Ooooh son of a BITCH, that hurt.

Admittedly, the moment the shock of hitting the water wore down a little, Kaleo had just been thankful he hadn't flown into the shallows - if he'd hit solid (or jagged) rock at the speed he did, he had absolutely no doubt that he would have pulverized most of the bones in his left side. Sure, it sucked being completely soaked, but all things considered, he could still feel and move all of his limbs. The stinging sensation was proof enough of that much.

... Although the rising pressure in his chest suggested that he probably shouldn't remain completely submerged for much longer, lest he cease being able to do those things. No sooner than he had come to the surface, however, someone was... already yelling at him. The lack of concern for his case didn't strike him as anything out of the ordinary - though he did most of his work on the beach, he was no great stranger to customer service, after all.

Are you out of your mind?!

"Not... today..?" He blinked, his tone almost a bit too nonchalant for the situation as he made to catch his breath. Looking for the source suggested it to be the person he'd been attempting to return the...wallet... to. Which, naturally, was apparently the next topic of discussion. Avarice blinked, raising a hand out of the water... with nothing in it? Come to think of it, he didn't see the bike up anywhere where the silver haired stranger was peering down from either.

...Ooooh, shit. The rapper shrugged nervously, privately thankful that he'd left anything of value back at the hotel for fear he'd crush something while practicing.

"Uh, workin' on that one, my guy. Find me a way up in the mean time, and I'll get it to ya."

Not bothering to give him time to respond, Kaleo sucked in a breath and went back under. The excess fabric of his coat and pants made it a bit harder to swim, but losing those in public might have been a little much for one day. Besides, he... didn't really want to deal with the fallout that would come with letting either of those lost items slip any further away.

375 Words ● frog ● a moment of silence for henry in this trying time

The second time Avarice arose from the water, it was to catch his breath again - only the lower half of his face stuck out of the salty brine for a moment, gasping a few quick breaths before drawing in another and going back down to search. The third was much the same.

It was the fourth time that was the charm, it seemed - for that was the one that he arose from the water with an entire bicycle straddled across his back and the missing wallet pinched closed where the corners met between his teeth. Although this may have been interpreted as some sort of weird power move, Kaleo would swear up and down that it was a choice made (mostly) in practicality - he'd needed one arm to support the bicycle, and they'd be here until midnight if he'd had to tread water vaguely in the direction of dry land in lieu of using his free one. It's not like this guy was making fat stacks anyway, judging by the size.

After he'd gotten his bearings again, Avarice had noted where the other man had positioned himself to help him, and paddled over to join him near the dock. Once in position, he was at least kind enough to drop the wallet into his free hand and wash the (already damp) corner off in the water in preparation to return it. If this guy had problems with ocean cooties (which he might have, considering he was complaining about him making a scene), he could always wash it properly later. Kaleo chuckled a bit.

"My entire life's a scene, bud. but if you don't wanna be seen committing good deeds or somethin', that's cool. I'll be quick."

As requested, he'd passed the wallet up first... taking a moment to scope Henry's arms as he did so. The edge of his mouth quirked a bit. Oh, this would be interesting.

"...Though, uh, you mind helpin' me hoist this sucker up first?" He patted the bicycle with his free hand and gave the other a grin before using both hands to lift it off of his shoulders, attempting to raise it high enough so Henry could potentially grab at it. Hopefully the other man didn't have other ideas now that he had his wallet - just pulling the bike over his head like this was already slowly driving him back underwater, in spite of his best efforts to stay in place. "Super appreciate your optimism n' all... but with all this extra water weight, I'm kinda bulky... I don't wanna snap your arm... tryin' t'lift me out..."

He liked to think honesty was the best policy... or, at the very least, it would be the one that kept both of them from ending up soaked this evening.

464 Words ● frog ● honestly if he's gonna behave like this he deserves it

Well, he'd been half anticipating that he'd get the bike dropped back on his head, but Avarice had to say he was pleasantly surprised. The guy hardly wavered at all lifting it away from him - which meant one less thing to worry about here. He uttered a quiet 'thanks' and exhaled slowly in preparation for what came next, which was... apparently not the other man coming back to help him, but heeding his warning and stepping back.

Good luck, he'd said somewhat callously as he stepped back. Wouldn't want you to drown.

And in that moment, soaked to the bone and grabbing that rope like it was his only salvation in the world, Avarice started laughing. Come to think of it, the dude hadn't been the most cordial through the duration of this encounter, but... really? What kind of phrasing was that?

"Damn! Daaaaayumn!! And I thought the water was cold!" He cackled, shifting his palms to get a better grip on the rope. "Alright, Mr. Mobster, I'll do my best for ya."

Still chuckling a bit to himself, he began his ascent, the rope tensing as he put more and more of his weight upon it. Still, it was accustomed to tethering ships - not the sort of thing to snap easily. Satisfied in this knowledge, he began pulling himself up, taking a few minutes before his head eventually peered up over the side, and he rested his chin up against it.

"Whew... Y'might wanna look away, this next bit ain't gonna be pretty."

