[Closed, Mature] What Yesterdays Bring

[Aurelie Steerpike]

Hamis 22, 2720 - Afternoon | The Ibutatu Estate, Isla Dzum

For someone who was fine, there was an awful lot of coughing and a distinct rasp to his voice when Aremu assured her he was unharmed. Aurelie frowned, the concern not backing off of her face, even as the color remained similarly in place. When she managed to scramble off of his lap—his lap—Aremu sat up and checked himself for injury. After, she noted somewhere, he already assured her he was fine.

At least she was fairly certain she was unlikely to have done him any serious injury. "N-no damage to done to anything except, ah, my dignity," she assured him, the flicker of a smile on her face, "and I think that's, er, rather used to the assault by now."

It wasn't a very funny joke, but she felt a little better for having made it. Aurelie knew she should back away, now that she was reassured that she had done Aremu no serious harm with her inability to hold her own weight for more than a few minutes. They were, as they had been quite a few times now, inappropriately close together. Close enough that she could see each and every one of his eyelashes, and make great study of the particular angles of cheekbones and the shape of his mouth.

She really was a foolish creature. Aurelie knew that she wasn't blind, and that Aremu was by any objective standard an attractive man. So there wasn't, she thought, any harm in looking; the problem was that she also rather liked him, and being in his company, and also that she didn't think this was an appropriate way to look at a friend. Even with as little experience she had in this realm, she thought she could still be fairly confident in that. He didn't need to know she thought this way, like some kind of stray puppy that had followed him home and had gotten too attached when he had already decided it couldn't stay.

That was a line she needed to draw for herself, firmly and absolutely. Before she did or said something stupid. Something else stupid, she had already accumulated plenty of items on that list. She really thought she should have learned her lesson by now.

"That might be wise, before I do you permanent harm." Aurelie smiled back as she sat up. Her face was still quite red, but there was nothing for that. As she straightened, Aremu came to his feet. It wasn't as easy a motion as it might have been, but he did it and she could find no evidence that it was any worse than one might expect from having a small woman fall on them from the ceiling.

Clearly, no lessons had been learned at all. She took his hand as she came to a stand, letting it linger just a little longer than it should have. "Do you, ah, still want to... carry on with the—the swimming, er, idea?" She looked up, not sure what answer she would find more comforting. Maybe she just had too much energy, that she was wasting it on being so absolutely absurd. She didn't think so, as being exhausted had never stopped her before, but she lived in hope.

[Aremu Ediwo]

Afternoon, Hamis 22, 2720
The Ibutatu Estate, Isla Dzum

Aurelie’s hand was warm in his, just shy of soft. Aremu knew better than to stroke his thumb over it, or do any of the other things which occurred to him with her standing just there, still quite close after he’d helped her to her feet. She didn’t let go either, not at first, and it seemed very right, for the space of about a deep breath. She looked up at him, blinking softly, and asked him –

If he still wanted to swim.

“Of course,” Aremu said. Idiot, he thought; she’s waiting for you to let go. She doesn’t want to be rude. He gave her hand a warm little squeeze, as if that would make it all make sense, somehow, and let go, smiling at her all the same.

“Shall we meet downstairs in five?” Aremu asked. He wasn’t sure whether she meant to change. They hadn’t precisely discussed it, but he was under the impression she meant to swim in her clothing; he just wasn’t if this clothing was what she’d meant.

Aurelie turned to go, and Aremu shifted, and found himself too much a fool not to speak. “And don’t um – don’t worry,” she stopped, glancing back at him, and Aremu smiled at her, quite sheepish. “I’m pretty durable.”

Aremu stood in the midst of his room, listening to the sound of Aurelie going down the stairs. “Shit,” he sighed, rubbing his lower back with his hand. He stretched, hearing the pops and cracks of his spine all the way down, and grunted a bit as he set to moving. It was only pain; it was bruising, he thought, at worst, still, a dull sort of ache. Swimming would likely feel good, the water refreshing. He circled his left arm, slowly and gingerly, but there was no pain or stiffness in the shoulder he’d dislocated, which was rather a relief.

