saveourearth | [Closed Log] The Drownening: As Above, So Below

The knock at the door is answered with a groggy call in Japanese, most certainly in Benjiro’s voice. Soft footfalls bring him to the doorway, and rubbing his eyes clear of sleep, he opens it to find Sadie holding the bundle. He has adapted well enough to the cycle of locating the next loose tooth to pull out in the day only to wake in the night for its replacement. The disruptions in sleep have been mostly offset by sleeping in later than usual and taking an occasional nap between video games, playing with the cats, and making himself useful fixing things around the house. Still, he has to make an effort to wake up.

He looks at Sadie, then to the items with a sleepy expression and his hair tousled into sticking all sorts of directions. She can watch as the cogs grind into motion and the epiphany that results in a blink into alertness accompanied by the start of a smile as he looks back up to Sadie. Oh please tell him this is what he thinks.

Edited 2018-08-10 15:10 (UTC)

Sadie can't help but giggle guiltily at Ben's dishevelled and sleepy appearance once he cracks the door. She knew that he was struggling to get a decent amount of sleep because of his teeth but there was just something ~~adorable~~ funny about the way his hair was currently sticking in every single possible direction and she brightens at the sight of the hint of a smile on his face.

"James has finally got a day with no training and has agreed to take us out if you'd still like to go?"

Door opened fully, Benjiro’s smile splits wide into a grin as excitement erases the last traces of sleep, “Absolutely! I can be downstairs in ten.” With time accounted for to apply the sunblock of course. Eager for the opporunity to observe sailing, and more importantly spend time out on the bay with Sadie, Benjiro actually stands a little taller as he comes up off his heels. There’s no stepping to adjust for balance, and he’ll drop back down as soon as he’s given the bundle.

Whether he needs to hurry or not, ten minutes after he will be on the first floor fully dressed with borrowed trunks and his t-shirt, wearing a full layer of sunblock, and with his hair now in proper order.

Sadie laughs, "I suppose I should finish getting ready then. James is already down at the docks so we'll walk down and meet him there." She hands him the clothes and dashes back to her room, to pit oh her swimming cozzie, a light blue t-shirt and a pair of black, mid-thigh length shorts.

Dashing out of her room as she shoves a red and yellow peaked cap on her head, she quickly ducks into James' room and grabs one for Ben.

Jumping down the last three steps, Sadie walks over to Ben and puts the cap in his head, ruining his now neat hair. Linking arms with him, she opens the front door and out they step.

"All good to go?"

Making it downstairs before Sadie, he takes just a moment to visit the kitchen. Snack bar and bottle of squash chosen to enjoy on the way, he moves back to the stairs as he hears Sadie coming down and just catches her bypassing the last few steps. He beams as she walks up to him, and laughs once as she plops the cap on his head. His hair doesn't have to look nice if he has a cap on, and the cap would be very nice to keep the sun out of his eyes. With one hand lifting to sit the cap down a little more securely, he moves with her to head out the door arm in arm.

"All set," he reports. See this learning? He even remembered to grab breakfast.

Edited 2018-08-11 13:10 (UTC)

"Excellent!" She locks the door behind them and sets off along the path, gently guiding Ben in the correct direction.

"So you have a choice, you can either let James and I do the hard work and sit back and relax, or we can go a little slower and...show you the ropes." Sadie can't help but giggle at the terrible pun. "Once we've spent some time sailing we should be able to go for a swim off the boat and cool off from the heat."

They walk for a little longer before Sadie gently asks, "How's your face feeling Ben?"

Edited 2018-08-12 17:00 (UTC)

Taking the chance to open the bottle while she locks the door to have it at the ready, he follows her lead off towards the water.

“Considering I’ve been relaxing for the last several days, I’d be ready to work even if I wasn’t curious to learn hands-on. So long as I don’t get in your way, I’ll tow the line,” he answers with a counter-pun. The opportunity for a swim after the heat sets in sounds fantastic, “Just tell me when we can jump in.”

Six teeth into the change already, Benjiro has adjusted as well as he will be able to during the change, “Feels fine. And, oh, check this out.” Raising the snack bar up with the hand also holding the bottle away from Sadie, he angles it just right to snag the edge of the wrapper with his left lower canine and its upper partner to slice it open with barely any effort.

Edited 2018-08-12 21:22 (UTC)

Sadie continues to snigger at Ben's terrible return pun they made a terribly punny pair together. "I mean, technically, as soon as the boat's on the water you can jump at any time." She returns glibly. "You do know it's going to be freezing right? The Channel isn't exactly known for its heat."

