Karma's Story

By the time everyone was down, Haru did a quick inspection of what they were carrying. “I sincerely hope that none of you bought more than what you’re able to keep up with.” It wasn’t like he gave them massive amounts of money but it they were bringing clunky things they might have to let them go.
They left the little merchant town while it was still dark. Tallyho wasn’t aware of her surroundings. Her vision clouded and blurred the navy sky with the horizon line and purple mountains. Haru didn’t bother to initiate conversation. It seemed that he was just as tired as the next guy, or perhaps even more so. She gripped the shoulder straps of her rucksack tightly.
Eventually they moved through toward the farmlands. They were getting closer to the base of the mountain. But there was some sort of cart waiting for them at the entrance.
Once they grew close enough, they were greeted with the vision of a very old man and a young girl mounted on the front bench of an ox cart. The old man driving the cart was quite the caricature. His skin was a beige-yellow with a gathering of liver spots on his neck and cheek bones. His eyes were squinted with the slouch of his upper lids hanging over his eyelashes. His nose was birdish— flat, and wide all at once with very large pores. A skinny old man, whose senile disposition made him seem extremely detached from his surroundings.
Then there was the little girl who sat next to them. She was small and spritely with a wry smile marked clearly on her face with a thin line of peach lips. Her beige skin wasn’t nearly as marked as her old companion’s and her eyes were dark with long lashes, but the oddest thing about her was that her hair was pink. Tallyho narrowed her eyes trying to make out if the child’s hair was natural. Hair dye didn’t necessarily exist on Aires so that option never really crossed her mind.
“You the month warriors?” she asked as she shifted her weight to lean back on her hands.
“And who is asking?” Haru questioned.
“I’m Karma. Ryou sent us down here to give you a lift. Looking at this group, they won’t be able to make a quarter of this mountain.”
“Oh, I see you’re one of his students,” Haru hummed.
“You can say that. Oh! This is Mr. Vo, the grounds keeper.”
The old man tipped his straw hat to the group, though he didn’t speak.
“Well don’t just stand there looking stupid, get in the cart,” Karma chanted to the teens. She pointed to the back where there was a reasonably sized cargo space and a floor lined with hay. Haru nodded to the others.
Tallyho made her way into the back first. She made a point of packing herself into the corner so that she could rest her head on the walls of the cart if she fell asleep.

Dorian sat up groggily, rubbing his eyes tiredly after being woken up. He hadn't slept well that night, which wasn't extremely surprising. Dorian slid out of bed, slipping on his new shoes and bundling up in his coat. There wasn't much to pack with most of his few things already in the bag he'd purchased the day before.
The walk towards their destination at least woke him up some, and he was grateful for the quiet because, as a rule, Dorian was not a morning person.
The ox cart and its two occupants did come to a surprise, but not entirely unwelcome if only because Dorian has expected they were going to have to climb the mountains themselves earlier.
The old man- Mr. Vo- seemed normal enough, but the little pink-haired girl- how did she have pink hair? Regardless, she was certainly a character and not necessarily one he wanted to deal with this early in the morning. So, he too climbed into the cart, towards the back near Tallyho if only because he didn't want to be completely surrounded by people.

Once every one was on, the ox cart made a steady start onto the trail.
As they were driving, Karma, who was desperate for some entertainment asked Mr. Vo to tell a story.
“Well what shall I tell a story of?” His voice was clear despite its age, and his tone lingered in the air for brief moments when he spoke.
“Why don’t you tell them about that war you had. You know what I’m talking about?”
“Oh, yes.” The old man shook his head. “That war was awful. You see it was a big deal because that place called Nomansland had been discovered and of course everyone wanted new territory. The Rose Kingdom was one of the biggest contenders, next to Hales and eastern isle, especially because all three had wonderful navies. I was just a boy living on a small island subordinate to eastern isle. They took all of us young men and had us go over there to fight with the boys from Hales and the RK. The travel time was eight days huddled at the bottom of a transport ship. Mmm…. Desperate times, I tell you. I remember when I was supposed to be guarding the camp one day but I spotted an interesting fruit in a tree. So I went over to try it, the best fruit I’d ever tasted. And To this day, I don’t know what it’s called. But I’ll know the fruit when I taste it! Yesterday I had fruit from our trees… They were fine, but they did spoil my dinner. The cooking staff does do a fine job with that sort of thing. Well… unless you’re new kids,” The old man chuckled. “When I was a young boy my mother used to make the nicest fish soup—“
“Yeah, okay never mind,” Karma grunted. “I swear this old man can’t stay on topic for the life of me!”
The next hour and a half was open to free conversation. Karma didn’t urge Mr. Vo to tell another war story, and Haru wasn’t in the mood to facilitate another getting to know your team members seminar. The sun already made its entrance by the time they made it to the top of the mountain where a tall gate obstructed their pathway. Karma leapt from the cart and pushed it open, standing aside as the cart moved into the property.

