Morning Swim (Sal and Kasim)

[Kasim Chionesu]

Time: 7:00 a.m.
Date: December 26
Place: BPRD Swimming Pool
Status: Open if anyone else feels like joining, and tagging Sal.

It may have been the day after Christmas, but for Kasim it was business as usual. While most everyone else was sleeping in, Kasim was well into his morning ritual. He decided to forgo the gym today, though, and instead work on his cardio in the swimming pool.

After a quick stop by his locker and a change into ling swim-trunks, Kasim grabbed a pair of goggled and a BPRD emblazoned towel and walked to the pool area, his feet making slight slapping noises as he walked. He looked down at his swim trunk, noticing how they felt funny. A bit too small. They were very similar to Abe's in design...Could their trunks have gotten mixed up in the wash? Kasim turned around and pulled the tag out of the back and sure enough "A.S" was written on it. Kasim frowned slightly and fidgeted. Well, if anyone was even up, no one would notice, right? He entered the pool area and draped his towel over a bench, preparing to goggle up and dive in.

[eternalwater]

Sal woke up this morning like any other. Went to the bathroom, ate breakfast, did the whole morning routine like any other. Indeed like any other day, Sal went to the pool. He always loved the calming glow of the water, but he usually only sat with his legs in the pool and stared. He enjoyed the water in the pool very much and it was often a time for him to think.

Soon enough, Sal saw Kasim about to dive in the pool. He wasn't entirely familiar with Kasim. In fact, Sal barely knew little more than Kasim's name. For a few moments, he contemplated introducing himself. At one point, he even decided to stand up and begin walking over. However, he immediately retreated and sat back down.

[Kasim Chionesu]

In the process of putting on his goggles, Kasim saw a figure stand up from one of the benches before timidly sitting back down. Slightly alarmed, Kasim pulled off the slightly blurry goggles and saw Sal sitting where the figure had been. He breathed a sigh of relief because, for a moment, he had wondered if Sal was a ghost or apparition. Even though Kasim had handled zombies (of a sort) and his co-workers included a demon and a vampire, the supernatural still freaked him out when he was caught off guard.

"Good morning." Kasim greeted, feeling a little self conscious in Abe's swim trunks. "Nice day for a swim, is it not?" Sal was some sort of water-controlling person. The pool would be his nautral environment...ish. "I hope I'm not encroaching upon your...training or anything."

[eternalwater]

"Oh... hi... no... I'm not training. I just like to sit and..." at that point, Sal began to mumble. He wasn't very good at talking to people he didn't completely know. A few moments later, he continued speaking. "Well, As to your earlier question, every day is a good day to swim for myself. I love the water. It calms me down. There isn't usually anyone here so early, so it's a nice place to think. It's quite refreshing to meet a friendly face though. I'm kind of having a hard time adjusting to the BPRD, and I usually don't talk to people that much. Just out of curiousity, what made you come here so early today? I just assumed most everyone would be sleeping in..."

[Kasim Chionesu]

Kasim joined his hands together by locking his right hand on his left wrist and listened to what Sal had to say. He seemed a little shy, and Kasim could understand that, especially when he said he was having a hard time adjusting to the Bureau. Kasim nodded knowingly.

"It is quite a shock when you first get here. I've been here about six months and I'm still getting used to it." Kasim resumed placing his goggled on as he answered Sal's question. "Just..well, it's the day after Christmas and I don't see why I should lapse out of my morning habits just because some people are in holiday dinner comas." He smiled and offered his hand. "My name is Kasim Chionesu. I'm an FBI agent to the Bureau and still a bit of a newbie myself."

[eternalwater]

>>>"Just..well, it's the day after Christmas and I don't see why I should lapse out of my morning habits just because some people are in holiday dinner comas." <<<

Sal chuckled a bit at Kasim's comment. In the back of his head, however, he was a bit confused. He had never experienced anyone outside of his family being kind to him. In fact, his only real human contact taught him that people could indeed be cruel. At that point, Kasim extended his hand.

Sal was taken aback by this gesture. He had never really been treated very nicely by anyone he had just met, and it was a strange feeling to him. After Kasim extended his hand, Sal willingly shook it and replied. "I'm... well... Sal. My REAL name... well... I've not been called by my real name in years, so I suppose it's unimportant. If you REALLY need to know my name, go ask someone else." Sal chuckled at his own comment, then continued.

"So... what exactly is there to do around here? I mean, besides swimming."

[Kasim Chionesu]

Kasim smiled warmly, his friendly personality shining through. "Sal, then. I don't think I'll go prying for your real name. Everyone has their own right to privacy, right?" Especially in the Bureau, undoubtedly. It wasn't in Kasim's nature to snoop around for people's personal information, anyway.

>>"So... what exactly is there to do around here? I mean, besides swimming." <<

Kasim laughed. "Well, there's a full gym. The cafeteria's an awesome place at any time, they always have copious amounts of food." Kasim fell quiet for a few seconds as he thought a bit more on the subject. "If you enjoy reading or any subject of knowledge, I'd pay Abraham Sapien in the library a visit; the library in itself is gorgeous, even if you don't read that much. And...." Kasim rubbed his goatee thoughtfully. "Oh, and if you have weapons or any trouble with technology, I'd pay Tabitha Whitman in 'The Shop' a visit. Other than that...I guess that might be it. Besides training and such." Shifting a little from foot to foot, Kasim felt a slight prickle of awkwardness standing around in too small swim trunks shooting the breeze.

