"oh, no worries at all! the more the merrier." alia could never say no to the presence of another pokemon - welcomes it, in fact. this might even be a good chance for her marshtomp to make a new friend. they haven't had many opportunities to meet other trained pokemon before this, and alia has always felt a bit guilty over it. she wonders if her pokemon ever gets lonely. of course, they keep each other in company - but it was always nice to have other companions that wasn't just their little family. [break][break]

she listens intently to mika as the latter gives her the first tip to swimming, and bops her head in agreement. "oh, makes sense. definitely not trying to drown here," alia says as she moves into stretching position. she begins stretching her calves as mika releases her prinplup. her marshtomp had wandered off exploring the flower-stained patches of grass nearby, but perks up at the sight of the newcomer. he waddles over to chiyo, cautiously sniffing the latter in greeting before leaning back, letting out a friendly cry. the teal amphibian then circles around the prinplup a few times before prancing closer to the edge of the lake, seemingly inviting her to play.
[break][break]

"oh, ino seems to like your prinplup," alia notes before huffing, "ino! you're supposed to be helping me learn how to swim!" there was no real annoyance found in her voice, however, simply a mixture of exasperation and fondness. she finishes the rest of her stretches quickly before resting her gaze back onto her mentor of the day. "you know, even as a rookie, ranger work has been a lot busier than we expected, so it's been a while since ino got to play in the water. hopefully he actually helps us out today instead of being a bad influence to your prinplup." alia laughs with a shake of her head, waiting for mika's next instructions.


[break][break]

+Mika Nakayama

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babies, huh? alia toys with the idea before laughing, thoroughly amused by the various iterations of ino's voice in her head. "you know, you're so right..i wonder if they talk about us like we do about them." she tells mika, suppressing another chuckle. a little scarily on cue, her marshtomp turns around to glance at the two humans conversing before playfully squirting out a stream of water at the prinplup, continuing their shenanigans. [break][break]
alia breathes out an unconscious sigh of relief when mika explains that they were going to take things slowly. she blinks at the latter in appreciation. not that she expected mika to just toss her in the water and call it a day, but tough love wasn't not an option. while alia doesn't get nervous easily, she had to admit, the idea of being out in the water was making her heart skip a beat. or a couple of beats. or a full-on somersault. it's funny, how something that brought her so much tranquility seemed so dangerous suddenly.  [break][break]

alia steps to the lakefront at mika's nonverbal invite, hissing as the piercing cool water cheekily hugs her feet before scampering away. "this is colder than i thought!" she calls out, her voice cutting through the gentle buzz of nature. she sees how the sunrays meet the waters a little further ahead, however, and figures it will get warmer there.[break][break] she begins to slowly wade her way towards mika. as she closes their distance, alia's heartbeat starts to slow, the other ranger's presence like a piece of driftwood in the open sea. it wasn't often that alia was on the receiving end of the stick, the one being guided around. it felt....kinda nice, actually, especially since the one leading her was someone so reassuring. [break][break]

alia meets the other ranger at last, smiling brightly upon arrival. the water hits a little above her knees now, kissing her skin gently as if welcoming her into its embrace. she no longer feels its icy wrath and lightly drops her hand into mika's, palm soft and grateful. "ready!" she chirps, growing more confident about today's mission. as they trudge further into the lake, alia catches the loud splashes of their pokemon behind them, catching up with ease.  


[break][break]

+Mika Nakayama

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alia wades lightly in the shallow waters, mindful of her movements after mika’s gentle reminder of other lifeforms teeming in their aquatic environment. the water was already beginning to lose its icy bite, gently caressing her with a light warmth instead. she shivers despite the newfound heat. [break][break]

they soon reach the deeper ends of the lake, and with that comes the actual start of today’s swimming lesson. alia studies the prinplup intently, noting how the light blue penguin kicks its limbs rhythmically to keep itself afloat. mika’s verbal explanation helps too, especially her point about keeping the lower body angled. “okay, let me shoot my shot,” alia says, smiling gratefully at the other ranger for their patience. [break][break]

she takes a step forward, leaving the shallow waters behind her. as her foot slides into the unknown, she jolts and instinctively grabs for mika’s arms. “sorry, sorry,” alia says sheepishly, hands slipping back into the lake as she apologizes. she takes a deep breath, a physical sign of her surrendering her need for control before she kicks her legs out in brisk, swift motions. she would’ve sank in her first few attempts if not for mika’s firm grasp on her, the latter’s arms keeping her head from bobbing underneath the surface. [break][break]

after her fourth failed attempt, alia takes a pause, choosing to debug her errors before blindly moving forward. a light frown creases against her eyebrows as she thinks over her moves, gears running at the speed of light. perhaps she wasn’t tilting her body enough? she tries treading the water again with her newfound realization, angling her legs at a steeper slant than before. with this adjustment, her head finally stays afloat, allowing a triumphant smile to take over her features. “gosh, if i ever have kids, i’m going to toss them into the pool as soon as they’re out of the womb.” she grumbles good-naturedly, the twinkle in her eyes revealing the lack of actual frustration. 



