The Mugrobi heard him splashing away from her and took a peek, turning her head and allowing one eye to open in a squint. She watched his every action, noting his posture as he stripped off and amused as each layer fell away. His clothing was already wet so there was no harm in continuing to wear it in the sea although it would be heavy. However, given his prudishness about her own clothing, and his unwillingness to shed the layers in spite of the heat earlier, she'd expected him to keep them in spite of the drawbacks.
While she was trying to be subtle about the fact she was observing him, Aziza couldn't help but laugh as he bolted towards the water as if he was being chased. The witch tried to flatten her expression, make it neutral again as she turned her face back towards the sky, pretending that she hadn't noticed anything that had taken place on shore. She turned towards him as he approached as if she'd only just noticed him.
"Oh ye're back then, eh?" the black girl commented, her easy smile returning at the sight of him. She could have teased him about his bare torso but she didn't want to risk sending him racing back to shore simply because of a little fun at his expense.
His dive and splashing made her squeal in surprise and mirth, the young woman splashing him right back when he resurfaced. "Well, look at ye! Seems ye know what fun is after all!" she teased, winking in his direction before she settled back into floating on her back, mirroring his actions as his mood seemed to change, growing pensive and nostalgic.
The simple sharing of a childhood memory stunned her.
Here was a man who in many ways had done his best to shut himself off from her and she suspected the world at large as well. He was very business orientated, didn't seem to let loose - usually at least, today was an obvious exception - and hadn't even wanted to tell her his name for fear of the danger it would bring. Benton had told her nothing about himself, aside from a tiny admittance that his brother was dead, something she didn't think he would have revealed if she hadn't touched on it so closely. Stripping away clothes was one thing, figuratively taking down his walls but this little tidbit of information? This was something else.
The spoke actually stopped to think for a few moments rather than letting her tongue trip over itself asking questions: He was from Bastia? What was it like? How long was he there? Did he like it? Did he miss it? Instead, she considered the little nugget in her mind, quelling her curiosities as she considered how to approach this.
The drug dealer didn't like direct inquiry about himself. When she'd gotten close to the topic of his brother before, he had shut down so it was clear that he didn't want things to know. However, he had shared this of his own volition as memory rose to the surface. Perhaps that was the way to approach it by stimulating more memories. She couldn't ask directly though so the route was through her own memories.
"We've a few rivers in Mugroba. Ye all think that we've naught but desert but it ent true. There are boats that go up and down 'em, trading and the like. Ye can't manage without water. Think anyone'd live there if there was no water?" she questioned rhetorically, laughing softly. "Ne, ye need the water. If ye think the heat here is a lot, ye'd have a hard time in Mug. This time of year, spokes stay along the rivers, basic'ly live in 'em. We warn't spokes for years but we stayed near the water. Could trade that way, ye know. I spent a lot of time playing along that water, 'magining setting sail up it or just... getting carried away to somewhere else just so I could move. I tried to run away more'n once, ye know. Hopped on one of the boats heading upriver, thought I'd make it to Thul Ka at least. Know what happened? Found me 'bout a mile up the waters and dumped me ashore, had to walk back to my daoa and da who'd turned themselves inside out worrying 'bout me."
She trailed a hand through the water, letting her fingers cut the surface as she inched it closer to brush against Benton's arm. "Maybe I coulda swam it. I'm a benny swimmer, I think. Least I ent drowned yet though I've been in a few scrapes," the witch explained, tilting her head in his direction. "Ent been swimming since ye were a child, eh? All the maw gone by since that happened, well... wonder if there's still a river there or if it's dried up since you were a child," she teased, a twinkle in her eye and a mischievous smirk curving her lips. "Ent been more'n a blink o' the eye since I was a child. Not that ye'd tell," she added, reaching a hand up to touch the swell of her chest, the wet material clinging to the womanly shape.
She laughed heartily at the mere thought of how embarrassed that comment would make the man. His perception of things really did seem to be quite different in the daylight with witnesses so near at hand.