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+---- Thread: Uiscefhuaraithe (/showthread.php?tid=11855)
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RE: Uiscefhuaraithe - Flora - 08-10-2025
Flora tips her head, regarding him with more interest than she has so far allowed herself—less stiff, less composed, and just a little more normal-seeming with that playful narrowing of his eyes. [say]"Easier in cooler water?"[/say] she echoes, shrugging before giving her head a slight shake. [say]"Not really. The ocean’s easier because it’s salt water—makes you floatier without even trying. Springs like this are just fresh water, so you have to do a bit more of the work yourself."[/say] Her grin tugs wider. [say]"You probably wouldn’t notice much difference unless you were in the water a lot...but trust me, once you do, it’s like night and day."[/say]
And then, with all the confidence in the world, she smoothly lies. [say]"Of course I’ve taught loads of people to swim,"[/say] she says, tone casual, as if it’s simply a given. Sliding one arm beneath the curve of his neck, she guides the other around to his lower back, the motion steady and sure. [say]"Here’s the trick—being tense will have you sinking faster than anything else. You’ve gotta go as boneless as possible, let the water do the work for you."[/say]
Her touch is light but anchored, encouraging him to trust her enough to loosen the lines of his body, her voice dipping low with mock solemnity. [say]"Think seaweed thoughts."[/say]
RE: Uiscefhuaraithe - Amhran - 08-11-2025
[say]"I suppose it is better in some ways to learn to swim in fresh water, then,"[/say] Amhran reasons. [say]"If only so you don't have false confidence from being... floatier."[/say] Smiling up at Flora, unable not to repeat her choice of word, he hears her out as she continues his very first swimming lesson. And of course, with Amhran already trusting her and with Flora lying with the smooth confidence of someone who believes their own deceit, he's absolutely none the wiser about her swim coach qualifications.
Instead, doing his best to follow her instructions, he lets his body relax bit by bit in the water, steam curling lazily from the surface of the springs, his breath feeling heavy in his lungs. [say]"What does seaweed think about?"[/say] he wonders with a smirk. [say]"I've never spoken to any before, so I'm not sure what I'm meant to be imagining."[/say] A soft chuckle has him sinking a bit, but of course Flora's hands are there to keep him buoyant.
RE: Uiscefhuaraithe - Flora - 08-11-2025
Flora shrugs, lips quirking as she lets her gaze flick over him. [say]"Sometimes harder is better,"[/say] she says lightly, the chuckle that follows suggesting she’s amused whether he catches the innuendo or not.
At his question, her grin deepens. [say]"Aren’t you supposed to be the Rae demigod? Seems like if anyone should know what seaweed’s thinking, it’s you."[/say] The tease is warm, the kind that slips easily between them as she shifts her hands—fingers splaying behind his head and across his lower back—until the water is doing more of the work than she is. [say]"Feel that?"[/say] she asks, voice low and easy. [say]"That’s not me holding you up anymore—that’s the spring. If you want, try spreading your arms out a bit. Makes it even easier for the water to carry you."[/say]
RE: Uiscefhuaraithe - Amhran - 08-13-2025
Amhran catches the innuendo in that he knows that whatever Flora has said has a double meaning, but he can only raise an eyebrow up at her as if to invite her to explain herself. Which could make things a lot harder in themselves, depending on how she wants to respond. [say]"I would love to know what seaweed is thinking,"[/say] he says with a playful scrunch of his nose, [say]"but unfortunately we do not have much of it in the Citadel. I haven't yet braved the Tundra as far as the coast yet either."[/say]
He does wonder if understanding plants in more literal sense will be on the cards one day, but then Flora is shifting in the water and he immediately sharpens his focus so as not to get another face full of water. [say]"Sure, I can try,"[/say] he says, slowly spreading his arms out and taking a slow, deep breath, finding himself strangely buoyant for his efforts. [say]"Is... is this swimming?"[/say] He grins.
