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The Ripple Effect; Open Topic. Anyone welcome!
Topic Started: Aug 31 2008, 05:08 PM (294 Views)
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Towel around shoulders, Ben strolled down the gravel path to an unfamiliar place. The night was dark and cool, and Ben found himself savouring the midnight air as he came gradually closer and closer to the Pool House. He shivered slightly as a breeze picked up, ruffling his hair as he reached for the handle of the door. He pulled the door open and stepped inside, squinting as the lights flicked on. Eyes adjusting to the glare, Ben looked around, trying to locate a sign of some sort. He hadn't been here before, all he knew was that there was at least a pool here somewhere. Finding it was his first task.

A smile slipped onto his face as his eyes found the sign on the wall. Following the directions he followed the corridor straight on. After a sharp left, the corridor opened out into a massive room. It stunk of chlorine, a good sign. More lights flicked on and the pool itself was revealed. It was large, Olympic-size, Ben presumed. There weren't any defined lanes, apart from the thick black lines on the pool floor which rippled as the water made miniscule movements back and forth. It was, mercifully, empty. Ben had no intention of making a fool of himself in front of a large amount of people.

Ben didn't really see the point in swimming. Sure, it was a good thing if you happened to go overboard at sea, but recreationally Ben didn't understand. Where was the fun in slipping into a pool full of fat people and faeces, paddling around for a bit in the water that was more yellow than blue, then getting out and leaving? This thought brought Ben to the edge of the pool. Inspecting it, he saw that it was clean and the water a sparkling blue. Sticking a hand in, Ben tested the temperature. It was about right, perhaps slightly on the cold side, but still bearable. Water lapped over the side onto his trainers. He frowned, feeling the water spread through the shoes into his socks. Perhaps it was time to get changed.

Striding over to the cubicles, he locked himself in the end one and slipped off his jeans, revealing the brown swim shorts underneath. Taking off his t-shirt, he piled all of his clothes and his towel onto the seat and walked to the edge of the pool. Sitting on the edge, he gradually lowered himself in, making sure his feet could touch the bottom before letting go of the edge. The water in the shallow end lapped around his upper torso. Shivering slightly, Ben wondered why he'd gotten into the pool for the first time in years. It was something to do, he supposed. And his swimming skills were quite rusty.

Deciding to get the shock finally over with, Ben submerged himself completely in the water. Shooting back to the surface, he gasped as the cold hit him. The chlorine in his eyes stung like no-one's business. Rubbing them with his hands, he only succeeded in getting more chlorine in his eyes, and he gritted his teeth as pain seared through them. Pools had never been particularly friendly to his eyes, but he refused to wear goggles, figuring that if he was ever thrown into a river or the sea it was highly unlikely he would have goggles with him...

Ben started to swim to the other end of the pool in what was a dodgy cross between front crawl and doggy paddle. Trying to keep his head above water is much as possible, he decided breast stroke would be easier and switched to an equally rusty version halfway across the pool. When his hands finally gripped the edge like a vice, Ben pulled himself towards it as quickly as possible. Water streamed from his hair and nose into the pool, and he shook his head, trying to get rid of some of it. Swimming was definitely not his forte, but still he tried to relax as the water lapped against his shoulders and chin.

All of a sudden, his mouth was filled with chlorine from a mini wave that sped from across the pool, seemingly directing it's attacks solely at him. Choking and spluttering, he tried to figure out what had happened as water flooded from his mouth. Either his clothes had somehow made it across the floor and fallen into the pool, or someone else had joined his midnight swim.

Either way, it wasn't good.
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Jac Acheron
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Jac's head was not going to swtich off tonight, he decided. His head was busy with thoughts about his fiance, the wedding, his job, his adoptive parents, and a few other things and how his life would seem more together once Tikal graduated. He decided to do what him and his guard used to do: go for a swim. He looked at the clock across the living room from his couch where he was laying and saw that it was nearly midnight. He shrugged and sat up. He changed into his swim trunks that were black and grabbed a towel. He remembered that he was all right to be on campus and going to the pool wouldn't cause anyone any harm.

He locked up his apartment and then took off towards the school. The cool air was a nice change to the warmth of his apartment, and the fresh air always was a welcoming factor. Walking along the dirt road, he looked up in the sky to see stars and he smiled. They somehow reminded him of Tikal's eyes: Bright and shinning when she smiled. He looked back in front of him and headed across the grounds to the pool house. He could see that the lights were on and someone was there. "Seems I'm not the only one unable to sleep," he said. He walked in, took a left and found that there was a man in the pool swimming as best he could.