Aremu closed up the attic once more, rubbed the back of his neck with his hand, and glanced down at himself. He was wearing tan slacks and a light linen shirt; he generally swam in less clothing than this, but he’d noticed – rather consistently – how uncomfortable it made Aurelie to see men bare chested. Knowing what he knew of Anaxi, or at least Anaxi galdori, Aremu didn’t find it entirely surprising that she’d be – well – unfamiliar.

It wasn’t such a burden to swim in his clothing, Aremu decided. Anyway, he wasn’t sure he’d be swimming so much as staying with Aurelie in the water. He thought she’d find it restful, at least; he did, and he knew well what it was like to have a bit of extra energy. Right now, he certainly did.

He went through the motions of putting his papers away, organizing the things he’d been working on. He got out three of the rough towels they’d designated for the beach, slung them over his right shoulder, and made his way easily and lightly down the stairs. The day before, he’d gone with Ahura to set up the lounging chairs at the little gazebo he and Uzoji had built years ago; it lay on the upper half of the beach nearest the plantation, and was surprisingly comfortable. At this hour, with the sun setting to the west, the eastern beach was lingeringly warm rather than outrageously hot; the Tincta Basta on the islands stayed warm enough to swim year round, and was already creeping towards the pleasant temperatures of Roalis and Yaris. Nearly late afternoon, he’d hoped, would be comfortable without being too sunny for her.

He grinned at Aurelie as she came down after him, still wearing the large, floppy hat he’d found for her, her small face somewhere between nervous and determined. “Ready?” Aremu asked. Before he could think any better of it, he offered her his arm with a little smile.

[Aurelie Steerpike]

Hamis 22, 2720 - Afternoon | The Ibutatu Estate, Isla Dzum

Of course, he said, and when he let go of her hand he gave it a little squeeze that made her heart skip. She wasn't sure why. She had held his hand for a long time on the ship, more than once. Aurelie tried not to think about that too much, but it had happened and was true. This felt a little different somehow in a way she couldn't quantify. Her palm felt warm for a long time after.

"In five," she echoed in confirmation. She hoped the look on her face wasn't as ridiculous as it felt like it was. She had no proper costume for the activity, and thought she would just swim in her clothes. But she did want to take her pinafore off, and splash water on her face. They were about to swim, and there was likely no point. But it might help her calm down, at least.

Aurelie turned to leave, pausing with a glance back over her shoulder when Aremu spoke again. A smile broke out across her face, and a laugh followed on its heels. "That's good to know," she said with another giggle. She turned back and left his room, going down the stairs.

She went into the room that was, for the time being, hers. The spec in its frame, temporarily forgotten, she took out from her pocket and set gently on the desk. Next to it was some embroidery practice, which was itself set on top of the book she had started reading the other day and was slowly, doggedly working her way through. She honestly wasn't sure she would ever finish reading it at this pace, but it felt important to continue to try. The pinafore was absolutely filthy; she put it aside, to be washed later. It had done its job at least, and kept the worst of it from her clothes. Then she went to the bathroom, steeling herself for the sight of her face in the mirror.

Bells and chimes, she was deeply unprepared for how ridiculous she looked. And she was worried about being too close to his face? There was dirt smudged all over her face and her hair was doing—whatever it was doing, forming some sort of nest she supposed. It was too short and too fine to get very far in the effort, but it certainly was trying. Aurelie sighed, and washed her face and hands. With a final stop to grab the wide-brimmed, floppy hat Aremu had found for her, she headed down the stairs.

"I suppose I must be," she said without much thinking. But her mouth curved into a smile, and she took the arm offered her with a laugh. If the action made her nervous in a way that had nothing to do with the activity ahead, she ignored it.

They moved down to the beach then. There was on it a little gazebo, and she knew that Ahura and Aremu had set up chairs the day before. She was assured this was not as hot as it would get, and wasn't quite sure how she felt about that. Admittedly, it was not at the moment uncomfortable, and she certainly felt better in what she was wearing now than she had that first day in her heavy blue uniform. The uniform was sturdy and sensible; it was not, however, particularly breathable or cool. The peach tunic was much more suitable, and she was eternally grateful to have it.

