A Stones Throw [Zak]

[Théodred Heavenshield]

Voss​

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Outside the gardens of the Silver Temple​

Mid morning ​

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"Master" [member="Zak Dymo"]​

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Every chance is taken to get away from the Temple and when his friend Zak had suggested they go for a swim, Théo did not hesitate. He had not seen his friend for a some time now and he wondered what he had been up too. Théo looked forward to finding out, after all Zak is older and has had the opportunity to venture out more, to see more of the Galaxy than Théo. That will all change in time of course, Théo just had to be patient. Not very good at that though, he has his mother's will of 'determination', as father puts it. Just [member="Thurion Heavenshield"]'s way of calling her, stubborn. But Théo is growing, and the wait will not be long.

So down the steps of the Silver Temple, Théo bounced until his reached the lawn which spread out into the distance until it reached the edge of the forest. He has light clothes of white and bare footed with only a towel over his shoulder to indicate the intention of his path. To the river which is only a short distance away from the Temple, he turns. Casually strolling through the gardens until he would reach the edge of it and find the babbling river. On the way he finds a long stick, which he drags behind him for no purpose but to simply do it.

His mind clear of thoughts of sisters and other younglings, but just happy to be out in the open. It is mid morning and soon the sun with break through the clouds that sit in the skies above Voss. And up head Théo can now hear the song of the river.

 

[Micah tol Powl]

Being in the mountain and hills of Voss-Ka, there wasn't much opportunity for a Nautolan to get wet around the Silver Temple.

It presented the common problem of his gills drying out, which could be uncomfortable for the fact that his gills were located on the outer-most set of head-tails to the left and right of his head. Being that the stubby appendages tended to bounce around with the youngling's frequently movement, the dried tissues could them become sore and abrasive, like sandpaper being crumpled together. Nautolans were born in the water and lived in swamp and marsh land on Glee Anselm, so high elevations and dry climates weren't familiar environments for their bodies. Especially growing bodies.

As such, the small Nautolan often came to the river that flowed down the mountainside. It was a cold, ice-fed river descending from precipitation gathered from further up the mountain. With waterfalls and bubbling brooks in spots, some of which were exceptionally beautiful vistas upon which the valley of Voss-Ka could be viewed. The calmer spots along the river were even deep enough for fishing or swimming in.

The Nautolan wasn't wearing anything different than he usually did. He was made to get wet, and so were the clothes that he wore. The brown, sleeve-less tunic made of a leather that was treated to be like the fine coat of a Tynnan in repelling water rather than becoming water-logged. He even had his lightsaber with him, the curved, silver-and-black handle a special alloy to protect it from corrosion.

Emerging from under the water, the small Nautolan breached the surface of the river. His bare feet gripping the rocky bottom of the riverbed, as his head-tendrils were whipped back behind his head as he threw his head back and adjusted to breathing through his nose and mouth.

It was nice not to be dry for a little while.

[member="Théodred Heavenshield"]​

 

[Théodred Heavenshield]

[member="Zak Dymo"]​

​

The sight of the river prompted Théo to discard the stick. Next would be his towel, which now draped over a small bush by the side of the waters. Zak was nowhere in sight, Théo's physical sight at least and so Théo took some time to play at his increasing favourite thing to do. Throwing stones. With a fist full of the pebbles by the water's edge, Théo lobed them into the running water.

Ka-plunk. He watched the ripples forming in the more stiller water pooled in a catchment creature naturally by a rock formation. Ka-plunk.

Although he wanted nothing more than to rid his mind of all things Jedi and training, he could not help think of his master, Master Tann and what she had tried to teach him. Sensing the landscape and those within it, did not come as second nature to Théo, not yet anyway. That would come with time and practice, something she had asked him to do to strengthen the skill. A Jedi's warning system, to alert to intrusion or danger. And so Théo, with the mere thought of it, pushed his senses outward, and in that moment, a familiar feeling came to him. Zak is here! but where?

Ka-plunk! The last of Théo pebbles landing just in front of Zak's face as he surfaced for the depths of the waters. "Sorry!", he yelled out as water splashed over his best friend. He wasted no further time and climbed out of his shirt and walked ankle deep into the water, "It is freezing!". And yet the feeling of the cold was life giving to Théo, Midvinter blood relished it.

 

[Micah tol Powl]

"Huh?"

The drop of the stone had caught the Nautolan by surprise. Water was slung from off the head-tendrils, as the cord-like appendages whipped behind the youngling's head as he turned sharply to look over at the river's edge. The green-skinned child brightened immediately at the now familiar sight of the sturdy Heavenshield. Both boys were a little older now, though Theo looked a lot different now than he had when the two had first met. In contrast, Zak was still much the same.

The aquatic youth smiled as the arboreal human went splashing into the river. The comment about the chill was the first time that the Nautolan was conscious of the chill. "You can use the Force to stay warm," the older boy remarked. He'd done it without even realizing what he was doing. Not an uncommon trait among Mon Cala or Nautolan younglings. "Aquatic Jedi use it, like, all the time, because the ocean has this thing, called a thermocline, and it's really, really cold when you dive below that."

