“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.
"Of course I'm not afraid they've wandered off. That's preposterous. And also scientifically impossible." Scipio got out of the water and sat on the grass, shivering lightly. He still clearly didn't quite pick up on sarcasm. "Unless your weird bag thing ate them or something, I expect nothing has happened to them."
“First of all, Arci can’t digest things, so I can always grab them out,” Xellis said, holding up a finger but keeping his eyes closed. “Second of all, it was a joke. But it’s fine, I don’t hold you against not understanding my advanced sense of humor.”
Scipio rolled his eyes and flicked some water off of his fingers. "You know I don't get jokes. I didn't exactly have friends to joke around with when I was alive. Can we go get our clothes now? Or something to make ourselves… less wet?"
“Go right ahead,” Xellis said absently. He stayed where he was, taking a deep sigh and keeping his eyes closed. He figured he’d dry off more before he dressed again.
He stayed like that for a few moments before rolling over on his side and propping up his head with a hand.
Scipio nodded a bit and left to go fetch his clothes. He grabbed them and returned to sit on the grass and wait for himself to dry off a bit more. He ran his thin fingers through his soaked hair with a soft sigh, closing his eyes as he tried to relax.
“Sorry about that,” Xellis mumbled quietly after a moment, eyes wandering around Scipio. “If I knew I would have taken you elsewhere.”
He flopped back over onto his back, which wasn’t the most comfortable thing, considering he was on a rock. He kicked his feet in the water, it making a relaxing sloshing sound as he did so.
Scipio shrugged. "Whatever…" He sighed again and lay back on the grass, trying to find the best way to dry off. He was quiet for a while, considering. "I used to be afraid of water when I was a child." He said after a bit. "I almost drowned when I was about five and refused to get into the ocean from then on. That's why I never learned. Obviously I've gotten over the stupid phobia of water at this point."
Xellis stayed quiet, letting silence pass between them.
“I’m sorry to hear that,” he said after a while. “Although I’m glad you have it conquered now.”
The god couldn’t even remember his childhood, considering it was about a few million years prior. God’s had extended memories, but not to the point where they remember everything. The only thing Xellis could remember was his birthplace… the Gods’ Spring.
For some reason he shivered at the thought. Although it was a place of extreme power, he never felt right there.
"Mhmm. Obviously I'm still not a fan of the idea of drowning, but I'm not afraid of water. Fear is stupid." Scipio brushed some water off of himself and sighed, clearly frustrated with how slowly he was drying off.
“Well aren’t you just a ball of joy,” Xellis mumbled almost inaudibly. “And yeah, fear is stupid. But it’s also normal. Everything fears— it’s like how everything has the ability to feel joy or pain. Gods can too, although not very well.”
He tilted his head, readjusting on his arm. “It’s a blessing and a curse, really.”