A Cure for Boredom

[Zane Valdione]

It was one of those days where he just could not focus or even sit still. Everything was grating on his nerves and he had already annoyed at least two people with his incessant fidgeting and pacing. Boredom was his worst enemy. No wait. Dark spaces were his worst enemy. Boredom had to be second, though. Had to be. He shook his head and ran a hand back through his hair. Now even his thoughts were fractured and showing definite signs of the effect this all-encompassing boredom was having on him. That’s it. He was going to go explore. Get to know this place better.

The corridor was a welcome sight as he wandered into it and out on his adventure to explore. Clad in jeans and a jade green tee emblazoned with a tribal graphic he could barely be identified as a native Atlantean. This was supposed to help with his transition, and to be honest, he rather enjoyed the freedom the dress allowed him. He could move more in the less encumbering jeans and sneakers, which allowed him to explore quite well. Something he intended to take full advantage of.

Half an hour later he had found the Holy Grail. A pool! This discovery had him skidding back through the corridors and into his dorm room, grabbing a towel and his trunks and skidding back through the halls to the pool. He was practically dancing as he changed by the pool, leaving his clothes in a pile on the floor before tugging on the trunks and tossing his towel close to the edge of the pool.

The minute he slid into the warm water, he was in heaven. No wonder people had once worshipped Poseidon, water was bliss! He made a mental note to look into the possibility of an Academy swim team. Gliding through the water his twitchy mental state of previously completely vanished and he was at peace. He settled into a set of lazy laps, moving through the water with the ease of a very experienced swimmer.

It amazed him that he could be so at home in the water, but his water magic didn’t even come close to reflecting that. He could do a few of the pretty tricks, like making it swirl without touching it, or calling a tendril up to twirl around his finger, but that was about it. His brother Zeris could turn it into elaborate shapes and ever animate them for short periods of time. Not an impressive trick, but much better than he could manage.

He had completely lost himself to the smooth feel of the swim, letting his mind relax into the feel of physical activity. This was something he reveled in and very thoroughly enjoyed. He had found his haven in this new place and it wasn’t something he would forget. Many hours would be spent there in the future, he was sure.

[Mikah Hart]

Finally, an escape.

Random escapades were considered a pastime to Mikah, whom had been deprived of them for the last two days, thanks to his personal knack of getting caught at it. It wasn’t his fault he was a complete klutz when adventuring through the school. It was as though breakable items gravitated towards the lanky teen, and he just never seemed to notice them, being more preoccupied with where he would explore next. Inching his way past another corner of the hall, the teen sighed at the empty hall, his azure gaze streaking past a few door frames.

There was nothing. The boy seemed a bit disheartened as he ran a hand through his disheveled black locks. Odd, that upon his hands were white sterile wrappings. The boy seemed not to notice that one of the white strips had loosened slightly, trailing a few inches of fabric as his hand departed from his tussled hair, and back to his side. Obviously, his injured hands were something he was used to, but as to why his hands were like that, not too many people knew. Mikah didn’t exactly like announcing to the world that he might just accidentally burn down the block if he wasn’t careful. And he too was sure that people probably wouldn’t want him around if they heard that too.

A soft sigh escaped Mikah’s lips as he closed his eyes for a moment, tempted to return to his dorm. His little excursion didn’t seem to be rewarding him with anything but wasted time. Yet, just as his foot moved back to retreat, a sound caught his ear. A splash.

Water?

Mikah tensed slightly at the thought, yet with a sniff of his nose, he knew this water was not going to end up upon his body. Hopefully.

There was a pool nearby. The chlorine smell was strong in the air, hinting that one of those doors down the hall was hiding the large depression and perhaps a bit of company as well. Mikah hesitated for a moment, the thought of water, deep water, frightened him greatly. Yet as long as he was careful, what could go wrong? Stepping back into the hall, the raven haired teen continued, passing up two doors that held nothing of interest. As he pushed his hand against the third door, blue refracting lights danced upon his face, illuminating his own vibrant eyes. He slowly stepped inside, keeping to the wall as he came in sight of the pool. There swam another guy, another student. A rather good looking one too, swimming in what was Mikah’s own hell.