Jac set his towel down on the chair, kicked off his flipflops, took off his shirt, exposing his defined, yet scared, abdomen and slipped into the shallow end. He let the water tingle on his skin, but it didn't phase him as cold. He bent down and pushed off the wall, arms out in front. About a quarter of the way he began to do crawl stroke and swam surprisingly well, he thought, for the first time in a while. He made it to the other end and stopped at the wall, just a lane away from the other young man there. He looked over at him and gave a light smile. "Can't sleep?"
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Ben raised his eyebrows and felt the blood rush to his cheeks as he turned round, struggling slightly to get himself comfortable against the wall. Just a lane or two away floated a young man, water streaming off him down his shoulders and well toned chest.

This had both good and bad implications. It was bad in that the man had managed to sneak up on him extremely quickly. He must have been a very good swimmer, perhaps even a professional. Either that, or he had slipped in the pool beside him, in which case he must have seen Ben's atrocious swimming. Ben grimaced at this thought. Either mockery or an extreme showing up of himself now seemed inevitable. However, it could've been worse. If it had been a woman Ben would have probably drowned himself through shame by now.

His water-logged ears picked up the sound of a voice. "Can't sleep?" Ben carefully considered his reply for a moment, then smiled and said "Can't swim, more like." If the man was going to mock him, it was best to get it over and done with quickly. Ben turned again, and levered himself out of the water to sit on the side, legs dangling in the pool. He'd had enough of trying to stop himself drowning and talking at the same time, plus this way he could make a quick exit if the insults got too bad.

"It's something to do, right? But, as you've already seen... I still need quite a lot of practice." There. Now Ben had said himself he wasn't very good, any mockery to follow couldn't be too bad... could it? He supposed he could smack him one if things started to cut deep, but taking a second look he discarded that thought immediately. There was something about him that made Ben think he could probably take on a tank and come out without a scratch. Perhaps it was his muscles and quiet aura of confidence. Whatever it was, Ben didn't really want to be on the recieving end of it... Already hardening his skin, he waited patiently for the onslaught to begin.
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Jac Acheron
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Looking at the young man before him, Jac smiled he said that he could swim in response to Jac's asking if he couldn't sleep. He nodded and smiled lightly. The guy admitted to being bad and Jac wiped the water off his face before it got in his crimson eyes. He rested his arms on the wall, chest and face turned out towards the rest of the long pool. He looked over at the other guy and smiled again. "Well... If you'd like, I can help you. Swimming is a tough sport and takes a long time for people to learn how to do it right..." he offered. He wasn't here to mock the man, even though he looked like he was expecting something like that to come from Jac.

Jac slipped one arm off the wall and offered a hand to the young man. "I'm Jac, by the way. Jac Acheron." He gave a friendly smile and he hoped the young man would take the offer of the friendly introduction and the shake.

He remembered when he used to struggle like that with swimming and with wings, it wasn't always so easy to learn how to swim. Once he mastered learning to draw his wings into his back and have them appear as elaborate wing tattoos on his back, swimming became easier for him. Of course, swimming with his guard was always a little awkward and they had to do it mostly at night, in case Jac could muster the strength to draw in his wings. But that was the past and his conversation and offer of teaching was now, to this young man who he had not yet got the name of.

((ooc: wow... long time and not a very satisfying post... i sorry! <3 ))
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The man's reaction surprised Ben. He'd been expecting a loud laugh, perhaps a couple of insults and then a quick exit from the man, shaking with laughter. But instead, he got a quiet smile and an offer of help.

Help? Ben didn't generally accept help. He usually prided himself on being independent, able to do what he wanted and needed alone. It also made apportioning blame easier. If he screwed up, he knew it was his fault. His alone, and he could pick himself up and make sure he did it right next time. Other people, and this became much more difficult. Much more difficult to succeed the next time.

However, he supposed he could give this man a chance. He seemed okay, after all, he hadn't laughed at Ben... yet. But for now, Ben decided to give him the benefit of the doubt. Swimming, he agreed, wasn't easy, and he supposed he would need a professional to learn it properly.

Ben took a deep breath and said one word. "Ok."Moving away from the safety of the wall, Ben struggled into the not-so-deep blue. Floundering momentarily, Ben had a moment of slight panic before his feet touched the bottom, cool on the underside of his feet. He shifted from foot to foot, trying to get the temperature balance right. Now turning to the man, he lifted his arms until they rested on the surface of the water.

"I'm ready." It was a brief reply, but it would suffice. He allowed himself a brief smile as he watched for the man's next move. "Oh, and if we're going to be entering a teacher/pupil relationship... I'm Ben."
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Jac Acheron
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The young man, as he expected, looked a little confused that Jac didn't laugh or whatever he was expecting. And Jac wouldn't laugh at him. He knew that people needed more encouragement rather than bashing on them. He smiled lightly as the young man accepted his help. He watched as he slipped away from the wall and he flailed a bit before resting his foot on the bottom and his arms out beside him to keep balance. Jac nodded as he looked up at him and he said he was ready. Jac nodded again and then the guy said that if they were going to be in this kind of teacher/pupil relationship, his name was Ben. Jac smiled at him, "And I'm Jac. So... I guess I could show you how to do a stroke, then you copy as I watch you. So... here's a basic: Crawl stroke..."

