That damned ball had escaped again. It was not so large that it couldn't be kicked around. In fact, after doing a double take and assuring himself that the surrounding beach was isolated for what seemed to be at least a mile in either direction, Liir had felt safe enough to make a fool of himself privately by...playing with it. Kicking around a ball, recently discovered though this one was, was something that the hadn't done since he was very, very short. He had found it ridiculously entertaining, but also found that he was seriously lacking in coordination and aim as the ball whirled off into the air in the near-opposite direction he'd intended it to for what must have been the fifth or sixth time now.
Of course, as a final act of rebellion, it had landed in the water. Being that Liir was on the sandy bank of an edgy drop-off and had kicked the ball a good ways, it had landed in fairly deep water several meters away. Glaring out at the mockingly cheerful red and white of the cursed toy, Liir stepped over to the edge of the bank and crouched down, eyeing the water suspiciously. The dark, furry wolf ears that contrasted strikingly with his fair hair pricked up slightly as Liir's expression of exasperation melted instantly into one of curiousness. He peered up at the ball once more, slowly leaning over the edge while inwardly debating whether or not he was just imagining the sound of movement that seemed muffled by the water.
Suddenly, a pair of hands reached up from the water and grasped the ball, tugging a bit as it gave its own resistance. The sound that Liir made at this point, having been taken off guard by the abrupt appearance, could best be described as a "GYAH" - a funny sort of yell that one makes when one has been leaning a bit too far over a sandy bank and falls head-first into the water, followed shortly by a large splash.
Not taking into consideration playful merpeople and dolphins, it was all the ball's fault, really.
