Ricky learns to swim this time, only not from his dad.
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Center of scholarly knowledge and shipwrighting, Zeltiva is a port city unlike any other in Mizahar. [Lore]
He struggled to swim as his flailing arms gave out, his legs tired of the endless flail and his brain groggy with exhaustion. He could feel the painful sting of the water intruding its way as he tried to keep from breathing. His sluggish process had nearly grounded to a halt and a slow descent once more, it wasn't until Nira's earnest expression and exentended hand that he felta change of heart. She was beginning to worry, as he no doubt looked like a floundering fish ready to give in, which was quite an embarrassment on his part.
He felt pain inside his chest burned slightly as his lungs could feel the water creeping in, yet if he didn't push harder then surely he would drown. It was now or never as Nira hoped to pull him up, all he had to do was reach her.
It was time. Gritting his teeth together he kicked his legs once more, swinging back and forth as he felt the water swish around his legs. He threw his arms forward and paddled in an attempt to make things go quicker, it seemed to work. His sluggish movement began to finally pick up its pace, as he manage to find the will to keep his peddling and paddling going. Still anxious for the air to breath above the surface, he reached for Nira's hand as he drew closer.
'Almost there...can't... stop now.' His thoughts felt blank, much like the rest of his head, as he drew closer to Nira. Her hand now finally within grasp, he reached for it but missed the first time. The second though he didn't miss.
Eagerly he held on to Nira's hand, clasping onto it for dear life as she would now bring him up to the surface.
Nira’lia saw him attempt to reach for his hand. When he missed the first time, her heart sunk. She decided to just help him altogether when he surprised her by trying again. Gleefully, she saw that he was able to grasp her hand this time.
Grinning at him through the water, she had no idea that his mind had turned blank at this point. She just pulled him up with her, using her webbed feet to propel them both upwards. Considering that they were not too far from the surface, it only took a second for both their heads to immerge from the water. Nira’lia didn’t gasp for air like humans did when they had just been underwater for a long time. Instead, her lungs adjusted accordingly, and she adapted to the change in environment naturally.
“Fantastic! See, you learned how to swim upwards all on your own! All you need to do to keep afloat is to paddle with your hands and feet… it’s not too difficult! You’ll get the hang of it! Quickly, before you sink again!” she said enthusiastically. To demonstrate, she looked down at her own feet that were slowly moving in paddling motions. Her hand, the one that she wasn’t using to hold him, was moving as well, striding up and down in a gentle manner. The Konti moved towards the dock, keeping Ricky in tow by the hand. “Here, you can hold the pillar! That is, if you can’t float on your own!”
She led him towards the docks and to one of the pillars that held it up. He could easily take hold of it to keep his self afloat, just as she assumed. However, she hoped that he didn’t have to. Nira’lia hoped that he would be able to keep himself from sinking using the basic lesson that he had told him.
When Nira came to pull them up to the surface, never before had Ricky felt such relief in his life. When their heads bobbed out of the surface Ricky coughed a storm as the little bit of water he inhaled cleaned out from his lungs, and gasped after finally seeing the blue of the sky once again.
He was tired, so very tired, already as he clearly overworked himself. Nira wasn't done teaching though, and even though she pushed him in to begin with he didn't blame her. He watched her legs and one free arm as they swayed in a gentle motion, and in a tired and nervous manner tried to mimic her. She guided him right over to the post of the dock, where he could hold himself afloat should he have trouble. She let him go and allowed him to try, as he quickly wrapped one arm around the post to keep from going under.
Convinced that he could at least give it a try, after coming this far, he looked to his legs as he mimicked Nira's movements from before. He could feel the water swish between his toes in an odd tickling manner which made him grin a bit, and as he continued with moving his free arm he felt slighty sure he could float. He relaxed and allowed his arm to release him back into the water, his body slightly starting to go under. When he did this a short pqnic flickered through, but to his amazement he stayed afloat with the movements Nira taught him.
Nervous to the core he kept his focus on paddling and moving his limbs, but as he floated there he could literally feel his own body float. He looked to Nira with a proud smile, excited but still wary of his current occupation.
"Am I doing it Nira?" He asked in a slight heave manner, still choked a from earlier but also intent on staying afloat.
“Of course you’re doing it right! You’re floating on your own, are you not!?”
Nira’lia was more than enthusiastic! A wide grin had spread on her face, and her eyes were twinkling with excitement. The Konti watched him as he attempted to do it on his own. It was evident that he was still hesitant, but just the fact that he was trying to do this was already a huge step forward.
And what a step forward. He was floating, and on his own!
‘I’m on a fantastic teacher!’ the childish Konti thought to herself.
While she was a natural swimmer because she was a Konti, she wasn’t the best. Zeltiva was far from being similar to Mura, the isle which was half sea and half land. Nira’lia was sure that the other Konti knew so much more about swimming than the little that she knew. For that reason, she was so enthused by the fact that she was able to pass on some of her skills to Ricky. It made her feel proud as a swimmer, and as a Konti.
The Konti giggled at him. “Are you enjoying yourself? Want to dive to the sea floor with me?”
It would be near impossible for a beginner for him to do so, but she didn’t realize that.
Her enthusiasm was inspiring for Ricky and began to make him feel totally relaxed, like he was actually in control now that she helped. He saw the same look his father would have when he taught Ricky something, the same proud look he would be given now glinted in Nira's eyes. When she invited him to dive below he felt mixed between excited and nervous, unsure if he could go back down there or hold his breath long enough remain under.
"Uh how long do you think we'll be under?" he looked to the water in front of himas a wave splashed, squinting as the liquid ran down his face and hair. He shook his head before he continued. "How do I even go under? Or stay under for that matter?" He quizzed with a puzzled expression, wanting to go down below with her. He was now able to keep afloat, but he was ready to see the world of fish that resided below.
