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 Posted: Mon Aug 20, 2007 7:50 pm
Aiden stood knee-deep in the warm waters of the lagoon, watching a seabird bob gently on the surface. He wondered briefly if it had been the same bird he'd seen several times since he first became stranded on this island. The bird he kept seeing had a dinged-up beak, though, and from this distance he couldn't tell it the gull drifting merrily on the small ripples had a beak like that or not. It didn't matter, though.
Aiden liked coming to the lagoon, because it was so isolated. It was his special place. He had found it some time ago, back when he had been mapping the area near camp. He hadn't told anyone about it yet, and he didn't plan on doing so either. He wanted to keep this his place as long as he could, though he knew eventually the others would find it. Maybe they already had, and he just didn't know it.
But he supposed in the end it didn't matter. It was nice that he could come here and be alone for now. Sometimes, when he felt on the verge of a breakdown, or when he just needed to get away from his little area, away from the camp... he could run through the trees to the open area of the lagoon and either throw himself down on the beach, or just sit at the water's edge. Ever since he'd met the Asian kid down here a few days ago, he'd decided to keep his clothes on when he went into the water. He didn't need to risk anyone else who might have found the little lagoon seeing him in his skivies...or less. No one needed to see that.
Of course, this meant that he didn't go much deeper than his knees now- he didn't want to get his clothes terribly wet. Even if they dried quick in the sun, they were uncomfortable and chafing until they dried. But even so, he never went much deeper than his waist at the most. He couldn't swim, and he was pretty much terrified of going any deeper into the water.
As the wind ruffled his hair some, he sighed. There were times he wished he could swim, and that he wasn't so stupidly afraid of deep water. You're a pansy, you know, his mind mocked. It was a stupid fear- especially since the water was so calm here. But once he got deeper than his waist, he felt the familiar tight panic rise in his chest, along with the instinct to just back out as quick as he could. It was weird, but ever since he had gotten to this island, there had been another weird sort of urge to wade about in the water and streams a lot more. He knew that some of the people, once they changed, had to keep the affected area wet down. Wesley had told him this when he first changed but...he never felt that way. He didn't itch or anything like the others reported, but the water did feel nice, he had to admit.
Maybe he was imagining it all. Being stuck on the island in the hot sun could do that to a person.
He looked over his shoulder to the shore briefly. His driftwood walking stick- decked with seashells and seaweed- lay in front of his Teva sandals. His tanktop was folded up nearby the pile. Other than that, the beach looked vacant. He turned back around and looked at the wide expanse of water that made up the lagoon, and the lone seabird. It sure was quiet today.
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Posted: Tue Aug 21, 2007 1:51 am
There were so many pathes to life that it becomes hard to chose just one. Each path would lead to a different destination than the other. Each had it sown destiny to fulfill...or just wanted to cause someone trouble for the fates to enjoy. Either way, the path Hailey was on was a lost one.
No, not lost ina sense of losing herse;f--beside she knew she was all ready losing it. But her 'lost' of direction. She had been wandering around the shore after taking a dip in the waters to soothe her scales...and the heat go to her mind..fried it, over cooked and somehow she found her way to here. Here, where a pair of sandels were laying down with a folded shirt to match.
She scrunched her nose in confusion. 'What the hell? ' She thought before looking furhter up...and there was a human boyd. A tan human body at that. She was looking at the backside of someone--someone she met before? A sigh fell from her life, where there more people popping on up the island likes daisies that she didn't know? Amber eyes observed the person for a moment, they just seem to be in the water...and doing nothing else.
All she could hear was the gentle breeze of the wind and waves crashing...and all she saw was some person..standing in the water. Her eyes rolled at the stupidity of the sight. Was the person going to do anything or would he--the person was shirtless so it couldn't be a girl--wait for sea turtles to come and save him?
"Are you doing anything over there?" She asked, breaking the silence in an annoyed tone of voice. Maybe the person would respond...or continue to stand still like a duck. If he chose the latter then he surely was stupid.
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Posted: Tue Aug 21, 2007 7:37 pm
The seabird dipped it head under the water, making Aiden wonder if there were fish living in the lagoon. They'd probably be saltwater fish, which meant there was a good chance they'd be bigger than the fish he'd found in his little stream. All that thought did, though, was make Aiden wish he could swim a little more, if only to get more food.
