Scary Blue [Edreina]

[Razkar]

50th Day of Spring
Anchorage Flotilla
13th Bell

He was a warrior. He was a reaver. He was a butcher and a slayer of almost more men than he could remember. Yukmen, human, Akalaks, Dhani... all had fallen before his blades and been consumed by his filed teeth. His body was a carved and inked chronicle of how he had led the life of a killer for nearly a decade. Where he walked, death went with him...

Yeah. Wonderful in theory, boy...

"You look scared, Myrian."

"I am not!"

"Did your voice just crack?"

"No!"

"Mm-hmmm..."

Eranis cocked an eyebrow and shook his head, tearing his eyes from the Myrian staring at the impossibly blue water beyond the deck and back to his book. A rare one, this time: Lore and Legends of The Knights. He'd had to hunt for a whole year to find it, and paid a pretty penny both in expense and final purchase, but it was worth it.

His scholarly mind had nearly shorted out when he'd unwrapped it for the first time, ran his fingers over the cracked and aged frame... the period inscriptions and woodcuts on the cover and... and, oh, Goddess... the signature from the author himself, Ser Archibald Byrns.

So it would hardly be unbiased, but it was a great find.

Turak was having more fun watching the Myrian stare apprehensively into the Suvan Sea, and nudged his cousin silently. Eranis didn't know what his big kin was planning, but when he got up quietly... jumped up... and landed behind Razkar with a crash-

"Careful!"

Razkar let out something like a strangled yelp and his arms clung around the deck rail like a child. Turak's smile froze as the Myrian's head snapped around and in the moment it took him to judge the distance from his crouched position, he lashed out with his foot-

-and caught the big man in the shin.

Turak stumbled back but was still laughing. Razkar drew himself back to his full height (still nearly a foot shorter than the blue-skin) but did not press it further. Would he do any different if the situation was reversed? Perhaps not...

"This not funny!"

"No." Turak said, over his chortles, settling back down and grabbing a bowlful of stew. "It's not funny to you. To me, it's petching hilarious."

"Pardon Turak." Eranis said in his usual deadpan tone, flipping to a fresh page and not even glancing at either of them. "His sense of humor is... rather simplistic."

"Hey, never said I was a great satirist like you, cousin."

"No, you will certainly never be mistaken for one of wit and taste."

Turak was in fine form, as he brushed that off with a mere grunt, lips curling in disgust at something else instead. He swallowed most of his stew and dug around between his teeth... pulled out something distinctly unhealthy looking.

"Mother of Gods... speaking of taste..." He flicked it over the rail and Razkar saw it splash quietly into the blue. It ghosted under the surface for a moment, that gristly, bone chunk, then sank... and sank... and before he knew it there was nothing. That could be him. Sinking into blackness and death and- "Your girlfriend going to be helping you out?"

Now Razkar positively bristled, which naturally only made Tukak laugh harder.

"She is not... girlfriend! I do not even know what is!"

"So you say..."

"Yes!"

Razkar whirled from them and kept up his silent vigil, watching the plethora of docked ships and commuting bipeds passing over their decks spread before him... and the treacherous, patient water below him. He scowled at it.

Bastard...

"Hello!"

A cheerful female voice from behind almost had him falling in all over again.

[Edreina]

