1942/An Informative Swim

An Informative Swim
Date of Scene:	12 September 2024
Location:	Beach
Synopsis:	Meeting in the ocean to tackle Miho's sensitivity and more, Laura tries to help Miho relax when she notices the stress she is under. The scene ends with the nascent Youkai Musume informing the mermaid that she is gifting her a ticket to Ultra Japan on Odaiba Island!
Cast of Characters:	Laura La Mer, Miho Inada

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Laura La Mer has posed:
The last time Miho and Laura had met, things had taken a turn for the unexpected, with Miho straight up fainting upon seeing Laura's real form. Considering her suspicion that the other girl's headaches had a partial root into a reaction to the supernatural, perhaps she should have exercised more caution there. But she had never really seen somebody who reacted like that to a mermaid before.

Even so, things turned out fine, and after resting a bit in her dorm room, Miho had turned out to be completely fine. She had tried to apologise even! That was almost just as ridiculous as the other event. Of course, there was nothing to apologise about it. But since she had gotten confirmation Miho was now completely fine, and she wouldn't faint again, there was only way to proceed from there! Invite Miho to the beach, so she could get completely used to seeing her in all her splendor.

Fast forward a few days, Laura is waiting on the beach for Miho's arrival, looking incredibly joyful. It had been a while since she had gone swimming in the actual sea, and honestly, she was really starting to get a bit homesick too. If she hadn't happened to invite Miho, she would have gone herself. She is standing there in her normal clothes, with Kururun at her side, since acquiring water-appropriate clothes isn't something she needs to go out of her way for.

Miho Inada has posed:
    Well, Laura had suggested a beach thats a bit more friendly to magic types who are aquatic based. Miho decided to take Laura up on her offer, and brought the present that she intends to give the girl. Since there's not much chance of boys being around, Miho has adopted a less conseravite outfit to swin in. She has on a blue bikini, with a white cover up. It shows that Miho is in good athletic shape, and has a slight muscle tone to her frame. She walks down towards the beach, carrying a duffle back, and a towel with her.

    As soon as Miho hits the beach, she takes off her sandels, and walks the beach barefooted. The odd thing is that she's gripping the sand with her toes. Its an old training method that boxers and MMA fighters use to get used to gripping the ground with their toes. Gives them an explosive punch. The woman relaxes a little bit, as she heads towards Laura.

    "Sorry it took so long, but I was trying to decide if I should wear my bikini, or a one piece. Umm, there is no boys right?", she asks. The woman coughs a little bit, and blushes a little. "I mean, I havn't really worn this around boys yet, so kinda yeah.", she tells. The woman stretches a little bit, getting her arms and legs ready a bit. Trying to outswim a mermaid in water? She knows she stands no chance at that...

Laura La Mer has posed:
"Hey, Miho!", Laura shouts in greeting once she sees the other girl approaching. She is curious about the purpose of Miho curling her toes like that when she happens to notice. Is that supposed to be a normal thing? She certainly wouldn't know. "What's that for?", the pinkette asks with a curious expression, pointing down at Miho's training method.

Said expression shifts to a small smirk when Miho reveals her insecurity. "You have nothing to worry about, really!" she exclaims instead of answering Miho's answer. Never let it be said that Laura has missed an opportunity to boost someone's confidence. "It looks just right on you, you should believe in yourself more!" she encourages her. "Even if there are no boys here. You should definitely wear it next summer", she suggest with an imperative tint to her tone.

"But that can wait. For now, the water is calling out to us!", she smiles brightly, taking off in a run towards the crystalline sea, shifting as soon as she is in waters deep enough! What Miho sees next is Laura jumping up and down all over with joyful abandon.

Miho Inada has posed:
    Miho smirks a little bit as Laura asks her questions. "Its something that fighters do. We run on the beach barefooted, and dig our toes in the sand. It helps build our legs up to be explosive.", she tells. Its the simple answer, not the total answer though. Miho takes a deep breath as finishes stretching. Must be nice to just change forms like that. The woman also blushes a bit. "No nope notachance. Not wearing this out where others can see it! I don't have the body for that!", she blushes a bit.

