Marchanta Teaching a Backstroke Lesson...
Sea Lane
Surrounded by bedrock walls worn smooth by the passage of time and water, the sea lane is just wide enough for sailing ships to pass through to the docking caverns beyond. Walls wet with sea spray and the action of the waves, the water here is shadowed by a bridge high overhead that crosses from ledge to ledge. Gaping and large enough to fit a dragon within it, lies the actual entrance to this large sea cave, huge metal doors set to either side making this area easy to seal off from the weather and thread.
Swimming about are Eri, Tessa, Bao, Tillek, and Tursi
Marchanta is here.
Obvious exits:
Seabreak Pool Lounge's Ledge Infirmary Pool Docking Cavern Outside Hall Waters
On the wall of the sea lane is a green 'lizard and a pale furred ferret. Next to them is a towel. And in the water is the owner of 'lizard, ferret, and towel. Jess is in the water near the wall, treading water and looking around.
Marchanta walks over to the edge, a bronze and green perched on her shoulders, chittering down at the other green as Chanta smiles at Jessa. "Hello, practicing?" She shoos the flits from her shoulders and dives into the water, coming up a few feet from Jessa, treading water.
Jessa looks up and recognizes Marchanta from the last time she was in Seacliffs, "Hello 'Chanta!" she greets, "Yup, I've been practicing. I've been practicing mainly at Seacliffs, and decided I'd practice some while I was here." Her green chatters back to the bronze and green and the ferret makes her own little chirpings.
Marchanta grins and nods. "That's good." She grins as she hears the chattering of the flits. "How's your diving coming? Still enjoying it?" She ducks under to get the hair out of her face, and pops up with it slicked back over her head before swimming to the side to hold on to the edge.
Jessa nods her head, "I'm still practicing and enjoying it, but I think it's coming along fine. 'Least the 'phins at Seacliffs seem to think so. They were watching me one day." The pale furred ferret feels left out, why are the 'lizards ignoring her? True, the ferret can't understand their chittering, but she does like 'lizards and attention from them.
Marchanta laughs. "They can be helpful, I remember one helping and giving advice when I was learning to swim." The green, deciding to be gracious, chitters at the ferret, but then again, for all the ferret knows, the chittering isn't nice. "It's a good thing he was helping too, since I went under that day I don't know /how/ many times."
Jessa grins and nods her head. The pale furred ferret seems happy, whatever that chittering may mean, and chirps back. Jess' green doesn't bother to defend the ferret from whatever insults may be dealt it. Jess' 'lizards have learned to tolerate the ferrets Jess tends to keep around, but have never liked the little energy bundles.
Marchanta rolls her eyes, grinning, as she watches and listens to the menagerie on the ledge. "Sometimes I really wonder about them." Good thing the rest of her hoard isn't here; a canine, two ferrets, two felines, and a brown added to the mix would be really interesting. "So, you want to just continue practicing or would you like a lesson?"
Jessa casts a glance to them and grins, "Eh, you get kind of used to it." Really, you do. Jess usually has three other 'lizards added to her green and ferret. And she used to have a runner, which was interesting. "Um, a lesson would be good."
Marchanta nods. "Yes, you do get used to it, but sometimes they can still get to you." She pushes away from the ledge, doing a lazy backstroke as she talks to Jessa. "So what lesson would you like then?"
Jessa nods her head up and down, quite vigorously, "Oh yes. They can get very annoying from time to time." And that's a fact. Jess ponders the question. She's actually figured out what kind of lessons she needs now, yay for her! "Um, can you teach me the backstroke?" Chanta's swimming kind of caught her eye there, and Jess at least knows what it looks like. Yay for her.
Marchanta grins and nods. "Sure, it's not hard as you can see." Nope, Chanta doesn't seem to be trying hard. "And it's something you can relax while doing." She stops doing the backstroke, and swims over to Jessa and starts treading water. "Okay, can you float on your back?"
Jessa nods her head, "Yup, I can float on my back, so, I just float on my back and then--?" she says aloud, half in thought to herself and half as a question to Chanta.
Marchanta smiles. "Good, floating is half of the backstroke. So first you just float on your back, then..." She starts floating as she talks. "Then you can either do it the lazy way.." She moves her hands up and to the sides, so they form a V above her head, then pulls them down towards her body. "Just by moving your arms like this. But the way you're /supposed/ to do is like this." She takes one arm, moving it up and over her head, keeping it pretty much parallel to her body, her hand cupped and she moves it down through the water, the other arm repeating the first as it hits the water.
Jessa studies Marchanta and her movements. It looks simple enough. Jess has gotten good at swimming anymore, learning new methods isn't that hard anymore. Well, the dive was a problem for her, but that's because it didn't involve her being already in the water. Jess floats on her back, and then remembers something, "And what do my legs do?"
Marchanta giggles. "Oh yeah. Well, with the first way, you don't really use your legs, but for the second, you kick your legs, usually a scissor kick. Like this." She starts moving her arms again through the water, kicking the left leg as the right arm moves through the water, and the right leg with the left arm. After a minute of doing this she stops and starts treading water again.
Jessa nods her head, sinking a bit. Mental note, don't nod your head while floating on your back. Jess brings her arms up, and begins to stroke, one arm goes above her head and is pulled down as the other one goes up to take its place and repeat the process. Once she has started a few strokes, she does a tight scissor kick. Wheee.
Marchanta grins and nods as she watches Jessa. "That's it, very good. I usually do the backstroke while I'm thinking, it helps since it's so easy." She swims back towards Jessa, careful not to get in her way.
Jessa continues the stroke a bit, moving along at a steady rate. Then she stops and treads water.
Marchanta continues to grin. "You seem to pick up on stuff pretty easily, as long as you're not on the edge of something." She giggles, glancing at the ledge, then swims over to it. "And don't forget to practice, and all that."
Jessa grins and laughs as well. "As long as I'm in the water I do fine," she affirms, and smiles. "Nope, I'll practice." Then she floats on her back and resumes practicing the stroke. Fun fun.
All references to worlds and characters based on Anne McCaffrey's fiction are © Anne McCaffrey 1967, 2000, all rights
reserved, and used by permission of the author.
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