Aquaman Rises! (He doesn't) - Swimming Lessons!

» The trip was a bit out of his way. But Magnolia town was rumored to a fairly pleasant place to visit- No matter the time of the year. Even if it was winter—And muggy. It didn’t seem to bother Copy much, if at all. His stoicism was always present in his expression and stride. It was admirable, if a bit concerning for some parts of his mental health.
However he travelled no less, veering his path from heading to the Mountain Village towards Magnolia for a job. It wasn’t even an interesting job, or one that reaped glory and wealth. An excuse mostly, or at least that was in the back of his mind… ”I wonder what kind of sights they have there.” his mind was simple when it came to travelling. ‘Get to a destination’ serene and relaxing all the same. After-all, he had to reserve his intensity for when it counted. As a guild-mage, that was battling.

»  The sound of sloshing boot to ground, mixed with slushy-mixtures of snow and mud. It was soothing in its own way. Reminded Copy that he was still grounded to the earth and everything continued ticking as per normal. What was abnormal was the fact that after a few days of traveling in his own haven of single file steps. Single repetitive sounds of slushy-goodness. Came two. One slightly out of sync, faster and more insistent to keep up with him.
Initially he thought it might be a trick of exhaustion that he hadn’t noticed immediately- Sometimes someone gets so engrossed in their task they forget everything. But this wasn’t it. He peered around the horizon to see no one. But heard the steps; they seemed to trail around his left, right and rear with no relative consistency. As if avoiding holes and the like.
Then it hit him—Literally.
”FOOL!” Exclaimed a now noticed disfigured creature. A look of confusion, concern and fear passed over Copy. As he witnessed this thing hit him with a .. Cane. And screamed Fool.
”What the..” The young man inquired to himself; simultaneously rubbing his head.

»  

After a proud and silent moment for this creature. The silence was ultimately broken by Copy initially, he thinks. "Wh- Who are yo-?"
"WHO-- WHO AM I?! FOOL~! I am the great, magnificent, old, wise and ultimate power in the whole cosmos!-- And you! Some petty half-wash dares ask me?!" A notable feature to this rather, interesting monologue. Was the cane that was waved around like it was a snake caught by the creature- In other words, erratic and dangerously.
While Copy was listening, there was this buzzing in the back of his mind. As if he was being toyed with some magical device that caused a psuedo-almost-aneurysm. A bead of sweat begun to trickle down the side of his face. While he prepared himself to speak- this entire time, he felt this thing was still talking. But he couldn't quite make it out. His mind and body were forcing some sensation of selective hearing, surreal really.

This all occurring, of course. In the middle of a desolate travel road. With open plains on either side for as far as the eye can see. Random animals skittering about, the sun dwindling over the horizon slowly. His attention, did of course note the sun- it stirred some sense of urgency to the young man. Interjecting- Foolishly.
"So uh, who are you?... Ooo.." There is an importance of the last 'Ooo' you see, his voice trailed. With the swiftness and ferocity of a burmese tiger. That very same cane repeatedly hit his bicep. Not hard- More irritationally driven.
"I AM the LEGENDARY~ GOD~ WARRIOR OF AGES~ EXCAAAAAAAALIBUR!" For the briefest moment, Copy could have swore he saw glitter flutter around the form of this disfigured child-thing.

Followed by an exasperated sigh. "Right. Uhh.. Excalibur- I need to get to town or a suitable camp before night becomes too daunting." And with little notice of social queues. Copy twisted on his heel and began that same sloshing he was so fond of... Only to hear a driven skitter of the thing behind him. Keeping tail for some god-awful reason.
A mistake he made, was to look over his shoulder and slowly down. "Can.. I help y-?"
"MARVELOUS! You see you're below me to provide assistance! Indeed! I demand you fulfill a rule of mine. A king must not be ill-equipped for camp! Thus! You must provide me accommodations in OUR trek! So I will follow, and you will give me that tent. You see!" At some point in his speech, he had pulled out a rather large, extravagant tome. Trimmed with platinum and golds. He wasn't quite ready to ask how- Or where for that matter.