But then again, who knew what else lurked out there? Sharks? Poison fish that'd kill you in seconds flat? He'd read about fish like that. He shuddered at the thought and slowly started to back towards the shore, nervously looking down at his feet through the clear waters of the lagoon. Maybe the idea of a fish dinner just wasn't worth it. What kind of things lurked under the sand or along the shore?
He started a bit when he heard a voice cut the silence, and sucked in a sharp breath, He stopped where he was and turned to see the source of the voice. It was a feminine voice, and there were only two girls he knew on the island- Alcine and Hailey. Had another person washed up? He waded along the shore, still cautious as to where he was stepping, towards the person. Obviously, they'd gone through a change or two. He could tell that much from where he was. But as he got closer, he realized it was a relatively familiar face. Hailey. God, he hadn't seen her in awhile, he had only heard she'd changed...and had she ever. He felt a pang of pity for the girl, and guilt that his changes had been so mild. All and all, she didn't look all that bad, though. He decided not to make any comments along those lines or the lines of 'looking good'. They seemed like poor comments to give someone who'd changed like that.
Still, he smiled and waved to the woman. "Me? Not doing anything at all. Just...wading. Hanging out." he said, smiling. "I, haven't seen you in a dog's age. How have you been?" he started innocently enough.
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Posted: Tue Aug 21, 2007 11:40 pm
Well, the person had a brain. Said human decided to come in her direction. As he did, Hailey noticed something about him that brought forth a sense of...deja vu? 'Have I seen him before?' She thought to herself, crossing her arms over her chest as she waited for the man to come closer into her view.
And just loook who it was. Aiden.
Apparently he had changed too--wasn't everybody doing that these days? It was only a matter of time that a person was a human till they changed into something...water related. But from looking at Aiden...he seemed to have gotten darker...with freckles...and whiskers? She didn't see that coming. A smile came across her face once she saw his. Smiles were indeed contagious.
"I...wow...you...Sorry, I suppose we've both changed...alot. I'm doing fine...aside from the whole tale and scales. What about you? " She asked, taking no offense to the question of her well being. It was natural to ask after not seeing someone after so long, even if they were turning into a fish.
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Posted: Wed Aug 22, 2007 8:17 pm
He realized after he had said it, that 'how are you doing' was probably just as bad as 'looking good'. His whiskers drooped accordingly, though he didn't do it on purpose. It seemed his whiskers like to do things on their own time- they quivered and twitched when he got excited or angry, and drooped when he was shocked or unhappy. However, he found that he could wiggle them at will now too- he'd been able to since a week or so after he changed. His ears would twitch a bit too with his emotions, though admittedly not as much.
He supposed, as far as slightly involuntarily body motion went, he was on the lucky end. He remembered Ian's most recent change, and the kid's rogue tail... he was glad he didn't have to deal with that. Yet. Hopefully not ever. He could help glance at Hailey's tail as she mentioned it, but he looked back up at her face shortly after. He didn't want to stare- that was just rude, especially with the sensitive nature of the changes. He couldn't help but wonder if her tail was as rebellious as Ian's had been.
He shrugged at her question and maintained his smile. "Decent, you know. As decent as I could be in these circumstances. Been dealing with the shakes a bit since my flask ran dry. I needed to stop drinking anyways, bad for the liver." he said, fidgeting with his hands. He did hate the fact he was out of Vodka. He decided not to complain too much about his lack of booze, though. He didn't want to come off as too much of a booze-hound and make a bad impression. Change the subject, change the subject... "I, ah, I moved from the camp area over to the old abandoned air base place a little while ago too. Or well, I'm almost moved there now. Got a few other things to migrate over. But the lagoon's a lot bigger than I thought, and it's easily accessible from the base so at least I can still come here to chill. I mean, not this exact area, but I'm sure their are nice alcoves over there anyways. But it doesn't matter, as long as it's quiet...I don't do much swimming. Any swimming, actually. I can't swim." he said, babbling a bit.
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Posted: Wed Aug 22, 2007 11:08 pm
Hailey watched as the whiskers on Aiden's face drooped. It was cute in a sort of comical kind of way. Maybe Hailey should be happy she didn't receive anything like that from her change. It would be kind of weird to see a girl with whiskers on her face. Then again...Aiden didn't have a tail...well at least not yet.
