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 Posted: Sun Jul 29, 2012 5:03 pm
After the obvious deficiency that was evident from their sailing trip, Neri had taken it upon herself to give T'rel swimming lessons. Whether he was capable or not, it was clear that he was not confident in water, and that just wouldn't do for a former weyrleader Ista! It was also her little way of apologizing for pushing him in the water, even if he didn't appreciate it.
It was a pleasant enough day, warm as any Istan summer, although it was early. Since T'rel insisted that no one be there to watch this, they had come down close to dawn, when the Bay was still empty of people and the sun was was only just peaking out behind the walls of the Bowl. She guessed that the early hour was probably the only that had allowed her to drag him out her with so little resistance- he was still half asleep.
Neri had both hands looped around his arm, and was walking a little ahead of him, pulling him along as she went. Even early as it was, it was still warm and Neri was smiling and talking animately as they walked, with a warm basket of 'rewards' (read: bubblypies) for him when he did well.
"I know you can swim." she told him, continuing the argument they'd been having the whole walk down to the Bay. "But any animal can do that- even canines and runnerbeasts. But learning to swim, really mastering it, that's what builds your confidence in the water!" she insisted.
"Here." she said, stopping by the shore of the bay. She put the basket down on the sands and took both his hands. "We'll start with a really basic stroke. Don't worry. It'll be fun." she said, leading him slowly into the water.
Indeed. added Bayeth pleasantly, who was already floating in the Bay, their acting lifeguard if anything went wrong.
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Posted: Sun Jul 29, 2012 5:30 pm
T'rel was much less animated and cheerful in the mornings; but at sharding fardling shelled dawn? He was, in all senses of the phrase but one, a walking corpse. He had bags under his eyes. A scowl was lining his face, forehead wrinkled in displeasure. He hated mornings. He absolutely hated mornings. He especially hated mornings where he felt disfunctional.
"I swim fine," he protested, attempting to pull his arm away from the greenrider. "I don't need to master it. I don't need to swim..." And why would he? With Zelith, he felt no need for other forms of transportation. Why would he need to master swimming? He wasn't planning on going on any boats without his dragon by his side. "Whose dimglowed idea was this?" he grumbled. "Shards, Neri. Couldn't you let me sleep?"
Despite his protests, he allowed the greenrider to lead him into the water. "Fine." Maybe he'd find a way to distract her, and then sneak off? Then he'd be able to sleep! "Whatever you want."
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Posted: Sun Jul 29, 2012 5:44 pm
"It was your idea." she reminded him. Well, he'd agreed to it at least. "You said you wanted to overcome your fear of water- well, this is the best way!" She may have been twisting his words a little, but it was all for a good cause.
"You may never have to swim, but then again you never know. And that's not why you do it, you do it because it's fun! It's a great bonding experience, for one thing, between dragons, kids, anyone! Anyway, it's such a shame if you're not comfortable in the water, because you're missing out on so much. Do you never see people playing around in the Bay and want to join in?"
As she talked, Neri walked back until she was up to her shoulders in the water, still holding onto T'rel's hands. It was cool, not unpleasantly so, but hopefully enough to wake him up a little. "Alright, kick your legs -I know you can do that- and I'll hold onto your hands so you can balance."
"Lesson one is all about the kick. Don't flail, just keep you legs mostly stright, but with a slight bend in the knee. Focus on the entire leg as you kick, and try not to let your feet splash out of the water too much." she paused. "Got all that? Alright, now you try."
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Posted: Tue Jul 31, 2012 12:26 am
"It sharding well was not!" T'rel snapped, shivering at the feel of water on his skin. It wasn't particularly cold, not really, but after having spent several candlemarks under bedfurs, anything less than warm felt like freezing tempatures. "I can swim, Neri! I really, and truly can." To make his point, he let go of Neri's hand and splashed her rather angrily. "Stop treating me like some dimglowed kid, Neri." He resented having been woken up at dawn, and more than that, he resented being treated like he was stupid. "I'm not afraid of shallow water like this," he tried to explain. How was he supposed to explain that? Was the fear of deep water so irrational? He'd been taught to swim in a shallow stream near Fort. "It's the deep water I don't like."
He paused and shrugged. "I don't know," he mused, standing up so his feet were touching the sandy bottom of the bay. "Dark, deep water's always frightened me. I don't like it. It feels like I could be sucked down and under at any moment. I just... don't feel comfortable in it. I don't see why I would need to." He yawned, stretching his arms. "And I don't see why you woke me up so sharding early, Neri. I hate being woken up early."
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Posted: Tue Jul 31, 2012 7:41 am
"You said you didn't want anyone watching. What do you think the chances of the Bay being empty are during the day?" she sighed. "And do you have to argue with everything I do? I'm only trying to help you."
"I know you can swim, T'rel, I said I knew." she assured him, quickly, as he began to get angry. "But it doesn't remove the fact that you haven't been taught. At least, not properly. If you don't know how to do it right, it's the same as not knowing how at all- in fact, it's worse. You've picked up all the wrong habits as well."
