| Swimming for Your Supper |
| Summary: | Circe challenges Shiner to a swim. Swimming ensues. |
| Date: | 17 Feb 2042 AE |
| Related Logs: | None |
| Players: |
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| Athletics Area |
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| A large pair of mats dominates the center of this room, their centers taped-out for a small area to practice boxing or other martial arts. Around the outside are treadmills, bikes, weights, and an impressive variety of gym equipment to help tone and shape the bodies of the crew. To one side of the room is the locker room while at the rear is a hatch that leads back to the oversized swimming pool. Off to the side is a rack that holds boxing gloves, pugil sticks, and the associated pads for the sticks. |
| Post-Holocaust Day: #356 |
Shiner isn't swimming for once, instead over on a rowing machine, maintaining a fairly steady pace.
The purple of Circe's shoulder has faded to a yellow and green and as she enters the pool area, she rotates it, lifting her arm high and then swinging it back down behind and around. She gets a good stretch out of it before unhinging the towel and letting it fall. She then lets it drape over one of the benches as she makes her way to the edge of the pool.
She shifts to the edge, legs pressing together as she takes note of the other occupant of the pool. Circe gives a solid push off and jackknifes into the water effortlessly. She breaks the surface and then is moving at a moderate pace with her front crawl.
Shiner watches her enter, grinning a little but not breaking his pace on the machine. He lets out a wolf whistle and flashes a wink, knees bending as he slides forward on the machine to take another stroke.
The whistle causes her to slow and she rotates to her back, gazing over at him with a shake of her head. She flips backwards into the water, cutting through the water and reaching the other wall. Circe sighs as she surfaces at the wall. Her shoulder is tight yet and she leisurely begins to drag herself back the way she had come. The medic draws herself slowly, speaking a little broken by the passing of her strokes forward, "Well hello there…" Her voice echoes.
"Stalking me again, are you?" Shiner queries amiably, hauling back to propel his virtual boat through the virtual water. "Understandable."
"That is what I got off duty to do.." She murmurs. Circe rolls to her back again, arm over arm dragging her back towards the entrance point of the pool. She splashes forward, lazily so and not with much flare at the moment. "Are you afraid to get in the water? Afraid you might get beat by a girl?" She asks.
"Are you afraid to try something new?" Shiner responds, quirking an easy grin as he works out. "I'll swim later. I've got cardio to do first. Business before pleasure and all that."
She reaches the edge of the pool and pulls herself up and rests on her arms at the edge. She settles her chin to her hands and narrows her gaze upon him. Circe pushes up, levering herself out of the pool with trailing water. She slowly smooths back her hair as she walks over towards him. "Never afraid to try anything new, Mid." She states, her arms folding before her as she slows and comes to a stop not far away. She gives a shake to her head, smirking faintly at him.
Shiner looks her over thoughtfully, tilting his head as he slows on the machine. "So what did you want from me, doc?"
A brow raises over her hazel eye, "Is conversation considered something of want now?" She asks. Circe motions for him to continue to work out. "Rather hard to talk while swimming. Besides, the shoulders better and I am looking forward to that rematch one of these days." She eyes the rowing machines and moves to take a side seat on one, still dripping slightly.
"You really want to get beaten that hard, huh?" Shiner queries, rolling his shoulders as he comes to a halt. He rises to his feet, crossing his arms to pull his top over his head as he heads towards the pool edge, flinging it away in a crumpled heap. "If I win, you owe me a pack of proper assam tea. I don't care what you have to do to get it."
She rises slowly and moves about the rowing machine. Circe watches him a moment, appreciating the build of his body before he offers his terms. "Very well, a steep price." She says and moves closer to the edge fo the pool, watching the placid surface with interest. Like smooth soft glass that would part for her. "If I win, I will take dinner on the Elpis." She says with a growing smile. She reaches back and hooks her foot, stretching it up against the small of her back, standing steady on the one.
Shiner kicks off his shoes, hopping on one leg as he strips out of his trousers and stands there in his boxers. He rolls his shoulders, touching a hand to his chin to crack his neck, then simply commands, "Go," and takes a running dive for the pool.
