lap five // day 198 (open)

[amphibian]

Who: Aoi and anybody!
Open: Open!
When: Day 198; late afternoon/early evening.
Where: At Aoi's new pool.
What: THERE'S A POOL HERE! A POOL!!! A POOL!!!!!
Format: Action tags, please!
Warnings: N/A, probably

THE POOL'S HEEEEEERE!

[—is what everyone is going to hear as Aoi sprints across the Bastion. She flings her sweatshirt off, leaves it on the ground as she goes, and launches herself through the doors of the new building not far from the forge.

Anyone nearby will hear a resounding SPLASH through the doors, left wide open, as Aoi cannonballs into the deep end of the pool, shorts and tank top and all.

If anyone checks in on her, she's swimming rapid laps from one end of the pool to the other down the middle of the center lane, pausing at the ends every now and again to laugh, absolutely delighted, and wave at anyone who's shown up.] C'mon in, the water's fine!

Comments

[coolerthansora]

[Chocobos don't understand words to comprehend that announcement, but splashing, splashing they get. It has not attracted the interest of all three birds, but a certain blue chocobo wanders over, following the girl inside since she so kindly left the doors open.

It's probably only big enough to accommodate a child-sized rider yet, but that's still a big bird. A big bird that is now circling the pool in fascination. It's never seen indoor water this big. Not since it was much smaller and the bathtub seemed gigantic.]

Kwehh..

[amphibian]

[This actually makes Aoi stop and gently tread water in the center of her lane. She's seen these huge birds around before, of course, but never up close.

Does it...want to go in the pool? Is that safe or sanitary? Does it know how to swim?

...Well, her lifeguard training could probably apply to hauling a giant bird out of the water, right? Grinning, she makes a clicking noise with her tongue and backs up, making adequate room for the bird to jump in.]

[coolerthansora]

[Wow, rude. This bird was built for swimming. Well, more like running across water at high speeds, but it can also swim really well!]

Wark!

[So it can't read minds, but it sounds almost indignant that she thinks it needs her invitation. It jumps from the edge of the pool, flapping its wings a little so that it lands in the water without making too much of a splash. Then it folds them and attempts to look dignified. Because it is now in its element and dignified is what it is okay.]

[amphibian]

[She turns away and puts her arms over her face in preparation for a splash, and very tentatively turns back towards the bird when the anticipated face full of water doesn't come. It...looks like it's doing okay? What even is this thing.]

Well, aren't you a pretty birdie? [With a giggle, she flicks a tiny splash of water at it—not more than it stirred on its landing, of course; she's not going to go bullying an animal!]

[daughterofursa]

[Zuko does not understand what the excitement is about. In fact, she doesn't understand the point of this new building at all. She doesn't step in from the doorway, just glancing around from there.]

What was wrong with the lake?

[amphibian]

The lake's nowhere near competitive regulations! It's irregularly shaped, the depth is inconsistent, it doesn't meet regulated length, there are fish living in it, and there're no marked lanes! [For each item on her list, she holds out a finger, then pushes herself off the pool wall a short distance closer to the doorway and Zuko from the pool's opposite end. Despite all that swimming, she's full of energy and blabbering at a mile a minute.]

I like the lake, but I'm an athlete! I need structure and chlorine! Plus, plus, what if the weather's bad? A little rain never hurt anybody, but what if it snowed?! It's dangerous to swim if it gets too cold! If the lake froze over and I didn't have anywhere to swim, I would just die!

[daughterofursa]

We don't have weather here.

[And who's going to ask for snow?]

I'm pretty sure there aren't any 'regulations' either. Who are you expecting to compete with?

[dragonform]

[Well, this is a sight. Ryu's never seen a swimming pool before, let alone one that's indoors. There's also the matter he can't swim very well, but he's excited for Aoi all the same!]

Did you get this from your shards?

[amphibian]

Sure did! [She props her hands against the floor at the pool's edge and beams.] I've been saving 'em up for a while. I can't believe I didn't get a pool earlier!

[dragonform]

I'm glad you've got something that makes you happy, Aoi. [His next explanation is followed with a sheepish smile.]

I have to admit, I'm not very good at swimming. I can float, but that's really about it.

[Kind of a silly thing to go try and cross the ocean when you can barely swim.]