His limbs were feeling liquidy from the earlier workout, no doubt he was tired already but his mind was clear now. Full of inspiration, excitement, and accomplishment; he wanted to continue onward with her.
The Konti seemed to think about it. “I think it’s… about twenty feet deep… I don’t really know how long that would take. Maybe a chime or so? Can you hold your breath for that long?”
Then she smiled at him. If he said that he’d rather not risk it, she would understand. Nira’lia did not fear doing it because she had her gills, but she knew that it would probably be difficult for a human. Especially for a human who knew nothing about swimming aside from knowing how to float.
“If you really want to try, it’s real simple to do!” she continued. With her hands, she did a paddling motion, demonstrating what his feet should do. Her hands were doing a motion between kicking and gliding through the water. “So, your feet should do this, and this will propel you further.”
Such a task was most likely worked so much easier for someone like a Konti who had webbed feet, but she didn’t tell him that. Next, she started to demonstrate a butterfly stroke with her arms. She made a motion wherein she would paddle her hands in an outward manner, and then her hands would return to her sides, and she would repeat the action.
“If you do those at the same time, and you do it while aiming for the sea floor… you should be able to swim downwards… uhm, I’m sorry, I’m not making much sense. I don’t really know how to teach people.”
It all sort of made sense to Ricky in a way, the way she demonstrated the it was perfectly clear. 'So just hold your breath and paddle to surface when I need air', he thought as he watched her. She began to apologize though saying that she wasn't the best teacher, but he only grinned at her in a reassuring manner. He thought it'd be good to surprise her, seeing as how she surprised him earlier.
Taking a deep breath he dove under, closing his eyes and squinting them when he opened. The salt water irritated them but not as bad as earlier, enough to where he could see where he would swim. Looking at Nira before he went down, he stroke through the water in an attempt to swim down. He allowed only small puffs of air to escape to help him stay under for as long as he could, looking and waiting for Nira to come below. When she would they would swim together, in an attempt to show him the world below. The veiw was astounding already, he could see fish swimming in the distance. The undersea floral swaying with the incoming tides like they were alive, and one with the ocean. It was all amazing to take in, and he waited for Nira before paddling anywhere else.
OOC :
I figured you could go ahead and close it, and afterwards I'll turn it in for grading and get started on the next. This was great fub by the way!
Slightly startled, the Konti watched Ricky do it with ease. Considering that he had such a difficult time more simple swimming tasks earlier, she had not expected that. The Konti grinned widely and followed suit. Once again, her body adjusted to the change in environment.
She paddled downwards in the motion that she had demonstrated earlier. Nira’lia was faster than him and she caught up with him easily, and she saw that air bubbles that escaped him now and then.
‘Oh, he’s only human, we can’t stay underwater for too long!’
The Konti would not push him further. Quickly, she swam ahead of him. Below them, she could see the rows of kelp that grew along the sea floor. While she had said earlier that she was going to fetch some, she realized now that she would have to do that next time. For now, she had to focus on Ricky, and on the fact that she knew he had to resurface soon.
Amused, she watched a fish go right past her eyes. It appeared to glimmer a rainbow tint. To her, it was absolutely beautiful. For this reason, she waved her hands to catch Ricky’s attention and she frantically pointed at the fish as it swam by.
And as soon as she was done watching it flutter past her eyes, she pointed towards the surface and urged Ricky to go up again. All he needed to do was mimic the same movements that got them further down the water, except towards the surface this time. She waited for him to go ahead, making sure that he was safe.
When they resurfaced, the Konti was laughing. She looked at Ricky with a happy expression. “That was great! You’re a natural!”
He really was. They soon got out of the water, and the Konti chattered on and on about her sisters who were much better swimmers than her. She couldn’t stop herself, and she didn’t seem to stop and wonder if he was getting bored or not. The Konti didn’t know why but she simply felt at ease. For that reason, before they separated for the day, she exchanged addresses with him for the hope of seeing him another time.
Lores:A Sailor’s Shame, Water: It Feels Terrific, Dreaming Of The Sea, Konti: They Are Friendly, Talking To Girls, Nira’lia Is Special, Be Careful What You Wish For, Being Assaulted By A Konti, Near Death Experience: Drowning, Nira’lia’s Crash Course In Swimming, Laviku’s Dashing Good Looks, Being Awesome
Items and Consequences:Your PC now has a minor cold! Don’t get dry in 24 hours, and make it pneumonia!
Your character now gets the fuzzy belly butterflies whenever he sees Nira. Enjoy your schoolboy crush.
Nira'lia :
Skill
XP Awarded
Seduction
1
Persuasion
2
Brawling
1
Swimming
2
Teaching
3
Lores:Making Friends, Humans Have No Gills, Dreaming Of The Sea, Sea-Hugs, Ricky’s Happiest Memory, The Difference Between Attempted Homicide And Practical Teaching, Being A Good Konti, Pretty Fishy, Ricky’s A Natural
Items and Consequences:A sense of profound accomplishment for the next week. A cool, NATURALhigh!
D'aaaawww! Nira and Ricky are so darn ADORABLE as kids! A heartwarming little thread. Keep up the good work!
Note to Ricky: You might want to watch your repetition. It became very hard not to make fun of your constant use of the word "special" after a while. Other than that, keep up the good work!
If you have any questions or concerns about this grade, please PM me. A happy you is a happy Balderdash!
by Ricky Maze on November 3rd, 2012, 2:58 pm 
and afterwards I'll turn it in for grading and get started on the next. This was great fub by the way!