"You're going to teach a Myrian how to swim?" Surai's dark eyes were incredulous as he looks up from his line. His long, delicately muscled frame is stretched easily from the rail, upon which his feet rested, to a sturdy little wooden stool, tilted back as he leaned against the mast. "Aren't they born knowing how to survive in any situation?" He asked, raising one thick brow until it met his hairline. "No, that is just a myth. This Myrian cannot swim any better than you or I could take down a lion," Edreina answered with a laugh, pulling her roughened shirt over her head, then searching the deck for her trousers. It seemed silly to put her clothes back on just to go teach someone how to swim, but she found clothing - covering her preferred undergarments - to be less of a hassle when walking through the part of the Flotilla largely inhabited by visitors. "You're sure this isn't simply a ploy to get you, a pretty, defenseless little Svefra, alone... right?" He spun the simple reel slowly, trying to entice any nearby fish. Edreina bristled at his teasing, eyes narrowing into slits as she began to pull her hair into a tight plait. Yes, she was shorter than he... but she was also something else, in her opinion: a great deal smarter. Smirking as she finished her plait, tying it off with a bit of cord, she walked over to the railing of her brother's casinor. Nonchalantly, though it was unlikely he would have noticed her actions either way, preoccupied with what he thought to be a bite on the hook, Edreina picked up his swabbing bucket and filled it with water. Safely behind Surai and the mast upon which he was leaning, she filled the bucket with sea water. "Oh yes... I'm so very defenseless... But! If he tries anything... I'll just... push him into the water!" With that she dumped the bucket onto her brother, causing him to drop the fishing line and splutter, jumping to his feet as the cool water covered his bared torso. Curses formed an undamable river as he had to lunge over the edge of the casinor to grab hold of his reel once more - apparently there had been a bite. Reel retrieved, but form swallowed up to the shoulders by the Suvan, Surai looked up at Edreina with a look that could only be described as hatred, but was commonplace between siblings. "I'll see you later, Suri," Edreina smiled as she saw even more annoyance rise into her brother's blue eyes at the feminine nickname that had lead to many a fight as children. Backing away from the railing as her brother approached it from below, revenge painting his features, Edreina called out one final taunt, "If I don't get eaten that is..." before leaping from his ship to another, then taking off at a loping jog towards the Cuttlefish. The journey was shorter than it would have been if she had been upon the Goldengrotto, her own vessel, for Surai had tied up with two of his friends from another pod. Edreina was mildly surprised to see that Razkar was not alone on the deck, two tall, darkly colored Akalaks stood upon the deck with him. Well, one was sitting, immersed in a book, the other looked as if a joke lingered in his mind, brightening his strong features. Booming laughter rang out as Edreina walked up the gangplank, she saw Razkar whirl about - perhaps the joke had been at the Myrian's expense. "Hello!" She called simply, smiling brightly at the trio. But, it was almost as if her voice had run up behind Razkar shoved him roughly, waking him from a deep sleep. The dark skinned Myrian to jump out of his skin ever so slightly, nearly sending himself over the rail, much to the delight of his deck mates. "I didn't mean to frighten you..." She said, unable to hide her wide smile. She walked up onto the deck and leaned against the railing, nodding to the two Akalaks in a friendly manner before returning to the - Edreina could have sworn he was trembling - Myrian. "Are you sure you still wish to learn how to swim?" Edreina teased, raising a single copper brow in mock concern.

[Razkar]

"I didn't mean to frighten you..."

"I not frighten!"

Yes, and didn't his appearance just back up those words marvelously? His knees had all but deserted him when he heard her voice, unconsciously forcing him back and away from the gently lapping waves beyond the Cuttlefish. By the time he'd found his feet again, he almost had the shakes, images of him falling into an endless, choking blue abyss flashing before his eyes.

"Not... Not really frighten." He tried lamely, before just shrugging, voice low so only she would hear him. "... maybe little..."

"Are you sure you still wish to learn how to swim?"

Razkar looked up and smiled into those bright, silvery eyes. Such a great heart, this one, he thought with that same smile... and then he felt the corners of his mouth droop softly. He worried about her for that. The world did not forgive such tenderness, nor often reward it. He was suddenly reminded of a rabid old warrior he'd marched with once. Barix... that was his name. Too long out by the Blockade and the northern reaches. Too many years as a kiler, not enough as a warrior, and that was half his point.

Everyone's only as good as the world allows them to be, he'd said one night, eyes glittering darkly from too much Taloba Grey and palm-wine, so what happens when it stops allowing, eh?