    Miho shakes her head a bit. The woman takes a deep breath, and then heads out into the water. Gah! Cold cold cold just right now! She dives in, and swims out a little ways. She trusts that if she gets caught in a current, Laura would be able to get her, and bring her back to shore...hopefully...So, Miho swims out a little bit further then would be safe. Not enough to tire herself out, but enough to be a fair amount of exercise for her.

    "You must really not like being on land. I mean, I've seen dolphin shows with less jumping...", Miho says as she watches Laura a bit. Miho relaxes her body a little bit, hoping that she can float a bit. Outside of the private pool her dad has for training, she really doesn't swim too much.

Laura La Mer has posed:
"I just can't help it", Laura smiles widely at Miho's assertion. "The water here feels so good, and I feel really happy then. Don't you have somewhere like that for you, where you feel safe and at home and bursting with energy?", she asks after doing one last jump in Miho's direction.

Their legs to be explosive... That's certainly a dangerous metaphor there, she can't help but think as she grasps how could legs be explosive when Miho confides to her the reason behind her grip. "So you can jump even higher?", she says while she enjoys the water more calmly now that Miho has joined her. She does pay attention to her friend, ready to intervene in case something starts going wrong. It is really nice here, but still, she doesn't expect a human to be able to last as much as a mermaid. "What do you use that for, to kick your enemies in the face?" the pinkette tries to guess.

"Come on, now, no excuses", Laura pokes Miho in the arm, passing by her, as she just hangs out there face-up on the surface of the water. "That's really not true, and you know it. Why would you even think there is something wrong with the way you look?", she kicks the water lightly with her tail, sending a small playful splash towards Miho. "Do you see me being concerned about myself? If you really can't believe in yourself right now, then begin with taking my word for it", she smirks.

Miho Inada has posed:
    Miho can't help but to laugh when Laura makes her comments. She has to remember that most people don't have a martial arts teacher for a parent. So some things must seem weird to them thats normal for her. She takes a breath. "It helps keep your body steady and stable. You're gripping the ground to be able to open your hips a bit more, and use your whole body to deliver a strike rather then just using your arms.", she tells. "Not to jump higher. I know it sounds odd to people who've never really fought before, but just think if you tried throwing a punch by just stepping forward. You'll hit, but your body rocks back from the recoil, and you don't hit as hard.", she tells.

    "When you grip your toes, you're steeling your legs a bit, and forcing your body forward into the strike. Instead of bouncing back, you're going through your opponent.", she tells. "Its like swinging on a rope. If you let go of the rope, you're going to fly off in the direction you're going. If you grip the rope, you're going to go where the rope goes. Your fist is the rope, and your toes are your hands in a sense.", she tells. "I know, strange way to explain it.", she says.

    Miho blinks as she's splashed. "H-hey! Easy on the splashes, Mergirl!", she says with a light splash back. "And you're asking if somebody who recently left everything they've ever known to come to a school that invited her to come when she didn't know she even applied if she has someplace sa..." she starts. Miho lets out a sigh and shakes her head. The image of the gas leak incident, and how she found out she's magical, but no abilities yet...It stings.

Laura La Mer has posed:
It's not just Miho's martial arts experience that's giving a barrier, but also the fact she is explaining legs to somebody whose experience with them is two months old. She is basically explaining trigonometric calculus to somebody who has just finished learning about fractions. Even if admittedly she is not that clueless because she already has separate experience with the concept of recoil.

"It is a strange way", Laura agrees as she grasps the intent in Miho's explanation. "I get most of it, anyway. Not sure what you mean by opening your hips, but not wanting to be thrown back by your punch seems easy enough." It's really very good for her fights that being a magical girl comes with a certain degree of autopilot.

