[Varian watches with fascination as Melius works. He always wants to learn more about alchemy- he's certainly not blind enough to decide the way he does it is the only correct way. So he watches as Melius prepares his ingredients, putting them together. It's genuinely nice to see him looking so confident in what he does. It fills his little alchemist heart.
He nods in understanding. ]
Okay, I can do that. [He's gonna...just go grab his arm. He's prepared to LIMPET once they're in the water.]
[One day, he'll teach you his ways. The ways of the backwoods alchemy nerd who sampled too many mushrooms. Maybe herbalist would be a better term, but oh well. He cups a bit of seawater into his hand, sprinkling it into the mixture.]
Okay. Okay... When it's ready, I'll give it to you. And then we go.
[Varian can cling, it's fine. Melius just takes a deep breath. Focuses on the pile of kelp left over.]
𝕐𝕆𝕃 𝕋𝕆𝕆ℝ -
[Fire breath. But only the first two syllables. It should be enough, and maybe it will cut down on the time he can't speak. The flames appear on the exhale, igniting the kelp immediately, despite the fact they're, you know, damp seaweed. Then he's literally shoving the mortar rock into the flames.]
[Varian will love to learn. He'll absorb it all in his weird knowledge-sponge brain. ]
Got it.
[Okay that's pretty cool. As iffy on magic as Varian is, even he has to admit that's... well that's useful and it's absolutely going to mean he gets to live today instead of dying in a shitty crab cave.]
I'm ready when you are.
[He;s taking Melius' lead on this one. He has no idea when it'll be ready.]
[He nods. Just once - his eye on the little boiling puddle. It really won't last that long. He'll have to be fast. If he had a better vessel he could make more. But as it stands, this will have to do.]
[Something in the mixture changes. He grabs the rock, and holds it out to Varian, almost immediately.]
Okay, go -
[... Look we'll address the fact he just said words later.]
[Varian does pause for a split second because Melius is speaking after Shouting and questions begin to spark in the back of his mind. But he recognises the urgency in Melius' voice- now is not the time- so he downs the potion and moves to cling on a little tighter to Melius. ]
[A short, sharp nod. And without any further ado, he's looping his other arm around his friend and just flat out diving into the water. Thankfully, Argonians swim like crocodilians. No hands necessary. Just tail, and occasional kicking.]
[The salt water probably burns like Meli warned it would. But alchemy is amazing. Somehow, breathing water feels like breathing air.]
[He's just booking it through the caves. Trying to catch a current that would indicate open water.]
[The salt water burns and Varian naturally tries to hold his breath- his money brain starting to go into panic mode as it needs to draw breath. He does though, and doesn't die. And...yeah, he is definitely going to try and make this recipe himself, because this is genuinely useful.
Even if it's weird as all get out. He's gonna stay clinging to Meli, because like heck he can SWIM like this, water breathing or not.]
[Maybe later, he'll wonder if it's the leftovers from Squid Brain. Or if it's something else. Some latent Argonian instinct he'd never needed before. There's open water somewhere. A current somewhere.]
[Maybe he should have tried for a potion of swift-swim, too.]
[Something brushes his gills - like a breeze. Water current. There's no current inside caves. He takes off after it. Kicking off a rock to propel them forward.]
[Varian will honestly take any of those options at this point. He's going to keep clinging. He wasn't a terrible swimmer, once upon a time- he grew up in a coastal kingdom, after all. But after losing the leg he's not really got the practice in to adjust. It's not like Deerington had many places to swim to do that.
It's making him wholly reliant on Melius to get him out of this, and he doesn't like feeling this helpless- but he does brighten at the light- he tries to say "hey, it's light" but just a whole lot of bubbles come out of his mouth.
[It's one last push. One longer push. Tail snaking through the water, even going to kick his feet for more propulsion. He's got to get Varian out of here. That's the most important thing. There's no real telling how long the potion is going to hold out - he'd know if he had time to take better measurements. Or had an actual bottle to put the potion in.]
[But then - the cave seems to disappear, falls away around them. The surface in sight, finally.]
[The water breathing has been an exceptionally strange experience. Varian is struggling to put it in a logical, reasonable way of thinking. Like breathing normally? But not???
He sees the surface and is glad for it, even more so as he feels a weird tightness in his chest. Like he's actually starting to have difficulty in breathing. He glances upwards, desperation slipping into his expression. Boy, he'd rather not drown day one, please. ]
[Nope! Not happening. Not today, buddy. Not while he's here!]
[He kicks even harder, his whole body wiggling in that serpentine stroke. It's close. Close enough to... yeah. This is happening. He's grabbing Varian and shoving him forward to the surface.]
[After all, Melius doesn't actually need to come up for air.]
[Varian definitely wasn't expecting that move, but he is glad for it. As soon as his head breaks the surface of the water, he sucks in a lungful of blessed air. He starts coughing out water almost immediately, but hey, he's alive and that's what's important.
[Oh, welp, he's just gonna be raised higher okay. He lets out a short, panicked yelp, before turning his head to try and look around, his hands gripping onto Melius' a little tightly just in case. This is fine. He squints into the distance- catching sight of some lights bobbing away.]
[And back down Varian goes. Right onto the lizardy shoulders. Easier to keep him above the water, and Melius can do his crocodile swim thing. He doesn't need the air, after all.]
[He just has to keep up the momentum in the waves... until they can get to the pier. And hope it's a pier.]
[Welp, sure, this is one heck of a way to get through the water. He's going to stay on his nice, safe perch as Melius does his cool Argonian swimming thing. Thankfully, they do manage to get to a pier, Varian reaching down to pat Meliu's shoulder to get his attention.]
