Open Sun and Shells

[Malla]

"Oh! A swim? Is that all this is? I can teach you to swim. No better teacher than a Konti and Otani. And I wont even make you use pants as a breathing apparatus." Malla blinked at Uleru's words about pants being used for breathing, not even realizing right away that she had been volunteered for teaching Jorin how to swim. After a moment of wondering why Uleru was looking to her as if wanting to know something, she nods, "Oh..sure..why not. I can help." She was already wet anyway, so it wasn't like this could get worse. "You're gonna pay! I'm going to kill you..then kill myself then kill you again!" Then again, she could be wrong with thinking worse was impossible. She looks over to Duce, stepping a bit forward and looking rather like she would try to keep the Akalak from squishing Jorin. "Don't you think you are overreacting? Maybe it was an accident." But as Duce walked away as he seemed to realize he was without clothes, she relaxes again, though watches him warily. She knew just how volatile some people's tempers could be. "Malla, please forgive my impertinence but, I couldn't help but notice the markings ... look I understand if you don't want to talk about it but, why are you so afraid of people seeing them? They're not ugly..." The Konti looked quickly to Jorin at his whisper, blinking and chewing her lip a moment before replying in a low whisper herself, "Because they are not mine to have." She was being deciding vague, or at least she hoped. But she wasn't outright lying nor was she telling the exact truth. Relieved when she heard Uleru, she looked to the Otani at her offer tot he men, smiling a bit amusedly, and would watch the two curiously.

[Duce Hazimari]

Duce grunted repeatedly as the Otani patted him atop of his head as if he were a pet of some kind. "First kicked, then left for dead, now being treated as a house pet...This day could get anymore the worse." he mumbled under his breath as he crab walked under the water to search for his still missing pants. He took a deep breath and went under the blue. He saw rocks, plants, more rocks and more plants..Oh wait there was sand too, but no pants. He was agitated at the fact that he was completely exposed and would now have to walk to his apartment to fetch a new pair of garments. Come on Jorin! And Duce..We're going to teach you how to swim. Duce weighed his options. He could just get up and take the embarrassing walk home, actually try to learn how to swim, or just idle in the water planning how he was going to destroy Jorin when he had the chance. Taking into consideration that he would not be able to run to catch the little human, and would rather wait until night fall to travel home Duce waddled over to the Otani for his first lesson. "Well lets start." he said trying to sound as enthusiastic as possible. He stood up in the water which only came up to the bottom of his knees, waiting on the other two to join them. He really didn't care if he was in his undergarments at this point. The others had already seen them, and he was at the beach after all so why feel uncomfortable. "Oh. And don't worry Jorin I'm not going to kill you....Well..Not yet anyway." He said putting a smile upon his face. Yep, he felt that he handled that really well as he patiently waited for the lesson to start.

[Uleru]

Now that it seemed that she has the two mens attention and (more importantly) their cooperation, it is time to teach the land walkers how to swim.

"Alright", she mumbles absentmindedly, clicking her tongue as she thinks. When the Akalak approaches with the ghost of enthusiasm on his face she smiles genially at him, now that it looks like he is no longer intent on causing poor Jorin bodily harm. Its strange, even now that she knows the Akalak's name, in her mind she still refers to him as Big Blue Guy. Or Blue for short. Quite hypocritical, really, for although she is a gilded silver color now, she herself is -more often than not- blue as well.

She rubs her neck self-consciously, suddenly at a loss for how to go about this instruction. It's actually pretty rare that she will swim in a bi-pedal form when fins are more convenient. While casting about for inspiration, her wrist passes over the raised surface of the brass compass still embedded in her chest. Oh yes! She had almost forgotten.

Bending at the waist, there is a horrible noise like the unplugging of a drain as she works the compass free of the suction she created. She had brought it out to clean it in the fist place, but now that she is here a different fate for the brass instrument comes to mind. Didn't she promise the actor a gift when they last met?

The thing comes free and she straightens up, holding it in front of her as she considers it. It would be fitting, wouldn't it? After all, the stories that he gave her were all about his travels. Maybe he can find a use for the thing other than it just being just another piece in an Otani's collection.

"Here, Jorin", she calls, coming to a decision and throwing him the compass with a light underhanded toss. "A gift for you. I meant to give you something earlier! It’s for or the stories", she explains, shrugging in a 'what can you do' sort of way and smiling.

