You're heading to the beach, and there's a giant sea naga sunbathing right in the middle of the road just five minutes away from your glorious goal.
"Dude! Get off the road! Your best friend yells, tooting the car horn.
"I don't know, he kind of looks stuck, like he's too far away from the water. Maybe he's dehydrated?" You suggest.
She scoffs. "That's a giant snake man. Surely he's got enough brain cells to know not to beach himself."
"I'll go see if I can get him off the road," you say, grabbing your bottle of water and getting out despite your friend's protests.
You approach carefully from the front, so as not to startle him. You've heard too many stories about people getting accidentally strangled by frightened nagas.
"Hi there," you say softly.
The sea naga's eyes open and he peers up at you. Gosh, his eyes are pretty, like stained teal blue glass.
"Do you want some water?"
He blinks his double-lidded eyes. "Thank you," he rumbles and drains the entire bottle of water in a few gulps.
You don't ask him what he's doing up here, since you can already see he does look sort of dried out. "My friend and I are heading to the beach. We can give you a ride."
"Please." His eyes shine with hope. "Several people passed already, but none wished to offer assistance. I am grateful."
"Don't mention it!" You pop open the tailgate of your friend's pickup, ignoring the faces she's pulling as she watches you from the driver's seat. The sea naga pulls himself up with some effort, and you help make sure none of his fins are in the way before you close the tailgate.
"Ugh, why I don't just swap cars with you? You always find some kind of creature to put back there," Your friend complains shaking her head with a rueful smile.
You only grin back. Once on the beach, the sea naga thanks you once last time before disappearing into the waves. You can't help but feel a little empty, seeing as there's nothing to do but tan, eat snacks, and read a book. You end up falling asleep on your towel, waking up sometime later to cool water dripping on your heated skin. It's him, fresh out of the sea, leaning over you with his brows furrowed in concern.
"Your skin can only handle so much sun," he says, holding your sunscreen out to you.
"Thanks! Do you live around here?"
"I have a den close by." He unfurls his claws to hold out a glossy pearl. "Here is a gift, to thank you again."
You accept the beautiful little treasure, giddy with happiness. Once he has left again your friend raises an eyebrow.
"I'm surprised you don't know what gift giving mean in his culture," she says.
"Wait, is it something bad? Did I offend him somehow?" You groan, wishing you had internet access to look it up.
Your friend is no help either. She only smiles.
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