Completed A Snowball's Chance in Riverfall

[Kirsi Winterflame]

Timestamp: 70th of Summer, 513AV It was obvious that Rinya was torn between focusing on Jorin and focusing on Kirsi. Kirsi would have spared the other woman a moment of pity for the general difficulty of teaching two novices to swim, but she was busy attempting to stay afloat. ”Perhaps just a little too fast. Use your legs when your arms are in-between motions.” The suggestion was accompanied by guiding hands and an outstretched arm to latch on to. Using both to help regain her footing, Kirsi took a deep breath - once she could be reasonably sure it wouldn't involved an unhealthy dose of salty water, as well. Kirsi felt Rinya's hand on her back, as the woman attempted to explain floating. "Your ears of course will be covered by the water and it is likely water will splash into your face, but you must remain calm." Easier said than done, the Vantha thought wryly. Still, she was willing to give it a try. Here, she could at least stand if she felt at all uncomfortable with the water. Or the instructor, she added, noting that Rinya seemed to be sizing her up, considering... Something. Finally, as though she had come to some sort of decision, Rinya began to speak. ”I am sorry… for earlier. Bonding is a… strange experience, sometimes I do not know how to act. Jorin is a good—friend. I would not want to upset him.” The apology took Kirsi by surprise. Rinya had kept her tone low; clearly this was not a conversation she wanted to involve Jorin in. With the odd emphasis on the word 'friend', and the reference to bonding, Kirsi couldn't help but speculate. But she did so silently, not wishing to push for personal details now that the other woman seemed to be attempting to make amends. Besides, this was not the time or the place, and Kirsi was certain the other woman wouldn't welcome her inquiries. ”I’ve never had to share family before. Lean back like you did with Jorin, only keep your back slightly arched.” Kirsi nodded, but before leaning back, offered an apology of her own, taking care to match Rinya's conservative tone. "I'm sorry for the way I reacted - and I do appreciate your taking the time to help us out. We'd still be floating, or trying to, if you hadn't shown up." A small smile curved her mouth for a brief moment, before fading. It wasn't the grandest apology ever, but Kirsi had sincerely meant the latter half, anyway. She and Jorin could very well have spent the day floating, or trying to, and still not gotten to the actual mechanics of swimming. Leaning back, she tried to put her faith in Rinya's instructions but found it nearly impossible to relax her head into the water. She had a handle on the actual floating part, or so she thought. But with her head sticking up at an awkward angle, even something as trivial as floating was bound to be tiresome. Deciding there was no hope for it but to get it over with, she forced herself to drop her head back into the water. Kirsi took a moment to accustom herself to the feel of the water around her head, droplets splashing onto her face. The noises of the beach and its visitors seemed to fade, disembodied and distorted beneath the waves. It was a new, not entirely unpleasant sensation. Kirsi turned her head toward the beach, in the direction of the most noise, and immediately felt water rush into her ears.

[Jorin Ertihan]

Season of Summer, Day 70, 513 AV

Jorin watched as Rinya went over to Kirsi and observed her technique. And for some strange reason, he felt the same thing Rinya felt earlier. It wasn't nearly as white hot, or as pressing, but it was there. Having experienced it twice now he knew what it was.

He was jealous. It made absolutely no sense. Rinya was just teaching Kirsi. Petch, he had been the one to tell her to do it! So why was he feeling jealous now? But he couldn't help it. He wanted her to teach him, and he missed her closeness already. Giving his head a quick shake, Jorin smiled. Calm, he told himself. Just calm down.

"Perhaps you should stand for the moment. I cannot catch both of you for the moment."

Jorin shrugged and nodded, moving to shallower water. Of course he'd follow her instructions. She was the teacher here and besides, he'd be far too heavy for her to fish out alone. And if he drifted too far, then not even Rinya would be able to reach him; only a miracle rescue from Uleru could possibly save him then.

The two women were speaking, but in such low tones that Jorin couldn't catch what they were saying. It was obviously meant to be a private conversation, and Jorin knew that if he really wanted to, he could probably prod Rinya into divulging the details later, but he found himself lacking the desire. Rinya deserved her privacy, and if she did not want him to know then he would have to simply have to accept ignorance.

Now it had become Jorin's turn to cast about for something to do. As he noticed Rinya gently easing Kirsi back, but the Vantha girl seemed awkward in the water, her head in an awkward position that looked uncomfortable even at the distance Jorin was looking. After a while, she seemed to lean back. Jorin tried to remember everything he could about what he was watching Kirsi doing.