"Hmm." Aurelie had set down what she couldn't wear in the water when they got there, and was at present standing rather dubiously on the beach with the water up to her ankles. It was cool enough that she had squeaked a little in surprise, which was why she was standing there. Adjusting to the temperature. It was not nerves. Mostly. Partially. All right, it was mostly nerves. But nobody needed to know that except her.

[Aremu Ediwo]

Afternoon, Hamis 22, 2720
A Beach on the Ibutatu Estate, Isla Dzum

Aurelie tucked her arm through his with a little smile, and Aremu grinned down at her, feeling oddly relieved. She hadn’t seemed shy or hesitant; he didn’t think he’d made her uncomfortable in the offering. If he was uncomfortable, just a little, it wasn’t because he didn’t want to feel her arm looped through his, a gentle warm comforting pressure – it was because of how much he did want it.

They made their way down the road up to the house, and then along the narrow path through the waving grass, and down to the beach. It was every bit as nice an hour as he’d hoped, with clear sunny skies. The waves lapped gently at the beach.

Aurelie had set her things aside, and waded in up to her ankles gamely enough. Aremu set the folded towels – he hadn’t bothered putting sandals on – and came down to the water’s edge to join her. He grinned at her, taking a few steps into the water to stand alongside her. The waves lapped gently back and forth; a large one came in, lapping up to their calves, and Aurelie let out a little squeak.

Aremu grinned at her. “It’s best to get in all at once,” he said with a little smile. “Otherwise it sort of gets worse by degrees; once you’re all in, I promise, it’s not so cold. It slopes down gently, here,” he went in front of her, taking slow steps. “Once you’re about waist deep,” Aremu said, cheerfully, “it’s best just to go for it.”

Without any further hesitation, Aremu crouched down into the water, putting his head all the way beneath; normally, he thought, he would have dove in more fully, but he thought it better to model something Aurelie could manage. He came back out, dripping water from all of him, his wet clothes rather more uncomfortable than he’d hoped, but not unbearably so. It felt good, he thought, all told; the water really wasn’t very cold.

Actually, Aremu sort of liked the sharp feeling of it lapping at it – creeping up damp against his skin – the slow sort of teasing of it. He didn’t know that Aurelie would share his tastes, though, and it wasn’t as if he didn’t like the sharp shock of diving in. It was true, too, that the longer one went, getting a little and little damper, the harder it became to go all in; there was, he thought, little to be gained by suggesting that she wait.

The waves shifted out and back in, comfortably at about waist height; Aremu rubbed his hand through his damp hair, shaking the droplets out. Aurelie was sort of staring at him, and he thought she might be nervous; it was what made the most sense, Aremu felt.

“Whenever you’re ready,” Aremu offered, encouragingly. He came a bit closer, extending his hand out to her, thinking to guide her in deeper and help her stay steady against the soft wet sandy bottom. “You can hold my hand if you want,” Aremu suggested. “Just in case.”

[Aurelie Steerpike]

Hamis 22, 2720 - Afternoon | The Ibutatu Estate, Isla Dzum

All at once, he said; Aurelie looked at him more than a little doubtfully. She didn't think he was lying, of course. Merely mistaken, at least when it came to her. The waves lapped at her ankles, inviting her forward. Aurelie frowned at those too, suspicious. One came in that was larger than the rest, all the way up to her calves—the cold of it shocked her into squeaking, and the squeaking into turning the tips of her ears quite red.

She looked at him, walking out into the water. "Waist deep," she echoed, still not sure. On him, or on her? He did have at least half a foot on her own meager height. Too tall, she thought sourly, to be much use in determining such things.

Then he disappeared beneath the surface for a moment, head and all. Aurelie watched, and she watched him stand too. He was dressed no less modestly than he had been, but the weight of the water made it cling to him in such a way that she thought was really, absolutely, quite possibly worse than if he'd had no shirt on at all. At least then she would have just known what she was looking—not looking, firmly not looking—at; like this, she had only her imagination. It was rather more active than she'd thought before. She looked away, down at the lapping waves, but more slowly than perhaps she should have done.

Aurelie was only mortal. If she stared a little, it wasn't her fault. She knew, she knew where the line was. She did! Really. Honestly. But what was she supposed to do, when he was—looking like that? Doing that? It was, she thought, terribly unfair. Like a test, and she kept failing at every opportunity.

