Usui plodded towards Polaris River. His leather satchel was strung over his right shoulder with the help of a rusty chain. “One day,” the boy thought as he shuffled along, “I’ll make the bag good as new.” The lion cub had the innate ability to manipulate earth and he was determined to strive to manipulate gems as well, so that he could dot his bag with those beautiful things and not risk infection from the rusting parts. In his bag were several possessions – his metal arrowhead and a couple of light-weight, dark brown rock slabs that could be easily scratched and carved. Today, the rogue journeyed to Polaris and found himself wandering towards the river.

"It’d be nice to swim,” he spoketo no one in particular. The boy was not a swimmer (lions aren’t) but he thought it might come in handy to not be scared of water. His thoughts spun back to Aquarian where the beast covered him in dirty swampy water. That had given him a bit of a phobia. Imagine being born and drenched constantly in muddy water and debris! Still, the water here was so nice and sparkled purple reflections. Maybe, someone could help him! Gathering his power, the boy’s gem glowed a ghastly black shade as he tried to feel for the presence of other life forms near the river.

Nothing happened. The boy looked into the water and saw his own gem. That was when it happened. The boy was suddenly overwhelmed with flashbacks and sensations of all sorts of gems. Sparkly white ones representing diamonds, deep blue ones like sapphire that pulsated in his head, stinging topaz ones that demanded his attention. His mind whirled. The gems sang to him and the golems that had gems stuck all over them seemed to be awakened from their slumber and notice that he had watched them. “Feed me! Feed me!” the gems rang in his mind as they spun around, demanding fresh lion meat. Then, the vision faded and another one assaulted him. Instead of sensing gems, he sensed the earth. Dry, cracked, rumbling, sad. They loomed over Usui from the ceiling and walls. They had known he was spying on them! The presence of the room was too much to bear. "Git AWAY FROM ME! Noo!” the boy cried, overwhelmed by all the sensations. His world spun and he slipped near the bank, splashing into the water helplessly.

~EEYA~

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Unlike usual the hyper dolphin wasn't zooming around the river, testing his speed and underwater agility. He was napping with his blowhole out of the water and his tail moving gently to keep him from sinking. In his sleep he had been dreaming of light, of bright light that warmed him beneath the surface. However, in his sleep things began to get bad. Darkness came and took the light away, casting him in a cold that he had never felt before. Even when he tried to use his echolocation the darkness was to inky, too think to penetrate it. He was lost! Forever lost in an inky world of colt, blackness. The dolphin called out in his dream and the real world. His tail stilled and he began to sink, going beneath the surface.

He sucked in water and if he hadn't woken up due to an instinct he probably would have drowned. However, he kicked his tail, lungs bursting from the intake of water. Finally he burst above the surface, expelling water from his lungs forcefully with a stream from his blowhole. The dolphin breathed heavily, terrified at the thought of drowning.

For a moment he just stat there, blinking around, making sure that he was alright. Drowning scared him. What didn't scare him? Fish! Fish made him happy! He would be happy instead and chase fish! So, with ease he threw the drowning ordeal out of his mind and went to chase fish. He didn't catch any because he heard of sound. Splashing and flailing around. Oh no! It was another land critter in trouble! They always seemed to get themselves into the river of Polaris! Those silly land critters!

With a laugh he kicked his tail and swam over to the flailing lion with just his dorsal fin above the water. Upon reaching the lion he went completely under and surfaced, putting the lion on the blue sapphire behind his melon where he would have plenty of room to stretch out and regain himself.

Eeya wanting to study him a bit more took him out a little ways from the shore, careful to keep the hair-Makyna above the surface so he wouldn't fall off or be below the water. With a smile and a playful laugh he sang, "Silly, hairy-Makyna, you no can swim like that!" He giggled before continuing, "Eeya can teach hairy-Makyna to swim like proper sea-critter so he won't drown underwaters! That would be fun fun fun!" Tons of fun! He loved teaching everyone to swim!

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”I’m going to die I’m going to die I’m going to die”, the words ran through Usui’s mind as he drifted further into the black abyss (which was only 4 meters deep). He flailed at the water but the current was strong for his adolescent paws. Usui felt sadness overwhelm him. He was so young and had yet to see the world and yet, fate would have him suffer such a terrible death? The cub forced open his pale green eyes in the water, willing himself to watch the world through blurry water before passing on to the next if there ever was another.

Something heaved the cub from the bottom then. With a ”Oomph!” and a release of air bubbles from the cub’s exclamation, he was shifted backwards and brought to the surface! The overwhelming presence of gems had taken over his mind earlier but now, with eyes wide open, he saw where he was going and it was the wrong direction! ”AHBlUHBLUHSKJDIENEWLN” he blubbed through the water, trying to resist. Usui thrashed his paws wildly as he skimmed the surface and succeeded at doing nothing but bringing up sprays of water everywhere. When he burst above the water surface fully on the dolphin’s back, the boy spluttered and coughed out the water weakly. He had heard the dolphin. Wasn’t this the one who had beached himself and got pushed back in with the cub? ”No..not hairy..Maky’n. I’m Usui” the cub spluttered. A sad goatee had distended down his face and his fur was soggy wet. Doleful green eyes stared at the Eeya in shock. ”Swim..uh. Yes Swim…” the boy trailed off. He shook his head rather miserably, trying to get the water out of his eyes. The boy needed a mentor and the cheerful dolphin seemed perfect for the job! ”Teach me, yes. Teach Usui please. No more drowning!” The boy declared indignantly as he rested againt the dorsal fin of Eeya.