Razkar found himself hoping Edreina was not confronted with that question soon. At her current age... yes... he had no doubt it would break her.

The Myrian shook his head and snapped out of the useless, morbid reverie. There was work to be done, training to be endeavored! He nodded firmly and gestured to her, smile coming back crooked.

"I am sure. You will not off my back until I swim, no? So, I will learn. And to make balance for kind, I teach you some thing." He patted the weapons festooned over him. "Whatever you want."

He shrugged out of his Cloak, garment of sewn-together scalps fluttering quickly to the deck. Then came his weapon harness, which took a little more unbuckling, and as usual Razkar felt the faintest trace of unease ripple through him as he was suddenly without iron. Now clad only in his loincloth, he girded himself with a deep breath.

"So. How we begin?"

[Edreina]

Edreina could not help but watch as the Myrian disrobed, displaying the fullness of his muscled, bedecked form. The cloak of scalps did not bother her - though one could not pay her to wear it herself - for she did not see each scalp as a person, but as an enemy that had met its grisly end. The thought did not bother her as much as she had expected, perhaps because she was able to see Razkar himself as more than a killer; she had seen him tell stories, speak gently to a child, overcome a demon within, and now quake in fear at the playful waves that lapped against the Cuttlefish's hull. "Well, you have done the first part! When swimming, it is easiest to make yourself as light as possible, and as..." She could not find the Common word. Groaning, she took off her clothes in a rather efficient manner, pulling the shirt over her head then untying her loose trousers and stepping out of them, towards the railing and her student. "You don't want your clothes to make you larger, they will get caught on the water and slow you." Standing before the Myrian in simple under pants and thin, tan linen which wrapped about and efficiently bound her chest felt more natural, to Edreina. Many young Svefra women chose to simply swim in their underpants, but Edreina... well... she was more developed than them... Unnecessary body parts could slow swimming just as easily as unnecessary clothing. "Right!" Edreina quickly removed herself from that line of thought, returning to teaching, "Next you have to get into the water." Edreina laughed brightly at the look that flashed over Razkar's painted face. "Don't worry! When you first enter the water, you will hold onto the side of the boat. The water is never still, so Syna never warms it the way that she warms the deck. Your muscles will lock up at first, so you must let them adjust." Nonchalant, the Svefra walked over to the railing, stepped onto it, then into the water as easily as one would step over an obstacle across solid, even ground. When her body did not encounter resistance, it automatically relaxed until she was fully submerged, then, with two powerful strokes, pulled herself back to the surface. As she entered the water with a splash - she hoped it hit Razkar, at least slightly - she turned her body so that she was facing the boat. Grinning, she pulled herself back up onto the railing, resting on her elbows; the Cuttlefish's deck was quite high so at that point, her body was only in the water from knees down. "Gonna join me or just shake off your tattoos?" Then she remembered what he had said about sinking in water where he could not touch. Probably not the best way for him to enter... "Wait!" She raised a hand and formulated an alternative. Even the youngest Svefra child seemed to be able to at least float from birth, a gift from Laviku not bestowed upon the brown-eyed children that would be cast overboard before their shame was known. "Bring over that cargo net, please!" Edreina called to the Akalak that was not reading, pointing at a loose net that was laying in a tangle alongside the main mast, smiling in hopes that it would make him more willing to do as she asked. "Now, tie it off here..." She pointed to the "T" shaped metal cleat on the railing used to temporarily dock the ship. When all was done, she smiled to Razkar. "Now, you can join me... Just climb down the net and hold onto it once you're in the water." With that, she dropped back into the water, one hand resting on the lip of the railing, holding her still locked body in the water to adjust.

[Razkar]

Muscles locking up. You'll be in the water with your muscles locked up. Wonderful.