A small frown appeared on her lips, Aiden had been shaking? 'Poor guy, he doesn't have his ...alcohol anymore. ' She thought for a moment before disregarding the thought. It was better this way, that way Aiden wouldn't die of liver failure...but they all might die of jungle fever. She was surprised to hear he was moving to the airbase a bit odd but Jessie was there...so neither one of them could be lonely there. Well, not too lonely anyway.
Hailey raised an eyebrow at the notion of 'can't swim'. Aiden had to be kidding her right? Everyone knew how to swim...well at least everyone. She looked briefly back at her tail...well, since she was turning into a fish...might as well try to make the best out of it.
"Well...since we are here at the lagoon...why don't I teach you how to swim? " She asked, turning her attention back to Aiden and away from her tail which wiggled happily at the mention of swimming.
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Posted: Thu Aug 23, 2007 9:57 pm
Swim? Teach him to swim? He swallowed. He refused to admit openly to the girl that going deeper than his waist gave him panic attacks. It was a stupid fear anyways, and he'd probably do better with someone else with him. Or at least he hoped. Nothing said 'bad impression' like tweaking in chest-deep water and trying to cling to someone like a terrified child.
But...lately he'd felt inclined to wade around a little more than normally. It wasn't a need, like for the other afflicted people, but it was a want. He was half scared though, that immersing him in this water would somehow cause a change or mutation like the others. Or he could be attacked by something poison or fierce. Couldn't forget that possibility. But yet...
He gave a nervous smile, the slight tail-wagging not going unnoticed on his part. "S-sure. That sounds...fun." he managed.
When his sister pestered him like this, he could easily tell her to go away, or find excuses to stay on shore. With his guy friend he could just tell them to screw off. Or like with his sister, make an excuse. With other people like this that he didn't know too well, especially women, he felt compelled to oblige their requests. Damn his chivalrous nature!
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Posted: Fri Aug 24, 2007 9:15 pm
The smile on her face grew but quickly dissolved. Was that hesitation on Aiden's part? Plus that nervous smile of his. A small frowm came across her lips, was he afraid to swim or was it because he didn't want a girl teaching him how?
"You know..." She began, putting her hands over her chest...trying to look not threatening or forcing Aiden into doing anything against his will. "If you don't want to, I don't have to teach you. You seemed to be doing fine on your own." Hailey said in a gentle tone of voice.
"I mean, you seemed nervous about this. Is there anything bothering you?" She asked, hoping to get to the root of Aiden's nervousness.
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Posted: Sat Aug 25, 2007 8:07 pm
He held up his hands, eyes widening a bit and his smile fading. Even though she wasn't right out saying she'd leave, and was using such a gentle tone, the way she said 'you seemed to be doing fine on your own' alarmed him a bit. He didn't want her to leave just yet. She was nice to talk to. Hell, anyone would be nice to talk to after being alone as much as he had been lately. He liked solitude and all but s**t...sometimes a guy just needed to be around people. Even if he wasn't a social butterfly.
He relaxed a little and lowered his hands some after realizing he was being a bit irrational. God, he was being stupid lately. He needed to chill. He didn't know why he was so paranoid, so on edge lately.
"It's nothing, really. Swimming just makes me nervous. I mean, I don't know how so...fear of the unknown." he said. He wasn't lying, just...not telling the whole truth.
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Posted: Sun Aug 26, 2007 2:59 pm
'Uh-oh...' Thought Hailey, watching the smile on Aiden's face slowly fade. She didn't mean anything bad by saying he was doing fine on his own. She was stating what she observed, there were no ill feelings behind it. All Hailey wanted to know was, what was bothering him...and she just added to it. Her luck really wasn't good today.
Finally the truth set him free...and Hailey as well. He had a fear of water...or swimming in general. The phobia is most common, after all anything could happen in the water. A shark attack--thought rare--could happen...or Aiden could drown....Hailey shoved the thoughts away. She didn't need that on her mind while trying to help her friend.
"Well, its a natural and healthy fear." She began, trying to think of a way to help Aiden. "How about....you show me how far into the water you can go and we'll work from there?" The suggestion was a start...it would give her an idea of how comfortable Aiden was in the water.
