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It was probably all the splashing noise that got her daughter’s attention. The little aquatic’s glowing eyes appeared first, then finally she burst up, shaking water out of her face and onto her mother’s. "Mama!" she exclaimed happily, oblivious to the mare’s agitation. "You’re swimming!"
Calling it swimming was being generous. Sentinel was treading water with all her might, her powerful legs keeping her afloat due more to determination than ability. Sputtering out a mouthful of water, she chided the foal. "Don’t disappear like that! Come back to the shore."
The foal dutifully followed her mother back to shallower waters. Sentinel heaved a sigh when she felt sand under her feet. It was good to be on solid - or semi-solid - ground again. Secure that neither of them would succumb to a watery grave for the moment, Sentinel shook water from her mane and coat, and affected a confident pose and tone. “You’re too young to be going out that far alone. Stay closer to me.”
“But I’m not alone!” the filly insisted. She ducked below the surface, then popped up with a gleeful expression. "See?"
A second samanayr surfaced, slow and nonchalant. Her mane and long ears floated around her face, and she blinked her strange eyes clear to stare at Sentinel. "Hello."
"See?" the filly repeated. She added firmly, having apparently inherited her mother’s bossiness, "Jewel of the Deepest Trench will be my guide so I’m all set."
"I don’t mind," Jewel said with a shrug that made the fins on her back flare. "I could use a second pair of eyes, anyway."
Sentinel scraped her claws into the sandy floor of the lake and flapped her wings in a show of annoyance. "A second pair of eyes for what?"
"Well,”" said the aquatic, perking up, "there’s a variety of plants under the water. Most sams don’t know about that. I’m going to collect one of each, organized by type. Then snails. Then fish. Then -"
"Why?"
Jewel looked perturbed at the question. "Why? Because the underwater world is fascinating."
"It is, Mama! It’s so pretty and there are these little fish that move all together like a cloud." Sentinel’s filly splashed her fins in excitement. "You should come down with us!"
"You’ll never move as smoothly as an aquatic," Jewel said. Sentinel shot her a nasty look and the aquatic added, "But you can still swim. Don’t kick so much; you just stir up silt and wear yourself out."
Sentinel was much happier when she could just stand, but the challenge was clear and she was not the type of sam to back down, even when it was more likely than not that she’d end up with water in her nose and seaweed in her mane. "Of course I can swim," she huffed as she paddled gamely towards the other sams. When they plunged down, Sentinel took a massive breath, cheeks and chest puffed out, and stuck her face underwater. Her filly’s bioluminescence eyes were easy to follow, even when the foal dove to the depths of the lake’s bottom. It wasn’t perfect, but at least she had a sense of where her daughter was. And that she was still alive. That was key.
When Jewel resurfaced, Sentinel propelled herself over. "You’re to keep a close eye on her," Sentinel ordered. "I’m entrusting you with her very life."
The aquatic spat out of a spout of water like a fountain. "She’ll be fine," she replied with none of Sentinel’s concern.
"But-"
"She’ll be fine. Really."
"But-"
"Really."
Affronted, Sentinel snorted and paddled away. "You’re not getting rid of me that easy," she called over her shoulder before Jewel ducked under the water again. She’d stay at the lake for as long as her daughter needed, fending off sharks and jealous Miseries alike.