She is closer and so she arcs out with another solid push off the side. She ducks, skimming into the water and gliding with those same dolphin kicks as their first race. As she breaks the surface, she goes full steam into a front crawl, scissor kicks driving her forward. She catches sight of him only every other breath.
Shiner takes a moment to build up a head of steam, rippling his feet as he emerges from the dive before cracking in earnest into a crawl for this first lap. He may have just spent an hour rowing, but there's life in him yet, and this is, after all, his favoured environment.
She turns at the wall, twisting beneath the surface and coiling her legs underneath her. She is quick this time, quick enough to touch before he does but she is shooting forward. She breaks the surface in a breast stroke. She gasps for air and then back under to come up in the front crawl again. A small lead, but a lead none the less.
Shiner twists underwater a split second later, pushing himself off the wall with a powerful shove of those well toned, muscular legs of his, driving himself through the water and slicing the surface with every stroke.
He is catching on her but she keeps her pace, stretching out her muscles as if grasping for something beyond to be able to pull herself forward. Circe catches sight of the wall and with a twist beneath, she has him right with her. She gazes over and then dips beneath the surface as she forces herself forward, kicking her long legs swiflty to try to make up for lost space in her early lead.
Shiner barely splashes as he pulls himself forward, risking a glance towards her as he breaks for air, but otherwise concentrating wholly on moving through the water as economically as possible. She's still ahead, but he's gaining, and that's good enough for him.
Gaining for a moment, but as the far wall comes into range once more, she powers through and twists at the last second, giving a good push. Leg muscles coil and released in one well timed explosion of energy. She boosts through again, breaking the surface once more as she starts to draw ahead, a little more room and cushion for a win on her part and she is not slowing.
Shiner mistimes his turn, mentally cursing as he loses another fraction of a second on the smaller woman, but he's not about to give up yet, forcing himself on with renewed vigour, arms hitting the water in time with hers, but a few feet behind.
She is losing some ground again as the come back to the original wall. Her shoulder is starting bother her and she presses through it but she's holding less room now. The wall comes up and she turns, twisting beneath the water to emerge finally and start powering through the last lap. She means to keep her lead, means to keep ahead and she struggles for a moment.
Were he a less honourable man, this would certainly be the time to start cheating. Every ounce of power is going into his strokes, but a couple of feet is a couple of feet, and a tough distance to make up on a final lap. Not that Shiner doesn't try, muscles screaming as he overreaches and grits his teeth, determined to get the very best out of this last length.
She gets off a few hard kicks and her hands glide. She would win this one, the wall in reach and she slows enough to slap it, coming up quick so not to take herself out. She rises up, treading water as one hand reaches up to keep her afloat as she gasps for air, her chest heaving with the physical exertion. Her eyes close and she smiles, grinning over at him as she gives a tug down the wall in his direction. Her jade colored eyes study him before her hand rises up to wipe her face.
Shiner slaps the wall a moment later, irritation already visible on his face as he finds himself coming second. He dunks his head into the water, hanging on to the side of the pool there as he catches his breath. "Not bad. For a girl," he allows grudgingly.
"With an injured shoulder.." She reminds him. Circe holds still to the edge of the pool. She turns, pressing her back upon the wall as she reaches up over her head to keep herself in place. SHe sighs, kicking her legs slowly and she gives a faint push of water in his direction. She lifts a brow at him, his reaction not what she had expected. She smiles towards him. "So dinnner.." She starts.
"When we're stood down," Shiner promises her, exhaling before muscling himself up onto the pool edge, one hand hanging on to the waist of his boxers to prevent any wardrobe malfunctions in the now sodden and less than ideal trunks-substitutes. "You know their food's the same as ours, right?"
She remains in the pool a moment longer before she too pushes herself up and out. Circe perches at the side of the pool, leaning against her hands. She muses over the boxers and shakes her head. "I know..but its a chance to go someplace new…different. I have to get over to Elpis. Moving on shuttles scares me if I have to admit it. You may have lost to me here..but you could be my knight in shining armor and help me over to the other ship." She says, giving him a smile and a wink. She scoots a little closer and bumps her shoulder against his.
Shiner grins a little at that, wrapping his free arm loosely around her shoulders. "Hey, give it time and maybe I'll even be the one to fly you over there. I'm on shuttle duty for training, usually." Okay, so copiloting and not doing anything difficult, but she doesn't need to know that.