[Oh thank Akatosh. Weird, he'd think, later, he still thinks about the dragon deity - still swears internally by him. Is that weird? Is that like swearing by your uncle?]
[He grabs onto the pier, slowly dragging himself - and Varian - up out of the ocean. Safely out of the water.]
[It's a tiny bit weird, Buddy, he's not gonna lie.
Varian's just gonna...lie on his back on the pier, staring up at the sky, taking a few solid deep breaths. Well. Neither of them are dead so that's got to be a bonus, right? He's just gonna...blindly reach out to pat Meli on the arm.]
We did, thanks to you. I really owe you one, Buddy.
[Yep. Laying on the ground. It's going to happen now. Nothing else to do - sure, being the Dragonborn means you have to be in decent shape by default, but man, he just basically swam a marathon there.]
Hhhhah. Hahah.
[He's so tired even laughing feels like an enormous effort.]
[He swam a marathon, dragging his one-legged friend around. He deserves a good break! Varian returns the laugh, just...flopped for a second, before carefully pulling himself up on his elbows to take a gander at their surroundings.]
...I think there's a hot dog stand over there. I'm not sure what I was expecting, but I know it wasn't that.
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countryclub2021-08-09 05:25 pm
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He nods in understanding. ]
Okay, I can do that. [He's gonna...just go grab his arm. He's prepared to LIMPET once they're in the water.]
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Okay. Okay... When it's ready, I'll give it to you. And then we go.
[Varian can cling, it's fine. Melius just takes a deep breath. Focuses on the pile of kelp left over.]
𝕐𝕆𝕃 𝕋𝕆𝕆ℝ -
[Fire breath. But only the first two syllables. It should be enough, and maybe it will cut down on the time he can't speak. The flames appear on the exhale, igniting the kelp immediately, despite the fact they're, you know, damp seaweed. Then he's literally shoving the mortar rock into the flames.]
Boil...
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Got it.
[Okay that's pretty cool. As iffy on magic as Varian is, even he has to admit that's... well that's useful and it's absolutely going to mean he gets to live today instead of dying in a shitty crab cave.]
I'm ready when you are.
[He;s taking Melius' lead on this one. He has no idea when it'll be ready.]
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[Something in the mixture changes. He grabs the rock, and holds it out to Varian, almost immediately.]
Okay, go -
[... Look we'll address the fact he just said words later.]
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Let's move!
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[The salt water probably burns like Meli warned it would. But alchemy is amazing. Somehow, breathing water feels like breathing air.]
[He's just booking it through the caves. Trying to catch a current that would indicate open water.]
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Even if it's weird as all get out. He's gonna stay clinging to Meli, because like heck he can SWIM like this, water breathing or not.]
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[Maybe he should have tried for a potion of swift-swim, too.]
[Something brushes his gills - like a breeze. Water current. There's no current inside caves. He takes off after it. Kicking off a rock to propel them forward.]
[Light... it's close.]
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It's making him wholly reliant on Melius to get him out of this, and he doesn't like feeling this helpless- but he does brighten at the light- he tries to say "hey, it's light" but just a whole lot of bubbles come out of his mouth.
...Oh, right. Water. ]
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[It's one last push. One longer push. Tail snaking through the water, even going to kick his feet for more propulsion. He's got to get Varian out of here. That's the most important thing. There's no real telling how long the potion is going to hold out - he'd know if he had time to take better measurements. Or had an actual bottle to put the potion in.]
[But then - the cave seems to disappear, falls away around them. The surface in sight, finally.]
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He sees the surface and is glad for it, even more so as he feels a weird tightness in his chest. Like he's actually starting to have difficulty in breathing. He glances upwards, desperation slipping into his expression. Boy, he'd rather not drown day one, please. ]
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[He kicks even harder, his whole body wiggling in that serpentine stroke. It's close. Close enough to... yeah. This is happening. He's grabbing Varian and shoving him forward to the surface.]
[After all, Melius doesn't actually need to come up for air.]
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Thanks, buddy!]
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Alive?
[Buddy... you're talking.]
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I'm ooooookay. Definitely alive.
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[He kind of glances around. Everywhere. Trying to see if there's any land in sight.]
[On second though, he holds Varian up a little more.]
See anything?
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[Oh, welp, he's just gonna be raised higher okay. He lets out a short, panicked yelp, before turning his head to try and look around, his hands gripping onto Melius' a little tightly just in case. This is fine. He squints into the distance- catching sight of some lights bobbing away.]
I think I can see a pier that way?
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[And back down Varian goes. Right onto the lizardy shoulders. Easier to keep him above the water, and Melius can do his crocodile swim thing. He doesn't need the air, after all.]
[He just has to keep up the momentum in the waves... until they can get to the pier. And hope it's a pier.]
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Okay! Well, I think we made it to dry land!
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[He grabs onto the pier, slowly dragging himself - and Varian - up out of the ocean. Safely out of the water.]
[And then promptly flops facedown on the pier.]
... made it.
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Varian's just gonna...lie on his back on the pier, staring up at the sky, taking a few solid deep breaths. Well. Neither of them are dead so that's got to be a bonus, right? He's just gonna...blindly reach out to pat Meli on the arm.]
We did, thanks to you. I really owe you one, Buddy.
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We... did it. Go us...
[Don't mind him if he just lays here a while longer.]
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Doot-doot-dooo, we're winners.
[They are winners who are gonna just...lay on the ground for a little bit. It's fine.]
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Hhhhah. Hahah.
[He's so tired even laughing feels like an enormous effort.]
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...I think there's a hot dog stand over there. I'm not sure what I was expecting, but I know it wasn't that.
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