Karma rolled her eyes at the boy who kept yelling about her hair and generally just ignored him. When they got there Tallyho noted that the academy wasn’t nearly as large as the ones built to train armies but it did look official. They followed a straight path of cobblestone to an expansive courtyard. Students socialized as if the cart of distraught teens never existed. The academy looked almost like a university with a few quirks. The students went on about their business with interactions ranging from gossiping and walking to class to comparing daggers and showcasing battle scars. In the center of the courtyard was a fountain where a group of exceptionally pretty girls sat and giggled with one another as the cart passed, eyeing the assortment of new males.
The building seemed to be built around the courtyard, forming a bracket around the center and allowing the front of the academy to be guarded by a gate rather than a set of walls. Off to the side of the east wing was an ominous trail leading into the forest, and there seemed to be more males near the east building and more girls near the west. The cart looped around the fountain and halted in front of the main building.
“Well, we are here. Ryou should be out soon so that he can show you where you will be staying and what not.” Once everyone was unloaded. Mr. Vo gave another tip of the hat, and sent his cart off.
Tallyho took a look around what was more than likely going to be her home for a few months. She glanced at the others to see what they thought, but looked away for fear that they might see her gawking.

Dorian resisted the urge to roll his eyes when they boy- Jackson, right?- started complaining about, of all things, Karma's hair. Luckily, the cart was soon moving so there was something else to focus on. He listened silently to Mr. Vo's story, interested despite the rambling and sudden changes in topic. This was a completely different world with its own history and historical figures, completely different from Earth and he didn't know anything about it.
The Academy was more than he'd imagined and certainly more full of life. Training here would probably prove to be interesting, if the students and the grounds were anything to go by. He was still trying to take it all in when they got out of the cart, gray eyes darting around at all of the new sights and perhaps trying to catch a glimpse of the elusive Ryou. When would...?

"Haru!" Dorian heard him before he saw him, a golden blur pulling Haru into a big hug. It would have been funny if it hadn't been so surprising. "It's been forever! You never write, you never call-" The man chided, obviously in a joking manner as he embraced the serious red head.
He let go and stepped away, and Dorian finally got a good look at the new arrival. He had tanned skin and was tall, just a little shorter than Dorian himself. His frame was obviously lean and slightly muscular, as showcased by his green, sleeveless training gi. But the most remarkable thing about him was his messy golden hair, the color real if the color of his scruffy facial hair was any indication, and golden eyes to match.
"Sorry about that," He grinned brightly, obviously not sorry at all. "Let me introduce myself. My name is Ryou. Welcome to my Academy."

Haru took a few steps back after being tackled. His hand, by instinct pressed onto Ryou’s shoulder so that he could keep his balance. Once he got himself together, he smiled slightly. “Hey man.”
Once she caught a glimpse of Ryou outside, Karma threw herself at the older man. She pounced dramatically, trusting that he would catch her.
“See! There was no reason for you to be worried. Your daughter had it covered. Got em here nice and safe!” the pink haired girl cooed.
Haru raised an eyebrow. Daughter…? “Ryou you never told me you had a woman.” He attached slight laughter to his statement. It was obvious that the topic caught his interest. He looked Karma over she had to have been about six or seven. “When was this? Is she here?”
Tallyho stared skeptically. That was their teacher? The blonde dusted her dress off and crossed her arms.

Ryou caught her with practiced ease, spinning her around as he did so.
"I was never worried!" He snorted. "Of course you had it covered! You learned form the best, after all." He grinned down at her, holding her comfortably in his arms, before turning back to Haru and the general group.
"Well, it has been eight years, Haru," Ryou said, his face suddenly serious. "A lot can change in that time." But Dorian could already see the smile fighting to break through his serious expression. He glanced at the others. He was supposed to teach them how to save the world?

