[OPEN] I Want to Swim Away, But Don't Know How...

[treadwater]

Who: Undine and You
When: Mid-May, after the Battle Royale
Where: Pool Deck
Summary: Trying to remember how to relax
Warnings: Discussion of the event and violence possible


1. Flyers
Hand-written flyers on Serena Eterna stationary are posted in a few public spaces. Perhaps you run into Undine while she has an armful of them, sticking some up in the library or Playback or around the seating area of the Windjammer. They're fairly plain, words hand-written and a vague silhouette-style drawing of a person doing a swim:

SWIM LESSONS AT POOL DECK, 3PM-5PM

Apparently someone's looking to do something productive in the aftermath of all the things.

2. Swimsuit Shopping
Of course, Undine's going to stop and find herself a new, flattering swimsuit at the new Tommy Bahama before the lessons. If you're a friend, she might encourage you to join her. It's always an interesting time for her, shopping. Blue hair can clash with a lot of things, if she's not careful, but she also doesn't want to lean matchy-matchy. That's something she does in her transformed form, and she doesn't want to evoke that same sort of mood now.

"Alright, so here's the question: paisley or floral?" She's holding up both suits for a second opinion.

3. Lessons
Swim lessons go here--Undine starts everyone out in the shallow end, getting to know their level of comfort with the water. Luckily, she found some kickboards and floaties on the sports deck, so she can give lessons at all levels. She's an encouraging teacher, a bright smile on her face the whole time.

4. Free Swim
Once lessons are done, Undine gets herself a virgin pina colada from the pool bar and sits at the edge of the water, dangling her feet and relaxing. Now's a good time to talk to her about anything on your mind. Or maybe, maybe to get her to talk about what's on hers.

5. Wildcard
Same bat time, same batchannel: darkersolstice or darkersolstice#9463

Comments

[treadwater]

"I mean, you have a sense of humerus about it, at least."

She can't help that one, but stops there, sipping her drink. Don't worry, it's a virgin pina colada--no underage drinking here.

[light_mischief]

After the week Undine's had, Skulduggery wouldn't be shocked or surprised to find her with a much stiffer drink than what's essentially a coconut smoothie.

"It's like they say - you've got to accentuate the positive." He hums a few bars of the song in question. "Either way, swimming lessons on a ship in the middle of a seemingly infinite sea is probably one of the best ideas anyone's had in... at least a week." Nods like, yep! He's calculated that out for sure.

[treadwater]

"I can't tell if you're being sarcastic or not with that. I mean, I know we're not going to be able to swim to anything, even without the barrier. But...it's something to do. I bet someone else could teach me some sort of skill here, maybe, if I'm lucky." She shrugs. "Or maybe I'll make friends or...something."

[light_mischief]

"Oh, no, I'm entirely serious. We are literally surrounded by water -- everyone aboard should know how to swim." And, because he's got feelings about friendship these days, of course he's going to encourage her. "Making friends is also a big plus, too."

[treadwater]

"There's a few people aboard I'd like to be better friends with, maybe. But it's hard, when you might have to kill someone, or they might have to kill you, or things could somehow get worse." She bites her lower lip. "This isn't a good place to be, you know?"

[light_mischief]

"No... Unfortunately, it is not." He lifts one hand, pulling the surface of the water until it forms a small pillar, then lets it drop. "But, since we're all stuck together, there's not much to be done about it. Unless you'd rather live in isolation for the rest of your time aboard, that is..."

Skulduggery's tone indicates that it's definitely... an option you could take! Not that he could handle being alone for more than a few days. He needs people, otherwise he'd go crazy.

[treadwater]

"I think that's probably not a healthy way to try and deal with everything at all." Undine laughs more nervously than with amusement.

[light_mischief]

Skulduggery's laugh is just plain amusement. "I think you're probably right. Which is why I'm glad to see you out and about." You know, after everything that happened. "I've noticed others withdrawing. Hopefully, we can keep that sort of thing to a minimum..."

[treadwater]

"I mean, if someone wants to hide from everything, someone chasing them down and trying to convince them to come out is the absolute last thing that's going to help." Undine pauses, sipping at her drink. "I have a friend back home who was sort of doing that. She lost her powers and started going to a normal school and I think she's avoiding me. But I didn't know what to do there, either."

[light_mischief]

"It seems easier at first to run away from the problem. And then, by the time you realize you've run a little too far, a little too fast..." He shrugs. "You've lost your way back."

[treadwater]

"You're speaking from experience, aren't you?"

She reaches out to gently touch Skulduggery on the arm, eyes wide with concern.

[light_mischief]

His head tilts as he observes her hand, but he doesn't otherwise move. "Everyone has something they're running from. Only some of us ever stop to face it."

[treadwater]

She frowns, letting that comment sit in the air for a moment before she speaks.

"The very last thing I did, before I was brought here, was running away from a big fight with a bunch of friends. I feel pretty guilty about that, even though I know objectively it wasn't really my fault."

[light_mischief]

"The kind of fight with monsters, or the kind of fight with feelings?" Because he understands one of those pretty well! The other... not so much.

[treadwater]

“The latter. Uh. A sparring session turned into a bit of an interrogation and another magical girl coming at me with her magical weapon, which is all kinds of a no-no.” She still feels bad about how all of that had gone down.

[light_mischief]

Oh, that kind of fight. "Interrogations do tend to end with weapons, more often than not. Is it one of those rules you can't break, or shouldn't? Could always just let bygones be bygones." That's what he usually does. After all, what group of friends hasn't drawn their weapons on each other during a heated argument?

[treadwater]

"A magical girl using her weapon is looking to not just fight, but to vanquish. It's dangerous, and...it really was supposed to just be a sparring session, not an opportunity for her to start accusing me of things."

She's a little defensive. It had been a whole hell of a thing.

[light_mischief]

Skulduggery is used to defensive teenagers. It doesn't even phase him at this point. "And you ran because the alternative would be to fight your friends?"

[treadwater]

"To fight Cassidy. Yeah, that's what I did. I ran and let the rest of the training club deal with her, maybe. I hated fighting like that." She sighs. "I'm...really bad at being around big fights. Team Alchemical...ended...because of a big blow-up fight."

[light_mischief]

"Hmm. The situation could have escalated further if you'd stayed. Instead of an argument and weapons drawn, there could have been a real battle." It's practical, to him, to run if you've got no intention of fighting. There's nothing wrong with that.