[IC] Ashes [EliteCommander and Vesuvius00]

[EliteCommander]

"Yes, that was their name for themselves. Many races have many different names for them, but that was their own word, so it is what we call them. From all we have found, they once controlled all of this planet, and had a masterful command over the natural world. They needed to move faster, so they built machines that could move themselves much faster than any person could naturally. They did not have wings, so they built machines that could fly. They even flew above the Earth itself to the moon above our heads. In short, they were all that my people aspire to be." Tarentek explained. Speaking about history and technology was perhaps the best way to distract him, given its importance to himself and his people. He could see the sea growing closer below them, but did his best to ignore it. The fear was still very present in his mind, but holding a conversation such as this helped to give a sense of normality to being higher in the air than his people were ever meant to go. As well, Onyx had not seemed even remotely like she was close to dropping him at any point, which did help calm him marginally.

[Vesuvius00]

"They went to the moon?! But that's... How did they make a, machine, fly? Nothing can fly without wings, so they made themselves wings? Wouldn't they have had the same problem as you are now?" Onyx was now very curious, almost enough to make her forget to pay attention to how she was flying. She noticed herself slowing down greatly, so she did a dive to pick back up on speed, weaving through the last few standing ruins to the sea. They were close enough now that she could put Tarentek down if he asked, so now Onyx slowed down on purpose and decided to tell him.

"Hey, I can put you down now if you want, we're pretty much there already."

[EliteCommander]

Tarentek would certainly be lying if he said he was not frightened when Onyx started to dive. His first reaction was to scream, but he managed to keep himself quiet. Onyx had already proved she was more than capable of flying like this, but that rational thought was in conflict with his innate fear of heights. Fortunately, he did manage to avoid any outward panic.

"Yes you can...actually, no, I can do this. Just go ahead and carry me all the way to sea. I can't stop now." Tarentek answered with an interesting tone consisting both of fear and resolve. Given how close they were, it only took a minute or two to reach the sea, and finally set down on solid ground. Tarentek wanted to collapse to his hands and knees at that moment, but he kept himself standing

"Oh thank Jhala we're here. That was...Karisskan were never meant to fly. But...I guess that could have gone much worse, and there is still the trip back to get through. I didn't like it but...maybe I can actually do this. Maybe if we just keep flying, it will get better; maybe I'll even start to like it." Tarentek commented, staring out to sea for a few moments before glancing back to Onyx. "Anyways, do you want to go ahead and start the lesson now, or take a break first?"

[Vesuvius00]

After Onyx had put Tarentek down by the water, she flew back a ways and landed there, not making any move to go closer to the water. "I think you forget that I won't be able to fly for a while if my wings are wet, so you don't have to worry too much about the way back. That flight will be considerably shorter than the way here had been."

She looked around at the horizon for a little bit, judging the time of day by the sun's height in the sky. "I want to stay as far from the water as possible, maybe even just fly away now and leave you here to swim on your own, but I made a promise. Even if it's a reckless promise, I'll keep it as I try to keep all my promises." As she spoke, she forced herself to walk closer to Tarentek, her heartbeat getting more rapid with every step. "The sooner we start, the sooner it's over, right?"

[EliteCommander]

"Don't worry, Onyx. You will be as safe in the water as I was in the sky, perhaps even more so." Tarentek responded as he started to undo the belts holding his pouch and machete in place. "I'm glad you agreed to this. Swimming is a useful skill, and it can even be fun, just as I'm sure flying can be for you. I promise I won't rush you into anything, and I'll be right beside you the entire time in case you have trouble. You know how strong I am, and it is even easier to carry something in the water, so you'll be in no danger. Now, I'll let you get ready. Once you have your belongings situated, just step into the shallows beside me."

Tarentek found a spot on the shore sufficiently far from the water and placed down his pouch and machete, then removed his robe. He carefully laid out his robe flat on the sand, then set down his rifle on top of it to prevent sand from finding its way inside the weapon. Walking into the shallows, he stopped once the water reached about ankle high. "Since you spoke before about liking to fish, I'm going to assume you're not completely terrified of touching the water, at least not just a section that barely covers your feet. I have an idea of how to ease you into it."

[Vesuvius00]

Onyx watched as Tarentek got ready and stepped into the water. She walked over to where he had put his belongings and took off her shawl, wrapping it around her med-pack and placing it carefully on the sand so that no sand would get into the pack. "I don't touch the water when I fish. I fly over it with a net and scoop up anything I can." Onyx paused and looked at Tarentek, trying to will herself closer to the water, and failing.

