Swimming Lessons
Echos and Janalee
"So, you want to know how I became a fish?"Echos and Janalee
You can't help but stare at Lift, completely mystified as to what he could mean; you thought you had asked about how he and Burble had fallen in love, and rather clearly at that. At your confusion, they both laugh, the stallion's low and sheepish, the mare's cheery and a bit reckless; you got the feeling you were getting caught up in their own personal joke. Before you have time to wonder if that was a good thing or not, Lift winks encouragingly at you, and begins the tale proper.
"It all started on one of those restless days in early Spring, where the ground was still happily sleeping in its frozen way, but the warmth in the air makes you long desperately for something new. Unable to shake my boredom, I decided to hike across the glacier's cliffs to see if I could find a way down to the sea ice; no doubt there would be new caves and pillars to see there at least. And so off I went, scrambling over the ice like a moonstruck foal and paying very little attention to what I was actually doing." He broke off his story for a moment, grinning sheepishly at you. "If you've ever seen a glacier in warmer weather, I'm sure you can probably guess where this is going."
Burble rolls her eyes at the foolishness of that younger Lift, even as her mouth curls into a wide grin; you return her amused expression with a knowing smile of your own, wondering how someone who grew up in the northern climes could make the mistake of not taking their surroundings seriously. As if sensing your thoughts, the stallion blushes and coughs, before continuing on.
"I was perfectly fine for the first hour or so of my adventure, when I started to come closer and closer to the lower edges, looking for a suitable path down. For some reason, it never occurred to me that the sunlight would affect the ice differently than the ground; the tundra was still frozen completely solid, after all. I only had time to absentmindedly admire the smooth, polished look of the ice, shining like fine glass in the bright light, before the thin skin of water coating it caused me to loose my footing...and I found myself suddenly sliding splayed-legged over the edge."
"Maybe you should have taken up flying instead of swimming." The mare tried to keep a straight face as she added her mischievous comment to the story; after a short silence and a shared looked between the two Samanayrs though, they both collapse into laughter together. Part of you wondered how long they had been together; they almost acted like newlyweds, though you didn't think they actually were. It was so adorable though, you had to join in their laughter, just enjoying the moment with them. At the sound of your voice, the two struggle to compose themselves once again, finally allowing Lift to continue on.
"Maybe I would have preferred flying. I don't know what Burble and the other Northern aquatics have that the rest of us Northerns don't, but it must be something; I thought the sea I managed to fall into was freezing! As soon as I hit the water, everything went numb, and it took me some time before I could even think about getting my head above water. After some panicked flailing, I managed to figure out which way was up, and somehow managed to paddle well enough to finally take a desperately need breath of air. It wasn't enough to keep me afloat exactly though, and my continual bobbing only fueled my fear more, so I launched myself to the only thing close enough to catch my attention- a little piece of ice that had broken off of the larger shelf. With my weight on top of it, I'm afraid it ceased to float quite so well as it had on its own, but it was enough to let me breathe anyway, and take some kind of stock of the situation; up until that time, I had only been relying on immediate instinct, without a coherent thought to my name. I found the shore wasn't terribly far away, which was excellent news...especially considering that a moment later, a sleek head popped up beside me, nearly causing me to lose a hold of my iceberg from the shock."
Burble wiggled excitedly, apparently pleased to finally be introduced into the tale, though if it was more for the attention or for the ability to add her own comments to it, you couldn't tell. As it was, she smiled confidentially at you, before taking over the storytelling.
"I came as soon as I'd heard the terrible racket he was making, and as I watched him trying to clamber onto the ice, I thought he must be trying to teach himself to swim. I had actually been impressed with his courage, little did I know." She snorted and glared playfully at Lift, who only smiled sheepishly back; satisfied with that response, she turned back towards you. "Even I had to admit that he was a terrible swim instructor though, and so I offered to help him. He was going on about how he needed help, which I certainly agreed with; with his mouth going under the water as much as it was though, he never managed to say that he needed help not drowning, instead of swimming. And so, I began his swimming lessons...by knocking his ice away."
She smirked, and it was Lift's turn to roll his eyes. "Burble thought I needed more 'confidence,' which apparently you're suppose to get through near-death experiences. I can't say it worked for me, as I simply started my flailing all over again; after some time though, I noticed the cheerful voice next to me was giving instructions and encouragement. And so, when she said to move this leg, or that leg, or to trust the water, I did it as well as I could; and surprisingly, I somehow managed to make it to the shore under her direction."
Burble kicked him teasingly as she interrupted again. "'Somehow?' It was good advice I was giving you, and once you started taking it, it wasn't a surprise that you managed to swim. He did need a fair bit of practice yet to really get the hang out it though, which I let him know; I suspect he was too tired at that point to correct my assumption that he wanted to learn."
"That, and I didn't want to admit that I'd been drowning after all your talk," Lift cut in. "It was embarrassing enough that I'd been 'rescued,' without having to say it too. And so, when she told me to meet her there at the same time the next day for more lessons, what could I do but agree?"
The mare nudged him lovingly, before flopping on his back, as a sort of payback for his actions. With a triumphant grin, she looked back to you. "I didn't find out the real story until a few weeks into our swimming lessons; he told me the truth when he asked if I'd form a Song with him. I was annoyed, since it almost seemed like lying; more of me was pleased that he kept coming back over and over again to something he didn't want, just to be with me. And so I agreed, with one condition: that I would only join him after he actually learned to swim."
Lift smiled happily, apparently content with his squished position, as he finished the tale. "That was apparently all I really need to learn to swim- a reason to make it worthwhile. And so, a short time later, I became a proper fish..."
"My own little Kissing Gourami."
