Completed A Snowball's Chance in Riverfall

[Rinya]

Day 70, Season Summer, 513 AV

Having been so focused on the sky, Rinya actually startled when Jorin coughed beside her. She barely let her eyes take in his sitting position next to her before her eyes returned to the sky. He almost seemed nervous, and as he began to speak out her rather obvious upset Rinya wanted to crawl under a rock. She figured they would have to talk about it sooner or later, but she had thought that it would be the latter of the two. And it really didn’t help the fact when he started to speak about meeting Kirsi first—which didn’t really surprise her honestly.

"Please don't be angry Rinya. Won't you at least come talk to her?"

Rinya actually winced slightly. Jorin was begging, and really that just made her feel worse. Acting petulant was one thing, and she had aimed to make Jorin feel bad at least slightly… even if he didn’t know why. Granted Rinya was so much younger than the two of them, but he never seemed to get mad at her. She vaguely wondered where he got his sense of patience from—and almost hoped she might end up mirroring something from his personality. Judging by her own manners they certainly couldn’t get any worse.

Rinya jolted slightly in her spot as Jorin’s hand grasped hers. With him sitting next to her she supposed it should have been obvious he might touch her, but really after the way she was acting she hadn’t thought of it much. Her fingers twitched a little beneath his hand, but she pushed herself up on her elbows to get a better look at him. And made the mistake of looking at his eyes.

"Could you at least do it for me?"

Rinya couldn’t hold back her groan. Saying no to him was increasingly becoming difficult. His eyes tended to be her weakness and it was showing. The bond certainly didn’t force her to obey him, it was just one of the natural draws he had about him. Disappointing him was extremely difficult… even if she may have done so already. Pulling her bottom lip between her teeth, she gently wiggled her hand out from under his. It was a little too much to handle at the moment. She was feeling extremely sensitive emotionally, and regardless of how they saw each other, Rinya couldn’t help but see all the potential angles.

She at least made sure to push herself up out of the sand with both hands, hoping she didn’t injury his character too much by refusing to hold his hand. It just left her confused, and right now she could handle a distraction better.

”Fine… whatever you like.” The last part she mumbled for his benefit before she made her way back towards the water, brushing the sand off her skin. Keeping her eyes on Kirsi, Rinya debated on how exactly to speak to the girl. She couldn’t be rude, not for Jorin’s sake. But being overly friendly like she was with Dust wasn’t possible either. Settling for somewhere in between, Rinya just shrugged her shoulders at the girl.

”Sorry.” It wasn’t a snarky comment, but it was a little strained. Glancing over her shoulder at Jorin she let out a sigh. She wasn’t sure just how to teach swimming. Floating was a good start, but there were so many little things with the body…

”Stand in the water… to about here.” Rinya pointed to chest just barely above her breasts. Since all three of them were of such different height, she figured this was the best way to explain it to them. They were all going to be fairly spaced apart, especially Kirsi. Of the two, Rinya actually chose to stand more closely to Kirsi as she was also the lightest of the two of them. She didn’t need the currents to shift and nearly take off with the girl. She seemed nervous enough about the water as it was.

[Kirsi Winterflame]

Timestamp: 70th of Summer, 513AV Kirsi blinked; would she wait? Well, sure. What else was she supposed to do? She supposed she could just stomp off angrily, but that had been done already and Kirsi hated to be a mimic. Jorin seemed to be very concerned with Rinya. After all that had happened, it would take someone far more clueless than Kirsi not to realize that there was more to the pair than just a friendship. Feeling a bit like a troublesome third wheel, Kirsi cast about for something to do while Jorin and Rinya talked about - whatever they were talking about. Kirsi debated a moment; she had started to get the hang of floating with Jorin's help. Maybe she could manage it on her own? But not, she told herself sternly, by flopping back into the water. After a bit more thought, she determined a better starting point might be from a crouched position in the water. That way she could just sort of... Lean back? Maybe. But before she had a chance to put her theory into practice, Jorin returned to the water. With Rinya. Kirsi couldn't stop the slight frown of annoyance from flickering across her face, but she gave herself a mental shake. If the other woman was going to make an effort, Kirsi would do the same. "Welcome back?" So it was slightly on the sarcastic side. Rinya's grudging apology took Kirsi a bit by surprise. She'd half-expected the other woman to simply ignore the unpleasantness that had passed between them. Green eyes considered Rinya carefully. She still didn't fully trust the girl's motives, but Jorin seemed happy that she had come out to join them. But now what? Despite herself, Kirsi couldn't help but feel a bit awkward. Rinya was still nude, but at least she'd moved a bit deeper in the water, making that fact a bit less obvious. ”Stand in the water… to about here.” Ahh. She was going to help them learn to swim? That should be interesting. Nevertheless, Kirsi did as directed, moving into deeper water. As she stood there, she could feel the waves buffeting her. Kirsi spread her feet apart beneath the waves, and held her arms out in an attempt to hold her body still in the water.