As the Nautolan looked over at his Midvinter companion, it occured to the older boy that he couldn't recall seeing Theo around water before. "Do you know how to swim?" the youngling inquired.

It was a strange thing to ask. Nautolans learned how to swim before they learned how to walk. But, that was because they started out in the water and were introduced to the surface world later. It made sense that maybe humans were the other way around.

[member="Théodred Heavenshield"]​

 

[Théodred Heavenshield]

"How do you do that?", he asked regarding keeping warm through the force. So much to learn, so little time. Naturally Théo had no idea about thermowhatsits, could not even spell the word, let alone know of them. "I'll take your word for it", he said looking skeptical at Zak about the force, although Théo tried.

He waded in up to his waist, Théo had been in water before this, on Tabaqui in the lake near the family home, and had some swimming with his father but no really lessons as such. Théo is more of the Valkyri than that of the Pelagonian his father might be.

"Sort of, no not really", he replied about his swimming abilities. However, he could feel the current of the water pulling on his body, and the temperature he began to get used too, or was it the force? Théo put it down to his ability to put up with the cold.

And yet his top half had yet to submerge, and so with a count of three in his mind, Théo ducked under the water. The shock to the system apparent as he quickly jumped back up, puffing out lung loads of air to try and warm again. "You must be crazy!", he yelled out having gathered more breath.


[member="Zak Dymo"]

 

[Micah tol Powl]

The small Nautolan just laughed.

Wadding through the water, so that he was standing beside the smaller Heavenshield, the green-skinned aquatic asked, "Can you feel that?" the older boy asked, taking hold of one of Theo's arms and placing the smaller boy's hand on his chest. "The energy around my body?"

Tapas was an ability which allowed the user to retain their body heat, using the Force in a way much like a wetsuit. Creating a layer of energy which insulated the Jedi against the environment around them. He'd heard of people using it in space, or even worlds like Hoth or Ilum. But, to Zak, it was most useful in the water - as water conducted heat more rapidly than air did. So an aquatic swimming into cold water could quickly suffer the effects of hypothermia if they weren't prepared. Of course, most Nautolans and Mon Cala stayed pretty shallow or in warm currents. How the Quarren managed to live far below the thermocline, especially those without the use of the Force, was a mystery to Zak.

"Close your eyes," the Nautolan suggested, with the younger Theo out at arm's length. "Try to feel the Force around you."

"Then, imagine wrapping yourself up in it like a blanket."

[member="Théodred Heavenshield"]​

 

[Théodred Heavenshield]

He only grinned as Zak laughed at him, he too saw the funny side of his situation, although he has experienced the cold, more cold than this water, he was never near naked when on Midvinter, always with the protection of the fur to keep his body warm. "One day I will take you to Midvinter and you can swim in the snow" he jested to his friend. Théo's mind could not help be picture Zak doing just that, and he laughed despite himself.

Théo was caught off guard as his hand rested against Zak's chest, not because of the action, but because he could sense the energy around him, it was warm and pulsing as if like a heart beat. "Yes .. Yes! I can!", he said growing excited by the experience, and the win on the force.

He did as the older boy directed, and closed his eyes. "You kiss me and I will punch you", the cheek of the young Valkyri rose to the surface. However, trying to focus, Théo calmed his mind until he could sense the energy around him, the force strong on Voss and especially since they are close to the Silver Temple, in which the pulse of the blue crystal which is situated in the main entrance, resonated all around them. The living force spoke to him in a whisper, life and death of all around him, pitted through the ages, sang a song of life. The avian on high, the insects darting, the plants throbbing with power of the green, all come to him, all life of creatures great and small.

"I can feel it", he said in almost a whisper to match the force. And he did what Zak suggested, but instead of a blanket, Théo imagined his large black fur engulfing his body, he pulled the force around him like his coat. It only took a few seconds before Théo felt the warm of the life giving and the life taking, force. He warmed, the cold of the water washing away.

"That is .. awesome!". he said opening his eyes with a big smile.

[member="Zak Dymo"]

 

[Micah tol Powl]

If you kiss me... what?

Why... would Zak... kiss...

You know what, he really didn't want to know. That being said, no sooner had Theo shut his eyes than the Nautolan was bending down a few inches from the other boy's face, his hands pressed against his own cheeks, as the Nautolan made fish-face kissy expressions silently in flagrant disregard of the threat.

He'd straightened back up by the time that the younger Theo had begun to reach out for the Force.

It was actually kind of strange. Maybe Zak had just not been paying attention before, but this was the first time that the Nautolan had ever taken notice of what someone was doing. It was a little unrefined, but he could feel the smaller boy stretching out. Sense the ripples that were triggered by the contact.

"Good," Zak chirped with a firm nod, pleased that the young Heavenshield had done as the Nautolan had suggested. And then Zak put his hand out in order to try and push Theo over into the water.

It was deep enough to get him wet. And shallow enough that he'd just need to sit or stand up. But, it would be a start. "Now, we swim," the Nautolan remarked, sitting back as he allowed gravity to pull his body back into the water.

