Solo An Eye to the Sea

[Lacerta]

Summer 1st, 459 AV

Lacerta sat comfortably on the beach with her friend, staring out at the crystalline water. The woman beside her was Konti, identifiable by her pale skin and hair, scales, and webbed fingers, and gills. This particular woman – by the name of Malian’a, or simply Mali – had pure white hair that was shorter than usual, only reaching her shoulders. She looked barely fifteen, younger than the Ethaefal did herself. Mali had vivid sea green eyes, that were quite striking compared to her white skin, scales and hair. The sailor had met the woman during one of her later seasons in Mura, and they’d quickly come to a deal of sorts. The Eth would teach what she knew of composing and flute playing, and the Konti would teach her own swimming techniques, including breathing ones. The older woman had wanted to swim through Laviku’s grace and the Kelp forest ever since she’d seen them from above, and had set herself a personal goal to do that one day.

”Right… so you’re in clothes you don’t mind getting wet, right?” Mali asked, glancing over at her companion with a smile. The latter nodded, and shoved off her boots when the swimmer did. ”Well… off we go!” The Konti pushed herself and waded into the ocean water, reaching her waist in moments. Lacerta followed, though at the same point the waves lapped closer to her hips. Mali faced the deeper water and gracefully dived in, leaving her companion slightly bewildered. Only when the woman popped several meters away and waved did the sailor continue walking. She kept going until her head could barely crane over the surface of the water, and she was standing on her toes to keep from fully going under. Her friend was treading water, watching intently. ”Just go under” was the encouraging instruction, and the Eth sighed and let her knees buckle.

Her clothes pulled under the water, both from waves and general movement. Her eyes were crushed tightly shut, and she moved awkwardly through the liquid, arms dragging before her in an attempt to move faster. She’d gone slightly horizontal , kicking awkwardly with her legs as well. Only when her lungs started to burn did she burst above the water, taking a deep breath. ”Twenty two ticks!” Mali exclaimed, clapping at the startled Ethaefal. ”Good for now… but if you really want to swim, you need to hold your breath for a few chimes… but we’ll just start with normal swimming tactics, ok? Sooo, you try and stay horizontal in the water, and kick your legs… we’ll just start with that. Keep your hands by your sides.”

Lacerta awkwardly ducked back under the surface, angling her body and moving her legs up and down. They propelled her a decent distance, creating a decent push against the general waves as she headed back to shore. When she finally needed air, she popped back above, taking another deep gasp. ”Good! Again! Try and stay down as long as possible.” The Konti seemed to have appeared right next to the Ethaefal, and she glanced up in surprise, before nodding. Without a word, she took in another breath before pushing out into the water again, this time away from shore.

x

[Lacerta]

Lacerta kicked as hard as she could, legs feeling awkward with such a new movement. It was so tempting to use her hands to resist the dragging of her loose clothes, but she ignored them, instead trying to go as far, and fast, as possible. She popped up to the surface a little while later, lungs gasping for air. She paused, calming down her breaths until they were slow and steady again. Luckily, she was barely able to stand at this depth, so rested while she could. Swimming was tiring simply because you had to hold your breath for so long… something she never did. Sure, being bigger and taller meant she had bigger lungs, but that didn’t mean much in the long run… she was still a terrible swimmer. She had no tactics at all, and this was basically her first time not trying to scramble out of the water as soon as she’d entered. Most sailors didn’t swim, and she wasn’t really an exception.

”Cmon! Are you tired? Stop swimming if you get any cramps – you might drown or something. Two more times and I’ll teach you some arm motions.” Mali waved from several meters away, easily treading the water. The Ethaefal was actually quite envious of that skill, but decided that her extra height would do for now… she wasn’t diving or anything crazy like that. Nodding once, she ducked under the water and began kicking, repeating the action on the way back. Her movements were becoming smoother and easier, and the soaked cotton began to feel less… annoying. It didn’t drag as much, leaving her free to move as fast and as much as she wanted. Most of her drive was the knowledge that she’d learn something new from this, and interesting and exciting idea indeed. Just using her feet was getting a little… repetitive, and was probably not that efficient. This way… she’d actually be able to move to her fullest ability.