[Jorin Ertihan]

Season of Summer, Day 70, 513 AV

Jorin was glad that Rinya was willing. Even though he heard her groan when he asked if she could do it for him, she still got up, mumbling "Fine... whatever you like," before heading off to the water. Jorin got up and followed her. He could feel her emotions die down to a low simmer. Rinya was obviously not exactly ecstatic to be teaching Kirsi, but she seemed to be at least willing to put up with her for the time being. Suppressing a sigh, Jorin figured that was probably the best he was going to get.

"Welcome back?" Kirsi had said, with a hint of sarcasm in her voice. Oh come on! Jorin thought. Now it's Kirsi who wants to get snippy? Jorin held his breath. If Rinya got angry again, he wasn't sure he could bring her back to the table of peace a second time.

"... Sorry." Jorin was a bit surprised. He'd thought for sure Kirsi's light sarcasm would set Rinya off, but it seemed that Rinya was able to keep a lid on it. Jorin felt a swelling of relief. Maybe this evening wouldn't turn out so bad after all.

"Stand in the water ... to about here." Rinya indicated a level of water a bit above her breasts. Jorin just nodded and moved deeper into the water. Being the tallest of the three, that meant he was the furthest from shore, which suited him just fine. It would mean that he'd be the one to catch either of them should they start drifting too far out. Not that he could swim, but it was the principle of the thing! Besides, hopefully by the end of today he would be able to swim. Think postive, Jorin! he thought to himself.

Having reached a depth comparable to where Rinya had indicated, Jorin stopped. He turned to Rinya, and when she turned to face him, he smiled at her and mouthed, "Thank you," at her. He really did mean it. Jorin knew how upset she was, and he also knew she was literally doing this just for him. He'd have to be a blind fool not to appreciate that. Out loud, Jorin just said, "Great! Ok, Rinya, what's next?"

[Rinya]

Day 70, Season Summer, 513 AV

Rinya ducked her head to keep the small smile on her face from forming. Jorin’s well timed thank you seemed to release a bit of tension building in her shoulders. Rolling them slightly she shook her head. Of all the damn weaknesses one could have, it seemed completely cliché to say hers just had to be a man. Her father would have her head if he ever found out. Releasing a heavy breath, Rinya tried to focus on the task at hand. Okay… small steps. That’s easier said than done.

Holding out her hands, she let her fingers skim lightly across the top of the water. The waves caused her fingers and bounced her hand along the current, an odd sort of feeling of weightless and pressure. Turning herself so she could face the two of them at once, Rinya tried to put the ideas in her head to her mouth.

”Your body must be like the water. You cannot swim if you ridged and tight. Like most things in life water has a flow, and even when you swim against it… you must be able to bend with it.” Wrinkling her nose a little, Rinya shook her head. She sounded formal again, like she usually did when she was too ridged.

”For now the water’s current is not something to worry about. Our bodies have a natural float to them… which I’m sure you have already noticed.” She was kind of proud of herself; she kept any bitterness or unpleasant attitude out of her voice. She let the muscles in her arms relax; her arms floating in the water before she gave a gentle push outwards from her body before bringing them back to her in a slow ark. And then she repeated the step.

”The water gives to your space. Test this gesture out. When you are in deep water and cannot touch the seabed, this move is half of what will keep you up in the water.” Rinya moved up behind Kirsi and examined her with keen eyes for a moment. She had good muscle tone, she had little doubt that when the time came she would do just fine if she could get over the fear of water over her head. Cocking her head to the side, she watched Jorin too. As adventurous as he was, he would probably try to do too much before he was ready. The thought almost made her grin.