"Just go for it?" she asked, doubtfully. And yet—he stepped closer to her and held out his hand. Aurelie took it automatically, like there was no more natural action in the world. To steady herself, she thought. And not because she just wanted to. He had said so himself, hadn't he? Just in case. In case of... of something. A little part of her, buried in the back of her mind, reminded her that she was an idiot; the bigger part of her ignored that part, and clasped his hand tightly.

The water tugged at the hem of her tunic as she waded forward, like it was insisting Aremu was correct. Aurelie looked at him, at their hands, and then at the water. Something in her heart and her shoulders aligned; she waded to her waist with a gasp, took a deep breath, and then plunged under without letting herself think any more on the matter.

It was entirely cold—Aurelie almost gasped, but some instinct saved her from taking a lungful of salty seawater inside of herself. Instinct and perhaps the anchor of the warmth of their hands; she was gripping rather hard, even thought she didn't mean to be. She pushed herself up, shaking her head as she broke the surface. Her hair clung wet to the sides of her face. She pushed it out of her face with her free hand, laughing.

"Gracious Lady!" The strength of the language seemed entirely warranted; it was quite cold, after all, even with all of her under it. Her clothes seemed heavier than she had expected, but it wasn't so cold as to make her teeth chatter. In fact, when she pulled the top half of her out, it was that which felt cold. What of her was in the water seemed perfectly warm. The shock had mostly driven more undesirable thoughts from her head, at least. Mostly. Resurfacing had put many of them back.

"It's still cold," she said as she looked up. There was an accusation there, but her mouth was curved in a smile and it carried into her tone. A breeze rippled over the water, and she felt all of it, except where their hands were joined. "But—I suppose it was better."

[Aremu Ediwo]

Afternoon, Hamis 22, 2720
A Beach on the Ibutatu Estate, Isla Dzum

There was a moment, when Aurelie’s head vanished beneath the water, that Aremu felt he had made a terrible mistake. Her hand was clasped in his, holding rather tightly. He felt as if time slowed in the second - surely it wasn’t more than one or two - that she was under the water.

And then she came back up, gasping and wide-eyed and laughing. Aremu grinned, something right in his shoulders relaxed. Water dripped from her hair and slid down her chin and from the tip of her nose. She was soaked all through, and the fabric clung to every inch of her, what couldn’t have been more than two layers at most. Aremu was, indeed, abruptly aware that it was cold.

Aremu grinned down at her. He was still holding her hand, and it seemed the easier thing in all of Vita. “It’ll be better next time,” Aremu said. His right wrist ached; he wished he had a second hand to brush the damp strands still clinging to her cheek. He was grateful the water was waist deep, at least, and couldn’t help shifting a little when the outflow of the next wave took it a little lower.

For a moment he looked down at her, carefully not looking anywhere he shouldn’t. It would be, he thought, so easy to close the last of the distance between them. She might - she might not - he couldn’t. Even to entertain the thought was a crushing well of guilt, lapping at him like the waves.

“I think floating would be a good place to start,” Aremu said, finding his voice more even than he had expected. He grinned at her, warming to the task. “It’s easy to float in the Tincta Basta - it’s the salt - and what that means is if you’re swimming, and you’re tired, you can always roll over and float for a bit.”

Aurelie was gazing up at him, eyes wide and trusting; Aremu felt himself the worst man to have ever been. “Basically you’ll lie on your back facing up,” he explained. “Chin lifted, just a little - your ears back in the water - your arms spread or behind your heads, your whole body straight against the surface of the water. You can kick a little with your legs, if you need to.”

Aremu showed her first, reluctantly letting go of Aurelie’s hand and lying back in the water. The waves buffeted him a little towards shore, but it was a gentle current on this end of the beach, and they didn’t move him much.

He came to standing again, and went to her. “I’ll keep my hand on your back,” Aremu explained, “until you get the knack of it.”

She was brave enough to try; he had always thought she would be. She lay facing up, and Aremu slid his hand beneath her, all his long fingers sprayed against her upper back. He could feel the lines of her ribs, and the small even bumps of her spine; he could feel, just barely, the beating of her heart through her rib cage. She was floating just next to him, close enough that her floating hair brushed against the fabric of his shirt just around the height of his belly button.

