by contrast, nina had lived fairly close to the beach her whole life until recently. trips back were savored, and while she was enjoying the festival, she was also taking plenty of breaks to relax on her own out on the waves. in the wake of a string of traumatic events, the water had become a bit scary; but after plenty of clamperl diving and mantine surfing, she’d finally warmed up to it again.

it felt good to be out here. she floated on her back and closed her eyes, cradled by what corners of the ocean hoenn had been left with. nearby, several of her water-types were out enjoying themselves as well.

nothing in her ears but the lap of waves, she had nothing to warn her about the man who suddenly grabbed her by the arm. panic exploded through her instantly. she pulled away with a scream, turning only to realize with relief that it wasn’t onyx lamore. still, random guy grabbing her arm!

”what the fuck? let go of me!”

she kicked towards him. she’d be damned if she was going to be attacked again. the head of a shiny milotic rose out of the water, prepared to defend once it had assessed the situation. her mudkip, however, had a quicker reaction.

“kip!”

a water gun was fired at ethan, though not particularly powerful.

@bishop

nina’s adrenaline had skyrocketed. she stood there as he wiped his eyes and apologized, brow furrowed as though still trying to decide whether to hit him or not. was this some weird pick-up move?

his explanation softened her face, but her suspicion remained. before rocket, nina had lived the life of a conman. a hustler. she had told more lies in her life than truths.

she knew there were other people like her out there, many with much simpler motives.

”uh-huh.”

the pokémon behind her had relaxed more, but the mudkip was still glaring, maybe the least convinced.

”so why are you just out here in the ocean if you can’t swim?”

@bishop

her expression was softening up more. though there wasn’t quite a smile on her face, there was a tinge of something. it was parts amusement and sympathy, beneath the fading adrenaline and kneejerk fight response.

she couldn’t imagine never having been to the ocean, or never having learned to swim. she would simply have turned out a different person.

at the compliment, mudkip approved with a ”kip.” or maybe he was just agreeing.

as bishop turned away, nina made a quick decision.

”hey, wait.”

a pause, as she considered one last moment, before offering, ”you want to learn how to swim? i’ll teach you.”

@bishop

the look on his face looked like some kind of satisfaction. it almost made it difficult to believe him again, for a moment, but he was sticking to his story pretty well so far otherwise.

this guy really couldn’t swim, and that was sad to her.

”you never know,” she agreed. her smile was a bit tight, but there was amusement in her eyes despite her skepticism.

where to start? ”with names, i think.”

she held out a pink-manicured hand.

”i’m nina. i’ll be your swimming instructor today.”

@bishop

“you too.”

she shook his hand, before hers fell back to the water. mudkip was looking a little more friendly now, perched on the milotic and watching intently. he liked to be included and acknowledged.

when ramsey pointed over to the beach, her eyes followed. obstagoon and scrafty. was he a dark-type trainer? interesting… both of those pokémon definitely had a sort of vibe, and pokémon often a tendency to fit their trainers in a certain way—but as she watched the scrafty harmlessly building its sandcastle, she decided not to be so judgmental off the bat.

”they should meet my mudkip, then. i’m pretty sure he’d try to take on a giant sharpedo if one looked at him funny.”

she wasn’t sure where his baseless lack of fear had come from, but it occasionally concerning.

turning her attention back on the man, then, she commenced their training session.

”so, ramsey, can you float?”

@bishop

”kip!” the mudkip agreed, of course.

as ramsey leaned back to attempt to float, nina winced. how were you supposed to explain this to someone? it occurred to her it would likely be more difficult that she had initially thought.

”woah—“ while most of her ducked back from his thrashing, one hand went out to his shoulder to try  help steady him. ”you’re okay,” she tried to assure.

once he'd righted, she suggested, ”hmm. let’s try it just like, from the front. like a dead man’s float.”

she proceeded to float upright, probably not unlike how he'd been remembering.

@bishop

he was doing it. he was floating, and that meant she was well on her way to successfully having taught someone to swim. it felt nice to teach someone something new, especially something she enjoyed so much. now, his smile was not so much suspicious as it was contagious, and she grinned back.

“good! good job. uhm… okay. the easiest stroke is on your front i think. so…” flip over? no, they weren’t that far yet, maybe.

her scarred face twisted in thought a moment.

“actually, stand up. show me your stroke. like, with your arms.”

@bishop