Razkar shook the thought off and opened his mouth to speak when Edreina started to disrobe. Evidently there wasn't much to take off and she kept on her pants and shirt but despite his educational mindset, Razkar was quickly aware of her... curves. The Svefra chuckled and leapt into the water without a care and Razkar almost yelped in surprise.

Don't! It's dangerous!

Through a supreme effort he choked the words off and a moment later, there she was, floating on the opaque blue surface and grinning up at him.

"Gonna join me or just shake off your tattoos?"

The Myrian scowled down at her and all thoughts of her figure were quickly banished. At least temporarily. She was challenging him, he knew, in her polite and mischievous way. At that moment she reminded him of the river spirits his grandmother had told him about, that giggled and gurgled along brooks and played tricks on travelers.

But Razkar was not one to back down from a challenge. He smirked back and limbered himself up, girding himself...

"I will, but no-"

"Wait! Bring over that cargo net, please!"

Turak looked up suddenly, mouth bulging comically with stew. Did she... yes, she had. The tiny Svefra woman had actually given him an order! He cocked an eyebrow.

"And why should I do that?"

"Turak...?

Eranis sighed the word just a little testily and the larger Akalak got to his feet with a low grumble. He supposed he'd better be polite, or he'd never hear the bloody end of it. His purple hands followed Edreina's terse instructions and a few moments later there was a literal and figurative safety net for Razkar hanging down the side of the Cuttlefish.

"Don't sink, now."

The Myrian answered with a stream of barrack-room expletives that are best left untranslated, which just left Turak laughing even harder. Razkar turned back to the matter at hand and listened to her earnest words.

"Now, you can join me... Just climb down the net and hold onto it once you're in the water."

He nodded, even as he felt as fresh sheen of sweat glisten over him. Wasn't so bad, was it? Climbing... he knew how to climb. He'd been doing it for decades. All he was doing was... climbing into a bath. Yes! That was it.

Razkar growled softly and shook his head. Nope, no way to gloss over this. It was the sea, and it was deep, and he would have to go in it. But that realization alone was... oddly liberating. Razkar's eyes flickered down to her for a moment, thick with mirth-

-and he threw himself into the water.

The impact shocked most of the air out of his lungs. It was like being enfolded into a massive, wet blanket, and all his senses seemed to shut down at once when he smacked down onto it. His hearing became one massive, deafening rush. His eyes filled with liquid and all he could see was swirling bubbles. He opened his mouth to shout and salty water choked him. But just when he thought the cold would freeze him solid, his arms and legs began jerking frantically and-

Razkar's head broke the surface with a desperate, hungering gasp, sucking down a massive lungful of air. Spluttering and shaking the water out of his eyes, he half-swam, half-struggled his way to the netting. Blind, groping hands found the reassuring material and he let himself sag against it.

The Myrian turned and found a scowling Edreina bobbing in the water behind him. He smiled sheepishly.

"Well... I am in..."

[Edreina]