[break][break]

+Mika Nakayama

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mika’s sudden burst of laughter takes alia by surprise, but she welcomes it with a cheery laugh of her own, a fuzzy source of warmth radiating in her chest as the latter break out of their usual calm demeanor. in their limited time together, mika reminds alia of the very lake they were floating in, tranquil and still in appearance but capable of an emotive intensity if you skipped your stones right. despite not knowing each other for long, alia takes pride in making the other ranger express such joy; protecting others from harm wasn’t the only act that made her feel good about herself. [break][break]

“i’m glad you think so, at least that makes the two of us.” she kids once again, encouraged by the light atmosphere they’ve established in the last few minutes. her limbs continue their circular dance as her laughter fades away, a comfortable silence settling in while she accustoms to her newly acquired skill. [break][break]

alia knows it’s time to move on when she begins to feel the boredom stirring in her chest, the same rhythmic cycle sitting in her bones a little too well. “what can i say, you’re a good teacher!” she responds to mika’s compliment with one of her own, genuinity seeping into her words. it was one thing to be well-versed in a craft, but it was another thing to effectively teach it to others. luckily for her, mika was skilled at both. [break][break]

alia knew she was going to be in good hands for the rest of the lesson. “okay, i think i’m finally ready to dive in the deep end! teach me your ways.” 



[break][break]

+Mika Nakayama

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despite not really knowing anything about mika, alia was nearly positive that between the two of them, they could probably go back and forth with the compliments for the rest of the day if they had wanted to. but they had better things to do, so alia smiles at both mika's kind remark and the prinplup floating in the water instead. she then leans backward herself, drifting in the tranquil waters. thankfully, that was the one skill she knew about swimming. if alia hadn't learned how to float when she was young, well, she'd imagine that she would have a difficult time relinquishing that sense of control now. [break][break]

the ranger gently holds onto her marshtomp as she keeps her gaze fixed on the other ranger. mika's demonstration was an easy one, one that alia was all too familiar with. she used to watch the kids at her local lake practice similar moves, and they had always looked so silly, reminiscent of a canine pokemon doggy-paddling in the water. [break][break]

alia lets go of the marshtomp and takes mika's hands when the latter reaches out for her, and begins replicating the movements. she was right - despite acing the task at hand, she felt just as silly as she thought she would, kicking up what felt like a mini tsunami behind her while holding onto the other ranger. alia's not sure where to look at, really, finding it slightly awkward and creepy to be staring at mika the entire time. between kicks, she starts laughing, accidentally gulping a mouthful of lake water in the process. laughs turn to rushed coughs, kicks subside, and one hand leaves mika's grasp to roughly pound against her chest.[break][break]

"gosh, sorry. the whole time i was practicing my kicks i was having this vision of myself swimming like a yamper and it kinda knocked me out." alia says after recovering. another laugh escapes her, and in that split moment she decides to refrain from mentioning how she didn't know where to keep her eyes. it was such a simple act that alia felt a little too silly for overthinking it. instead, she continues brightly, "i think i got the kicks down, though! before i had my little spasm, at least." [break][break]

+Mika Nakayama i haven't swam in so long i don't even know if this is a valid reason to feel awkward LMFAO but in my head it is  

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honestly, one of alia's biggest problems was that her mind wandered too much all the time. she shouldn't have been surprised that her thoughts diverted the way they did, but she was grateful that mika took her silly moment in stride. [break][break]

"alright, time for the final showdown." she says with an easy grin, ignoring the way her heart jostled briefly. ino notices the inaudible nerves the way that pokemon seems to, however, and quietly swims over as an act of support. alia laughs softly, the prickly static buzzing in her ribs substituted with a soft fuzzy warmth instead. she cheekily splashes a bit of water at the amphibian, who reciprocates the gesture. [break][break]

after the short moment of play, alia waddles further into the lake with mika, her toes slowly lifting from the stones. gradually, the rest of her body follows her feet, bobbling up and down with the subtle lake ripples. now that she was starting to get the hang of it, she could see why so many people enjoyed going into the waters for a little dip. she always thought staying near the shores would be relaxing enough for her, but perhaps after today, that was going to change. who knows! maybe she'll love it so much she end up as a lifeguard instead. or, you know, if she was being more practical, she'll specialize in marine rescue. she still had a few months as a rookie, but she should really start considering her future in ranger work - most of them chose a specialization, right? has mika thought about this? [break][break]

oh, shoot, there goes her mind, wandering off again. she chides herself silently before making a note to ask the other ranger about it later, when they're a little less at risk of drowning.[break][break]

alia stretches her legs like how she was taught earlier, thrashing them against the surface steadily. the simple move kickstarts fuller motions, and soon she was gaining some traction against the tides. "um!" alia shifts her head to mika at the best of her ability, confusion clearly written across her features. "what do i do with my arms, exactly...?"  [break][break]

+ Mika Nakayama I KNOW WE SAID NO SORRYS BUT. SORRY THIS TOOK ME A WEEK KDJKLFAJF            [break]

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