"Huh, that's handy." That was one use for them she supposed. "Do you think you could use them to open tins in a pinch?" She asks, trying to keep up the jovial atmosphere as they continue to stroll down to the docks.

Smirking as his pun prolongs her amusement, the look gives way to a thoughtful look. "Yes, very cold, but isn't the boat already in the water? If we're being technical about it, I could jump straight in the water before leaving the dock." And take the hard way onto the boat from there.

Benjiro would rather not consider the potential intended purpose of his teeth. Asked about the tins, he actually considers the question seriously, "If I apply force at the right angle, I should think so. Of course, I have to wait for the rest to come in. At the moment my jaws don't fit together well." It's not painful so much as awkward having uneven teeth with a sharp tooth catching on a molar.

Pushing the snack bar up through the slit made by his teeth using his thumb, he'll start to munch on his breakfast while en route.

"You are more than welcome to take a dip in the harbour water but I really wouldn't recommend it. The water's comparatively stagnant so the diesel and petrol from the motorised boats don't dissipate as well. Waiting until we're out of the harbour is best."

There's practically a spring in Sadie's step as they continue to walk. "I made sandwiches earlier for lunch, and James said that its relatively calm today, only a little choppy."

His nose wrinkles at the thought of jumping into something so polluted and he shakes his head, “Waiting it is then.”

Benjiro walks steadily even with Sadie bouncing along to keep from spilling any drink, and he compensates by keeping his linked arm relaxed. The snack bar is devoured quite quickly, and with the promise of sandwiches later, he has no concern over getting too hungry during the venture onto the water, “So we get to eat food and keep it down. Excellent.”

A little slower to drink down the squash, he’ll watch for the right bin to deposit the empty containers into along the way.

"Yep! We won't be putting your stomach to the test today!"

It doesn't take the two of them much longer to reach the docks, there was a reason Sadie's parents had bought their house in the location they did, and Sadie guided Ben through the harbour to the mooring that she knew Ben used, pointing out funny boat names or interesting places of origin as they go.

James is pretty easier to spot, standing taller than the both of them by a good couple of inches he shares the same Mediterranean colouring as Sadie's mum, tanned olive skin and brown, slightly curly hair. He smiles widely as he spots the two approaching and shouts their way.

"Alright mate, alright Sadie? Ready for some sailing?!" Despite Sadie and James not looking alike, it is as clear as day that they are related from their matching smiles and their exuberance about their respective passions.

Curiosity has Benjiro looking every which way as they step onto the docks, and he’ll key in on all the things Sadie points out. The flags the ships fly help identify associations with locales, but the origins of some of the more ridiculous names identifying the vessels remain a mystery.

When he sees James ahead, the ship they’ll be sailing becomes evident. Eager for the adventure out, he won’t quite shout back, but he’ll raise his voice just enough to reply, “Aye, sir!” Naval phrases and identifications had been one of the references he had sought out in preparation for today, not willing to rely on modern media for guidance.

From here, Benjiro will be relying on this pair of siblings for instruction.

James laughs good-naturedly at Ben's response, "Enthusiasm1 Just what I like to see in a skipper in training! Come on lets cast off and then the real fun can begin."

James offers an arm and helps both Ben and Sadie onto the sailing boat before going over the rope wound around the cleat nearest the bow. "Sadie, bow and stern lines. Ben, could you pull up the fenders, them buoys hanging between the boat and the pontoon, once I push us off? You just place them inside the boat once you do."

James chucks the lines to Sadie and pushes them away from the pontoon with his foot as he steps on to the boat, giving Ben a thumbs-up. Sadie gently nudges Ben towards where James is sat at the rudder, a small motor mounted to the back. "James'll use the motor to get us out of the harbour, and then when we're out on the open water we can start sailing properly," Sadie explains to Ben.

A word of thanks given to the hand onto the boat, he listens to the instructions and feels confident in knowing what he should tend due to the added description accompanying the term. Fenders act like bumpers on a car protecting the frame from damage that would occur if the side of the ship actually made contact with the dock. So when he gets that thumbs-up as they drift out into the water, he moves to collect the fenders inside the boat in an organized manner.

Finishing the task, he stands only to feel a nudge at his side. Looking to Sadie with a smile, he nods once at the explanation, "Makes sense. Can't use a sail where air currents are disrupted by landforms, right?"

James nods, "Pretty much, it also gives me better control of the boat in a smaller, busier space."

