[centre][color=00aeef][h1][i][b]Arthur Seymour[/b][/i][/h1][/color][/centre]

[color=Gray]Thirty nine, forty, forty-one.  He began to debate whether it was time for a break, his muscles pleasantly crying out at the sustained exertion forced upon them while his mind grew clearer with every length.  Forty-two. Forty-three.  Someone else was in the pool, although not in the water.  He saw them briefly as his head turned mid-stroke but he was too in the zone to take much notice and finished his length before stopping, the new arrival talking to him.  As always, sound bounced around the pool area in a eerie fashion.  Arthur mused that the lack of any external walls, he assumed at least, probably exacerbate that issue which was at home to all indoor pools.

He slicked his wet hair back, out of his eyes, and blinked to free his eyes of the water that blurred his vision.  Cass stood in the pool, cracking a joke referencing his concerns the previous day; apparently he had gotten over his immediate fears or at least was trying to put on a strong front that he had.  Arthur, catching his breath from his extended swim, turned and heaved his sodden body out of the pool, water dripping from him all over the side of the pool.  Every step he took was with a wet slap although he trod carefully; there were no 'do not run' signs in the pool but he had seen enough injuries at pools to not need reminding.

[color=00aeef]"Depends, how long can you hold your breath?"[/color] Arthur grinned, turning to Sienna who had entered just as he had finished his final length.  She held a steaming mug in one hand a pot in the other and she hefted this to show them, announcing that she had brewed tea.  He realised that, most unusually, he had neglected to have his regular morning drink before doing anything else; he put it down to being shaken from the previous days' events and had been eager to clear his mind with a swim.

[color=00aeef]"Oh, most definitely, yes please.  I feel like we might get along rather well."[/color] He flashed another grin, padding over to the kitchen area and accepting a cup Sienna filled for him, sighing as he took a sip and feeling the calming effect he always looked forward to when drinking tea.  [color=00aeef]"Well, mess is one way of putting it.  I'm not sure I've had such a surreal experience since I was a student on a night out with the rugby club.  At least everyone made it back in one piece which I can't say always happened in those days."[/color] He smiled quietly at his reminiscence, feeling like an old man even though 'those days' were less than half a decade ago.

Setting his cup down, he found spare towels in a cupboard nearby, not wishing to leave and change just yet while they had an amicable atmosphere going on, and dried his hair and body quickly so he would not become cold too soon.  Hand combing his hair back from its wild state, he returned to the table and again picked up his tea, staring into the liquid as he spoke so as to see off-hand.

[color=00aeef]"So, how did your phone calls go?"[/color][/color]