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Now wasn't this an interesting one he thought to himself as he read over the chart that went along with the girl that was coming in for a class today, giving a thoughtful sound, "Sea Mink, huh?" He'd never heard of one of those before and as such he had to head to his computer and found that they were an extinct species. Not the first one that he'd ever met or taught since he'd had a class with Donat but still it did make things quite interesting didn't it? Being that she was a 'sea' mink the first thing that came to mind was a swimming class but after the last one he'd run for Zach it had become clear that it was likely that she already knew how to swim as well. As such he decided to make things more interesting.

It said in the information he'd read that Sea Mink's might have hunted another extinct creature called a Labrador Duck and as such he gathered some supplies to make himself some 'ducks' for the class. They were vaguely bird shaped items that were tossed into the water, floating on the surface. Today Mariel would be 'hunting' for ducks he'd decided. Checking the clock he gave a smile, he had some time between now and when his student was to arrive, about ten minutes, which gave him time to change into swimming cloths and get his special, prescription goggles so that he would be able to be in the pool in case anything went wrong and Mariel needed him.

Once ready he went to the door outside of the lake like terrain room to wait for his student to arrive.

Orpheus looked up from what he was doing when the pair arrived, giving them both a smile, "Welcome to your first skills class." He greeted the little sea mink girl, giving a rather happy smile upon seeing her. It was always interesting to see children that were based upon the DNA of extinct animals he thought to himself before he walked over to the pair, "My name is Orpheus Solon, its nice to get to met you Mariel."

He looked over toward Luna and then gave her a smile as well, "We are going to be working on some water based skills today, your welcome to stay and watch if you like." He always gave the parents the option to watch the classes if they wanted to, it was likely one of very few classes that parents would be allowed to watch.

Orpheus gave a smile, he couldn't help it, as his student seemed to be quite enthusiastic about the class! The ones that were excited about the classes were the ones that he most enjoyed teaching. Turning to look over at the water and at the 'ducks' that were floating in it he gave a nod, "Yes, today you will be swimming and hunting for ducks." He told her, giving a bit of a chuckle as he adjusted his glasses. They weren't the best best looking ducks in the world but at least she would get the idea, right?

He paused for a moment before looking down at Mariel, giving a nod of his head, "Yeah, I am Ligeia's father as well as the father of two others, Terpsichore and Maria." He explained, finding it almost funny how many people seemed to know Ligeia but then again the owl had turned into quite the social butterfly once he'd grown. Orpheus could recall when the boy was still little and painfully shy. He was pulled out of his thoughts by Luna's comment and he gave a shake of his head, "I don't mind at all, its always nice to have an enthusiastic student to teach."

With his mind back on the topic at hand he turned his attention back to the water, "Are you good at swimming under water? Or do you swim just at the surface?" He asked of Mariel, wanting to get a feel for her skill level.

Orpheus gave a chuckle at that, "A water something, huh?" He asked before giving a smile, "Your what is called a Sea Mink." He told her, wondering why she hadn't known what she was but he supposed maybe her parent wasn't sure? He gave a smile, "If you like we can work on your underwater swimming skills as well, that way you can be at your best to catch the ducks unprepared by swimming up from underneath them." He offered, not minding showing her two skills in one today, it would be more fun for the both of them if you asked the redhead.

He started toward the edge of the 'lake' and then pointed, "This side of it is only about three foot deep, toward the middle is six, and then over to the far end is about nine." He told her, so that she would know how deep it was. The water was crystal clear so it was a little deceiving when one just looked into it, hard to tell how deep it was. It was a level in the three areas with a gradual decline from three to six and six to nine, "Any time your ready we can hop into the shallow end and start the class."

Orpheus smiled as the girl dove right in, always glad to have enthusiastic students. Better then if he had one he had to carry in he thought to himself, stepping out of his shoes so that he could hop in after her, "Yeah, the water here is pretty nice. Its kept at a constant temperature so that there is no unpleasant shock of cold when you and the other students step in, we don't want anyone to freeze after all."

He looked over at where one of the ducks was floating, half wishing he'd done better in their construction, before he looked back to Mariel, "Alright! First thing first, your aware that to swim under water you have master keeping the water out of your nose, right? Do you know how to do this or shall I explain the trick to it?" He asked of her, ready to dive right into the swimming class... so to speak.

Orpheus watched the girl closely as he tried to go for it without instruction and he couldn't help but to smile. She certain was an enthusiastic one, wasn't she? Ready to try stuff that she might or might not have a grasp of and he couldn't help but to give a little chuckle when the girl asked him to show her how to do it, to pretend she didn't know which he figured she might not but he would allow it. Better then embarrassing her.

"Of course, alright first thing you want to do is take in a deep breath, the trick to it is to breath out slowly through your nose. The air keeps the water out, unless your able to close your nostrils on your own? I know some species are able to do that but I am unsure if the Sea Mink can or not." He looked her over in a curious manner, wondering if she were able to do that or not. It would make swimming underwater a whole lot easier for Mariel.

Orpheus watched in a manner that showed how interested he was in whether or not she would be able to pull off the trick, to be able to close ones nose when swimming under water would make things a lot easier for her. He couldn't help but to smile when she threw her everything into it, wanting to learn how to do it if possible and then his eyes went wide when she said she'd done it, even if only for a second and he clapped his hands, "Excellent! That is wonderful work Mariel!" He praised her, excited about the discovery of such a trick. He would need to keep such things in mind when teaching, that the children might have skills that were a mystery even to themselves.

He watched as the girl tested it out, trying once going under breathing through her nose and the second time he'd guess from the fewer bubbles coming up that she'd closed her nose for it, "I want you to do whatever is more comfortable for you, just keep in mind the part about blowing the air out through your nose if you need it." Closing her nostrils was a new trick after all and he didn't want her to be at risk being under water with a newly learned skill.

"More? Alright! Shall we see about tackling some ducks then?" He asked of her.

"Yes! Duck hunting! Sea Minks apparently seemed to favor Labrador ducks and often hunted them from what I was reading." He said, looking over at the 'ducks' that were floating in the water. He gave a smile as he looked at them, watching them bob around in the water.

His attention went back to her when she asked 'how do I swim' and he asked in a curious manner, "What sorts of strokes do you know when it comes to swimming? The doggy paddle is the easiest, then there are many others depending on what you prefer or how fast you want to swim. That or if your really lazy there is the back float which is just for relaxing and floating on the surface." He said with a laugh, "I can show you any of them if you want to learn."