[Claire]

[plantfood]

Though Mathias doesn't mind caring for Sam at all, has come to love it, in fact, he can't deny that he does enjoy his mornings alone. When Sam wants to stay with Lucy and when the dogs want to stay with Sam, he's able to take his scuba equipment down to the ocean and go diving for as long as it holds his interest. The water is still the most peaceful place he's found on the island, even with all the life below the waves. It's easier to slip under the water than it is to try and push his way through the jungle most days.

The sun has fully risen when he finally comes out again, the tank still strapped to his back, his regulator dangling down by his side. If he could, he would probably stay out all day, but the oxygen won't last forever, even with all the extra tanks the island gives him nearly every year. It's not something he can rely on, he knows that much, and he doesn't want to wake up one day and realize that he's pressed it too far and all the oxygen is gone. It isn't the same to snorkel, though he supposes he could do that in order to preserve the tanks.

It isn't until he's in the shallows, mask pushed up onto his forehead, that he realizes there's someone walking along the beach. There's often people out, especially in the busier areas, which he tends to favor when he dives. He's trained well, but an emergency is still possible and he likes to know there are people in the area.

"Good morning," he says to the girl when she gets closer. With one foot out of the water, he tugs the flipper off, then sets his foot down again. It's a little awkward, trying to balance everything, but he manages without falling back into the water.

Comments

[regenerated]

She's been looking for ways to occupy herself, ever since the fight. All things considered, it isn't even the worst fight she's had, the friendship still intact afterwards, the kindness and feeling still there. She's had worse with her father, running away from him in every sense of the word, distrusting him, unable to predict a single move of his and feeling her life fall apart, all seemingly a farce. But there are other reasons for a fight to cut deep, and with Chris, it was...

...she shakes her head, not wanting to think about it. All that matters is that she finds ways to occupy herself now, ways to do things for herself, to take advantage of the life that she's allowed to slow all too much. When she sees the man emerge from the water in scuba gear, Claire feels excitement bursting in her chest, cheeks pink in a moment of sheer delight. She doesn't need to think about anything else, just the clear water that pans out in front of them, and the chance to imagine what it might be like to see all of that from below.

"Hey," she greets with a small wave. "You... have scuba gear. Which I know sounds totally like I'm just stating the obvious, but what I mean to ask, knowing that you have scuba gear, is whether or not you know if there's scuba gear that might fit someone a lot smaller? Like yours truly?"

[plantfood]

"For a wet suit or flippers, I'd suggest the box," Mathias says, which is where he'd found his years earlier. He doesn't use the suit that often, only when he knows he'll be going deep enough for the temperature to change significantly. Smiling, he adds, "But if you mean an extra regulator and mask, I do happen to have another set." He has more than just the regulator and mask, there's the belt, an extra snorkel and all sorts of tools that aren't necessary for beginners.

It's not enough for him to teach any sort of class; the oxygen is still limited and he only has one extra set of most things, but he's given Neil a few initial instructions and he'd be more than happy to help her if she's interested.

"I'm Mathias," he says, offering her the hand not holding any of his equipment. "Have you ever gone diving before?"

[regenerated]

"Hey, Mathias," Claire replies with a slight laugh and an eager shake, one no less than giddy at the thought of actually being able to dive deep down, and probably not entirely on her own, which is twice the comfort. After all, without previous experience of her own, and with her newfound mortality, she wouldn't want to end up making a false turn that makes her first adventure also her last— the point isn't to put herself in a great deal of danger, but instead to extend her experiences to where they haven't been before. "I'm Claire. And no, I... haven't gone diving before at all, I'm afraid. Used to live in Texas, so we weren't exactly close to the best diving waters around, if you know what I mean."

Shifting her weight from one foot to the other, she continues to beam, widely enough that her cheeks ache with the effort. "But if you would be willing to, I don't know... lend me and possibly help me out with that extra set? I know it's a lot to ask, and I don't have terribly much to offer— unless you happen to like taping film, because I do have a camcorder and several blank tapes, you could totally make memories that you could replay on the television in the rec center, I don't know. Or I bake a mean cupcake. Seriously. If any of that would be interesting to you," she went on, tone a little wheedling at the end as she tilted her head, trying to gauge his interest.