The fact Miho gives such a sad answer to her question makes Laura frown pensively. "Is this why your only confidence seems to be in your pride as a martial artist?" she asks, taking the pieces she has gotten from the other girl and starting to piece together a puzzle. Especially this last one... How bad was her life? "You know what that means?" she inquires rethorically. "That means you get to build one right here! It may not come easily, but I am sure it will be here for you!"

Miho Inada has posed:
    Miho shakes her head a little bit. "Its not so much that. Its the fact that I let friends get hurt, and had to be protected. I really...don't like to compete, but I also hate seeing others get hurt. Especially if I'm the reason they got hurt. When you compete, and win, it becomes an expectation that you'll win every time.", she tells. The woman shakes her head a bit. "I...really just do Dad's training to keep myself in shape, versus actually looking to fight.", she tells. Miho sighs a bit as she looks up at the sky.

    "Like, I'm looking at the sky, and knowing that I have some ability inside of me. The thing is that that ability...comes with the price of using it to protect everyone I've come to know. Thats the expectation, but I can't turn a blind eye to both it, and whats going on. I can't let people just get hurt, if it means I can stop it. It hurts more when I know that I know how to fight and protect, but not strong enough to do so. That Kyubey cat had mentioned giving up my life for the promise of power, and as long as I hunt witches, I'll live, but is that really living?", she asks. "But would the sacrifice be worth it in the end? The world will still continue to spin when I'm gone...unless the sun explodes, then its not really much of an issue then, now is it?", she gives a soft laugh.

    "I might just ben overthinking things. I've had a lot of free time just to be alone in my thoughts, and frankly, its driving me nuts."

Laura La Mer has posed:
Laura blinks when Miho elaborates again on what issue she has right now with the whole situation. Is that really what's preventing from finding her a place she feels well in. Why is she even doing this to herself? "Listen now", the mermaid states seriously, turning upright in the water. "That is just nonsense. You have barely even started discovering what's magic. Why should you expect to know everything? If I started martial arts right now, would you pretend I suddenly have years of experience?"

Keeping herself floating, she grabs Miho's hand. "Let's take care of things step by step, not rushing into it like you have been doing just now", she suggests, a look of annoyance and disappointment at the other girl. "You can't decide when your magic decides to wake up, and It's no use tormenting yourself until then. Try to be patient and learn as much as you can, and honestly, It's already very good that you know this much", Laura says.

She isn't even any happier at hearing Kyubey's name. "If I knew it wasn't useless, I would give you a Tropical Pact right now. What I have heard about Kyubey is really all sorts of concerning, and I want you to stay away from him. He is shaming what it means to try and find people that take their powers while he hides something important. "No sacrifices allowed! If you want to protect people, strive for it, but don't forget about yourself! Nobody is going to be happy if you are gone, especially not the people you saved."

Miho Inada has posed:
    Miho shakes her head a little bit as she watches Laura a moment. She laughs a moment as she lays there. "Well, I would expect you to train your tail fin off. Not quite the same thing. Its like, I'm waiting for something that I don't know whats going to happen until it happens. And even then, I don't know whats going to happen. At least with marital arts, you can train yourself.", she tells. The woman shakes her head a little bit as she watches the sky. "Its the not knowing thats eating at me. I don't know anything more then what I've told you.", she says.

    "With training, you can see where things are going. How can you train something in something if you don't know what it is. Like about 2 months ago, if you talked about magic with me, I would assume you were talking about some stage show, or a card game. Now, its like...I don't know, life and death stuff.", she tells. "And seeing friends get hurt...That hurts me more then anything. But then, knowing others are out there, fighting, getting hurt, and things worse then that, and I can't do anything...", she says. "I mean, you and Hinote...You two can do things that I can't even begin to think of, and you're out there fighting while I can only sit on the sidelines, watching like its a TV show...", she says...

