piratejournal | Tag or Seek, Fishman Style [voice] [action for Spades]

'Kay, seriously. WHY THE HELL'RE WE GOIN' 'ROUND THIS DAMN REEF 'GAIN? Been circlin' this shitty thing for like a MONTH or some shit. Honestly!

[OKAY so it's only been a couple of weeks. But still.]

Runnin' outta damn fish 'round here cuz the schools is all swimmin' off. Not that anyone other'n maybe Nami gives a shit, but if we don't head off for an island soon Y'ALL'RE GONNA BE BITCHIN' 'BOUT STORES AN' SHIT. Did someone let Marco drive or somethin'?

Really though there's somethin' important I wanted t' say. 'Bout swimmin'. This's mostly for the Spades cuz I ain't 'round no one else t' fish y' outta the deep but it's a good thing for y' t' talk 'bout in yer crews. Who the hell knows how t' swim? Who don't know how t' swim but could learn? How many a y' out there's a bunch a shitty hammers an' all y' can do is sink? If yer a Spade, sound off here before I find y'. Else we'll find out the fun way which ones a y' float, sheheheheheh!!!

[True to his word, Namur will be stalking about both the Sun and the Moon. If he catches someone that hasn't already talked to him about their ability to swim (or lack thereof) he'll promptly throw them overboard. For science, or some shit.]

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[ HAVE A SALUTE. ]

Yes sir, Namur! [ Sorry, man, authority figures are cool. He's also never heard of a straight-up turtle in his life, but he's kind of assuming that means "do the thing where you hold your breath." So Bolin obediently takes a breath and makes proverbial tracks. And, you know, takes active steps to not just test his breath-holding by floating face-down, because that would be really awkward.

Give him about a minute and twenty-two seconds before he's back up for a big undignified fresh breath of air. An athlete he may be, but swimming isn't his sport of choice, so he's just holding about average. Though he does spend most of that time thinking about how great it would be to learn to hold his breath longer. Like, wow, talk about something that could be cool. ]

[Namur chuckles, and dunks Bolin's head farther underwater. It's a friendly gesture, promise!]

Dumbass.

[He ticks off the seconds on his hands, and nods at the time. Minute and a half isn't a lot of time to save someone, but Namur knows people can hold their breaths longer when it's actually life threatening.]

Not bad, Smolt! Better'n I ever bothered t' do, sheheheh! Let's see how fast y' can go. Catch up t' the ship!

[Yeeaaaaah, they're both kind of still moving at a good clip. And they've got a head start. Good luck?]

--right! Catching up! I can definitely... try to do that. [ He just has to look at it as a sportsman's challenge, obviously. Bolin versus windy sails and ocean currents. Exciting adventure and believing in himself! Pulling a mildly panicked face and launching himself in the right direction before he loses even more ground! All he has to do is accomplish this without completely burning himself out in the process... but at least he's got his arm strength on his side.

Bolin tries to imagine what Toza would say to motivate him in this endeavor right about now. He's pretty positive it would be something like "catch up to that ship or you're losing gym privileges for a month, I didn't train a sap-slow bum."

Aww. He misses Toza a lot sometimes. ]

You know, this would be a great day to be a waterbender!

Right? Sheheh, but y' ain't, so there ain't no point worryin' 'bout that.

[Namur swims alongside, keeping up easily and ducking his head under the waves from time to time, leaving just his dorsal fin sticking up over the surface. It's almost like swimming alongside a real shark friend!]

Doin' real good, Smolt! Give it everythin' y' got, an' I'll teach y' somethin' cool!

[ It's like every action-oriented young man's dream come true. And it's a few good seconds before Bolin replies, too, since he's got not completely losing his breath to consider. Swimming is hard, and he's not completely sure if he'll regret this later, but at least for now he's got a weird combination of doing something fun yet also practical on his side.

He's gotta get back to the ship one way or another since he lives there, so he might as well give it his best shot. Why so rude, ocean. ]

Don't think- that I won't hold you to that! [ Annnd breathe, and kick. ] Learning cool stuff is my favorite pastime!

[ Learning cool things is no joking matter at all, even. ]

[Namur gets a dark, mischievous glint in his eyes, and grins real toothily.]

A'ight then. Keep headin' after the ship. I'mma be back in a couple minutes. If y' get tired, 's okay t' stop. Yer life's more important, 'kay?

[Namur ducks his head under again, cruising away with just his fin above the waves, then even that slips beneath the surface. Bolin's lifeguard has disappeared entirely.]

You got it! [ There's a bit of a competitive principle to take into account, but he's not a huge fan of exhausting himself and drowning in the briny deep, either, annnnnnd Namur's gone.

...

Hm.

Perhaps he should have thought more carefully about this "something cool" and whether or not it would mean he'd be left alone in the middle of the ocean. Perhaps. This does not set Bolin at ease.

He keeps swimming for a while, for lack of anything better to do- as long as a naturally energetic guy can manage without completely winding himself and drowning, anyway. These are the sorts of situations where Bolin can buckle down to show a very genuine focus and control: ones where he knows what he's doing and has a general idea of his limits with. It's kind of nice to get a while to have a real workout, when he thinks about it. Even though he also kind of got pushed overboard.

But he will inevitably come to a point where he has to stop for a breather, whether it's before or after Namur makes a reappearance. Man, there's a good wind going today. He never really considered how fast ships move before. ]

[A few minutes after Namur disappears, dark, sinuous shapes begin to appear, circling around Bolin. They're about the right size for Namur. And the right shape. But they move completely differently. Namur moves kind of like a whale due to his humanoid physiology. These almost seem to slither through the water, rocking their heads from side to side, their massive bodies following suit. A dorsal fin crests the surface, then another, and another.

Sharks.

Is it an ambush?

One of the sharks swims right up to Bolin, slamming against his side with its fins as it brushes past. It swims ahead a length, then turns around for another pass, this time with its mouth open. Namur's voice seems to come out of nowhere.]

GRAB HER DORSAL, SMOLT!

[ iS HE ABOUT TO BE EATEN BY PIRANHA-SHARKS MAKO WILL BE SO MAD AT HIM FOR THIS HE'S TOO YOUNG-

oh maybe he's okay

wait no it's coming back and the ocean is REALLY HORRIFYING? This probably shows on his face even while he is seeking the source of that Namur-type voice and stretching out a hand to follow orders. People telling him what to do and him doing the thing he is told to do is one of his most familiar methods of operation! Because usually it is a better idea than his ideas are.

He'll reflect on the accuracy of that sentiment in this case after the fact. ]

Tag or Seek, Fishman Style [voice] [action for Spades]

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