”Do not be afraid of your head going under the water; naturally you will bob back towards the surface in calmer water like this. When you’re ready, I want you to pull your knees up and keep your feet off the ground. Use your arms to experiment. Feel the weight of your body in the water. Learn the circular movements in your arms to help push and keep you at the surface. Try and keep your feet of the ground as best you can, I will be here to keep you from going out too far.”

OOCMuch like Rinya I am not much good at giving direction, sorry if it didn’t make much sense xD

[Kirsi Winterflame]

Timestamp: 70th of Summer, 513AV ”Your body must be like the water. You cannot swim if you rigid and tight." Kirsi nodded at Rinya's statement. Whatever her personal irritations might be, she seemed to know what she was talking about. Kirsi had begun to realize just what Rinya said: her body floated easier when she was able to relax and let it ride upon the waves. The longer she stood in the waves, the easier it was for her to feel that same motion, on a larger scale. It was almost soothing. "Our bodies have a natural float to them… which I’m sure you have already noticed.” Kirsi raised an eyebrow, but made no comment. Under other circumstances, she was sure she would have gotten along great with Rinya. It was really a shame they'd had such a rocky start. She found herself hoping that they could move past it, and try being friendly. Rinya's arms made a small pushing motion in the water once, then again. Kirsi unconsciously mimicked the other woman's movements, noticing as she did so that it seemed to bounce her higher up in the water. ”The water gives to your space. Test this gesture out." Despite her best efforts, Kirsi couldn't help but tense up a bit as Rinya moved behind her, but the other woman seemed to be studying her form a moment before turning her attention to Jorin. Shaking off her suspicious reaction, she experimented with her arms a bit. First she moved them slowly, noting that it did nothing but hold her steady in the water. Faster movements, though, tended to float her higher in the waves. Thinking about it, she supposed it made sense that speed must be one of the keys to swimming. It hadn't occurred to her before, and she wondered what other factors might affect the exercise. She lifted a foot, intentionally, despite Rinya's direction. Other than affecting her balance, it seemed to be unrelated to the arm movements. Lifting both feet slightly off the ocean floor, Kirsi found herself moving forward the tiniest bit. She quickly lowered her feet; despite how easy this had seemed so far, she wasn't quite ready to attempt actual movement. OOCI think you're doing fine - IC interpretation of the directions is sure to cause some fun.

[Jorin Ertihan]

Season of Summer, Day 70, 513 AV

The truth was, if either Kirsi or Rinya had actually asked him, Jorin would have reluctantly confessed to not having a petching clue what he was doing. Again. It wasn't the first time he'd projected total confidence in something he wasn't confident in at all. Jorin's mind flashed back to that time on Sanctuary's beach, where he'd swung a stick as though it were a staff, flailing like a madman and otherwise making a right fool of himself. His face flushed involuntarily at the memory. Oh gods, was he glad Rinya hadn't been there to see that.

But still, he was glad that Rinya was at least making an effort. After his silent thanks, she seemed to relax a bit, and Jorin didn't even bother suppressing his grin or the happiness he felt to see that. He wanted Rinya to be happy; her being tense or upset made him tense and upset.

"Your body must be like the water. You cannot swim if you're ridged and tight. Like most things in life water has a flow, and even when you swim against it ... you must be able to bend with it." Rinya was saying.

For some reason, despite the fact that Rinya was a bird, he could see her being an excellent swimmer. Her toned body was all clean curves and smooth lines, perfect for cutting through the water. Jorin sighed a bit. He himself had never really bothered learning to swim, which was hilarious considering he lived in Zeltiva. And apparently, his mother had been a swimmer too. No joke. Was there anything that woman couldn't do?

Jorin remembered the lessons his mother had tried to give him on swimming, but that was such a long time ago, and he'd been so young. He remembered his father saying they should just throw him into the pond, and his mother giving his father this look. Jorin had no idea what that look meant, but whatever it was, his father didn't say another word that day.

