Private Surf Up Schuttas

[Kayla Ordo-Shan]

Location: Mannan, Shalora Beach

Kayla planted her board nose-up in the sand, feeling the ocean swirl around her ankles.

Above her, the sun blazed bright enough to singe her shoulders and make sweat tickle down the small of her back. She tipped her head back anyway, letting the light soak warm her face.

A swell rumbled beneath her feet, the next wave coiling itself like a spring around her ankles. She could feel the sand melting around her feet, sinking in as the water went out. She felt herself drifting off, at first just focusing on the sensations, and then, she felt herself being lost.

Her grin broke through before she could halt it: salt on her lips, brine in her hair, heart pounding like a drum. Time froze for a moment, but she felt it inching closer. The stillness, the heartbeat away from exhaling out.

And then it came suddenly, and all at once-that pull.

Not the push of the water or the crash of the waves. Deeper. Quieter. A familiar whisper, warm at the edges, curling under her ribs and tugging at her pulse the same way an undertow swiped at a swimmer's legs. She knew what it was.

The Force, and something else.

She'd grown up feeling it just like this, a warm embrace in the midsts of cold; her mothers curse called to her still. An all too familiar voice spoke: Just, let go. Drift deeper down. I'll guide you, Kayla. You only need to trust me….

She almost laughed at how ridiculous this was. To just surrender to the current, instead of trusting her muscles, her breath, her battered board.

No.

She'd learned to keep it at arm's length. Because she couldn’t trust it. Because she'd seen what it had done to her family. Done to her. It cost too much. Asked too much. It made everything you dependent, hooked, unable to shake free. Like hooking yourself up to an IV, becoming so reliant on it, the more you took in, the less control you held.

She flexed her toes in the sand and pictured the Force like water beneath the deep reef; comforting, alive, but could drown you if you let it. She let the mental image die, and wither.

She felt the hold of her guardian slip, and reality slowly crept back in around her. She was no longer capitvated by this universal energy. It fled from her.

"I don’t want your help." She spoke to the presence. Or maybe, she was just talking to herself. Regardless, it left, and she was left on her lonesome again.

She soon became aware that she was the only surfer here at current, as she gave a look around. Surely she wouldn’t be surfing alone….would she?

Tags: Reina Daival

 

[Reina Daival]

Location: Mannan
Tags: Kayla Ordo-Shan

She wasn't surfing. Not yet at least. No. Reina was finally doing meditation of her own accords, as she sat out near the waves of Mannan, focusing on breathing in tune with the waves. In with the Tide and then out with the tide. It helped her to keep herself steady now that she was trying to push herself forward. She couldn't focus on her resentment and aggression as much as she used to. Yes, it helped her to survive, helped her get through the dark days, but she didn't want to simply survive anymore. The redhead wanted to live. Without all of the weight and baggage on her shoulders. Of course, it was easier said than done...but that didn't mean she wouldn't try.

The ocean was...peaceful today. It was nice for Reina to feel. It was possible there would be a storm in a few of the coming days but Reina would be gone by then. Instead she pushed herself up to her feet, brushing the sand off her clothes and skin for a moment. It was nice to feel the warmth of the sand beneath her feet as she curled them up slightly, a smile slowly gracing her face. It had been a while since she had been able to get away from the more arboreal planets or the more urban ones. Finally, she was back at the ocean. Back at the place that felt the most like home for her as she stretched her arms out, tapping her surfboard a few times in thought. She could have brought her wetsuit with her if she planned on going for a dive but considering she was just going for a little surf, she didn't think it would be that bad for her.

And that's when she heard a faint voice on the breeze. She couldn't hear the words. Just the vague sounds of the voice as Reina turned her head off to the side, her gaze coming across a silhouette in the distance. It didn't hurt to go and talk to a stranger, she supposed. She had slowly been getting more out of her shell. Getting more and more social. Going to the club, talking to strangers. She was evolving as a person as Reina made her way over, resting her surfboard atop her shoulder, whilst Reina's prosthesis whirred away beneath her.

"Hey. Lovely day to head out on the waves, right?"​

 

[Kayla Ordo-Shan]

Perhaps for a moment, Kayla was in a daze. She had thought herself alone, and yet, a voice reached her. She turned when the voice reached her, catching the flicker of a redhead's grin beneath the late sun. Her eyes dropped briefly to the whir of the prosthetic, then lifted back to Reina's face, taking her measure in a heartbeat born from her upbringing.

A small smile tugged at the corner of Kayla's mouth. Nope, not alone. Good.
"Perfect day for it," she agreed, her tone low and a little rough with disuse, but not unfriendly. She shifted her board against her hip, glancing past Reina at the curling sets gathering farther out.

"Water's steady but she's got a mean rip if you drift south. You going out deep or just riding the break?"

She didn't mean to sound protective, but old habits died hard. Maybe she was a worrywart after all...

A pause. Then, with the faintest flicker of dry humor;

"It's been a while since I surfed alongside company. Hope you can keep up."

She jerked her chin toward the deeper swells, an unspoken race you there gleaming at the edge of her grin. Her hand reached for the board, taking it in her hand, yet she wouldn't set off. Not until her surfing partner seemed ready.

Tags: Reina Daival

 

[Reina Daival]

Location: Mannan
Tags: Kayla Ordo-Shan

"Not too sure about going deep. Not exactly dressed for a deep dive. Maybe another day."

Reina shrugged her shoulders at that. Whilst she felt alive in the water, that didn't mean she was safe in the water. It was strange to hear how owrried some stranger was about Reina going out. It was surprisingly refreshing if Reina was honest to herself. A little fiendish smirk on her face which she dismissed by shaking her head.

"I suppose I can keep up. I've never seen much of a point in racing."

Racing just meant you'd end up messing up more often than not in Reina. Whilst she wasn't exactly someone who took things at a snails pace. Instead she took her board and started to walk off towards the waves, expecting her surfing associate to go out into a run. Reina was just going to have a chill little surf anyway, using the Force to help her push herself off into the ocean.​