[Backpost - Shoreleave] Catching Waves

Posted on Mon Jun 10th, 2024 @ 1:55pm by Lieutenant JG Asher Kane & Lieutenant JG Sol

1,975 words; about a 10 minute read

Mission: A marathon not a sprint
Location: Risa

ON:

"I do not see the point of standing on a board on water," and it was not the first time that Sol had said it. He watched the waves crashing on the beach before looking to Asher with a delicately arched eyebrow. After all, it had been Asher who had said they should go surfing. Because he would 'love it'. When he had told him that Vulcans did not 'love' surfing, it had clearly just been a red flag to a bull.

Asher gave him a smile, watching him. Lucas was with a camping group with other children, having wanted to desperately. And it hurt being away from him, even for a bit, but it was important for the boy to get confident again after his father's death. "It's fun," he told Sol in Vulcan, raising an eyebrow as he patted the surf board. He had struck up a conversation with Sol and, seeing as it had been a chance to practice his own flawless Vulcan, he had gotten a chance to convince him. A new experience. "And it requires good core strength and balance." He put the board on the sand and motioned for Sol to do the same. "I'll show you how to do the...transition from lying on the board to getting to your feet, before we try to do it in the water.

Sol let the surfboard drop, letting something suspiciously close to a sigh escape. "This is highly illogical...and impractical," his tone took on the near sing-song edge of 'don't say I didn't warn you'.

"Most enjoyable things are, Sol," Asher smiled as he lay down on the board, watching him. "So when a wave you like the look approaches, you get up..." he moved fluidly, clearly used to doing it before he stood on it. "Quick and balanced."

Sol watched the action seriously, clearly intent on learning despite his protestations. He laid on the board, trying to emulate what he had done...and almost fell face forward by over balancing. He looked down at the board with wide eyes, as if it were the inanimate object's fault.

Asher bit back a laugh, not at the fall but at the look. "It's not as easy as it looks," he said, gently. "I've been surfing since I was a kid. This...is always step one. Knocked out a tooth too trying to do that."

"I have excellent balance and reflexes, that should not have happened," Sol maintained with a flat tone...but with just a touch of an edge to it. It might have been described as annoyance. But Sol would have said that Vulcans do not get annoyed.

"True, but you're...thinking too much about it," Asher said with a smile as he eased down again. "Part of it is feeling it." He moved up again, balancing on the board. "Because one thing is being on sand, once you're in water it is all different again."

"So why do you practice on sand?" Sol asked with confusion, but lowered himself to try again. He succeeded that time, but there was little elegance to the movement. It was more...primal...animalistic in how his arms curved and legs braced.

Asher watched with warmth at how he did it, nodding. "I was always told it was so I knew what to do on water. Sort of...'this is the basic start, once you can do that you get to be on water'..." he shook his head and picked up the board. "I don't know if it makes sense but it was how I was taught and how I taught Lucas and..." he stopped, shaking his head. No, his husband had hated surfing. Because he hadn't been brilliant at doing it straight away.

"Your child can do this?" Sol asked as he straightened, his tone as flat as ever...and yet the way his brow furrowed just a touch may have suggested he wasn't keen on that connotation.

Asher smiled as he nodded, watching Sol before he looked down. "He enjoys the water. But I started him early on it...come, let's get into the water, catch some waves."

"If the object is to catch waves, I think you shall be sorely disappointed..." Sol replied, but with a lightness to his voice, almost a lilt as he stooped to pick up his board.

Asher picked up his board, narrowing his eyes with small smile. "The object is not to swallow seawater," he said, before laughing. "I think you enjoy poking fun at me."

"Vulcans do not have fun," Sol replied easily...but didn't deny it either. He rolled his shoulders as he walked with him towards the water. He also couldn't deny that such an energetic sport appealed to him. "You will show me how it is done?"

"I will," Asher promised, watching Sol with fondness at the honest of it. He got into the water, easing onto the board to paddle it to deeper waters and turning towards the shore. He sat up, straddling it as he waited for Sol. "To be honest, I'd also be happy just to be like this. Water's...calming."

It took a few minutes for Sol to get used to moving with the board rather than trying to fight it, carefully sitting up and using his hands to get closer to Asher. The look on his face was sheer concentration...taking it as seriously as if in the middle of a battle. "You spent a lot of time near it?"

"I did," Asher admitted as he watched him, relaxed where he sat. "We were always close to the ocean. It's one of the things I loved when I was at the Academy, being able to go to the beach. I got married on a beach."

