Solo Fish Out of Water

[Ines]

Spring 8th 520 AV

"You're telling me you what?"

Ines tilted her head. The young woman looked like someone just scalped her father.

"Three seasons in Syka and you've never gone swimming? Not even in the pools?"

Ines chuckled and shrugged. The Kelvic wasn't much for going into the water, and she'd only ever been on a boat a couple of times. She was an aerial mammal. If she were a dolphin, or a konti, or a svefra, of course she'd go swimming. When you were in the jungle the water was filled with all sorts of small nasties, parasites, fish that wanted to nibble on your toes. She bathed with the elephants in the elephant pool, or sometimes in the hot pools run by Duncan if she wanted to luxuriate. That was rare.

"AND you don't know how? What have you even been doing?"[/b] Ines was still amused by Juli's incredulous look, but the bat could see the wheels turning in her head. Suddenly her arm was grabbed and she was being dragged from the Mercantile by force. She didn't put up much of a fight.

"We go where?" She posited the question, but she already knew. They were headed down the shore to a portion of the beach with a hefty sandbar. The Kelvic wasn't sure if now was the time to learn to swim - she had gone to the mercantile for supplies, after all - but Juli's sheer enthusiasm-by-force was enough to get the bat to go along with her plans. They stopped at the beach and stripped of whatever clothing they had on. It was late spring and the heat was beginning to come out in full force, which meant that everyone in Syka was wearing less and less than they normally would. By summer, half the population or more was dressed in sheer shawls and coverups, their skin slathered in creams to protect from the sun. They weren't alone on this beach, but it was no one that the bat recognized. More and more tourists were incoming from Riverfall, and while the Kelvic had never been there, they seemed to live comfortable lives. Especially if they moved to another area just for fun, and for just a few days.

Juli waded into the water at lightning speed. Ines was more cautious. She had only been up to her ankles in the Suvan. Three seasons and that was as far as she'd ever had to go. The persistent girl apparated at her side, dragging her into the sea further, and her stomach dropped when she suddenly found herself into water that went up to her waist. Just a few steps forward, however, and they climbed back into what went only up to her knees.

[Ines]

"Ines, do you know how the Svefra teach their kids to swim?" Juli had a mischievous glint in her eye that the bat did not trust. And yet the Kelvic shook her head no. She shouldn't have been so surprised when the Founder's daughter pushed her into the water. She hadn't even left the sandbar, but the Kelvic panicked, flailing her arms and legs until she felt the sand and pushed herself up. She was soaked.

"It's like that, but right off the boat. They say if the kid, maybe 2 or 3 years old, can't figure it out, they're left to drown." Ines moved a wet strand of hair from her face. She had no way to verify the veracity of these claims.

"I not Svefra." She held an annoyed-as-possible look on her face, but a smile played at her lips and betrayed her glare. Juli was very intense, but Ines was having fun. Juli sat down on the sandbar next to her.

"Want to really learn how to swim?"

The Kelvic had never considered swimming an essential life activity. Juli, it seemed, did. They were already here, and the Ashta might like it if she waded into the sea with them. That was the most important part for her.

"How I learn?" She said, and Juli lit up. It was enough of an invitation for her to start demonstrating. She was on her belly, floating just above the sand, her feet still touching. She moved her arms in front of her and held them out straight.

"What are you just watching for? Copy me." Ines hustled to flip over and stretch out like she did. Juli watched her every move silently until she was in an approximation of her position. "Make your hands flat. Stretch them all the way, and hold your thumbs down. No, your thumbs."

Ines reacted to her criticisms, but it was so rapid-fire she was getting her Common mixed up. Juli finally got frustrated and started contorting her body manually until she was in the best looking attempt at a breaststroke position she'd been in yet.

"This is how it starts. But you can't swim like this... you kick your legs and move your arms, too. When your arm is all the way out like this, you move one back - just one, and cup the water while you're kicking. Then you move the other arm as you're moving it back into position. Get it?"

She did not, and gave Juli a blank look. She hopped back into the water, further off the sandbar so that she was deep enough to actually swim. The way she moved in the water could convince a Konti that she was born in it, and her movements were so smooth that she barely left a splash. This only made the bat determined.

[Ines]

Ines started copying her. Only a tick later she was left a tangle of limbs with a mouth full of water. She spit it out. She'd only made it a foot, and most of that had been flailing. Juli watched her try again, making it only a bit further before ending in a mess. The woman stopped giving her criticism or advice, and Ines wondered if she was interested in seeing if she could figure it out. If she could be like the Svefra.

But she wasn't in a life or death situation. She tried again, trying to keep track of the rhythm of her arms, but she forgot to breathe, and she raised her head out of the water and sputtered out more of the Suvan than she cared to have. She coughed and coughed and crawled back to the center to catch her breath.

"How?" She asked between hacking, but she already knew the answer. This was her first time in the water. Juli had been in the water nearly every time the Kelvic had seen her outside of the mercantile. Ines had forgotten to kick her legs both attempts. They weren't the same person. Even with the obvious setback of having never done something before, the Kelvic was elated.

Her interests had been stagnant, even after moving to the coastal settlement. She still tended to elephants. She had learned more about wandering around the jungle, but she hadn't learned anything new. Nothing different to work towards, nothing that was different outside of Taloba.

Swimming was different. Swimming was new. Swimming was something she was terrible at, and that meant it was something she could watch herself do. She could look back on today and see how far she'd gotten. Ines kept a thought to herself - she was going to try and swim more so that she could float through the water like she flew.