She seemed to be spreading her arms to balance her floating body, and Jorin also noted that her muscles didn't appear to be tensed or rigid, as Rinya had mentioned earlier. OK, maybe this wasn't so hard. Jorin was half-tempted to try it on his own, but remembering the minor disaster the last time he tried that, he instead waited patiently for the women to finish. Rinya would get to him in time, he was sure.

[Rinya]

Day 70, Season Summer, 513 AV

Rinya tilted her head slightly as Kirsi returned the hesitant apology. She must have meant it at least to an extent, or she wouldn’t trust her at all. Nodding a little, Rinya kept her hand on Kirsi’s back as she leaned back at let herself float. Keeping one hand on her back, Rinya used her free hand to gently poke and prod along Kirsi’s spine and limbs.

”Soften your limbs a little, and your spine straight. Neck arched back slightly.” Rinya spoke loudly, so as the girl could hear her for certain beneath the water; though even then as she spoke she realized she might not.

Glancing up at Jorin, Rinya kept her frown in check. She could easily take a guess as to why she was jealous over Kirsi—if she let herself. But Jorin didn’t make any sense. Why he upset that she was taking up Kirsi’s time? Shaking her head a little she let herself focus back on Kirsi. She could easily make it up later to Jorin if he’d let her. Perhaps a private swimming lesson—if he wanted one. She was still sticking to the fact that she wasn’t exactly the strongest teacher… rather one of the worst actually.

Not that it mattered entirely really. She would enjoy the swimming before winter came. Carefully judging Kirsi’s frame, Rinya withdrew her hands slowly. And she seemed to be doing a fine job with floating too until she turned her head to look at something at the beach. Rinya wasn’t sure if Kirsi realized she could flip herself over with such a move. Slowly, so not as to startle her, Rinya gently wrapped her fingers around Kirsi’s wrist just in case.

”Jorin would you like to try next?” She asked lightly, though her eyes had not yet left Kirsi in the water. But she cocked her head slightly in question. They wouldn’t have too much longer actually. The tide would probably be shifting soon.

[Kirsi Winterflame]

Timestamp: 70th of Summer, 513AV ”Jorin would you like to try next?” Rinya's voice registered as Kirsi lifted her head from the water, and the Vantha realized that, despite their rocky start, she had been monopolizing the other woman's instruction. Kirsi couldn't help but feel the slightest bit selfish - learning to swim had been Jorin's idea in the first place. Besides, an ear full of water had done little to improve hers mood. Though she knew it was her own fault, she still felt a flare of temper that it had happened at all. Quashing it mercilessly, she stood back up, tilting and shaking her head slightly in a vain attempt to dislodge the water. She mustered up a game smile for Jorin, that dimmed only slightly as she turned to face Rinya. "This is a bit more work than I thought it was going to be," she admitted with a shrug. "There's so much movement involved, and all at once. It is like a dance," Nodding at the other woman, Kirsi acknowledged her earlier comment. When Rinya had first suggested it, Kirsi hadn't quite made the connection - swimming and dancing had seemed worlds apart. But having actually tried to put the movements together in the water, she did find herself comparing it to the first time she'd tried to dance. Legs and arms and everything in between had to learn to work together. Except in dancing, you rarely ended up with and earful of salt water, she chided herself. Kirsi felt the ocean's push and pull more keenly now. She was tempted to write it off as simple fatigue, but didn't feel that the work she'd done floating had been strenuous enough to really wear her out. Her brow furrowed a bit as she tried to recall what little she knew of oceans from the fishermen of Avanthal. Tides! Something about tides coming in and currents being stronger. Try as she may, she couldn't remember anything more specific, but she suspected that the way the water felt to her now had something to do with those tides. OOCIck. Apologies! Will do better next time.

[Jorin Ertihan]

Season of Fall, Day 70, 513 AV

"Jorin would you like to try next?" Rinya called out, and Jorin smiled and nodded. Of course he would! Although ... Jorin thought for a moment. It wouldn't be nearly as easy as it was for Kirsi. She was smaller and lighter, so the whole leaning back with a hand on her waist would actually work. But him being larger than both the women meant that neither of them could really catch him if he messed this up.

Jorin mentally shrugged. I guess that means you shouldn't mess up then he thought to himself as he pushed himself off the sandy ground, trying to use the motion of the water ... is it just me, or is the water moving faster than usual? ... to carry his limbs. Jorin tried to lean back, but without Rinya's supporting hand he only sort-of floated, his head going completely underwater at one point, but the rest of his body remaining above-water as he could feel the water rushing past.

