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 Posted: Thu Jan 25, 2007 8:08 pm
Awen swam about the lake, currently just paddling along the surface on her back. Nothing special had really been going on with her lately, except for the whole Miller thing, but she was adjusted to that and aside from their talks it was just like having a room make. Except when she wanted to have her own space she could just dive under the water.
Heaving a deep sigh the manta stared up at the clouds. The island had gotten fairly boring as of late. Yes she had her video games, movies and swims to keep her occupied... but she hadn't really been doing anything. Nothing was very productive, everything just left the girl quite listless sometimes. Her life had come to be so routine....
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Posted: Thu Jan 25, 2007 8:22 pm
If mundane was the way it was going to be, Alec would welcome it with open arms. Following the event in the cafeteria involving Amaya (which he didn't want to talk about anymore, and would only refer to it as "that day"), the sharkboy's life was one huge rollercoaster of over-emotion, jumping to conclusions and general self-loathing that oddly came in the form of violent acts towards others. Thankfully he could now say that some of that mess had been resolved, there were just a few lose ends to take care of now. Dark times aside, the teen decided finally that he would try and embrace something good. He wanted to stop hating himself and start loving life again; it would all start with a little step in the right direction.
The wheelchair-bound kid eagerly rolled himself to the lake by himself on this particularly calm and somewhat overcast day with the intention of concurring at least one fear. Ever since his dramatic and shocking change that left him immobilized, he hadn't touched a drop of free water and substituted the loss with highly frequent baths to soak his sensitive skin. He wasn't even sure he could swim but hell, at least he'd find out.
Reaching the large body of water, Alec stopped a few meters safely from the shoreline and stared. The graceful, floating body evaded his senses for now as he was more focused on the rising level of anxiety he was feeling. So much for being gung-ho.
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Posted: Thu Jan 25, 2007 8:31 pm
Awen had heard the wheelchair coming long before it even reached the lakeshore. She had ignored it for the most part, just some por islander passing by no doubt, but when the sound got closer, louder and then suddenly stop, this made Awen look up.
Confused for a moment at what she was seeing as the grey and brown meshed together and a sudden jolt of energy ran down her spine Awen could only stare dumbly. Her heart raced with an odd sort of panic she had never experienced after the last few changes, this was not a logical fear, but something much deeper, almost..instinct?
Slowly the girl's vision focused and she finally recognised what was before her. She bit back the odd feeling as she plodded a little closer to shore. "Alec?" She said a little cautiously, she wasn't sure it was him it had been so long. But Amaya had told her about the shark man, and the blue haired girl knew he was a fellow aquatic from their chats long ago. Still she wasn't completely certain if it was him. It had been so long after all...
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Posted: Thu Jan 25, 2007 8:44 pm
Alec shifted his dark pupils across the black water shortly away, watching the wrippling effect from insects flickering across its surface, the gentle sloshing against the muddy ground. He could almost feel the warmth surrounding his body and it tempted him to jump in like he always had. Now of course, that was impossible but it at least served to restore some of his former enthusiasm. Slowly wheeling closer to the edge, the boy shifted awkwardly in his chair. This couldn't turn out well. He should just go back. But he had to feel it, at least for a short moment. He had to feel the warmth.
Shifting again to cause a creaky, metallic objection from the contraption below him, the sharkboy slipped his torso lower with the aid of arm strength to keep him steady. A thin, sharp-edged fin slipped from under the towel on his lap, the tip edging over to poke tentatively at the water's surface. It was then that he heard the hesitant voice call his name, causing his head to jerk upwards at the source. What he saw was an ethereal blue figure in the water slowly approaching, the wing-like projections barely visible below the surface. He couldn't recognize them at first but they definetly knew his name. "...E...Ay." He responded unsurely, waiting for a name to match the face in his memory.
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Posted: Thu Jan 25, 2007 8:49 pm
Sighing in relief the manta girl's face brightened immediately. The nagging fear grabbed her but she pushed it away, unimportant at this moment. "Ah, it is you then! Still being a hazard to those poor poor electronics in the entertainment room?"
The islander moved forward until she had to stand on the lake's bottom by the edge and then just kept walking. "Do you need help into the water? If you keep going you'll end up on your face... let me help."
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Posted: Thu Jan 25, 2007 8:59 pm
The moment 'electronics' were mentioned, a light went on in the boy's mind. Awen, the name he'd repeated dozens of times until it was memorized. How she was changed! She looked almost fully complete like Amaya was but... she looked so happy?
Once memory had kicked in, the teen felt more at ease and began to chuckle as he remembered the time in the entertainment room. "Ehe... neeeh, a' keep me 'ands off them nuh." he hadn't noticed that he was slowly retreating his fin from the water the closer Awen got to him, though it wasn't because of her presence but his compounding hesitation. "uhh..." He mumbled at the considerate offer though he wasn't sure if being tossed into the water would help eleviate his worries. "A' d'neh... a' mean, a' coul do thi'... uh... ye neh a' might.... sink... m'legs.... don' wanneh drown." He managed to crack a weary smile when he was finished his incoherent mumblings, feeling more than slightly embarassed.
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Posted: Thu Jan 25, 2007 9:06 pm
Awen nodded and slowed her progress as she stood in the water just infront of him. Her legs were clearly still in tact with the huge webbed fins for feet. She felt bad at that point, standing over him as though lording over her legs while we was stuck in a wheel chair.