While you cant deny the antiquity of the instrument, the obvious care that has gone into maintaining it and the rarity of such delicate mechanisms, as soon as he would get a good look at the thing he would discover that the compass is, in fact, completely useless if you wanted to know where you are. The needle is stuck unmoving in front of the north marker no matter which way you're facing; necessitating the work of a skilled gadgeteer before the compass will actually work again.

With Malla and the actor occupied, the moulding turns to Duce for a lesson first. And with the simple command of "Com'ere Blue", she takes both the Akalak's hands and steers him into deeper water. Once the water reaches his waist she stops him, placing one hand on his chest and the other and on the back of his neck, she guides him into a floating position on his back.

"Before we do anything else, you need to learn to float. If you're hurt or you get tired or anything, return to this position, take a deep breath, and just float. It'll keep you from panicking", she explains helpfully, and takes her hands off of him so he floats by himself.

“You float naturally, but the more air inside of you the better buoyancy you have. So breath deeply and calmly.”

[Jorin Ertihan]

Season of Summer, Day 63, 513 AV

"Because they are not mine to have," Malla had answered, and Jorin just smiled gently back at her. It really wasn't an answer at all, so he interpreted it as her basically telling him it was none of his business. Fair enough. He hadn't known the woman long enough; if there was a story there, it was obviously not one to share with strangers.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to cause you discomfort," Jorin apologized. "We don't have to talk about this if you don't want to."

Jorin's eyes light up with delight when Uleru threw him the compass. He'd watched her remove it from her chest with a wet sort of sound (how did she adhere it to her chest, anyway?) and he thought the device was fairly interesting. As he caught it in his hands, Jorin glanced over the ancient instrument. It was clearly very old, and given Uleru's aquatic nature, probably acquired in the ocean, so it probably once belonged to a Svefra or merchant sailor.

The device was intricate, and quite sturdy for its age, although some parts of the brass was worn in places. Jorin thought it gave the instrument charm and character though. The real problem was that the needle was stuck, and refused to budge no matter how he turned it. As a device to determine location, the compass was useless, but it certainly made a very attractive set-piece. Jorin himself was no engineer, and he doubted even his father's mathematical genius would be able to repair and instrument like this. Still, he appreciated the thought, and bowed to Uleru, using the same fancy sweeping bow she'd shown him many days ago.

"Thank you for your gift, Uleru," he called, as she went off to help Duce swim. Then turning to Malla, Jorin excitedly showed her his new acquisition.

"Look at this," he whispered, holding the device up. "You know there are those who'd call this thing useless. But even a broken compass can still be art. One might say the compass isn't broken, but the world is. Or perhaps one might say the compass is saying that no matter where one is, that's where you are."

Jorin shrugged and grinned. "Or maybe it's just busted," he laughed, eyes crinkling in mirth. Then he shrugged. "But you have to try to see past the obvious, you know? Sight beyond sight. Then you'll see that everything's beautiful if you just bother to look."

[Duce Hazimari]

Duce took a deep breath and leaned his head back as his swim teacher had told him. At first it seemed easy, just tilt your body back and take a deep bre-. Going head first under the water as he began to take his breath causing him to choke on sea water and panic as he thrashed about in the water like a fish on the land. He was embarrassed at his actions as he blue colored face began to turn into a purple hue. He hoped that the others didn't see, and if they did he hoped that they would not laugh. He stood up out of the water. He was done with his lesson. If he was meant to swim then he would have been born a fish or an Otani. He was an Akalak, a fighter, a hunter. He was meant for the land,and that is where he was going to stay. Duce watched Malla and Jorin as he made his way back toward the shore, ignoring any words coming from the Otani's mouth. He really wasn't meant for the water, plus he was tired and wet. He was relieved to be back on the land. His cloths were dry which meant that he could spread them out onto the sand and lay atop of them to soak in the heat coming from the sun to dry his body. He was satisfied. Laying in the sun watching his new friends play in the water.

[Uleru]

It's all going fine as Uleru lets the blue guy go to float on his own. Until its not.
 
Suddenly a wall of spray flings into the air as Duce starts thrashing around like a trapped eel. Likely inhaling more water than is healthy and snorting the stinging salt out of his nose.
 
He finds his footing before the Otani can help, and suddenly he is towering over her again. Except that he gives off the vibe of being much smaller now. She feels the heat from his face as blood floods his cheeks, turning him a rather attractive shade of purple, and it takes her a second to be floored. He's blushing! She's never seen an Akalak blush.
 
