Solo Sinking Under

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Home of the Konti people, this ivory city is built of native konti stone half in and half out of the sea. Its borders touch the Silverwood, and stretch upwards towards Silver Lake, home of the infamous konti vision water. [Lore]

Sinking Under

Postby Lacerta on November 17th, 2013, 2:53 pm

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Summer 2nd, 459 AV


Lacerta and Mila were back in the water again, continuing the agreed lessons. They’d made their way to a deeper area, but that was sheltered by rocks, so the waves were minimal. It was also quite a clear day, making swimming quite the ideal pastime. Lacerta was able to stand at one point, and did so, though everywhere else was too deep, even for her seven plus feet. The Konti, however, was keeping herself easily floating by doing… something with her legs. And that was what she was planning on learning today… how to ‘tread water’, as the swimmer called it. It was basically leg motions, which, if done correctly and ‘forceful’ enough (Mila was very adamant on that fact) you could stay afloat for as long as your stamina lasted. She’d offered to go ten chimes or more, but the Eth had had to decline, considering time restraints. Though… maybe later.

Her friend found a rock to sit on, and perched herself there, slipping easily onto its wet surface. ”Right… so, to tread water, you need to sort of move your legs in circles… keep them bent, at a right angle, almost as if you’re sitting on a chair. Then you sort of ‘swirl’ them around in circles, like this.” She took two fingers and began demonstrating. They didn’t cross over, though the way they moved was… odd. Once one ‘knee’ went into the middle, and left, the other followed. Like they were going in odd circles… It made sense though. The Konti pushed off the rock again, and began demonstrating. The water was clear enough, and allowed the Ethaefal to generally see what the leg motions were. Once they were in her own brain… she pushed off her small ledge and into the deeper water.

At first she floundered, arms pulling at the surface, but she quickly tried to lift her knees up to ‘sitting’ height. She then tried to swirl them in circles, as demonstrated. It worked… kind of, but not very well. Her legs felt slow in the water, and soon enough, she was sinking. ”Force!” Mila urged, treading water just a few meters away. Nodding, while trying not to drown, Lacerta pushed harder, trying to force herself to the surface. Her legs were hurting a little, but she was able to stay afloat for several moments. However, her thighs gave out from the odd motion, and she kicked awkwardly back to the shallow spot.

”Good job! Now… you just want to be able to do that for several minutes on end… try again when your legs are feeling better. This will be needed for the next thing we’re working on.” The sailor eyed her companion skeptically. From only lasting maybe twenty ticks, she didn’t understand how it was even possible to go as long as ten chimes. The Konti had even claimed she could go for a full bell… but the Eth seriously doubted that. It sounded way too hard to her, nearly impossible, in fact.

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Lacerta
Daughter of Syna, past Eypharian
 
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Sinking Under

Postby Lacerta on November 17th, 2013, 2:54 pm

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Lacerta pushed herself into the middle of the pool area, and returned to her starting position. Her legs still kind of hurt from the effort, and her hands still pushed at the surface for extra ‘buoyancy’ as Mila called it. However, she wasn’t drowning, and the circling motion became easier and easier… even with pained thighs. All this swimming was making her exercise muscles she didn’t even know existed. Sailing was enough for her, but this… this was something completely different.

As she pushed her legs in various circles, she let her mind wander. If she didn’t focus on her pains… they wouldn’t hurt as much, would they? She was swimming – wasn’t that great? She’d never really swum before, so this was an amazing new experience. She’d be able to see Laviku’s Grace from the water, if all went well. It had been beautiful from the surface, with vivid colors and bright fish, but from the water… she was told it would be even more amazing. And that was her drive for all this learning… knowing how to swim. Actually swimming… she would do this. She could do this, all it required was… practice. And she had all the time in the world to practice, until she finally got this right.

Her mind drifted back to reality, and she blinked in surprise. Her legs were killing her, and, stopping the movement immediately, she swam the short distance back to her standing point. ”Wow… that was nearly a chime!” Mila exclaimed, clapping her hands. Blushing slightly, the Ethaefal dipped her head, muttering ”I just sort of… drifted away, and kept swimming.” She shrugged, wishing it wasn’t such a big deal. But… she’d actually done that for a chime! It was really impressive, thinking on it. And if she simply kept practicing and practicing… she could figure this out. She just needed to build the right muscles, and get used to the funny movements… then she’d finally be able to work this out.

