Zania Castalia (ex_brokendol405) wrote in oblivionrp, @ 2009-01-29 22:48:00 |
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Entry tags: | stefan, stefan and zania, zania |
Night Swimming
Who: Stefan and Zania
Where: Their rooms
When: 10:30pm
Once the elevators came on, sitting in the stairwell wasn't near as much fun. While no one was eager to jump back on the elevators, people seemed to have calmed down substantially and settled in to various locations. Still feeling under-dressed, Zania opted not to venture down to the Circean Delight, instead returning to her room. She strolled in casually, then flopped down on the bed, kicking her flip flops off and onto the floor. "You back, Stef?" she called through the open door that connected their rooms. Hopefully he'd enjoyed the temporary chaos, though she seriously doubted it.
Stefan hadn't been enjoying the power outage as much as his sister had been. In fact, the whole thing was unnerving, especially since Zania had disappeared. He had left his room while she was in the shower to see about the evening's on deck activities when the lights went out. By the time he got back to his room, Zania was gone. He knew his sister, and he knew she would have seen the situation as an opportunity for some kind of Zania-esque adventure. Stefan's own adventure consisted of searching the ship high and low for her, all the while torn between amusement, frustration and concern. His concern only grew the longer he searched and couldn't find her. Horrible images of her tripping in the dark and falling overboard began to worm their way into his mind, making him wish he had taken more medicine for the anxiety the woman caused him.
What felt like hours later, he finally returned to his room, hoping that she had come back and was waiting for him. If not, he was going to shift into full blown panic and raid every single room possible on the damn thing. He was about to pound on the door that separated their rooms when he heard her voice. Back? Was he back? Thunking his head against the door, Stefan sighed and prayed to every God in existence to give him the patience not to strangle his sister. They were, after all, on vacation. "Open up," he said wearily.
"It's unlocked," she said, tilting her chin up to look towards the door as she heard a loud bump against the wood. "Don't do that," she said without actually seeing what he'd done. "You'll end up with a knot in the middle of your forehead. How're you gonna explain that to all the girls?" she teased lightly. "Do anything exciting while you were out?" she asked as if nothing had happened, as if she hadn't completely disappeared while the whole ship was in a state of chaos.
Stefan opened the door and stood in the doorway to stare at her for a few seconds, both to smooth out his temper and to study her for any visible, harmful marks. When he saw she seemed to be perfectly fine, at least physically, he entered the room and crossed his arms. "Did I do anything exciting?" The only sign of irritation showing on his face was the tension in his jaw. "I just spent hours looking all over the damn place for you. I wouldn't exactly say it was exciting. Infuriating? Worrisome? Yes. Exciting? Not so much. Where the hell have you been?"
"Sitting on the stairs," Zania said, the smile in her voice as she stretched slowly. "I lost you in the dark. I thought it would be good to stay where I was." Obviously he'd know it was a lie. She'd been in the shower when the lights had gone out, not on the stairs, but no one else knew that. At least not the people who had to step over her. "Come sit," she sighed, patting the bed. "You're all worked up over nothing. I'm fine, you're fine, and you sound like you need a drink. Or a back massage. Something like that, to unwind." As much fun as it was to go out and be a nuisance, her intent hadn't been to get him all strung out over nothing.
Stefan lifted the hat on his head and ran his hand through his shaggy hair before releasing a slow breath. "You didn't lose me in the dark, Zan. You were in the shower when I stepped out and instead of waiting for me to get back to you, you left. I didn't know where you went. You could have gone out and fallen overboard and I would have never known what the hell happened to you." He went over to sit next to her, his eyes focused on her face and his tone firm. "Don't ever do that to me again, okay? I sound like I need a drink because of you." He reached out and ran a hand over her hair before sighing. "What kind of trouble were you trying to get into?"
"I'm not gonna fall overboard," Zania said with a little laugh. She knew her brother worried about her, but there were a lot more realistic things he could have picked to worry on than her falling off the boat. "You worry too much. I was just people watching," she said, curling up against him as he took a seat on the bed. "I got bored, and you weren't back yet, so I went to find you. And then got distracted. Did you know that people got stuck on the elevators?" That would have been a more realistic fear, in her opinion. If she fell off the boat, it was her own damn fault.
"From now on, if something happens on the ship and we're not together, you come straight to your room and wait for me, okay? The thing's too damn big for me to search every time you wander off." Stefan was still irritated with her, but he was trying to move past it since she was here and unhurt. This time. "I know people got stuck, yeah. Certainly glad it wasn't me. But I guess it's an interesting way to force people to get to know one another."
