Love Poison No Cure Needed

Swimming Training? 3.2

Sorrel stood at the edge of the private pool and looked at Sephy as she floated along the top. She shook as she paddled and would sometimes go diagonally instead of forward and other times would not be able to turn before she bumped into the edge of the pool. *This is harder than it looks* Sephy commented as she spun in place before she continued to practice moving around.

Sorrel turned away from Sephy to look between his Uncle Michael and the Kelpie Michael had introduced as Uncle Christian. Uncle Michael lounged on one of the deck chairs under an umbrella with a colourful drink in his hand while Uncle Christian waited at the steps of the pool with an encouraging smile.

Sorrel psyched himself up and then stepped over to the pool. The humans pool safety memo’s made it seem like the water was a horrible monster that would race out to eat you but Sorrel was confident that he would be fine. Probably.

Sorrel took the first step into the water and felt the pleasant coolness and smiled. Unconsciously he walked down into the pool itself. A comfortable familiarity washed over him like a friend calling from just outside of hearing distance. Sorrel searched around trying to find the source of the vague sound only to have his concentration snapped by an abrupt touch on his shoulder.

Sorrel started and turned to look at Christian. Christian smiled and said, “It's good that you're comfortable in the water. To start with lets try floating on your back.”

Sorrel nodded and flopped backwards in the water. A comforting sensation washed over him and he relaxed a gentle smile coming to his lips. Vaguely through the water her heard gasps and then a conversation grew in volume. Sorrel contemplated standing back up to see what the talk was about but the freeing sensation was too hard to give up. He wondered if this was what the dandelion seeds felt when they took flight and drifted on the wind.

*It is good that you are comfortable in the water, but it would seem that you have more work than just moving in the water before you can go in water with humans.* Sephy commented as she paddled up and leaned over Sorrel before she shared a moment of her vision with him.

Resting amongst the waters his skin glistened with water under the light. Smooth and unblemished as if in a perfected photo. His face peaceful and relaxed while beneath and around him silver branches fanned out shimmering leaves opened up to drift on the water’s surface while countless flowers opened their faces to the sky. It was a lovely sight but completely devoid of the breath of humanity.

Sorrel shifted his weight and stood up just in time to hear Christian as he said, “this place is nearly exclusive to those of us from the Aquarian Realm. I was doing you a favour, how come you weren’t honest?”

Michael remained on the deck chair though he had shifted to sit on the edge as opposed to lounging. “I said I had one of the elders children that needed to learn to swim. You never gave me the chance to specify which one.”

“you should have insisted. What the hell I’ve never heard of a sidhe like that so is definitely not that old grouches child.” Christian waved his hands in emphasis.

Michael flicked his eyes at Sorrel before he said, “your right, the Earth realm elders Oak, Yew, Birch and Ash entrusted him to me. While I received missives directly from the Outside realms and was informed that a guardian would be sent from the denizen realms. Bellmore came from the fey realm. Now are you teaching or not?” with each sentence Christian’s raised arms lowered more and more until they were submerged in the water and he shook slightly.

“What, what came from my…” Christian asked in a small voice

“A lovely baby pink water lily that has taken up residence in the pond at the base of my Willow tree.” Michael smiled gently and used a sickly sweet tone to respond.

“Teaching. Definitely will be an excellent teacher.” Christian all but saluted on the spot and then turned back to face Sorrel.

Christian offered him an unsure but game smile that wobbled a bit when Sorrel said, “You're from big sis Layla’s realm? That's nice, she said that everyone from her place is super good in the water.”

“Ahahah.” Christian laughed drily before he said, “Well we’ve established that you have no trouble floating but that your ah…” he trailed off as he waved vaguely at Sorrels branches and leaves which had not yet returned to their usual look of hair. “Needs a bit of control before you will be okay to go amongst humans. Can you control it?”

“You can say hair or branches or leaves I don’t mind. Rather than controlling it, it usually doesn’t have a mind of its own.” Sorrel shrugged before reaching back and pulling his branches over his shoulders.

He slowly stroked he smoothed the leaves and then re-plaited them restoring the look of ordinary hair save for the fact that there were more flowers. He would have to use them up in something. He’d thought given how many he’d given to Aunt Yew before the test and then the expenditure with the vine that it should have been ages before more sprouted.

“Alright then, let's try basic strokes on your stomach. You try and keep your ah hair from ah spreading while I help you with the motions.” Christian gestured for Sorrel to float on his stomach as he hardened a portion of water into a floating board and handed it over. Now hold the board in front of you and kick with your feet while trying to remain floating on the surface.

Sorrel followed the instructions and smiled to himself in the water as he watched the ground move beneath him. As he bumped into the other side of the poll he shifted into a standing position and promptly started to sink.

Christian appeared beside him and fished him up kicking his legs to keep them afloat. Sorrel watched his leg motion and then mimicked it to float by himself.

“You didn’t breath or blow bubbles.” Christian said.

“Was I supposed to? I didn’t think humans breathed underwater so I wasn’t bothering with respiration.” Sorrel replied. Christian opened and closed his mouth stumped for what to say for a few moments.

“Right. So from the top human swimming goes like this.” The resigned tone puzzled Sorrel he hadn’t thought that there was anything particularly wrong though.