Scipio didn't seem to notice Xellis watching him as he continued, his gentle touch a harsh contrast to his normal prickly demeanor. He was still smiling softly, unbeknownst to him, of course. He seemed to be too distracted by the scenery to keep up the asshole act.
The spotted trees turned into a grove as they kept walking, and soon the sun was shaded by the large abundance of leaves. It wasn’t long before Xellis hopped up on a mossy rock, overlooking a small pond, like a beautiful hidden spring. He gave a smile, nodding to Scipio.
“Set up camp, this is the place,” he said happily. Without further notice, he slipped his shoes off, Arci as well, his shirt off, and plummeted in to the middle of the spring. Reappearing just moments after, his red hair falling into his youthful golden eyes, he gave the other man a smile and began floating on his back.
"Ah, um… alright…" Scipio hesitated before taking off his shirt, socks, pants and shoes and overlooking the pond. I'm sure it's plenty safe… He paused again for a few seconds, but soon jumped into the spring as well. "Shit, this was a bad idea…" He struggled to keep his head above the water and just forced himself over to a place where he could reach the bottom of the pool.
“Can you… can you not swim?” Xellis asked hesitantly, treading the water as if he was part fish. Truth was, he’d been swimming in that spring for the majority of his life. And expertise is something a couple million years could offer.
He swam over to beside Scipio, holding out an arm.
“Do you want me to help? I’m not sure how.. but I could try?”
"No, I can't." Scipio pushed his wet hair out of his eyes, sighing softly as he tried his best to keep his head above water. He stepped back again where the ground was a bit higher. "I never really learned how… never needed to." He eyed Xellis's arm warily, not entirely sure what the god expected him to do with it.
“It’s ok,” Xellis said, letting his arm back down. “You can just chill on the side of you’d like. I could… try to teach you? I mean, I’ve never taught anybody, and it sort of just comes naturally to me…”
He cocked his head up to Scipio, unable to keep himself from smiling.
“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t find it funny— I’m sorry,” he said, voice broken by stifled laughing. “I just.. if you knew you didn’t know how then why would you jump in?”
Scipio glared at Xellis, huffing indignantly. "The water's deeper than I expected. Shut up." He stepped back again and crossed his arms. "How would you even teach me?" He asked, reluctantly keeping his eyes on Xellis. His cheeks were noticeably a bit flushed.
“No frikin clue,” he said, stroking back and going beneath the water for a moment before coming back up. He took his hair, stroking it to the side.
“Just… hold you? It’s what Zayanzar did to me, but mostly she just tossed me in and said figure it out. To me, that’s pretty decent parenting.”
"Clearly that strategy won't work for me. I basically already tried that." Scipio huffed again, glancing around the water. He kept up his glare, but he looked noticeably nervous. He didn't like feeling incompetent.
“Ok then treating you like a child and holding you in my loving embrace is next on the table,” he said jokingly. “How ‘bout it, Sunshine?”
Xellis gave a cheesy wink over in Scipio’s direction, accompanied by a teasing smile.
Scipio flushed and huffed again, looking away. "I'm not a child. I'm eighteen. And don't call me sunshine." He stepped back again and stumbled a bit, his heart skipping a beat when his chin hit the water. He didn't quite fall, but he was visibly nervous once he was fully upright again.
“Alright, alright, whatever. Missed chance,” he mumbled teasingly. “Just take it slow. I’ll save you if you have to have me to. Just be careful.”
With that, he disappeared under the water, reappearing on the other side of the pond and sitting atop a rock. He ruffled out his hair, the drops flying.
Well, don't go that far away, dumbass! Scipio hesitated before stepping further into the water. He paled when the water got closer to his face, his heart speeding up. I hate this. His breathing picked up a bit as he got closer, and he soon had to step back again. I can't. I don't know how.
Xellis gave a small considerate frown, feeling for him.
“If you need me to do something, just ask, alright? I’ll help,” he offered, not even sure what he should do if asked. He paddled his hands in the water absently, looking around the spring. It was surrounded by tall trees and mossy earth, casting a nice shade on the pond. His eyes then rested on Scipio, and he tilted his head to the side.
"I-I don't… know where to start…" Scipio replied quietly, basically just standing cluelessly in the water. He didn't seem to understand the concept of treading water. "I just… I can't…" He sighed in frustration as he tried to keep his head above water.
“Don’t worry, it’s ok,” Xellis said, gliding over and standing by Scipio’s side. “You don’t need to. I’ll just stand on the side with you if you’d like. Or… I mean…”
He trailed off, holding one of his hands and fidgeting with the wrist.
“I could hold you?”
Before Scipio could answer, Xellis backtracked, holding out his hands defensively. “Granted I have no clue how to actually teach people, but I could possibly help you float? It’s relaxing once you get the hang of it.”
