“Is something wrong, Kuta?”
Retvik and Kuta had been happily making their way through the fancy Temthan resort. It turned out that the resort Kuta and their Legion had been left at was the Twisted Palms, the same resort Retvik had been to the last time he was on Kolasi, and he actually knew the place pretty well. However, as Retvik headed to the nice pool bar, he turned around and realized that Kuta was no longer following him, and was instead standing by the pool’s edge.
“I, uh, have a small problem.”
“What is it, dear?”
Kuta was staring at the water. “I cannot swim.”
Retvik shrugged, then made his way back over to Kuta. The water wasn’t deep, it only went up to Retvik’s waist, but he could understand Kuta’s hesitance. Most Rethans struggled in water, most Rethans couldn’t swim.
“The water is not very deep.”
Kuta hesitated some more, then very cautiously stepped into the water. Neither of them were wearing normal armour, instead they were just wearing tummy wraps and particularly long loincloths that went between their legs and tied around the base of their tails, almost like a pair of pants. Kuta was also wearing a chest plate, it looked like one of their normal black Below Twenty armour pieces, but it was made of black plastic and covered up Kuta’s shoulder strips.
“Huh. It is warmer than I expected.”
“It is nice, yes?”
“Yes.”
However, Kuta stopped in their tracks again as the water reached their waist. They felt uneasy, and backed out of the water. Sensing Kuta’s concern, Retvik plodded over and took Kuta by the hand.
“Do you want me to teach you how to swim?”
“You would do that?”
“Of course…” Retvik trailed off, then grunted. “I will be blunt, the one thing that annoys me the most about that stupid trip to Thalsa Two was that I apparently overcame my fear of swimming through tight, underwater spaces, and have no memory of doing so… Either way, we will stay here in the shallow water, and I will hold you.”
“Oh. Alright.”
Retvik slowly pulled Kuta deeper into the water. Since the resort was a Temthan one, the depth of the water maxed out at about 2.2m (outside of one small, separate diving pool), meaning Kuta could still keep their head above the water even in the deepest parts of the pool. However, they didn’t go too deep, only until the water was at stomach height.
“So, uh, what do I do?”
“Well, first we need to practice some motions. We will start with swimming on your back though, so you do not need to focus on keeping your head above the water. I know we have muscular tails, but I find kicking my legs is easier.” Retvik then did a rowing motion with his arms. “While our legs give a steady means of propulsion, it is our arms that both keep us afloat and give us big pushes.”
Retvik leaned back into the water, then quickly showed Kuta what he meant. As Retvik did a very quick lap around Kuta then stood up again, Kuta very suddenly understood how swimming on their back was easier.
“Can you… hold me briefly, while I, uh, get my balance?” Kuta asked, an almost embarrassed tone in their voice.
“I will gently lower you backwards into the water, yes!” Retvik smiled. He placed one hand on Kuta’s lower back and another on their chest, holding Kuta while they steadied themselves. Once Kuta was ready, Retvik removed his hand from Kuta’s chest, but gave Kuta a little balance.
Thankfully though, it seemed Kuta didn’t need it. They had to kick and paddle pretty damn hard to stay afloat, but Kuta did find themselves moving across the water and not sinking instantly. They quickly reached the edge of the pool, then stood up straight. Retvik waded over, smiling cheerfully, but as he approached, he noticed something was very definitely suddenly off about Kuta. Kuta was just standing there, staring at the water ahead of them, utterly lost in thought.
Kuta continued to remain still until Retvik tapped them on the shoulder, at which point, they shook their head and returned to reality.
“Uh, dear, are you well?”
“I can swim. I forgot.”
“What do you mean?”
Kuta shook their head again, glanced at Retvik, then went back to staring at the water.
“I know how to swim. But I forgot.”
“Well, uh, prove it?”
After a brief moment of hesitation, Kuta abruptly dived under the water, kicked off from the edge of the pool and swam across its length, into the deeper areas before surfacing for air. Kuta then turned around and swam back normally, on their stomach, before standing up again in front of Retvik.
“It is harder now that I am larger and more heavily armoured, but I remember now.”
Retvik stared at Kuta, then loudly cursed. “Alright, what the fuck?”
“You do not so blatantly swear.”
“Five minutes ago, you were almost too scared to step into the water, and you just… swam better than I do! And I swim insanely well for an armoured idiot!”
Kuta sighed. “I learned how to swim. But it was a very long time ago. So I forgot. But coming back, stepping into the water, your trying to teach me, it all reminded me of a vastly distant past that I am not even sure actually happened.”
Retvik continued to stare. “We have not started drinking yet, but what you just said makes about as much sense as a drunkard. Also, what you just did scared me a little. Granted, I should expect being a little scared occasionally, I am dating a Below Twenty General…” Retvik paused briefly. “Were you always 11th Legion?”
“No, originally I was 606th Legion…” Kuta shrugged. “I think you can guess why.”
Retvik lowered his voice somewhat. “Does the 606th Legion still exist?”
“No.”
“You just lied to me.”
“It does not exist. And even when I was in the 606th Legion, I denied its existence anyway…” Kuta shrugged some more, then went back to frowning. They glanced around, looking for somewhere quiet. Admittedly, the resort in general was pretty quiet, the planet’s tourist industry had been heavily damaged by the recent godly goings on, but there were definitely other members of the deity tracking organizations wandering around. Mostly Ksithans in the deeper areas of the swimming pool and Skyans lounging on sunbeds.
“You look like you have a lot on your mind Kuta.”
Kuta nodded, then lowered their voice until they were barely whispering. “I have several things on my mind. But I want to talk about them in private. And one of those things, I am almost too embarrassed to say out loud.”
“You, uh, could tell me with your fancy telepathy?” Retvik suggested.
“I try very hard not to use my telepathy, despite it actually being the one ability I have the most control over and it being my most powerful aspect. You have absolutely no idea what I can actually do, and you and the universe in general should be thankful that, deep down, I am a genuinely good person.”
Retvik frowned, but that frown quickly faded. “Well, that is definitely not at all disturbing. But how about we go to the pool bar like we originally planned, have some drinks and some ice cream, then return to our room, get room service, get drunk and then talk?”
“That sounds like a marvellous idea!” Kuta perked up. “I am so glad you accept me as your poten-partner.”
Retvik put an arm around Kuta, then led them over to the pool bar, yet again smiling cheerfully. “You are very, very strange, but, well, we both are. And I am glad you accept me too. Come along now. Let us get drunk together.”