And again, before she can berate him for not listening or pull on his arm to lower him back down he stalks off towards the beach. Apparently he is done with swimming. And he might have a point, she hates to say. The poor man is about as water-capable as a brick. But she would never admit such blasphemy, and instead flares indignantly as he wades to shore.
 
"Oi! Get back here!" she storms after the offending Akalak. How dare he give up on her flawless teaching methods! But it's too late. He plops down on his semi-dry clothes and something about his position says he cannot be persuaded (or dragged) back to the water.
 
Hands on her hips and the surf washing around her ankles, the Otani gives up the battle with a sigh. Oh well, she'll get him next time, she tells herself. Completely overestimating the pull of the ocean felt by a man thats been nearly drowned three times in a single day. She should get going anyway, the first subtle pangs of hunger are starting to poke at her torso.
 
Turning on her heel she approaches Jorin and Malla with a shrug. "Looks like swimming lessons are canceled today. But thats ok, I'll run into you again. I'll just listen for the melodic thrashing of uncoordinated men. And the graceful slip of a Konti", she concedes, winking at Malla.
 
Since they are still wet she feels no guilt for kissing both their cheeks, consequently dripping water down their fronts. Then she waves cheerfully at Duce before diving back into the shallows. This afternoon was not quite what she expected, but fun none the less. She looks forward to seeing them all again.

[Jorin Ertihan]

Season of Summer, Day 63, 513 AV

Duce's reactions to Uleru were very interesting, and if Jorin hadn't been focused on showing Malla the new gift that the Otani had given him he'd have been more focused on what was happening with the large Akalak. As it was, the Konti seemed only marginally interested, and Jorin turned when Uleru addressed them both.

"I suppose I can't disagree with you there," he mused as she mentioned that the swimming lessons were over. Honestly, he was a bit disappointed. Konti, as he knew, were apparently quite aquatic creatures and Uleru herself was pretty much made of water; as she said her very father was the god of the sea himself. He couldn't hope for better teachers than that; all he needed was a Charoda and he'd have the finest swimming instructors it was possible to get.

Nonetheless he figured he'd see her again. And he had a funny feeling that every time he met her, there would be some sort of adventure. He did wonder where she went, whenever she just... disappeared into the waves like that. Because she didn't go into the water like other races. The Konti, even the Charoda, were people and so as aquatic as they were, they were still seperate from the waves. But Uleru didn't so much go into the water as she almost seemed to merge with it. And Jorin genuinely wondered how she managed... well... coherence. Perhaps a question for another day.

Turning to the Konti and Akalak, Jorin gave them a fancy bow. It was actually an action that Uleru had taught him, which he'd taken to using himself. She'd later told him it was an ancient form of bow that wasn't really used anymore, but that she'd shown it to him because she thought he'd appreciate it. He did indeed, and figured to bring the old tradition back. After all, it had this fancy sweeping motion that was quite spectacular, though really it seemed to be intended to be used with a cape, which he himself was not wearing at the moment.

"I am sorry our adventure must end here," he apologized, with a smile. "I hope to see the both of you soon. Take care, the both of you."

It had been a long day, so Jorin picked up Uleru's gift, giving it one last look. The old compass was definitely broken, alright. But for some odd reason that made it even more interesting to him. After all, a working compass was just that. But this might be considered a piece of artwork. Its age and nonfunction could be construed as symbolic.

He was not sure what it would be considered a symbol of, but that wasn't the important thing. In any case, he tucked his new prize under arm and gave Duce and Malla a quick wave, before heading back to his home. After the day's adventures, he definitely wanted to rest, before he'd have to go back into the Labor Aid office to try to get a job, yet again.

~Fin~

x

[Translucent]

Congratulations On Your Hard Work!

Jorin Ertihan:
XP:+1 Math, +1 organization, +1 writing, +3 socialization, +4 observation
Lores: Malla: Unemployed, Duce: Bounty hunter, Malla : a Konti

Malla:
XP:+2 socialization, +1 observation
Lores: Jorin: Of the traveling thespian troupe


Uleru:
XP:+1 socialization, +1 observation, +2 teaching
Lores: Jorin the would-be hero has trouble running in water.


Notes: Someone needs to really help Malla find that gate she has been looking for so long.. Also Malla, your hiding your webbed toes with your boots, but what about the webbing on your fingers..or the scales that are typically on Konti foreheads? And just for clarity’s sake, you can’t live in a tent all alone outside of a city…or you would die. And die hard.

As always PM me if you have issues.