She wanted to argue that they weren't kids and that he didn't need to search for her, but it was an unnecessary argument. She'd do what she wanted, regardless of what she agreed to, and she'd agree to it now if it helped him sleep at night. If she put up a fight, he'd only worry about it more, and Zania didn't see a reason to when she didn't see anything like this happening again. "Okay, if something happens again, we'll meet here," she said, smiling up at him. "You think they stopped the elevators on purpose? So that the people inside would get to know one another?" That hadn't been the impression she'd gotten, but if the ship was taking things to that extreme, then this was definitely going to be an interesting trip.
Stefan laughed and shook his head. "No, sorry, guess that came out wrong. I don't think they did it on purpose, I just mean when you're stuck in a situation like that, you're kind of forced to talk, right? Kind of a twisted way to have to get to know strangers." He didn't say anything more on what she had done tonight. Stefan knew she was agreeing to appease him, and that whatever Zania wanted to do, she would do, but he would deal with that later, should it happen again. He grinned at her. "You want to go swimming in the dark for a bit? Might be fun."
"I dunno. Could be fun, so long as you get out eventually," Zania said, though she supposed that was looking in from the outside. If she'd been caught in the elevator, she wasn't sure if she'd panic or not. Small places had never bothered her, but annoying people usually did. "I could go swimming," she said, immediately brightening up. She had the feeling the pool would be closed, with the power being out, but she wouldn't let that stop them. "Give me a minute to change?"
"I don't think it would be fun at all," Stefan countered. Being stuck in a closed space with strangers sounded like torture to him. Stefan kissed the side of her head before standing. "I'm going to change too. I'll be in my room," he said, giving her a look. "Don't you dare leave without me, got it? I'll meet you in the hallway." He really didn't care if the pool was closed either. He was kind of hoping if it was, people would be too busy worrying about other things than whether or not someone was doing laps.
It didn't take Zania long to pull her hair back and grab a towel, though finding her swim suit in the dark was a bit of a pain. She wore a fifties style two-piece, black with white polka dots that tied around her neck. Cruise regulations said she had to wear a cover up when not in the pool area, but Zania opted to forgo the rules when the people enforcing them had better things to worry about. Stepping out in the hall, she found it was still dark, but that was much to her liking.
Stefan stepped out right after her, clad in blue swimming trunks and a t-shirt, a towel hanging around his neck. He was relieved to see she'd waited for him. "Let's go break some rules," Stefan said, reaching out to take her arm so he could help lead her through the dark halls. "No splashing though. I don't want a mouthful of salt water, thank you very much."
"There's salt water in the pool?" Zania asked, grinning as she took his arm. She'd sunbathed the other day, but not actually gotten in the water. Now she was just glad to see her brother in better spirits, actually looking to take on a little mischievous behavior. "You don't have to worry about me splashing," she reminded him. "I'd rather not have someone come yell at us to get out."
"All of them do, I think. You think cruise ships could keep pools of fresh water clean?" Stefan asked. "Actually I think everything but shower water and drinking water is saltwater." He led her to the steps to get to the deck. No elevators for them tonight. "Hopefully no one will be out near the pools right now. Everyone seems to be crowding in the bars and restauraunts."
"I haven't really put much thought into the water filtration systems on the ship," Zania smiled. "Can't they clean them just like any other pool? I know the hot tubs are fresh water," she pointed out. "What do you think the problem is? I'd think it'd take a lot to kill the lights on a ship this big. It's fun for a few hours, but if we don't have electricity eventually, this place is gonna reek." The lack of air conditioning could only last so long.
"I don't know how they clean them, all I know is most cruise ships have salt water pools. I actually did a little research before we left," Stefan explained. "I don't know what the problem is with the lights. I'm sure it's just a mild malfunction that they'll fix before morning. Might be a bit stuffy in the rooms tonight though, if they don't get the electricity up soon." He led Zania out onto the deck toward the pool, tossing his towel on one of the beach chairs and stripping off his t-shirt. "At least it makes the trip interesting, right? Maybe not in a good way but..."
"Interesting is always a good thing," Zania said, dropping her towel on the chair beside his. The night air was warm and the pool area was empty for once. Looking up, she could see the stars. "When we get back, it'll make a great story. Remember that night the power went out and we snuck out to the pool? And people got stuck on the elevators? It'll be something to talk about. If nothing interesting happens, then all we have to say is that we laid out in the sun, swam, and ate a bit."
