driftfleet | Vacation?

Entry tags:

Vacation?

Who: Ciel Phantomhive | EVERYONE
Broadcast: Fleetwide
Action: Goldstone/Lyndia
When: 4/21 to 5/19

[Broadcast]

I think I'm going to go ahead and have a look at this new planet. The last was a bit plain for my tastes but I suppose I'd already gotten used to a more advanced lifestyle after Riverview and now all of this.

I certainly encourage anyone to join me if they like.

[Lyndia]

[Generic catchall here! I'm open to move everything, but if you want to plot, my plurk is

lenneths_wings.

In general though, he won't be spending any time topside because of allergies, he'll be very taken by VR gaming and a bit of shopping, he is a teenager after all, and also spending a little time in the water park. As long as it doesn't require swimming, of course!]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[What it is or isn't, he'll have to get used to it, at least for now. But it's not all what it's cracked up to be, he thinks, and he's sure he'll have regrets later when he bothers to care.]

Isn't it? Ahh. [He sighs and lets himself slump back into the water, waist deep to the boy though it is, and floats on his back for just a moment, braid trailing after him.] I think I can rightly say I haven't known anything like this since I was around your age.

[With a smile, Ciel splashes a little water towards the reaper. Not enough to be a bother of any sort or a shock, just playful.]

Really? Why so long? If you like swimming and relaxing- you certainly deserve it, working with my family so much and so long.

[He grins. Widely. And doesn't move from the splash but to close his eyes. Not that he can use them very well these days.]

Well, there never was much opportunity, was there? Youth affords one a certain amount of freedom, but then you age, you're given responsibility, you die as I did, you're given more responsibility.

[That's an unpleasant line of thought, so he shifts and gets back to his feet, not particularly caring where the water ends up as he does.] You're young enough. Surely you're just right for this. When was the last time you went swimming?

Hmm... [He gives it some thought and shakes his head slowly. With all the things he's done as Watchdog, Undertaker hasn't had a lack of business. At least until the Campania incident and then he still would have been very busy, with his brother to care for.]

I suppose you wouldn't have had many opportunities. Especially thanks to me and Sebastian.

[Then that question and he can't help but shuffle a bit in the water.] Never actually. I was never well enough or they worried I'd have a fit in the water and drown.

[There's a light shrug and... a look of surprise. Really, he should have expected as much, but he thought... even once or twice... even with the asthma.]

No? Never? I suppose you don't know how to swim then, do you? You need water enough around you to learn, but if you haven't been in any deep enough...

[Come to think of it... He reached a hand out to run fingers over the boy's hair. Dry hair. Ciel hadn't even dunked himself yet.] My goodness, my lord.

[His cheeks turn bright red as he feels that hand through his hair, hears that. Not many people know that fact but Undertaker is special among everyone he knows.]

N-no... the only time was when the Campania sank but the water was so cold... [Swimming was the last thing on his mind then.] I don’t need to though...

[Is this boy playing games with him? Is he?]

Don't need to? Milord, what are you going to do if we find ourselves in a spot where there's water enough that you need to swim and I can't be there to help you? You can fire a pistol well enough, so come then. [He reaches out for the boy's hand to drag him over to the pier, if he needs to.] It's not so hard as it looks.

[He takes that hand but he looks wary. So far, he hasn’t ended up closer to deeper water and has been able to keep his head above it. And he hasn’t been around any splashing of any sort.]

I’ll... I’ll find another way. Swimming can’t be the only solution. [Theres a little huff.] I’ve gotten by alright without swimming. No one noticed or cared. I’m fine, really.

[To Ciel's credit, the boy takes his hand willingly. He had half expected a fight. But now that he has it, he's not letting go, and they're leaving the water for the pier.]

There is, I promise, though drowning isn't as kind a death as asthma. Asthma is just the illusion of no air. With drowning, there truly is no air. Might not be another chance to teach you before the worst should happen, so on with it.

[Of course he had, he trusts Undertaker. And he's probably one of the few people the teen has ever fully trusted. When he realizes just where they're headed though, he does pull back a little bit in a panic.]

U-Undertaker... really what are the chances that we'll end up somewhere that I absolutely need to know how to swim- [And here his throat just closes up a bit and he lets out a very undignified little whimper.]

[He feels that resistance and stops in kind, turns back to look at the boy. But Ciel isn't getting out of it that easily. He still has the Earl's hand in his.]

I just don't know, milord. What are the chances that we will? You're nervous and I can see that, but look at it this way. Would you leave your pistol at home if no one told you you would run into a mugger that day? [He grins and gives the hand a gentle pull.]

Come, my lord. I'll be right with you.

[Oh, he knows he's not escaping now. Especially after hearing that question. He wants to say it's unfair but the reaper has him and they both know it.]

I guess I wouldn't. I never left the manor without my pistol. I kept one under my pillow too. [He knows he's lost but he can't help but hesitate a bit before moving along with him. If he doesn't, Ciel knows Undertaker could just pick him up and carry him to their goal.]

