Water and Feathers (Noah)

[Ravyn Rozanova]

This was it. Ravyn was going to confront her fear of water. After months of avoiding it, she figured now was just a good a time as any to attempt it. She had no expectations, other than to at least submerge herself in it at some point. And Noah was going to be there, so if anything happened, hopefully he would be able to keep her from... Well, drowning.

She swallowed visibly.

It was another warm, sunny day, so she had dressed in an open-backed tanktop and some comfortable athletic shorts, cut short but not too short. Underneath, she had thrown on her one-piece, deciding it was pointless to wear a bikini or something similar when she was actually going to be swimming rather than just getting a tan or paddling around. There was no need to risk flashing Noah if the top came off while she flailed around.

She kicked her leg up and grabbed her foot, stretching out her leg muscles. It wasn't too long of a walk, but it was still kind of early and her muscles were still a little cold. She might even challenge Noah to a race along the trail, even though she always tired quickly and probably wouldn't win. Still, it would be fun. As always, she was also carrying her knapsack, in which she had packed some food, water, and other items she thought they might need.

[Noah Washington]

Aside from the dance, this was probably the only time on the retreat that Noah dared to go somewhere without an instrument. He preferred the ability to actually have an instrument with him just in case inspiration hit, but for this moment it was going to be serious business. And he couldn't take his Ukulele into the water or anything like that. Not without ruining it. That would suck.

The sun was out and it was warm, so he wore something pretty simple. After lacing up his sneakers and throwing on some sunglasses, he hit the trail that he promised to meet her at.

What had happened the night they went stargazing? Nothing he wasn't used to. Sometimes they trended towards this line and threatened to jump off into becoming something more. But it never ended up happening. He could almost say that by now he was used to it happening, and any thought that their friendship might progress further was slowly fleeting. Nevertheless, he pushed it out of his mind as he walked along. Finally he found her, she looked like she was stretching out.

"That's a good idea. Don't want your muscles to seize up in the water or anything like that." Noah said, tossing the water bottle he had up in the air before catching it. "No serenading entrances today, sorry."

[Ravyn Rozanova]

Ravyn had begun to stretch her other leg by the time Noah appeared, and she straightened it, shaking it a little before hopping a little in excitement. "Yeah, I figured a little stretching wouldn't hurt," she told him. "At least it will give me an advantage so I can beat you there." Shooting him a grin, her gaze dropped down to his arms, which she couldn't help but stare at for a moment before looking back up at his face. "Geeze, work out much?" she teased him, flexing her own arms (with little result). The only muscle she really had well-developed were those on her back, most of which most people didn't even have. She didn't like to show them off much, they were a little weird.

"Aw, no singing?" she sighed, pretending to be upset. "Well, we'll just have to make up for that later. Right now, let's go swimming." With a wink, she shot off up the trail, probably faster than she should have if she didn't want to tire out quickly, but wanting to get at least a little head start before he caught up with her, since she knew he would. The trail, like the one yesterday, was just a dirt path, with lots of curves and slopes to make running a challenge. On either side was forest, but fortunately there were very few roots actually crossing the path. She took a glance over her shoulder, getting a feeling of deja vu from when she had raced Cam up to the ledge to go cliff diving. He had smacked her butt as he passed her there, easily distracting her; she didn't expect Noah to do the same.

[Noah Washington]

Was that a challenge? Did she just say something about beating him there? If Noah thought more on it he probably would have laughed but he let it slide for now. She must have been joking. He looked at his arms when she mentioned them; "I have to. It earns comments like that, y'know?" He laughed, watching her try to show off her muscles. "Careful! With arms like that, you might break me next time we hug!"

"Are you re-" He went to ask, but stopped quickly when he realised she had run off already. Noah looked down to his sneakers to ensure they were laced up tight. No falling on his laces today!

He pushed off the dirt, wondering if he should let her win or not. This guy ran laps as often as he swam them, so it was clear enough that he had strength behind his legs as well as his arms. It wasn't long before his strides had him caught up with her, where he promptly slowed down so he could coast along side her. "Afternoon jog, too?" He asked, poking his tongue out at her.