"I don't fucking care, I just don't want to drown." Scipio slipped further into the water and choked, coughing as he struggled to breathe. His heart was pounding hard in his chest at this point, reminding him of how painfully weak he really was. Fear. His fear was weakening him, but he couldn't help it. He couldn't admit that he needed help, because that meant to admit he was afraid and incapable. He kicked off the floor of the pool so that he could actually catch a breath.
“Then let me help you… dumbass ,” he said quietly, hesitantly wrapping his arms around Scipio, making sure not to hinder his arms as he treaded the water, lifting him upwards.
“Stop moving, and just trust me, alright?” he asked softly, his arms stiff yet gentle around him. “I’ll help you. Just calm yourself down and trust me. Lay on your back and let yourself float up. I won’t let go.”
Scipio reluctantly allowed Xellis to hold onto him. It wasn't like he really had any other options at this point. After a few seconds of coughing and catching his breath, he hesitantly obeyed Xellis's instructions, slowly shifting to be on his back. "I-I don't see…. how this helps me… learn how to swim…" He said weakly, trying not to breathe much so that he wouldn't sink.
“Pfft, it doesn’t whatsoever,” Xellis said, letting out a slight nervous laugh. “It just helps you enjoy yourself.”
Xellis placed a hand on Scipio’s upper back, and one just below his knee, keeping him just on the top of the water.
“Just breath normally,” he said, noticing his irregular pattern. “Go to a happy place, or whatever. If you have one. If not, then— no clue. Just focus on the water maybe. Feel it, hm?”
Scipio closed his eyes and exhaled shakily, still very tense. He'd never exactly had a 'happy place' before, but he figured that now was as good of a time as any to create one for himself. To be fair, considering how few things made him feel what he thought to be happy, that wasn't the easiest task. However, he tried his best nonetheless. He ended up mostly just zoning out and thinking of nothing at all besides controlling his breathing.
Xellis gave a small smile as Scipio calmed, feeling his body return to relative normalcy. He tried to keep him as steady as possible.
The god suddenly became very aware of the contact, and he tried to focus on something else, his eyes wandering off of Scipio hastily to the land around the pond.
Scipio steadily started to relax now that he wasn't worried about trying to keep himself up. Either he didn't notice the close contact or he just didn't care. Or was possibly trying to ignore it. "Mm…" He shifted a bit, focusing on his own breathing and heart rate to keep himself distracted.
“Well?” Xellis breathed, slightly hesitant to break the calm silence. “How is it?”
He kept his eyes around the side of the pond, catching a glimpse of the bag mimic atop the rock, still sleeping soundly. The side of his mouth tugged into a smile at the sight of it calmly resting.
He then looked back to Scipio, awaiting his answer.
"It's fine, I guess…" Scipio sighed, moving a bit closer to Xellis to feel more stable in the water. "Not drowning is pretty nice. I hear it's one of the worst ways to die, after all. Not very pleasant." He opened his eyes to look up at Xellis, his gaze slowly shifting over to the sleeping mimic.
Xellis grit his teeth, starting to breath slightly deeper. He kept telling himself it was because of the consistent treading water, and the fact it was harder because he didn’t have the support of his arms, and he was holding up Scipio. It sure was a contributing factor— factors— but he wasn’t entirely sure. Maybe it was because he was just happy to have a friend. That seemed believable enough.
"How long are we staying here?" Scipio asked, looking back up at Xellis. "Because unless I'm being taught to swim, I don't think there's really any practical reason for us to stick around much longer." He shied away from the water when it lapped up against his head.
“It’s up to you,” he said quietly, drifting off to the side and helping Scipio begin to stand again. He let go quite quickly, knowing Scipio had firm footing before letting go. He slid up to a nearby rock, sitting atop it and giving his legs a rest.
“You don’t have to learn today, if you don’t want. It’s all up to you. It’s not like we’ll run out of time.”
"Maybe another time…" Scipio sighed, drifting over and sitting on the bank. He ran his fingers through his wet hair and closed his eyes again. "We left our clothes up with your weird bag thing, so we'll have to go grab those, hmm?"
“Yeah,” he mumbled absently, looking over the dim water. “What, you afraid they wandered off? Or just wanting to walk back in your underwear?”
Xellis held his vocal sarcastic flare to the last lines, regretting them slightly due to how quiet Scipio had been. It’s not like he expected the man to be light-hearted— he knew him that well— but with the whole swimming thing he didn’t doubt he’d end up a little quieter.
“But we can just dry off beforehand, then head back,” Xellis continued, leaning back on the rock and putting his hands behind his head as a cushion. His feet still hung limp in the water as he closed his eyes, taking a deep breath.