destinystrings | Swimming is a valuable life skill though (forward-dated to the 5th)

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Swimming is a valuable life skill though (forward-dated to the 5th)

Who: Xion and Aqua - observers from the Castle are welcome
Where: Castle of Departure!
Summary: Xion's shoulder needs physical therapy and she needs to learn to swim. Keymom decides this is a wonderful opportunity to kill two birds with one stone.
Warnings: Nada

[Eventually life has to return to normal, and what better way to start than for a teacher and apprentice to be working together? Only this... wasn't exactly a normal lesson. Xion's arm had been out of its cast for about a week and a half now, and in addition to being stiff and a little painful to move at certain times and in certain directions, she'd been given all sorts of instructions on what to do to get it back to normal.

Aqua had been more than happy to help when she'd found out. Xion figured the pool - which was one of the first places Aqua had suggested - would've been ideal, except for one thing... Xion didn't know how to swim.

Well as it turns out there were many things Aqua was more than happy to teach Xion.

It was a rainy day, perfect for staying inside and learning something new. Xion picked a bit at her bathing suit - which still felt kind of strange compared to any of the clothing she'd ever worn thus far - and waited for the lesson to start.]

[[ooc; Aqua and Xion will have their own thread, any observers feel free to start a new thread and one or both will tag]]

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[Yeah, swimsuits were always weird to wear at first. But considering it was mostly designed in that manner to keep the swimmer from being dragged down by either too much fabric or air bubbles in the folds of said fabric... (she will never understand just how revealing some of them are, okay)

Still, Aqua walked into the pool area, pressed a small button next to the lighting, aaaand-- oh crap it really IS a pool in there!]

Hello, Xion.

[And of course, she's already in her swimsuit, too. She smiles faintly, taking a few steps in and holding out a hand for her apprentice.] Come on; I'm here.

[~~and you are based on an island kid ok she knows you will not drown it is in our blooood~~]

[Xion starts as the pool just... appears in the ground. It's... amazing. She's never seen anything like it before. For a moment she just stares at it, completely dumbfounded, but then Aqua greets her and passes, entering the pool before her.]

Hello. [Xion's mouth twists a little.] I've been in water before.

[Just... never any higher than her knees, which makes itself clear as that's exactly where she first hesitates, finally taking Aqua's hand and letting her lead her to deeper waters]

[Aqua giggles quietly to herself; not condescending or mean, but warm because she remembered when she first entered her the object of her namesake (and promptly started blowing bubbles, according to her mother). She didn't have much trouble with going in passed her knees, but she did when it came to the neck.

Which is still beyond where Aqua leads Xion--at mid-chest level, and not once letting go lest she worry.]

I figured. Let's start here.

[Having been through a few injuries herself, she knows that Xion first needs to stretch her shoulder and arm a little. Not by much so soon, but just to see how she takes to the water. Aqua gently leads her in how to do so.]

[It's... strange, she was so nervous about getting in the water, but once she got in far enough she feels almost... at home. Familiar. As if she's done this a thousand times and more besides. It's not a bad feeling though. In fact, compared to what she was afraid it would be, it's rather welcome. It lets her focus on what Aqua's showing her, though she still holds on to Aqua's hand, for now]

Okay.

[She'd already tried moving her shoulder some, and been surprised to find out how stiff and difficult it was to move it freely. She grimaces just a little as the stretches push the limit (just a little bit but still noticably) on what's comfortable

Still, the water helps a lot, much more than she would have expected.]

[Aqua smiles faintly at the progress. It's not by much, but it's enough of a step to help her student slowly get used to moving it again. After pointing out the water jets to Naminé, she motions for her to stop.]

Let's take a short break to relax your shoulder. [They don't want to stress it too much, after all. Though there is a bit of a mischievous glint in her eye. Uh-oh?]

[With Xion and Aqua already going into the pool for Xion's physical therapy, Naminé figured it was as good of an excuse as any to try the jacuzzi that was just ten steps away. She carefully dips her foot in to test the heat before stepping in and sighing contentedly. This is very close to heaven right now.

Someone should tell her about the jets.]

Edited 2013-03-02 10:31 (UTC)

The button for the jets is to your left.

[How did she know? She couldn't have eyes in the back of her head, could she? >.> <.< >.>;;]

[Naminé is startled out of her daydreaming, blinking up at Aqua.]

Jets?

[She reaches around for the button, and then the jets start up.]

Oh! Wh-ooa-hhh.

[She giggles at that. Silly Naminé.]

I take it you like them, too?

Yes! [She sinks down below the water for a moment before popping up again.] I didn't even know pools had jets!

Some of them do. ...My Master was insistent on them.

[The bigger pool has a few of them too, actually...]