~EEYA~

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The hairy-Makyna was making lots of funny sounds! He made one that sounded like he was yelling or spluttering, one of the two! Eeya would have been worried about that if he wasn't so sure that he was holding the poor cub above the waves. He even tried flailing around but that was a bad idea. "Eeya wouldn't do that if he were yoooouuu!" He sang in a carefree voice in reference to the lion's flailing. Soon enough though the lion calmed down and let the dolphin carry him around.

His name was apparently Usui. So, he was a hairy-Makyna-Usui! Or at least he and Makyna were the same things only she had less hair. Speaking of Makyna he hadn't seen her for a while... He wondered where she was. "Oooooosoooooaaiiii! Usui! If you is Usui why does you look like Makyna but with more hairs?" He didn't know if the lion would know but it was an interesting thing. All these land critters had so much fur! "I is Eeeeeeeyaaaaaaa!" He whistled out with joy.

Then he said the most amazing thing ever! "Eeya can teach to swim! Yay yay yay! Much, many fun! Eeya promise you no drown after he teaches you!" He began to lower himself into the water ever so slightly but only so the cub's paws would be the drink. "But you has to trust Eeya! He teach his official-dolphin-friend-Mawra to swim too! Usui can be official-dolphin-friend too! But he has to learn sea-critter speech first! But first first, swim!" With that he lowered himself further but only a little. "Come to Eeya front-flipper." He instructed to the lion. He'd only move again when the cub was properly holding onto his flipper.

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The lion caught a glimmer of his appearance against the blue gem extending from Eeya’s dorsal fin. He tilted his head left, right, up, down. Scraggly tufts of hair sprouted from random areas, not too obvious as they bore the same colour as his pelt, but they were definitely there. This was very much different from Makyna and the cub wondered if they would grow further. “Usui’s a boy. Makyna’s a girl. So Usui has more fur” he explained to the dolphin in warm, friendly tones. The cub had no inkling of what he would look like as a full grown adult though. Would he be hairy like a bear? Urgh. Not his thing.

Shaking his head, the cub tested Eeya’s name on his tongue. “Eeeeeya. EEya!” he exclaimed, already forgetting his overwhelming experience with the failed gem sense. He chuckled. It was a nice name, and he liked it. And best of all, Eeya was promising him a lesson of not drowning! The cub perked up his ears and felt slightly better about everything. The sea critter went deeper into the water then and a thrill ran through the lion’s heart. He was going on a whole new adventure! “Um okay,” the boy spoke. “Trust.” He then gently slid himself off the dolphin’s back and landed into the water gracefully with a little splosh! He then drifted towards the dolphin and gently held on to the slippery fin, his hindlegs thrashing around wildly under water. His head was still above the water so he felt rather secure. ”What next?” he called to his newfound friend and mentor Eeya, pale green eyes meeting the other’s blue ones.

~EEYA~

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Oh! That made sense. Makyna was a girl lion and Usui was a boy lion! So that was why Usui was all hairy! "Eeya eeeeaaaakiki!" Eeya understands! He said in his own language before remembering that this creature on his back wasn't like Mawra. He laughed and whistled, "Oopsie! Haha! Eeya understands! You is male and she is female so you two looks different!" He bobbed his head up and down. Made sense. Though in the dolphin world he was certain that males and females looked the same, less confusing he figured.

Eeya laughed when the lion tested his name. That was the spirit! Have a laugh! Life was too short to be serious and scared all the time. While the lion slid down his side, Eeya sat perfectly still so the cub wouldn't be dislodged or thrown into the water. That would be terrible if he had just told the cub to trust him and then immediately threw him in the drink by accident. He waited until he felt the cub's paws on his fin and heard the next question before answering. "Next is, you swim with Eeya! Eeya take you slowly while you hold onto fin. Get used to waters. Get used to how to move back legs in waters. Then when ready move belly over Eeya fin so you can move front legs and back legs in waters. Then, after you are good tell Eeya. He tell you next part of swimming plans." That was the best course of action. Go slow at first so he could get used to the feel of water then allow him to test his legs in the waves and feel how everything should move.

Having explained what would happen the dolphin waited for a moment for Usui to get situated then he moved, going slowly through the water and pulling the lion along with him so he could feel how the currents moved beneath him. It was all part of the plan to get Usui used to the water first.

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The lion felt the cool water tug at his fur gently in rhythmic pattern. Tug, release, tug, release. It felt as though he could just get swept away and float along the river to who knew where should he chose to let go of the fin. Usui held onto Eeya’s fin then with a firmer but gentle grip as these anxious thoughts flooded his thoughts. Still, he had chosen to trust the dolphin and all this was for survival. All the time the dolphin spoke, the boy had been thrashing the water wildly underwater with his hind legs in an awkward fashion. “W’ stick t’ part one first,” he grinned weakly, and nodded to Eeya that he was okay as the dolphin started to steer himself forward. The boy kicked even harder in his awkward fashion, rather much like a frog.