It only takes a couple of minutes for James to get them out of the harbour and onto the open waters and from that point, it's all hands on deck. Well, mostly all hands on deck. Sadie's done this before and it's obvious to her that Ben and James are rather enjoying themselves, Ben learning and James teaching him, so she steps back to do bits and bobs but mostly lets the boys handle things. She does take some pictures of the two whenever they aren't looking, grinning at her phone screen as she soaks in the comfortable, light-hearted atmosphere on the boat and the warmth of the sun.

A couple of hours pass like this until about one o'clock when James has them take the sail in a weigh anchor for some lunch and then some swimming. Sadie digs through the cool box, pulling out some bottles of water alongside some sandwiches. "They're all ham and cheese on white bread, although if you find any with mayo in them that'll be mine." She hands out the drink and food before grinning at Ben.

"Think you've found your sea legs?"

A motor is certainly easier to manage than rowing to move out of the narrow space.

Those first couple minutes are spent simply taking in the view of the opening ocean expanse contrasting with the narrowing view of the bay and Mossgate beyond. A new perspective of the local world is invigorating, a reminder to take a step back and look at the whole picture beyond the details which can tangle thoughts. Mind clearing, Benjiro is enthusiastic to set to work with James to send the boat sailing further from the docks, and that first time heeling the boat gives him a rush. He’s none the wiser as Sadie captures images of the morning lesson.

The relative strength of the wind shifts once the sail is furled and the anchor deployed to give the boat a stationary position among the waves. Following James to join Sadie as she takes out the prepared sandwiches and water, he’ll accept his lunch with a grateful bow of his head then tuck a leg to lower himself to sit for a rest. The work has been steady without becoming intense, but he’s certainly ready to eat. Benjiro checks the bread for mayo in a peek with a thumb, and finding none, takes a large bite out of it.

Swallowing that before he answers Sadie’s question, he smiles without a trace of guarding, “For these atmospheric conditions? Absolutely.” Curious about the process the siblings had in learning to sail, he’ll ask, “When did you start coming out on the water?”

Ben will continue to remain none the wiser about Sadie's pictures until she sends them to him that evening, including a group selfie and some photos of Ben and Sadie taken by James.

"Good to hear it," Sadie beams as she and James swap sandwiches, James had gotten the mayo and then taking a bite out of it anyway before handing it to his sister and receiving a flat look in exchange from Sadie. "We wouldn't take you out in rougher conditions so this should be all the sea legs you need unless you've got the sailing bug like James."

James finishes his mouthful before keenly answering Ben's question. "We were five-"

"Six." Sadie corrects.

"Right. Six. Anyway, we were spending the summer with Mum's family in Valencia. Abuelo and Tio Mateo are fishermen and they took us out on their boat for the day. It was great!"

Sadie pokes James in the side. "He's been addicted to the sea ever since."

Lunch continues accompanied by light chatter and once full, Sadie shucks off her t-shirt and shorts, leaving her in a navy and white striped swimming costume. "Time to swim! James, could you help me re-do the suntan lotion on my back?" She looks over to Ben. "Do you need me to do your back as well?"

Edited 2018-08-25 14:30 (UTC)

“I wouldn’t say I’ve got the sailing bug, but I’d absolutely come back out any time,” he replies. Benjiro has always felt comfortable in and around the water, so riding around on top of the waves of the ocean is simply a new way to enjoy it.

Listening to the description of their first time out on a boat, Benjiro smiles. That sounds like a fun introduction, especially if those family members are as cheerful as Raquel, “That’s a reasonable cause for an addiction.” From there he continues to converse with James and Sadie, not in any rush to finish his sandwich after the first half is devoured in a few bites.

Still seated when Sadie stands to start stripping down to her suit, Benjiro catches himself staring when Sadie looks to him. Snapping up a bit straighter as his cheeks warm, he answers with some hurry in his words, “Oh, uh, sure! I can reach most of it, but if you could make sure the middle between my shoulder blades gets covered, I should be good to go. Thanks.” Then promptly looks elsewhere as he rises back to his feet. Turning halfway, he’ll tug off his shirt and remove his shoes and socks. His physique looks almost soft, at least until he makes use of the muscle beneath which brings out the shapes of those muscles in an instant. He may not workout like other guys, but he keeps fit.

He takes his time putting on a full new layer of sun block, his pale skin placing him at high risk for a serious burn if he’s lax about it, and as much as he wants to swim, he’s going to give it a couple minutes to set properly.

Edited 2018-08-25 15:32 (UTC)

"Sure, I'll go over the back of your neck and shoulders too, that's always the worse place for burns."

