His mock horror first surprised, then amused the young girl. She stifled her laughter and crept closer to her hero. She turned her expression into something serious and nodded her head. "I'm sorry. It's too late for you. You'll be a mud monster by nightfall" she informed him sadly, shaking her head in dismay. She crept closer yet, hoping her words where distracting him. When she was right before him, still only ankle deep in the water she pounced, leaping upwards and swiping at the mud that smeared his face. She succeed only in smudging it and taking the barest hint away with her. "Ah ha!" She cried. "There will only be one monster here" she informed him, wiping her paw on her head before she let her leg fall back into the water was tricky business but she managed it all the same. After that she began to prance about in the shallow water, her tiny trace of mud purposely smeared onto her forehead as she walked with prideful movements, prancing, really, through the water.

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"Noooooo," was his reponce to her words, defeat coming over his expression. He would practically droop, though it would be only a second before the girl surprised him and pounced on him. Then she also turned and... basically smacked his cheek. He snorted at her as she bounced away and into the water, his own paw coming up to briefly scrub his cheek as he watched her prancing. That little bit of mud would drive him insane. "Well, you are the best mud monster," he told her, laughing softly.

"Speech"

He would call her the best mud monster, and she tossed her head high, glancing over at him, with an expression that clearly said 'well duh' but she grew bored of the game quickly and settled in the water again, washing the bit of mud off her cheek with a paw and moving back to Ren's side. “Lets swim” she said boldly, already well over her earlier fright in the water.

She didn't want to say in so many words that she couldn't swim, but she was rather eager to learn how. They lived on a beach, and if she could show daddy she could swim surely he would let her go out there, right?

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Oh, little ones. They bored so easily, so quickly; he was much the same way when he was younger... and, okay, a little bit now. Not nearly as bad, though. "Alright," he said easily, stepping back a little to let water flow more strongly around Seraphiel's legs, but not enough to knock her off-balance. "The first step is to let go of the fear - your instincts will guide you, if you don't panic. But if you panic, you'll sink like a rock," he instructed softly. It truly was completely instinctual, no real teaching necessary, but first, one must get over a fear. She grew comfortable in the water there, but when it started to flow more strongly around her... what then?

"Speech"

Her friend would be quick to agree, and she looked to him with sharp, and watchful eyes. She was going to learnt hrough observing, too proud and determined to ask him to teach her any other way. “I know” she told him, her voice a little exasperated as she explained some tricks to her. Of course, despite her words she latched on to the advice, taking it in and considering it. Don't panic, it was good advice if she could keep to it. Luckily the young wolf bounced back easily and she held no fear of the water, she was bold and fearless – or so she liked to believe. “You go first” she told, waiting for him to start swimming so she could see how.

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For all her protests, Ren wasn't that fooled - she hadn't been around much water, it seemed, and freaked when he first set her in. "Alright," he agreed, stepping back a little more, letting the water flow a little more strongly around Ray. She didn't much notice the first time, which was the intent; he was certain that this would go the same. Her body was acclimating, after all, and she was focused on him, not swirling water. He would step wrong, and would sink down into the water, surprise flickering in his eyes as he went down. Well, he found the actual river. He'd immediately start paddling, trying to stay close to the bank. Seraphiel didn't have to go too far in the water to be swimming; she didn't have to go into the actual river at all. "See?" he prompted her lightly.

Ren was stepping back in the water, perhaps trying to find the deep end. If that was his intention, he succeed. She wasn't sure what happened, but he stepped and then suddenly he was gone, falling into water much deeper then it had been a second before. She leapped forward in surprise – uncertain what she could actually do, yet incapable of just leaving him to his fate. When she found him lightly treading water and watching her with ease her surprised, and worried expression hardened in a heart beat, and she scowled at him adding in a little extra strength into it so he wouldn't think she had worried or anything.

She paused her posturing then to study his strokes, he was using his paws in sync, first his front, then his back, to tread water. She frowned, and thought about it. She had flailed, her limbs going everywhere – she just needed them to work together, that was it? That was the secret to swimming? Well, she could do that.

She stepped forward into the deeper end, plunging instantly into the water – fearless, and stupid, as ever. As her head went under she started questioning her sanity, but she didn't panic. She listened to Ren's words, despite how she might pretend, she looked up to him. It took her only a moment to get her paws working in sync, she didn't try thrashing them this time. She pushed her two fore paws together in synergy, and then found her head free and above the water. She took in a deep breath, and beamed. She was swimming! She did a lap around Ren, just to show him. “Told you.” she told him.

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He smiled softly at her, pretending not to notice the concern in her eyes. Though, his smile just got wider when he saw the scowl on her face. But he was the dutiful prince, and he would not notice his little queen's mishap, instead deciding to stay quiet and continue demonstrating. He hadn't expected to find the river, but that was alright since he did. Paddling the water, he swam in a circle... just as Ray decided to jump in. "Ray, no!" he cried out, kicking powerfully towards where she went under; no no no this couldn't be happening. But, seconds later she popped up. Upruptly, the panic vanished, replaced by a sense of utter relief. He closed his eyes momentarily, forcing a smile on his face before opening them up. Good thing about children is that they wouldn't notice that, especially as young as her. "Good job, Ray," he murmured as she swum around him. But that was definitely enough of the water, and he'd make his way back towards the edge. "Come on, Ray," he called. "As much as you don't want to, we have to get you back to Donostrea before your dad starts worrying."

As she pulled her head up out of the water casting her eyes in Ren's direction for the required praise her achievement earned, she would see a funny expression pass his face. She wouldn't think anything of it of course as she began to take great joy in paddling around in a circle. This was amazing fun! This was incredible! She was swimming she laughed, tossing her head back as she did a tight little circle.

She was getting awfully tired awfully fast however, so when Ren cut their little experience short she didn't even argue. “What if I want to stay here forever? Dad's rules are coming out of my ears, there's so many” she pouted. Ren was young, but acted like an adult, but didn't make rules only looked out for her, Ren was pretty amazing in her books, even if she would never tell him so. She climbed out of the water and groaned, rolling onto the grass. Her arms tingled from an exercise they had never been submitted to before.

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