With that, Avarice used his chin to brace himself against the wood until he was able to move a hand to take its place. With all the grace of a freshly evolved Marshtomp unaccustomed to the length of its forearms, he then proceeded to haul the rest of his upper body up, grunting a bit with the exertion... until eventually, upon getting halfway up, he stopped. For a moment, he was content to just let his legs dangle over the side as he stretched the rest of his upper body over the wood, letting out something between an exhale and a sigh of relief that he'd at least made it far enough that he didn't risk falling back into the sea immediately. After a short break, he finished pulling himself back up onto the boardwalk, immediately peeling off his soaked Letterman and letting it drop onto the pier with a wet squelch. His main concern was to check if he'd gotten bruised, but-- Tapu's sakes, it was cold. Satisfied upon seeing nothing in his 5 second glance, he folded into himself a bit, crossing his arms in a way that he hoped looked more like he was getting comfortable rather than showcasing that he was wet and now absolutely freezing. He gave Henry a slightly lopsided grin, provided he wasn't walking away by now.

"H-eeeey, so, do I get to know the name of my 'savior'?" Though he made a conscious effort to suppress his shivering, his tone did little to conceal his amusement. "Gotta thank you proper n' all."

515 Words ● frog ● *nearly drowns and loses all of a dude's money* hey ; ) who r u ; )

Why did this guy have such a small towel?.. Well, it was dry and didn't look particularly dirty or anything, so he wasn't about to complain. He'd snorted a bit at the offhanded claim that it was so he didn't freeze to death before thanking him, bobbing his head in a loose show of gratitude before proceeding to dry himself off a bit. It was hardly luxurious, but it was a fair walk back to his accommodations and he'd take what he could get.

And then it came time for his own introduction... which admittedly gave him a moment of pause. The dilemma mainly being, if he used his stage name while caught acting the fool, his manager would probably slaughter him.

Well, he could understand why she would at least. Branding was everything and all that, and he'd stand to lose a fair bit of rep flying into the ocean while trying to return a wallet... though he didn't really want to give this guy his real name, either. Randoms, no matter how pretty, weren't entitled to that unless the situation was somehow legally binding. Which, given that he probably wasn't being sued for losing this dude's wallet by this point, this wasn't.

"Name's Black! Like the color. S'a pleasure, Henry."

There! Black was a fairly common Unovan surname anyway, wasn't it? Just as Henry was a common name with no surname. That seemed like a fair compromise.

"Anyway, I'd invite you to dinner or somethin' as thanks, but I'm prolly not fit for public showcase." He made a vague gesture towards the whole of his soaked self; even if he DID dry off completely, he had no doubt he'd be smelling like harbor until he got a shower and a fresh change of clothes. Varl would probably also complain about that if his shit got 'conveniently' mixed in with his laundry as well... no victory there. "So, in light o' that, should we just consider it an IOU and call it a day?"

The guy'd probably forget all about this within the week anyway. If he'd came prepared as he was, he'd probably dealt with the garden variety of men falling over their asses in front of him before anyway.

377 Words ● frog ● tbh good call henry

...Urk.

Although he'd given an enthused nod when Henry repeated his name back to him, the inquiry after his number left 'Black' looking somewhat thoughtful. Under normal circumstances, he definitely wouldn't have minded. Although a bit reserved, Henry WAS funny in his own way, and ultimately he hadn't left him to drown. Both good points, as far as he was concerned. It might have been fun to learn more about his mysterious self simply for the sake of it. On the other, Henry didn't seem aware of who he was... which, often changed perceptions awfully quickly. Particularly when the other party had a wallet as flat as his was. He'd never have peace if this dude sold his number online or tried to blackmail him to make a quick buck. While everything was fun and games in the moment, prolonged contact with strangers tended to turn into some sort of spinning, fast paced dance in a field of Graveler.

(Who was leading? Fuck if he knew)

"Oh, I don't actually got my phone on me right now... prob' be bricked if I did, heh."

That was... a really lame thing to say. Henry spoke up again, however; giving his number wasn't necessary, and his feelings wouldn't be hurt. He nodded dumbly as he handed back the dampened towel, considering his words. 'No need to worry', huh?.. Well, it was hard to say if his initial offer was for the sake of civility or not, but he was good for it. The stupid grin returned to his face.

"Maybe we should leave it to fate?" He winked. That sounded a bit cooler, didn't it? (No, not at all)

"By the sounds, you ain't super into it, and this ain't my finest hour. If we meet another day and you're down, tho'..."

He stepped back to retrieve his bike as he spoke before he ended up forgetting it. Pushing it back and forth a little revealed that it didn't seem to have sustained any real damage, thankfully. he'd half expected the front rim to be crushed after the impact, or at least the spokes to be sort of bent... but it really did seem like he'd be getting off easy today. In more than one respect. Satisfied, he moved to climb back on his bike, wobbling a bit in his fatigue as he leaned over the handlebars. His legs would probably hate him tomorrow for all this strain, but... well, that was an issue for future Kaleo.

"...well, we'll see, won't we? Ya can have my digits then."

420 Words ● frog ● at ur leisure! o7 thanks for the thread