Razkar's leap into the water had reminded Edreina of a small child during one of their early swimming lessons. For chimes the child would cry and claim that they can't swim, that the water is too deep. But, when it comes right down to it, the ones that whine the loudest always the ones to take the greatest plunge. His leap had splashed her horribly and pushed her back against the boat with a rather unpleasant bump, leaving her scowling. But, nonetheless, Edreina worried as she watched the Myrian disappear into the azure. He seemed to hang beneath the surface for an instant, suspended within Laviku's all-encompassing palm. With a small smile, she watched as the Myrian tried to fight his way to the surface - boy, she had a long day ahead of her. Spluttering, gasping, and thrashing his way over to the cargo net, Razkar was about as graceful in the water as Edreina would have been flying. Fixing a scowl on her face, the Svefra attempted to show her disdain for such reckless actions. "Well... I am in..." The sheepish, childlike look on the rough and rugged, tattooed face nearly sent Edreina into a fit of giggles. Instead she did a rather awkward lipbite and eyebrow raise, attempting to maintain her scholarly authority. Lose it for a moment and she knew that they would become two friends splashing about in the Suvan. Finally, she banished the mirth and attempted to take on a tone of authority. "I would really appreciate it if you were to be more careful... at least until you can swim a bit better." Pausing, she furrowed her brow and tried to create a metaphor which would impress the danger that lies within the sea. "Imagine the jungles of Falyndar to an outsider... Full of danger at every turn... Now imagine that the air itself would kill you, that creatures can attack not only from the ground and the trees, but from above, below, any side, and then disappear with only a little cloud of red where you once stood. But, above all that, you can not touch the ground. You are ever suspended by your body's most minute motions." For a moment, she worried that she had been too harsh on the Myrian, his brow furrowed and it looked to her as if he were rethinking the venture entirely. With a sigh, she propelled herself over and placed a hand on his shoulder, trying not to be distracted by the sight of the vast differences in their color. "I don't mean to be rough. I just don't want you in over your head," she suppressed a giggle at the unintentional pun, "Let's just not challenge Myri herself before you even know how to pick up a weapon, yes?" Smiling slightly, she pushed off the boat so that she was wading a few feet away, strokes slow and long. "The first thing about learning to swim is learning to trust yourself. You have to know your body well enough to know its limits. Naturally, your body will want to survive at the water's surface, you just have to learn to trust it." With that, she leaned back and pulled her feet up to the water's surface, immediately relaxing her body. On her back, in the water, her ears submerged, Edreina naturally floated. Limbs soft, breath slow, mind relaxing, Edreina was carried gently by the water. For a moment, she remained there, cradled, serene. With slow motions, Edreina returned to an upright position, looking to the Myrian with an expectant smile. "It's you're turn..." Immediately, she saw his hands tighten on the net. "Don't worry... I'll be right here!" She offered her hand and, when he took it, she pulled him just a bit away from the net so that, while still being in reach, it was not a crutch. "Just lean back." She instructed gently, pulling on his shoulders in an encouraging manner. As he leaned back, Edreina felt his body begin to tense, preparing to fight the water. "No no no! Just let it support you..." He stopped moving, but there was a tenseness in his muscles that kept him from floating properly, she ended up having to hold up his dense midsection. Biting her lip again, Edreina constructed a way to make this concept less foreign to the musclebound Myrian. "Imagine that Myri had called you forward and told you to submit yourself to her. You would do it without hesitation. What is a mortal before the will of a goddess? Laviku is the same. He is a father; you have wronged him in no way. He will not go out of his way to drown and destroy you. If you simply trust him, and yourself, your body will support itself upon the water. Swimming is like many things: You cannot do it without first trusting yourself, trusting your body to have the will to survive. Relax, and your body will do all of the work for you..." Edreina silently wished that her command of Common were stronger so that she could better get her point across. Nonetheless, something she had said connected in Razkar's mind, and the Myrian began to float, almost miraculously.

[Razkar]

"I would really appreciate it if you were to be more careful... at least until you can swim a bit better."

She tried to be stern in her face and tone, but it just didn't take with a face to impish. Razkar crushed a smile, though, knowing from old thyat angering teacher was never a good idea. The chill of the blue plains they were lost in was rapidly fading, and now he felt a strange kind of... weightlessness. But fear kept his grip on the netting.

"Imagine the jungles of Falyndar to an outsider... Full of danger at every turn... Now imagine that the air itself would kill you, that creatures can attack not only from the ground and the trees, but from above, below, any side, and then disappear with only a little cloud of red where you once stood. But, above all that, you can not touch the ground. You are ever suspended by your body's most minute motions."

Razkar's frown certainly was deep, but it was perhaps not what she thought. As it furrowed bit by bit, he didn't know whether to be confused or impressed. He couldn't quite fathom the comparison she was trying to conjure, but the words themselves were... compelling. The Myrian cocked his head to one side and gave her a strange half-smile, as she reminded him of-

"I don't mean to be rough. I just don't want you in over your head. Let's just not challenge Myri herself before you even know how to pick up a weapon, yes?"