Smiling to herself, Lacerta rolled her shoulders, before cocking her head at the Konti. ”So… what next? More practice? Or….?” The woman had mentioned ‘the next thing’, meaning she would be learning something else today other than treading water… which sounded quite fun, to be honest. She had no clue what else she could learn, but loved the idea already… all she needed was a little instruction, and something new would come!

Feeling a little experimental, she took a deep breath and ducked her head under the water. After a moment of pause, she opened her eyes, and stared out at the water. Immediately, she felt a burn, and an intense need to close her eyes and surface. But she remained under water, staring at the rocks – which looked quite pretty from below – and the sand under their feet. It was pretty, no matter how dull the colors were. But with the brightness of Laviku’s grace… it would be amazing, just with the feeling staring through water gave you.

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Lacerta
Daughter of Syna, past Eypharian
 
Posts: 219
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Sinking Under

Postby Lacerta on November 17th, 2013, 2:54 pm

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Lacerta surfaced once her lungs ran out of air, pushing off with her feet to reach the top quicker. She took a massive breath, but her eyes were still tight shut, full of water. She had to take a moment to wipe them clear, then blink several times, before she felt like she could look at the normal world again. Opening her eyes underwater, as pretty as it was, was possibly not the best idea. When Mali began swimming out of their little cove, and deeper into the water, she followed, using the style she’d been taught the day before. Pulling with her arms, keeping them at right angles, breathing, kicking, and gliding. It only took a few repetitions before they came to a deeper area, one with more space to swim in…. and that was deeper. Even looking down, the Eth could barely see the bottom.

Now that there was nothing to hold onto, she was forced to tread water. It felt… different, to be out of that controlled environment, but seemed to be able to work well here. As the two floated for a moment, both of their legs churning, the Konti started another explanation. ”So… we’re going to do a bit of diving. Just heading deep. You know that plain kicking thing you did earlier? I want you to do that. Basically, you force yourself underwater and point down… then keep kicking. Come up if you feel like you’re out of breath… ok?” The woman had a slightly concerned face, but it quickly disappeared with a shrug. ”Anyways… down we go!” Without another word, she disappeared under the surface, only a small splash to show she’d gone.

After frowning for a moment, the Ethaefal followed, ducking under the water and desperately trying to orient her body in the right direction. However, that used up most of her air, and she was forced to surface when she’d finally gotten a good angle. After popping up for a breath, she dived down again, remembering which way she was supposed to go. She kicked with her feet, trying to force against the rising feeling she kept getting in her chest. After only a few moments she started kicking upwards, and surfaced with a small splash. She took a deep breath and glanced around, wiping excess sea water out of her eyes. She quickly tried to resume the steady kicking, moving her legs in even circles. Mali was nowhere to be seen, which worried her, but… the Konti could take care of herself.

Her lungs felt tired and weak, so the sailor decided to simply tread and wait for her friend’s resurface. While she watched the water carefully, her legs moved in careful circles that mostly kept her afloat. However…. They were getting tired, and so was she. This was a little too much for one day, and her thighs felt like falling off. However… if she just stopped swimming now, she’d drown… unless she headed for the nearest rock, of course. Instead, she watched and waited for Mali’s return, growing ever more exhausted with each passing moment.

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Lacerta
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Sinking Under

Postby Lacerta on November 17th, 2013, 4:51 pm

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Soon enough, however, Mila popped out of the water, not even breathing… of course, Konti could breathe under water, so there was no problem there. The woman began treading water on her own, cocking her head once at Lacerta. ”You okay? How was the diving?” She grinned widely, appearing completely relaxed. However, the Ethaefal was quickly tiring, her legs feeling weaker and weaker. ”Fine… but I’m tired” she admitted, before glancing at the nearest rock. She stopped her own treading and began kicking in that direction, not feeling good enough to try the normal swimming style.

She grabbed onto the solid ‘land’ as quickly as possible, hanging onto it while letting her legs float uselessly in the water. At least when submerged, she could completely relax all her muscles, so her limbs could recover as best possible. She rested her head on the stone and sighed, watching the waves lap slowly on and off the stone. Her lungs felt tired too, if that was even possible, along with everything else. Holding her breath for so long, and taking such huge ones, was actually quite tiring. She smiled at Mali as the woman swam over to join her, the Konti looking as fresh as ever. She was an expert at swimming, with an endurance a mile high. Or long. Or… something. The Ethaefal, on the other hand, was a complete newbie, not even entirely sure what she was doing half the time. Her lung capacity was… minimal, and she couldn’t simply keep breathing under the surface like her friend did. Things were more complicated than that.

