[Flashback] Practice Makes Perfect [Onyx]

[Moonstone Maelstrom]

Spring 74, 499 AV

"Go, go, go, go, go," Moon encouraged Moana as she hung onto the dolphin's dorsal fin with both hands. Her casinor was anchored nearby, and her head was just above the water. Her Tavan powered on beneath her before diving, and after sucking in a quick breath, Moonstone went under with her. Down they went while the girl's eyes took in everything around her, and she listened to the clicks and whistles that Moana was making when they were down below. She wanted her to let go - and Moon knew that if the dolphin wanted that, she did - she always had a reason for it, and sure enough, she could see the sleek, streamlined shape of her friend launch through the water, doubtless doing some sort of backwards flip, and disappeared from sight, though Moon heard her reenter the water somewhere behind her, but the girl kept swimming, her arms at her sides, her legs together, moving her whole body almost the same way that the dolphin had. There was another reason to it, as she aimed herself for the surface, angling upwards, heels together, because soon enough, she felt that beak against the bottom of her feet. This was old habit - Moon knew what to do. Her legs stiffened, though she didn't quite lock her knees, and she straightened her body as she was propelled through the water towards the surface. Up, up, and awaaaaaaaay! She was launched out of the water with Moana, her hair streaming out behind her like a horse's mane. "Woooooooo!" Moon whooped as she brought her arms over her head and hit the water in a dive, her Tavan right beside her. She came back up for air, laughing all the way as she let Moana propel her over to her casinor.

She climbed up, squeezing the excess water out of her long air on the deck, as naked as she was the day she was born. It was good weather, and clothing, as a Svefra, was optional when you were on your own boat. When you were a Morpher, too, it just got in your way. Moon was practically dancing as she scurried around the deck of the Wandering Moon. Scratch that - she was dancing. She was twisting and turning, shimmying and cat-stepping, dancing to the music of the waves and some rhythm that only she could hear. It was spring in the South Suvan, and spring was a damn fine season to be outdoors in. She grabbed her mainsail's chief line, pulling it down before winding it into the winch to trim her mainsail. Years of watching her older family members paid off - she had her Wandering Moon, and while she was still working at learning to sail, she could learn within the safety of her pod. If she was desperate or in trouble, one of them would come get her and help her out. Everyone looked after everyone else - that was the Svefra way. One day, it would be her turn to look after and guide the younger members of the pod.

But today was not that day.

The teenager tossed her wild main of wavy, mahogany-brown locks as they dripped all over her and the deck. That was something she tried to do on a regular basis - practice. Be it sailing, swimming, fishing... it was imperative that she did.There was nothing more common in the world than unsuccessful people with talent. Anyone could be good at something, but to be good, to be really good, you had to hone it. Untapped talent was as good as a dull cutlass... useless. She sauntered to the wheel, almost skipping, and checked her wind direction indicators before heading back to the mast to adjust her main sheet, the rope that controlled her mainsail before returning once again to the helm of the ship and adjusting the wheel of the casinor. Moon had realized as a child that with a sailboat, directly heading at something straight in front of you was slow going. In order to get somewhere, you had to be reaching so that your sails would luff up. You'd gone too far as a novice if your sails were in a wide broad reach, and then there was the beam reach... the one time she had allowed the sails to reach that position, her father had not only tanned her hide, he had had tied the Wandering Moon up to the Sharkchaser and insisted she spend the next five days on the family Palivar while they went over sailing again.

Never again.

The wind was playful today, it seemed, because no sooner did she get on course did the winds change again, and that kept Moon at the wheel. That was fine by her - she could practice steering, though the casinor was swaying a bit as she kept adjusting the boat to get the sails to luff properly and still go in the direction she wanted to go. The thirteen-year-old checked her direction indicators again, and turned the wheel just a fraction. And as was her habit at the wheel, she began to shimmy. Her feet were placed a few inches apart, relaxing her knees so that they were bent without putting too much tension on her back, and started moving her knees up and down, putting the movement in at her hips. She was comfortable in that shimmy - it was something she practiced constantly at the wheel, because doing so helped tone her legs and butt.

The next step from that, she knew, was a lot harder, and that was to actually shimmy while walking. She tried it once. It didn't go well - her butt had been everywhere. But she had figured out how to work on it. As she kept up her shimmy, Moonstone began to shift her weight to one food, oh-so-slowly, her knees and hips still moving. Her foot was still on the ground, but almost all of her weight was on her other foot, and while her shimmy was far less controlled, it was still happening. That was good - that was a start. She began to transfer her weight again, back to the other side, still making sure that the hips kept moving as her eyes looked out on the blue seas of the Suvan.