"I know you're not afraid of this." she said, gesturing the Bay behind them with a wave of her hand. "But my hope is, that once you're a really strong swimmer, you won't be afraid of deeper water either. We'll see." she added, with a shrug. But the least she could do was try. "I don't think it's a silly fear." she said, shaking her head sombrely. Some people said that, even made fun of him for it, and that's what Neri couldn't stand. As if they were so tough! She'd like to throw them all in the ocean during a storm and see how long they were laughing then. "Deep water is dangerous. Against a strong current, a non-swimmer can be swept away in a second. You're probably smarter for being afraid."
She paused, as though dwelling on that. Certainly she knew people who had died that way. If you swam out too far, the currents could carry you right out to sea before anyone could save you. Yet from her serious look, she suddenly smiled. "But that doesn't mean it's not a fear we can conquer!" she said, taking his hands again, and giving them an encouraging squeeze. "Now come on, if you're such a great swimmer, show me already!" she said, splashing him back for getting her before. "In a couple of days, I'll make you the strongest swimmer in all of Ista, and then no one would dare make fun of you."
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Posted: Thu Aug 02, 2012 12:04 pm
"Yes," T'rel replied simply. In that three letter word, he both affirmed he had asked for Neri to make sure no one else would be watching, and that he did have to argue with everything she did. That was part of the fun. He smirked at her. "You could have at least let me stop to fetch some klah or some breakfast," he said. "I might not have been so moody, then." He studied her, and frowned. He opened his mouth to argue that yes, he had been taught. To swim in a shallow, slow river near the Harperhall. He seemed to think better of it, however, and instead addressed the greenrider's next statement.
"I don't know, Neri," he said. "I can swim fine. As long as I'm not in deep water--" he gave a shudder at the thought. "But I'd like to become a stronger swimmer," he added hurriedly. He rarely heard others teasing him. T'rel was still as oblivious as he ever had been. Happily so. "Is it?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. "I'd rather have someone who wasn't doing something right than someone who didn't know the subject at all. It's easier to correct something small. At least when it comes to flying." He smirked and shrugged. It was always easier to correct someone's position. If they didn't, they would end up making the same mistake during Threadfall--and T'rel couldn't allow that.
He shook his head at her, before allowing himself to relax in the water. "If I drown, I'm blaming you," he said.
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Posted: Fri Aug 03, 2012 2:53 pm
"Oh? Hmm.. I suppose." she admitted. Although, where would the fun be in that? "Don't they say something about not eating right before you go swimming? Or is that just a superstition?" she muttered to herself, with feigned curiosity, although she was clearly just making up excuses. She shugged one shoulder. "Well, I brought us some breakfast anyways." she said, nodding to the basket, which T'rel must somehow have missed.
"No, no, no." Neri said matter-of-factly, though more to herself than to T'rel. "It's much better not to know anything. Then you can start right from the beginning, the right way. Less bad habits to break." she said with a definitive nod.
Ridiculous. said Bayeth indignantly, who was waiting nearby should anything happen. Does he not trust us? Why should he doubt my ability to save him. I am quite capable. As are you, Mine, I suppose. she added, as an afterthought.
"Don't worry. We won't let you drown." Neri said, confidently. Both in herself, and her dragon.
No indeed. Bayeth agreed, more pleasantly, soothed by Neri's confidence in her.
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Posted: Fri Aug 03, 2012 4:34 pm
"That's a supersition," T'rel grumbled, clearly still not ready to forgive Neri for waking him up at dawn. He wasn't a morning person in the least. "you can get cramps any time, you know. Especially when the water's cool." Or so his foster mother had told him. He looked back at the shore, grinning when he caught sight of the basket of bubblypies.
"A decent breakfast," he mused aloud. "I suppose I could swim a bit, then. But I'm not going to hold your hands." He made a face at her. "I have to have some pride, Neri." He kicked away from her, showing how he could move. He wasn't a particularly strong swimmer, but he wasn't a lost cause. He had simply been taught in the wrong place. He swam as if he was swimming against the current of a river, rather than the waves of the sea.
"You promise?" he asked, voicing boyish concern. "You promise you won't let me drown?"
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Posted: Mon Aug 06, 2012 3:13 pm
"Tch." Neri rolled her eyes. "Don't be such a baby. It's just a way of balancing, so you can isolate the different parts of your stroke. But fine," Since he seemed so insistant, Neri let go. She made circles with her arms and drifted away a few paces. "Really! No one I've ever taught before made such a fuss." she said, giggling and shaking her head. He was so shy!
"Now you're just teasing me!" Neri said, slapping her hand in the water, to make a slight splash in front of his face. She put her hand on her hip crossly, but she was still grinning. "No, T'rel." she insisted. "For the third time we won't let you drown. Although I'm beginning to wonder why we try to hard." she said, cheekily, turning her head to Bayeth.