Jackson smiled a little at the sight of the school. It was the most ordinary thing he'd seen since he arrived. Perhaps it even had a library! He jumped at the arrival of a very energetic blond in a strange outfit. He was uncertain about what it was called, but he thought he saw something like it before. Once the man was introduced, the boy looked confused. He was the teacher? Ryou wasn't like any teacher he knew about before, and Jackson wasn't sure if that was a good thing or bad thing. He raised his eyebrows at the girl, Karma. How were they related? He wasn't sure if he cared either. "Do you have a library?" He interrupted the conversation between the two older men.

"Hell if I know," Ryou said with a shrug. "I've never met her myself. Or Karma's father." So he had been teasing Haru after all, which, Dorian realized, was probably more telling about his personality than any getting-to-know-you activity could ever show them. "I'll tell you about it later." Ryou winked at Haru before turned towards the group again, not put off at all by the general grumbling and interruptions.
"To start off, yes, we have a library," Ryou said, his smile, even at the face of Jackson's personality, a testament to his patience. "And, before Karma and I give you all the grand tour, I have one question for all of you. Have any of you ever fought before? Doesn't have to be professionally, it could be anything."

Tallyho listened half-heartedly. When she was asked if she knew how to fight, she only shook her head. She didn’t necessarily feel like talking with a full mouth.
Karma laughed, “I figure that most of them can’t! Look at them, they are all twiggies! Are you sure this is worth your time?” Karma chirped.
Tallyho furrowed her brows but she didn’t say anything. Although she anticipated the Jackson boy would.

Rajani was both impressed and intimidated by the school in front of her. She never saw a university before and it was so big! She pulled back a step from her place and tried to take it all in. Ryou's arrival pushed her back another step, startling her. The strange little girl was his daughter, adopted since he said he didn't know her parents. That was nice, adopting children that need homes. Maybe she'd eventually adopt.

Twisting her opal, she answered Ryou's next question with levity. "Does wrestling goats to take to market count? or stubborn little brothers who don't want to go to school?"

Jackson's smile grew and he tightened his hands on the straps of his rucksack. A library! Maybe this won't be so bad after all. He paused and looked between Haru and Ryou before answering, "I can't really say that I fought." He knew he wasn't strong enough for physical fighting, but he didn't think arguing with Haru and trying to run away counted. His smile faded and turned to a glare at the little pink-haired brat's comment. "and you're a little kid. Can you do any better?"

The next day was certainly strange. New faces, pink hair, war stories, it was a little much to take in. "I'm afraid I can't fight." Autumn said with a frown. "But i'm willing to learn if it means i'll survive this." She decided to ignore Jackson's comment. She didn't really agree with it. After all, in a world where cats could talk and turn into humans who could say that that girl wasn't powerful? But it really wasn't her place to say.

"Of course they're worth my time. It's my duty after all," Ryou smiled, finally setting Karma down to put his full attention on the month warriors' answers. To his credit, his grin didn't even shrink by one molar as negative answer after negative answer was given.
"I practice Tae-Kwon-Doh," Dorian finally answered when it seemed like no one else was going to speak up. He wasn't actually sure if Ryou would know what that meant at first, but from the way the man perked up, it was apparent that he did.
"Really? What belt?"
"Black belt."
"Excellent!" Ryou beamed, looking well and truly pleased that at least someone had thrown or would admit to throwing a punch in their lives. Dorian just hoped that he wouldn't hug him.
"All right! Thanks for that bit of information, everyone. Now the tour can officially begin. Follow me and, please, don't taunt Karma. She's lived at a training Academy since she was a baby. It's just not wise. Now, let's go!"
With that, Ryou spun around and began to lead the way around the Academy.

While the Academy was not extremely large, as the tour revealed, it had a lot to offer. It was one interlocking building but with a variety of different, large rooms, much like any university or even a mall. Ryou pointed out an armory, a dojo, the library("Only if you have my, Karma's, or one of our elite student's permission. Same goes for the armory," Ryou had warned as they passed by), the dining hall where meals would be served("Come when you're summoned because we don't serve after meal hours . Usually a bell rings when it's meal time"), and a number of other room before he stopped, once more outside the maze-like building. Dorian had a terrible feeling that he'd get lost in the building and they'd never hear from him again.
"These are the dorms for our students. The East dorm is for the boys, West for girls. Simple, right?" Ryou said cheerfully. "You'll be staying on the bottom floor of each dorm where all of our new students stay until they progress through the ranks."
He then pointed at a building a small ways apart from the Academy building.
"That is where I, Karma, and a few others live. If you need help, don't be afraid to pop in. Now, you lot should go get settled, all right? Your rooms are the ones with open doors. Meet me out in the court yard in an hour at the latest."