At that moment, she didn't want to be anyone else for anything.

[Onyx Maelstrom]

Onyx sat with his hand on the ships wheel, last summer he had earned enough coin from the sale of his catches to afford the modification to his casinor, the Lucky Lass. The wheel had been made of polished wood bent around a brass wheel spoke. Instead of harsh heavy wood pieces the shipwright had fashioned it out of a slim oak stock that he steamed into shape. The wheel felt foreign to the young male, but the craftsmanship was solid and instead of having to steer with a harsh thick wheel rig, he now had a smooth turning motion. He smiled as he closed his eyes and looked up into the sun. The warmth and light shown down on the Maelstrom boy becoming a man, his hair had slightly turned blonde from the sun while his skin had darken to a deep bronze. He was sailing on the outskirts of the Maelstrom pod. Lia Turquoise had sent him away last year for his constant rebellion, and in truth it suited him better for not having to deal with her. The Suvan Sea had taught him more about himself, then the constant battle with the Lia. He enjoyed the physical thrill of sailing and being in charge of his own course. He loved the independence of his own ship, and the long lonely fishing trips he took. The only thing he did miss was his family… and looking at the bare breasted older women. After all, it was Onyx's sixteenth year and for last three years his eyes had caught the full swell of older women wondering and marvelling at their curves. In those early seasons, he wasn't really sure what he wanted from such women. He knew that looking at their curves and lips an almost lighting flash of energy would swell in him, and he wanted… something. He wanted to touch, to kiss, to suck, to do something more and yet he didn't have the language for it. As the seasons turned into years, Onyx quickly began to understand what he wanted from the female body, and how his own would react. The Maelstrom pod had on occasion found other pods, and during that time Onyx had fully explored the delights of female companionship. Kissing and touching was still so exciting to him, still so new that he wanted to cup several places on girls when he met them. Then there were the more intimate pleasures, and Onyx had only experienced such things twice, but his mind was filled with when that next opportunity would come. Onyx heard a small flap in his main sail and he looked up seeing that the sail had gain a bit of slack. He passed adjust the wheel slightly to three points off of port and the sail began to trim back into shape. The ship hit the next wave and the sea spray came flying across the deck, small rivers of white foam flowed down the running boards past his feet. Onyx, smiled noticing that the wind had shifted just right for him to have a board reach on the sail. As Onyx took the moment to scan the horizon, he noticed another small Casinor off in the distance. Its sail seemed to be bobbing up and down just above the waves, and Onyx knew from the general shape of the sail that the ship was from his pod. Slowly, he turned the wheel and adjusted the sail boom. He was approaching from the stern side of the ship, which meant he was going to have to try and steal his family members wind to catch them. Onyx began adjusting the trim on the sail to close to luffing as he dared to get. Onyx need the best advantage of the wind to close quietly upon his targeted family member, and the only way to do that was to set his sail at maximum angle compared to the wind. So as the sail let out a ripple across its wide surface, Onyx tighten the rope leads to the mast and boom till the rippling went away and the sail stayed taut. Onyx grabbed a rigging rope and checked the sea's motion. Currently he was four points off the wave's direction and he smiled. It was dangerous keeping the sail and course set at where it was. Depending on how the wind changed then the two ships would have to tack back and forth to try and stay in the general direction. Onyx picked up a loose rope line and tied it around the main mast. He ran across the deck dragging the rope line in one hand to the starboard side. As he approached the rail, his foot reached up and pushed the young Maelstrom over. For a moment, Onyx's body felt the open sea breeze as his feet came planting down against the hull of the Lucky Lass. Onyx's body weight began to roll the boat to its starboard side; the rope he had tied to the main mast was shifting the boats center weight to its right. The manuever was known as hull trimming, and Onyx felt as he grabbed more of the rope the ship began to roll. The manuever was only good for sneaky up on people, and as the ship crested the wave he let loose a little bit of his leverage as he felt the ship briefly want to capsize. It was a delicate balance and Onyx wondered how much it really gained him. After all as his hand drifted into the cold clear drink of the sea, he was gaining on his family's ship. It was a weighting game; the wind, the current, even the off chance that the mouse in this game might notice him could change at any moment. Onyx held his breath and he waited watching the sailing ship slowly become bigger over each wave. He watched the rigging and sail trim like a man possessed, for his heart was racing a part of him wanted to trim the haul even more. Another part of him that felt his body touching the tips of the waves as his feet planted against the hull felt the slow roll of the ship scream to stop the manuever.