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Horace felt like sunbathing. He'd also been told to collect some runic things, too. So the beach it was. His intent was not to actually collect today (he would do that first in a group, he guessed, just to be safer), but to scope out the area, swim just a little, and soak up the sun. As a kid, Horace had laid in the driveway of his house on hot days, feeling the sun finally sink into his bones. He needed it. Dressed in a pair of simple green swim trunks (not entirely plan, there was a tiny dolphin on the front), and with a towel and his knapsack in hand, he headed out.

And there, close to the edge of the ocean, was Mikael. At least Horace thought it was him. But what other small blond hunter would be building sand castles? Dropping his bag in the sand, he pinched the bridge of his nose. Jan seemed to hate the kid, and it was certainly true that the boy seemed dangerously naive. It was odd that he had been told to 'learn a hard lesson', nad that he too was 'naive', 'stupid', but Mikael was coddled, protected from the outside world. It was annoying. Instead of feeling any urge to protect the little blond hunter, Horace thought that someone should try to get him to face the world, just a bit.

Toeing off his sandals, he jogged down next to Mikael. Horace was sorely tempted to kick the sand castle in. Instead, he crossed his arms and poked Mikael with one sandy toe.

"Didn't someone tell you to be more careful around the ocean, Mikael?"

Mikael eyes were a little startling. Horace hadn't expected he boy to look so, so much like his father. It was as if some celestial doll maker, upon receipt of a picture of Jan, had crafted Mikael. He was Jan, but smaller, lighter, somehow more vacant
Horace decided he preferred the elder.

"I'm Horace, Horace Nokoni, death trainee. You are Mikael Lindstrom, Life division." The boy certainly didn't look careful, he looked oblivious, an Horace wondered how in the world they were the same age. The sandcastle looked more complex than Mikael.

{what uninteresting breeding choice.}

"So is it true that you have no idea how to swim?"

Horses? Really? Like Horace hadn't heard that before - that and worse, much worse. "Well, I am not a horse, although I've ridden one. I'm sure you can do more things in Life." Horace trailed off and crouched down next to Mikael.

"Why were you walking on ice as a kid? Unless you were skating or something on a lake.... Doesn't that mean you should learn to swim, so it won't be scary anymore?" Using two fingers, Horace poked a new door in the side of the castle. "Servant's entrance," he muttered before abruptly filling it in again with a handful of damp sand.

Peevishly, Horace poked the hole back into the side of the castle. He poked two windows above it as well. "Then the princess gets a new door." What was he doing - sitting here playing at sandcastles with someone who was his age, but acted five years younger.

It was a little like talking to a middle-schooler. "Water isn't scary. The water here can be a little bit, but... you know, it'd probably be safer to learn to swim. For yourself and others." If he couldn't get Mikael to want to learn to swim for himself, maybe he'd realize how much of a detriment he'd be if someone else had to save him.

"Hmmm, ok, fine. You can be princess of the castle and I'll be lord of the seas. I will not make any unapproved renovations to your domicile. The ocean is not that scary, though. It's fun." ********, this was damn silly. Horace considered kicking in the castle entirely to see how Mikael would react. The boy seemed to live in his own little world - it was really quite funny how unalike he and his father were.

Slowly, Horace stood and circled the castle, pretending to perr over at Mikael's work with interest. "I want to see your side. Good work." It wasn't really good or bad work; it was a sandcastle. Bending down, he placed a hand on the boy's shoulder for balance. With a snapping motion, Horace's hand pulled Mikael's arm and abruptly, he tried to drag, to pick up the kid and toss him into the ocean. Sink or swim.

What the ********? Horace had Jannisari summoned and in Mikael's gut before thought. The guy was tiny but he hit hard. What was it with little hunters hitting like semi-trucks?

{yesss, show me his internal workingsss. I want to analyze his blood.} She hissed, and Horace could feel her interest growing, the sharp edges of her tekkos gleaming.

"s**t! Mikael, water is ******** good for you, you idiot! I'm trying to help you out!" His other hand hadn't let go of the boy and, inexorably, he was determined to teach Mikael to swim. With violence.


HP: 30
DMG: 6

"This is..." he panted. "So you don't drown." Horace cursed every time Mikael landed a hit and eventually socked him in the mouth.


HP: 22
DMG: 4
CHG: 2/3

"You're not even in the water yet!" Horace's grip did not loosen (miraculously). "You won't drown!" By now, Horace would've given up if not for how much the boy's hits hurt. It had become a sort of... well, it was pure stubbornness.

HP: 18
DMG: 2
CHG: 3/3