Tallyho didn’t hesitate to move to a room immediately. She entered the hall which seemed to be empty because there wasn’t the slightest stir Perhaps it was because the others were in class. The blonde ventured down to the end of the hall and turned into a room where the rice paper door was wide open just as Ryou said it would have been. She wasn’t very surprised that the room was so simple. It was basically a rectangular room the size of a casket. However she didn’t complain, she merely set her rucksack down in the corner.
Haru approached Ryou once the teens broke off to get into their rooms. “Well you really had me fooled,” he said as he sent a glance towards Karma who ran off to go follow a group of older students. “So ah… What exactly do you have planned for these kids?” The red head hummed. He wasn’t sure where to begin when it came to talking about their personal lives, but business was a good start, for him at least.

Tallyho remained aware as they marched through the brush. Karma was trotting at Ryou’s side while Haru brought up the rear. He didn’t want anyone getting lost after all. When they arrived at their stopping point, Tallyho’s eyes narrowed. She wasn’t particularly excited about the sight of the waterfall. She couldn’t even get a clear view of the bottom.
And then within a blink of an eye’s time that Ryou jumped. Tallyho took a step back, she couldn’t control the shaking ‘no’ motion of her head. She wanted to protest out loud but her lungs wouldn’t allow her to. The blonde eventually backed up until she was pressed against a tree in the background. Perhaps she could have even ran? It didn’t seem like anyone would have noticed.
“Yes, that’s right,” she rasped to herself as she turned to escape. But Haru took a firm grasp of her shoulder.
“I would at least try if I were you,” He hummed. But Tallyho desperately rejected, pushing his hand away with weak flicks of her hand.

Karma shook her head. “Just go already!” The impatient child hissed. She glared at the teens who were closest to the edge but hadn’t yet jumped. “Go!”
She then looked over at Jackson who she took special care to call out. “You can pick on children but you can’t jump into water? How tragic.”
Haru was getting a bit frustrated with Tallyho especially since she wouldn’t move from her spot at the tree. He sighed.
“You have three minutes to go. For those who don’t go by then, you immediately fail the lesson. Got that?” Really, Haru was much too old to be dealing with things of that nature.
“Can I just go back now?” The blonde huffed.
Haru rolled his eyes. “Go back to the courtyard.” He blew. He let her go abruptly and the girl, who was caught off guard by the sudden weight shift plummeted to her knees. She stood up, and without looking back, she stumbled back down the trail before disappearing around the corner.
“Is anyone else quitting now?” He redhead asked.

"A-WHAT!" The blond girls weren't the only ones freaking out. Jackson stepped back several paces shaking his head. Running away sounded like a pretty good idea right now. If he didn't jump, he wouldn't eat, but he couldn't. He just couldn't. "I... I... I..." he stuttered still shaking his head. "I can't swim!" He was too freaked out to react to Karma's jibe.

Haru and Karma waited casually for each warrior to decide to jump, or walk back. Once everyone was sorted out, the two made their way back down the trail escorting anyone who chose to stay behind.

