let your ships roll in

sounds like something that i used to feel

"Swimming can be such good exercise." Eloise agreed, though her eyes seemed to shout that it wasn't swimming that might make his muscles burn and his breath to come in short gasps.

Her fingers closed confidentially around his, tugging him to her side as the waves raced up to crash against their ankles. Turning to gaze up at him, Eloise offered another an entirely innocent smile. "As it happens, I'm pretty good when things go well, too." She shrugged, stepping lightly over the lapping waves behind him until the water was up to her knees (not long in, given her height).

"Your body wants to float. It knows what it's doing." Whether or not the way her eyes cascaded down towards his groin might have simply been a coincidence (but when was anything). With a laugh, Eloise leapt backwards, her small body entirely dissolved in white foam and blue as a wave captured her.

LOREN

Letting out a huff of laughter, Loren eyed Eloise without bothering to hide his growing interest (in her and the swimming). "So I've heard. Guess I just have to hope you're a good teacher."

Following her into the water, letting her tug him with their linked hand, he stepped without hesitation into the water. It came up to his ankles as well, though as she waded deeper he stared where he was for a moment, watching her eagerly. "I suppose it's my lucky day, then, regardless of how things go." He shot her a deeply amused look.

At her comment, he raised her eyebrows. They went up further as her gaze trailed downwards, though he just smirked. As she tossed herself into the water, he waded forward until it came up to his hips. Then he took a deep breath and dived forward, trying to throw himself into the ocean just as she had.

Unfortunately, given how thin and inexperienced he was, his body didn't exactly want to float. Instead, he began sinking almost immediately. He started kicking inelegantly, which was enough to let him reach the surface, but not exactly an appealing look for anyone.

look at how a single candle can both
defy and define the darkness

sounds like something that i used to feel

"I believe doing is the best teacher there is." Once, Eloise would have said precisely the opposite having once been precisely that. A teacher. Now she was happy to let Loren flounder about (potentially in more ways than one) so that he might come to the fundamentals all on his own.

Surfacing with bright eyes and her hair a messy halo around her face, she watched with amusement as Loren too finally made his way to the surface amidst a flurry of bubbles caused by this thrashing. "What are you trying to beat the water into letting you float?" She asked, her tanned arms moving smoothly just beneath the surface as she glided towards him.

Laughing brightly as she drifted against him, she'd slide an arm against the lower portion of his shoulders. "Relax." She encouraged, her voice suddenly quite calm. "Lean back, as if you're in bed. As if you could lean on the surface of the water." Eloise wasn't terribly strong, but in the water she didn't need to be.

LOREN

Loren laughed at her comment. "Well then. I suppose I'll have to get on with doing it, then, won't I?" And indeed, he was definitely about to take the plunge, albeit not in a good or attractive way.

Of course, Eloise moved gracefully through the water, while he looked like a drunken idiot. As he tried to spin himself to face her while still kicking and flailing about mostly at random, he still found himself smirking a bit. "I don't mind a good beating, now and again." Despite his best efforts to be snarky and flirty, it came across as neither as he had to gasp out the words between desperately trying to keep himself afloat and not getting water in his mouth.

When her hand slid across his upper back, he found himself arching into it. Of course, that turned out to be exactly what he was supposed to do. So, taking a deep breath, he did as she suggested and just leaned back, letting her and the water cradle him.

look at how a single candle can both
defy and define the darkness

sounds like something that i used to feel

"Yes but you're a man. The sea demands a bit more finesse. It's one of the reasons the sailors all refer to the sea as a she." Eloise seemed quite proud of that fact.

Her free hand, small but sure, found the place Loren's upper thigh curved up to his ass and nestled against it. Cradling him easily with the sea bearing most of the weight, the illusionist really only come up to his shoulder given that she was still treading water. "As much fun as it is with a partner, knowing how to do it on your own first always helps." So saying, Eloise would softly let her hands lower and hopefully, Loren would remain where he was.

LOREN

"Ah, so those sailors know how to treat a woman right?" Loren's tone was teasing and doubtful. Dropping his voice to a feigned whisper, he grinned at her. "Well, I suppose you'll have to teach me how to do it with finesse, then."

As her other hand slid against his thigh just above his ass, his grin morphed into a smirk. He was more than happy to let her hold him. However, he also let her release him easily enough. Taking a breath, he did his best to relax into the water, let it buoy him. Another breath. A third. Then he let out a huff of laughter. "You're right. It is fun doing it with a partner."

look at how a single candle can both
defy and define the darkness

sounds like something that i used to feel

"Oh now don't go putting words into my mouth Loren." She teased, her tongue perhaps curling along her bottom lip for just a moment before she smirked back at him. "I guess time will tell if you rise to the occasion as a pupil then." The innuendos were obvious but in Eloise' rum-soaked mind it hardly mattered.