Well. That's odd, Jorin thought as his head came back up out of the water. He was floating, but ... why were Rinya and Kirsi so far away? Jorin realized that, by being the furthest one out, he must have been caught in a current.

Oh. Well. That can't be good, Jorin thought. He was surprised at how calm his mind was. He'd heard of this. If he made it out, he'd probably be a panicky mess when he was finally on solid ground. What did they call it? Delayed response?

Regardless, Jorin decided to take advantage of his momentary lack of panic to use the techniques that he'd seen Rinya show him, bringing his arms forward and drawing them behind his back. He moved, slightly, but the current moved him back. Realizing he was now fighting a current, Jorin decided perhaps now would be a good time to put in a little more power into the arm stroke, to try to overcome it.

Bad idea. By doing it, Jorin found himself underwater again. He could feel panic rising inside his chest, but he pushed it down as he thrust his arms out and down, propelling him closer to the surface. One more and his head broke water, but he was still treading water. The shore seemed a thousand miles away. In reality it was probably only a few yards away, but to Jorin it was too far. He'd tried swimming, but his paddling brought him no closer to the shore and now, he was furiously scrambling just to keep his head above water.

Ok, now he was starting to panic a little. He wanted to call out to Rinya, but he knew if he opened his mouth, he'd swallow a nice mouthful of salt water, which would not help his situation any. He only hoped Laviku was getting a good laugh out of this. It seemed like the gods loved tormenting him. What had he ever done to them?

[Rinya]

Day 70, Season Summer, 513 AV

OOCSorry this took me so long X_X

Rinya watched as Kirsi rose from the water. By the looks of things, she might have actually gotten water in the ear. It was an irritating feel that she knew well. Even with feathers that covered her ears, it wasn’t uncommon to end up feeling slightly water logged with an odd echo caused by the water.

"This is a bit more work than I thought it was going to be,"

Rinya nodded in agreement, resisting the urge to cross her arms over her chest. She really wasn’t so much annoyed, but swimming was one of the harder things she did. Only really learning it because the last thing she needed was to drown as a bird. Rinya reached out to catch Kirsi’s wrist.

”Pull on your earlobe and drop your jaw. Yawn even. It will help move the water in your ear better than shaking your head. It will drain soon enough.” Letting the woman go, Rinya turned to face Jorin.

When Rinya had asked Jorin if he would like to try, she seriously didn’t think he was going to try to do it alone. Already the water was beginning to move faster, pulling him away from them. Rinya groaned internally. This was bad—very bad. Jorin started to attempt swimming back, but he didn’t have the right timing to actually make any kind of pull against the current. And then panic began to settle in her chest.

Whether it was his or hers she couldn’t actually tell. All she knew was she felt it inside her chest like a heavy rock. Jorin was popping in and out of the water at least, which meant he wasn’t drowning—yet. There was a tug from the bond, something she wasn’t used to. But it didn’t take the bond for Rinya to move. Panic was never something she froze over. It made her move.

Since Rinya moved with the tide, she caught up to Jorin quickly. Reaching out she attempted to snag his flailing wrist. There was several times his hand passed her by before she was able to grab it, wrapping her fingers around his wrist firmly. Rinya pulled on his arm, hard. She needed him up above the surface and working with her before they could get anywhere. And this was completely unknown territory for her.

”Jorin… just kick.” Rinya stated firmly. She dearly hoped her own panic wasn’t leaking across the bond and affecting him. That was the last thing he needed. Rescue was never on the list of swimming before, so Rinya did the only she could think of. She had him focus his energy on one thing and Rinya kicked backwards, using her free arm to pull and guide her back towards the beach. It was an exhausting effort, and with the fighting tide it actually took several chimes before Rinya could feel sand beneath her feet. If she could feel the ground, then Jorin could and that helped the panic her chest loosen slightly.

”Gods Jorin… Rinya groused breathlessly, letting go of his wrist to move behind him and placed her hands against his back, she not quite shoved but most certainly pressed him towards the beach. She didn’t have the strength to scold him, and even her emotions felt thin.

”Just… wait for me next time would you?”

