[PRP] Survival Swimming??

[Conundrumm]

"This is ridiculous."

A pale woman with an orange one piece turned to her patron, who was currently frowning in her black bikini, and smiled. "Oh come on! It's fun for them!" Anabelle released the grip on her infant, and the pudgy seven-month old fidgeted in the clearn, cool liquid until it was floating on it's back without any major movement. Ecstatic blue eyes smiled at annoyed Illusionary guardian. "See? They love it!"

"Do what you want with your kid, Anna. I'm not drowning mine." Shira leered at the blonde haired woman and held Ciaran closer. Shira was never one for coddling children, but throwing babies to their watery grave? What kind of drugs were all these so called 'parents' on?

After two hours of fighting, finding a baby sitter, and buying Ciaran a swimsuit (it was blue, because Shira refused to let Anna dress her kid in pink.), Shira had been dragged to an infant aquatics class. The class was at a local swimming club; full with a miniature water park of slides and sprinklers, and a big, lengthy swimming pool. The small group that held the mini-water champions occupied the shallow end of the pool, with a tall, dark haired and red-suited lifeguard as the head of the class.

"Oh you're no fun." Annabelle pouted and put her hands on her hips, which were underwater so the action was useless.

"Look, this is not my twentieth class, unlike some people, alright?" Shira shifted the noir haired girl to her shoulder and looked around for the lifeguard that had just left to get water wings for the beginners of the class. "Watch your nephew before he ends up going rock bottom or something." Shira prayed with all her might that the class was only an hour or so.  

[ladyumbra]

" Setsuna stop that, no one wants to see my breasts I assure you." Cassandra muttered admonishing her adopted, in a fashion, son as she walked across the semi slick tiles of the poolroom floor. Setsuna seemed intent on untying the strings that kept her Bikini bound to her body and the young woman was starting to regret not digging into her closet for one of her older one peices.

For his part Setsuna did stop working at the strings long enough to wrinkle his nose at the smell of chlorine emanating from the pool. The young infant wasn't really sure what was going on.

Having made her way into the shallow end Cassandra approached the group of parents and children already waiting there. It was a bit awkward socializing like this, it felt like a lamaze class gone wrong or something. still she liked the whole idea of babies learning to swim young, even if it was impossible for them to really swim they could come to terms with being water as well as strengthen their tiny muscles in the natural but gentle resistance of water.  

[Conundrumm]

The lifeguard was taking too long for Shira's liking to retrieve the inflatable catastrophes Shira knew as water wings- if it wasn't essential to Ciaran's life, she wouldn't even bother with them. Shira breathed harshly through her nose, readying herself to walk out of the pool and straight for the locker room to change if the woman took any longer. Shira's paranoid mind was leading her in the most strangest of conceited conclusions; including one that would have the lifeguard purposely taking as slow as she possibly could just to ******** with Shira, and make the lesson all that much longer.

In the midsts of the guardian's inner frantic search and prosecutions, Ciaran had woken from her sleep induced daze. Not knowing where she was, immediately she tensed and grasped whatever it was that she was nearest to. This just so happened to be Shira's hair. With the sheer amount atop Shira's head, much like her own, the small grasp wasn't enough to enlighten her guardian of her awakening. But Ciaran had recognized Shira's presence none the less, and her small frame was eased. She did not remove her grasp from her guardian's hair, though.

With your world pitch black, it was hard to keep yourself anchored if you didn't pay attention.

"God damn it," Shira uttered in frustration. "Where the ******** is that useless-"

"Shira!" Annabelle had leaped across the small space between her and her 'friend' just in time to cover the vulgar mouth. Shira totted back with a little skepticism. She shook her face to remove the offending hand, making sure to keep a firm hold on Ciaran.

"Just what the hell is your problem?"

"There are children around! You can't just swear all willy nilly!

"Anna. Half these kids will learn to swear by age four. I don't really think my words will influence their baby babbled minds to do enough damage with just one word."