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Posted: Mon Aug 27, 2007 7:28 pm
He seemed relieved that she was willing to work with him, and that she didn't outright laugh at him for having such a lame fear. A sort of sheepish grin crept back onto his face, along with a slight blush.
"Heh, okay then. I feel so lame for having such a stupid fear, though..." he said.
He stepped back for a moment onto the beach and unbuttoned his cargo shorts, slipping them down. He wasn't trying to be indecent or anything, but if he was going to wade into the water at any depth, he didn't want his shorts getting wet. Technically, it'd be better for him to just take off his boxers and leave his cargo shorts on, but he didn't want to bother with trying to negotiate THAT change. Whatever, his boxer shorts would dry quicker anyways. And they covered everything they needed to, so he figured it'd be fine.
He kicked his shorts off and looked at Hailey briefly, still grinning a bit goofily. "I'm not...I just don't want to get both pairs of shorts wet." he explained hastily, tossing his shorts over to the pile of his stuff.
He looked out at the lagoon and began to wade out, somewhat hesitantly. He kept looking down through the water, just to make sure he wasn't going to step on a jellyfish or a stingray or something. Wading in was made somewhat easier by the fact the water was warmer than the water back home. He got to about his upper thighs and felt the familiar apprehension begin to set in. He swallowed and kept going in a bit deeper, until he was in to about his waist. He felt his heart begin to beat faster, knocking against his ribcage, and the familiar apprehension became a bit more intense and nagging. He shivered a bit, but he didn't want to stop here. That would be stupid. Who could only go in up to their waist?
He took a few more steps, feeling the water creep up past his belly button. He got to the point where the water was lapping gently under his pecs (or the area where his pectoral muscles would be, if he had any real muscles- which he really didn't) before he had to stop. He felt his legs lock and his body shudder a bit. His throat felt tight, and his heart rate had jumped up. Being surrounded by the water...he didn't like it much. He couldn't go any further. He swallowed heavily once more and stumbled back a few steps until the water was back above his bellybutton before stopping. This was good. This was fine. No use pushing himself and panicking. that would REALLY make him look stupid.
He turned back around and forced a grin, crossing his arms over his chest. "This...this is good. Why don't we go from here?" he said, trying not to let his voice quaver.
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Posted: Fri Aug 31, 2007 10:32 pm
Hailey gave a simple nod and turned her head away from Aiden. She wanted to give the man some privacy while he changing. All though Hailey knew the anatomy of a man, she didn't want to watch Aiden change...that would be border line perverted, something that Hailey would never do. Out of the corner of her eye she saw him give a goofy smile to her, earning him a chuckle. Once he was done cahnging Hailey watched as he went into the water.
It was an odd sight to see...he was doing fine and then he seemed as though he would run out of the water. 'How to conquer his fear...' She thought, studying Aiden's response to shallow and deep water. When Aiden was 'ready' Hailey joined him in the water. The liquid felt cool and refreshing against her scales. She went in without taking off her pants or shirt, something she was getting used to doing.
"Okay...but....how about a few steps back? You seem a little stressed...and its better to start in shallow water." She said, walking furhter in until the water touched the front pockets of her jeans.
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Posted: Mon Sep 03, 2007 2:34 pm
In retrospect, Aiden figured he should have given a bit more forewarning he'd be taking his pants off, instead of waiting until he was halfway through the act. But a lot of things seemed like great ideas in hindsight, and Hailey had turned away anyways. But it wasn't like he had been doing anything indecent- he was just taking off his outer shorts. But such behavior in front of a lady... it wasn't proper. He couldn't do much about it anyways- he was already up to his waist in the water, and his shorts were back on the shore.
He noticed Hailey opted for coming into the water with her pants and shirt on. That was fine with him, though. He was sure that if she had decided to strip down a bit, he'd have blushed up a storm (not that he would have complained- he wasn't the best at asserting himself around women), even if he wasn't that interested in the opposite gender.
He nodded at her words and came forward a bit until he was closer to where she had stopped, standing just in front of her. He still felt stupid that he couldn't go much deeper...or that he was so crap at hiding his distress. Jesus, you're so lame, he mind badgered.