[plantfood]

As her tone changes, Mathias can't help but smile. There are people on the island who have wanted to learn, but he isn't sure he's met anyone so willing to trade something with him for some diving lessons. And normally he doesn't worry about needing anything in return, but the mention of a camcorder is interesting. There are things he wishes he had on tape already, parts of his life from the island he'd love to remember and if he goes, the one thing he does want is for Sam to have something of his. Something from him.

"I might take you up on the camcorder," he says, but then he shrugs. "But I would be happy to teach you. I love to dive." And more than he loves diving, he loves to share it with others. It's how he'd met Amy and Stacy in the first place, sharing his tank with them so they could see the wrecked ship they'd come for.

"My hut is close," he says. "We can take a look at the equipment if you like, make sure it would fit you." He's almost positive it will, but he'd like to be sure before he promises that he can take her out.

[regenerated]

Even though Claire suspects that most people on the island, being as kind and accepting as they are, wouldn't bother requiring a tape or camcorder from her in exchange for imparting knowledge, there's something about being capable of offering up her own half of the bargain that leaves Claire feeling better about it all. The camcorder itself might only be an island gift, but it felt good to offer something up for the auction, felt good to give island-bound film enthusiasts a chance to explore their trade, and it's the sort of thing meant to be shared, anyway. A way to put memories into physical form, tuck them away to be reviewed at a later date. So Claire beams, with every intention of handing a couple of tapes over later.

"Definitely take me up on the camcorder whenever you'd like; I should be using it more often than I do, but I obviously get distracted. By things like diving, even," she laughs, crossing her arms over her chest as a breeze slips by. "But... yeah, I would really like that, to take a look at the equipment and stuff. I always thought these things were kind of one-size fits all. The masks, I mean."

She paused, then smiled, with a touch of a grimace in the expression. "Then again, I guess I'm kind of kid-sized, so maybe I'd be an exception."

[plantfood]

"They can be adjusted," Mathias answers with a laugh, because while Claire is definitely on the small side, he thinks the mask and the belt will fit just fine. "And if they don't fit, I think we might be able to convince the box to give us something if we're patient." He's good with the box, very patient when he needs to be, but he'd rather not have to do that if they can avoid it.

"Do you swim often?" he asks as he unhooks the belt and the tank so he can carry them back. It's always easier to teach someone to dive when they're already a strong swimmer, but he isn't against teaching swimming lessons either. However, people are less likely to feel claustrophobic under the water if they're already comfortable there.

[regenerated]

"The box absolutely hates me, but hey, I've got patience in spades," Claire grins in return. It's true enough, though her outfit that day doesn't show it, a white lacy blouse being understated enough to escape most notice. "For the first month or so that I was on the island, that box would not give me anything that wasn't completely covered in sequins. And then after that, it kind of had a bright neon orange period, so I walked around looking like a construction worker for a while. But, wearing embarrassing fashions is one thing, and not having the proper gear for diving is something else entirely."

Glancing down as Mathias starts collecting his gear, Claire shifts her weight, unsure how much she should be intervening right now, if at all. "Do you need help with any of that?" she asks, uncertain, hoping that she can be useful in some way. "And uhm, I swim a lot more since I've gotten here, I guess. Not good enough to race, but definitely good enough to get where I'm trying to be."

[plantfood]

When she offers, Mathias holds out the flippers, not wanting to shove all his gear in her direction the very first time they've met. He'd managed to get it all down to the beach on his own, so he can manage to get it back home, but he does appreciate the offer to help.

"That's good," he says, about the swimming, then begins to head back up the beach toward the hut. "That would definitely have to be the first step if you weren't already able to swim." Which he suspects she already knows, but there are some people out there who just want to skip over swimming and go straight to diving. "Have you ever been snorkelling before?" That, too, will help if she has been. There are so many little things that can help the adjustment between floating on the surface and actually going down where there's less sun and the pressure increases significantly.

[regenerated]

Readily taking the flippers and tucking them under her arm, Claire keeps a good pace with Mathias; though he's significantly taller than she is, Claire's spent enough of her life trying to keep up with her father's brisk step, easily adjusting her walk to match. It never ceases to amaze her, how easily people can come to meet and get to know one another on the island, and whether or not it's because she finds herself missing Peter more than she can express, having someone of his age is no small comfort.

