Instant Fun, Just Add Shark

[morphitudinous]

Characters: Billy and anyone!
Location: Garden's pool, fairly early one morning.
Rating: PG (nothing more saucy than people in swimsuits)
Open/Closed/Finished: Open!
Summary: Bubbles. Heart pounding. It's a shark---no, just Billy out for a swim.

When swimming, Billy prefers to keep his head below the water. It's not to show off his ability to hold his breath for a lap or two---that's a good side benefit, but it developed after his preference for staying underwater. He stays below because it's an easy way to drown out the world. With his head submerged, he can't hear any disapproval of offworlders. There's no commentary on his scarred body. And, perhaps most importantly, he can be aware of any lingering threats if his eyes are open.

So Billy spends as much time underwater during his laps as possible, prescription goggles firmly attached. He's a stream of bubbles and a peach and blue shape sliding the surface, only surfacing for air for a few brief seconds. This swimming is entirely serious business, you see. No time for chat. Just time to...run. Or swim, in this case.

His concentration is quite suddenly interrupted by the bean bags that some clown has decided to throw in. He scowls, surfacing for just long enough to toss one to the deck. You'd almost think some people have fun when they go swimming!

Comments

[laughafterme]

Pinkie, in her bathing suit, was sitting on the side of the pool with her feet dangling in the water. Why was she here? To do some laps before classes! It helped get her in shape for capoeira. Upon seeing Billy, she decided to get his attention with some beanbags. He did surface a bit but probably didn't notice her.

Yet.

So she kept throwing them until he did.

[morphitudinous]

Eventually, the density of beanbag throws forced Billy to surface and investigate. He feared it was someone taunting an offworlder, but a quick scan revealed a flash of pink. Even his water-blurred sight couldn't mistake her.

Billy paddled to the ledge of the pool, clinging to it with one hand. He made a self-conscious effort to sink as low as possible, exposing only the tops of his shoulders.

"All right, you got me. What is it?"

[laughafterme]

Pinkie had her arm raised to throw another beanbag before seeing Billy surface. Oh, good, she could stop now. She lowered her arm with a grin.

"Is there room in the water for one more?" She threw the beanbags in for a reason. Not just to throw at him, but to retrieve them.

[morphitudinous]

Billy considered it for a moment. There was plenty of space, of course letting her in was logical! And if they were in the water, she wouldn't see much of him. Besides, if he remembered correctly, she had a boyfriend---or something.

"Sure, it'd be rude of me to hog it all. The temperature's just fine."

He silently thanked his luck that she hadn't just made a cannonball and startled him even more.

[laughafterme]

Or something.

"Thanks!" Pinkie stood up and put her goggles over her eyes before walking away. Strange, right?

Until she ran and did a--

"CANNONBAAAAAAALLLLL" Her entrance into the water was perfect, with a heap of water shooting out from the pool.

[morphitudinous]

Of course she would. Billy registered her dangerous run for the ledge and promptly slipped below the water, slapping his goggles on to watch what he could of her splash from below. He followed when she surfaced, shaking water out of his hair.

"An eight," he joked.

[9tailedtemptress]

Said beanbag that was caught by a very scantily clad vixen who was now looking down at him with her usual mischievous grin and raising a teasing brow.

"My my Mr Cranston you sure look like you know what you're doing in there even if it seems like you are more on edge than anything~" she mused as she tossed the bean bag from tail to tail, bouncing it around playfully as she crossed her legs and leaned forward.

"Is there something on your mind?"

[morphitudinous]

It was just like Miss Ahri to find him here. He pushed his goggles up from his eyes and blinked.

"That's just how I swim. Plenty of time to think when everything is silent," he insisted, hoping she believed him. Absolutely nothing else going on here.

[9tailedtemptress]

"Uhuh~" she mused as she caught the bean bag in her hand and tossed it back at him playfully.

"It's hard to hide things from people like me, but if you insist I shall play along Mr. Cranston..." she smiled, narrowing her eyes mischievously at him as she leaned forward, making good use of her body as she usually did.

"Maybe you could use a bit of relaxation in private? Or is a swim good enough for you?" she paused, her smile widening. "I do hope the water is cool enough, I do believe there is a warmth rising nearby."

[morphitudinous]

"What warmth?" Billy challenged. it would certainly not be his face. It had to be some of her...unusual ability. "Commandeering this whole body of water for your own hot tub? That has to be against regulation."

[9tailedtemptress]

Ahri blinked a few times as she sat back and looked at him confused before bursting out in laughter.

"Oh wow, I suppose rumors are true~ You do seem to go after another type of gal." she said in a coy manner as she leaned back a little, a few of her tails offering support.