When she finished, standing at a comfortable height that allowed her shoulders to just peek out of the water, she eyed Mali. ”So…?” she asked, and was quickly interrupted with an explanation. ”For this style, you can be right at the surface, or down below. Usually, there’s a certain kind of kick that goes with it, but I’ll teach you that later. So… see how my arms move.” Lacerta was startled to see the Konti stand, before realizing that the woman had found a submerged rock to perch herself on. She reached her arms out in front of her, pulled them back in a sort of rectangle shape, before connecting them and pushing forward. They came with a description as well. ”Start with your hands in front… pulling back will force you through the water. Then connecting and pushing forward will help you return your hands to the original position, with the least resistance in the water.” Again, the blonde repeated the action, pushing forward, pulling back, and repeating. It looked vaguely complicated, but Lacerta decided she’d try it anyways.

x

[Lacerta]

The Ethaefal tried the movement, bringing her arms high above the surface of the rolling waves. She started with them pointing forward, before pulling back to awkward right angles. Her fingertips stuck deep into the water then, and she could feel the extra force needed to move even that much water… it wasn’t much, but would probably take a lot more effort when she was completely submerged. She tried the motion one or two more times, before Mali nodded approvingly. Only then did she sink under and try it, kicking lightly at the same time.

The forward push was actually quite fun, feeling like she was gliding through the water. However, the actual drag took a lot more force, and it was so tempting to lose her form… keeping her elbows at a right angle was also hard. Still, she tried it two more times, before finally pushing herself above the surface to take in a few breaths of air. She hadn’t moved that far, considering she hadn’t been kicking so hard. ”If you swim at the surface, every time you pull back, stick your head up for a breath. You can go forever without stopping that way.” Diving gracefully into the salty water, the Konti demonstrated, sticking her head up every few ticks and gliding when her arms were stretched out. She also did something funny with her legs, but the Ethaefal ignored that, knowing said knowledge would come later.

”Ok…” she muttered, before lowering herself into the water, but keeping right at the surface. She kicked lightly, surprised when her heels cleared the top and created large, loud splashes. She tried to keep them below the surface after that, annoyed by the splashing. She dragged back with her hands, remembering to stick her head up for a breath. She barely had time before she had to force her head under again, gliding slowly. She didn’t really go anywhere with that, mostly nearly stopping before her next movement came. When she lifted her head again, Mali cried ”Push harder! Yo-“ but her voice was drowned out by the water. Lacerta got the main idea though, and kicked harder than ever. She also tried to push back harder, but her arms didn’t really like the strange exercise, and felt like they were doing nothing. The whole thing felt strange anyways… like the feet and arm movements didn’t entirely fit together. But as the Konti said… there was another kind of kick she had to learn.

Lacerta swam up and down several times, getting accustomed to the arm motions, and taking a breath every few moments. She didn’t feel like she was straining her lungs any more – a welcome notion – and found this swimming much more relaxing. When she felt comfortable, she surfaced, addressing the floating Mila ”Right… the leg stuff. What do I do for that?”

x

[Lacerta]

Mila was hovering easily in the sea water, legs churning in an odd pattern. Whatever it was… Lacerta would figure it out soon. The Konti led her friend over to a much more shallow area, where she could lie flat but allow the Ethaefal to see what the movements were. Her legs were moving in a… circular… thing. Pointing straight, coming around in a circle, before pushing out and snapping closed again. It was actually quite similar to the arm movement, thinking about it. Streamlined, circle, back to streamlined. It made sense though, and was pretty effective. Lying down in a similar position, the sailor found her legs in a comfortable spot to move. She started with her toes pointed, and legs straight, coming around in a circle, slowly finding her way back to the original spot. The swimmer glanced over and shook her head.

”Snap back at the end… hard. So you get a lot of force out of it.” She demonstrated, and again the composer copied. She liked the feet, and after a few more tries, felt comfortable with the movement. It required a bit of concentration to remember what she was supposed to be doing, but she could remember that while swimming. She pushed off the shallow bank and deeper into the water, before pointing herself away from shore. Gathering her legs, she kicked, surprised at the push it gave her. Right after, she began the pulling motions with her arms, all the while kicking over and over again. When gliding it felt odd, and the whole thing didn’t fit together perfectly. After a bit, she frowned and stood, glancing over at Mila for confirmation.

