overflow!

[competing]

Comments

[competing]

Great! First thing's first [ apart from "safety" apparently... ] we gotta get you acquainted with the water.

[ he starts to wade in, waving linneus over with a hand to follow after him. once they're about thigh-deep, lance gestures to the water. ]

Ocean, this is Linneus. Linneus, this is the ocean.

[inaurare]

Acquainted...?

[...Lance surely didn't mean it that way.

...nope, he did. He absolutely did. But he trusts his teacher's methods, even clears his throat lightly]

Hello, Ocean.

[competing]

[ lance's smile is small, innocent. he watches attentively as linneus does as he instructs, greeting the ocean.

but as soon as he does, lance's hand strikes out, quickly slapping a small handful of water up towards linneus himself (not necessarily his face, but definitely in his general direction). ]

[inaurare]

[a little gasp at the splash, backing up in surprise. Why, Ocean?! It takes him a couple of moments to process what has happened...

But he can give as good as he gets. His splash is a little more delicate, a flick of his fingers with the float coming up as if to shield himself from return fire]

[competing]

[ lance need only lift a hand up to ward off the few flecks of water aimed towards him, but his laughter rings out, proving his earlier actions were good-natured. ]

Well you already passed lesson one!

[ his hand comes down over the surface of the water again, but rather than slap against it or scoop it up, his hand merely rests along the gentle waves, riding each ebb and flow. ]

The ocean can be just as fun as it is intimidating. It's important to read its moods, and to know which kind of ocean you're dealing with today. Get a feel of it now—

[ he takes linneus' hand, careful to keep his hold gentle, and sets it over the surface of the water too, mimicking his other. ]

Feel that? Gentle, calm.

Above all else, if you respect the ocean, you'll be okay.

[inaurare]

That was a lesson...?

[and he passed the first lesson? Perhaps he's not as poor a study as he thinks...

He lets Lance take his hand, a little smile catching at the corner of his mouth as the boy brings it over the surface]

It's different to my rivers. To what I grew up with.

[the ocean could hold him, but it could swallow him as well. So Linneus' respect... come with a little fear, as well.]

[competing]

[ lance's methods were... unconventional, for sure. but it was how his older brother taught him, and how their dad taught him before that. ]

Take your time, [ he instructs gently, releasing linneus' hand so he can feel the water on his own. ]

When you're ready, let me know.

[inaurare]

[he feels a little self-conscious at first, standing there with his hands over the water, but... he tries to get past that. Closes his eyes and keeps his hands there, feels the water lapping against his legs; the rhythm to it. It takes him a little time to open his eyes, but when he does...]

I think I'm ready?

[he's not sure how one judges such a thing]

[competing]

[ lance allows the other as much time as he needs, knowing about 50% of this is all mental and emotional anyway. especially for someone who's never even seen the ocean before, it's definitely gonna take a considerable more time to mentally prepare.

so when linneus announces he's ready, lance simply beams at him in encouragement. ]

Great. Now grab up your board— we're gonna work on floating first. You're gonna wanna hug it to your chest, like this, and slowly lift your feet up so you aren't touching the and anymore.

[inaurare]

...this feels very ungainly.

[said as he is trying to get his weight over the board - if he situates himself wrong he feels unsteady, like he's pushing down against a resistance that is only going to fire the board back up again. Or else it squeaks against his dampened skin or costume. But he tries to get it right - hug it to his chest, Lance had said - and once he thinks he might be floating there, he carefully lifts one foot off the bottom.

Then... the other?

Is he doing it? Or is he simply clinging to the board for dear life?]

[competing]

[ i mean... tomato, tomahto.

should linneus glance up at lance in that moment, he will be treated to an encouraging smile and an even more encouraging (hopefully) thumbs up. ]

Looking good. [ as good as anyone clinging to a boogie board can look, anyway. but he's doing it, and that's all that matters! carefully, lance reaches down to grasp either side of the board, slowly trying to coax linneus to lay a little more horizontally against it. ]

Okay, now try sort of... laying down on it? You wanna let your body rest over the surface of the water just like your hand had been.

[inaurare]

[he can do this. He can manage. But Lance's hands, his help keep ing the board steady... it's reassuring to have. The boy doesn't mean him to hover, Linneus is pretty sure, but to use the board sort of as a... buffer?]

Like this?

[and, hesitantly]

It's not going to sink?

[competing]

Nah, its entire purpose is to stay ride these waves.