[Oh no, the boy isn't getting out of this. Undertaker will insist, if only because he can't be there to save the boy in every moment of every day, and Ciel needs to learn how to swim. Another gentle pull.]

All of those precautions and here, out in these worlds as we are, on the fleet and beyond, and you resist this. Come, my lord. Let's get this over with. [He could pick the boy up and carry him, but he wants Ciel to place trust in him. He's being silly about this.]

[He does trust Undertaker, so he does follow along, but the idea of sinking into the water and having no air and and-]

I can't defend myself against a mugger at least though. [When the words leave his mouth, he realizes he may have just cornered himself.]

Are we entirely sure my brother can swim, this might be unfair. [When in doubt, try to weasel your way out!]

[Ciel should know by now those sorts of tricks won't work on him. It isn't even really a trick, if they're being honest. And now they're on the pier, near to the end.]

I'm sure I don't know if your brother can swim or not. I haven't seen him since we left our home. But that doesn't mean you can't help me to teach him when we see him again. Now.

[At the end, he'll stop and turn to the Earl, smaller fingers still caught in his grasp.] You'll learn the way I did. Hop right on in and I'll be after you. Look, there's even a float for you, if you're that nervous. [He points to the life preserver hanging from the side of one of the posts.]

[He should. He does. And yet he still feels a need to at least try, as if one occasion might finally yield a result.]

Hop in..? [He looks to the water, then to Undertaker, and then huffs. And completely ignores the life preserver.] I'll sink to the bottom!

[Except he still has Ciel's hand and he knows he can't beat a reapers strength.]

[He still has that hand and he's not going to release it so easily, though if Ciel wants to try and jerk away, he certainly could.]

Oh, no you won't. I'm coming in after you. Come on now. [He pulls the hand, leading the boy closer to the edge.] In you go.

[He's not trying. He knows it won't work.]

I'm not sure I want to- [When then he's pulled up closer to the edge and he does try taking a step back.] Plenty of time to sink, you know?

[All the better. But now that he has Ciel near the edge, life preserver and all in the waiting, even with all of the coaxing and reassuring, he has to wonder.]

My lord, it isn't as if I'm about to pierce your heart with my scythe. [He sighs and takes a step closer to the boy, holding the one hand in both of his, quieting his voice.] I learned how to swim when my father took me to the lake one day and threw me from the end of the dock, where the water was so deep I couldn't hope to touch the bottom. I was seven. Scared me half to death. He told me to swim back to shore and waited for me there. I wasn't strong enough then to pull myself back up on the dock, so I had no choice.

[He pats that hand.] I'm not going to do that to you. I said I would be there with you and so I will. Now. Do I have to give you a little push?

[He wonders if that might be less terrifying than trying to dive into the water. And he can't help but look up in shock at the reaper at that revelation, eye practically begging not to do that to him.

And yet... he practically tries to back up against Undertaker. He'd spent his life avoiding situations that required swimming, and he can't help but think how cold the Atlantic was. How it had felt like pins and needles stabbing into his limbs while simultaneously going numb.]

How is a push much different?

[He has no intention of doing to Ciel what his own father did to him. No, that won't happen. But the Earl will see deep water today, and he'll learn at least how to keep himself afloat.]

[Ciel's backing to him gives him a perfect opportunity to settle both hands on those small shoulders.]

Much different than a scythe to your heart? My lord, you wound me. The difference is that you will not die.

[And give him a little shove, he does.]

[He almost mumbles 'At least it's quick' but that little shove is a surprise after all his muttering and moping and resistance. And forwards he goes-

right into the water with a small splash followed by frantic flailing as the initial panic hits.]

Undertaker!

[There's not a moment's hesitation before he hops in after the boy, taking a leap out to the side so he'll cleanly miss Ciel on the way in. He's already reaching out for the boy before he surfaces, shaking hair and water from his face.]

Treat your hands as paddles, milord. Don't fight the water, use it.

_{[ Kirk ahd been enjoying the waters, such as they were - taking time away from the shuttles and the chance to really stretch his limbs and work his muscles. Activity was so very important in this kind of lifestyle. He had caught sight of Ciel and the Undertaker, curious to the look of the interaction but not seeing anything to be concerned over.

Until Undertaker tossed the poor boy right into the water. Water that Ciel is clearly was not accustomed to from the flailing.

He pushed off from his position, hurrying towards Ciel, pulling up when Undertake jumps in after the boy. ]}

Are you mad?!

[He continues to flail and panic, head going under for a moment before he gets himself up a bit, reaching desperately for the nearest body.

At first, his vision is a little blurry as he blinks the water away and he's coughing a bit, so he misses that Kirk has joined them and only catches the end: "-mad?!"]

Wasn't- [KOFF] fair!

HAHNK

SQUEAK

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