As he eases, she smiles and laughs a little. Kicking at the water, the medic hmmms, "THat is quite impressive, Mid." She states, her eyes following the ripples of water that expand outwards from leg. She lifts it straight out, letting water drip from it before she dips it back in and looks up at him. "It's a secret…small ships scare me to death. Not enough room between me and space. " She says.
"You should try EVA ops some time," Shiner notes, eyeing that leg with approval. "Spacewalking is something else, seriously. I love it, but… yeah, it's a step beyond even having a ship to sit in."
The thought of it actually causes her to shiver and he can feel it as it travels through her body. Circe shakes her head, "Hell no…never." She breathes. She grins a little but there is that nervouness in her eyes as she even thinks about the prospects. "What on earth would possess someone to do that?" She asks him. "I mean what is it that would make you want to go out in a thing suit. Space is death.." She says, considering him and his love of dangerous hobbies.
"You can see everything," Shiner attempts to explain, running his free hand through his hair (and hoping his boxers hold up, presumably), "And it's just you… and space… and… yeah. I don't know. It's kinda peaceful. And big. Real big."
"Anything could go wrong.." She says, "Compromised suit, attack of clyons…anything could malfunction." She shudders again. "I like the water better.." She smiles and swirls it with that leg again, gazing down into something more real to her than the abyss of space. Circe lifts her gaze again, doing her best not to look over much. She bumps him again with her shoulder, if but lightly. "The stars are beautiful…but I would be too overwhelmed I think." She pauses, "So what else do you like to do as hobbies? Spacewalking, swimming, what else do I not know about you, mid?"
"Spacewalking's not exactly a hobby," Shiner points out. "More part of the job. My old job, anyway. These days my job is to train, train, study and train. Umm… what else. I like tea?" he ventures. "And I like climbing. And good beer. Oh, and I like women, yeah. That goes without saying." He pauses to consider. "Uh… and I play bass?"
She nods, "Tea, tea when I can get it, coffee if I have to." She agrees and then nods about training, realizing her new path was leading her square into that. Circe considers the musical inclinations. "Really? Bass…" She seems interested there. "I sing, not the best, but I would like to hear you play. It's been a while since I heard music, no time and really no place to listen." She explains. "That is..do you have a bass?" She realizes that would be a good question to ask considering the circumstances.
"Well, no," Shiner admits, absently stroking her shoulder. "But if I did have one, I'd play it. You should talk to Sofa, though. She's like the most awesome singer ever."
"I heard her…" She says and grins a bit more, "She is very very good." She agrees. "Told her she should sing to increase morale." Circe grins all the more and reaches down, giving a splash up at him from the water. "Then we should find you a bass…something. Maybe someone has something on Elpis." It seems Circe may have a mission.
Shiner nods thoughtfully for a moment, sneaking a moment to scratch his groin while she's watching the water. "That'd be cool, yeah," he agrees, looking her over. "Hey… uh… you want to come back to my bunk for a bit? My bass playing's pretty shit, but I'm a damn good frak."
Honesty again by the mid and the medic looks him over. "Promise?" she asks with some humor. Circe actually colors a little and she lifts her hand to put her knuckle beneath his chin lightly for a moment. "It's tempting.." She smiles and draws her hand back. "Its been quite a while. Frakking is a commitment, mid. And I am taking it that you are not that type of person with your talk of women." She leans over and Circe attempts to give his cheek a quick kiss.
Shiner considers this, grinning faintly at the kiss. "Well, maybe not a damn good one. But an enthusiastic one. But I don't do that relationship crap. If you ever just want a quick tumble, you know where to find me."
Circe slides out of his arm lightly as she rises, long legs giving her some height over him. Drying hair is curling about her face slowly and she gazes down at him with her jade gaze. "I will keep that in mind." She seems to promise. Her gaze lingers and then she turns slowly. "Dinner, Mid…don't forget. Unless you want to double the odds next time instead" She casts a gaze over her shoulder at him. "I enjoy the races, Dave." She finally says his name. There is a genuine smile from her and it reaches her eyes as she grabs her towel and begins to dry her arms as she continues to head for the locker rooms.