"But I suppose that's not bad. It means I don't have to stay here for more than I should then~ A bit of relaxing before leaving you to your worries, not that I have any further intention of bothering you Mr. Cranston."

[sublimelymagnificentblitz]

That beanbag he threw hits the water with force like a cannonball. On the side of the pool, the Swimming instructor stood with arms crossed, grinning.

"Not much of a return on that one."

[morphitudinous]

Billy surfaced, fully expecting to find that Pinkie had returned for another experiment. What he found instead certainly surprised him. He tugged his goggles to rest around his neck and slipped over to the ledge.

"...oh, it's you. I see you're picking up where Miss Pinkamena left off. Aren't your sport's balls a little bigger?"

[sublimelymagnificentblitz]

"Little bigger, lot heavier, and a bit more solid. Still, trainin's trainin'." Jecht casually, hopped into the water, his splash clearly just for show considering that he moved, if anything, more easily while in the pool than he did on land. "A blitzball's easy to kick across the pool. One of these things, that's a challenge."

[morphitudinous]

Billy pulled himself back, lifting an arm just in time to shield his goggles. "And you never back away from a challenge."

He easily pulled himself into a dive and retrieved one, idly juggling it in his hand when he surfaced. "The water weight won't help now, I imagine. But enough momentum from an acrobatic trick should do it."

[sublimelymagnificentblitz]

"Naw, I mean underwater. They just don't have the weight to keep their speed... or the right surface t'really bounce off a foot."

Jecht scooped a bag out of the water, then tossed it into the air. As it arced up, he ducked under the water briefly, then kicked off the bottom to launch up into the air. Spinning, he caught the beanbag with a bicycle kick just as it began to fall back down. It hit the water's surface like a gunshot, sailing halfway across the pool before resistance finally stopped it.

Jecht splashed back into the water lithely. "Y'see? The way I figure it, if I can get it to bounce out the other side, I'm finally back in shape."

Forward dated to two days after Snake's arrival

[silentscales]

Snake had actually completely accidentally kicked them into the water when trying to make his way around the pool. Neither Emily nor Oscar were actually 'water snakes', but they could swim just fine. Snake had actually decided to come himself because he had never seen something like this before. It was different and interesting. He was pretty sure it would be nice to get the chance to soak for a while.

He wasn't planning on bothering the one other swimmer that seemed happy to be left alone, but Oscar and Emily swimming lazily through the water near Snake might be a rather concerning sight.

hey, rubber water snakes!

[tempesting]

Dolphin likes a good swim. It feels good against her skin and though it is not the waters she's known all her life, they're comforting enough to be similar. She prefers simple, blue student swimsuit, not quite fond of bikinis as of yet. She's drifting about the shallow end lazily, eyes closed, when she feels something slither by her elbow...

Totally just fake snakes~

[silentscales]

Emily seemed surprised to have someone brush against her. She spins around in the water, but only to swim alongside Dolphin playfully.

cue the screaming girls

[tempesting]

Emily's tail flicks in the periphery of Dolphin's vision and she turns her head, and sees Emily slithering about the water close to her. Most would expect a young woman to panic and shout at the sight of a small slithering creature in the waters, so close in proximity, but Dolphin is a creature of water, and has swam beside electric eels and sticky jellyfish. She moves her hands under the water and lifts a palm directly underneath Emily, giving the snake a smile.

"Now where did you come from?"

They all go running!

[silentscales]

Snake calls them both back when he notices Dolphin, but let's Emily stay once he realizes that the woman isn't screaming in terror. "'I am here with Snake,' says Emily."

[morphitudinous]

Billy expected a fair few things to meet him at the pool: jeering Garden residents, stares, stray balls, and more. But 'snakes' had definitely not been on that list.

When he surfaced to find his hand brushing one, he immediately latched onto to the pool wall and blinked rapidly. He couldn't see too well, but the pair looked like Snake's friends. And he remembered that they could talk. Naturally, the way to confirm something was to ask them.

"Hello?"

[silentscales]

The snake he addressed lifted it's tail out of the water and waved briefly before having to go back to moving again. It really wasn't built to float in one place.

Snake still relaxed a little ways away, opening one eye at the sound of Billy's voice. He closed it again, "'Hello,' is what Oscar is trying to say."

[morphitudinous]

"Thanks for the translation," Billy answered, half out of breath. Really, it was nice to know that the snake was friendly. Definitely alleviated his concerns about sharing the pool.

"Hey, I remember you. So are you all settling in?"

[silentscales]

Snake yawns and opens his eyes. He stretches his arms before nodding to Billy, "'It is not anything like we are used to, but it isn't so bad,' says Emily. 'The food is good,' says Oscar."