Tallyho pushed her way through the brush. “I’m sure there has to be some food around here somewhere,” she huffed as she mounted a rather large rock obstructing her path. She caught the sound of a crunching noise in the distance. Then upon paying closer attention, through the mess of green she spotted a hoof sweeping between the trees.
Tallyho figured that is was a deer heading towards some sort of clearing. “So there has to be food there,” she rasped as she threw herself over the other side of the rock and rushed after the crunching.
There times where she did consider giving up on chasing the dear. The terrain was becoming a bit too rugged for her feet. Its trots sounded a constant pattern in her head, and at one point she was humming along, blowing out a harmonious moan each time the ground snapped under the creature’s feet.
Then there was a clearing. She took a deep breath as she fell into a spot in the forest where the grass was grazed low and the high trees formed a barrier between the condensed and completely empty. There was no dear to be seen, but rather a small body of water with a greenish-blue surface and multiple clusters of lily pads.
Near the end of the pond there was a lining of high water grass, and a person hunched over the pond. The blonde narrowed her eyes, “hello?”
There was no budge.
“Hello,” she called louder. Her once bewildered eyes became as pensive and her high from adventure slowly dyed out.
Then there was a response. The person stood up and stared at her. Tallyho took a closer look. He was a man, with dark sweeping hair and clothes that looked to be tattered and before she knew it, he was approaching her. She took notice of his princely posture; he seemed to glide instead of walk. His eyes were dark and she couldn’t tell if they were brown or black, but nonetheless they contrasted his milky skin dramatically. His hands were well defined, with long slender fingers—but were clearly some of the loveliest hands she had ever seen.
“What are you doing here?” He asked. His voice was deep, it didn’t quite sport the overbearing gruff of manhood, which reminded Tallyho that he was young just as she was.
“I could ask you the same thing. Are you lost?”
The young man didn’t look amused. He pressed his lips into a thin, straight line and shook his head. His cherub’s locks, she noticed, were loaded with motion at the slightest tremble.
“Nope. But you’re one of those academy students aren’t you? This isn’t any place for you, I suggest that you leave,” he hummed.
“Well I was just looking for food.”
“There’s food there, I’m sure. Now look,” he said as he pointed. “You just head straight through those trees for a good while and you should see that cute little trail your… headmaster or whatever, carved out for you all. I’m sure you know the way from there.”
Tallyho could catch that what he said was a discreet insult for Ryou, but considering the man asked her to jump off of a cliff and threatened to not feed her if she didn’t, she wasn’t particularly keen on defending him.
“How about you tell me where some food in the forest is. What I can and can’t eat?”
The young man chuckled, walked back over to his spot near the pond, and yanked out a piece of wood with a sharpened rock at the tip. Tallyho furrowed her brows and drew back immediately, clutching the amethyst on her collar bone.
“Oh calm down, I was just spearing for fish.”
Tallyho didn’t feel completely at ease, even when he did reassure her that he wasn’t going to stab her to death. Although the talk of fish did catch her interest.
“And… How successful were you?” She half whispered. Her nostrils flared a bit as she watched the spear snap back through the surface of the water. She was hungry. The only meal she had since she fell into the earth was by then a puddle by a log, and by her own mistake she chose to leave her rucksack back at the academy.
“Ah, so you want to stay? Watch me work hard to catch this food then eat it all?” It seemed that he was joking because his emotions drew a wry smile to his features.
“Well you don’t have to give me anything but—“
“Fine, whatever, you can stay.”
Tallyho nodded a thank you and cautiously drew to his side as he huddled over the pond.
“So…What’s your name—Gah!” The blonde drew back as the blunt end of the spear jolted up towards her face and nearly hit her before she hustled over to the side. The sharpened rock had successfully pierced a fish.
“Sorry, you shouldn’t get in my way like that.”
Tallyho tried her best to re-drain her face of emotion. “So uh… what do I call you?”
“My name is Luc.”

Dorian chose not to comment on his feelings about jumping off of the waterfall, partly because he wasn't quite sure how he felt about it. He wasn't about to ask to do it again, but he wasn't traumatize as far as he knew.
When Autumn finally loosened her death grip on his hand, he flexed it for a moment, trying to regain feeling. Of course, he'd been holding on perhaps just as tightly so that they didn't get separated in the fall.
"It's fine," He said, waving off Autumn's thanks and, taking the offered towel, began to dry off. The water was still dripping from his hair and clothes, tiny rivulets running down over his pale face and into already soaked clothes, dripping off of his fingertips. He ran the towel through his hair, almost deciding that drying off now was a lost cause.

In the mean time, Ryou handed Nia a towel of her own saying, "I'm glad you had fun!" as if he was just that- incredibly pleased that he'd made someone's day just that much more exciting.
Then Rajani and Jackson showed up, the boy gasping and spluttering like, ironically, a fish out of water, and Rajani apparently large and in charge.
Dorian looked down at his own clothes and decided that, no, o he would be keeping all of it on, thanks, and returned to attempting to dry himself off. He hadn't worn a jacket and didn't particularly fancy walking around without a shirt, even if his clothes were sticking to him uncomfortably.
"You're fine," Ryou said with a smile, tossing a towel to Rajani and then holding one out to Jackson. As much as this little adventure had been about nature and accepting their powers, it had also been a little test of its own. He kept note of the new month warriors' every reaction, and, once they returned to the Academy, he'd get the rest of his information from Karma. What better way to see what a person was like than how they reacted to something like this?
What did throw him off was Rajani's question.
"What other blonde girl?" Sure, he knew that there were some kids who had yet to jump, but...
"She means Tallyho. She couldn't swim. I think she left..." Dorian offered, although he had no idea what had happened up there after he and Autumn had jumped.