"Um... kinda?" Claire answers after some hesitation, nose wrinkling and a barely contained grin on her lips. "I mean, I've used snorkels before and did the whole mouth breathing thing, which I think is all that requires, but the only time I used it was at the local YMCA, so. Chlorine-filled and very still waters made it a lot easier to get through."

[plantfood]

Mathias laughs, but it's helpful that she's learned certain techniques already. It means he can skip forward to regulator retrieval techniques, which means they can get into the water faster. "What about clearing your mask while under water?" he asks, though he knows that isn't always practiced with a snorkel. It's easy enough, and he thinks he can teach her without much trouble.

They're near the hut now and Mathias can hear Sam singing in the front yard and when they come into view, she's sitting in the middle of all the dogs, singing some sort of song to them. Only King twitches when Mathias and Claire come closer, his tail swishing back and forth, brushing Sam's nose with every sweep.

"You're in luck," he says dryly to Claire. "You will get to meet all the dogs today and it seems as though there is an introduction song." Sam is smiling and waving, but she has yet to stop singing and all the dogs names are mentioned at least once.

[regenerated]

All other thought disappears as soon as Claire's eyes fall on the young girl, grinning toothily and waving about to the both of them from where she sits among the dogs. Claire's always loved children, from the very first day her parents brought Lyle back to the house, all wrinkly and grumpy, with fists that flailed against the soft padding of his crib. Although opportunities for babysitting weren't all too common back home, Claire needing to hold down the fort whenever her dad was on business trips and her mom away at dog shows, any chance she gets is one that she cherishes.

"Oh my god, she's adorable. I mean, the dogs too, believe me when I say that I know when I see a cute dog, since my mom used to take Mr. Muggles to compete at dog shows and everything, but," Claire laughs, glancing over at Mathias. "Is she yours? I've got a cousin on the island, also pretty young. Nate Petrelli, maybe you've heard of him. Whenever I see kids these days, I just wonder whether or not they'd make good playmates, I don't know. If I trusted myself more with that many kids, I'd totally open a preschool."

[plantfood]

"In a manner of speaking," Mathias answers, because Sam isn't his in that he fathered her, but he and Lucy are her primary caregivers now and he does love her very much. "Her parents are Jim and Pam Halpert, when they disappeared, my girlfriend, Veronica Mars became her guardian."

And now Veronica is gone, and he's charged with taking care of Sam, nothing he ever imagined. Three years ago he'd just been glad to have escaped from Mexico and now he's raising a child on his own, with the help of friends. "Sam, come say hi," he says and she gets up from the circle of dogs, brushing sand and dust off the dress she's wearing, then wanders over.

"Hi," she says shyly, looking down at the ground.

"This is Sam," Mathias says. "And Sam, this is Claire. I'm going to teach her how to dive."

[regenerated]

She's so young. So very young, Claire thinks to herself, to have lost both her parents. All she can really hope is that the girl lost them early enough that the memory of them doesn't hurt. No matter what, when she grows up, it'll be frustrating not to know her birth parents, what they're like, the hobbies that they indulge in— but if Mathias is as good of a guardian as he seems to be, the pain of that will lessen, and it might help to know that her parents never abandoned her due to a lack of love or want, but instead because of the island's whims, so often cruel. It makes her think of Nate yet again, but for a different reason, and when Claire smiles at Sam, it isn't without that touch of sadness in her eyes, though she does her best to hide it.

"Hey there, Sam," she grins, more than tempted to reach out and give the girl's nose a bit of a squeeze— but as Sam already looks a bit shy, Claire certainly doesn't want to do anything to scare her further away. "It's so good to meet you! Mathias here was just telling me that he has all the stuff I need to go diving. Have you ever gone diving before?"

[plantfood]

"No," Sam says, but this is a topic she's comfortable with and she pauses for a moment, collecting her thoughts. "But he takes me swimming, he says it's important to know how to swim, so we go to the pools and we swim, sometimes with Mack and Flo, do you know them? They have dogs, too, Neil's their dad."

Mathias grins at Claire and shrugs. "Sometimes you can get her started on something and she won't stop." And other times she's quiet, content to sit and watch. He knows she can't possibly get that from him, but the two sides remind him so strongly of himself and his brother.