"O-okay, so now what?" he intoned, trying to stave off the self-degrading thoughts.
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Posted: Mon Sep 10, 2007 8:34 pm
A small smile came on her lips, hoping the gesture would calm Aiden down a little. ‘The water really isn’t his element’ she thought to herself. Now came the question, what to do now? At first, Hailey thought it would be easy. After all, teaching someone to swim shouldn’t be that hard. Then again, Aiden was afraid of water and Hailey never taught someone how to swim before. Maybe she should’ve come up with a plan before starting anything. An idea came into her mind, the water had to be deep enough for Aiden to try to float—if he didn’t know how all ready.
“Okay, well can you float?” She asked, sinking into the water until her back was laying on the water with her arms a little off to the side. Her tail gave a happy wiggle being submerged into the liquid, something Hailey still wasn’t used to yet. After demonstrating for a few seconds, she stood straight up with her clothes dripping wet.
“See? Its easy, plus its one of the basics that is essential to living here in case you get lost in the sea and—and I’m babbling again.” A nervous chuckle escaped her lips, she hoped she was giving out the right information—for Aiden’s sake at least.
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Posted: Sun Sep 16, 2007 7:44 pm
He did seem to settle a bit as he noticed Hailey smiling. There was just something placating about a smile. Aiden had always thought it was a bit weird that humans found comfort in such a gesture- anywhere else in nature, smiling was often seen as a warning or a challenge. Humans, he supposed, were an odd species compared to most animals but hey, they were at the top of the food chain for a reason, right? He moved his mind away from thoughts of sociology and development (such subject tended to make his head hurt after awhile anyways) and situated it on listening and focusing on Hailey.
Floating? He watched her demonstrate and nodded slightly. He knew how to in theory, though he hadn't done it many times. That had been the first thing his sister had tried to teach him as well, back when she had been more adamant about teaching him to swim. Back when they were kids. Back before she had given up for the most part and let him be. He wasn't terribly fond of lowering himself into the water and getting his breathing holes so close to be submerged, but it was just a basic move, right? It wasn't like he'd drown just trying to float in waist-deep water, for crissakes. And Hailey was there. Still, he was nervous. He felt stupid for being such a wuss though.
But at the sight of Hailey's tail wiggling contentedly in the water, he gave a grin of his own, letting those thoughts of self-hate be pushed back for a moment. He wasn't laughing rudely, but rather chuckling bemusedly. He hoped she didn't take his smirk the wrong way, like Leonard had a few days back (which had ensured in a fight ending only when Aiden had drawn his knife, causing Leonard to leave in a hurry- not that Aiden blamed him). he just found her tail...cute? Maybe that was the word. Interesting. He wondered if anyone found his whiskers and ears 'cute'- probably not, though if anyone did, it was probably the girls. It didn't matter anyways; changes and a situation like this was nothing to smile about. He turned his amused grin into a more polite, acknowledging smile after those thoughts (not that it was much different; but he didn't want to get anyone else mad at him).
"Er, well...yeah, I can do that. It looks easy enough." he said, nodding his head.
He got down and tried to stretch out over the water like Hailey had, but only succeeded in sinking first of all as he bent at the waist, water level washing briefly over his face. He flailed a bit and sputtered, spitting salty water out of his mouth and snorting a bit. After a bit more flailing, he managed to achieve a back-float. It wasn't as good as Hailey's had been- he was still slightly bent at the waist, so his belly, waist and thighs sunk down a bit, but for the most part he had managed to float. He was blushing though- he still felt dim for messing up so badly at first. He felt dim in general for needing help with something so elementary. But he supposed that it was about damn time he at least started to learn swimming.
He was scared too, though. Or...maybe not scared, per se, but nervous. He could feel his heart thudding in his chest, blood rushing through his ears. He felt a little shaky inside, but he wasn't trembling outwardly. He was just...uneasy. He wasn't used to being supine in water deeper than a bathtub. He was able to reassure himself, and keep himself somewhat cool by remembering that he was only in waist-deep water; he could easily touch the bottom and stand up if worst came to worst. Hailey was there. And how many people had ever drowned in shallow water? He'd be fine. He hoped so, anyways.
"So...now what?" he finally managed, looking up at Hailey.
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