SWIMMINGGEDDON.

[wwistful]

WHO: Murdoc Donoghue and YOU
TONE: Fun, WHIMSICAL, horrifying
RATING: PG-13 and onward
WHEN: September 7th
WHERE:  The Lake.
WHAT:  After this Murdoc realised the children (and staff) of Hogwarts were in dire need of swimming lessons.
STATUS: Ongoing

[GATHER AROUND CHILDREN it's a warm summer day and the lake is perfect for diving into your sudden but inevitable deaths. You should all be dressed in your swimming trunks (which you clearly have don't even lie) because Murdoc sure is. He's determined to conduct this in the best manner he can, though he wasn't quite expecting the turn out to be so large. People who can swim are welcome to become his assistants because he could probably use the help.]

Comments

[eighttimeshandy]

[He likes his fashion choices, thank you very much]

Not at all. [Absolutely. But true artists are willing to suffer for their art] You look lovely today, however.

[Just gonna... casually cover his drawing with his arm]

[taleweaving]

[They look hot and sweaty and not in a fun way]

Cooling charm then? [Have a smile. Such a charmer] Thank you Eriq.

[Yeah nope she's gunna try and see. Leaning over some more] What are you working on today?

[eighttimeshandy]

Fortitude of will, actually. I just pretend that it doesn't bother me, and I forget that I'm bothered.

[Skreee, no, don't do that! He pulls it a little closer to his chest] Excuse me, what are you doing? This is private!

[taleweaving]

I see. Quite a display of mental strength and willpower then.

[She pulls back with that, looking apologetic] Sorry, Eriq, I didn't realise. You're usually quite happy to share, but you're right, I should have asked. Forgive me?

[eighttimeshandy]

Are you impressed? [probably not, but hey, he can hope, right?]

[He feels a little bad at her apology, and quickly flips the page back, to the drawings he'd been doing before his little masterpiece] It's just not finished yet. I'd just rather not show unfinished pieces. [he explains lamely, holding out the book]

[taleweaving]

Well, I does take a lot of mental stamina to do such a thing, so yes, in that way, but I still think you'd be better off in something lighter. Nobody wants anyone collapsing from heat exhaustion after all.

[She takes it carefully, making sure to hold it so the page doesn't flip to the one he doesn't want her to see, respecting his privacy.] I understand. I can be like that with my writing, after all. But these are all beautiful Eriq. Will you be using some for the club?

[eighttimeshandy]

[It takes him a moment of hesitation, but he takes off the trench coat, at least, revealing the light tank top he had on underneath.] Only because you insist.

I wasn't planning on it. [He says off-handedly, but he certainly would now. Might even be blushing a little for the praise] It's just a silly hobby, not really anything worth mentioning, I don't think.

[taleweaving]

[She rewards him with a smile, though he does get a wag of a finger] Much better. But make sure to drink plenty of water.

If you felt comfortable with it, I think it would be a good idea. [Still studying them, finally handing it back] And don't call it silly, you have a lot of talent. Don't dismiss it like that Eriq.

[eighttimeshandy]

Yes mistress. [He rolls his eyes a bit, then promptly goes red. That... didn't come out quite like he planned?]

[He shrugs again, looking off to the side] It is kind of silly, though, I just picked it up on a whim. Drawing from textbooks and things like that, you know. [He picked at the grass a bit, then took the book back, closing it before settling it on his lap] If you want me to, I can, it doesn't bother me at all.

[taleweaving]

That's madame to you. [She won't mention his embarrassment, though she will take a seat on the grass next to him, adjusting her towel as she does]

That just means you learnt from less traditional means. It doesn't seem silly at all to me. We all learn in very different ways after all. [ She starts undoing her plait, after squeezing the last of the water out of it] I wouldn't want you to do anything you didn't want to do yourself Eriq. There are other ways to get anatomy drawings, but I just thought having yours might be a special touch. I'm sure if we asked Herbert he'd agree with me on that at least.

[eighttimeshandy]

Yes madame. [See, look how eager he is to please.]

[And just kind of... stare at her a bit, since she's so close, and that bathing suit fits her curves so well, and he's commiting every inch of that pose to memory to draw later] No, it's - [squeaks. Ahem] It's fine. I mean, Herbert would probably turn his nose up at it, actually, but he's kind of stuffy. About art, I mean. Not that I consider this art. It's just an alternate way of studying the body and the way all the systems interact. So. Yeah.

[taleweaving]

Much better. [And yet everything's still a joke to her]

[Too busy working the knots carefully out of her hair, she doesn't notice how attentive his gaze is, only glancing up as he squeaks] Well it wouldn't be the very first time Herbert and me disagree. If you want to share them, but you're scared of his reaction I'll back you up. We can all vote, I'm sure I could get Twilight to even agree with me. And it is art Eriq, you're just specialising in anatomy.

[eighttimeshandy]

[Look up quick, Aranea, and you'll catch the dopey smile that flashes over his face]

[Oh, too bad, too slow. It's gone, replaced by a snort and a wrinkle of his nose] Oh, I'm hardly afraid of his opinion. We disagree all the time too. He just likes me because I'm a boy.

[taleweaving]

[Aw he would have gotten a sweet one back...

Instead he just gets Aranea crinkling her nose at the continued talk of Herbert] Well he's going to have to get used to us soon. I know both Twilight and I are looking forward to this class. All he needs to do is be civil. He should know by now life doesn't always go according to what you want.

[eighttimeshandy]

[Hey, he can't help it. Herbert's sort of his other half.]