"Do you want to show Claire where I keep my equipment?" he asks and Sam nods, then starts to walk toward the hut. "You can come inside!" she tells Claire.

[regenerated]

"It is important to know how to swim, definitely, especially on an island," Claire grins and nods in understanding, before glancing over towards Mathias with a brighter smile and a content exhale. "I'm pretty sure that I used to be like that, too, when I was her age. Actually, it's still pretty easy to get me caught up in something I feel real passionate about— but with my brother, it was the total opposite, he just wanted to play soccer and play video games, and communication got lost in the process. It freaked my parents out pretty badly, after having me."

With a soft laugh, she takes off after Sam, hesitantly entering the hut and biting her lower lip. Anywhere else, something like this would never happen, wandering into the hut of someone who's nearly a complete stranger— yet on Tabula Rasa, it seems almost commonplace. The stark difference never fails to amaze her.

[plantfood]

"I was quite quiet," Mathias says as he follows Claire inside. "My brother was not." That's been true of Henrich his whole life. Even now, he has vague, blurred memories of his squealing infant brother, memories of listening to him shriek whenever he was hungry. And memories of his mother say, 'You were never this loud,' which Mathias always took to be a compliment.

"This is the diving stuff," Sam says as they arrive at a small room off the main living space. "I don't play with it yet, but I will when I'm bigger and can fit it and that's why I'm learning how to swim."

Mathias steps forward to put his things away, then pulls out the second set of equipment. He's most concerned with the mask and the belt fitting properly, because he feels they can find other flippers in the box if they're needed. "Here, try this on," he says, handing the belt to Claire. "It's adjustable, but I just need to make sure the last hole on the belt is small enough for you."

[regenerated]

With a laugh, Claire reaches out to ruffle Sam's hair, at the surprisingly thorough explanation. Then again, she thinks, she's been in that position before as well, watching after all of the cool hobbies that her father kept up, the things that her mother would do around the house, and wanting to follow in their footsteps as soon as possible. It doesn't hold as much anymore, but Claire thinks that had either of her parents been involved in diving too, she would have followed them straight into that as soon as possible.

Something filled with so much wonder, not mired in uncertainty.

"Well, you'd better grow up fast, then," Claire tells Sam. "Because I'd love to dive with you. Or even just swim, if you ever wanna. I'm a pretty good swimmer."

Taking the belt in hand, Claire nods her thanks to Mathias and tugs the belt as tight as possible. "Oh, thank goodness," she laughs, when the last loop seems to fit it around her snugly. "I'm not that unreasonably tiny, then."

[plantfood]

Mathias nods, glad that the equipment will fit Claire. The mask is easy enough to adjust, he knows they'll have no real problems there and if she wants a wetsuit, the box is usually good enough to provide. They'll have to start using one tank anyway, so he isn't worried about making sure that fits just yet.

"Not as small as me," Sam says to Claire. "I'm short."

Mathias laughs a little and nods his agreement. "But you will get tall. Your dad was very tall."

"Like you," Sam says, then wanders toward her crayons and colouring books that are spread out in the main room.

Turning back to Claire, he smiles and says, "The equipment fits, that's the first step. Before we actually go diving I'll have to teach you a few safety techniques. A way to find your regulator if you drop it, because the mask will make it difficult to see much side to side." Back home, he knows there are courses that people are required to take, certificates that they earn, but although he has his, he doesn't feel qualified to start telling people when they're certified. All he can do is teach them to be safe.

[regenerated]

"My biological dad was decently tall," Claire remarks as she watches Sam walk into the next room over, glancing over at Mathias with an amused grin. "And yet, I definitely didn't luck out. So. Don't put too many ideas into her head. Though... if her dad was tall like you, I guess that'd definitely help her odds out a bit."

Tilting her head playfully from side to side, Claire peeks at the mask, taking it in hand and holding it up to her face. The entirety of the world looks different from behind that span of plastic, as though the mask alone protects her from the immediacy of anything else that rests around them.

"So... what's the regulator supposed to do again, exactly?" Claire asks, removing the mask and narrowing my eyes. "I mean, regulate, obviously. But again, total diving newb, here."