Laura La Mer has posed:
Train her tailfin off... "Eh, that doesn't count. You train your tail just by virtue of being in the sea. And besides, do you want to see how far I can leap when I actually try?", Laura smiles, she is still quite proud of herself for her good health. "With all the sea currents, sometimes you have to do a lot to get to your destinations. I don't think you have anything similar here on land." Maybe strong wind? But that's not as present as sea currents are.

Starting to swim around in circles, Laura just enjoys the feeling of the placid water movements. Not as pure as Grand Ocean water, but it still feels really nice. "But you aren't powerless, you know you have magic already, otherwise you would have forgotten me being a mermaid. The trick here is just to figure out how to awaken it. You can think of that as your training right now", she exclaims, confident in what she is saying.

Laura frowns lightly at the stress Miho is showing. Or maybe strong anxiety? "Ok, I understand everything is new and scary, and that the attack was sudden, but nobody is dying here. Not on our watch. And there are enough of us that we definitely aren't missing people getting attacked. And besides, dark energy leaves a strong trail. It's quite hard to miss a youma showing up."

She submerges for a second, playing around underwater for a few seconds before emerging again. "I have been fighting the Witch of Delays even before I became a Pretty Cure. She is trying to take all the motivation from here just like she did to my home and I am never letting her, powers or no powers. I was searching for Pretty Cures to recruit and helping recover the motivation power before I gained a transformation. There is always something you can do."

Miho Inada has posed:
    Miho nods her head a moment as she listens. For the most part, she's just letting the water carry her while Laura plays. Just relax..."Well, that girl, Onihime, she thinks she knows what I am, and what I can do, but I just havn't been able to find the time to talk to her.", she says. The woman sighs a bit, before taking in a deep breath. Miho rolls into the a dive go go underwater for a bit. She doesn't have goggles, and well, she's not an expert diver. And well, she never really went swimming in the ocean a lot before. Mostly just a pool her dad used for training.

    Miho goes a bit deep before trending water. She opens her eyes a little bit before realizing she's in the ocean, and is disoriented. For a few seconds, she tries to swim to the surface, but isn't sure which way to go. Miho then remembers an old trick, and relaxes her body once more, making it float. Once she figures which way is up, she starts to swim up to the surface once more.

    After breaking the surface, "Remind me not to do that again.", she says with a light laugh. "You're the mermaid, I'm the land girl.", she laughs. "I know you're trying to get me to relax, but well, its just something that weighs on me. I can't stand letting people protect me, and get hurt when I can do something to stop it.", she says.

Laura La Mer has posed:
"I don't really know how Onihime's powers work, we have only met once", the pinkette replies at Miho's revelation. "Still, if she knows how your magic works, then she probably knows what to do to wake it up" she looks at the other girl, happy that she is probably going to have a solution. She can probably feel better soon then with someone else like her.

Someone else like her... Maybe Laura is going to talk to the Queen later this day. She is missing home a bit, she wishes she could at least have a Tropical Pretty Cure to talk to. With a precise kick of her tail, she watches a splash of water make a beautiful arch in the sky, before returning to the sea.

Laura is right onto Miho when the other girl starts having trouble, but to her relief Miho solves the problem before she can open her mouth. "I can see that", she nods at Miho. "But with a bit more practice, I am sure you can at least get used to the ocean. It's a wonderful place if you give it a chance." And well, she feels really at home when she is back in her mermaid form, as Miho had noticed.

"You will find a way to get into fights with us soon, I am sure", she puts a hand on Miho's shoulder to express reassurance. When that is done, she tells Miho "I am going to do some more swimming, we can see each other later!", she says, kicking off at speed in the direction of the open ocean.

Miho Inada has posed:
    "Oh! Before you run off, I have a ticket to a music festival for you! I'll leave it on the beach for you where you can see it.", Miho tells. "But I got to get back to school before curfew, so I got to get going.", she tells. The woman turns, and swims back to land. And she's keeping an eye out for any boys who may or may not be near the shore. Mostly so they don't see her in her bikini! Gah! So embrassing if she got caught like that! Either way, Miho enjoyed coming out here, and she's feeling a little better.