As much as he tried to restrain it, Mikah felt his breath catch in his chest in a brief moment of panic. Why couldn’t he just not worry about falling in? Heck, he was a good five feet from the waters edge, yet it still struck a terrible fear in him. Just breathe.

He inhaled, working hard to calm his racing heart.

Just don’t look at the water. He thought to himself.

But what else was there to look at? The room itself was quite bare, beside the usual pool chairs. A deserted towel lay on the other side of the room, but what was so wonderful about that? It wouldn’t bring his mind off from the water before him. Leaving was always an option, but then, Mikah’s eyes halted upon the guy swimming in the pool once more. The stranger’s muscles rippled with every stroke as he cut through the water. He seemed so at home in that devilish liquid, that Mikah couldn’t tear his gaze away from the tanned back of the teen. He was… almost jealous of him.

Resting his back against the wall, Mikah exhaled his held breath, tension still obvious on his boyish face. The back of his dark blue t-shirt stuck to the wall as he stood there, unsure weather to say anything. Mikah wasn’t even sure if his voice would work at the moment, as he took another breath to calm himself. He wanted to talk, and maybe having a conversation right next to his own personal fear would ease himself for his next dousing session. The question wasn’t ‘if’ there would be another rainfall upon his arms, but ‘when’. Later, Mikah preferred. Not at all, he wished.

[Zane Valdione]

He was completely under the spell of his favorite pastime. Everything had melted away and it was only him and the water. The warmth caressed his skin as he made his turns and almost methodical strokes through it. His style wasn't flashy or truly impressive, but instead it was of one who was completely at home in the water. He had often wondered if it was an Atlantean thing to love water, but then again, not all Atlanteans were avid swimmers. Perhaps it was an aspect they had lost touch with.

Letting the water erase his thoughts away again, he surfaced for a breath and caught sight of a slim figure pressed against the wall. He paused and ducked under the water to shift his hair back out of his face and swam over to the edge of the pool, resting his arms on the lip of the smooth marble pool. He was about to speak and tell the other boy it was alright if he wanted to join in when he noted how rigid his posture was, and the way he seemed to be staring at the water.

A soft frown replaced the more welcoming expression and he took a closer look at the slender form pressed completely against the wall. The bandages wrapped around his hands caught his attention and he wondered if that might have something to do with why he was seemingly petrified by the water. The frown melted into a warm and gentle smile.

"We won't attack, I promise. Me or the pool. It's alright, take a deep breath, you're fine." He coaxed softly, trying to help the other kid relax. "The chairs are perfectly safe to sit in, and I don't mind the company.” Fear was something he was very familiar with as he dealt with his own crippling phobia on a too regular for his liking basis. It was all about getting the focus away from what was causing the fear. In his case that was damn near impossible as it was hard to take his mind off the fact that it was dark, but that was another story altogether.

“It’s okay, really. You don’t have to come any closer than you are comfortable with.” He hoped that would give him a level of control in the situation and help calm him down a bit more. His amber gaze held nothing but calm and gentle warmth as he did what he could to try and bring Mikah back from wherever his fears took him. “My name’s Zane, what’s yours?”

[Mikah Hart]

What wonderful shoes. The moment that the swimming stranger turned to swim back the lap he’d done, Mikah let his eyes fall away from him. But his shoes were a decent thing to look at too, maybe not physically wise, but they were full of memories. The tattered things had been with him for the last two years, and were definitely on their last trip this school year, a few frays barely keeping on the left one, while the right seemed to be in slightly better health. The only reason he gave for keeping them was a simple sentimental reason; they were the shoes that first brought him here. Sure, he’d have to part with them someday, seeing as he was still growing, but they were important to him. Just lingering on the thought of his first day coming to Atlantis, well, it calmed him even a nudge more, though his body was still rigid with that impeccable fear that he just couldn’t tuck away.