He hadn’t known, Aremu thought grimly, quite what he was signing up for. He was still smiling down at her; he couldn’t quite seem to help it. He meant to stick it out, one way or another; he had offered to teach her how to swim, and he thought he’d burn worse than this before he let his own lack of self-control keep him from doing so.

When he thought she was ready, he let go of her back, slowly, lowering his hand away. He hovered; he held, bent forward a little, waiting to see if she needed him. He didn’t think she did, not really; he just wasn’t sure if she knew it.

[Aurelie Steerpike]

Hamis 22, 2720 - Afternoon | A Beach on the Ibutatu Estate, Isla Dzum

Aremu's hand, at least, was warm. She hadn't let go when she plunged under the water, and she didn't let go when she came back up. Aremu was grinning at her with the sun catching water on his face and in his hair; she didn't think she could, at that specific moment.

"Hmm—I suppose I'll have to take your word for it." It was sort of hard to keep her attention on his face, but she was very careful to do so. Letting her attention wander seemed like a bad idea, both because of the water and because of her own foolishness. He was fully dressed, and that should have made more of a difference than it seemed to.

Floating seemed like a very good place to start, by her estimation. Surely even she could do that much. Aurelie wasn't so terribly uncoordinated, either. Earlier adventures in attempting to get out of the attic notwithstanding, of course. He was also right that the longer she was in the water, the more she adjusted to how cold it was. Of course he was; she had known that all along. Otherwise she wouldn't be standing here.

It was strange, Aurelie thought, the amount of trust she was willing to place in him. Strange and perhaps more than a little foolish. They didn't know each other well. And yet when she needed someone to help, she thought of no one else. Aremu had reached out his hand and said he could take her away and she had believed him. With almost no hesitation at all, she had taken his hand and believed him. Now she was here, learning to float.

He did have to let go of her hand to demonstrate. She put it in the water, as if the cold of it would make any difference at all. Like the warmth she felt left behind was a physical thing, and not her own ridiculousness. It seemed simple enough when he showed her how, the floating. The waves pushed him away slightly, but not too far.

"All right. Just, um, don't go too far. Er. Please." She chewed her lip, tasting saltwater on her skin. Simple. Hardly anything to it, really. At least she told herself that, and tried not to think of what would happen if she were more hopeless at something so straight-forward than she expected. There was no way to find out, other than to just try. Aurelie took a breath, and laid back.

The hand under her spine was almost more distracting than it was helpful. She supposed it was good that there really wasn't much to it after all. With the water over her ears, her pulse was so loud she could hear nothing else. It sped up as she drifted closer. A small voice in the back of her head wondered if he would notice, holding her up like he was. She rather hoped not, or at the very least that he would just think her terribly nervous about lying on her back in the Tincta Basta. She was at least a little nervous about that, when she thought about him taking his hand away.

Eventually, he did just that. Then she really was anxious about floating and not so much about proximity or the way it felt to have his hand laid over her spine. There was a brief moment when she thought she might not be able to do it; she almost let it make her flail her limbs around. She wanted to hold her breath, but she didn't think you were supposed to. Aurelie held still, and tried to focus only on staying afloat.

When she exhaled, she sank a little lower, but not too low. Not so much that the next inhale didn't gently push her back up again. Bobbing like some kind of freckled fishing lure. It was, just as he said, easy. Restful, even—she could stay like this for quite a while, with the sun warm on her face and the water tugging gently at her clothes and her hair.

"What now?" Her voice sounded strange too, and she didn't really dare trying to move. Not even to turn her head. "I feel like there is surely a step two."

[Aremu Ediwo]

Afternoon, Hamis 22, 2720
A Beach on the Ibutatu Estate, Isla Dzum

Aremu had to watch her, then, or so he told himself. The clear blue water lapped at her, washing over fabric made almost sheer by the weight of it. The sweep of the waves pulled it up, and then washed it back, so it clung close to her skin. He thought he saw her tense for a moment when he let go, and for a moment he nearly put his hand against her again.