Jac got against the wall, facing the other end of the pool. He took a breath, went under the water and pushed off the wall, his hands streatched out in front of him, fingers together. He waved his legs a couple times as if he had a mirman tail and then surfaced, taking a breath at the side and then splitting his arms. One came up and over the surface as the other pushed through the water below him, and then his arms switched and it was a continuous cycle like the blades on a windmill. He went to the other end, dove under water, flipped by the wall and pressed off again. He did the same stroke back and then came to the wall by Ben. "There." he said with a light smile, "Think you could give it a shot?"

Jac felt good. He now remembered why he used to like to swim so much. "Oh. But when your hand is about to re-enter the water, make sure is slips in..." he showed him and there was a light ripple. "Not splash in." he showed his hand slapping the water. "Make sure to keep your toes and fingers together and keep your body parallel with the bottom of the pool. Turn your head to the side when the arm on that side is up above the water for a breath when you need it, not every stroke."
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Ben's eyebrows raised in astonishment as he watched his new tutor swim. He moved through the water at a frightening speed, each hand completing a perfect semi-circle through the air before disappearing. Barely a ripple spread in his wake; it was like watching a torpedo cruise through the water. The man completed a length in almost complete silence, apart from the odd splash, and it was then that Ben realised this guy wasn't just good. He was excellent.

What Ben recognised as despair briefly kicked in. He could never hope to copy that, not in a million years. The arm movement alone seemed insanely complicated... And the whole kicking off business was just completely beyond him. What seemed sure to follow was Ben's failure to copy and his mentor's decision that he was a hopeless case. From what he'd gathered, crawl was the easy stroke...

A voice inside his mind shouted at him to pull himself together. It was right. Disbelief never helped anyone; Ben should know, after all. Nobody who was anybody to him would stand by and watch him like this, frozen with indecision. He would do this, and do it well. For them.

He shut his eyes, gasped in a tanker full of air and set off. It was a strange sensation, this whole swimming business. He could feel the air on his back but knew that if he breathed in he would get water. He could drown, and the air was so close. He turned his head, taking in air along with a small puddle of water. This would take some getting used to. In the brief moments he could have his eyes open before chlorine attacked them he watched air bubbling from his mouth to the surface. He supposed this was what dying felt like, watching the air leave his mouth and hovering for a moment, perfectly circular, before escaping into the void of nothingness above the pool.

He was obviously doing the stroke with some degree of success, as before he knew it his hand smacked the solid rim of the pool. It was unbelievably solid and Ben gasped, taking in a lungful of water. He floundered for a moment before rolling over onto his back, retching up a large amount of blue liquid. The taste of chlorine filled his mouth and water rolled down the inside of his nasal passage. It was incredibly uncomfortable, but Ben was secretly elated. He had never been able to do anything in water other than float, which wasn't that impressive seeing as everyone could do it. He smiled inside as he tried to lick the taste of chlorine from the roof of his mouth.

He sank his legs to the floor and levered himself upright. Jac seemed to have disappeared, and he turned slowly, scanning the room before finding him. He permitted himself a slight grin as he watched the man.

"Well... how was that?" He thought he'd done well, but it wasn't up to him. He stood, transfixed, waiting for the verdict to be delivered.
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Jac Acheron
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Jac watched as Ben seemed to be getting the idea that swimming was not going to come as easily as some people thought it would. He smiled as he watched Ben take a deep breath and began to mimic his movements. He was struggling a bit and his breathing would need practice, but he was splashing about, however, Jac knew he could straiten that out. Ben kept going, his eyes were closed though and Jac cringed as his hand hit the wall and Ben gasped in response. He knew then that Ben had taken in a fair amount of water and was trying to cough it out a bit. Jac looked at him with a smile as he asked how that was and Jac nodded to him.

"It was good, but we're going to have to work on your kicks, smoothing out your strokes, and your breathing." He did not want to make him sound like he was bad, he just wanted to make sure that he was doing good and understood what he had to do to get it down just right. "When your bring your head up for a breath, Jac tilted his head to the side to show him, raising an arm to show just where he was to breath. "Think of the arch of your arm as a cavity that's letting air in. If you want a full breath, you have to tilt your head above the water completely, including ripples." Jac let his hand slip back in the water and then looked at Ben as he floated in the shallower end by him.

"Shall we try again?"

{ooc: and i apologize for my lateness also}
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