[Lately he's been doing a bit of working out, to maintain and improve musculature. He isn't sure what sort of regime he may have had before, but with the activities he's been engaging in now he has a few different exercise patterns he follows. Now, having finished one such workout he heads for the jacuzzi to unwind, already dressed for the water, a towel draped over his shoulders.

Then he stops when he hears the sounds of splashing and voices. Are there others around? Perhaps this is a bad idea.]

[Xion was taking to swimming pretty naturally. It'd only been just under an hour, and she already feels... rather at home, in the water. She can already swim around the pool itself, though she's still staying in the shallower end.

She's fairly distracted - and in fact rather enamored - with her newfound skill, but at one point she stops to take a break and looks up to see a familiar face just as he enters the pool area.

She raises an arm - her left one, noting that, while far from perfect it did feel better.]

Hey!

[Yep, there's definitely people there, and judging by that voice familiar people too. He can pick out Xion, waving at him, and his eyes hit the floor quickly. Girls in swimsuits means being a gentleman and not staring. She's just trying to have fun, after all!

He waves back, though it looks a little odd.]

Hello, Xion... I've never seen you here. Do you swim often?

[Xion tilts her head a little surprised at his reaction, though she smiles a little sheepishly too at his question, for different reasons]

Not... not really. I've never really learned how. Aqua's teaching me. She says it'll help my shoulder too.

[She rolls it a little experimentally, as if to demonstrate.]

What about you?

Oh... that's good, though!

[He manages a rather nervous smile, though he doesn't raise his eyes from where they're fixed on the ground.]

I was just going into that hot tub, it's nice after a workout, but I can come back another time if the two of you are here.

[She shrugs]

It doesn't really bother me. We're taking a break now anyway.

[She swims over to the wall nearest him, resting her arms on the rim of the pool and leaning forward a little to catch his eye, slightly concerned]

You okay?

Are you sure? I'd rather not interrupt anything...

[Oh, eye contact is okay. Keeping eyes up is good. Up up up go the eyes, yellow meeting blue, locking there as though somehow there was actual mechanism to keep them from going anywhere else that would be inappropriate.]

I'm fine... why do you ask?

You're acting a little different, that's all.

[Ah good, you're looking at her. She smiles back, a little sheepish but still happy. She brushes back a little wet hair out of her face.]

And I'm sure it's fine, really.

Oh... [there go his eyes again, this time they're just darting off to the side a bit sheepishly] I'm just... I don't want to be inappropriate when the two of you are in your swimwear, that's all...

Oh.

[And all of a sudden it's as if she realizes that there's something to be shy and awkward about. She turns slightly red and begins stammering]

I- I-I'm sure, it's okay really. I-

[And then cutting herself off with a strangled sort of noise she pulls her arms off the side of the pool and sort of sinks down until only her eyes are above water, a small stream of bubbles flowing from her nose]

[Well, that seals it. He shakes his head, the eye contact lost, turning away.]

It's okay, I'll come back later. S... sorry. Have fun swimming...

[As he turns to leave her eyes widen and she pulls her head back out of the water, slightly panicked. Augh why were her words so fumbling and bumbling all of a sudden?]

N-no wait! You don't have to go, really. [she ducks her heat against the rim of the pool] I'm sorry-

['I'm doing really badly at this...']

[He stops in mid-egress, though he doesn't turn around.]

... are you sure? It's no trouble, I mean...

[He rubs his face. It's odd that this is so strange. They're just in swimsuits. He knows he won't look.]

I'm sure. Really.

[She ducks her head against the edge of the pool, looking extremely cowed]

I promise.

[For what it's worth, she's not used to being this flustered]

[He turns around slowly, making sure his eyes stay down, until he can make contact with hers again at least.]

Okay...

[He relaxes a little. If she's okay with it, then there's nothing to worry about, right?]

What kind of swimming are you learning?

[Riku, too, is rather fresh out of the cast; it shows in the way he walks, though he's working on it, there's still a bit of a limp visible. Hopefully that will be gone soon enough.

For now he's just sitting near the edge, watching the swimming lessons proceed - he's not going to show just how weird they seem to him, but well, he knows that being born an Islander means that you learn how to swim at about the same time you learn how to walk.

And given that as well as who Xion is based on, she shouldn't have too much trouble catching on, right?]

[Nope, not much trouble at all. In fact, she's almost amused that it's now just the stretches and trying to make her see that yes, she can handle some of the more deeper waters.

Aqua motions for Riku to join them. Come on, fellow Keyblade Master... it's a big pool!]

[Riku frowns for a second then shrugs, pulling off his shirt in one fluid motion (revealing the long, pale scar on his side, the reminder of the final battle with Xemnas), before he glides into the water, swimming up to the other two.]

Yo.

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Swimming is a valuable life skill though (forward-dated to the 5th)

aw yeah let's do this

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