"We won't attack, I promise. Me or the pool. It's alright, take a deep breath, you're fine."

The voice caught him off guard, as his blue eyes shot back upwards, tracking the source of the voice, his voice. Of course, it had to be the swimmers, yet Mikah hadn’t imagined the student’s voice before him to be so soothing. So kind. After all, they were complete strangers, and it was he himself who intruded in the first place. Mikah remained silent for a moment, to which the guy before him added on;

"The chairs are perfectly safe to sit in, and I don't mind the company.”

Mikah gave a short laugh, though it sounded fake. Sure, he took another breath as the stranger had instructed, yet, he couldn’t help but feel a bit on the spot now. Slowly, Mikah let himself slide down to the floor, where he took a seated position,

“That’s okay… I’ll just sit here.” His voice had a slight quaver to it, and to be honest, Mikah didn’t trust his legs to get himself to move quite yet. Better just to sit for a bit, and work up his nerve.

“It’s okay, really. You don’t have to come any closer than you are comfortable with.”

With a thankful smile, Mikah found an ounce of confidence to at least stop his shaking voice,

“Thanks.” Relief shined on his face as he took another breath.

“My name’s Zane, what’s yours?”

“I’m Mikah,” He stated simply, letting his azure stare move away from Zane, feeling slightly awkward with Zane’s curious stare upon himself. Instead, he took interest in his arm wrappings, where he finally noticed the hanging fabric that had loosened when he hadn’t been paying attention.
He’d have to rewrap that bit of it. Undoing a few rounds of the white fabric, Mikah tightened it, and rewrapped it up again, being careful not to unwrap too much, and show his exposed, injured arms. Last thing he wanted was questions, although he'd probably get them anyway.

“You’re really good at swimming.” Mikah looked up again, saying his words kindly, although he felt rather dumb for not coming up with a more interesting topic starter. It was just something to draw away the attention from his forearms.

[Zane Valdione]

When those shockingly blue eyes looked up at his words he was almost taken aback. He had never seen eyes that were so blue. Even that soft laugh followed by his voice seemed mesmerizing. It could have easily been that he had had very little contact with Outsiders and from the looks of it; this boy was one of those. Curious by nature he merely watched as the other boy made himself comfortable on the floor, yet still against the wall. Was it just a fear of water, or something else that had him keeping such a distance?

At being thanked and finally getting a name to go with the face, he returned the smile with another of his own. He wasn't shy and his parents had always said he made friends quickly, but he had worried that perhaps the Outsiders would not be the same. Watching as Mikah fixed his bandages, re-wrapping the trialing end so it was held tight again, he stopped the question before it surfaced. Some questions were best left until a level of comfort was reached and from the looks of it, Mikah was far from there yet.

“You’re really good at swimming.”

He laughed softly at the comment from him, meeting that shocking blue gaze again. "Thanks. If I'm only going to be good at one thing, I may as well be really good at it." Slipping back from the lip of the pool he slid further into the water so only his head was above it. Not wanting to really part from his haven of peacefulness, but also finding himself enjoying having company he went for lazily moving about in the water while keeping up the conversation.

"I grew up around water, and I like the physical activity of swimming. It clears my mind and helps me focus. And believe me; I need all the help I can get." He chuckled at his own expense because it was indeed true. His focus was flighty at best most days, and at worst, well that's what made his parents have grey hair. "So do you have a talent, Mikah? Something that you're really good at? Or even marginally better than the next person. Doesn't matter as long as you enjoy it, right?"

Finally he dipped under the water and swam under it to the side of the pool where he surfaced and stood. He boosted himself up out of the water and slicked the majority of the water from his hair and skin before picking up his towel and wrapping it around his waist. Making his way over to Mikah he settled against the wall a couple feet away from him so he didn’t drip on him.

