Just keep swimming... (Rene)

[Andrina]

Andrina loved the water. In fact, Andrina loved an extraordinary amount of things as of late, but she'd always had a fondness for water and pools for obvious reasons. She was a mermaid at heart, after all. Just because she lost her tail doesn't mean she's still not an excellent swimmer and, besides, she was captain of the swimming team now, she had an obligation to come and practice. She used that as an excuse, but she really didn't care if she was practicing or not, didn't care if she was letting people down, she was here to have fun. Wasn't that the whole point of life anyway, to have fun? She couldn't honestly understand why it had taken her so long to finally go swimming. Her mind kept making up excuses like she was busy, or she couldn't go because it reminded her too much of home. None of these made the slightest sense to her anymore and she quickly cast them aside, jumped into a suit and practically raced here.

She had managed to dress herself properly in a pretty turquoise bikini, though she'd never worn such a thing before. Shells were much more common under the sea. She was so absurdly exited upon entering the large indoor space which contained the indoor pool that she didn't hesitate to run and dive right in, towel and all. She closed her eyes and allowed herself to sink to the bottom. She welcomed the water into her lungs like it was twice as tasty as air. It tasted of chemicals, but Andy wasn't bothered. Weather others would be concerned for her well being didn't occur to her, besides, can't everyone breath underwater?

Her finger began to tap an irregular beat on the bottom of the pool as a result of some strange convolutions her body had adopted over the past few days, since the day she woke up feeling better than ever. Her mind rushed through all the reasons that this was wrong, all the reasons she should be upset, but her mind hitched like a broken machine, causing nothing buy positive emotions to flood her body and her hand to twitch awkwardly.

[Deleted]

Running generally helped clear Rene's head. Actually, it helped clear just about anybody's head, but Rene seemed to have landed on that. She was as determined to keep herself physically strong as she was mentally. There would be no weaknesses to be exploited, not here, not now.

So, covered in sweat from her refreshing run, Rene opted to cool off by heading directly to the pool. It made perfect sense to her, even if it meant performing just a little more exercise. It would be working different muscles anyway, ergo it made perfect sense. At least, that's how it all worked out in Rene's head.

So she changed into her bathing suit, a simple emerald green tankini, and headed straight for the pool. Per usual, Rene's mind was on a hundred different things at once, none of them particularly useful or coherent. It felt like every time Rene ran into someone she knew or remembered, they had some huge bomb of information to tell her. Barely a week in, and she'd already discovered that her ex-boyfriend was married, her mentor had decided to have a second adolescence, and she didn't even want to think about schoolwork or anything like that.

"At least I'm never bored," Rene muttered as she entered the pool area. That had nearly become her mantra. Honestly, it felt like all she had to do is look up and...

"Someone's drowning in the pool?" she exclaimed. she hurried toward the water's edge, leaning over to look down. sure enough, there someone was, at the bottom of the pool. Just sitting there.

It probably said something about Rene that she didn't immediately jump in and save her, nor did she start freaking out.

"Are you alright in there?" she called. She slid into the water, figuring she should be ready to move just in case. "Hello? You're not drowning or anything, are you?"

[Andrina]

Andrina's eyes were still shut tight, maybe a bit tighter than she had intended, her face tensing up for reasons she couldn't understand. Underwater her hear was just fine, the problem was, most people could communicate like she could beneath the surface, being that most are strictly air breathers and their attempt general resulted in a garbled mess of sounds. Andy had no way of knowing this, however, being that this was her first time in a public pool and, magical or not, it would seem not many at this school held the same set of abilities that Andrina did when it came to being in water. So it really shouldn't have been a surprise when someone was suddenly convinced she was downing, however, Andrina didn't even know the definition of the word.