"The only water I touch it the water I drink, because that can't hurt me. I don't trust this realm of nature." Onyx managed to focus enough on her words that she walked all the way to the edge of the shore before noticing where she was and freezing in place, staring at the dark water.

[EliteCommander]

"Water doesn't have a will, or a desire; it simply exists like the air around us. And just like the air, you can master it to glide through it with ease. If you're anything like my people, you will float in water, as long as you have a decent amount of air in your lungs. I this salty water in particular, you'll have a hard time sinking. The water where I'm standing right now is so shallow, you couldn't drown in it if you tried." Tarentek said, trying to encourage Onyx as best as he could. He took a few steps forward, still keeping his feet in the water, and extended his hand, offering it to her.

"I'll be right here with you." He added.

[Vesuvius00]

Onyx forced herself to look at Tarentek and not at the water as she took his hand. "I don't believe that anything simply exists. The wind is the breath of the spirits, a gentle embrace. The ground is the bodies, for everything does eventually return to the ground, they support us when we cannot. I would say that water is like the vengeful thoughts we all have, free-flowing and everywhere, inescapable as it weighs us down in a way that takes the most freedom from us." Onyx sighed and closed her eyes, her voice now shaking a little. "You promise you won't make me go any farther than I can force myself to?

[EliteCommander]

"You'll go no farther than you can will yourself to go, I promise." Tarentek answered. "I suppose it is true that water can behave that way, but that is not the only way it can be. Water can flood and destroy, but it also gives life. It can provide transportation for trade and commerce. Water can weigh you down, especially with wings like yours, or if you wear a lot of clothing, which can absorb water and make it more difficult to swim. But, you can also use its properties to your advantage. When it flows, you can flow with it. A strong swimmer can move through it with little effort."

Holding firmly onto Onyx's hand, Tarentek took her only to the point where the water reached just above her ankles before stopping. "Let's stop here a moment. Tell me how you feel."

[Vesuvius00]

"I still want to run away. How can you just stand there?" Onyx hadn't opened her eyes yet, she didn't want to see the water around her, she didn't want to think about it. "I feel like there are rocks in my stomach, weighing me down, while I'm trying to keep from thinking about those memories." Onyx was breathing harder now, and she kept her eyes shut tight.

[EliteCommander]

"Then try to do what I did in the air and distract yourself from those memories. If you focus something negative like that, then all you'll be able to see is the negative. We've only gone a few steps so far, and I'm not taking you any farther yet." Tarentek said, gripping her hand firmly to reinforce his presence in her mind.

"I want you to try to open your eyes and look at me. No need to focus on the water, just focus on me. Let's just talk, have a conversation. Tell me why you like to fly. What about being so high in the air do you enjoy?" Tarentek asked. Just like what he attempted to do during their flight, Tarentek tried to shift Onyx's focus to something else in order to make the water seem less important, and hopefully like just another part of her current situation.

[Vesuvius00]

Onyx took a few deep breaths and tried to talk like Tarentek had suggested. "Freedom, and opportunity. Have you never thought how much easier your life would be if you could simply..." She drifted off and focused on her breathing for a little bit. "I'm sorry, I don't think that's going to work. Thinking about what I like about flying keeps bringing me back to how much I don't want to be here, or anywhere near water. The rocks in my stomach just keep getting heavier." Onyx had managed to open her eyes as she spoke, so she looked at Tarentek while she tried not to focus on the water.

[EliteCommander]

Tarentek kept eye contact with Onyx once she opened her eyes. "I understand, but my point is that you do like to fly, even though I do not understand it. Or, how a child of your kind might not understand why they shouldn't fear heights. There is something that makes it wonderful. Swimming is just the same. You've told me that some Elissics swim willingly, and recreationally. Try thinking about them; the friends, family, or just people you know that like to swim. There is something they understand about the water that draws them to it for their own amusement, and that is something you can come to understand as well, even more than I can learn to enjoy flight. With me, I cannot learn to fly on my own, but you have everything you need to swim even better than I ever could. Those wings can push water just as they can air."

Tarentek glanced down at the water they were standing in, then back up to Onyx. "Right now, the water we are in barely gets above your ankles, and the sea itself is relatively calm with few waves. Therefore, where we are right now is safe. The water you are in cannot physically hurt you. So, how about we stay here for a while." He commented. Slowly, he sat himself down in the water, while still keeping a hold of Onyx's hand. Where he was sitting, the water did not even come up to his waist. "How about you just take a seat with me? We can stay here where it is safe, and you can just take all the time you need to get used to the water."

