Origins of Olympus S2 One-Shots

Beauty and the Surfer

(Colin and Bri: exist in Origins

me: s i b l i n g s)

Bri sat cross-legged on the surfboard, bobbing with every tide and helping drift along the other board beside her. Turtle-Colin was underneath, pushing her along with tiny fins towards deeper waters and more common areas for waves. She glanced at the shore where a coco was kicking away a crab that was trying to snatch her sandals. 'Good coco.'

When the water blended into a much cooler shade, human-Colin swam up to the surface and pulled himself up onto his surfboard in one swift motion. "So surfing lesson number one! Actually, how much do you know already?"

Bir shrugged. "Well I know what it is, I just don't know how to like, move the board and keep from falling off on a wave," she admitted, gesturing around her at the water. "Don't you go sideways at some point? How do you not just flip right over like a canoe?"

"As long as you keep some grip on the board and keep control, you shouldn't have much trouble."

"How do I keep control of it while I'm standing?"

"It's like riding a skateboard. Your feet control what angle it's at and the rest of you control what direction it goes in. Here, I'll show you! Stand up."

Bri slowly did so, thankful she had good balance thanks to her wings. The surfboard wobbled as she moved but obeyed the sea and stayed in place. Colin did the same and turned his back to her, looking over his shoulder. "If you move your feet like you're going to lean back on your heels, your board should go up with you."

She gazed down and watched the board as she leaned back. It tilted up along with her, coming up off the water and her feet started to slide back. She yelped and threw herself forward, the sudden movement causing the board to harshly slap the water. She dropped to her knees to grab the board, eyes glazing over briefly from whiplash.

"Sorry!" Colin jumped off his surfboard into the sea and held hers steady. "Sorry, probably should have mentioned you need to keep your head up when you start out. It helps with balance when on moving waters."

"That might have been helpful, yeah," Bri retorted, standing back up and resisting the urge to look down and make sure the board wasn't threatening to throw her off again.

"Okay try this." He removed his hands from the board and shapeshifted into a parrot. He flew up next to her and held out his wings. "Here, spread out your wings like this and stand with your back towards the waves."

Bri extended her wings out beside her just as the wind picked up. Her feathers ruffled as the wind swept up under them, pushing the wings up to carry her. The board swayed up and down, front to back. Her wings did the same, rolling her shoulders along with the tides.

"Hey! I think I've got a hand of this!"

Colin shifted back, dropping down onto his board. "Of course you do, I'm a natural teacher. I even taught the cocos!"

"The cocos can surf?" Bri asked. Colin nodded and she beamed. "Maybe they can join us next time."

"Oh for sure! My brothers can join us too if they promise not to pester the fish again. You should see the cocos hold them up while surfing, last time they-" Colin broke off, eyes widening with glee. At her questioning look, he nodded towards the sea and she swiveled around on her board.

Behind them, a large wave pushed itself up from the sea. It folded in over itself and crashed down in a long billow of foam. Another wave gathered up right after it and Bri felt a surge of excitement mixed with dread.

Colin grinned and whooped. "Oh, sweet! Okay time to put your training into practice."

"What?" Bri exclaimed, tearing her gaze away from the wave to stare at him. "We barely did any training, are you sure I can do this?"

"Sure! Follow me up the pocket and through the tube and you'll be fine."

"I don't know what either of those mean in this context."

Colin paddled away from her and kneeled on his board, eyes on the incoming wave. "Just mimic what I do!" he yelled just before disappearing into the blue curve.

Bri paddled after him and leapt onto her board, determined to keep calm. Feet planted firmly on the sanded wood, she angled her ankles and let herself get swept into the water tunnel. She leaned forward and the board moved up the wave behind her.

Barely noticeable surrounded in his element, she saw Colin bend his knees and copied him. Immediately, the movements felt much more natural and her heart lifted. She fluttered her wings slightly and she glided right underneath the gathering overhang.

Cool mist hit her everywhere, spraying her in a gentle shower of salt water. The roaring of the wave popped her ears but she ignored it in favor of focusing on where she was going. Keeping her head up as straight as she could, she guided the board over the dark blue below her and followed the foam lining the menacing ceiling above her.

Up ahead, Colin met the end of the wave and swept upwards, kicking the board up and leaping sideways towards the water. He shapeshifted mid-air into an eagle and flew up and over the wave. His board popped up through the water and he shifted back just in time to land right back on.

Bri gaped at him. "Okay, that was pretty cool!"

"You try it!"

Bri took a deep breath and turned her ankles so the surfboard went the same direction as Colin's: towards the inside of the wave. Right as the front tipped into the curved water, she leaned back and kicked up the board. It flew up from underneath her and she curled in her wings to catch herself just before falling to the water.

She soared up over the wave to where Colin was riding along the top. Her board popped up through the light blue depths and she folded in her wings to drop down on top of it. Stance solid and legs unshaking, she crouched down, grabbed the edge, and held on.

Colin laughed. "Nice going! Welcome to the peak!"

They rode the wave until it crashed itself into the sea. By that time, they two could see the coco back on shore fighting five crabs all vying for dominance of the sand and her shoes.