She touched him again, and in her eyes he saw the concern and care of a good soul. A gentle soul.

He would have to stop her, the next time she attempted that. It was beginning to wear on him.

"The first thing about learning to swim is learning to trust yourself. You have to know your body well enough to know its limits. Naturally, your body will want to survive at the water's surface, you just have to learn to trust it."

His eyes widened anew as he watched her body twist and turn... and then appear magically from under the water to float on its surface. She didn't even seem to do anything! She just willed it and now she was floating smooth and calm as if the whole Suvan Sea was one luxurious mattress for her. Razkar shook his head briefly and concentrated on the task at hand.

"It's your turn..."

Which involved him letting go of the net. Damn. He forgot about that part. Instinct and memory ordered his muscles to tighten and when she saw him do so, a mild look of panic flitted over her face and her hand extended towards him. He glanced at it, blinked.

"Don't worry... I'll be right here!"

She offered her hand and, when he took it, she pulled him just a bit away from the net so that, while still being in reach, it was not a crutch.

"Just lean back."

Gently... slowly... and with trust in his teacher, Razkar let go of the net. Instantly his support and balance was gone, his safety in the utterly amoral blue abyss, but... his fear had subsided like the waves that lapped against him and then vanished. Edreina was there, and that gave him strength. She would not always be, but that was not the point.

One cannot swim unless one can float.

He did. He tried. Between the Cuttlefish and another Svefra vessel, the dense buzzing roar of the Flotilla muted beyond their little watery world. But hen he leaned back and he felt his upper body submerge, fear and primal instinct stilled his muscle before he could react. Training for battle was easier than this... then again, he'd had more time with that.

"No no no! Just let it support you..."

A cool, soft arm encircled his upper body and Razkar did not shirk from it. He would have, but his body betrayed him, taking solace and stability from any source it could. He felt a similarly soft form pressing against his back, and was further reminded of the aforementioned "curves".

He sincerely hoped Turak was not watching this.

"Imagine that Myri had called you forward and told you to submit yourself to her. You would do it without hesitation. What is a mortal before the will of a goddess? Laviku is the same. He is a father; you have wronged him in no way. He will not go out of his way to drown and destroy you. If you simply trust him, and yourself, your body will support itself upon the water. Swimming is like many things: You cannot do it without first trusting yourself, trusting your body to have the will to survive. Relax, and your body will do all of the work for you..."

The words soothed him in a sense beyond the physical. As more and more of them poured from her mouth, he felt the anxiety and tension wash out of his muscles. The reassurance was there in her allegory, and he found himself stunned at the possible... duplicity? One such as her did not often become worldly without pain marking their lives; such was the way of the world. But in her eyes and in her touch he saw no pain and anguish, no memories that had beaten lessons into her. He heard Myri's name from her lips and his eyes did not flash with anger at a barbarian's blasphemy.

Razkar calmed. He took deep breaths, heady soggy from the salt water... and felt himself lean back. His legs moved upwards as a peculiar gravity took over, his torso slowly going from vertical to horizontal. Of their own accord his arms spread out from his body, every inch of his rough skin kissed by the gently laughing water...

The Myrian opened his eyes and found no arm around him. He was floating in a soundless, moist void... and he was smiling.

"You are a good teacher," he said softly to the floating figure next to him, words almost a benediction, "Thank you... What is next lesson?"

The pragmatic side of his being asked that question. Floating was one thing, but swimming was something different. That moment was golden and beautiful, hovering so freely on the surface, but it could not last. More was needed. More had to be learned.

So, put hands to purpose...

