open ♔ valentine's day

[romanticidal]

♬ Careless Whisper - George Michael

WHO || Anyone and their special someone [Closed]
WHAT || Various Valentine's Day activities
WHERE ||Anywhere
WHEN || Feb 14th, 2016
HOW || Actionspam or Prose

[ It's Valentine's Day! ( aka Singles Awareness Day )  Assume that all missions that are posted already are going out after this. ♥ ]

Comments

[forcevisions]

I guess we all do. [ she agrees with a sigh, stepping out from the wall and into the water where it pools around her shoulders. this isn't swimming. this is standing. ]

[graveflowers]

[ it's progress is what it is. ]

How y'feeling about the water situation?

[forcevisions]

Well, I haven't drowned yet. [ She laughs. ] So far, swimming's a lot like standing.

[graveflowers]

I'm gonna be real a minute, I had a serious aversion to water. Finnick had to ease me in slowly. Why don't you stick your face in the water, get a feel for that while you hold your breath.

[forcevisions]

That must make Finnick a good teacher, which means you're likely to be the same. [ Rey nods firmly. ] I don't have an aversion. It's only that the planet I grew up on didn't have much natural water: it was all rationed. [ And after explaining, she holds her hand up to plug her nose and dips down, bending her knees to submerge. Stray hairs flood around her face, but her buns control the rest, which is a relief when she pops back up. ]

[graveflowers]

[ how do you ration water??? that sounds awful??? ]

Already doing better than I was, honestly.

[forcevisions]

Well, I do have competition. [ She indicates Lucia. ] Can't have her one-upping me, can I?

[graveflowers]

She cheats. [ how??????????????? but it's with a teasing grin and tbqh idk how to teach an adult how to swim so insert thirty minute montage of surprisingly knowledgeable and insightful swim lessons (wis 22). lucia falls asleep during it, napping in the sun streaming through the window. rp game on lock. ]

[forcevisions]

[ Well Vi is apparently the best fucking teacher ever, because Rey rolled a 20 total on her swim check. Which, to be clear, she has a +1 in from her str bonus. What the fuck. It goes to show that Finnick Odair's influence is still making waves, or rather, Rey is making waves with the benefits of Finnick's tutelage getting grandfathered into the Knighthood. ]

[graveflowers]

[ finnick odair, reigning knight of the dragon's fish. it is known. once vi is satisfied, she calls for a break. ]

I dunno about you, but I'm exhausted. [ supervising is hard. ]

[forcevisions]

I didn't know swimming was such work!

[ it's almost infantile, the way she drags herself to the edge of the pool and groans, throwing her arms up on the concrete. ]

It's just floating around in water, but it's tiring.

[graveflowers]

Yeah, it definitely takes more out of you than it looks. [ she jerks her head to lucia. ] Only time she ever takes a nap. But you did really great!

[forcevisions]

Ah, a troublemaker. [ Rey looks at Lucia like yeah I'm calling u out. ] What's her name?

[graveflowers]

Lucia. [ she glances back at her sleeping child with such a lovestruck expression it's super gross and hard to believe there was a time when vi was made of "nah son". ] Lucia Reedhym.

[forcevisions]

She's very lucky. [ Realizing it's an awkward thing to say, Rey recovers, ] Having such a good teacher, I mean.

[graveflowers]

Thank you. [ there's genuine gratitude in there, the kind that only comes from someone who doesn't have a mother in their life. vi's constantly afraid she's going to fail, but she keeps trying anyway. ]

[forcevisions]

You know, Myrilandel is teaching me to read. [ She climbs out of the pool. ] If the two of you combined your efforts, you'd be a great resource for those who come in without the skills required on this world.

[graveflowers]

Ha, maybe Myri, yeah. All I can offer is swimming and Harry Potter. [ a beat. ] Maybe gardening.

[forcevisions]

You do gardening?

[ Rey's interest is severely piqued. ]

[graveflowers]

Uh, yeah, it's my thing. Way more than swimming. The greenhouse in the back is mine and I think it's pretty common knowledge that the garden is mine, too.

[forcevisions]

I haven't gotten the chance to see it yet. [ in the simmering excited tone of buT I WANT TO. GREEN. ]

[graveflowers]

Go dry off and change and I'll show it to you. [ she pulls herself out of the pool finally to do the same and to change lucia as well. ]

[forcevisions]

[ that makes her eager to scramble off to dry off. but so does the cold that greets her the moment she's out of the water. rey curses under her breath—something not of earth, a huffed kriff—and pulls the towel over her skin in a way that's functional rather than comfortable, never fully wrapping herself in it. ]

[graveflowers]

[ vi only survives the cold out of spite -- it will not defeat her -- so it's sympathy that greets rey's plight. lucia doesn't seem to enjoy being tugged out of her sunspot either, fussing as she wakes up and vi puts her in one of the deck chairs, changing her with practiced swiftness until she's dry and cocooned in a blanket, sucking her thumb. ]

[forcevisions]

[ She changes with the haphazard urgency of someone who realLY WANTS TO SEE THE FLOWERS, then approaches in an offer to hold Lucia while Vi does the same. ]