[MythicDusk]

Gron sat heavily on the sand, his limbs trembling from exhertion. The exercise felt good, the cold water that still clung to his skin felt good. The sand under the soles of his bare feet didn't feel as good. He could feel the salt drying in his hair. Tied into a bun to try and keep it from his face during the lessons. It didn't work that well, strands of hair falling about his face.

He felt tired, and drained. His shirt was on the sand beside him as he tried to dry in the sun, not wanting to pull it on on his salty, sodden skin. He could feel the chill on his skin from the air, hear the sea birds crowing after their next meal. He felt like he was going to cry. It probably showed on his face.

God he was useless. He coouldn't even stand upright on a piece of damn floatable plastic. He felt his lips quiver and drew in a tight breath, his hands clutching his own knees tight, trying to ground himself, trying to not be so weak to cry in a public place. On a beach, nontheless.

God, he was sick to the back teeth of being himself.

[Tori]

<sub>There is one moment, as he looks back over his shoulder at the beach, that he realizes he isn't gonna be going home for a little while.

Ariel is still high on adrenaline and sunlight, muscles spent, and so, so ready for a beer. But that lanky dark-haired kid from the class is standing alone at the edge of the surf, apart from the students that are still lingering by the pier. To be fair, he hadn't done well. Ariel had watched him grow more and more discouraged as the class dragged on, leaching confidence in direct proportion to how shouty the instructor got with him and how many mouthfuls of seawater he coughed up.

And y'know what? He should've said something. But he didn't say anything, beyond a little "hey, give him a break" when the guy stopped talking altogether. He could put his board in the car, get some takeout, and pretend to ignore the pang of guilt in his gut, or he could... not hate himself for the rest of the night.

So, down the beach he goes.

"Hey." Ariel jogs over with a warm, crooked grin, and nudges his new friend with his elbow. "You did good out there today."</sub>

[MythicDusk]

Gron couldn't help his weak laugh. Usually, he was so happy, so excitable and ready to meet new people. Usually he smiled with his everything and hunched his shoulders to make himself smaller, to make himself less intimidating. But right now, he bowed his head, he sagged his shoulders, and he laughed, weak and teary.

"Yeah, thats why the instructor kept screaming at me, huh?"

It sounded bitter to his own ears. He sounded angry and upset, like a petulant child. Her heaved a sigh as he rubbed his hands down his face, trying so hard to get back into his regular state of mind.

"Sorry, it was just. A hard day. Thank you, though."

[Tori]

<sub>Ariel tries his absolute best not to let his heartbreak show blatantly on his face, but... he seems like such a sweetheart. He doesn't want to patronize him, but there's something so frail and gentle in him that it practically begs the urge help. Ariel is good at helping — maybe not everyone every time, but he can sure as shit try.

"Shit people make shit teachers," he shrugs, with an easy, careful nonchalance. "Ain't nobody gonna learn if they're not allowed to fail. Gotta fall off a few times to learn how to stay on, ya dig? No shame in that."

He chews his lip, trying to figure out if this is a good idea. Ariel's often been criticized for being a collector of "damaged" people, but he doesn't think of it that way — there are too many people out there that could benefit from little acts of kindness, if only someone would take the time. And yeah, a lot of people don't have the energy for that (he understands that, too) but he does, and he'll give it away 'til it kills him, if he has to.

Gods, he looks so lonely. Ariel can't just give him a pep talk, pat himself on the back, and walk off with a clear conscience. He wants to do something.

"Listen, for what it's worth, that guy put a bad taste in my mouth, too. I was actually thinking of trying a different class. Not gonna give business to a bully when there's loads of other instructors out there, y'know?" With a hopeful grin, (and all the charm he can muster,) he casts the line. "If you give me your number, I can... text you if I find a better one? If that's cool?"

[2]</sub>

[MythicDusk]

Gron glanced up at the mention of handing over his number, and felt a chuckle roll through his chest as he carefully sat in the sand, carving small images with his fingertips.

"First, how about we just. Talk a while. I don't usually give out my number to people I don't even know the name of." A smile quirked his lips, a slight, almost scared thing. Gron had been told that sometimes, he looked like an animal trapped in headlights. Sometimes he used too much body language, he would smile with his whole form, laugh with his everything, feel every fibre quake in fear.

He supposed it was just one of his little quirks.

He wondered if he looked like a frightened animal right now, with his head bowed and his shoulders hunched. He wondered if he just looked lonely, instead.

"I'm Gronw, by the way. Gronw Pebr. Gron for short."

[Tori]

<sub>"Oh! Oh, shit. Right. Names." He stifles his embarrassed laughter in his hands, face turning an interesting shade of red. Gotten ahead of himself already, hasn't he? "Sorry. I'm— I'm Ariel. I wasn't— I'm not trying to make a move, I just I don't want you to give up after one bad experience, y'know?"

He sighs, watching Gron's fingers draw shapes in the sand, just trying to let the embarrassment fade.

[3]</sub>

[MythicDusk]

Gron simply gave a soft humm of thought, a smile quirking his lips. "I won't give you my number straight away. Wanna make sure you won't track me down and murder me in my sleep, y'know?" He joked, a playful smile beginning to tug at his lips.

He wondered if this friendly stranger could tell how scared he was. How scared he was of just about anyone. He always tried to keep it pressed down into his gut, to keep it under wraps. Always tried to keep himself calm and centered.

The surfing lesson, and the instructor, had shaken some of that ability. Gron hoped he would get it back soon enough.

[Tori]

"That's— you know, that's totally fair," he says, once he's finished laughing. "Honestly, I don't blame you. I'm a social worker, so... trust me, I get it."

Ariel's smile falters a little, but he doesn't let it drop. He knows damn well how cruel the world can be. No, scratch that — how cruel people can be. Even if he wasn't trained for it, he'd still recognize the fear in Gron's eyes, blatant even as he smiles.

[4]

[MythicDusk]

Gron smiled again, glad his joke had been taken so well. He didn't know if he could handle another person yelling at him. He felt like Ariel could tell the feari n his eyes, could tell by his body language, by how he spoke, how he moved. He felt bared.

He turned his eyes away, trying to keep the weak smile on his lips.

"So, uh, Ariel, is it?" He continued to draw careful patterns in the sand, trying to have anything to focus on, other than himself and the perfect stranger sitting next to him.

"Why'd you end up coming to these lessons?"