[Edreina]

Edreina smiled widely, glad to have a student so ready and willing to learn. It made her feel an odd sense of pride to actually be listened to by someone who was her superior in so many ways. The smile on the Myrian's face was one that she had not seen before; his relaxation was one that was common among Svefra. "What is next lesson?" The question struck Edreina in an odd way. Swimming was not something that could be taught in structured lessons so much as natural progression. One floats, one wades, one swims. To her, the order is as natural as crawl, walk, run. Swimming was something so natural to Svefra that Edreina herself was barely aware of the motions of her body as it kept her head above water. With a quiet sigh, she began the seemingly gargantuan task of teaching a Myrian the gentle, soft, minute movements of wading. "You have to be upright once more..." She guided the Myrian back to the net as he sat up, fearing that he may quickly lose himself in trying to return to it himself. "First, your legs. These are your power in staying upright." Putting her hands on the net so that her position mirrors her student's, she began to exaggerate the motions of her legs ever so slightly to make a point. Forward and back, slow, sinuous motion like that of the waves themselves as the motion flows from hip down to her ankles directly. While neither bending nor straightening her knees too any extreme, she used the natural hinge motion of them to add more power to her feet. "Like this..." She pointed at her own legs, looking up at Razkar for some sense of understanding. After a moment of thought, he began to kick his legs, almost violently, causing a great disturbance in the water. Fighting a laugh, Edreina raises a hand to stop him, "No no no!" Frustration stems in her sudden lack in ability to describe it properly. With a quiet groan, she took the dark hand and placed it gently upon her own pale thigh, letting him feel the motion as well as see it. "Smooth. Gentle..." She continued to wade, making a point of her motions. "You needn't fight the water... It is not fighting you. The only thing you are fighting is your own instinct to struggle to survive." She looked into the darker eyes pressingly, making sure that he heard the point that she was about to make, understood the connection she knew by heart. "You can float on your back, you saw that. Your body supports itself. You just have to keep yourself upright." As she watched, his motions became less frantic, as if he were working with the water instead of against it. "There!" She grinned in encouragement, scooting just a line in the net away, as if to give him more room. In actuality, something in her, foreign and unusual to Edreina, had sparked when she had met the Myrian's eyes, while his hand had still been resting upon her thigh, a dark ghost beneath the water with it's calloused yet feather-light touch. I'm not sure I like this... Edreina thought with a furrowed brow, chewing on her lower lip. Shaking her head to return to the present, she looked back to her student who was practicing the skill in earnest and seeming quite proud of himself. The sight brought a smile to Edreina's freckled face. Perhaps he will survive after all... "Are you ready for the next... lesson... or would you like to take a break? Swimming can be hard work at first, so I understand if you do... It's not safe to swim when you're tired or hungry anyway..." She trailed off in a small voice, realizing that she was rambling. Her smile became sheepish as she watched Razkar contemplate his response.

[Razkar]

Slowly, almost gingerly, Razkar turned his body horizontal to vertical in the water. It was, in fact, more like reluctance. The sheer weightless peace of it was truly stunning. He could imagine himself in the middle of the Sea, vast distances from anything resembling dirt or jungle, floating endlessly...

But he still had work to do.

"You have to be upright once more. First, your legs. These are your power in staying upright. Like this..."

The Myrian watched carefully as the shadowy, sinewy blurs moved under the water. He cocked his head to one side curiously. He noticed now... they'd always been moving like that. Part of him had noted the steady, constant, tireless movements the whole time she'd been in the water, without really noticing it. Now he did, and tried to ape her-

-churning the water to foam.

"No no no!"

"But I will sink!"

He stared at her in something close to horror. Did she not see he was heavier than her? That without his furious motion he would sink into the water? But she was still steady, still so sure, and her words were well-chosen for their audience.

Then Razkar's eyes widened when a pale form drifted under the surface, captured his wrist in a firm but gentle grip... and placed it against her warm thigh.

Instantly he stiffened and hesitated, but forced himself to slow his movements, just like her. Overreacting now would destroy whatever fragile friendship they had... and could result in him drowning, after all. So he wallowed his concern and told himself repeatedly that she was instructing him.