[Mikah Hart]

It was strange, to see himself here, completely frozen against a wall, while Zane was completely at peace with the water so near. Zane annunciated his question peering over the pool’s edge.

What was he good at? Any talents of his would definitely exclude physical activity. It wasn’t as though he didn’t keep himself in shape, but when it came to contact sports, Mikah was more likely to take out the person next to him, rather than score. His hand eye coordination was lost in absolute zero, so even if it wasn’t a ball coming at him in gym, often where you would hear breaking glass, Mikah was sure to be around somewhere. Too often Mikah paid attention to the thrill of exploration to see where he was actually going. No, his only safe route with any sort of physical work was taking an occasional jog.

But now, the question remained; what was he actually good at? His first thought would be nothing, but then, Mikah began to pick through his passions, ignoring the fact that he might not be so wonderful at them. There was always playing guitar, although he was fairly new to it, having only been playing for under a year. That and he liked to sing alongside the songs he played. Deciding on one, Mikah let his response slip past his moving lips,

“I guess, perhaps guitar. I mean, I’m not very good. I’ve only been playing for a year now, but…” He paused, reminiscing. Sure, he didn't play much, seeing as his fingers were often encased in bandages, but when he played his guitar, things just… disappeared around him. It put him at ease, to have something to challenge his mind. He had already learned a few basic chords, and had moved on to the next set. Even already, the song he was working on came into his mind, easing his expression.

“I guess, it just takes my mind off things. I can just focus on only the chords, you know?”

There was one thing yet that didn’t seemed to click with Mikah. Note, he was never the sort to care about heritage, or namesake. Yet, so far, nothing about Zane really screamed out, ‘Atlantian.’ There’s this concept in the outside world, that the younger generations of society are always the most willing to accept new changes. Yet, so far during his stay in Atlantis, Mikah had yet to witness it. For the majority, he had only seen older locals, or older Atlantian students deep in their own already formed group of friends before ‘Outsiders’ came. To him, Zane seemed completely normal, at least, normal to his standards.

Mikah’s eyes followed Zane as the teen got out from the pool, exposing his well built frame. He was made for water; that was clear. It was not wonder as to why his eyes just filled with that spark of passion while swimming in that crystal liquid. Now, he was more comfortable, with the background chords of his song playing dimly in the back of his mind. The teen let his knees move up, propping his wrapped up arms on them, his chin resting on top. Shaking his black hair from his eyes, Mikah sighed. Zane sat next to him, keeping a distance away as to not drip water on him. Probably a wise decision.

He didn’t make note as to his powers, for Mikah didn’t exactly consider them a talent, or a passion. They were more of a nuisance than anything. Instead, he asked,

“So you’re a student here, right?” Knowing he couldn’t judge Zane’s year solely on his age, he asked,

“What year are you in?”

[Zane Valdione]

He smiled gently at the answer to his question. The guitar? So Mikah was a musician? He had never really gotten into studying music and he doubted Atlantean music was anything like what Mikah listened to. Perhaps that was a chance to change his opinion of music. It might help with his comfort zone. Filing that away for later, he smiled at the question that came back his earlier idea to leave the pool having seemed to calm Mikah now that he didn’t have to constantly look at the water to speak to him.

He knew exactly what he meant by taking his mind off things and being able to focus on just that activity. That was exactly how he felt about swimming and he rewarded Mikah with a nod and that warm smile again, letting him know he knew exactly what he meant without having to say it.

Taking in Mikah's posture, he chuckled softly and leaned back against the cool tile of the wall, his wet hair still dripping down over his lightly tanned skin. He was indeed built for water, but it mostly came from the way the water had sculpted his body. It took a lot of muscle coordination to swim, and that coordination toned everything to streamline the swimmer's form. Completely relaxed he bent one knee and rested his arm on it casually. Already his towel was soaked through with the water from his trunks and a slight puddle had accumulated under him.