James finishes lotioning Sadie's back and before Ben presents her his back, she quickly does James in return. She squirts the suntan lotion onto her hands, rubbing them together before she starts rubbing it into Ben's back. A matching blush rising to her cheeks as the action gives her a good feel for the muscles on his back.

James, standing behind the two, rolls his eyes at Sadie and snaps a candid photo. A secret photo. That will absolutely not be used for blackmail purposes or embarrassment later down the line.

Suntan lotion all done and sunken in, James climbs up onto the railing around the side of the boat and, with a grin and a jaunty salute back at the two of them, throws himself off of the boat and into the water with a large splash. Sadie grins at Ben, following her twin's example and also climbing up onto the railing before neatly diving into the water.

"Ahhh!" She shrieks as she surfaces near to James, teeth chattering. "Bloody fucking hell it's cold!"

After Sadie turns to him with James cared for, he’ll turn his back towards her with his head bowed forward, stretching the skin of his neck somewhat to improve coverage from the lotion. The touch of her hands rubbing over his shoulders makes him relax, and he stays quiet and still until her hands leave. Smiling, he looks over a shoulder, “Thanks, Sadie.”

With one last touch of the sun block scrubbed up into his hairline, he’ll check himself over carefully to rub away any lingering white spots to wait the time prescribed with them. He looks up as James climbs up onto the railing to launch off with a hammy salute, and snickers. Sadie follows, with Benjiro admiring her technique diving into the water. When she surfaces with such a cry, he can’t help but laugh in a mixture of wariness and amusement, “That bad, huh?”

A shrug of his shoulders given, he climbs up onto the rail. Without much thought put to it, he jumps up high to tuck and roll in a forward flip with legs kicking out to hit his feet to the surface first. Plunging down with a blow of air to keep the water out, he quickly returns to the top. Hair pasted funny over one eye, he’ll open the other, “Yep! It’s that bad,” then laughs. Knowing better than to simply tread, he’ll keep his head above water as he uses the breast stroke to move over closer to Sadie and James.

Sadie cheers as Ben jumps overboard and receives a face full of seawater courtesy of her darling brother in exchange for her cry of friendly encouragement. As such is is Ben's good luck, or bad depending on perspective, that he swims up to the two as a rather vicious water fight breaks out between the two siblings.

Sadie hits the water, intending on soaking James, only to watch in horror as James ducks under the surface and the wave goes crashing onto Ben. "Shit, sorry Ben! Pleasedon'tsplashme-JAMES!" She shrieks, cut off as Jame pops up behind her and causing a splash of water large enough that it gets both her and Ben.

Sputtering out the salty water that entered his mouth in the splash that hit him rather than the intended target, Benjiro wipes his hand upwards to clear his eyes of water and hair. Barely able to see again as Sadie pleads not to retaliate, he’s far enough from the splash James tries to send over them both to duck underwater as it connects with the top of his head. Hanging under the surface for a moment to listen, he circles around to a position lateral to both James and Sadie of equal distance.

He surfaces with his head tilted back to sweep his hair out of the way, and wastes no time launching his own attack at James with a curved hand shoved forward and out, fingers closed. It’s a small splash in terms of spread, but it comes with a lot of water right for him, “Let’s see if we can turn the tide, Sadie!”

"Right!" Sadie kicks and splashes away from James even as he tries to douse her with more water, both of the twins spluttering at the amount of water flying about.

"Fuck you James!" Sadie cackles as she sends a large splash of water his way with another kick at the surface. James pushes a large wave at Sadie and then focuses on Ben. None of them were going to get away from this encounter without swallowing at least a gallon of seawater first.

More prepared as James has to visibly turn to aim at his position, Benjiro takes the chance to shove both arms outward from his chest to intercept the wave sent his way in counter. He makes use of his flanking position and gradually shifts further from Sadie while keeping a closer proximity to James. It would force James to slow when switching between targets. Even so, Benjiro is only so aggressive with his own attacks, seeing as it is two on one.

Eventually when his arms begin to tire from the effort, he’ll take a deep breath and dive under. Passing beneath James and Sadie, he’ll come up next to the boat and stretch an arm up to hold the edge. Wiping off his face, he laughs, “I think I need a break. My eyes are on the way to being salt-cured and I’m numb from the knees down.”

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A thread in which I know nothing about Sailing XD

You're more than welcome to summarize the general experience and avoid step by step that way

I will do, now that I've exhausted what I do know :P

Onto the fun swim times!

Swimming \o/

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