"It is strange, how many find water calming, yet it can be one of the most destructive forces of nature," Sol observed, yet paddled towards him without a second thought.

"People are complicated," Asher said, as if it explained it all. "Think about it, we live on a space ship. Surrounded by elements we can't survive. It's pretty...complex when you think about it." He smiled as a wave came, nodding. "Okay, follow me..." he said, paddling, getting up to speed. He stood, arms loose, knees bent, as he caught the wave.

Sol was so entranced in watching how he managed to not only balance on the board, but also 'ride' the wave, that he forgot he was also meant to be attempting it. He shifted, his muscles tensing ready for action before he launched himself up to get his feet on the board....but he lasted a mere matter of seconds before he lost his balance and had to dive into the wave.

Asher paddled over to him, glad that the board was attached to Sol's leg. "You're okay," he said, reassuringly, reaching to help him onto the board. "Good technique. Always push away from the board, like you did...less chance of it smacking you in the face."

Sol shook his head sharply to flick the water off him, breathing hard as he blinked his wide eyes. "That was...bracing..." he coughed, pulling himself back up as he tried not to look perturbed.

Asher nodded, watching him for a long moment. "You'll get it next time. You got the balance, you're just finding your feet, Sol," he said, meeting his eyes.

"You make it look easy," Sol said with slightly narrowed eyes...and if anyone else had said it, it might have sounded like an accusation.

"Years of experience," Asher said and smiled as he nodded. "Take this wave, I'll be right here...go on, you'll be brilliant."

Sol looked at the water with sheer focus on his features, as if he could bend it to his will. He pushed his board forward into the current, feeling the board catch it. He waited just a moment more before jumping neatly onto his feet, but keeping low, to try and hold his balance. Slowly, carefully, he straightened up enough to be half standing, riding the wave for a few long moments...before he was turfed off his board.

Asher paddled over to him, grinning as he reached to touch the Vulcan's arm. "That was brilliant!" he praised, nodding with warmth at it. Because it was, for a first go.

"It was less than mediocre," Sol corrected, flicking water from his hair before giving a firm nod all the same. "But...it is a start."

"We all start somewhere. What fun would it be if we knew all?" Asher said with a smile, shaking his head. "Half the...sense of achievement comes from working hard and learning."

Sol nodded, watching him with approval at the words. He found the same sense of satisfaction he was describing when he learnt a new skill. More...he *needed* to keep learning. There was a drive inside of him that wouldn't let him rest. "You must have been doing this for some years," he concluded as he hauled himself back up onto the board.

"I have, more than I like admitting," Asher said with a warm smile, shaking his head. "Still, it feels good to teach this to someone else. Lucas is good at it but is starting to...push away from me a bit." It felt strange to say that about his son, who was still so young. But after the death of his father, he understood it too. Asher had always been the lead parent and as such, Ruben had been the perfect father who never told him off, who was always playful.

Sol was silent for several long moments as he just watched him at the words, considering them with significant weight. "Perhaps he pushes away from you because he needs you."

Asher looked at him with surprise, meeting his eyes. "Maybe. I don't know, he..." he looked down, frowning. "I wish I could make it better for him. But how do you make things better when a child has lost a parent."

"You cannot," Sol replied evenly, holding his eyes as they drifted gently with the waves. "But you can make him feel safe and supported while things are not good for him."

Asher nodded as he watched him, giving him a small smile. "Thank you," he said, meaning it. It was good advice...things he knew, but it felt good to hear it.

Sol lowered his gaze at that, shaking his head with a slight frown. "I am not a father, I do not have practical experience," he warned on following the advice he gave. But he had been a son, to a father who had not been around.

"It's still good advice," Asher said before he chuckled, warmed by it. "Besides, I've been told every child is different and all that."

"I would like to meet him," Sol announced boldly, shaking his head lightly. "When we are back on the ship, I would like to meet him."

"He'll ask you a thousand questions," he said, with a small smile as his eyes watched Sol. "He has a little bit of Vulcan in his DNA. He used to be fascinated by that when he was younger."

"I am only half Vulcan myself, so I may not have the answers to all of his questions," Sol had to admit, honest about his own shortcomings. "But I can offer what I can. Perhaps it will serve as a distraction...at this difficult time."

"Thank you," Asher said, meaning it as he looked at him. "Sol, you being half Vulcan...might just be exactly what he needs."

"Then I am willing to oblige," Sol assured, bowing his head lightly to him. Besides, it was service for a service, if nothing else.

OFF:

Dr. Sol
Medical Officer

Lt. JG Asher Kane
Science Officer

 

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