Swimming Sensation [River]

[Iggy Liu]

Iggy stood at the edge of the pool in his swimming shorts and a loose tank top. With a deep breath in through the nose he could smell the chlorine. It wasn't quite the same as salt water, but it was a familiar scent. He smiled at the water in front of him. Summer break allowed for more time to go swimming. He made sure to come earlier to avoid the crowd of students there to escape the heat. Usually a busy pool didn't bother him but laps were easier without running into people.

The boy set aside a backpack full of a change of clothes and a towel. He removed his top to reveal a toned swimmer's build, and stuffed the shirt into his bag before returning to the water's edge. Inhale, hold, dive. Iggy did a shallow dive into the water, and quickly resurfaced just a couple feet from where he went in. He made his way down to the other end with the breaststroke and back, then with the back stroke. He continued with the other strokes until his arms felt like jelly. It was a pleasant feeling to Iggy that was more than welcome. He was satisfied by his laps when the jelly arms sensation started to kick in. It drove him to pick up the pace a bit, at least until he couldn't really do much more.

He kicked his legs up and just let himself float. He laid there watching the ceiling. It was peaceful, the water was still, and all was, well, quiet. Though movement out of the water in the corner of his eye caught his attention. Iggy stood up, glad he was in a shallower part of the pool where he could stand, and looked over.

[River Tseung]

River didn't really have a set time when he usually went swimming, but he had woken up early that morning, and with nothing else to do since school was out, decided to hit the pool to get in some laps. He was considering trying for the swimming team next year after the time he had spent on the track team, but he wasn't sure he wanted to quit one for the other; he loved both.

But in the meantime, he might as well do it for fun, right? He sometimes went out to the lake to swim, but he didn't feel like going so far just to get chlorine-free water, so he was fine with the pool. With a duffel bag in hand, he entered the room, which was quite empty apart from a few swimmers; he wasn't surprised, since it was still pretty early for some teenagers in the summer. One figure floating in the water caught his attention. After pulling off his t-shirt and stuffing it in his bag, leaving on his brightly colored swimming trunks, he stepped over to the side of the pool, thinking he recognized the guy's face even from a distance.

The swimmer seemed to notice him, as he stood a moment later; River grinned, knowing now he had been right. "Hey Iggy!" he greeted, giving a wave as he sat at the water's edge, kicking his feet a bit in the water. Judging from the way Iggy had been floating, River assumed he had already been swimming for a while. "How are you?" As he spoke, he recalled the hand motions Iggy had taught him over the time they had known each other, and made them along with the spoken words. He was far from being fluent in ASL, but he was learning. He hopped into the water; the surface reached to about mid-waist, and he gave a content sigh. "I haven't been swimming in a few days," he told Iggy, continuing to make a hand motion when he hit a familiar word. "I've been going a bit crazy; I've been busy working and hanging out with people." Mostly Mia, but Iggy didn't need to know about that... Yet.

[Iggy Liu]

Iggy's face lit up the moment he recognized River. He waved happily to him, water flicking off in directions. He watched River's mouth and hands as they moved. It was much more simpler to talk to someone who knew ASL even if it were just a few words. It helped fill in the blanks Iggy was unsure about. He signed his answer with some spoken words with it, "Good, you?"

He swam closer to his friend now that he plopped into the shallow water. He began to sign again, making sure to speak at certain words to be sure River knew what he was saying. "Don't worry, I've been doing nothing but swimming lately." He was spending lots of time in the water, both at the lake and here at the pool. It was hard to get him out once he started swimming. He had to admit at the end of each day he looked mighty like a prune.

"It's good to see you, how are you?" This also came in signs with words that helped make the thought clear. It was a bit troublesome that he didn't have his phone in the water with him to make conversing quicker, but he wasn't going to let it get waterlogged. He'd manage though, he was good friends with River, and they had a pretty good understanding of one another.

[River Tseung]

"I'm doing great," River replied with a bright smile. Between getting a job and meeting new people, his summer had been amazing so far. He watched carefully as his friend signed, doing his best to interpret the signals along with the spoken words. "That sounds fun too," he chuckled, treading water. "I need to get out to the lake or here more... Although I have to say, I prefer the lake water over the pool. It just feels more... Well, natural, I guess," he shrugged with a slight grin. "And it's nice to be outside where I can practice my abilities if I want to. I'm getting better at attracting fish now!" For some reason, the underwater creatures had always been difficult for him to manipulate, but they were slowly getting easier the more he practiced.

"It's great to see you too!" he replied. "I've been doing well. I got a job at Honest Abe's, and my training's been helping me out a lot." Not just with his ability, though... Zack was starting to prove that he could push River out of his comfort zone, especially when it came to Mia. "What about you? Anything new?" He didn't mind the slight conversation boundary; it wasn't that bad, and he enjoyed Iggy's company enough that it didn't bother him in the least. He did, however, want to continue to learn more ASL, not only to better communicate with his friend, but also just to have another way to communicate with other people as well.

[Iggy Liu]

"That's good." Iggy signed. He had used the sign for good enough that River had hopefully picked up on it. He nodded in agreement to his friend. the lake had waves, and the water didn't have that artificial smell of chlorine. It was a little ways out there, but it was worth the walk. "That's good! Maybe the fish can hear you better now?" He spoke this with signs. Despite his hearing impairment Iggy knew that it was harder to hear under water; it was also to feel vibrations as well.

"I'm glad things have been working out well for you!" He continued to speak with signs. It wasn't his favourite thing to do, but he wanted to make sure River knew what he was saying. He shrugged. "Not much. My two roommates are both pheromone manipulators I just found." It was a bit of a surprise to Iggy, and it seemed more and more pheromone manipulators were popping up at Hammel.

He held up his index finger to let River know to wait a moment as he went under water and back up. His hair was beginning to dry and he hated the stiff feeling his hair got when it dried after chlorine. So he made sure to keep it damp until he was done. "So are you a waiter or helping out in the kitchen?" He asked curiously.

[River Tseung]

"We should go out there and hang out sometime," River suggested, continuing to speak in the way that they usually did. "Maybe get a group to go swimming or something." He had met AJ out there; maybe there were other people that would like to take a trip too. He laughed at Iggy's suggestion. "Maybe! Or maybe I'm just getting better at keeping a good melody. Or maybe I'm just getting more powerful." He wiggled his fingers and rose his brows, making a mock 'evil' face before breaking into another chuckle.

"Thank you," he signed silently with a smile, knowing that signal very well. He tilted his head curiously at mention of Iggy's roommates. "Really? Interesting... I don't think that's a really common ability, so it's funny you have two as your roommates..." He hoped Iggy wouldn't become a victim to their abilities. He had no idea who they were, but it was a sort of sketchy ability in his opinion to begin with. River liked to be very much in control of his own emotions.

River nodded and went back to floating as Iggy dipped under the water, his mind wandering for a moment until his friend's question caught his attention again. "Oh! I'm a water right now," he replied happily. "It's fun, and I've gotten really good tips so far," he added with a grin. People seemed to like his cheery, bubbly attitude. "Have you thought about looking for work anywhere?" he asked curiously.