[Vesuvius00]

"Ok..." Onyx sat down in the water next to Tarentek, still holding his hand and opening her wings so they wouldn't get wet yet. It was a lot harder for her not to look at the water now, and she had stopped looking at Tarentek when she sat down, so she started trying to keep her focus on the sky. "I remember why I was scared of heights before I could fly. My brothers, Topaz and Opal, told me that if I were to high up on my own that I'd be taken by invisible monsters in the wind. Now the wind is my domain, and the only monsters there could ever be there are those in our imagination." She laughed a little, the sound holding more nerves than humor.

"Yes, some Elissics swim simply because they can, but I doubt any of them ever had an experience like mine." Onyx spoke more haltingly now, trying to keep her breathing steady as she kept her gaze on the sky. "I'm really not doing very well at trying not to think about that, I can feel the water around me and I keep remembering how it felt to be trapped under it."

[EliteCommander]

"That was an experience brought on by a person, not the water. The water did not choose to trap you; you simply were not ready to be in it yet." Tarentek responded, pausing a moment to attempt to think of how he could expand on his point. "Try...try imagining for a moment if some cruel person took an Elissic as a child and flew them high in the sky. Imagine if they dropped the child from a great height and caught them at the last moment, over and over again just to frighten them. They would no doubt become just as afraid of flying as you are of the water. But, you know that an Elissic can fly; that they are meant to fly. If I had to guess, I would say that you or your people would want to do what you could to help that Elissic with their fear. Could you imagine what it would be like to be an Elissic who could not fly? Well, I view this in sort of the same way. Swimming isn't nearly as important to your people as flying, obviously, but I still feel it is a shame that you are missing out on such a useful skill because of someone depraved enough to torture you in the way they did. Not only can it save your life, but swimming is a fun way to pass the time."

Glancing down at the water, Tarentek took his free hand and waved it slowly through the water, digging slightly into the sand underneath. "Just, try running your hand through the water. Tell me how it feels."

[Vesuvius00]

Onyx looked at Tarentek, stunned by his words. "Anyone who would do that to a child would probably be exiled, that's horrible." Onyx watched as he played with the water, repeating what he had said in her mind a few times before responding. "So, you're saying I shouldn't be afraid of the water, because it was a person who almost killed me with it? Like the water can just be treated as any other weapon?"

[EliteCommander]

Tarentek nodded. "I think that would be one way of putting it, yes. The water will not try to harm you on its own. It is like your relics, or any other weapon you use. When someone is pointing a relic at you, it is a frightening experience. It is threatening; a weapon that can kill you in an instant. But, if you are the one holding the relic, then everything changes. It empowers you and gives you control of the situation, or at least a very good way to fight back. With the water, you just need to learn how to take command of it. Instead of threatening you, it will be useful to you. Imagine being able to fish without any fear of falling in, and if anyone threatens you with water again, you'll be ready."

[Vesuvius00]

"There's no reason for me to be afraid right now." Onyx said, more to herself than to Tarentek. While they had been talking, Onyx had calmed down enough that she didn't have to force her breathing to be normal anymore, and as she repeated the reasoning in her mind a few times she curiously placed her own free hand in the water, surprised at how easily she could still move it under the murky liquid. "How is it so easy to move through? I remember it always being harder to move in water."

[EliteCommander]

"Memories have a way of becoming more...skewed the more you recall them. Sometimes, I've found that my own memories of events in Amman were almost startlingly different from the written records." Tarentek answered. "What you remember is probably your fear, and what it did to you. You were very understandably panicking, which caused you to sink. I'm not surprised you remember it the way you do. In a calm sea like this, and especially taking it at your own pace, you'll find that the water hardly hinders you at all. In fact, it is much easier to move something that is floating in the water, including yourself. As I mentioned before, your body will float naturally in the water if you have enough air in your lungs, especially in this salty water."

Tarentek laid slowly laid himself down on his back, since the water was shallow enough that it wouldn't reach above his head. It did cover his ears, so he placed his free hand behind his head and lifted it up slightly so he could hear Onyx. "Even if I'm not swimming, I just find the feeling of the water against my scales to be refreshing." He commented.

[Vesuvius00]

Onyx felt a lot calmer now as she watched Tarentek. "Ummm, I still don't want to get my wings wet if I don't have to. I may feel calmer, but that would make me unable to fly for a while and I don't want that right now." Onyx let go of Tarentek's hand and stood up, walking slowly to where the water came up to her knees before she stopped again.