forum Kingdoms and crowns - oxo - romance

Started August 18, 2021 by @CaseyJ group

tune

Fiel chuckled. He was starting to get used to how open and spontaneous Lukas was. "I'm glad you're excited. Have you ever crossed the sea before?"

Lukas blinked “no…and I can’t swim so I mean, I never thought I would” He said sadly looking at the stone.

"Well swimming is easy to learn, and I can teach you," Fiel reassured him. "But you won't need to swim for this journey. I will ask my family back home for assistance, and together we will transport you to Tarilon by air relay. That is, I will carry you half-way, and my brothers will fly to meet us and we will take turns carrying you for the rest of the flight. The entire trip should not take more than two days. Does that sound all right with you?"

Lukas nodded, “but knowing how to swim would be a good precaution…right?” He asked, he did not want to be near large bodies of water, it reminded him of what had happened.

"I promise we won't go anywhere near the water on our flight, but I understand if you'd rather be well-prepared." Fiel could easily guess the reason for Lukas's hesitation, and tried to sound as comforting as he could. "If it makes you feel safer, then yes, I could teach you before we leave."

“That would…yes..” he smiled softly. “I’d appreciate it”

"All right then." Fiel smiled back, then stood up and brushed himself off. "Would you like to get started on that now?"

“N-now?” Lukas muttered before looking at the stone, “sure” he said, not looking up.

"We don't have to just yet," Fiel added, "If you'd rather wait. I just thought you might like to do this quickly so we can leave for Tarilon sooner." The last thing Fiel wanted to do was make Lukas feel rushed and uncomfortable.

“No…I should go ahead and do it” he said absently. He knelt down and put his hand on the stone. Muttering a few words in a strange language.

Fiel tilted his head and wondered if Lukas was saying some kind of prayer or spell. He didn't inquire though. It sounded fairy personal.
"First things first," he said. "Do you have a place like a shallow pond or slow-moving river where we can practice? I think we should take it easy and not jump into anything too unfamiliar right away."

Lukas nodded and stood up after setting the book onto the stone, “we have a small pond in the woods in the opposite direction of the lake” he said and started walking into the woods.

Fiel followed, admiring the trees as he passed under them. "First I'll teach you the basics, and the we'll decide if you want to try anything more advanced. At least it's a very nice day for it. A swim will be refreshing." To him, the weather was already uncomfortably warm, and he couldn't wait to cool off.

Lukas nodded absently as they reached the water.

Fiel took a look at the pond and decided it would do very nicely. It was mostly shallow, clear and calm, and fairly secluded in the dense forest. He shrugged off his neat, expensive jacket and hung it on a branch, then took off his shoes and began rolling up the legs of his pants. "Right then. Let's wade in and see how cold it is."

Lukas took off his shoes and stood at the edge of the pond. Staring at the water, he quickly took a step back from it, memories flashing through his mind. I have to get over this His breathing was uneven and he was shaking slightly.

Fiel noticed Lukas's sudden tension and walked quietly over. "For what it's worth," he said, "To me, this is about giving you power over your fears. Take it slow, be gentle with yourself. I'm sure this must be incredibly hard. But in the end, you will learn a new skill that will help you make sure you're never in that horrible situation again. You see?"

Lukas nodded, his eyes still full of fear. He took a deep breath. “Ok” he said quietly. Acknowledging that he needed to calm down, and focus on the end, on the good that will come of it.

"All right." Fiel straightened and stepped into the water, wading forward until he was in up to his knees. then he turned and offered Lukas his hand. "Come on. It's not very cold."

Lukas took a step towards the water, and reached for Fiels hand, once he got close enough to grab it he held it tightly, slowly walking towards him.

"Good." Fiel smiled. "Let's go a little farther out. If you get nervous, just let me know and we'll stop." He stepped carefully, making sure the silt below him was firm and level before putting his weight on it. Living on a small island, being in the water was second nature to him, almost as easy as flying. The water here was much tamer than the ocean waves, but it was just as pleasant and familiar.

Lukas slowly walked with Fiel, trying to keep his fear and guilt under control. “This is not s-so bad” he mumbled trying to calm himself.

"See?" Fiel said gently. By now they were in up to their waists. "Let's pause here for a moment. I'd like to teach you how to float on your back, is that all right?"

Lukas looked at the water nervously and nodded slowly, He won’t let me drown… he thought.

"Right. This is one of the most basic tricks for staying above water, and also it requires the least effort, so it's good for situations where you need to save your energy. I'll show you first." Fiel sank down into the water and pushed off the ground, gliding backwards into the middle of the pond. After a moment he bobbed to the surface, floating lightly on his back as if he weighed nothing. "You have to trust that the water will carry you." He sat up and swam back to Fiel. "Now you try. No need to push off like I did, just lean back and I'll catch you."

Lukas nodded slowly, leaning backward so that Fiel would catch him, his worry and panic rising but he tried to focus on something else.

Fiel put a hand on Lukas's back and carefully lowered him down, continuing to support him even though the water was doing its part to lift him now. "Spread out your arms and and relax. Don't hunch your spine, keep it straight. Lean back, I've got you. I know it feels like you're going to sink, but you're not."

Lukas did as Fiel said and tried to relax, he did so by talking to himself in his head, calming himself down.

"There, see?" Fiel smiled proudly. "That's perfect. You're doing very well for your first time. How do you feel?"

“Hm” Lukas responded, not quite sure how he felt.