"If the electricity going out is the most exciting thing that happens on this trip, I think I might be disappointed. Although I guess cruises are suppose to be for fun and relaxation and endless food. Are you going to get your hair wet?" Stefan asked, rather casually. Some girls were weird about getting their hair wet in pools. He never understood it.
"We can always make our own excitement," she smirked, stepping over to the pool ledge. If her brother was up for a little trouble, Zania was positive they could come up with something. In fact, now that he'd mentioned it, she already had ideas running through her mind. "Sure," she said, looking back at him. "Saltwater won't hurt the color. There's no reason not to."
"I was just double checking," Stefan explained with a tiny grin. "Some girls are weird about their hair." And with that he ran toward her and grabbed her by the waist, throwing them both into the water. He had said no splashing, but he figured this didn't really count. The water was warm enough, and dark given the lack of pool lights. It was definitely a different experience.
"It's not about getting it wet, it's about--shit!" Zania's voice rose in surprise as her brother threw them into the pool, her eyes and mouth closing just before both got flooded with salt water. There was a moment of disorientation before she popped up above the surface, brushing the water from her eyes before rounding on her brother. "You bitch!" she laughed, splashing water up in his face with a grin.
Stefan tried to duck away from her splash and he laughed, running his hands over his face to wipe away the water. Saltwater really tasted nasty as hell. However, it'd been totally worth it to see her face before they hit the water. "Yeah, yeah. Stand there and tell me you wouldn't have done the same thing if you'd thought of it first."
"I thought we were trying to be sneaky and quiet," she laughed, wiping the water from her face before taking a moment to lay back in the water. Spreading her arms out, her feet kicked up, toes floating above the water. "Isn't this great?" she smiled, a soft moment for once. "We never win anything, and then this."
"There's no one around at the moment," he pointed out, sinking down into the warm water until it reached his shoulders. It was pretty awesome without the lights, since he could see the stars much clearer. "I would have preferred to win a cruise on a ship that didn't lose electricity, but I guess this is better than nothing." Stefan smiled and kicked off from the bottom of the pool to swim backward. "I'm guessing there won't be any fresh meat for breakfast tomorrow."
"Beggars can't be choosers," Zania teased. A temporary loss of electricity was nothing. If this continued on tomorrow, however, she was going to be complaining. "I'm positive there'll be fresh meat at breakfast tomorrow. You just need to look at the buffet line itself, rather than the food they're serving. Meet anyone yet?" As much as she encouraged her brother, she wasn't all that sure she wanted him to meet anyone. She was happier having him all to herself.
"I can be choosy," Stefan countered. "If it's fresh food, I'll get a couple plates. If it's not? I'll stick to the cereal. Can you imagine if the electricity doesn't come on? All that wasted food? Unless they have some kind of back up generator." And he was thinking he really thought way too much about the way the ship worked rather than just enjoying it for what it was. "I talked to some woman at the pool the first day, but I haven't really been that social. I guess with the power being out, I have the perfect way to strike up a conversation with someone, should I want to. What about you?"
Zania rolled her eyes, realizing he'd totally missed the point of what she was saying, and that she wasn't literally talking about meat the way he was. Oh well. "I laid out by the pool. And read a book. And have been pretty much anti-social, but I figure I can change that if I want. I just wanted a few days to unwind first, you know? I did meet the girl that fell down the stairs," Zania said. "But I didn't get her name. She kind of ran away." It would have been a lot more fun if the girl hadn't accepted all the blame herself.
"She probably ran away out of embarrassment." He shot his sister a look. "You didn't tease her about it, did you?" His brain wasn't exactly wired the way Zania's was, so he wasn't necessarily viewing the people on the ship as fresh meat the way she might have been. Of course, if he thought like his sister, it would have been much easier for him to be able to figure out what she was going to do before she actually did it.
"Kinda," Zania said lightly. "I told her she hurt my leg where she tripped over it. And she apologized. Actually took the blame for it." Zania found it to be bizarre and not at all fun. She'd kind of been looking for an argument, but instead she'd gotten an apology. "Promise me you'll never be that much of a push over," she said, laughing softly before she slid beneath the surface of the water. It took her a moment to find him, since she couldn't open her eyes in the salt water, but as soon as she did, she pulled him under by the foot.
"I think you need to leave the poor passengers alone," Stefan said, trying to be firm on that, though he knew she wouldn't listen. He was about to respond to the pushover comment when she disappeared underwater. Sighing, Stefan waited for her to surface before he felt her grip his foot and tug. He was stronger than her, but he closed his eyes anyway and went under, reaching out to push her away. Salt water was nasty. He found her hair and tugged before resurfacing, his hands coming up to wipe the water away.