Indeed. He clearly doesn't appreciate us. Bayeth said, playing along.
As T'rel began to swim, Neri effortlessly flipped onto her side and followed him, while offering advice and minor improvements. "Alright, not bad." she admitted once it was looking strong. "Now how good are you at holding your breath?" she asked, since that was the bane of most weak swimmers. Her own brother hated putting his head under the water for a long while.
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Posted: Tue Aug 07, 2012 4:27 pm
T'rel didn't answer. He demonstrated instead. He bent down and puffed out his cheeks, plunging underwater. It was only a few moments later that he surfaced, frowning. "There," he said, shaking his head like a wet canine. His curls, wet from the water, bounced and clung to his skin as he did so. He hated the feel of wet hair on his skin. He attempted to flick it off of his face.
"Now I feel all slimey," he complained. "And sticky. And I'm all wet." He really did dislike the feel of water against his skin. Especially when his hair was wet. "Now what?" he asked, once he felt he'd recovered enough to speak without complaining. "Do you think you can teach me?" He smirked at her, unable to resist teasing. "Or am I doing everything wrong?"
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Posted: Sat Aug 11, 2012 2:58 pm
Neri took a breath and went under the water, pulling herself towards him with a single stroke of her arms. Neri laughed and brushed away a piece of hair that was still plastered to his face. "You're not sticky!" she said, giggling.
At T'rel's question, Neri put a hand on her chin, looking him up and down with an appraising eye. "It'll be difficult." she sighed, with mock-reservation, though grinning (as always) to let him know she was only teasing. "But I always like a challenge."
"The first thing you need to do is learn how to breath, and put your head underwater when you swim." Neri said, back to business. "If you panic every time the water hits your face, you can imagine what'll happen when you're out at the sea where the waves are."
"Well not that you're that bad." she said. But that was the main problem she had when teaching people to swim in the ocean. Actually, he was better than she'd expected. Not a great breath, but at least he wasn't afraid to put his head under the water.
"But... before that." Neri started with a cheeky grin. If T'rel was very perceptive, he might notice she was beginning to edge her way away from him with small cirlces of her hands under the water, towards the direction of the shore. "I think it's time we had some of those bubblypies.. But only if I don't eat them all first!" she cried suddenly, and as she did, her arms and legs flattened to her body and she plummeted into the water. When her feet hit the floor of the Bay, she kicked off hard, shooting out of the water in a clean arc into her stroke, racing T'rel to the shore. Now she'd see what he could really do!
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Posted: Tue Aug 14, 2012 8:35 pm
"Slimy, wet and sticky," T'rel complained, shaking his head to further rid himself of the water. "I don't know how you stand this, Neri. I feel like I've been out in the sun all day, sweating." He wrinkled his nose, pushing his hair off of his face. He flashed her a small smirk. "A challenge, am I?" he asked, seemingly delighted with the description.
"Pies?" He echoed hopefully, following her gaze. He took off after her, but was unable to keep up. His strides were much slower paced than hers were. "You can't eat them all!" he chased after her, scowling. Bubblypies were a special treat. Certainly a rare breakfast. "You're fast," he informed her as he struggled to the shore. "But I won't have you eating all my pies."
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Posted: Mon Aug 27, 2012 2:41 pm
Once out of the water, Neri ran to the basket and grabbed the two bubblypies from the top. Laughing, she stuffed one in her mouth, then held the other aloft like she wasn't going to give it to him. She tried playing keep-away with him, but eventually she had to hand him one so she could wipe her mouth (her other hand was occupied in keeping him away) as crumbs were spilling down her chin from when she'd stuffed the pie in in one go. When she had finally chewed and swallowed (between laughing and panting for breath this took longer than you'd think) she gasped, took a breath, and looked back at T'rel, grinning mischeviously.
"That's the treat." she said, still laughing, mostly at herself. "But I brought other food too." she finally admitted, nodding at the picnic basket which was filled with a variety of somewhat healthier breakfast options. Neri collapsed down on the ground by the basket. Between racing here and struggling to breath, she was suddenly exhausted!
You two look ridiculous. Bayeth informed her.
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Posted: Wed Sep 12, 2012 3:23 pm
T'rel was out of breath when he clambored onto the shore. He rose an eyebrow at her when she held the uneaten bubblypie in the air. "Give me that!" he protested, reaching for it. It wasn't that Neri was taller than he was--he'd only just realized how tired swimming made him. His arms felt like they had strings tying them to his sides. "Neri, I'm starving!" He beamed at her when the pie was finally surrendered, eating it in two and a half bites. He smirked at her.
"You've gotten all messy," he teased her. "Even Ionan knows how to eat pies without making a mess." He used his thumb to gently clear her chin of crumbs before sticking it in his mouth. "You can't waste pies," he explained, grinning at her. He took hold of the picnic basket, holding it above his head.
"And now, this is mine."
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