[plantfood]

"It regulates your oxygen," Mathias answers with a teasing grin, although she's nearly answered her own question. "It changes the air from pressurized in the tank we'll wear to ambient, which means you can breathe it easily. We use a demand valve regulator, which I think is the most common. It was, at least, when I left home."

He has no idea what might have changed in the future, but he can admit that things may be very different from what he's used to. Briefly, he wonders if people still dive at all and makes a note to ask River when he next sees her.

"It's your life line, really," he says. "Which is why it's important that you're able to find it if it ever falls out. Even if you're only thirty feet down, that's a fair distance to swim when you can't breathe."

[regenerated]

She can't help the series of thoughts that pass through her mind all at once, driving deep into memories, into speculation, into the spread of her imagination that's grown so quickly over the past few years, with all that she's seen and done. Thoughts that quickly wonder if invincibility would cover something like a lack of oxygen. She's tempted to think that it would, a chill passing through her at the memory of waking up on an autopsy table, unsure what to do, or whether to say anything at all. But how it would feel? That's beyond her.

Maybe that's what sends her imagination firing even more.

"I think I've heard of some of the stuff that can go wrong if you try to come up too quickly, anyway, like... bubbles forming in your bloodstream, or something. Does that happen?" Claire asks, quirking a brow. "I never know if it's just some old wives' tale my mom used to keep me away from the water."

[plantfood]

"No, decompression sickness is a real thing," Mathias answers with a nod. "It's rare, however, and we won't be diving deep enough or for long enough for it to be a real concern. Even if we were to extend our dives longer or deeper, it's easy enough to avoid simply by not rising too quickly. Making stops along the way to reduce the excess pressure from the gas in your body."

It's something Mathias has been particularly careful to avoid. There's no way on the island to treat decompression sickness and were anyone to suffer under his care, he knows they likely wouldn't survive. It's not something he takes lightly.

"It really only becomes a risk when you dive for long periods of time at a greater depth," he promises.

[regenerated]

She wonders how a body would be able to repair itself from that. With her limited understanding of the human body, even a nuclear threat seems like it'd be easier to return from than something like air caught in the blood stream. One doesn't heal from a trapped bubble. Again, she finds her imagination wandering, and even if she would never make such an attempt again on the island, where even a small papercut bleeds without healing in seconds, it's something she wishes she could have tried back home. If only because...

...if only because a premature death still seemed like the preferable option to no death at all.

"I believe you. I'd probably be too scared to head down that deep, anyway. If the whole world looked pretty dark in a pool when I was eight feet deep, I'm sure that thirty feet would start to look pretty bleak without a big light on my forehead to guide me around," she suggested with a grin. "Me, I'm all for mild adventure. I'll leave the big stuff to the adults."

[plantfood]

"I try not to go too deep here," Mathias says. It's not only his knowledge that there's really no way on the island to recover, but the faint sense of claustrophobia that still permeates most aspects of his life. This far removed from the ruins, it's easier to ignore but every so often it's still there and he does his best not to aggravate it any further.

"Besides the obvious reasons, there's just no telling what might actually be in these waters some of the time," he says and although he's smiling when he says it, he isn't joking. "When one lives on an island with dinosaurs and Godzilla attacks, it's best not to stray too far, I've found." He's never had anything to worry about in the water, but there's always a chance. A giant squid, some kind of monster he's never heard of.

The island is capable of all of that.

[regenerated]

"I guess," Claire admits with a tilt of her head, already feeling guilty for how she wants to disagree, wants to argue that all of the danger that might be found in the depths is in fact all that much more important to check out. That Rapture is the very proof that they should be pushing themselves to make sure they aren't somehow overlooking a group of people similarly trapped as the rest of them, or even more so. Even murmurs about one of the island citizens, Sirius Black, being found cast far off the coast, leave Claire wondering.

"I mean, I agree, like. Those of us who... would probably do more harm than good in situations like those, because, you know, personally I've got a bit of a damsel in distress syndrome, we should definitely stay out of danger's way. But then again, I look at places like Rapture, and then suddenly I find myself wanting to argue that diving that deep is exactly what we need to do," she muses. "Not that I would, myself. I just think too much."

[plantfood]

Mathias grins at that and shakes his head, because he doesn't disagree with her at all. But, like Claire, he also doesn't want to be the one going on those adventures. Once, he might have happily gone down to Rapture or as deep in the ocean as he possibly could, but with Sam in the picture, he has to think about others as well.