That was all.

"Smooth. Gentle. You needn't fight the water... It is not fighting you. The only thing you are fighting is your own instinct to struggle to survive. You can float on your back, you saw that. Your body supports itself. You just have to keep yourself upright."

Their eyes locked and Razkar found himself willed silently into slowing himself. Calming his body and focusing it to smoother, gentler, broader movements of his legs. When his hand withdrew and she with it... he was still upright. He was no longer bobbing furiously, despite a quiet voice inside him demanding more speed, and he had found his balance in the scary blue.

"There!"

Razkar gave her a grin that came straight from his childhood, so he hoped she appreciated it's rarity. He felt the joy of achievement and victory, the fierce pride in himself that he had listened to one wiser and succeeded... the humble appreciation of a worthy teacher.

"Are you ready for the next... lesson... or would you like to take a break? Swimming can be hard work at first, so I understand if you do... It's not safe to swim when you're tired or hungry anyway..."

"No!" Razkar said, perhaps a little more buoyantly than he intended to. To the shock of them both, he had actually let go of the netting and was floating in front of her, making slow and painstaking half-circles around her, grinning the whole time. "I can swim! Or walk water. I think that is words."

He looked back in her proud eyes and drifted closer. Not too close - those lingering sensations were putting a dampener on any such motion - but close enough to do an awkward bow/nod in the water.

"Thank you for help, Mistress Edreina? But this is not swim?" He frowned, and her cautious words came back to him. "Hmm... maybe few chimes more in water, and then go back to deck? I can train, like you train me."

[Edreina]

Razkar's objection had Edreina covering her mouth to hide a snort of mirth. Something about his prior grin combined with the objection reminded Edreina of a child who had discovered an ability to do something and would not stop until they were sick of this new activity. To her visible surprise, the Myrian released the net of his own accord and began to tread water around her. The wide smile that broke off across Edreina's face was one of pride in her student. Like a fish to water... the old idiom came to mind with a silent laugh. His bow... jerk... thing made Edreina smile once more, but a more gentle one. Still much to teach... "But this is not swim?" "Tis wading," she explained gently, giving him a word to fit with the motion. "Hmm... maybe few chimes more in water, and then go back to deck? I can train, like you train me." But what would she ask him to train her in? Her first instinct was fighting, brawling... something of that sort. Unbidden, an image of their still slick bodies locked together in a wrestling stance came to mind. Something intense and unstated about the image brought a fire to Edreina's freckled cheeks and cut off anything she was about to say. The image morphed and evolved in her mind into something wholly different, something that Edreina was altogether unfamiliar with. Hands tightening on the net upon which she now found herself clinging to, Edreina closed her eyes tightly, as if that alone would banish the image. Luckily, the instant of focusing on her hands on the rough net and that there was still so much for her to teach the Myrian - Think of all the things that he could teach you... - pushed the image to the back of her mind. It lingered there, hazy and barely opaque, but allowed her to think of other things. When she opened her wide, blue eyes, she saw that her student was looking at her expectantly. "Sorry!" She blurted, "I just... uhh..." She motioned to her head vaguely but gave up an instant later, knowing that any excuse would be a transparent lie and that the truth would probably drive the bedecked Myrian away in an instant. Then again, she did not even understand the image/feeling herself. Why try to explain it to another? "I will teach you how to wade in one place instead of having to move as you do now." Her voice was quieter than before, betraying the fact that her mind was elsewhere. Glaring off to the side, as if she could glare at her own reflection, Edreina pushed off of the net and began to demonstrate. "Just as your legs are your power, your arms are your balance." Edreina's own arms instinctively moved back and forth together, creating small waves. It kept her body upright and in the same place, power being slightly stronger in either direction as her body threatened to move that way. "You try..." She motioned for the Myrian to move away from the net and attempt it himself.