When she finally felt better, she ducked under the water and pushed off the rock with her feet. This sent her roaring through the water, until she popped up… she’d actually gone quite fast then, and it was very satisfying to move like that. She awkwardly pushed with her hands in an attempt to right herself, before once again returning to treading water. ”Try diving!” Mila called, and the sailor nodded. It was quite deep where she was, so she ducked her head underwater and began pushing down. She used her hands at first, then began kicking, going until her lungs thought they were going to explode. Remarkably, her hands touched sand, and, knowing she was at the floor, the Eth turned. She knew she wouldn’t have been able to do that again, so instead planted her feet on the ground like she had the rock, and shoved up.

She soared towards the surface, breaking it just as she felt she could hold her breath no more. The composer took a few deep breaths, scrabbling at the water to barely stay afloat, before paddling awkwardly back to their rock. She grabbed onto it again and rested, turning on her back to face the sky. ”I touched the bottom” she admitted wryly, still amazed by her own success. The Konti quietly congratulated her, before deciding to move onto more complicated trials.

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Lacerta
Daughter of Syna, past Eypharian
 
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Sinking Under

Postby Lacerta on November 18th, 2013, 1:33 pm

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Mali began swimming back and forth, diving deep every once in a while. Finally, she went down for a few chimes, before popping back up with something in her hands. It was… a rock? Lacerta frowned for a moment, confused, but her silent question was quickly answered. ”I want you… to dive down, and pick this up. I’ll keep it at a shallow depth, but we might move deeper every once in a while… ok?” Once she’d agreed, the Konti shoved down into the water, and quickly returned with empty hands ”If you dive straight from here, you’ll find it. Grab it and drag it up here, ok? If you feel like you’re not going to make it, just drop the stone.”

Now that her instructions had been given, the Ethaefal pushed slightly off her rock so she was treading water just above the rock, Pointing herself downwards, she began kicking, using her hands until her feet were actually submerged. She kept her eyes open, despite the pain, wanting to see what she was grabbing. The stone was there, just a little bit deeper… Her arms were outstretched and legs kicking wildly, in an attempt to keep moving. The air inside her kept trying to push up, making everything twice as hard. When she finally reached the stone, and wrapped her hands around it… her eyes were stinging and ears had a strange, painful pressure in them. Orienting into a crouching position, she heaved up the rock (lighter than she’d expected) and pushed up, rocketing towards the surface.

She came out with a splash, and, not even bothering to tread, heaved the stone over to the nearest solid ground with simple, but awkward kicks. When she shoved it on top where it would stay, the Eth rested again, panting slightly. Only when she regained her breath did she grumble ”That was tireing, and shake her head. She tried to even her rickety breathing, slowing it down so holding her breath for long didn’t affect her. Breath in… out. In… and out. Repeat. For nearly a chime she attempted to slow her breathing, make it calm and steady, and she eventually found some form of success. She re-oriented herself on her seat and glanced at Mila, smiling slightly.

”At least I got it out” she shrugged, patting the rock amiably. It had been deeper than she’d gone before, and the pain in her ears… that she didn’t understand. ”When I reached the bottom, I felt a… pressure in my ears. And it hurt…” She would have added a ‘why’ in there somewhere, but felt like the statement held enough of a question. Apparently that was true, as the Konti answered her question with an understanding nod. ”The pressure from all the water on top of you builds, causing the pain. You just have to get used to it… though there is a certain limit to how deep your body can go…” She grinned, shrugging once. ”Just keep going to where it eventually starts to hurt… then it’ll stop after a time. You know… I think it’s time for lunch – shall we?”

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Lacerta
Daughter of Syna, past Eypharian
 
Posts: 219
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Joined roleplay: May 6th, 2013, 11:10 pm
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Medals: 2
Overlored (1) 2013 Mizahar NaNo Winner (1)

Sinking Under

Postby Tsunami on January 6th, 2014, 3:24 am

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Lacerta
Skill +# Experience
Swimming +5XP
Observation +4XP
Endurance +3XP
Socialization +2XP


Lores Gained
  • Swimming: Treading Water
  • Ouch! Opening eyes in salt water hurts!
  • Swimming: Diving under water
  • Endurance: Trending water to regain strength for more swimming
  • Feeling the sandy bottom with your hands
  • Swimming: The deeper in the water the greater the water pressure.

Items Gained :
None.



Notes and comments :
It was a great skill building thread, Lacerta. I really enjoyed the fact that she experienced fatigue during her swimming lesson. Great Job! :)
If you have any questions/concerns/comments, please feel free to shoot me a PM!
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