Her eyes snapped open and her head jerked upwards as the splashing sound of someone entering the pool reached her ears. She squinted, unable to make out the figure in the rippling water. She could tell she was trying to say something, but her words reached Andy's ears muffled from their separation of some tons of water. Curious, Andy pushed off the ground gently as to position herself at a better angle to spy upon the new arrival. It was like looking through broken glass, ever shifting with the slightest disturbance, but just then, Andrina recognized her. With the light reflecting off the pool and onto her face, her image was unmistakeable.

Cimorene.

Her eyelids fluttered a few extra times than normal as her mind did something strange. Her thoughts seemed to sift through all the things she should be feeling, but upon realizing that these emotions had been, per say, eliminated from the range of things she could feel, skipped over them like a flat rock on a lake until it settled on one that was permitted. This one being, happiness of course. Simple joy at seeing a familiar face, she couldn't bring herself to connect her with Mumble because of the emotions this raised so it was really as if where greeting an acquaintance to whom she was particularly fond of. So, after a brief moment of buzzing in her brain and minor twitches, the mermaid's face lit up. She cast Rene a friendly wave and pushed her way up to the surface. Hello! she greeted brightly.

[Deleted]

Treading to stay afloat, Rene watched Andrina's progress. Rene could recognize Andrina as she drew closer. True, the two of them had only talked a few times, but Rene could at least remember urging this girl toward Mumble. In fact, if her memory served, that had been one of the several things that she'd been in the middle of before being dragged back home.

The smile and the greeting were familiar, at least, and the cheerfulness was heartening, given what Rene had previously been concerned about.

"hello yourself,' she replied, nodding slightly. "It's nice to know you're doing okay... I was worried there for a bit, when you were," she nodded toward the bottom of the pool.

It wasn't that hard to figure out what was going on here. Andrina possessed the ability to breathe underwater, or at least hold her breath for an extended period of time. Rene was dimly aware that she knew something of the girl, something which should be sticking out in her memory by now. but honestly, Andrina simply hadn't been that important for Rene to remember much, not after being away for several months. she was lucky she knew the girl's name.

"Do you mind if I swim?" she asked, pointing toward a far ledge. "I just wanted to unwind a bit after an exercise. I promise not to disturb you or anything."

[Andrina]

She grinned right up until the word 'worried,' to which her face fell into a blank mask of incomprehension. Worry. This was something a lot of people felt. Had she felt it before? She couldn't be sure at this point, the place in her head where it should have been triggered silenced from the wish that kept her smiling. That was it, wasn't it? Her wish. She'd wished for the pain to go away, so it did, emotionally at least. Andy tried to fathom how to take thing, but again her mind only reached a positive conclusion. She would never be sad, never worry, never hate or feel jealous. Theres nothing wrong with that...this was great! Just like most everything else in her life, just great.

Her mind had already moved past Rene's downing concern being the conflict it it presented so she only blinked at the girl until she spoke again, easily treading water beneath her. Naturally, Andy hadn't quite gathered how one was supposed to swim with legs, so she had been navigating the pool with her legs lock together as if she'd still had a tail. She quickly realized that this was not quite as easy as it used to be with a large fin, but she was still rather extraordinary swimming wise. She spun herself around in a small circle, relishing how grand this all was, until Rene spoke again and her words brought on another round of brain circuitry short outs.

Everything was all wrong about the things she said, the way she said them, like she was concerned about Andy's emotions. That didn't make sense, but confusion fell under negative emotions, so her face simply fell blank again and her face gave a few involuntary ticks. She blinked a few more times until her head reached another conclusion and words formed on her lips. I don't mind anything. she said simply, free of emotion before a smile lit up her features again and her lungs pushed forward a musical bit of laughter.

[Deleted]

Last time Rene had seen, err, this girl, she had been a bit of a wreck. Worried that Rene might have feelings for Mumble (a totally legit worry), and concerned about where her life was heading. now, the girl seemed completely care free. Almost... creepily so. Rene studied the girl. That musical laughter, that whimsical smile. She looked like something out of a faerie tale.

