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 Posted: Tue Jun 06, 2006 5:09 pm
"Pretty much. Only reason I learned to swim was because I wanted to surf." He replied. He reached out for her hands. "Keep kicking and I'll pull you." He said. "Then you'll have to learn to pull yourself."
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Posted: Tue Jun 06, 2006 5:13 pm
"Of course." Galatea stretched her hands out to fit in his. They looked small there but her grip was strong. "Alright. Float and kick, correct?"
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Posted: Tue Jun 06, 2006 5:19 pm
"That's right." Silva said as he backed up slowly.
"You remember when he taught us to swim?" Nick asked as he and Nack climped into the pool on the sandy side. "He tossed us into the deep end and said--"
"If you don't swim, you drown. If you drown, I ain't savin' you." Nack quoted word for word. Both boys laughed and even Aleric's lips twitched slightly. The same thing had happened to him, after all.
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Posted: Tue Jun 06, 2006 5:25 pm
A strange look came over Galatea's face at the arrival of the other two but luckily only Silva could see it. It wasn't any kind of disappointment, however; her brow furrowed as she resisted the urge to twist in Silva's grasp to greet Nick and Nack. She liked them, after all. Finally, she flicked her gaze up at Silva's face. "One moment, please," she whispered. Then, almost gracefully despite the inherent awkwardness of the movement, the little blood feien twisted around, feet pedaling madly to keep her afloat, and smiled at the animal boys. "Hello," she called across the water. "I am glad to see you both again!"
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Posted: Tue Jun 06, 2006 5:29 pm
"Hey, Gala!" Nick bellowed with a wave. "Looking good!"
Nack waved as well, then dived into the water, swimming like a fish to the deep end of the pool. He loved to swim, and had gotten very good at it with all the days they had spent doing exactly this.
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Posted: Tue Jun 06, 2006 5:34 pm
"Thank you, Nick!" Twisting back around and trying to relax her body into a float again, Galatea smiled to herself. Then she flicked her gaze back up to Silva. "Did you really throw them into the water and trust in their instincts, Silva?" she asked softly.
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Posted: Tue Jun 06, 2006 5:36 pm
"Something like that." Silva admitted, only his eyes showing how amused he had been by that situation.
"Yeah. He didn't care about our instincts at all." Nack called as he surfaced. "But it's our own faults. We wanted to learn how to surf, too."
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Posted: Tue Jun 06, 2006 5:42 pm
"I think I will just learn swimming first," Galatea announced. Then she turned her head just enough to squint across at Nack. The look in her eyes was clearly impressed with his swimming abilities. "But I don't think that he would have actually let you drown. Silva is too brave. That would be cowardly." The logic might escape everyone else but it clearly worked in her own little brain. "And you are a very strong swimmer, Nack. You obviously learned very, very well."
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Posted: Tue Jun 06, 2006 5:45 pm
Silva and Nack looked at each other, both remembering the first time that Aleric had almost drowned. At the time Silva hadn't cared if the ancinet lived or died. But he had saved him.
But neither brought it up, under silent consent. "You want to learn how to float on your back?" Nack asked with a grin. He couldn't touch here he was, but with his tail moving as well as his legs, he didn't have any trouble staying above water. "It's easier for feien, with the wings and stuff."
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Posted: Tue Jun 06, 2006 5:50 pm
Galatea glanced at Silva as if for encouragement and then she nodded politely at Nack. "I would like that very much, I think," she replied. "Are you going to help teach me?"
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Posted: Tue Jun 06, 2006 5:53 pm
"Sure!" He said, swimming over to them to where he could stand. "You have to move onto your back and relax. Let your feet float upwards until you're lying on your back." He said. "We'll catch you if you start to sink."
Silva hid his grin, moving into position as Nack explained. The little skunk boy always had been better at this sort of thing than he had.
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Posted: Tue Jun 06, 2006 6:02 pm
Galatea nodded carefully and, releasing one of Silva's hands, she rolled over. There was a moment when she had a faceful of water but it passed and then, blinking hard and blowing out softly, she was facing skywards. Experimentally, she stretched out her wings underneath her to stabilize her float. Her feet drifted up higher and, suddenly, she giggled as her toes broke the surface and she wiggled them experimentally. "Like this?"
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Posted: Tue Jun 06, 2006 6:06 pm
"Exactly." Nack said with a grin. He glanced up at Silva with a question in his eyes. Silva shrugged. "Not much else you should learn just now." He went on when he didn't get a clear commitment from Silva. "Except swimming under water if you want to."
"I'll leave that to you, kid." Silva said. "The board's free." And he walked away before Nack could reply.
"I uh... hope you don't mind?" Nack asked her.
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Posted: Tue Jun 06, 2006 6:13 pm
"Oh, no. Of course not. You're wonderful." Galatea rushed to reassure him and, in the process, nearly overturned herself. Eyes going wide, she gulped and reached out for his hand as her feet went downwards and she began kicking instinctively. She flushed in embarassment and forced herself to release his hand as she tread water, chewing on her bottom lip. "I'm sorry. I lost my center of gravity, I suppose," she whispered. Then she looked up, eyes worried. "I'm sorry."
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Posted: Tue Jun 06, 2006 6:15 pm
He grinned. "It's fine, really. You're just learning. Soon you'll be just like Nick and trying to drown me whenever you think I need it." He reached out, holding a hand under her back, just in case. "So... why did you really come over here?" He asked softly. "If it's for advice I'm afraid that Silva's probably not the best choice."
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