[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

3.

[hellonspectacles]

Palamedes never learned to swim, a fact that had been perfectly normal where he came from. For one thing, based on both natural aptitude and tradition, necromancers tended to stay away from sustained physical activity. For another, there just wasn’t a lot of room in the Library for a swimming pool.

But now he’s trapped on a ship in the middle of the ocean. And just a few days earlier, he and Clarke had managed to get themselves briefly stranded miles from the Serena Eterna in a lifeboat that, frankly, was barely seaworthy. Even if he never became a strong swimmer, Pal is starting to think that maybe he should learn how to keep himself afloat by his own power.

He shows up poolside at the appointed time in his new tropical themed swim trunks and, incongruously, a notebook and pencil. Surely there would be readings to do and diagrams to study before they got to the practical lessons. Right?

[treadwater]

"That notebook is probably going to get soaked through if you try to bring it into the pool, you know." She giggles softly. "Swimming is the sort of thing you learn by doing Pal, so put that down and come into the shallow end here with me."

[hellonspectacles]

“…I thought there might be a pre-pool lesson of some sort?” Palamedes says, still sounding hopeful, even has he quickly comes to the conclusion that he had read the situation wrong. “To review the science of buoyancy. Read up on proper arm positions. That sort of thing.”

Undine is looking at Pal with an expression of decidedly more patience than one Jeannemary had worn when she had asked him, does the Sixth learn sword fighting from books? but Pal is reminded of that incident all the same. It seems that, once again, he has misjudged athletic matters. He sets the notebook down on a lounge chair and then returns to the steps of the pool’s shallow end, taking a tentative step into the water.

[treadwater]

"I mean, I can talk a bit about buoyancy, but here's the thing: I'm not teaching anyone to be an Olympic swimmer. You're not going to be competitive. I'm teaching you what you need to float and tread water if you end up in the ocean, swim out to a tender or a lifeboat if we have one. And that's going to be muscle memory."

Her tone is gentle, warm. She understands where he's coming from.

[hellonspectacles]

And thank goodness she isn’t trying to make an Olympic swimmer out of Palamedes, because he would undoubtably fail. Even if it turns out he is more capable of building muscle than a myriad of tradition maintains, he certainly will never been an award-winning athlete of any kind.

“Muscle memory. Right.” Pal rubs his hands together and takes a few more steps into to the pool until he is standing on the floor of the shallow end. Goospimples rise on his arms as the water gently laps at his legs.