[center][b]AEDRE STARLING[/b][/center]

The sounds of the port were significantly more muted underwater, though they carried further, and Starling was still far enough out to sea when she peeked up from the waves that no one without significantly better-than-average sight would be likely to see her from shore. She made no effort to lift more than her head into the air, keeping both weapon and fins underwater as she scouted for a good spot to emerge unseen onto land. Given that her natural eyes were far better at judging depth and seeing things over a larger distance than seeing shades of color, that wasn't much of a challenge for her even so far out.

Once she'd found a good place Starling allowed the currents to pull her back underwater, and then started swimming in the direction of the shore. She quickly gained speed, and soon she was near enough to shore that she had to slow down. She'd picked out a small inlet that ran in underneath the docks and shouldn't be visible from above, and she made sure to keep herself completely under water until she'd swam far enough in that she could pull the majority of her body up onto dry land. From there she could see no one else and could only hear the general hubbub of a busy city, so she placed her pack and staff down where they wouldn't get in the way and then focused on making her body change.

She closed her eyes to better adapt to the changed sight even as her tail became legs and her scales turned to skin, as claws became smaller and gave way to human fingers and nails. Since her scales did not absorb water the same way skin did, she wound up significantly less damp than she'd have been had she made the change in water, and she only wrung her hair out before getting her clothes out of her bag and dressing. They wound up slightly damp, but not unbearably so, and she made sure the change hadn't overlooked anything important before making her way up onto the docks, bag and staff both carried on her back. A few people cast looks her way, but Starlings' clothing was nondescript enough that few of them looked twice, and only her staff drew eyes as she made her way further into town.

Lacking any significant plans, she kept her eyes out for a tavern or something of the like to rest her feet for a while and listen for any local news. As she walked she kept pulling her hands through her hair in an effort to make it dry faster in the sun, and so it was not quite evident that she'd just came out of the water when she finally laid eyes on the Leaky Grove Tavern. To make it even less obvious she pulled her hood up and made sure her hair was sufficiently hidden before ducking inside. The interior was dimly lit, and though the music sounded pleasant she scrunched her nose up slightly at all the strange smells. The place was fairly crowded, the bar no less so, but there were still a number of seats free and she wound up sitting next to a young human man who looked like he'd taken a swim through the harbor with clothes and all.

"A sea breeze, thank you." Starling spoke up as soon as the bartender looked in her direction and placed a couple of coins down on the counter before her to pay for the drink.