Fish Out Of Water (IC)

[Ari]

Subito suppressed a groan at the memory of his and Cerys' brief monster-hunting trip to Wales. "An 'Afanc' is a lake monster" he said shortly, jaw set at an angry angle "it looks like a cross between a beaver and a dinosaur. Also," he said looking casually over at Kat "if someone walks up to you in Wales and asks about your Afanc, punch 'em. Punch 'em good and hard."

Sliding back into a more vertical position and treading water he added lightly and with a cheerful smile "So, while it might not be what you or me would call 'normal', Blodeu's education wasn't just about stuff on dry land."

He suddenly darted through the water over to the Welsh girl's side, slinging an arm around her shoulders "C'monnn, princess, show Kat how well you can swim! We can talk while swimming, it is totally doable." he declared with authority and a teasing grin.

[Tiffany Korta]

Blodeuwedd gently shrugged his arms away.

“I do wish you wouldn’t call me that, it’s sweet but… well it’s difficult to explain.â€

She’d tried to get him to read a little of the Mabinogion or at least tell him a few of the myth. Partly so he would understand what the order was all about, but mostly so he’d know the lineage her name carried. She hope the name and didn’t resonate down the line to her, but best to be ready just in case.

She let such thought go, and instead concentrated on helping Kat.

“Afanc means Beaver in Modern Welsh, and yes it can have the same meaning as it does over here.†She paused to let that little fact sink in before continuing. “If you up for it we could try a lap or two of the pool? Though I can’t promise to be the best of teachers.â€

[Curious Key]

Princess, huh? Kat looked away from the pair, a lock of wet hair falling in front of her eyes. Subito's compliments were dangerous things, and he didn't even seem to know it.

"Magic welsh beavers," Kat said, more a statement than a question, resigned. Given power by a magic blue lady. Monster hunting family. Nothing was too absurd anymore. She shook her head to scatter the thoughts from her mind and sighed. "A few laps, then." She gave Cerys a sideways smile before pushing off the end and propelling herself forward.

She tried the stroke Subito had just shown her; it was awkward, almost panicked, but she managed to stick to the form and only took in one two or three times. Though even if Subito could talk while they lapped, but Kat sure as hell could not.

[Ari]

"That thing was just a bastard to get our hands on." Subito grumbled, raising an eyebrow at Cerys' warning about calling her after her namesake. He had the basics of the story told in the fourth branch down pretty well, but the Welsh girl's attempts to explain it fully were taking a little more time.

Nonetheless he said eagerly to the young mutant, unknowing the effect his careless words were having "Dig deep in the water, Kat! You'll be fine, I know it." he added with a reassuring grin, darting off under the cord into the next lane over, keeping pace with the girl and tossing over the occasional encouraging word when he saw her fumble a stroke.

"Hey Cerys!" he called back to his crush "How 'bout you tell Kat that story where you first learned how to swim?" he suggested, hoping this would help build up a mutual understanding.

[Tiffany Korta]

Blodeuwedd followed Kat as she begun to swim, she didn’t have the strength of the others but her basic technique allowed her to keep up. Between strokes she talked to the two giving the conversation a strange stuttering structure.

“It’s possible… to talk, but… you need to… time thing. Just takes… practice… like riding… a bicycle.â€

She matched her speed with the less experienced Kat, she wasn’t her to show off just encourage the young hero.

“We can… discuss… past… adventures… after the… swim. You’re doing… good Kat.â€

[Curious Key]

Kat tried to open her mouth to respond but she got a mouthful of chlorinated water for her trouble. She spat and flailed until she regained control and continued her lap, clearly shaken. It was difficult to focus on much while she was swimming, but her brain managed some things. The weightlessness of liquid, Subito's outline in the water. Subito and Cerys Had Kat misunderstood? Cerys had made a joke, and Subito had looked guilty. Was that all it had been? Did she read too deep?

Once she reached the other side she stopped, taking the moment to regain her focus. And nerve. She looked sideways at her partners and chewed on her bottom lip. "So . . . Are you two an item or what?"

[Ari]

As it happened, Subito was in mid-stroke, the muscular boy about to comment on Kat's excellent progress(again) when she very suddenly asked the question. This meant that he plowed serenely head-first into the end of the lane with a sharp and spluttering bark of pain, rubbing his dripping head and spitting out the water that had flowed into his mouth while hoisting himself onto the side.

Looking at the smaller girl with a wince, he said "I...wait, "are we an item?"" hazel eyes darted over to Cerys for a lingering moment before he hastily turned back to Kat, blushing nervously as he stammered "W-well not really. Um, we..I-I mean, I like Cerys a lot, and she likes me. Er, I dunno if we're like a boyfriend and girlfriend or whatever, b-but..um...we're just friends right now. That's all." he concluded lamely, giving Kat an embarrassed shrug.

Dropping back into the water with a splash, he tread water with smooth and even strokes of his arms and legs, the stocky teen trying desperately to think of how to proceed. Suddenly, inspiration struck. "Hey Cerys! Hows about we meet with Kat tomorrow at lunch, introduce her to some folks? I mean, if you aren't busy, which...might be likely." he asked the pretty girl cheerfully, coloring even more as he corrected himself.

[Tiffany Korta]

She swam over to Kat and made sure that she was okay before continuing.

“It’s a complicated thing, but not just yet. I’ve got to take him to meet the family first, and then we’ll see. We’ve been through quite a bit through the last couple of months, which I’m sure Subito would be happy to tell you all about.â€

She pulled herself out of the pool and sat on the side.

“But we’re distracting you, it would probably be best if I go. But if you want, like Subito suggests, we could meet up for lunch and swap stories.â€

[Curious Key]

"So, 'it's complicated,' then." She stared down into the water and shook her head, expression wry. "Yeah, that might be for the best." So, the pair of them were definitely an item. They considered each other something special, though for some reason they wanted . . . permission? Nonsense, nonsense. "Lunch sounds good. See you later." She waved, smiled and pushed off the edge before they could find some method of prolonging the conversation, struggling to paddle across the pool again, already feeling aches in odd places.

[Ari]

"See you around Kat!" Subito called cheerfully after the girl, beginning to go back to his own swim before noticing her labored strokes. Glancing at Cerys the stocky boy wavered for a moment, then swam gracefully under the lane-divider up to his schoolmate, quietly supporting her with a powerful arm across the rest of the pool.

Leaving her at the opposite edge he told her "If you come back when me or Cerys are here, feel free to ask for more help. She's a great teacher." he assured the lean mutant with a warm smile. Deftly going back underwater and resurfacing in his lane, he gave her a quick wave before resuming his swim, hoping that would work off the nervous energy that coursed through him. 'Why am I so jittery? What in even the world? Well, your lady-friend is right there, to begin with... Don't you start!'

When he was close enough to the young agent he asked Cerys casually "What do you think of Kat, Blodeu? She seems pretty nice."

[Tiffany Korta]

Blodeuwedd considered her options, she’d managed to get a fairly good read on the girl, not everything but enough of an overview. But having known Subito for a little while she knew he’d probably didn’t want the cold hard truth, so she’d had to sugar coat things a little.

“She seems alright. Probably hiding a few secret’s, but then again who here isn’t?†She shrugged her shoulder “But I think something seems to be bothering her, though I’m not sure what.â€

She knew she shouldn’t but, like all the other mysteries around her, at some point she would probably try to find out what her problem was.