He genuinely thought about providing some help to the child-thing. But providing the whole tent, seemed. Fetchy, so he shrugged and continued walking. "Sure.. I- uh. Don't mind helping, we'll share the tent." He figured there was shouting, screaming. Flailing- But he was a master of zoning out certain aspects of noise from an exceptionally long line of time spent traveling. And so they set off, destined for a camp.

To Copy's ill-fated ... Fate. He didn't realize the course he set in with this being.

»  The rest of his days and nights of travel. Were for the lack of a better term, amongst the most trying of patience he has ever endured. And there have been some fairly high-ranking times in his life.
The creature he discovered was ultimately lost in this world and sought to conquer it. While Copy's reluctance in that field was ignored. The offer to help the defenseless creature was almost a second-nature to the gentle-hearted wanderer.

So they trekked the land on their way to Magnolia Town to do a means of teaching. It was swimming lessons Copy had reminded himself. Something he was quite skilled at, even if it weren't anything he could professionally compete in. One needed to know in his line of work- You never know what you get into- Or fall into.

---

By the time they arrived it was mid-day and while not giving a heavily date-specific time. It was within' the frame Copy had sent a messenger to relay.

They entered into the facility the family indicated they left the child to practice under the supervision of life-guards and the like. And upon arriving, he had indicated his reason to a staff member and awaited the arrival of the boy.

"Hello Sir, are you going to be the one showing me how to swim properly? I'd like to get helping my Father as soon as possible!" The young boy seemed spirited, full of energy and otherwise looked the part. Not too fancy, but enough of a look to get by as middle-class. It does explain the reaching out to a low-ranking mage, they're not professional mentors. But can provide the adequate results for what most of these folk are aiming for.

"I am indeed. Let me get changed and we'll get started."

So some time passed, Copy realized he lacked swim-shorts. As any person would do, he went and purchased some. Heading back and went through the routine of getting himself publicly acceptable to teach a boy the ropes.

...

SPLOOSH!

» "Alright. So the key is to keep your hands in almost a mower type motion. Like this." Providing some visually learning techniques- Admittedly, it was how he learned. The books and words of people were valued of course, but it was a struggle to retain the information without putting it to the test.
So in stride, Copy was displaying how he held his hands flat near the surface of the water- Just underneath some. Angling techniques and how to brush stroke in order to maintain afloat. "While you're doing this, you'll be able to stay afloat. But it will become tiring quickly if you dedicate only one part of your body to ascertaining your head above water. So you will include the simplest part by paddling your feet. It will require some trial and error. Ultimately due to too much will throw you out some, too little and you might start bobbing underneath the water some." Furthering his explanation he began by showing the boy both techniques together.
"Now, for movement. To be above water you will cast your head to the side per arm that you are arch-stroking with. I will show you so you can get a handle of the form. And while maintaining this, you will want to paddle your feet for thrust." Having gone through the movement, the boy had been passing through the same movements while rough he had some manner of latent talent that was noticed. He wasn't necessarily keeping up. But afloat and moving, which is where anyone can really hope to start. Beyond such. Copy had kept around for several more hours. Helping him with form, breathing techniques and how to properly reduce the usage of the body in-case of exhaustion or emergency. Having read about how the boy intended to help with the fishing routes.

---

"Alright. That should be about it- You will require some more practice. But the fundamentals and everything you've got down with some noticeable skill. Keep at it buddy." He spoke with some casual relaxation in his voice. He was tired, lots of travel and work tended to sneak up on people. While he dried himself off, he parted ways and got ready. Heading out to meet with the parents in question to discuss everything he taught the boy in a level of detail- That appeared to cause some impatience in the parents. But he felt obligated to ensure they were satisfied with the depth. Apparently, you can teach someone too much. He didn't mind of course, settling with the funds originally promised and begun to head out... Unfortunately- That pitter-patter of a half-pint Excalibur was not far behind.