He waited, instead; he waited, and whatever it was passed, and she settled into the water. The waves teased at her hair, too, curling it about it strange patterns against her cheeks and in the water beyond, the long locks at the front especially. He found he was smiling, watching her, and all the more so as she seemed to settle into it a little more, relaxed and easy.

Aremu laughed at her remark; it was unexpected, and it bubbled out of him, and sounded strange in his ears. His body rippled a little, and he felt her just barely brush against him. “There are a few more steps,” Aremu agreed. “Come on and stand up,” he didn’t think, or perhaps he did know better but couldn’t help himself. He set his hand in the small of her back, this time, helping her to standing once more in the water. He knew better; he was ashamed of himself, but his hand lingered, just a moment, half in the water and half out, feeling the warm curve of her spine.

Aremu smiled at her. “There are two parts to swimming,” he said, after a moment, thinking it over. “There’s the arm motions, and the kicking. I thought we should practice both, separately, and then – I think the only thing left to do is put them together,” he grinned at her.

He showed her the arm strokes first, both of them standing waist deep on the warm sand in the clear blue water, waving their arms about and tucking them over their head, again and again. He showed her when to turn her head to breathe, and made her practice, however silly it felt, and he did his best not to look anywhere the wet fabric clung, for all he couldn't quite avoid seeing.

“The next step is kicking,” Aremu said. He frowned, but it was shallow, and it didn't touch him; he was only thoughtful, just then. “Like this, I think,” he set his hand down in the water, fingers extended. “Hold on to my hand, and float face down – turn your head to the side when you need to breathe – and practice kicking your legs, up and down, steadily, until you can feel the water move. You want to keep them mostly beneath the surface. Hold on to me, and I’ll keep you here.”

He smiled at her, soft and a little easy. It was, Aremu thought uneasily, hard to feel the shame he should have, with the salty smell of the ocean all around them, and the bright smile on Aurelie’s face, the sense that – for once, perhaps – he was doing something right. He couldn’t help himself, he thought, grimly, from pushing; he didn’t know what he thought he’d find.

This was about her, Aremu told himself; this was about her learning to swim, about helping her. He had no right to be selfish in the doing; he had no right to take so. Whenever she was ready, he’d hold her steady, and let her practice kicking; after that, Aremu thought, there was nothing for it but for her to swim.

[Aurelie Steerpike]

Hamis 22, 2720 - Afternoon | A Beach on the Ibutatu Estate, Isla Dzum

It had to be a trick of the way the water warped sound in her ears, because she could not possibly have heard what she thought she heard. This was of course because what she thought she heard was Aremu laughing.

Not just laughing, either, but at a joke she made. A small joke, and he actually laughed. Aurelie was desperately sorry she hadn't turned her head to look at him before she said it. All she had caught was a little sliver of his face from the corner of her eye. She found she couldn't fill in the gaps with only when would she ever see or hear that again? She wasn't generally considered a laugh riot to begin with. The current had pushed her just close enough that she brushed against him. Barely, but she had, and it felt like more than it was.

"There would be very little to learn, I suppose, if this was all there was to it." Aurelie didn't think she needed any assistance to come to a stand again, but she wasn't going to complain about it either. Not with Aremu's hand on the small of her back, which she should really have liked less than she did. She wanted to pretend that perhaps his hand lingered there a moment or two longer than it might have. Even though he had no reason to do so, and it was just her imagination.

She came to a clumsy kind of stand again, wiggling her toes in the sand. Two parts, he said, after giving it some thought. Aurelie couldn't seem to stop smiling. He seemed to be putting a great deal of thought into this, and she wasn't sure why that surprised her. In the nearly a week she had spent so much of in his company, she had yet to observe him do much of anything without putting a great deal of thought into it.

Practicing the arm part first did not, actually, involve the water much at all. They just sort of stood in it, and waved their arms around. Aurelie felt absolutely absurd doing it, of course, and tried not to as much as possible. It helped only slightly that Aremu was doing it as well. He also looked silly; it was impossible to avoid. Not all silly, but mostly silly. She firmly insisted to herself that it was a majority ridiculous.

"Kicking," she repeated, watching him frown. Not in the usual sort of way, at least; this was nothing so heavy. Just a sort of like, considering one. She had been making a bit of a study on the subject, and thought she could tell the difference by now. That sounded equally silly-looking, but only she would be doing it.