"MORE than one-"

"Where the hell is your nephew?" Shira pointed out impatiently. Anna's face lit up with realization, and she quickly recovered to the other end of the pool to scoop up the child that tried to float out into the deep end: a.k.a it's death. Shira honestly did not know why she was entrusted with children. "Idiot..."

Just as Shira was about to complain again, the lifeguard appeared from beyond the stairs to the shallow end, and announced that anyone who wanted water wings could retrieve them from the many selections she held in her hands. An assortment of blue, yellow, and pink colored the plastic. "Take what you need, parents! At this, most of the pool had waded towards the stairs, and started to grab at the wings.

As Shira approached the stairs, giving the lifeguard the stink eye, Ciaran's head lifted slightly as she felt a special stir in the air around her. The air was different a little way from her, and Ciaran aimed her mask in the general direction of the strange presence very much like her own. "..."  

[ladyumbra]

At the life guards reappearance Cassandra gave a soft sigh and headed towards the women with the intent of grabbing a blue set of water wings. yellow and pink were just a bit too bright and well silly looking on a boy in her opinion. Not that Setsuna would likely care or even really remember the class.

Completely ignorant as to his mother's actions Setsuna looked about again only to pause on a strange masked girl with thick black hair. She was different, the only one wearing something over her face and just, different.

Having grabbed a pair of the wings Cassandra retreated slightly to one side and began the always difficult task. of attempting to get them on her son. honestly, any time she desired him to be still he felt the need to thrash like a banshee.  

[Conundrumm]

Shira would rather get struck by a stray water wing and drown in an embarrassing death rather than put pink on Ciaran. She could explain what her upset nature towards the dark girl and the color pink was. She would suppose that it just didn't seem to suit the girl in any way. Though now that she had truly given it thought, she wouldn't be surprised if that ended up being the girl's favorite color.

Damned fate. She was reaching for the blue water wings anyway.

The dark blue plastic complimented the child's swimsuit. [And eerily enough, her skin as well.] Shira had shifted to cradle the child in her arms and attempt to put the flotation devices on the baby; except the child actually seemed to be fidgeting. It wasn't a mad, wild flailing of the arms or legs, but every time Shira had tried to grasp the petite yet fatty wrist of Ciaran, she would tug slow and strong at the hand and re-shift herself to the position she was previously in. The pull wasn't strong, she was a baby after all, but it did bug Shira every time she tried to raise the water wing up Ciaran's arm. The girl was calm, but insistent.

"Jesus, Ciaran. What the hell are you trying to do?" Shira said in half jest, half annoyance. It had taken a good minute, but she had managed to fix the wings on her little girl.

Ciaran didn't understand what had happened. One second she was trying to sense a presence, the next her guardian was trying to pull her arms into some type of squeezing...thing. Whatever was on her wasn't exactly uncomfortable- but if she had a choice, she would rather have the feeling off her arms. Not to mention the fact that every time she was moved, the presence got weaker as she wasn't facing it.

Not being the normal baby that she was, Ciaran didn't cry as she tried to look back to wherever the familiar person was. She heard her guardian's alto voice say something, and felt her start to move- probably back towards where that strange, hyper feeling person was. That presence made her head hurt sometimes.

Regardless, her guardian seemed to be doing something that was in her favor, seeing as how the presence was getting stronger the more they continued in their direction. It was to the point where it felt almost right next to her. When that point came, Ciaran was struck with the influence to stick her hand out and come in contact with the person.

Shira froze as Ciaran had reached out. As she walked by another parent and her child, Ciaran had somehow felt the need to touch other people as Shira walked by. On the chest. "Holy s**t." Shira shook her head and snatched Ciaran's hand away, ", I'm so sorry about that." Shira wasn't skeptical, like she usually might have been, but she did make haste to back up a little and look sheepish for her and her child. What the hell had possessed her kid to start grabbing at others' chests?