[Kirsi Winterflame]

Rinya's advice sounded - well, strange. But, having decided to trust the other woman's expertise in swimming, Kirsi gave up her skepticism and did as suggested, tugging at her ear and opening her mouth. It lessened the pressure a bit, but not entirely, and she felt more than a bit foolish standing there with her mouth open and her ear in her hand as Rinya turned to give Jorin a chance to swim. The splashing surprised her; Kirsi's head swiveled to see that Jorin had, apparently, decided not to wait for help. Though he looked to be doing a rough imitation of the movements Rinya had shown them a few chimes ago, the result only served to stir up the water, not help him to skim through it. The actor, with typical dramatic flair, bobbed in the water; arms thrashed and sparkling arcs of water flew upward at his every effort. A detached part of her brain appreciated the beauty of the watery effect, even as her mind tried, unsuccessfully, to ignore the mounting danger of the situation. Kirsi stood there helplessly, as Rinya swam out to Jorin. Angry at herself for her own incompetence, she released a shaky breath of relief as the other woman reached her friend. Surely Rinya would be able to correct whatever it was that Jorin was doing wrong, and get the situation under control; she was the swimmer among them, after all. Tense seconds passed while the scene unfolded before her eyes: Rinya managed, after a few attempts, to catch hold of the actor, instructing him to kick while she wrapped her arm around him and - dragged him back towards the shore? Respect for the Kelvic warred with the relief that Jorin was out of danger as Kirsi followed behind the pair, heading back to the sandy beach. Now that the crisis had passed, she found herself feeling the first stirrings of panic. It was silly, and she knew it, but Kirsi could feel her body shaking a bit at the thought that the swimming 'lesson' could have very easily turned into something more dire. Guilt assailed her; if she hadn't agreed to try swimming with Jorin in the first place, they never would have been out here. The water splashed at her knees, and she shivered a bit; the chill of the breeze on her skin and the aftermath of Rinya's rescue combined, raising chillbumps on her arms. All at once she was entirely done swimming, done being near the water at all, in fact. The water, which had previously been so inviting, a frivolous way to cool off on a hot day, now seemed to hold more mystery. Looking to Jorin with more than a hint of the lingering worry she'd felt, Kirsi caught herself just shy of reaching out to him. It had been more than clear that Rinya wasn't happy with her closeness to Jorin earlier. Not wanting to add any more unpleasantness to the situation, she pulled her hand back and settled on words. "Jorin, are you okay?" They sounded inadequate, even to her own ears, but her brain refused to allow for more eloquence at the moment.

[Jorin Ertihan]

Season of Summer, Day 70, 513 AV

Jorin bit down panic as he fought to stay above the waterline, and his relief was absolutely immense as he saw Rinya approach, her lithe form slicing though the water toward him. She attempted a few times to catch his wrist, and Jorin tried to give it to her but every time he felt himself slipping into the water and his arms failed automatically, trying to keep himself afloat. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, Rinya managed to grab hold of him.

"Jorin… just kick," Rinya had suggested, and he could only nod his head. Yes, kick. Kicking he could do. Kicking he could pull off. Jorin kicked for all he was worth, and for the first few moments nothing seemed to happen. Jorin could feel the cold hand of fear grip his heart, and he swallowed hard to try to push it down. If he panicked here, he'd not only bring himself down, he'd bring Rinya down too.

Jorin closed his eyes briefly, but when he opened them again he kicked with more measured pace. It was still nothing approaching true swimming technique, but that in conjunction with Rinya's efforts, as she worked her free arm to steer them towards the beach and safety, slowly caused them to move.

Jorin could barely breathe as he put all his effort into kicking. The muscles in his thighs were beginning to ache, and if it weren't for his regular appearances at the Kendoka, his legs may well have given out already, but as it was he was able to continue to kick, until Rinya's change in motion clearly showed they'd reached shallow waters and were safe.

"Gods Jorin…" Rinya had breathed, as she pushed him to shore, his toes digging gratefully into the warm sand. "Just… wait for me next time would you?"

A moment later, a very concerned-looking Kirsi appeared, her eyes filled with worry. She looked like she was about to reach out to him, but pulled back at the last moment, opting to ask instead, "Jorin, are you okay?"

Jorin just nodded, as he leaned over to catch his breath, hands on his knees and hair dripping with salty seawater. He took several large lungfuls of air, sputtering as he watched droplets of water fall from his face into the yellow sand and disappearing into the grains.

"Sorry, Rinya," he apologized, as he glanced apologetically to her. She seemed slightly out of breath herself, but otherwise they were both none the worse for wear from their little scare. He turned to Kirsi and tried to shrug nonchalantly, but it came out as more nervous than anything.

"I-I'm fine, Kirsi, thank you for asking," he said, as he stood back up. "But I think I'm done with swimming for today."

Jorin gave both women a shaky grin. "How about we call it a day?" he suggested.

[Rinya]

Day 70, Season Summer, 513 AV

"Sorry, Rinya,"

Rinya resisted the urge to grumble at him. She wasn’t entirely sure how she handled the situation so well. But really she didn’t even want to think about what might have happened if she had not reached him time. Shaking her head slightly, Rinya simply tried to catch her breath and keep her feelings from overwhelming her. She had never realized how much strength it took to pull someone from a current, and made note not to have to do it again if she could avoid it.