[Ravyn Rozanova]

"Ahhh, so it's a vanity thing," she joked. Of course he needed arms like that to swim, but it was funny to pretend he was one of those guys that only worked out so they could show off their muscles. Why men thought they needed to look a certain way in order to get lucky, she'd never know. She kissed one of her puny biceps, replying,"Yeah, I'll try to be careful, so that doesn't happen." Ironically, her bones were weak enough that it was actually possible for HER to get something broken if someone hit her too hard - or even gave her too hard of a squeeze. One of the disadvantages of being able to fly.

Ravyn knew she really had no chance of winning. His legs were much longer than hers for one, and though she did run occasionally when playing a game, she didn't do it often enough to have a lot of endurance built up. Therefore, she wasn't surprised when he caught up soon afterwards, but she still pouted at him. "Jerk," she responded, as though it was his fault for being so in-shape. Still, she was grinning. "At least I tried." She was tempted to do what she had done last year and fly, but there really wasn't enough space to take off with the canopy above them. She would have to stick to the ground, for now. "Fine, fine, you win," she sighed, slowing to a walk as she caught her breath. They had come some distance, and she could hear the burble of a creek nearby. It wouldn't be too much longer before they reached the pool. She reached a hand over to the other arm, rubbing it a bit nervously. "So uh, what's our strategy going to be?" she asked. "Start slow, or dive right in?" She would prefer the former, but she trusted his judgement.

[Noah Washington]

Noah feigned a hurt expression when she called him a jerk. He pouted right back at her for it, and probably looked ridiculous by doing so. He was lucky that she couldn't fly; Noah imagined that was kind of embarrassing to be one upped like that. There was no way to progress further once someone was up in the air! He jogged on the spot for a bit before actually slowing to a complete walk beside her.

"Well," He began, cracking open his water bottle and drinking from it, "I figured we'd find the shallow part of the water first. Then you can just walk in until it's to your shoulders. If you get in over your head I'll move the water around you, and every so often you'll have to get out so I can draw the water out from your wings." He explained, hoping that would be a decent approach.

[Ravyn Rozanova]

Seeing Noah grab his own water bottle, Ravyn reached into her pack and rummaged around until she found hers. It really was warm, even under the canopy, and it would be easy to get dehydrated. Sipping, she nodded in agreement with his plan. That didn't sound too bad. "I think that will work," she told him, wiping a stray drop of water from her chin before putting the bottle away again. "The pool looked like it had a shallow end and got progressively deeper towards the waterfall. There was a neat little cave behind it too, maybe we'll have to check it out." If she got the nerve to go that deep in the water.

They continued walking, until the sound of rushing water could be heard from a distance. Shooting him a look, she broke into a jog again, but not as fast as she had previously. Soon the creek widened and the trees cleared to reveal the pool. It was a fairly good-sized pool, surrounded on several sides by rocks and plant-covered cliffs. It was cold too, Ravyn realized as she dipped a toe in the water. "Well, what do you think?" she asked, motioning towards it. "Is it worthy of getting over my fears?" Her heart was pumping along with the crash of the water, but she tried not to show it.

[Noah Washington]

"Trust me. I won't let anything happen to you." Noah said, knowing that in part she had to already trust him if she was willing to let him help her out. The sound of the waterfall's rushing water brought a light to his eyes. Something about the whole trip really was throwing him into nature, and he was actually enjoying it. Even from the distance he knew he could smell the break in the water's flow.

He broke out into a jog alongside her, eager to catch up and see where they were going. He stopped as soon as he was in sight of it, looking over to see her touch the water; he figured it would be cold. "I think you picked a pretty amazing place to try to conquer your fear." Noah replied, smiling again before walking over to the water's edge.

[Ravyn Rozanova]

"I do trust you," she told him sincerely. "Otherwise, I wouldn't be doing this." She gave him a smile that she hoped looked more reassuring than she felt. Even though she did trust him, she didn't trust herself not to make this difficult. And she would probably end up embarrassing herself on more than one occasion.

