his comm unit and tap it before speaking through the mask "Keep your comms locked and stay together, it's gonna get dark down there! That's about it!" With everything said, Magnus would be the first to make a running leap towards the ocean, bounding into the air and rolling twice before making a *SPLASH* and diving under the water.

"Going in deep is my specialty," Borneo giggles softly, waving a paw at Kamryn and Ebreus as a greeting to the two while regarding the others with a simple smile. Listening closely to the fox's instructions with confirming nods to what has to be done for the mission, his expression becomes somewhat nervous at the mention of staying together since he didn't know how well anyone else here could swim much less how fast, but snickers as he sees the fox dive in first. "Hey, wait for me," he cheerfully calls out to Magnus before literally cartwheeling his way into the waters, following behind but barely able to contain his excitement at being in an underwater mission for once.

Arris smiles when the hug is recieved, holding Zophah close as she plants a kiss on her forehead. "I suppose I wouldn't mind a flashlight, hun." The light teasing elicits another snicker from her, as Magnus feels his tail getting bumped against by Arris'.

"Hey! Wait up!" She takes a few steps towards the ocean as Magnus jumps in before stopping. "...well, here, Zophah, have this, since I won't be able to kiss you for a while." Stepping close, the gator presses her lips against Zophah's in a deep, passionate kiss, savoring it for a while before pulling away, fitting the breather over her maw, and gracefully diving into the ocean.

Zophah rumages through her tool box before getting a face full of affectionate and romatic kissing, then returns to pulling out a full face mask. She dashes after the rest of the crew, slipping the mask on and checking the comm system. "That seems awefuly far, are you sure the nanite signal will reach?" She clips her waterproof light to her mask and double checks her kit before closing it up and slinging it over her shoulder.

"Thanks" Kamryn says as Magnus hands her a flashlight. She unzips her coat to slot it into a free slot on her toolbelt, revealling her partially armoured wetsuit beneath. "I brought my own, but a spare's always handy". She drops her bag beside the table, shrugging off her coat and slipping out of her boots before fishing some scuba gear out of her bag, slipping into the harness and securing the straps around her body. Slinging her rifle back over her shoulder along with the now empty bag, she sucks on the mouthpiece of her respirator experimentally, checking it working properly. Looking around at the others, she smiles a little to herself, amused by the displays of affection but feeling a little like the outsider of the group.

Tapping her comm to check the link to the others and her gear, she flicks the small floodlights on the shoulders of her diving equipment a couple of times, then does the same with the smaller flashlight strapped to her wrist. "Wait up guys" she calls after those already in the water, starting to move after them. "Just needed to check all my stuff's working. I don't want to get caught out by faulty equipment on my first deep dive". With that, she strides out into the water, divig in as soon as it's deep enough.

Ebreus nods as the smol fox explains their mission, "Shipwreck... sound fun. I do hope you've brought salvaging balloons though. Hiking across the ocean floor with large chunks of metal would be... well an easy target for Water Dragons." he says. As everyone darts off the hound leaps into the air and with the beating of his wings flies over the water as he puts on his mask. Holding it in place, and once he's certain the water below him is substantially deep, he again pulls his wings, this time to drive into the salty depths. As the water slows his descent the winged hound opens his bright crimson, glowing, eyes and looks out into the infra-red of the sea looking for his companions while scanning for threats.

Under the water, Magnus flashes his flashlight at the others to let them know where he was. He wasn't the best swimmer, rather he did just okay when compared to those more experienced, but with a sway in his motions and a toned acrobat's body, one could seldom go wrong in most situations, no? The fox waits for the others to catch up, and pulls out his comm unit. He'd tap the screen to show them all that they were due to head in a very specific direction, then takes point, keeping his eyes on the unit in his hands. It doesn't take long for the light above them to start dimming, and all they would have is the flashlights in their hands. Thank you Zophah!

Eventually, they'd reach the steep slope that was the ocean floor, and Magnus would sink down to start hopping across its surface, using his buoyancy as a means to pretend he was in low gravity. He'd stride widely and do a few flips along the way, flashing his light to and fro as they went along. Seaweed riddled the bottom here, long strands of green surrounding them from every which way, clams and other common things visible here and there, an anomony here, a starfish there... it was astounding how alive this place was given the situation on the surface.

Then, just as the fox was making a scene of forming a beard of tentacles out of sweaweed as they swam towards their goal, his flashlight briefly strikes the cold reflective surface of a scaly sea creature's body. They were not alone down here... the question was, were they being followed, or hunted? He'd flash his light at the others to draw their eyes and gesture with two fingers in all directions, a sign to look around.