"Alright then... if you're sure," said Rene. Apparently this girl had gotten over whatever hang ups she'd had previously. Which most likely meant that she'd gotten together with Mumble and they were going to someday produce ever so lovely dancing, singing children in some distant, far off future. More power to them.

Rene was genuinely happy that most of her friends had found someone. She sincerely hoped that all of them did relatively soon. That didn't mean that she wanted the same course for herself. Quite the contrary. Rene's determination to remain alone had solidified even further now. And she certainly didn't have a flash of the now young Caz (and how silly was it that she was even considering him now, simply because he'd shaved off a few years?).

A nod, and Rene went to swimming, beginning to do sprints back and forth in the water, left to her thoughts and more or less ignoring the overly chipper girl who'd she'd suspected of drowning only moments before.

[Andrina]

The moment Rene took off to do her own thing, Andrina dove back into the water, quickly deciding that being beneath the surface made things clearer. Or perhaps it was slight pressure on her skull that relieved some of the pain she was experiencing, not that she cared. See, feeling negative emotions and experiencing something physical were all to connected in a way for Andy's being to comprehend at the time. She could feel pain, lots of pain, every time her mind tried to venture to places it couldn't, but the pain didn't make her sad, it didn't make her agitated or angry, it didn't make her want to stop it. Pain hurt, but the signs that told her to fix it weren't there. All she knew is that, between two goods, being underwater was a little better. So she gladly stayed there, breathing in the water, like she figured most could do.

The ex Mermaid spun and twirled in the water for a bit, at one point she crossed underneath Rene and smiled at her. A sudden urge to talk to her friend/acquaintance struck her and so, without hesitation, she reached up, latched her hand around Rene's wrist and tugged so she would join her at the bottom of the pool. Andy saw no issue with this. Not only was she free of concern for such things, but she was also ignorant. Andrina just assumed Rene held the ability to communicate and, more importantly, breathe underwater as she did. She didn't know that she could possibly cause Cimorene any harm...or worse, not that she would mind anyway. She didn't mind anything.

(I tried to leave it a bit open so you could decide if Andy only tugged a bit, or actually dragged her underwater. Hope thats fine!)

[Deleted]

One moment, Rene was swimming, moving along and relaxing her muscles by using them. The next, she was being pulled under the water. Rene, surprised as she was, couldn't offer much in the way of initial resistance to Andrina's pulling. In fact, all she could manage was a quick yelp.

So Rene got a mouthful of water, which she instantly wanted to spit out. A few seconds of panic followed, and Rene thrashed against Andrina, desperately trying to get away and out. Nobody had ever taught Rene specifically how to get out of someone's clutches when underwater, but some things seem to come naturally. Punching and kicking at someone who was attempting to drown you happened to fall in that latter category.

Because Rene was struggling and panicking slightly. she wasn't exactly holding her breath. Instead, she was far, far more determined to break the surface and start gasping for breath. That became her whole focus and desire, something that she strove for and wanted to accomplish.

[Andrina]

Andrina smiled, musical laughter rippling crystal clear through the water, perhaps even amplified and somehow sweeter, making the situation seem even more wrong. Rene pulled and thrashed about until one particular blow hurt Andy enough to catch her attention and turn to take in the desperate figure she had pulled underwater. Something about sent Andy's mental condition into a critical state. Something about the fear in her eyes, that instinctive urge to survive propelling her every movement. Andrina watched her blankly, all emotion gone given happiness couldn't rein in this situation. Precious moments passed until her head was suddenly riddled with such an intense wave of pain that she released Rene's wrist and contorted her body inward involuntarily. She held her head for a moment, everything spinning around her, her brain trying to work out how to feel. after another moment or two, the pain subsided and Andy, of course began to laugh.

She shook her head slightly and tried to remember which way was up. Still laughing gayly, she sped up to the surface and splashed around, recalling that she wanted to talk to Cimorene. Because they were friends and Andrina liked friends. She liked talking to friends, she liked having friends, she like not having friends, she liked nearly downing people too, apparently. This might be problem for some people, but not Andrina. She liked it.