RE: Uiscefhuaraithe - Flora - 08-14-2025
Flora can’t help the curious flicker of thought, wondering if the Rae demigod has ever actually been kissed, and if faced with the choice, would he duck her lips in favour of drowning just to avoid them. The mental image earns him nothing more than a slow grin from her, though, and she shrugs lightly against him. [say]"If Halo’s seaweed could talk, it’d probably spend most of its time complaining about the cold,"[/say] she says, voice warm with amusement.
When his body finally settles into the water’s embrace on its own, she lets her fingertips flutter against his back in a gentle, reassuring pattern. [say]"No, this is
Pulling back, she stretches her hands out toward him in invitation, the glimmer in her eyes as much challenge as encouragement. [say]"Alright, next lesson,"[/say] she says, nodding toward the rippling expanse just beyond them, [say]"let’s see what you can do in the deeper water."[/say]
RE: Uiscefhuaraithe - Amhran - 08-14-2025
[say]"I daresay the vast majority of Halo's plantlife would spend its time complaining about the cold if it had a voice. And the bees. We have a notable shortage of bees."[/say] He smirks up at her. If Flora spends enough time around Amhran, she'll likely come to learn that he's very much an open book about the things he both does and doesn't know - and he's never known embarrassment to have it. [say]"What would Torchline's have to say, I wonder?"[/say]"
Raising his eyebrows as her touch grows to something little more than a tickle along his back, Amhran manages to keep himself patrick floating until the point where she's gently helping him back upright. [say]"I guess it's better than sinking,"[/say] he agrees - and a first step towards swimming is one more than he'd taken before coming here.
Swiping a wet curl out of his face and taking a few deep breaths (it's hot lounging around in a hotspring, who knew), as Flora dances her way back through the steam to the deeper water, he throws her a wry look. [say]"I think I would do a marvellous job of drowning,"[/say] he says, [say]"but with my height, it might take longer than some people."[/say] Nevertheless, he follows like a dutiful student, a hand outreached for hers.
RE: Uiscefhuaraithe - Flora - 08-15-2025
Flora huffs a little laugh, the grin curling at her mouth making it clear she’s not disagreeing. [say]"Almost like most things aren’t meant to live in that kind of cold,"[/say] she says, shaking her head. Internally, she can’t help wondering why anyone chooses to live in Halo—greenhouse or magical dome or not—it’s never sounded even mildly appealing.
[say]"Absolutely better than sinking,"[/say] she adds, giving him an approving nod.
Her fingers curl around his when he offers his hand, giving him a small, encouraging squeeze. [say]"You probably would do a marvellous job of drowning,"[/say] she says with mock solemnity, [say]"but that’s not on the agenda today. Besides, if you drown, you won't be able to eat any of the snacks I brought."[/say] With a little tug, she has them swap positions so the drop-off in the pool greets him first.
[say]"This time, no floating,"[/say] she says, slipping into instructor mode with a playful glint in her eyes. [say]"Imagine you’re running, but slowly—just enough movement to keep you steady, not enough to tip you over."[/say] She shows him the motion with her own legs, smooth and controlled, before lifting her hands to make wide, flat ovals through the water. [say]"And you move your arms like this,"[/say] she demonstrates until she’s fully treading water, her body held effortlessly in the spring’s heat. [say]"Your turn."[/say]
RE: Uiscefhuaraithe - Amhran - 08-16-2025
[say]"Nature has a way of adapting,"[/say] Amhran says with an easy shrug even as he's righting himself in the water. [say]"Things grow in all kinds of extremes - look at the lily we just harvested. I imagine some of the native plantlife in Halo would find Torchline to be unbearable."[/say] Much in the same way, the Raeling has no innate preference to where he ends up living - though evidently he still needs practice to get used to being in water, regardless of the location.
His expression brightens at the reminder of the snacks he's absolutely forgotten about until now, and as such he doesn't properly realise that Flora has switched them around until the water is suddenly getting much deeper. Sharpening his focus on the movements of her arms and legs in the water, he schools himself into taking slow, deep breaths as he tries to mimic her. Alas, a demigod he might be, but Amhran is still trying to coordinate long, willowy limbs in a very unfamiliar environment, and he manages to tread water for perhaps three or four seconds before he inevitably begins to sink.