[ once he's certain the other boy has a good hold on the board, he starts to slowly walk backwards, further out into the deeper ocean, keeping his hold along the foam steady, gentle. ]

There you go.. you're doing great! How're you feeling?

[inaurare]

...awkward.

[he holds still, though, letting Lance tow him out into the water. He won't put it into words, but he feels like a boat. He feels like a boat right now.]

What is the next lesson?

[competing]

[ "awkward" isn't really what they're aiming for here, but it definitely could be a lot worse. ]

Next is trying it on your own.

[ they've gotten far enough now that the water reaches up to lance's ribs. carefully, he moves over to where linneus floats, holding up his hand for the other to see, then slowly slipping that back down under water. the flat of his hand finds linneus' stomach then, holding him steady. ]

I want you to try and separate yourself from the board, okay? I've got a hold of you here, so don't worry about anything. Just concentrate on how your body feels with the water. Try and float on your own.

[inaurare]

All right..

[It's reassuring that he can just... stand, worst come to worse, but Lance's hand is a comfort as well. How to go about releasing the board, though... it's rather holding him up right now. If he pushes it away he is probably just going to sink.

He is probably overthinking this too much. So he makes a start easing the board away and... hoping he doesn't sink]

[competing]

[ and he doesn't!

not with lance's help, at least, whose hand remains steady and stable and flat along linneus' stomach. he keeps a careful watch, too, certainly close-by enough to offer further help should the other need it.

but so far? he's doing really well! ]

That's it, that's it... Just keep calm, let the water lift you. If you feel yourself starting to sink, you can start moving your arms and legs, just sort of gentle paddling? To give yourself enough momentum to keep afloat.

[inaurare]

[he is worried that a lot of this... success is down to Lance's help, and that it's not the water lifting him so much as the boy's steadying hand on his stomach... but he nods as much as he can from his current position]

Okay...

[okay, he can do this. Not so sure how to go about moving his legs just yet but he can paddle a bit with his hands, trying resist the urge to sort of push himself further up in the water. That will probably not do much to help him]

How should I move my legs?

[it feels like they're only going to weigh him down once he changes his balance]

((Mental image))

[competing]

( ooc; also SO SORRY for the delay in tags back there. rl got away from me for a few days..!

also that is adorable and incredibly accurate, tbh. )


Try alternating light kicks for each one, like this.

[ with his free hand, he has his fore- and middle finger alternating up and down, up and down... i'm not describing this very well. ]

[inaurare]

All right.

[it's hard to get into a rhythm at first - he feels uncoordinated and clumsy, but he tries to remind himself that that's just because he's never done this before. A bit more trying, a bit more kicking, and... he's moving? At a snail's pace, but he's sort of moving...! Is this right...?

((Not to worry dear <3 Happens to all of us!))

[competing]

( ooc; ;; thanks so much for understanding! )


Yeah... Yeah, there you go! You got this! You're pretty much a natural!

[ okay, so he's laying it pretty thick, but this is like 60% morale, right? right. ]

Alright, I'm gonna remove my hand now... see if you can keep afloat yourself, okay?

[ he'll do it slowly, to be nice... ]

[inaurare]

[oh god]

Okay.

[he has to remind himself that he's not as far off the bottom as he thinks he is - it's too easy to forget. If he had ever ridden a bike in his life, he'd be able to compare this to the training wheels coming off but... he hasn't done that, either. But Lance is careful enough about withdrawing his hand that he doesn't feel too discomfitted, though his pace quickens a little bit.

Not sinking. It's not the most elegant scene, but they're going for function, at least to begin with. Form can come later.]

[competing]

[ form can definitely come later, especially as linneus has got no one to impress here but lance himself, who is already incredibly impressed that he's braving this in the first place.

his expression lights up in pride, and if he had any room to clap right now he would. ]

There you go.. that's it, you're doing it!

[inaurare]

[he may not be ready for the deep end just yet, but the encouragement is more than welcome. He can't laugh and swim, though, so he manages a few more strokes before he straightens up, putting his feet down and taking a moment to get his balance with the strange change in his weight compared to in the water.]

Thank you.

[a little sheepish]

...I shouldn't have straightened up, should I? Did I just disrupt the lesson?

[competing]

Nah, it was getting to be around time for a break anyway.

[ ??? didn't they just start. ]

You did really well for your first time! Keep practicing a few more times, then you'll be ready to learn the strokes, and soon you'll be swimming circles around everybody.

But even more important than practice is reward.

[ he holds up a finger, very serious-like. ]

And all that progress definitely deserves a popsicle, I think.