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“I'll be here if you need me,” you tell Elle, glancing aside to where Ariel sits a short distance away, “I've just got something I need to do.”
Elle gives you a nod and vanishes into the cottage to start making the tea. Juno wades into the water without another word, taking to the water with a great sweep of her arms. She swims like a natural, you notice, as if she was born to the water. Turning away, you approach Ariel and sit beside her on the warm rocks. “You okay?” you ask her quietly.
“Me? Sure, I'm okay,” Ariel replies, glancing around at you in surprise, “Why wouldn't I be okay?”
“You're just very quiet,” you explain, “This was all your idea, but I feel like you're the only one here who isn't enjoying it. Or, at the very least, getting much out of it.”
Ariel is silent for a moment, watching as Juno cuts through the water. “I guess...” she begins, only for her reply to fade into silence. You wait, letting the sun wash over you as the unhurried silence draws out. “I guess I do feel a little left out,” she admits eventually, “I never had the chance to do stuff like this when I was younger. You know, learn to swim or whatever. It never really bothered me before, but now I feel like... like there's so much that I'll never have the chance to do.”
“It's never too late to learn a new skill,” you suggest, “Maybe not today, especially if you don't have anything to wear, but another time.”
“It's not... that simple,” Ariel murmurs, shaking her head slightly, “I don't know, it's hard to explain. Have you ever felt like... like you know something that nobody else in the whole land would understand?”
You think of Gratia. Of the last time you ever saw her in person, and the scent of blood.
“I have,” you answer quietly.
“It's hard,” Ariel sighs, looking up as Juno waves to you from the lake, “Hey, shit, I didn't mean to bring down the mood. This was supposed to be a fun day out, a chance for us all to relax. Now I'm the one who's being sulky. Just... go on, don't worry about me. Go and have some fun. That's an order.”
“Since when do you give orders?”
“I'm still a Teilhard, you know?” she reminds you, “I might not march around like a toy soldier and bark, but I can still try. Now go on. Please?”
So much for giving orders.
-
The cool water makes a pleasant contrast to the warm sun, and you lazily swim out to where Juno treads water. She greets you with a cool smile, pushing back her long, wet hair away from her face. “I hope I'm not interrupting your conversation,” she says, nodding back towards the shore, “It looked like a very serious heart to heart. Very sincere.”
“Not that you'd know anything about that.”
“Oh, of course,” Juno agrees, with a mocking smile, “Well, you're out here now. Fancy a race?”
“I'll be merciful and decline,” you counter, “It wouldn't be fair, pitting you against the unbeaten champion of Lake Nibelung.”
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