"I doubt you'll not be able to swim." Awen said softly. "And you won't drown because I'm around." A puzzled look crossed the girl's face. "But you haven't even tried swimming yet? I was under the impression you changed to this stage long ago, or so Amaya had me thinking. I mean.. hasn't your skin gotten terribly dry? Hasn't the natural urge driven you to the waters yet?"
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Posted: Thu Jan 25, 2007 9:18 pm
Alec grimaced as Awen came to stand infront of him, looking much more adept at her new lifestyle than himself. To him, he looked more of a fish than she did but he was the one crawling about land in a wheelchair and quivering at the sight of open water. He shamefully drew his eyes away when she began questioning his practices, uncomfortably staring down at a rock by his chair instead. "Neh." He responded in a low tone, head angled like a child being scolded. "'ave been like this fo' awhile bu'... A've stuck t'me bath mostleh." Before she could say anything he quickly added to complete his thought. "Been 'avin a bi' o' a 'ard time, meself."
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Posted: Thu Jan 25, 2007 9:22 pm
Awen opened her mouth to say something and then closed it again. A frown drew upon her lips as she looked down to the man in the wheelchair. She hadn't meant to have gone off on him like that, sometimes she just couldn't help the questions.
"I'm sorry Alec... I didn't mean...." She sighed softly and gave him a slow smile. "Well... whenever you're ready to go to the water I'm sure you will... I can help if that makes you feel any better? The water really is wonderful.... once you're in it."
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Posted: Thu Jan 25, 2007 9:34 pm
Alec nodded slowly, having not taken any of what was said to heart. Things came out wrong all the time and he wasn't in the mood in persecute any more people unjustly. She was right anyways, he really did need to start accepting his form and embracing the advantages. He had been tied up on what he'd lost rather than gained so far, maybe it was time to think a little like Zach? He owed at least that much to the large dragon.
The teen nodded and peered at the swirling rippling around her legs, envying them for a moment. He'd be more willing to accept the water if he didn't feel out of control from the loss of his legs. "Can.... Can ye 'old th'cheh steady while a' ge' ou'?" The request was as innocent as it could get. He didn't want things done for him but he was starting to accept the idea that he'd need some help if he wanted to get certain things done. With that, he began wriggling his way to the edge of his seat in preparation to get off.
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Posted: Thu Jan 25, 2007 9:42 pm
Nodding slowly the manta moved around to grab the wheelchair. She was glad the shark was going to go into the water. Honestly she couldn't imagine trying to deny going into the water for so long. "Whenever your ready."
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Posted: Thu Jan 25, 2007 10:07 pm
Once he was certain Awen's weight was on the chair, Alec grasped the towel that was strewn over himself and wearily paused. "Don' look." The boy mumbled bashfully and with a tinge of irritation before tossing it aside and sliding off the seat in one quick motion. The momentum ended with him landing on his knees (rather painfully) but he wasted little time in scuttling closer to the water as fast as his inching could manage. Once he'd predicted that he was close enough, in deperation the boy belly flopped.
Fortunately he landed in water but certainly not deep enough to warrant any real swimming. In truth, his leg-fins were still very much on land and with the rest of his fins poking out from the water in every angle, he looked rather awkward to say the least. The overall picture that was painted was one very similar to a... beached shark.
After a moment of lying as a pile of dead weight in the shallows, Alec's head popped out of the mud for a gasp of air. Ok, this was not working...
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Posted: Sun Jan 28, 2007 1:20 pm
Awen winced whe nthe shark-man fell face first onto the ground and then watched with a sad look as he flopped into the water. She knew that he said don't look, but she couldn't help she herself in the end. She wanted to make sure that he would be okay, and for that she'd have to watch him.
Once he seemed to be stuck in the shallows Awen moved from behind the wheelchair and started into the water. "Here, um, I'll help pull you in okay?"
She held out her hand as if going to take his arm but paused as she gave him a soft smile, waiting for his response. She knew this must not be too pleasant for the man.
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Posted: Tue Feb 06, 2007 4:45 pm
The young teen let his face submerge into the muddy water up to his nostrils as he remained painfully embarassed and immobilized in the shallows of the lakeshore. He knew it wasn't going to be simple or easy, nothing ever was. Always a hard struggle for that small achievement. With this in mind, he convinced himself that it was much too late to go back on his intentions now and that he had to deal with it.
"Kay." Alec gurgled, water freely pouring out of his shark-like mouth as he lifted his head to speak again. Moments later he had his arms outstretched infront of him, hoping his dead weight wouldn't be too much for the delicate-looking manta ray. "Give an' ol' 'eeve-oh, 'am no' made o' glass." His attempted encouragement sounded a bit distressed, but he meant it.
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Posted: Tue Feb 06, 2007 5:37 pm
Awen smiled softly to the shark and took each arm in a webbed hand. "If ya were I think that fall would have done you in already." She chuckled before giving a pull. The sharkman hardly moved and Awen let out a grunt. So... he'd been a bit heavier than she thought.
Looking down into the shallow water the manta ray struggled to find a good hold in the mud and rock below without hurting her fins. They may not be as delicate as they had been before but the sheer awkwardness of their length prevented it from being an easy task. Finally she just dug her heels into the mud and heeved greatly. Thankfully this time Alec moved a little ways. Taking a few steps back she repeated the process, again and again until she knew the shark could take care of himself, after a little while the water had done most of the work anyway.
"Phew!" She gasped as she pushed herself back into the waters a little bit. "See, wasn't so bad."
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