Shiro swam across to the shore, following Keith closely and only looked away from the man when his chest bumped against the sand on the sea bed. He wriggled slightly, his back and dorsal fin exposed above the water before he pushed himself closer to the beach, pushing more and more of himself out of the water. It wasn't particularly difficult, seeing as Shiro had worked hard to build up his strength over the past year, it was mostly awkward. He wasn't used to pulling himself forward with his arms. He stopped when Keith did, still within the confines of the sea and he leaned on his elbows to watch Keith.

As Shiro expected, the sour taste of fear quickly filled the air and Keith went rigid. The anxiety washed over his face and he clenched his soft hands into hard fists. Shiro wanted to tell him it was okay, that he was safe and Shiro was there with him. He lasted less than a minute before shooting back as though something had bitten him. Immediately, the fins on Shiro's elbows stood on end and the fin-like protrusions he had instead of ears stood on end protectively. He searched the water for whatever had frightened Keith and pushed himself up onto his hands to search. When he couldn't find anything, he hit the surface of the water and clicked with frustration, muttering to himself about being on higher alert to protect Keith when he was so scared.

He looked back to Keith and his heart skipped a beat seeing the expression that was there, clear as day on Keith's face. "Keys..." he murmured, wanting to rush to him and protect him, apologize for making him go out of his comfort zone for just a stupid test. He clenched his own fists and looked down, hanging his head shamefully. This was his fault - what if Keith never wanted to come back? He sent Keith his telepathic waves again, focusing on the two words he truly meant, "I'm sorry, Keith... I'm so sorry."