xp_logs | Taking a dip (Reply)

Despite the seriousness of their lives sometimes, Sooraya and Angel still know how to play.

It still felt strangely naked. Sooraya concluded that as she shook her braid out of her face. Normally she always wore a burkini when she was swimming, but that often felt so heavy in the water. So she had caved... buying a swimsuit that resembled knee length biking shorts with a short dress over it in shades of purple. And she had arranged for a kind of girl's hour this morning in the pool so she could wear it without problems.

"Hey there pretty girl!" Angel's already naturally loud voice echoed off the walls as she called to Sooraya, making her way toward the pool with her towel hanging around her neck, wearing a slightly more revealing bikini than her friend. "New look you're trying out?"

"I figured I might be a good time to try something new. I am still very glad with my other outfit, but sometimes it drags me down when I am swimming and I don't really like that feeling." Sooraya quickly clambered out of the pool so she could show of her outfit a little. "Only... I don't really like asking for the whole pool to be of limits..."

"Very nice," Angel approved with a nod, dropping her towel far enough away from the pool and walking over. "Yeah, feeling like you're being dragged down in the water isn't generally a good feeling. And anyways, it's for you, I'm sure no one minds. I'd say don't worry about it, but I know you. Sooooo..."

She dove into the pool with a splash that washed a wave of water over Sooraya's lower half, resurfacing a minute later with a laugh. "I'm just gonna do that." she wiped the water from eyes, grinning her "innocent" grin up at Sooraya.

"Wha... Angel!!!" Sooraya shrieked indignantly as she was suddenly hit by the water. "Oh you...!" With a quick movement Sooraya jumped after her, intent on somehow getting her friend.

"Catch me if you caaaaaan!" Angel sang as kicked off, making her way through the water with the quick and practiced movements of an experienced swimmer. If there was one thing she was good at - well, she was good at many things, but that was beside the point - it was swimming.

"You know I caaaan't." Sooraya almost sung back, surprised at how she joined in with the game. And it was true... Angel was much faster then her. Still... a little trick would not hurt. So she sunk a little lower, leaving only her head above the water and waited patiently for Angel to pass by closely.

Angel wasn't going to make it that easy, of course. She caught herself on the other edge of the pool so she could stop and laugh. "Almost seven years later I think I've finally started to rub off on you," she called through her laughter. "That could be dangerous."

She sank below the surface, giggling inwardly and kicking off again.

"Perhaps you should come closer and attempt to find out?" Sooraya called back innocently. She calmly remained where she was. Jokes might be what Angel had taught her, but she was still far more patient then her friend.

Angel flipped so she was on her back, floating along and grinning. "Ha! I have rubbed off on you! I know that voice." She kicked a bit so she drifted closer to Sooraya, interested to see what her mischievous friend was planning. "Oooooh Sooraya this is a dangerous road you're on. Once you go down this path you can never go back."

Sooraya leaned her head back a little, letting it rest on float with the rest of her body. From below her eyelids she could just follow Angel's approaching slowly. Suddenly she exploded into action, easily grabbing Angel's foot. "I got you now..."

Angel grinned, barely suppressing a giggle. "I've taught you well, young student," she conceded in a faux-wise voice. "But you've forgotten one thing." She took a deep breath and twisted, her wet foot slipping out of Sooraya's grip. She floated for a brief moment before straightening up and resurfacing again, grinning widely. "Never let a person get too close." And with that, she held both her hands out in front of shoved at the water, splashing Sooraya once more.

"Oh... I don't think so..." Sooraya giggled as she easily dove through the splash, counting on the fact that Angel thought she would be shielding herself and quickly seized her foot again. This time she didn't hesitate and applied a few wiggly fingers to the sole of said foot.

"Eep! Hey, no tickly!" Angel yelped as she resisted the urge to kick. "Docs won't be happy if I break your nose!" She swung her free foot to give herself momentum so she could escape at top speed.

"Then don't break it! I am only paying you baaaack!" Sooraya's voice died of as she was pulled forward and under the water. She was still holding to Angel's foot though and she managed to find her stance and hold on. Her fingers skittered further up Angel's leg, easily finding the back of her knee.

"Keep tickling my foot and I might not have much of a choice in the matter!" Angel squealed back. Instead of doing the obvious thing and trying to break away, she took a deep breath and folded her knees, ducking under the water and disturbing Sooraya's attempt at the back of knee. She floated down, crossing her legs under herself to sit at the bottom of the pool and grinning as she waved at Sooraya, her hair floating in ghostly red waves around her head.

Slowly... very slowly she was starting to back away. She recognized that twinkle in her friend's eyes, even when she was under water and knew that the time to flee was growing very short. She could explode forward any moment. Sooraya settled onto her back, kicking her way to the other side of the pool, trying to keep an eye on her friend.