”Think of it this way. Pull… breath… kick…. Glide. Get it? Don’t kick while gliding.” Ducking under the water, the Konti demonstrated, actually moving quite far with each round. The Ethaefal nodded, understanding, before trying the action herself. Pull, breath, kick, glide. Pull, breath, kick, glide. Over and over again. She tried to focus on the movements, and get them right each time. Soon enough, she found herself easing her way through the pattern, as the repetition got to her. They made a nice combination, to be honest, and the different exercise was… soothing. It wasn’t too stressful either, though she didn’t go as fast as she sometimes saw Mila go. Still, it was quiet and relaxing, exactly what she wanted for swimming. An easy way to get around places.

Feeling a little bored with this style, however, she paused at a shallow area. Starting from a standing position, she stuck her head under the water before pushing off with her feet. She kept her arms at her sides, and kicked rapidly to keep moving. Despite the simplicity of the earlier form, this was still entertaining. If only she could see under the water though… she’d be able to actually look at the reef… And that would be incredible. Still, she had to learn the basics of swimming before moving onto anything complicated.

x

[Lacerta]

After her little dive, Lacerta popped up for a deep breath, feeling happy about her successes. It felt good to swim, move through an entirely different world, even if she couldn’t see it. It was tempting to open her eyes and see what the ocean floor looked like, but left it for now… that could come later. Maybe there was some way to protect your eyes while in the water… some form of glasses? It would be interesting to see what the Konti race had come up with… they were quite the intelligent and artistic people, after all.

When she surfaced, the sailor spotted Mila waving from the shore. She was standing there, in similarly soaked clothes, beckoning her friend forward. Lacerta came willingly, using the time to practice her swimming even more. She repeated the pull, breath, kick, glide pattern until her fingers brushed sand. She stood up, water streaming from her hair and clothes. ”Yes?” she asked, vaguely confused. She didn’t really feel like stopping swimming…. It was too fun. Luckily, the Konti had a better answer. ”A race! Starting here, we run into the water, and to that rock. I want to see how fast you can swim.” There was a little prodding involved, but the Ethaefal agreed with a nod. She didn’t see how she could beat her companion… the woman was a master, in her opinion, but… she could try. It would be entertaining to see how fast she could go.

On an agreed nod, both sprinted towards the rock. Though she was good for the first few moments, Lacerta’s feet slipped awkwardly in the sand, and once the water was up to her knees… she tripped. Too hasty to get up, she started swimming, trying to keep the sequence going. However, her form failed in the rush, and the ‘glide’ part was all but forgotten. She had the rock in her mind’s eye, and knew where she was going… sort of. In general. She would simply keep swimming until she ran into something… which might have hurt, but she didn’t care. The flurry of movements that she forced herself through felt messy as well, but faster too. Probably not as fast as Mila though… but she didn’t care anymore. It was fun… oh so fun. Her legs kicked awkwardly and her arms were a flurry, and she ended up simply shoving herself the last few meters… however, her hand finally grabbed the rock and she surfaced in triumph…

To see the Konti sitting on top of the stone. ”Nice! But you lost a lot of control there… did it feel messy? Because it was… you need force, not speed, to go fast.” With a small laugh, the swimmer tapped the flutist on the head, before slipping back into the water. She hung on easily, even when a wave battered them and sent Lacerta off balance. Together, the two laughed, before swimming tiredly back to shore… another day, another skill.

x

[Tsunami]

Rewards!

Skills

Swimming +4
Endurance +1
Observation +3
Running +1

Lore

Malian'a- Friend and Swimming Instructor
Swimming: Holding Breath for Twenty Seven ticks
Swimming: Stop swimming when you get cramps.
Swimming: Using feet to propel forward through water
Swimming: Using arms to pull forward through the water
Swimming: Using the Front Stroke (Basic)
Swimming: Pull, Breath, Kick, and Glide
Lost the race with Mali
Konti are natural swimmers

Comments

I really enjoyed the training thread, Lacerta. It was nice to see her having fun while learning something as complicated as swimming. Even though I thought it was a good thread, I just wanted you to be aware of environment that Lacerta might be swimming in especially at her current skill level. At novice level Lacerta might have difficulty learning how to swim in the ocean unless it a calm day because of the constant wave action on the surface of the water and the currents under the water can make it hazardous for a novice swimmer. Especially if the swimmer is just learning how to swim. Since some rivers tend to have some kind of current, they to can be hazardous to novice swimmers too. Oh, could you mark this thread as a flashback. Thank you.

Anyways, Lacerta good thread!

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