The mist coming from the waterfall tickled her skin, and she took a deep breath, feeling the cool moisture fill her lungs. She glanced over at Noah as he gave his approval. "I thought it was pretty neat," she agreed. After letting her toe drift in the water for a bit, she took another deep breath and gave her best smile. "Well, I guess now is as good a time to start as any, right?" Taking a few steps back so she was behind Noah, she pulled her loose tanktop over her head, which was more awkward than it sounded considering she had to keep her wings in mind. Getting dressed and undressed was always a pain, and not the most attractive thing in the world. She kicked off her shoes and took off her shorts, immediately wrapping her arms around herself and her swimsuit once she was ready. "Um. Let's do this?" She laughed nervously, tiptoeing back up to the water's edge. She hesitated briefly before putting one foot into the shallows, and then the other. "It IS cold," she told him, glancing over her shoulder to see if he was ready.

[Noah Washington]

"Right. No use dancing around the subject." Noah replied. He didn't look back when she stepped behind him, instead he knelt down to touch the surface of the water. It was a little cold, but that didn't matter to him. He ran his hand through the water, trying to understand the flow of the fall before trying to manipulate it in anyway. It made things easier to focus.

He turned back to look at her when she spoke again, and was glad that she had walked past him or she might have seen him staring at her. Not just for the out of this world concept her swimsuit was carrying. "Sure." He said, standing up again and pulling his shirt up over his head. He dropped it where she had dropped her belongings, taking a quick sip of his water bottle before leaving it there too.

Noah took a step into the water, then another. A few more until he was about waist deep in the water so he was standing in front of her smiling. "We're just gonna take it slow, remember? Hopefully we'll be able to block out the cold eventually."

[Ravyn Rozanova]

Ravyn tried not to stare at Noah as he pulled his shirt off, but it really was difficult. She turned her head instead to keep her gaze on the water, viewing it as the enemy she had to overpower. While she got used to the chill wetness on her feet, he passed by her into deeper water. She gulped, nodding as he reassured her and taking a few more steps in until it reached about mid-thigh. She held her wings up as high as possible for as long as she could, but now the ends were starting to get wet, which made her want to panic, but she fought it. A few more steps, and she was right in front of Noah, the water coming up to her mid-stomach since she was shorter.

"Okay um, what now?" she asked, hating the tremor in her voice, which wasn't just from the cold. She could feel her feathers beginning to soak through already, and she went ahead and pulled her wings tightly against her back, lest they start to flap around and hit something. Her fear was even almost enough to make her ignore how close they were, and his broad chest right in front of her. Almost. At least she was already starting to get used to the temperature of the water. Unless that was just her own body temperature rising from anxiety. "You're right, at least it's not so cold anymore."

[Noah Washington]

Well, she'd gotten that far without having a major freak-out. That was good news! "Good job, you made it this far. I'm proud." Noah said, offering her his best and brightest smile; he was trying to look a little dorky on purpose. If she laughed a little, it might take some of the pressure off the situation.

"Now you have to take my hands. Keep your wings against you, it's probably better that way" Noah said, raising his hands out to her. "I'm gonna walk with you, okay? Tell me to stop when you start to feel it's too much." And with that, Noah started taking slow steps backwards to bring them further into the water. He was glad that by the flow of the water, he could tell that there were not going to be any sudden drops. "You're doing great."

[Ravyn Rozanova]

Ravyn gave him a weak smile. "Thanks. But don't get your hopes up yet, I'm still freaking out." Her legs where shivering under the water, as were her wings. She did laugh, though, at his grin; it was just too cute not to. "You're a dork," she told him affectionately.

Nodding, she rose her hands to meet his, noticing that they, too, were shivering. She grasped onto his and stepped a little closer, fighting the panic rising in her. Calm, calm. Noah wouldn't let anything happen to her. She slowly followed him into deeper water, feeling out each step before she set her foot down in case she ran into any obstacles (not that he would let that happen anyway). They kept going until she reached about mid-chest, where she stopped and shook her head. "J-just give me a minute," she said, gulping and trying to keep her breathing even. Her wings were totally soaked now, and the urge to open them and try to take off was nearly overwhelming. "This must be so weird to you," she stuttered,"being so used to the water." They were about halfway to the waterfall now, and the mist swirling around them was growing thicker. Her hair was starting to cling to her face, but she didn't want to let go to wipe it away. "O-okay. Um, I think I can go a little further." She began walking again, but once the water reached her collarbone she stopped again. "That's... That's enough." She was probably clinging onto his hands more tightly than necessary, but he felt like a lifeline that she had to hold onto if she didn't want to drown. Biting her lip, she blinked rapidly and took several quick breaths. "This is.... This isn't too bad," she managed, although her heart was racing and he could almost certainly see the fear in her eyes.