Taking into account that he wasn't wearing gear like most of the others, or at least wasn't equipped with flashlights, Borneo stayed close to Magnus with ease as it become almost painfully obvious he was the best swimmer among the group, easily mistakable for one of the local wildlife from a distance when in motion. He did take precautions noticing that he may've been hard to keep track of without said gear, manifesting a something of a quest marker in light humour over his head in the shape of a stylized letter 'B', while doing the same for the camouflaged creatures in the form of a red X to signal danger. A good thing he had gills underneath the neck mane or he'd have more to worry about than just being able to move down here!

Arris skillfully swims forward, the gator having spent most of her free time swimming in the river east of Fairhaven. Gracefully, Magnus can spot her butterfly stroking ahead, tailfins bobbing with a consistent tempo as she moves. She does periodically stop to adore the wildlife, but for the most part, stays within eyesight of Magnus, eyeing her comm every now and then to make sure she was on track.

Zophah quickly remembers to 'tag' Magnus, Arris, and Kamryn with her biomonitoring sight nanomagic to keep track of them, Keeping a visual eye on Borneo and letting the badass Ebreus take care of himself. She chuckles in her mask every few times Arris looks at the scenery, and either through comm warnings or telepathic nanomagic Zophah makes sure that everyone remains safe.

With even her feline eyes having difficulty seeing in the low light as the group near the ocean floor, she taps her comm to switch her lights on, creating a pool of almost blueish white light for a few metres in front of her from her shoulder lamps and a harsher beam that reaches a little further from the one on her forearm. She glances around curiously at the glowing symbols appearing over some of the wildlife before recognising them as illusory nanomagic based projections. She chuckles to herself in her mask, tagging several of the blips on her comm's mapper with the corresponding new floating symbols. Looking up again, she spots the fennec's warning gestures and starts scanning the surroundings, switching her comm to broadcast mode and saying "Something out there guys? I can't see anything yet", thinking she should have checked if the others would be able to hear her before they dived.

With the aid of Magnus' light it wouldn't take long for the 'hound to find his friends... now for the interesting part: can the hound cheat and use his wings to 'fly' through the water? Only one way to find out and Ebreus was going to try it, he spread his wings into the salty depths and he would flap his wings... quite obviously slower and with substantially greater strain in the over eight hundred times more dense fluid. After a few flaps he shakes his head and begins actual swimming, heat-sources such as warm bodies being pointed out to him doubly so between Borneo's illusory Heads Up Display and his own thermal vision. Though he did his best to stick with the group the hound was first to the ocean floor, by attribute of his density, though as he contacts the floor he springs off of it and resumes swimming until another launch is necessary. As Magnus signals to him with the flashlight and indicates a direction he scans the area pointed in the infra-red spectrum looking for anything to move. *Scanning now... just a moment.* the hound would respond, via telepathy, to Kamryn, and the rest of the party his voice broadcasting in their heads.

Oh hey, a seal. What is it doing out this far? Magnus in his general state of infantile glee would move right in and start to bellyrub the friendly creature. Thankfully it wasn't seeing the group as predatory, nor as food up for grabs. Some ferals were nice like this, and seeing how the thing's flippers were wiggling from the thorough scritches it was recieving, seems it was only here to say hello and check things out. Two more would be timidly circling the group, while in the distance, more wildlife was approaching. Parting from the seal, Magnus gives it a quick rub to the head, before swimming back on course. In the distance, the telltale disturbance in the water was made clear, a torrent quite wild, a current quite rapid, the one they would hop onto to reach their destination. It wouldn't be long now!

Borneo couldn't help but giggle at Magnus's moment of peace, staying close by and creating a marker resembling a clock overhead to at least give an idea that Magnus was busy with something. Following after him after he had finished the bit of indulgement, he changed his marker back to a 'B', wearing a look of excitement at the torrent as it reminded him of the rapids in the river east of Fairhaven; nothing he couldn't handle, but one he felt eager to explore as he had never traveled through one in the ocean before. He continued to play around with his markers, pinpointing their 'ride' with a symbol resembling a whirlpool from above as he gave off a delighted purr moreso in at least seeing shipwreck that wasn't near Feesh's castle for once.

The others would hear through their comms, spoken in Arris' voice: "Is that giant whirlpool-looking thing the place we need to go to?" The gator treads water in place, giving the seal a headpat as well as it passes by her. "Well, if the forces that be wanted to make their important location look important and daunting, they certainly succeeded." If given the OK, she would resume swimming, starting to approach the whirlpool.