"Now, now Loren. There's more to this than simply laying on your back and letting me do all the work." She chided softly, her hands gracefully coming together to propel her back away from him. Leaning back so that her toes peeped out near the water, she flicked a foot in his direction to send a small wave his way. "Come on then, Loren. Let's see how deep you can go."

LOREN

Smirking at Eloise’s response, Loren found his eyes flicking to the lips in question. ”But it’s such an appealing mouth. How can I resist?” Letting out a huff of laughter, he winked at her. "I think you'll find that I'm full of surprises."

Faking a pout, expression mischievous around the edges, he batted his eyes at her, very much playing the part of the simpering sycophant. "But I'm so good at that." Still, as she splashed him, he decided to see what he could do. "Oh, so you want me to go down, then?" Taking a deep breath, he brought his body forward, treading water for a brief moment.

Then he took another deep breath and let himself slip under. His eyes stung from the salt, but he focused them on her form. Sinking, he tried to copy her movements from earlier, attempting to get closer to her with mixed results.

look at how a single candle can both
defy and define the darkness

sounds like something that i used to feel

Her self-satisfied grin suggested that the follow-up comment of, it isn't your words I want put in my mouth, didn't quite need to be said. She was more than pleased though that he followed along her trail of breadcrumbs so willingly.

'How very like a man to think so." She trilled back, feigning an utter lack of amusement though the edges of her eyes narrowed with unfettered amusement. 'Why Loren. If I didn't know better I'd think you were implying something." She tsked, tossing her head like some haughty mare as she drifted back.

Below he'd see the easy rotation of her legs and the way she seemed utterly at home in the water. Were she feeling fighty rather than flirtatious, she might have kicked him right in the face and pretended it was simply in the act of swimming. As it was, she let herself fall backwards, feet coming together and pumping not unlike a dolphins tail to propel her away from the Launceleyn, and hopefully send an underwater barrage of water his way.

LOREN

Chuckling, Loren did his best to shoot her an amused glance from his floating position. ”Well, by now I think we both know I’m a man, so you'll have to excuse me for being a bit slow on the uptake.” Then he shifted his features to a faux 'who, me?' expression, though his eyes glittered with mischief. "Why, I never. My reputation will never recover from such a baseless insinuation." He couldn't help but smirk at the end of it.

Obviously she was much more graceful and skilled in the water than he was, and her wake hit him full on. Feeling his lungs start to burn a bit, he angled himself to the surface. Breaking through, he sucked in air. Then he dove again, trying to copy the new kick she had just shown off. It didn't come easily or naturally, and his brow furrowed in concentration.

look at how a single candle can both
defy and define the darkness

sounds like something that i used to feel

When Eloise finally surfaced they were free of the section where the waves crashed, leaving the sea softly undulating blue-green presence around them. Laying flat on her back as she'd shown Loren how to do, the illusionist pulled in a deep breath of sea air, luxuriating in the warmth of the sun glistening down on her skin.

When Loren finally surfaced as well, assuming he did, she'd merely smirk with her eyes still closed. It was too far out for him to stand now so he'd be forced to tread water or float as she was. "Now that you've shown you can go deep, time to see how long you can last."

LOREN

As Eloise shot towards the surface, Loren did his best to follow. Given that she actually knew what she was doing, and he was basically still floundering, he was less successful than he would've liked. However, he managed to get his head above water before he actually started panicking and resorted to his magic.

Treading water for a moment, the motion looking slightly less like a fish on land the more time passed and the more he relaxed, he shot a smirk right back at her. "I can last as long as you want me to." With that, he leaned back until he was floating just like she'd taught him. If she really put him to the test, she’d find that his endurance (and other things) were more than up for the challenge since for once a character actually has higher endurance than her.

look at how a single candle can both
defy and define the darkness

sounds like something that i used to feel

"Can you now?" The illusionist mused, cracking an eye to see Loren floating with relative ease at her side. She chuckled under her breath, letting her head loll to the side as her body was gently tossed about by the ocean. Eloise didn't try to hide the way her eyes roamed down his body, and though his hips were the most sunk into the sea it didn't change that fact that not all of him was currently underwater or so I assume, idfk.

"You know Loren I always thought you were rather dull. All those paradoxes you gave me once were lovely, but you were a bit of a prick about it." Not knowing how potentially wrong she was, she grinned at him. "I think this place has been good for you."

LOREN

Loren grinned easily, though it was a bit smug around the edges. Still floating, he tilted his head back a little, basking in the sun and the water (and Eloise’s attention, of course). ”Only one way to find out.” And given that her assumption about which parts of him were currently above the surface, that should be easy enough to interpret.

At her next comment, though something dark and ugly flickered in his eyes. He set it aside, letting the beautiful day, good company, buzz of alcohol in his veins, and his new approach to life banish the shadows. ”I like to think it’s been a bad influence, actually.”

Turning his slightly towards her, he winked lazily. "But I needed that. And I'm starting to enjoy those." Using just a bit of his water magic, he tugged her closer, though not enough such that she couldn't break free.

look at how a single candle can both
defy and define the darkness