"You don't have gills, so we should work on keeping your head above water to start."

[member="Théodred Heavenshield"]​

 

[Théodred Heavenshield]

The push came hitting him in the chest and Théo fell backward into the cold water. And yet, he was warm, thanks to Zak. "Hey!", he yelled out surprised momentarily but started to laugh as the water washed over his face. But Théo stayed in position, feeling the running water around his body, it felt nice and refreshing and he put his arms out and glided them gently through the water.

"I know how to float", he said after Zak mentioned swimming. "And I know one swimming stoke but I am not very good at it yet". He was a little embarrassed, knowing very well that Zak could swim before he could walk most like but that was not any fault of Théo's, it was simply the nature of the galaxy. So many people with different talents because of who they are. One of the beauties that exist in the galaxy, diversity is a wonderful thing, or it should be. The bad comes this diversity as well, something that Théo and Zak will learn more as they grow. But regardless if they had experienced this or not already, it would be a lesson continuous.

"Will you teach me?, to swim better? .. I think I would look odd with gills but they would be very handy though".

[member="Zak Dymo"]

 

[Micah tol Powl]

Fact: Gills never looked odd.

People did, however, looked weird without them. Mon Cala? Totally not odd. Quarren? A little rugged, but it was working for them in a lumberjack-fish-sort-of-way. Nautolans, of course, were the most handsome species in the cosmos.

So, what was wrong with humans? Aside from the lack of webbing between their fingers or toes, skin that wouldn't hold up in salt water long-term, or body fat that was completely fail at staving off hypothermia? Oh yeah, NO GILLS!

It was a wonder the tree hugging dirt kissers weren't scared of the ocean.

"It, like, depends where... like, where the gills were," the amphibian remarked, frog-kicking to propel himself backward toward the middle of the stream. "If they were on your rib cage, they'd be hard to see 'cause of your arms. Or... or if they were behind your ears." Which, would be similar to Zak, whose gills were up on the sides of his head.

Straightening himself upright in the middle of the river, the boy motioned toward the smaller youngling. "Show me how you swim now," Zak said. "Then we can work on your kicks and stuff."

[member="Théodred Heavenshield"]​

 

[Théodred Heavenshield]

[member="Zak Dymo"]

He lifted his arms up and look to his body, trying to figure out where his 'gills' would be best positioned. "I think .. I think under my arms would be the best place", he said grinning to his buddy. Not that Théo could grow gills, mores the pity, that would be so cool. But with the right training in the force .... anything was possible. He watched Zak moving with such ease through the water, it is a marvelous sight to see how his race is so graceful in their natural environment, just as Théo would be to Zak in his.

Now that Théo is warm, using the force to maintain his body temperature, he submerged until only his head remained above the surface. Awkwardly, he pushed forward trying to imitate Zak but nowhere near as graceful, in fact he positively looked silly. His body twisted and lurched to much, his arms splayed in all directions and he did not even kick. With each 'stroke', Théo's cheeks puffed out pushing a lung full of air with exertion. Théo was getting nowhere fast.

"How am I going?", he asked with laboured breath and as he sucked in more air, he took in water which started a fit full of coughs.

 

[Micah tol Powl]

This was like watching a Nautolan learn to walk.

"Uhhhhh..." the green-skinned boy answered, as his head tilted to one side at the question of how Theo was doing. Horrible. Bad. Horri-bad even. But how was Zak supposed to tell his friend that he was absolutely terrible?

"Well, you've mastered the drowning moose stroke."

Sensitive, yet snarky. Definitely the way to go.

Swimming up to the smaller boy, the Nautolan placed his arms under the youngling in order to lift the child's head up out of the water to help him breathe. "You want to use your legs," Zak remarked, trying to come up with a way to describe what he wanted Theo to do. Pulling his hands up from out of the water, the Nautolan alternated moving his arms up and down as he explained, "Pretend they're a pair of scissors, moving like this."

[member="Théodred Heavenshield"]​

 

[Théodred Heavenshield]

[member="Zak Dymo"]

"Ok", was all he would muster as Théo continued to use up volumes of energy just in a small space of time and distance. "Swimming .. is .. hard .. work", he added with puffing breath, as his head lowered under the water before he pushed himself up again with a twist of the body. But his saviour arrived! and held his head secure so Théo could breath without swallowing water.

In the slight reprieve, Théo managed to catch his breath somewhat listening to the instruction Zak gave him. His arms moving in a scissor motion, whatever they are, but he got the idea and began to kick his legs. White water reached high into the air, splashing around the two boys, a motor boat could not compete with him for the amount of turbulence and foam. And he forgot about his arms.

Théo knew something was wrong, this was not how Zak looked when he was swimming. As graceful as a drowning moose, that is Théo and he began to laugh. Which of course, made his plight worse as he weakened with the laughter. "I .. I need a break", he said as his body went limp. Théo turned and sat on the bottom of the pool, looking at his friend with a smile. "I need gills", he joked and marvel at his friend at the same time.