"We try again?" She asked Juli, who had been standing over her. Juli slipped into the water again with relish and Ines tried to follow. She was still flailing around, but at least she was flailing with direction. Ines wasn't doing the swim that Juli showed her. Instead she was just letting her body react to the movements of her water and tried to keep her head afloat. She wasn't good at keeping track of her breathing, so she was just kicking and pushing the water around, moving forward inch by inch. It was taking a lot of her energy to move around like this, and she pushed herself back to the sand bar to rest.

[Ines]

Juli swam up, looking as natural at sea as ever. "Do you want to get a snack or something?" She asked. Not far from their spot was the Tidepool Bar, and Ines realized she was hungry. Not just from all her work, but also because she had been so busy the entire morning that she skipped breakfast. Her legs felt almost leaden as they trudged over the beach, but soon enough she found herself walking down the pier with Juli towards the bar. The sea breeze was especially strong now, and by the time they'd reached the Tidepool the leftover sand on their legs and feet was falling off and the Kelvic's short hair was salty and dry, styled by the wind.

They were partially dressed when they walked into the bar and took seats next to each other. A few more people the Kelvic didn't recognize were oohing and ahhing at the drinks and a platter of roast chicken tacos. Ines liked the smell. Stu, of course, was there to greet them.

"Juli! Ines! What can I get for you?" He asked, the smile on his face wide and genuine.

The Kelvic smiled back with her response. "What have there." She pointed to the platter being served to the other patrons nearby. Juli shrugged, "I'll have the same." Stu brought them glasses of clean, cold water, and Juli ordered a Tea With Something Extra to drink. The witch had never been interested in alcohol, or alcoholic drinks, or anything of the sort. She mostly just drank water or blood. She had noticed people drinking a dark purple-red drink before, but she didn't know what it was and never thought to ask. It always made the air smell thick and fruity, though, so she didn't think it was blood.

The Kelvic was a nocturnal animal, and the sun would hurt her eyes at especially bright times, like noon. Despite this, she always felt so content when her face was flushed from a day spent outside. Her skin hot and red, as if she was minutes away from burning, but she rarely burned. Uta would take care of her if she did. Juli's face was flushed, too, and her hair had dried into wild, salty waves. Stu finished chopping the last bits of fruit - pineapple, mango, grapes, and banana - and served up the platters to the duo, along with Juli's drink.

Ines loved Stu's cooking. Half the time she subsisted on jerky and fruits she picked around the sawmill for most of the day, only eating full meals in the evening when she would visit the communal kitchen. Early in the morning, before Syna woke up, she would fly to the Pig Beach and drink the blood of the pigs until she was full and happy. Meals like these during mid-day were a rarity. Though she had intended to savor the food, she scooped up the salsa and cheese and juicy chicken with the incredible flatbreads and ate voraciously. She heard Stu would cook the bread during the quiet hours of the day and served them with every meal. He always brought the tortillas and alcohol to the communal dinners.

Ines scarfed up the main meal of her platter and snacked on her fruit while she waited for Juli to finish her bites to respond to her questions. "When you learn swim? You swim all life? Where from? Help me more?" Juli nodded to her rapid-fire questions, but her mouth was full every time she asked another one. The young woman finally finished her taco. It had only been a chime, but to the Kelvic, it felt like bells.

[Ines]

"I've been swimming my whole life. I just learned. I mean, my dad's a captain, and half-Svefra. I grew up on his boat. Swimming is a necessity for something like that." Ines nodded excitedly. She supposed it was the same for her being with elephants, or knowing bits and pieces of how to survive out in the wilderness. It wasn't optional for her. It dawned on the Kelvic that not only was this the first time she'd started learning something out of her routine, it was one of the first times she was learning something that she didn't think was absolutely necessary for her survival, or for her place in life. She didn't have to know how to swim! Ines was already giddy to try again, but she had to get back to work. She'd spent over an hour splashing around in the water trying to do something functional.

"And yes, of course I can help you swim...but I have to get back to the mercantile when I'm done. I'm sure you have to work, too, don't you? I bet Lars is wondering where you ran off to when all he sent you to get was some extra rope." Juli added, small laughs punctuating her words. She popped a grape into her mouth and Ines realized she hadn't even ended up purchasing the rope she was sent to get in the first place. The Kelvic had a bad habit of wandering off, but Lars didn't seem to mind all that much, anyway. He probably needed that rope, though. She couldn't even remember how Juli found out that she couldn't swim.

As if on cue, Lars walked into the Tidepool. His eyes roamed to Stu, and then to Ines and Juli sitting at the bar. "Ines! I was wondering where my wayward employee had gotten off to." His smile was broad and he ordered the same platter the two of them had just finished up. "Juli wanted to teach me how to swim..." She explained, and Lars waved her off.

"It's fine, I've wanted to eat a good, full meal all day. I can't blame you for wanting the same. Just make sure you bring back the rope!" He replied, eagerly sipping at the water that Stu brought him. Lars's face was shiny, red, and slick with sweat from his hard work and his walk. He seemed entirely more concerned about filling his belly than whatever the Kelvic had gotten up to.

Ines had a broad smile on her face as she and Juli exchanged hugs with Stu and left the tidepool bar. The Mercantile was close, and soon enough she was saddled with a hefty length of rope. As she walked out, Juli called out to her. "Just let me know if you want me to teach you again. You can even swim in the community pool, you know. It's a lot safer than swimming by yourself in the sea." Juli went back to taking inventory of the supplies she had for sale. Ines had not considered swimming in the community pool before. She usually used it to bathe when she didn't want to smell like the elephants, which was rare. She didn't mind their smell.

The Kelvic took her time returning to the Sawmill, trying to focus on her breathing. She thought if she could do it when she was in the air, she could do it better when she went back into the water. She had noticed before that every morning Jansen or Kalum would sit quietly outside of the Panacea, breathing evenly in the cooler morning sun. Maybe they'd be able to help her with that.