"So you’re a student here, right?...What year are you in?”

He nodded. "Student would be right. It's my first year at the Academy. My parents thought it would help with my control. I have a tendency to blow things up when my emotions get the better of me." He gave a soft laugh and shrugged slightly. "They figure someone here might be able to fix that and balance me out." Stretching a bit, he turned a contented smile to Mikah. “Is this your first time to Atlantis?” That adventure bug was starting to nip at him again and he was ready to be on the move again. “If you don’t have any specific plans we could go do some exploring. I am in no mood to study today.”

[Mikah Hart]

"Student would be right. It's my first year at the Academy. My parents thought it would help with my control. I have a tendency to blow things up when my emotions get the better of me."

So Zane was in a similar situation as Mikah. Although Mikah had come to Atlantis of his own choice, versus his mother making him; Mikah knew that his mother needed a break from her constant time with her only son, and Mikah knew this would probably be the best option for him, if she were to have a more normal, middle aged life. He always wondered if his attachment to his mother was her own personal, extended mid-life crisis. She couldn't have a job outside of their house, seeing as Mikah had to be with her at all times, and neither could Mikah attend any school, because of his dependency on her. So, life was stuck at home, or occasional walks down their city street. Mikah's mom had to teach him from home (although she did a fine job of that, having previously been a teacher) and create her own job as an assistant to a shipping company. Her life had become all teaching and working. No friends anymore, no relationships with other men (now that she was a widow) Nothing.

One other bit of Zane's words caught Mikah's attention as a smile curled upon his lips. A tendancy to blow things up when his emotions got out of hand? That sounded much life himself, only blowing things up reversed with burning down the block. At least, it hadn't come to that yet for him. A few ruined shirts, yes, but so far, no fatalities.

Mikah rose a hand in admittance,

"First year too." He paused, and added,

"Exploring would be nice, seeing as so far, I've only gotten around to seeing the dorms, a few classrooms, and here. Do you know your way around?" He tacked on to the end of his sentence, biting his bottom lip humorously,

"Cause I have literally no sense of direction. It was pure chance that I even found this room in the first place."

He had calmed. Mikah's posture was relaxed as he immersed himself in conversation with Zane.

(Arrrrgh. Bad post. Sowwy <3 )

[Zane Valdione]

He laughed as Mikah admitted to being a first year as well. At least he had met someone he might even have classes with, and apparently a sense of adventure. He could see the trouble brewing already. Nodding, he stood up. "I know enough of my way around. The rest we can improvise. I really wouldn't say your sense of direction is off in the least. It led you straight to me. A partner in crime."

He stood up and gave a stretch before holding out a hand to help Mikah up. Even making sure it was dry before he did, as he was sure the bandages on his hands didn't need to get wet. "I have plenty of ideas on what we can do. Since this is your first time in Atlantis, I think we should start with showing you the view. I even know the perfect spot."

It was something he did every night. His way of still connecting with himself and taking some sage advice from his brother, Zeris. He was never to forget he was Atlantean. Of course that was the only part of the advice he intended to take. If this boy was any hint as to what the Outsiders were like, then perhaps the Atlanteans were the ones who would need to be more open.

Nothing was for sure, but all that mattered was that he was starting to like Mikah, and that was good enough for him. "I haven't spent much time here myself, only a couple weeks. I've mostly been stuck in my dorm under my brother's thumb so to speak. So to be honest, I am all for getting completely lost and going from there." Laughing a bit again, he motioned to himself. "I may want to get dressed first, though. The towel may be a bit conspicuous."

After helping Mikah up he went over to where he had dropped his clothes and tugged the towel free, drying his hair with it before shedding the trunks and stepping into his dry clothes. He wasn’t concerned with modesty, after all Mikah was a boy and he himself was used to changing in front of teammates. Settling in a chair to put his sneakers back on, he looked back up at him and winked before standing after tying his laces. “Ready? The first place I know how to get to, after that we can just be spontaneous.”