Bending with the water ... well at least bending was something Jorin knew about. Acting wasn't just about emoting, or giving great monologues. There were often fight scenes to choreograph, and even a light bit of acrobatics as people pranced on stage. Being physically flexible was a prime requisite to success on the stage. So he could do bending.

"For now the water’s current is not something to worry about. Our bodies have a natural float to them ... which I’m sure you have already noticed."

Jorin nodded. Rinya definitely seemed to have calmed down some. Her voice had no trace of the anger she'd displayed earlier, and although the emotions he was getting from here weren't exactly rainbows and butterflies, at least she wasn't sending out waves of white hot anger.

Jorin turned his attention back to what Rinya had said. Kirsi's body floated mostly on its own, his hand on her back was actually feather-light. It didn't feel so much like he was holding her up as he was balancing her. The human body, it seemed, was designed for buoyancy. Probably why swimming was even possible.

"The water gives to your space. Test this gesture out. When you are in deep water and cannot touch the seabed, this move is half of what will keep you up in the water."

Jorin tried to repeat the gesture Rinya had showed him, but he put far too much power into it. As a result, he shot forward and upward, not exactly what he'd wanted to do. Grinning sheepishly, he returned to where he was before, and did it again, trying to mimic Rinya's gentle movements. Jorin realized, despite her sometimes fierce demeanor, Rinya really was a very gentle person.

"Do not be afraid of your head going under the water; naturally you will bob back towards the surface in calmer water like this. When you’re ready, I want you to pull your knees up and keep your feet off the ground. Use your arms to experiment. Feel the weight of your body in the water. Learn the circular movements in your arms to help push and keep you at the surface. Try and keep your feet off the ground as best you can, I will be here to keep you from going out too far."

Jorin shrugged. It seemed that while his powerful application of Rinya's arm movements moved him out of the water quite a significant degree, it didn't keep him out of the water. When he lifted out, he sank right back almost immediately, so that was clearly not an efficient application of energy.

Jorin had not had the advantage of the few chimes of floating practice that Kirsi did. And although he projected confidence, the truth was Jorin was feeling rather nervous. He realized after a moment that the reason he was so nervous was that he was afraid he'd get this wrong in front of Rinya.

In some sense Jorin knew Rinya wouldn't judge him even if he did mess up, but he didn't want to be in that position. Besides, with her watching him, he had do to well! What kind of bondmate can't follow simple instructions?

Kicking his feet off the soft sand, Jorin tried to utilize the movements Rinya had shown. But his arms were not synchronized and he turned sideways. Somewhere in Jorin's mind he was laughing, somewhere else in Jorin's mind he was crying. The rest was screaming at him to right himself as his head went underwater. Oh petch. Of course this would happen to me he thought. Jorin struggled to stay calm. He knew that panic was a worse killer than anything else. This was shallow water, Rinya was there, he'd be fine.

After a few frankly terrifying moments that felt like Bells, Jorin noted the directions the bubbles were heading. He did Rinya's movement again, with all the power available in his arms, and it propelled him out of the water like a whale. His head popped out followed by his shoulders. Jorin coughed out some seawater, and shook out his short brown hair, tiny sprinkles of water going everywhere.

"Well. Clearly I didn't do that right," he quipped with a grin, as he prepared to try it again. Slower, this time he said to himself.

[Rinya]

Day 70, Season Summer, 513 AV

Rinya was genuinely impressed with Kirsi, and it showed across her face. While she may be jealous of the girl’s race, she took instruction very well. It made Rinya wonder what Kirsi did for a living. Whatever trade it was, she must have had a great talent for it. If she could follow her broken directions, then she must be impressive at her trade. Tilting her head a little as Kirsi lifted her feet and moved forward, Rinya held out her hand just in case to keep the girl from moving too far forward as she promised. But she caught herself easily and Rinya nodded in approval. No one got it on their first try. Well… almost no one anyways.

But she was right when she thought Jorin would over extend himself slightly. He put too much pressure into his arms and it caused him to go under. Under normal circumstances she would have freaked out, but she couldn’t help it. She laughed. Shaking her head a little, Rinya made her way out to Jorin just as he came back up from under the water. Rolling her eyes she grinned at him and took his wrists in her hands. The water was actually deeper than she was tall, so she used her feet to gently kick and keep her up above the surface. Twisting their bodies slightly, Rinya turned them so Kirsi could see what she was about to do as well.