[Noah Washington]

"I know," He replied rather confidently, "It's one of the things you love about me."

Noah noted how much her hands were shaking, and as they moved he made sure to give both her hands a reassuring squeeze. Reassuring that she could do this and he was there for her. Noah halted when she requested it. "I love the water." Was all he said, calmly and quietly. The mist of the crashing water started to circle around them, but he made sure to keep the vapours out of their line of sight.

"You got this." He said quietly, squeezing her hands again as they walked. But when she called to stop again he complied. She'd walked out further than he thought she would, so he was impressed.

Noah kept himself completely calm, speaking quietly and lowly towards her rather than adopting his usual upbeat tone of voice; "Try to keep your breathing under control. There's no need to panic. It's like I said, I got you." He was practically channelling the tranquillity of the waterfall behind him. It was a side of him that she'd probably never seen before. Noah took a small step towards her, using the grip on her hands to draw her inward rather than allowing her to step away from him. They were close enough now that they were pressed against each other.

"Trust me." He said, letting one of her hands go so his arm could wrap around her shoulders and keep her close. The water in his hair from the vapours dripped down his face slowly, hanging his fringe down heavily on one side. The water slowly started to circle around them, spiralling away from their forms as if the water was draining away from the small place where they stood. Soon they were essentially standing in a vertical dry tunnel. He pulled the water away from their bodies, letting it sink away until they were only knee deep in water. Her wings would suddenly feel lighter as he drew the moisture out of them. The water was running in a circular motion around them; if she reached out she would be able to break the tension and feel its steady movement.

[Ravyn Rozanova]

Ravyn was thankful for the reassuring hand squeezes; though it was only a simple gesture, it was enough to make her feel a little bit less nervous. Just a little. She was thankful, too, for his patience; she was sure he probably thought her fear was irrational, but she just couldn't help it. "Well, that makes one of us," she mumbled about his love of water. "But maybe you can change my mind." She doubted it.

She glanced up from the surface of the water when he spoke. "O-okay." She made an effort to take a deep breath through her nose, exhaling through the mouth like she had heard to do when one was panicking. It helped that he was being so calm, so gentle. It was true, she was used to seeing him goof around like the dork that she knew he was - this was an entire different side to him. She couldn't help but love him even more for it. As he stepped in she felt herself drawn to him, until she could practically hear her heartbeat against his solid chest. If she hadn't been on the edge of panic, she would have blushed. Maybe she did blush anyway, she was too distracted to notice. She clung to his hands, continuing to take deep breaths; being so close to him made her feel safer, at least for the moment.

If he hadn't said anything before he let go of her hand, she might have lost it then. But instead, she nodded and closed her eyes as his grip loosened on one hand only to wrap around her shoulders. She didn't know what he was doing, but her now free hand reached out to wrap around to his back, where she held it firmly as the water began to circle around them. Her eyes opened and widened in fear. She knew it was him doing it, but she still turned to press her face against him as the water continued to swirl, so she didn't have to watch. Slowly, she felt the surface of the water drop, and she dared to peek to see they were now standing with water surrounding them. Even as she stared in awe, she felt herself becoming drier unnaturally quickly. It was an odd sensation. The water came up to their knees, and she gave her wings an experimental shake, realizing they were completely dry. "Noah..." she breathed, pulling herself away just enough so she could get a better look at the water around them. "How did you..." she reached out hesitantly, giving him a questioning look before slowly dipping a finger in the vertical water. It felt like.... Well, regular water. "This is amazing. You're amazing." She turned back to look at him, feeling an overwhelming urge to show her affection somehow, some way. But she didn't want to take things too far... In case he wasn't interested.