[Deleted]

Rene couldn't care less what was going on with Andrina. She only knew that her hand had been released, and she could manage to get to the surface. Which she did so, moving quicker than she'd even thought possible. When she broke out and up there, Rene gasped for air, then proceeded to claw her way toward the edge of the pool, which she grasped desperately. A few coughs, which dispelled more water back into the pool, and Rene was working her way toward feeling normal once more. She also wanted to get the hell away from Andrina...

who burst the surface of the water, looking as giggly and friendly as ever.

"Are you mental?" gasped Rene. She coughed again, shooting an accusatory and slightly confused look toward her companion. "You just tried to drown me? What is wrong with you?"

Rene felt like trying to drown Andrina. There was no reason to do something like this, not after the decided cheerful greeting Andrina had given Rene only moments before. While Rene had been with murderous people before (Wil, Morgana, etc.) they at least had the courtesy to let you know that they were most likely going to attack you in a decidedly vicious manner the moment you provoked them.

Andrina, on the other hand...

"What did I do to you!?" demanded Rene. She deserved to know the reason for the attempted murder, at least.

[Andrina]

Andrina turned about until she faced Rene again, who was clinging to the edge of the pol as if it might suddenly crumble at any moment. Andy gave her a smile, but there was something...wrong with it. Like it wasn't a genuine smile, the ones she often inspired so easily when she was her normal bubbly self. This was something forced, created purely by whatever enchantment drained her of all negativity. There was nothing left for her mind to rationalize her giggling and wild grins it was just, what she had to do. There was no choice in the matter. She could feel herself losing grip, only instead of a tangible ledge like Rene had to hold onto, Andy had only her crumbling mind to grasp. Its not right, its not right, its not right. The words scrolled themselves across her minds eyes, but, no matter the effort. She didn't care. Emotionally, anyway. Her body had other ideas.

As she moved to close the space between her and Cimorene she realized she was shaking like a leaf, causing jagged ripples about her. Her teeth her clenched so hard that she might have heard her jaw crack, the spidering sensations of pain throughout her body and that queasy feeling in her stomach bringing the most demented and painful sounding of giggles to her lips. This isn't right, this isn't right. Her breathing was strange along with her pounding heart. She didn't care. Rene's words swam through her head, but nothing stuck long enough for her to work out what she actually said. Andrina reached up to touch her face as something warm stained her cheeks. She was....crying? This isn't right. Or was that right? Oh right, she didn't care.

[Deleted]

Rene's indignation melted before pure disbelief, gaping at the girl. Andrina went through exactly what Rene would call a mental breakdown. Psychotic giggling, twitching facial expressions, no verbal response. Were those tears? What was going on here?

"Oh great, more magic," muttered Rene. Yes, magic. Because at this school, that was the only logical answer for something like this. Rene almost wished that she could find someone who was just legitimately crazy or something. someone who just didn't seem to fit quite in for reasons that had absolutely nothing to do with magic. Oh, wait, that person had a tendency toward stabbing. Okay, so Rene would settle for a breakdown from classes.

Turning around, she pulled herself out of the pool completely, not wanting to be within arm's reach of the giggling drowner. Once safely perched, Rene turned to face her acquaintance, squinting through the water to look at her.

"Seriously, Andrina," she said, her voice much calmer now. "what's the matter?" No. that was the wrong question. Andrina might not be able to tell what was going on. Maybe she wasn't even aware there was anything wrong. Most of the people Rene had encountered that were suffering under stuff like this had absolutely no clue.

"How are you feeling? Why don't you tell me? Go ahead," Rene forced a smile, wishing that she didn't feel like vomiting pool water, "I'm listening. And I won't laugh or anything. Promise."

Maybe sprint for the door, but certainly no laughter.