The water swirled against Usui as Eeya gently made a round. The lion cub shut his eyes to get a better feel of the water. It was non-threatening, and enveloped him in its gentle embrace, unlike fire that sought to ravage. Based on this logic, he calmed himself down and let his hind legs relax for a bit, simply floating with Eeya. He could see it now, the way to swim in water. It could be like walking, but just like Eeya’s tail and fins, with added power to push the water in the opposite direction of where one was headed towards.
The cub started to do a walking motion with his hind legs then, but kicked higher and tried to push against the water. It steered gently under his grasp, and with a couple of kicks the boy got a hang of it. He was not sure whether he could do as well with his front paws first though. “Legs okay. I try paws now.” Daring himself to do so, Usui let go of the fin and pedalled himself forward, belly onto the fin, and attempted to work his paws like he was scraping sand. The boy’s tail remained straight out behind him, like a little rudder, helping him to gauge what he was doing.

Nonetheless, the feeling of foreignness flooded the cub. Swimming was unnatural to this feline. Could he take more than a couple of paddles? Nervously, the cub attempted to swim in front of Eeya. It was extremely hard for the boy was trusting Eeya, but not his body. Nonetheless, his attempt was a brave one and he swam on his own to Eeya’s snout. The boy attempted to pat the dolphin’s shiny head in thanks. “Eeya! I’m swimming right? I’m swimming! What next!”

~EEYA~

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Eeya grinned, "First part it is! Hang on!" The dolphin replied giddily. He went slowly, allowing the cub's thrashing paws to get used to the water. It was all the same. They fought the water at first, fearing it. In the end they all learned that water was nothing to be afraid of once you had the right tools to deal with it. It was just a thing, a thing that was easily swam in. The dolphin could feel when he finally relaxed, allowing the water to embrace him. Then, he kicked with his rear things in a more steady motion. Eeya could feel the difference as he swam beside him. "Good, good!" The dolphin praised him.

The lion pushed himself forward for phase two and Eeya slowed down for a bit to let him get situated before speeding back up. He went round and round in circles for a moment then straightened out, heading up river while the other got used to the more realistic version of swimming. After a little while he was surprised to see the lion cub come out and paddle up near his beak. He was learning! The dolphin gave a few clicks of satisfaction as the boy patted his head. "Usui is on 'next'!" He laughed happily. "'Next' is letting go of Eeya fin and swimming on own! You is doing now!" The dolphin sped up and made a lazy turn around the lion, coming up on his other side. "Eeya swim next to Usui and Usui swim next to him. You work on swim form and get more comfortable in water, follow next to Eeya. If get tired or need break just grab his fin!" With that he kicked his tail fin and went forward, expecting the boy to follow again.

Perhaps that would get to underwater swimming today or at least work on it. Making someone into an official dolphin could be tiring work for the initiate but they would see.

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The cub was delighted to hear the dolphin’s clicks. The sound was musical and thrilling unlike many of the awkward screeches of other animals. He appreciated it. The boy gave a surprised purr as the dolphin then spoke of his progress! Usui puffed out his chest proudly and grinned happily, white fangs gleaming. "Yeah!!” he huffed. The water would not conquer him, he would conquer the water! He watched his dolphin friend spin one round and come to his other side and give him further instructions to swim beside him and rest against him if he needed it. The lion nodded and paddled his legs forward to follow alongside Eeya.

The water was no longer as strange to him by then and his body temperature was more adjusted. The boy imagined that he was raking up sand with his front paws, and walking with his back. It seemed easier now and he had no trouble propelling himself beside Eeya while keeping his little furry eyes, nose and ears above the water. Having been peddling all this while, the boy was indeed tired, but he had not used too much energy and could still continue. Usui would speed up as the dolphin speed up and together with his lion instincts, find that he had grasped the basic technique of swimming!

"What next?” he asked Eeya as he came to a temporary half by grabbing and leaning against the dolphin’s dorsal fin.

~EEYA~

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Eeya was proud! Very proud that the lion was catching on so well. Did that mean he was an excellent teacher? Perhaps it did! He swam along with Usui, going along with the lion and speeding up when he did and slowing when he did as well. He was letting the lion lead this time for he was comfortable enough to do so now. When the lion needed him or needed to rest he would pause for him and when he wanted to go he was ready again. Swimming was the thing he always did and unlike the lion it was natural and he only became tired when swimming for super long distances and high speeds that tested his endurance.

When the lion rested against him, asking what was next Eeya happily answered. "Next 'next' is Usui learning to swim underwaters! Yay, underwaters! Firstly for underwaters lessons Usui must learn to hold breath and put head underwaters. We stay in this one spot while Usui do this thing. We move on to next lesson when Usui can do this with eyes open!" The dolphin kept his large sapphire eyes on the lion. This was the one lesson that could get tricky. It was going directly under the water and having to fight the fear of drowning. However, he would be right there if Usui needed him.

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