One moment he was attempting to listen and make sense of what he was being told by their instructor, Ryou, as he spoke of the month warriors being infestations of nature, and that their spirits (but not their physical selves) would have immortality endowed on them, so as a test they were supposed to jump off the cliff into the water below to cleanse themselves and be 're-born'. The next... The noise erupting around him was rather disconcerting, enough so that he took a hesitant step backwards to assess the situation ahead. Okay, so, Ryou had jumped off himself. Check, another person he wasn't quite sure about to the unfortunately growing list once they'd arrived on Aires. One teen, a girl, was simply ecstatic and more than ready to jump off the waterfall to the pool below, and did so a moment not that much later, the only as of yet not to have someone else drag them over. Another check, oh bother. Others where rightly frightened and dubbed others that where excited about doing this as thoroughly insane, and he tended to agree with that notion, but they would jump off as asked and survive with dinner for the next day. And a few more simply stated that they couldn't swim (two where rather terrified at the prospect, one ran off and the other was dragged over the edge by another). Falke was grateful for his silence then, and his tendency to stick at the very back of any group. No one turned around and noted his often times wordless presence, or preceded to drag him by the wrist over the cliff (the last time he'd been dragged by a stranger, not Dorian's fault however, to be saved from a monster, he had ended up in this mess in the first place thank you very much). He stubbornly ignored Karma's jibes, waiting for what everyone else had decided to do and had done. Not trying to be defiant, so much as trying to give himself more time to think. And the blabbering people, rushing water pounding, etc, was certainly a distraction.

His nostrils flared as he snorted uneasily in response to Haru's short remark of only having three minutes remaining to jump off the cliff. Slowly, he edged forward, until the roar of the waterfall cascading down the cliff in front of him became an uncomfortable buzzing in his ears. He hesitantly stubbed his toe against the crumbling edge, making sure that he was indeed at the very edge. Alright. To jump off a cliff or not? Time to decide. Crows... His head said no way. He shouldn't jump off a bloody cliff after bloody insane people, period. And he had never been taught how to swim anyhow, because of his blindness. Honestly, would someone come and save him whilst he was drowning when this was an test? Probably they would, but it was still not a good idea to trust people so easily this early in the game. His stomach said yes, however. The meager bag of dried jerky and a small loaf of bread he'd bought at the towns, had got him though until now. But if he had another dinner/breakfast like that, or not one at all, he was pretty certain his stomach was going to kill him. And his heart, well, it was fluttering so fast and completely useless in trying to decide what he should do. 'Knowledge' was his /power/? Right. Sure... If he was going to regret this, well, he'd regret it. But he wasn't frightened, and well, here goes nothing. With seconds to spare on Haru's time limit, he steeled himself and leapt off the edge.

Argh! He didn't expect the fall to be so far, and that he would gather so much speed before ultimately crashing into the pool, but he did have a moment to realize why his heart had been fluttering so, it was panicking, even though his brain didn't quite pick up on that feeling until after he'd committed the jump. The cold of water as he plunged into it shocked him enough to take in a startled breath of the very water surrounding him, and not the blessed oxygen he'd been hoping for. A moment of struggle, flailing his limbs about like mad, and amazingly found the surface. He gasped laboriously a breath of fresh air, nearly sinking under again, but he kicked his legs a little more strongly. Alright, he could do this, maybe. Now where was the shore? Sightless eyes where rounder than they'd ever been, trying desperately to see what they could not. But the water humming in his ears thankfully made it possible for him to decide where the waterfall was and where the shore was, determined not to drown, he than swam (or awkward flailing in his case, more or less) in the direction he assumed shore was. And he made it, barely. He dragged himself unto the sand, dog tired and still coughing unwanted water from his lungs from the few times he'd unfortunately gone back under on the way there. Whew. Okay, then. He'd taught himself how to swim, hadn't drowned and survived without help from someone else; those were a few accomplishments, here went nothing indeed. Wearily he pulled himself up from his hands and knees to a crouch, shaking his soaking hair like a shaggy dog. Distantly he heard others talking down the beach (without being able to see where everyone else was gathering, he'd ended up farther away from them all), but didn't quite feel like getting to his feet yet and making his way over to them. Not quite sure his heart, and head had recovered yet, but his stomach was happy at least.