[eternalwater]

Sal noticed that Kasim was uncomfortable. He seemed to have some sort of problem with his swim suit that was bothering him. He also noticed the same reaction when he first saw Kasim. Sal wasn't entirely sure what the problem was, but he figured that perhaps the suit was just a bit too small. He waited for Kasim to finish talking, then replied promptly.

"Well, I most certainly will have to check out this "shop" and perhaps stop by to read some books as well. However... I'm not too keen on introducing myself, as you may have already seen. By the way... is something the matter with your swim trunks? I noticed you've been shifting around in them since you got out here."

[Kasim Chionesu]

Kasim stopped fidgeting long enough to smile again. "I could come and help you out with that, if you'd like Sal. I just about have everybody's name down; I think I could introduce you to the right people and avoid the awkwardness."

At the mention of his swim trunks, Kasim's dark skin tinged red. "Oh, erm..." He looked down at his feet and crossed his arms self-consciously. "I'm afraid I got the wrong pair of swim trunks back in the wash. They're erm...a bit too small. I was kind of hoping there would be no one around to see, but since I've explained myself to you, I feel better." He chuckled nervously.

[eternalwater]

>>>"I could come and help you out with that, if you'd like Sal. I just about have everybody's name down; I think I could introduce you to the right people and avoid the awkwardness."<<<

Sal thought for a moment at this. He wasn't too keen on meeting new people. He wasn't against it, but it often created very strange situations for him. He decided, however, it was more beneficial to meet people and suffer a little akwardness than to stay sheltered and quiet for the next few months. I mean, he would have to meet everyone eventually, right?

>>>"I'm afraid I got the wrong pair of swim trunks back in the wash. They're erm...a bit too small. I was kind of hoping there would be no one around to see, but since I've explained myself to you, I feel better."<<<

"Well, you should probrably find the suits rightful owner. I'd feel kind of strange wearing someone elses swim trunks, and I'm pretty sure I'd feel pretty weird if someone else wore mine... At any rate, I suppose introducing myself to everyone else couldn't hurt... right? So, why not? I'll take you up on that offer then."

[Kasim Chionesu]

Kasim chuckled nervously. "Yeah. Yeah. This is totally weird." He grabbed the BPRD towel and draped it around his waist, deciding that swimming today was definitely out of the question now. "I didn't realize it until I put them on so...yeah."

"If you feel up to it, sure! Wanna get dressed and meet me back here in ten minutes? I already have an idea about a few people I could introduce you to." Kasim smiled. "Who knows, maybe by the end of the day you could have a posse."

[eternalwater]

Sal nodded and headed back inside. Being that it was somewhat early, and everyone was still in thier christmas comas, he decided to at least attempt not to wake anyone. The sound of his wet feet slapping on the cold floor in the hallway echoed through his mind louder than he could think. Before long, Sal reached his room.

He changed out of his swim suit, still yet to have been touched by any water from the pool, and into something he felt more comfortable in. Every time Sal slid on his loose-fit jeans and threw his zip-up sweater over his dark blue shirt, he always thought of how fond he was of the way he dressed. He thought it even seemed to adhere to his personality in a way.

After a few moments, Sal shook his head and finished putting on his shoes, then headed back out to the pool to wait for Kasim. Once he arrived, he looked down to see that he in fact had taken only a few minutes to change where as Kasim had said he would be back in roughly ten. Sal lied down on the cement around the pool and stared into the sun. It had always made him tired. The warmth from the sun alone made him crave rest. Soon enough he found himself drifting off into a light sleep.

[Kasim Chionesu]

Kasim returned to the locker room and pulled on a pair of FBI sweats and a simple white t-shirt. It was up to his usual dress code, but he hadn't thought to bring anything other than that. He put Abe's trunks in the laundry bin along with the towels and returned to the pool side. He saw that Sal had already returned and seemed to be...cat-napping? Kasim smiled gently. It seemed that Sal's Christmas coma hadn't really worn off.

Kasim sat and waited a few minutes before clearing his throat politely. "Do you want to maybe stop by the cafeteria first for some coffee or hot cocoa?"

[eternalwater]

Sal slowly sat up and shook his head. Did he really fall asleep on the cement around the pool? He realized that the sun always made him tired but this was a rare occurance for him. He rubbed his eyes and looked over at Kasim, who seemed to have been waiting there for a few minutes.

>>> "Do you want to maybe stop by the cafeteria first for some coffee or hot cocoa?"<<<

Coffee sounded really good to Sal. It was one of the few hot drinks that he really enjoyed. After stretching and bringing himself up to a standing position, Sal replied, "Yeah, coffee sounds good. Shall we then?"

[Kasim Chionesu]

"Do let's." Kasim replied, smiling. They exited the pool area as Kasim said, "Speaking of coffee, I've heard that there's been a petition filed with Manning to get a Starbucks down here. Can you imagine?" He smiled. "It made me laugh a good deal, personally."

As they traversed the corridors, they only passed a few awake souls and the cafeteria was strangely empty-ish on arrival. Kasim grabbed a mug and asked, "So where are you from? If you feel like sharing, that is."