If he doesn't, I'll kick his butt. Or have one of the Jaegers kick his butt. One or the other. [He's pretty sure he couldn't kick anyone's butt if he tried, but you know, he's pretty sure that's what you do for girls.]

[Wait] Aaaaaaaanyway, yeah, I hope I can live up to your expectations. It's mostly been just me and Herbert and like Shinra or Bruce. So, you know. A bunch of guys sitting around in a dimly lit room talking about blood and guts. Very macho.

[taleweaving]

[It wouldn't be so bad had she not just had an argument with the boy recently. She's still a little grumpy over that.]

That's very kind, but there's no need to do that. If he does, I'll either talk to him about the problem, or ignore him. Nobody needs to beat up anybody over anyone. [Boys and their rough housing gosh]

[She laughs] Well I'm sure we'll fit right in. And as long as Twilight's worked on her horrible latin pronunciation we won't be getting into any fights ourselves. But we'll try not to wreck your machoness.

[eighttimeshandy]

[Hey, it's not usually his thing! He likes art and sad poetry and angsty music!]

I... wasn't aware she was that bad? Of course, I'm not in your house, so I wouldn't really. Know those kinds of things. I'm sure even if she's decent, you do far better. You have a marvelous talent for words, after all.

Yeah, we're really macho. [he's just going to look at himself, then back up at her.] Macho. Yep.

[taleweaving]

[Happy poetry is also good try it one day]

Her Latin pronunciation is horrible. [Aranea no one knows what Latin wounds like you can't say that. For all you know you're the wrong one] but she refuses to admit it, even though I've offered to tutor her. [smile and hey she'll even squeeze his hand] Thank you Eriq. It's very sweet of you to think so. I do try my best to be eloquent even if annoys some.

I think you look fine. You're healthy, and that's what matters most. Not muscle mass. [another hand squeeze before she stares at her arm] Would you by any chance happen to have your wand on you?

[eighttimeshandy]

[Oh-oh god. She's touching him. She's squeezing his hand. Oh no. What do? WHAT DO?!]

[Breathe Eriq, breathe. And she likes the way he looks. Or at least, doesn't hate it. Okay, he can handle this. he can be cool. This is totally not a big deal.]

[Totally. Not. A big. Deal.]

[Wheeeeeeeeze]

Yeah, it's uh- Yeah, here, lemme just- [Wow, so articulate, Eriq. Real smooth. He rolls his eyes at himself, grabbing his trench coat and pulling his wand out one of the inside pockets. Great thing about that coat. Lots of pockets] What's up?

[taleweaving]

[She only chuckles at his fumbling, giving him both a curious look and his hand back as she explains] I know it's awfully lazy of me, but I'd like to stay up here and relax a little longer before going back to helping. But, naturally, with being a redhead with blue eyes I'm going to start burning soon. But I left my sunscreen and wand in my bag by the shore. [Get to the point Aranea]

Would you mind summoning it to save me the walk? I'd be quite grateful.

[eighttimeshandy]

Oh, is that all? [He snorts and nudges his parasol over a bit to shade her more than him, then turns back to his coat, tucking away his wand and pulling out a bottle of sunscreen]

I may not be a frail little redhead, but I am a vampire. [he quips, holding the bottle out to her.] It's SPF 100. I don't go outside without it. And, um... you can stay here as long as you like, if you want.

[Okay, yeah. maybe he can do this.]

[taleweaving]

Mostly, yes. [She snorts softly, rolling her eyes but does shift closer so they can get an equal share if the parasol]

I'm not frail, I just have a low amount of melanin so I burn easily. It's quite common, and no you're not a vampire. You left too much skin exposed Eriq, and you'd be dead if you were and I would be in the process of missing you. But thank you. [She takes the bottle, squeezing out enough to do her arms, face and decolletage, skimming over her cleavage with no fuss. It's only when she cones to her shoulders that she realizes a problem]

Would you mind doing my back for me Eriq? I'll be happy to help you with yours as well.

[eighttimeshandy]

[He splutters a bit as she denies his vampirehood, than pouts at her. He can't really be mad, because, you know, she's right, but still. Still. He doesn't even stare as she rubs lotion all over her fair, beautiful, flawless skin]

[Then she asks him to do her back, and he would swear that his heart stops. Oh. Oh gosh]

S-sure. I'd be happy to!

[And he takes the bottle back, eagerly scooting behind her so she doesn't have to move. He squirts just a bit on his fingertips, them raises them to her shoulder, hesitating before touching her. He hasn't, he shouldn't- She's just a girl, and she asked him to. It was okay.]

[Licking his lips, he took a deep breath and moved his hand forward, brushing his fingertips lightly against her skin. Which, of course, really wasn't enough to spread it around, so he urged himself to be bolder, letting more and more of his hand come into contact with her skin.]

Soft...

[taleweaving]

Thank you. [Aranea gives him a soft smile, using one hand to lift her hair away from the back of her neck, adjusting her shoulder straps as best she can to give him a better display of skin to work on. To her, it's no big deal, Eriq's a friend and friends help each other out with things like this, no matter their gender.

Or perhaps she's just too used to ignoring her own feelings to put her focus into her grades. Because as soon as Eriq's hand lands on her back she can feel a spark in her, Aranea resisting the urge to squirm away, her focus more on figuring herself out then what Eriq's saying.]

Pardon?

[eighttimeshandy]

Ah- [Crap, he hadn't meant to say that out loud. Thank goodness she can't see him, because he's blushing horribly]

Oh, I was just... you have nice skin, that's all. Very soft and pliable.

[Because that's not a creepy thing to say at all.]