His uh oh is lost as he gurgles beneath the surface of the springs, arms flailing away from the calm ovals they'd been making.
RE: Uiscefhuaraithe - Flora - 08-16-2025
As playfully argumentative as she can be, Flora isn’t about to dive into a debate with the raeling about biomes or adaptations. Instead, she only gives a dismissive little shrug, curls slipping loose from their knot in the damp air.
Her amusement sharpens, though, as she watches him manage a few seconds of coordinated movement before the inevitable happens—limbs tangling, rhythm breaking, and the long demigod body sliding downward into the spring. Laughter bursts bright and ringing from her chest as she swims forward in a few easy strokes, arms circling around his waist. [say]"Stand up you goof,"[/say] she crows through her laughter, tugging him forward with the buoyant strength of someone who grew up in the ocean. [say]"You’re not drowning, Amhran—you’re taller than the water!"[/say] Her grin is wide and merciless, eyes sparkling as the steam curls around them.
RE: Uiscefhuaraithe - Amhran - 08-16-2025
Amhran, perhaps luckily, is too busy under the surface of the water to hear as Flora calls him a goof, but his feet do find the bottom of the spring and he does manage to stand, finding himself on his toes but with his head above the surface. [say]"That felt like drowning,"[/say] he announces to her, his mop of hair soaking wet and plastered to his face now, his hand coming up to quickly swipe it back and out of his eyes.
His cheeks are flushed from the heat of the hot spring, steam curling around his head, and though he might have literally gone in at the deep end, his arms are moving back in the treading water position, if only to keep him balanced. [say]"Do you think we could take a break?"[/say] he asks, half laughing. [say]"It is difficult, learning to swim when it's so hot. I feel a bit dizzy."[/say]
RE: Uiscefhuaraithe - Flora - 08-16-2025
Flora’s laughter comes easily, bubbling up with the steam. [say]"Nah, that was basically walking on water,"[/say] she teases
Once the stone lip greets her palms, she hauls herself out in one fluid motion, water sluicing down her skin in shimmering rivulets. With a practiced flick she gathers her curls back up, re-knotting them high on her head to keep the frizz at bay. [say]"Lucky for you,"[/say] she says, voice bright with promise, [say]"I brought just the thing for energy emergencies."[/say]
Striding over to where her basket waits, she crouches down and pulls the lid back with a dramatic flourish. Inside, neat layers of sugary, airy pastries are tucked alongside colourful fruit snacks and chilled bottles of sweet fruit drinks that glisten invitingly in the cave’s humid glow. She glances back at him with a triumphant smile, spreading her arms as if unveiling a treasure hoard. [say]"Ta-da. Snack salvation."[/say]
RE: Uiscefhuaraithe - Amhran - 08-16-2025
Amhran's hand finds Flora's easily this time, and while he does his best to cut through the water with the same sort of grace that she manages, she does somewhat ferry him along until they reach the side of the hotsprings. He isn't nearly as sexy elegant in swamping back onto dry land either, though that can partially be blamed on dizziness and the unwieldiness of long limbs. Either way, he soon finds himself sitting on a flat, warm rock, having wrung out his curls and leaving them to dry around his shoulders. (His hair tie appears to have floated away somewhere).
[say]"Oh,"[/say] he says, hazel eyes widening as he takes in the array of snacks she's brought with her. [say]"Wow, Flora. You weren't kidding."[/say] Reaching instantly for one of the glistening bottles of fruit juice, the chill of the drink already has Amhran relaxing considerably, and he wastes no time in pressing the cool glass against the side of his neck. [say]"Thank you,"[/say] he says with a smile.
And while they might have to wait after eating before attempting another swim lesson, Amhran will manage to practice drowning several more times before they depart, at last, from Frey's Breath.
~FIN