"I agree," he says. "There is much of this place left to explore, I just don't think I'm the right person to do it." He pauses, thinking of what she's said, then continues. "I may also have a bit of a damsel in distress syndrome, though with more facial hair." It isn't entirely true, but he's ended up in danger before this and on the island, when he'd had to be rescued by Steve and Tom. One of the last things he wants is another cast for another six weeks. Or worse.

"I fell down a mine shaft on the other island," he admits. "Broke my leg, had to be pulled out by members of the ITF. It was very... dramatic."

[regenerated]

"Oh... my god, that's terrifying," Claire exclaims, and for all that she knows she's seen dangers more insidious, there's still something about being caught in a place with so little light and air that chills her to the bone. At least when an enemy nears, there's something to fight. A reason to press on, against all odds. But being somewhere only open to one thanks to the caving of the earth under one's feet, that scares Claire more than she'd like to admit. "Wow, I didn't even know that the other island had a mine shaft or anything. Actually, I know... really little about what the island has altogether, which is probably a bad sign. I know that there's some evidence of a settlement having been there, but I never made it over, myself."

Wincing, she turns to Mathias and offers a sheepish smile. "Now I'm almost tempted to go on an expedition there, myself. I mean. Not with the aim of falling down a mine shaft, obviously. I've broken enough ribs in my lifetime to know that's not something I want to experience."

[plantfood]

"I thought it would be an adventure," Mathias admits, his lips pressed into a thin line briefly. There are other reasons -- he wanted to forget about missing Veronica just for an afternoon and he certainly got his wish -- but for the most part, he'd been looking for that sense of adventure that he missed. Now he isn't so sure it's something he needs, even when he is feeling his most restless.

"I think I would have gotten that, if not for the accident," he continues. "If you do go, just make sure you take someone with you or that people know where you are. Which I'm sure you know already and I sound like I'm lecturing now." He laughs quietly and shakes his head. "I just don't want to think about what might have happened had I been alone."

He owes a lot to both Danny and Neil for the parts they played that day. Even with all the hallucinations of the vines, Danny had kept him relatively calm and Neil had been the one to go for help. If he'd gone by himself, he likely would still be down there, though no longer alive.

[regenerated]

"My dad was a pretty strict guy, so believe me, your level of lecturing is totally acceptable," Claire grins, hands carefully tucking strands of her hair behind her ear, keeping busy to prevent herself from dwelling on her father, a process that she was pretty sure she carried through multiple times each day. From some distance away, Sam continued to babble on, drawing a wider smile from Claire. "I had this whole teen phase where I kind of wanted to go against anything that my dad had to say or suggest, but that's more or less ended by now. Well, then again— I guess he isn't exactly here, but."

She presses her lips thin. "But even before I left, we kind of came to a truce about the fact that he was, in the end, just way overprotective. And I guess when it comes to something like that, it could be a lot worse, right?"

[plantfood]

"It could be," Mathias agrees, glancing to Sam briefly. Though it's not necessary just yet, he imagines when she gets older, he's going to be overprotective as well, probably enough to drive her crazy, but it's something that he's made peace with. On the island, where anything can happen, he can't imagine letting Sam go wherever she wants or do whatever she wants.

"My parents were very much the opposite," he says. "It's not that they thought we deserved to do whatever wanted, just that they were often very busy." Distracted is probably a better word. He loves his parents, but they weren't exactly the most present people in his life.

[regenerated]

"That's... actually how my parents started out. Or at least, how I thought they were, until I figured out that half the reason my dad was so distracted in the first place was just because he was, you know. Trying to make my life better, and to protect me, and just make sure that nothing happened to me. Mom, though, she was kind of caught up in the show dog business for a while," Claire smiles, although it's thin and unsure. How many times, after all, had Sandra's mind been wiped over the years, before Claire knew about any of it? Maybe Sandra had been twice as attentive, only to have it drawn back every time.

While she doesn't hold it against her parents anymore, a part of her might always feel uncertain over the matter.

"Anyway," she says, catching his glimpse towards Sam. "I think you're already doing great. From what little I've seen. She seems really comfortable with you."