”Do not be afraid to circle your arms back behind you. For the moment, I want you to learn how to stay fairly stationary with just the use of your arms. Like this.” Since Jorin wanted to put too much power into his arms she pulled his wrists forward until they met, then circled them slowly outward. For his benefit she whispered to him.

”It isn’t always about the power in the arms Jorin. Think graceful… like on stage you cannot always be one way or the other. There are many ways to swim, depending on the situation you find yourself in.” She let go of his wrists, ignoring the space between them… or nearly lack thereof. She kicked back through the water, floating over to Kirsi before motioning for the girl to come forward.

”You are ready to try using your feet as well. When you circle your arms, kick your feet only when you must. Or it may be easier if you move your legs in a slow arc back and forth, almost as if you were walking. It can be difficult to learn how to synchronize these movements, especially since for each person it is a little different. But slow and steady in this kind of water will most certainly keep you up. It is a matter of learning how much power to put into your legs, and how much to keep in your arms. A kind of dance if you will.”

With Kirsi’s height, Rinya was able to stand in the water, so she kept her hands out and close by, just to be on the safe side.

[Kirsi Winterflame]

Timestamp: 70th of Summer, 513AV It was the splashing that drew her attention - for a few chimes, Kirsi had almost forgotten that Jorin was in the water, too. But, with what she was beginning to know was typical dramatic flair, Jorin reminded her of the fact by... Kirsi started. Was he sinking sideways? She quickly looked to Rinya; the other woman was the instructor here, and Kirsi took her cue from her. When Rinya laughed at Jorin's plight, rather than panicking and rushing to save him, Kirsi allowed herself a smile, as well. Soon enough, Jorin bobbed to the surface, grinning. Obviously no harm done. Wacthing Rinya as she used Jorin's arms to demonstrate the technique further, Kirsi couldn't help but feel a bit intrusive. Rinya whispered something clearly meant for his ears only, and Kirsi looked away. The obvious closeness of the pair made her feel like an unnecessary interloper. But then Rinya swam back over, indictaing that Kirsi should move deeper into the water. The awkward moment was gone, replaced by apprehension. ”You are ready to try using your feet as well. When you circle your arms, kick your feet only when you must. Or it may be easier if you move your legs in a slow arc back and forth, almost as if you were walking." Great. Do this. Or do that. It was not really the kind of instruction Kirsi appreciated. She did better when things were presented in a more black and white fashion: this is the right way, that is the wrong way. But if either way could be right, then which was better? She didn't know Rinya well enough, and enough time had not yet passed since their initial meeting for her to trust the other woman implicitly with her safety. So which method should she try? Stop it, she admonished herself. She's given you two options. First you try one. If that doesn't work, you try the other. There's no reason to over-think. It was an internal lecture Kirsi was well-used to hearing. So, without giving herself further time to worry, she lifted both feet from the sandy bottom and, using her arms as she had chimes ago, managed to move her body deeper into the water, toward Rinya. But keeping her legs and feet still was not comfortable. Kirsi moved her arms faster in an attempt to keep herself afloat, belatedly remembering that Rinya had told her to also use her feet. Concentrating on her legs, she scissored them beneath the water. The resulting force bobbed her upwards. As she sank back into the water, she repeated the motion, and again found herself being propelled upward. It was not a smooth motion; surely there was more to it than using your legs to pop yourself out of the water each time you started to sink too low. Not only was it a tiring method, the constant rising and falling back into the water was churning up more than the gentle waves already present in the ocean. Admitting defeat, Kirsi acknowledged that she would have to ask Rinya what she was dong wrong. "Rinya, this doesn't-" seem to be working, she had started to say. But opening her mouth had only rewarded her with a large gulp of seawater. She promptly spit it back out and decided the wisest course of action would be to bob there in the water and wait for further instruction. Clearly swimming and talking were mutually incompatible.

[Jorin Ertihan]

Season of Summer, Day 70, 513 AV

Jorin couldn't help himself, he face blossomed with heat when Rinya came so very close to him, pulling his wrists to show him the movements he'd need. It was ... nice, to be that close to her.

