[PRP] Swimming Lessons (Meera & Tapiwa)

[MangoMeow]

Green eyes stared intently down at the water from her perch atop a rock. Meera had found herself a little inlet by the ocean, relatively cornered off by tall boulders in the water, but still deep enough that it would be perfect...

For attempting to swim.

Speaking with some other Bahari had taught her that you would normally swim whenever you went into the water, rather than just letting it take you wherever it wanted like she'd done for the Ba'Ushufo, and that brought on the realization that she didn't actually know how to swim. Her previous experience with water had basically been around watering holes and, more recently, rivers - neither of which were very deep and didn't require a whole lot of effort on her part.

Well, the river had been a little more effort, and she had considered going to it to practice, since some sections were just deep enough for it.... but then she would have had to contend with the current as well. Baby steps, she told herself, baby steps.

So here she was, readying herself to dive into a small pool of water and give it a go.

Midnightglow18

 

[Midnightglow18]

MangoMeow

Tapiwa had only recently taken his rite of passage and joined the Bahari'mtoto pride he was a member of the guard so he just felt it was natural to be watchful even when he was off duty as he was now. He made his way towards a small inlet and spotted a young female he didn't know, he also wasn't quite sure if they were a lion or a leopard or a hybrid of both. Tapiwa had never met a hybrid before so he couldn't be sure.

He watched her looking as if she was about to jump into the water if she lived around here she should already know how to swim but since he had never seen her before he was watching to make sure she was safe. Even though she wasn't a member of his pride he didn't want her or anyone else hurt.

It was one of the reasons he had joined the guard he wanted to protect those weaker than himself. He didn't want to startle her so he watched her without making any noise for the moment. He wanted to make sure everything was alright before he moved on to figure out what he was going to do that day.  

[MangoMeow]

Meera stuck out her tongue as she started wiggling her backside, readying herself to leap in. The day wasn't getting any younger, after all.

With a yip, she hopped into the air, and, after a brief moment of weightlessness, plunged into lukewarm water. Another nice thing about the Bahari, she decided, was that the water here was never freezing. There was an almighty splash as she landed in the water, and the cheeton just floated there for a moment, looking gleefully at her surrounding underwater, before trying her hand at kicking with her feet to push herself around.

This was... harder than she thought it'd be, but after a few minutes, she managed to haul herself to a slightly less deep section. She was still on her toes, paddling with her front feet, but at least her head had popped out of the water. She would need to learn how to keep herself above water though. That was clearly her first problem.

It was while she was making circles in that spot that she finally noticed that she wasn't alone. Meera tried to grin at him, though it was somewhat muffled by her grunting as she paddled. "He... Hello!"

Midnightglow18

 

[Midnightglow18]

MangoMeow

Tapiwa smiled as he watched the young lioness jump into the water. She seemed to be doing alright till she tried to speak to him. "Alright, you alright?" He moved towards the water "Keep kicking your paws and back legs to keep your head above the water." He said advising her on how to swim. He used to only swim in rivers swimming in ocean water was a great deal different than swimming in a river. "Don't worry you'll get it." He said in a confident tone. Keeping an eye on the young lioness till she was safe. Then he could tell her his name and such things.  

[MangoMeow]

It was sort of difficult to concentrate on talking while she was swimming, she discovered. Geez, the Bahari must be really good at this. They made it seem so natural. Oh well, she'd get it eventually, she was sure!

Grunting as she doggy paddled her way to the edge of a rock, Meera dug her claws into the hard surface to get her bearings. Not the best handhold in the world, but it'd work for the moment. Sliding herself around so she could look at the newcomer, she spoke again, this time with less gasping.

"I'm Meera, what's your name?" Because if there's anything she loves more than learning a new skill, it was meeting a new person, and he seemed friendly enough. Better than some of the Bahari who muttered behind other people's backs.

Midnightglow18

 

[Midnightglow18]

MangoMeow

Tapiwa smiled at the young lioness "That was pretty good for your first ocean swim, was it your first ocean swim?" He watched her and her body language which seemed rather friendly. "I'm Tapiwa one of the guards of the Bahari pride, nice to meet you Meera." He felt a little awkward and unsure of what to say next but he was happy to help the young lioness anyway.  

[MangoMeow]

"It's nice to meet you too!" She laughed, "Well, I was in that festival the Bahari held recently, the uh," crap what was the name.... "The one where you get the blessing from the sea, but I wouldn't really call that swimming, I guess." She grinned, "It was super fun though! I want to learn how to actually swim now."

Meera started using her front legs to sway herself back and forth in the water, "Besides, I'm planning on coming back to visit when I can, and I want to be able to enjoy it to the fullest when I do."

Midnightglow18

 

[Midnightglow18]

MangoMeow

Tapiwa grinned "Yes I was there as well, I decided to stay and I joined the pride." He considered how to teach someone how to swim, he had figured it himself based on how he swam in a river and watering hole. Then again figuring out how to deal with waves was tricky. "I can try to teach you to swim, I might not be perfect at it, so if your willing to roll with the waves I am." He said with another grin. He jumped into the water to show Meera how he swam kicking his front and back legs in time to cut through the waves better. "Come on kid, I won't let you drown."  

[MangoMeow]

Meera grinned brighter at his words, "Well, I'm happy you found a home here! I have so many places I want to see still," she tilted her head to the side, "I don't think I want to settle down yet."

Then she laughed at his words, "Oh, rolling with the waves is something I'm good at now." It's what she did for that festival too. Supposedly it meant that the sea gods liked her? Something like that. She just thought it was fun.

"Coming!" She resisted quipping back with an 'old man', and instead kicked off of the rock to start swimming again, this time towards him.

Midnightglow18

 

[Midnightglow18]

MangoMeow

Tapiwa grinned ready to spend the afternoon teaching Meera how to swim. "That's fair, I've had enough adventure in the rogue lands for me, so I am ready to settle down and find the mate of my dreams." He said in a happy tone. He treaded water waiting for Meera to catch up. He smiled back at her. "We will get you to being an ace swimmer in no time."  

[MangoMeow]

The cheeton grinned as she caught up to him, happy that she'd made it over without dunking herself too badly. Swimming was certainly proving to be a lot more energy consuming than she'd thought, but it was fun.

And having someone to try it with made it even funner. "I can't wait! Thanks for your help."

Midnightglow18

End with them going to practice swimming?

 

[Midnightglow18]

(Looks good to me XD Fin)