[heptagram]

[Seeing Aoi so energetic always kind of pleases Patchouli. It means things haven't gone completely belly-up. She follows after her slowly.]

Wow. This must have cost quite a bit...

[amphibian]

A small building's five hundred shards! [She doesn't pause her backstroke as she speaks, but she waits until she hits the end of the pool nearest the doorway to flip herself back around and face Patchouli, grinning, before she continues.]

Honestly, I have a lot and I haven't been sure what to do with 'em... But I wish I got this earlier! I've missed pools!

[heptagram]

I see... [With her stockpile, she could probably buy a lot, couldn't she?]

Well to be fair, I have seen you out there a fair number of times. I've been steadily gathering a small collection of my own as well, surely I can put them to some sort of use.

[blackblooded]

[Here is Crona, peeking through the doors and cautiously walking inside.]

Um... That's a lot of water.

[Crona has never actually seen a pool before.]

[amphibian]

Well, it's just a short course. [She keeps up her leisurely backstroke as she speaks until she bumps into the end nearest the doorway, at which point Aoi flips herself around to fold her arms against the pool's edge and face Crona, grinning.] In the big leagues, pools get twice this long! Haven't you seen a competitive pool before?

[blackblooded]

No. [Crona's trying to think about pools. It's not really working well.]

Um... how do you compete in a pool?

[Crona's experience with competition is sparring and basketball.]

[bulletofhope]

[ Pool? Did someone say pool?

... Naegi's curiosity gets the better of him and he eventually wanders into the building before he sees the pool itself; he can't help but laugh as he removes his shoes and sits at the pool's edge, kicking idly into the water itself. ]

It's okay, Asahina-san, I'm just fine over here...!

[ AKA please push Naegi into the pool or something because really, who wouldn't want to... ]

[amphibian]

You're already, like, halfway in already! [Kinda like, touching the water with your toes briefly counts as half, right?] Come oooonnnn! [With a giggle, she slaps the water to splash it at him.]

[bulletofhope]

W-wait, Asahina-san--!

[ STOOOOOP he's totally going to be splashing you back for that, you know! ]

But I don't even have any swimwear--!

[gianthobo]

[Well, those are some nice big doors Eevee couldn't get into if she tried on her own! So she barrels in through them, sliding on the newly wet tile, and manages to stop just before plopping into the water. She lowers her head so she can lap at the water, and rolls over in disgust. This isn't what water is supposed to taste like! But now it's in her fur, and she lets out a tiny little 'bree!' as she sneezes.]

[amphibian]

[It isn't until Eevee sneezes that she catches Aoi's attention—she pauses mid-backstroke to find the source of the sound.

All right, well, if there are gonna be birds in her pool, she may as well invite the whole zoo in.] Helloooo, li'l guy! [She swims to the edge of the pool that the little...fox...cat...thing? stands at, and holds a hand out for her to sniff.] Are you here to take a dip, huh?

[gianthobo]

[She sniffs at Aoi's hand cautiously, and then nuzzles it. She smells funny but she seems nice. At the question, she tilts her head. But she's not a water-type Pokemon, and that looks pretty deep...]

[Ah! She's got an idea! She nudges Aoi's hand, trying to get it over her back. If the humanfriend holds her she can splash around just fine!]

[ourlegends]

[ SPLASH.

We're not entirely sure how the baby Tirtouga got out of the Pokemon Daycare, but he has. And he has found the pool. Now that he's found the pool, he's going to happily splash and swim around.

He's a little shy of the other humans in the area and is doing what he can to avoid them while still having a fun time in the pool, but he does seem to be achieving his desires of having fun! ]

[amphibian]

[Avoiding humans? Avoiding...humans... AvoiNOPE HERE COMES AOI, off to investigate the third wild animal that's wandered into her pool today. At this point, she's given up; her pool can be a zoo.

She swims over, a slow breaststroke, and pauses to tread water about two feet away from the...turtle? Okay, well, at least this one belongs in the water. It's fine if he comes closer, but she doesn't want to startle him!]

Hi there, cutiepie!

[ourlegends]

[ HOMIGOSH it's a person! A person addressing him! Now watch as this little guy hides a little.

Under the water.

Clearly, that is the perfect place to hide. ]