Welcome to Gaia! ::

Jove was not used to students stalking him.

The last time he had heard furtive movements creeping closer and closer, he had a wendigo mistaking him for a snack. But he wasn't in his foxfire form today, and as a student it was likely just mischief. Certainly not life or death. So he kept walking, and gave no sign he heard his follower until they were nearly at his back...

Ears flicked backwards, and then he merely turned around in the most unsatisfactory un-frightened manner. But Tavi would get his surprise, in a way, because the moment Jove realized it was the little kitsune who was creeping up behind him, his eyes widened and his ears perked curiously. It was hard for Jove to pinpoint exactly what it was about kitsunes that attracted him the way they did, and he might not have even been aware of it. But this one now had his full attention.

The little ghost's head tilted first one way at the other student's question, and then the other way. Pool thingy? Em-Tee-See? He wasn't entirely sure he did know. But he did know it was very cold out, so living things certainly shouldn't practice swimming in the lake, it would be better for this kitsune to swim in the pool. The water wasn't heated, but at least the building was warm!

Jove's tail wagged, and he took a couple steps towards the gym and pool area, slightly altering the course he had been taking before this not unwelcome interruption. Then he turned, and tilted his head in the direction he was going, a silent request for the kitsune to follow.

When the kitsune caught up, Jove glance over with a pleased expression. It wasn't exactly a smile, but there was a lightness to him, and his ears perked attentively when he caught the other looking at him. And while he was comfortable with silence, it appeared his companion was not.

Both fluffy ears swivelled to listen, and then Jove nodded with an enthusiastic wag of the tail. Of course, yes, friends! Usually it took a little longer to earn the pup's favour, but kitsunes just... had that effect on him. And while he looked up to Remi, both literally and figuratively, sometimes it was fun to play with someone more or less his own size.

Oh, introductions!

Jove wasn't sure if this was the time for a hand-shake or a real formal greeting like the ones he had been taught, and Tavi had been pretty casual... So after only a slight pause the little ghost's tail wagged again.

"Jove," He said softly, with an accent that some familiar with the human world might describe as 'English'. Although he appeared quite pleased to have met the kitsune, he offered no further words.

Jove was completely comfortable with the one-sided conversation, it seemed like talking just came naturally to everyone else the way his nonverbal expression came naturally to him. At every laugh from the little kitsune, Jove's tail would wag again, and even without a smile his eyes were bright. And not just in the literal sense.

A slightly rosy glow lit up his cheeks at the unexpected compliment about his accent, and he glanced away sheepishly. He was more used to overwhelming shock every time he spoke. And then there would be the coercion, trying to force more syllables past his lips than he felt comfortable with. But Tavi just continued to converse regardless of his mode of reply, and when the topic turned back to swimming, Jove perked up again.

Although he wasn't sure what the kitsune was saying sometimes, he did understand the invitation to swim! He nodded with a vigorous tail wag, the pool posed no threat to the pup, and no threat to anyone else as long as he was watching over them!

Trotting over to the edge of the water, he leaned forward and peered into it's chlorinated depths. There was another eager tail wag, and then he turned back to Tavi. His expression was questioning, and his ears perked in a way that seemed to ask if they were going swimming right now.

As the kitsune charged towards the water, Jove looked for a split second like he was ready to bolt, with his eyes wide and his ears flat back. The sound echoed off the tile, both the shout and the splash lingering in the air longer than one would have thought possible. It was something Jove had seen before, although it took him off guard this time around. How was one supposed to expect that sort of action?

Ears perked back up though. Was the kitsune trying to swim underwater? It didn't look very effective.

It was the escaping bubbles that tipped Jove off to his new friend's tenuous situation. When Tavi finally surfaced he would find the ghost pup struggling to regain his balance on the edge of the pool, having been a hair's breath away from leaping into the water in rescue. Jove let out a lungful of air he hadn't realized he was holding. Had Yaya been this nervous watching him learn to swim for the first time?

Satisfied that Tavi would be able to keep his head above the water for another minute or two, Jove took a step away from the pool and removed his long coat. Folding it neatly, he kicked off his boots and set the coat down next to them. He glanced back towards the kitsune. Partly to make sure Tavi wasn't drowning, but also... it was a bit of a shy glance. He went back to undressing, removing the frills and decorations, and decided on swimming in his blue mushroom shorts and white shirt.

Slipping into the water with a bit more grace, he half-paddled, half-swam over to where Tavi was. The shirt went slightly translucent when it hit the water, but Jove was comforted by the way it hung around his body. It was very much like his natural fluff, and it partially hid the bruise-like marks that ran down his left side.

Once in the pool, swimming next to the kitsune, Jove had two emotions run through him almost simultaneously. Tavi had made it to the shallow end, which brought a wave of relief. It was harder to accidentally drown in the shallow end, when your feet could touch the bottom! And then there was dismay, because... Jove's feet didn't touch the bottom. He was missing that added inch or two, and it was enough to provide that disorienting 'falling' sensation when he tried. But it was a blow to his pride more than anything else, he merely sent out a few small, ghostly tendrils to extend past his feet and touch the bottom for him.

Wet ears flicked forward, sending a small spray of water as Tavi spoke, but it was followed by an indignant snort. Yaya had said the same thing too, no shirts while swimming, but Jove was almost (if not already) an adult, and could wear a shirt in the water if he wanted! And he did very much want. Since it didn't get in the way of his swimming or anything.

But the indignant expression passed quickly. He was still a child when it came to playing in the water, and that thing Tavi had just done with his hands was enough to capture his full attention. He completely ignored the swimming question, and instead peered intently at his friend with his ears perked so much the tips almost touched. His expression was clear, he was waiting for Tavi to do the water-shooting thing again.

Jove watched intently, and made a happy little sound in his throat when Tavi did the trick again. He could see how it worked now, it was remarkably simple really. It took a couple seconds for him to get the hang of it, but soon little sprays of water were shooting up all around him courtesy of his ghostly tendrils. They were visible on occasion only because of how the water parted around them, a peculiar effect, and once submerged they were once again indistinguishable from their surroundings.

The ghost made a happy murmuring noise, and then shook his head vigorously to get rid of all the water that had fallen on him. It was quite fun, but not as disruptive as splashing about. He would definitely have to show this new trick to his brother the next time Ren dared go near water.

Jove's head tilted, but thinking his friend was falling forward in the water, he reached out with a couple tendrils just in case Tavi needed catching. But it quickly became apparent that was the purpose all along, and so Jove humoured the other boil with a couple little splashes. Almost like saying "Over here! There is one here!"

The pup had never considered the tendrils usable for entertainment purposes before that moment. They were very useful, very practical, allowing him to reach farther, pick things up when his arms were full, and even manipulate things when he was in his little foxfire form. Gone were the days he needed hands to turn doorknobs! Some uses had become so automatic he didn't even think about it anymore.

Suddenly his thoughts were cut short, as a jolt of electricity ran through his body. Jove inhaled sharply, and somehow fluffed up even with the water soaking his hair. It was almost like taking a balloon to a foxfire, the way his hair had started to rise on it's own, fighting the weight of the water. The pup stared. He may have been just a little fried up...

But after a moment he quickly shook his head as though trying to snap out of it, and reached out little tendrils once again to make sure his new friend was okay and not badly hurt or drowning. He had been hurt much worse, a little shock was nothing!