"It isn’t always about the power in the arms Jorin. Think graceful ... like on stage you cannot always be one way or the other. There are many ways to swim, depending on the situation you find yourself in," Rinya was saying to him. Jorin could only nod dumbly. While Jorin could understand in theory, grace in theory and grace in reality were all-to-often two very different things. Not to mention, Rinya's close proximity to him was beginning to scramble his thoughts. Funny. He couldn't remember her closeness doing that to him before. Then again, she'd been covered both other times.

Giving himself a quick mental shake, Jorin smiled his understanding as Rinya started explaining that he should start kicking with his legs. It was an ... interesting feeling. Balance of body was critical to choreographed routines, so he knew, at least in theory, what Rinya was talking about. Of course, like so many things, theory did not always translate to reality. Or in this case, it did not translate at all.

Jorin frowned as his body bobbed up in down in the water like some sort of spastic marionette. Rinya made it look so effortless, so graceful. Almost like she was a dancer. Or an acrobat. In comparison, Jorin felt his motions as clumsy, and besides they barely kept him afloat.

As he swept his arms around - gently this time! - he heard Kirsi cry out, "Rinya, this doesn't-" before being cut off. Jorin's head immediately swiveled to see the that she seemed to have accidentally gotten a mouthful of brine, which she promptly spat back out. Jorin was in no condition to help her; he was barely staying afloat as he was, his legs kicking beneath him like some sort of strange parody of a frog.

Instead he looked to Rinya, with a look of concern. He didn't even trust his voice, not wishing to take in a mouthful of seawater himself, hoping his concern would transmit across their bond. At the very least, if worst came to worst, he'd put a bit more power and hopefully gain enough locomotion to get to shallower water, and then wade to the womens' location to help, if necessary.

[Rinya]

Day 70, Season Summer, 513 AV

At first Rinya was quite impressed. Kirsi was actually managing to remain above water for her first attempt. And then she nearly swallowed sea water. Wincing slightly, Rinya shook her head. And for once it wasn’t in disapproval of Kirsi. Glancing back at Jorin for a second, he seemed to be having trouble as well.

”Too fast.” Rinya muttered to herself before nodding. Reaching out slowly, Rinya caught Kirsi’s wrists much like she had with Jorin. Bracing her arms she let Kirsi use her as an anchor and sighed slightly.

”Perhaps just a little too fast. Use your legs when your arms are in-between motions.” Rinya cleared her throat, looking between the two for a moment as if she couldn’t decide what to do next. It was hard to remember how she started to learn how to swim. It just seemed like something to learn at the time. ”We will take a step back perhaps. Back to floating… I suppose it would half help with this.”

Basics…

Rinya let go of one of Kirsi’s wrist and shifted so she was standing behind her, leaving one arm outward so if she needed she could use her arm to keep her bearings. If it had been Jorin, he would have been far too heavy to use her arm. Her free hand came up and poked gently high between her shoulder blades.

”When you float, you must be half rigid, half giving. But here is one of the better places to arch. You ears of course will be covered by the water and it is likely water will splash into your face, but you must remain calm. Take breaths consistently, but not if you know you will breath in water of course. Panic is half of what drowns you.”

Pressing her hand against Kiris' shoulder blades, Rinya tilted her head to look at Jorin.

”Perhaps you should stand for the moment. I cannot catch both of you for the moment.” Really she was more worried than she let on over that idea. Jorin would be harder to fish out of the water too, if something should go wrong. Biting her bottom lip, Rinya looked back at Kirsi with an unreadable expression. She wasn’t sure if this was such a good idea, but really she was going to have to try like Jorin asked her to.

”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.” Rinya murmured in a low tone, obviously meaning that Jorin was not meant to hear it. And she had been sure to stress the friend part. Regardless of her jealousy for several reasons, Rinya didn’t want to ruin anything that would make him happy. Twitching her nose slightly, she released Kirsi’s other wrist and adjusted her position behind her like Jorin had before, keeping her hand pressed high against her shoulder blades.

”I’ve never had to share family before. Lean back like you did with Jorin, only keep your back slightly arched.” That was an odd feeling too—having family outside of her father. She supposed that was what Jorin was… a version of family through the bond. That wasn’t a half bad thought really.