Kirsi seemed just as worried as she was. Though belatedly Rinya realized it really shouldn’t surprise her. After all they were the ones out here before she had joined them. She avoiding touching Jorin though and Rinya did her best not to flinch outwardly. In her stressed state, she had completely forgotten about why she was jealous in the first place. All in all Kirsi seemed quite nice. Vaguely she wondered how the two of them had met in the first place. Though if she had to guess, Jorin picked up friends as if it was the easiest thing to do—probably was for him.

"But I think I'm done with swimming for today."

Rinya couldn’t have agreed more. The idea of trying to go back out and teach them further wasn’t at all appealing. Besides Jorin was looking purely exhausted, and even as she caught her breath, Rinya could feel unused muscles start to protest the sudden amount of use. Rinya hadn’t taken much time to practice the things she would have back in Sylira. But then again, she was far busier in Riverfall than back home.

"How about we call it a day?"

Rinya twitched her nose, glancing down her nude body. With the beach full of people, she wasn’t liable to just walk home. She hadn’t at all planned on shifting today though either. After a moment, she lifted her gaze to observe the two of them. With the nerves from the near disaster calming, Rinya felt slightly hollow. But even if Jorin could feel it, she wasn’t bound to show it. Huffing slightly, Rinya wrung the water out of her hair.

”Best idea I think I’ve heard all day.” Rinya muttered lowly. She debated on being generally polite and apologizing to Kirsi again—maybe even asking Jorin when she might see him again, but she felt like the odd one out all of a sudden. Instead Rinya crouched down to the ground and let the shift overcome her. With a hard shake, Rinya fluffed her feathers out trying to free them of the left over water before, stretching her wings out.

Letting out a string of several whistles—nowhere near the pitch when she had first joined them—Rinya pushed off the ground, barely skimming over the hot sand before she finally got enough lift to get her higher. Her wings felt heavy, slightly dragged by the water left over between her feathers and the nagging feeling of overuse. It was easy enough to ignore though, and Rinya had the feeling she was more fleeing than anything else. It was going to take more than just flight to make her forget about today.

[Kirsi Winterflame]

"...I think I'm done with swimming for today. How about we call it a day?" Kirsi let out a shaky laugh at Jorin's words; his attempt to minimize the harrowing experience fell short, but the fact that he'd made the attempt was reassuring. An even bigger relief was that everyone seemed to be in agreement: swimming lessons were definitely over for the day. Nodding with just a bit too much enthusiasm, she concurred, "I think that's a fantastic idea." Turning to Rinya, Kirsi opened her mouth to thank the Kelvic woman once again, and promptly closed it when she saw the other crouching down in the sand. Her initial confusion was replaced by a mildly frustrated sigh as the human form was replaced, once again, by the hawk. A powerful shake of the wings and a string of admittedly less aggressive whistling sounds were the bird's only farewell; Kirsi watched thoughtfully as Rinya ascended into the air and eventually disappeared into the blue of the sky. "That could have gone..." a pause, a shrug, a half-smile, "worse. I guess," Kirsi gestured upward, indicating the departure of the Kelvic. Now that they were out of the water and Rinya had gone, Kirsi felt more at ease. Though she could form all the guesses in the world about the reasons behind the other woman's actions and attitudes that day, it would serve no purpose. In the end, as uncharitable as it might be, she was just glad not to have to tiptoe around her any more. Plucking uncomfortably at her waterlogged clothing, Kirsi debated whether or not to pursue the subject. Finally deciding that, since she and Jorin were friends, and Jorin and Rinya were friends, they might reasonably be expected to run into each other now and then. It would certainly help things along if Kirsi understood a bit more about her; at least enough not to immediately piss her off on sight. But, wringing the excess water out of her shirt, Kirsi decided her questions could wait awhile. She certainly didn't feel like standing around on the beach, fully clothed and soaking wet. At the moment, she couldn't decide if she wanted a change of clothes, a good strong drink, or a nap. From the look of things, poor Jorin was in much the same sorry state, with the added bonus of having nearly drowned thrown in for good measure. Concern still evident on her face, Kirsi studied Jorin carefully. She'd seen people go into shock long after a traumatic event; and she wasn't yet sure he was entirely out of the woods. "Want me to walk with you back to town?" The gentle question was in no way mean to hint that he was incapable of taking care of himself, she simply operated on the theory 'better safe than sorry.'