Angel broke the surface of the water again. She could hold her breath forever, but even she hadn't figured out how to talk under water yet. "Skittish, are we?" She called innocently. "Really, if I didn't know any better I'd think you don't trust me."

"In this case I am smart enough that I know not to trust you." Sooraya called back, still trying to suppress her giggles. "This way I might have a chance of saving myself."

"Oh now that hurts." Angel covered her hand with her heart, pretending to look offended. "You think I would really...honestly, Sooraya, we've known each other for years, how could you ever suspect me of such horrible deeds?" Okay, yeah, she couldn't say that with a straight face. There was a beat of silence, and she broke out laughing, nearly inhaling water when she doubled over.

"How do you think I have gained all that wisdom, Angel?" She called back, having to fight back her giggles. "I learned with many years of practice." She twisted around, floating lazily on her back again and her braid floating after her as a long black rope.

Angel straightened up, watching Sooraya float for a brief moment and calculating. She took a deep breath and slid under the water, closing the space between herself and Sooraya in a few strokes. Before her friend could react, she reached out with both hands and poked Sooraya in her sides before hurriedly kicking off again.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!" Sooraya shrieked as she felt the sudden pokes. "That was just... gggrrr. It's war!" She pushed of and quickly swam after her red haired friend. "You made a big mistake, young lady!"

"Oooooh no, she's angry now!" Angel laughed as she settled for a moment at the other end of the pool. She dove back under the water, swimming under Sooraya and heading in the opposite direction.

"Oh no, you don't." Sooraya might have learned to swim late in life, but you could not associate with a water rat like Angel without picking up some tricks. So she quickly changed directions and dove after her friend. So deep under Angel was somehow not as fast as normal as Sooraya approached from above. Grinning to herself, she gave just a little pull to the tie on Angel's back. Nowhere nearly enough to loosen it, but just to startle Angel.

Trying to inhale under water equaled bad. Angel hurriedly resurfaced to shriek in surprise. "Trying to drown me!" She accused Sooraya with a laugh. "Honestly, I teach you tricks of the trade and you try to kill me."

"I learned from a master!" Sooraya hid her smile behind her hand. "I only pulled on a tie. I'd say you were trying to drown yourself!" Finally she just gave in and started laughing.

Angel laughed along with Sooraya for a moment. "Okay, okay," she called when she'd finally regained control of herself. "Peace? Real, honest to god peace, I mean, not 'trying to get closer to you so I can shove you under water' peace."

"Hmmm..." Sooraya tried to smooth out her face as much as possible, but giggles kept escaping. "How do I know for sure? For all I know you are planning your revenge." She demanded with a twinkle in her eyes.

"Would I ever lie to you in the name of a petty prank?" Angel asked, holding her hands up in the universal gesture for surrender. "Yeah, no, don't answer that. If anything I probably shouldn't be the one to trust you. But I am and I do because we're all adults here and...wow, when did that happen?" She tilted her head, momentarily distracted.

Sooraya frowned a little, not quite following her friend. "When did what happen?"

"Adults. Us." Angel blinked, re-focusing on Sooraya. "We're the responsible people now. How crazy is that?"

With a few strokes she was closed the distance to her friend. "Not that strange. It's something that happens. Though in our case it might have gone a little different from the general girl in America."

"Yeah, but we got lucky. Who wants to be normal anyways?" Angel winked at Sooraya, grinning broadly. No one could ever accuse the redhead of being "normal" - mutants powers or not.

"I'd say normal is the eye of the beholder." Sooraya looked far away. "I know usually that saying is used for beauty, but I find it works for many things."

"True enough." Angel smiled as she snaked her arm around Sooraya's shoulders, hugging her tightly. "Between you and me, though - I'm pretty sure I'm not normal no matter whose eye is beholding me."

"You might have a point there." Suddenly smiled mischievously and she wrapped her arm a little tighter around Angel. Then she let herself fall back in the water till she was completely submerged.

Angel giggled as she allowed herself to be pulled down, then broke away from Sooraya to swim backwards. "See this, this right here, this is why I should have known better than to trust you. Alas, I have no one but myself to blame." She added that last part in a fake-dramatic voice.

"Is it Mr. Summers or Mr. Kane who says to always be prepared again?" Sooraya grinned, referring to two of the primary Danger Room trainers. "You never know when something might happen?"

"I don't know - both, probably?" Angel shrugged, then grinned in return. "Just don't start something you can't finish."

"How do you know for sure I can't finish this?" Sooraya playfully poked out her tongue at her. "I haven't seen you catch me too often yet!"

"I'm just saying," Angel teased back. "If you want to start a war with me, you better be prepared to see it through to the bitter end."

"Oh I know. And you better be aware of what you got into..." With those words Sooraya dove under again...