Aurelie still took his hand, despite her reservations. Took it and held there for a moment without moving so that she could begin. She shouldn't have, she knew that, and she did it anyway. Steadying herself, or... or something like that. He was smiling at her, and she found it very hard to look away. Taking advantage, she thought to herself, and letting herself cross all these little lines she had promised she wouldn't.

"A-all right then. Just, er. No, uhm, no laughing." She smiled while she said it; she didn't really think he would have done so. Putting her face in the water was oddly intimidating. More than plunging under, because she would have to hold herself that way. That was the point, she reminded herself; that was how swimming worked. As far as she knew, anyway, and she only knew what she had been shown. She took a breath, and then another.

The kicking wasn't so hard, but the breathing was. At several points she had to pause to catch her breath properly. Once toward the start, she had made her motions too wild and unbalanced herself. Without looking she had reached one hand out to find purchase and grabbed very briefly onto the wet fabric of Aremu's shirt. She let it go almost immediately. Almost.

And still, she didn't want to stop until she had at least sort of gotten the idea. Eventually, she found that it was less difficult, although more tiring than she had expected. She certainly didn't feel like she was naturally any good at it, but it wasn't so impossible as she had feared. When they felt she had done it long enough, she stood again. Reluctantly then she let go of his hand; she simply couldn't think of an excuse to keep it.

[Aremu Ediwo]

Afternoon, Hamis 22, 2720
A Beach on the Ibutatu Estate, Isla Dzum

No laughing,” Aremu promised, solemnly; a hint of a smile peeked through the set of his lips. Aurelie was holding firmly onto his hand; she backed up a bit, and he watched as she sort of lay herself down into the water. He had thought it might make her nervous, to put her face under; if it did, she said nothing of the sort.

Mostly, he thought, she did well; she kicked, steadily, clinging to his hand. He held her in place against the soft buffeting of the waves, watching as she tried to get the knack of it. Once, she turned her head sideways into an on-coming wave, and he’d worried for a moment she would breathe in without thinking – but she waited, the salty water washing over her, and went on.

Once, she began to kick harder; her feet came out of the water, small freckled too, the heavy wet fabric of her trousers clinging to them. Her hand shot out and gripped his shirt, her palm – Aremu held very, very still, and he was relieved when Aurelie let go again.

He hadn’t known how long she’d last at him. Shamefully, he was content to stand there watching her; the only problem was the pent up energy in all his muscles, the sudden desire to go and move, to burn all of this out of him so he should be too tired to want. Instead, there was Aurelie’s small firm body, face down before him, and all that her sodding wet clothes and the motions of her revealed.

He had to look, Aremu told himself, more than once; he was teaching her. Her hand was very firm in his as she kept at it, and the trust ached, deeply. It was a heavy burden, just then, but it stiffened him – his back – and he could find his way through the mess of it.

“That was great,” Aremu said, when Aurelie stood, finally. She’d gotten the knack of it at the end; she let go of his hand.

“Oh,” Aremu grinned wider. “You’ve got a bit of um – may I?” He reached for her hair, gently. If she didn’t protest, he’d take out a green strand of seaweed, gently, winding it loose from the soft strands of her hair. Without quite thinking, he let it drop into the water, and tucked the errant strands softly behind her ear.

Aremu cleared his throat, his hand lowering. “Uh,” he said. “Well,” he grinned at her. “Swimming is really about the both together. Let me demonstrate, maybe, now that you’ve the pieces?”

Aremu didn’t think he’d ever felt more relief than he did when Aurelie agreed. He went into the water, and swam a few lengths, back and forth in front of her. He went out a few lengths into the ocean, then turned himself around and came back, checking her position and swimming back the other way past her, until it was shallow enough that he could come to a stop. He stood there, the water lapping at his knees, and went back over to her.

It wasn’t enough – shit, it wasn’t even close – but the focus on anything other than Aurelie for a few moments helped, and Aremu was grinning nearly without guilt once more. “Whenever you’re ready,” he said. “I’ll watch you – if there’s the slightest hint of trouble, I’ll be there.” Aremu smiled at her, and held himself back through the urge to take her hand once more.