This had been on Maverick's mind for some time now. Sitting on the pebbly shore of the lakes at the heart of their homelands, the dire brute gazed out over the glistening surface of the water beneath the late summer sun. It felt like only yesterday that he had saved his daughter from drowning out in this very lake when it had been an icy black void. That day had been the scariest of his life, but it had also showed him that he needed to teach his children a very important lesson, one that could very well save their lives one day. Rising to his paws, Mav trotted up to the edge of the water, letting the waves ripple gently over his toes while he waded into the cool water. In the heat of the day, the water felt incredible! Refreshing and relaxing, and placid to a point of almost stillness. The perfect environment for a swimming lesson.

Taking a deep breath, Maverick surged forward and lunged into the water, diving beneath the crystalline surface. He loved the water and loved to swim! Propelling himself with all four legs kicking through the lake, he was instantly reminded of the swing he had built with Venom back at their old Archipelago home. He wondered if it was still there; maybe he'd take his kids there sometime. Breaking the surface to reemerge, Mav took a deep breath of fresh air and paddled his way back to the shore, his fluffy coat now slicked to his body like a streamlined otter's would. Lifting his muzzle skyward, Maverick gave a call for Rebel to come meet him. The time had finally come. She'd be learning how to swim today.

WC: 286 / 1500

"Maverick"

Learning how to spar with her parents and siblings was always fun and easy, but teaching was a whole new challenge! The little jackal pup that she had found a while back with her mother had become her constant companion and of course she always liked the company, but it only felt fitting that her companion should be able to help her in her spars too! Of course, in order for that to happen, her new friend needed to know how to fight too so she had been making a valiant effort at teaching her just that. It certainly gave her a new appreciation for how good her parents and uncle were at teaching her and her siblings all kinds of things. "Alright, that was good! But next time put your paws here and here instead," she explained, moving the young jackal's lanky limbs into a more stable stance. "That way I won't be able to knock you over so easily, okay? Let's try again!"

Just as she was getting back into position across from her companion to go for another round, her father's howl interrupted her and got her to stop mid pounce to look up toward where the call was coming from. Her companion took advantage of her momentary distraction and barreled into her–still not quite knocking her off balance since there was such a difference in size between them, but certainly making her proud with how she made her stagger back a bit. Rebel chuckled and gave her jackal friend a grin. "Good job! I'll be back in a bit, I gotta go see what my dad wants! Keep practicing while I'm gone!" She turned toward the lake then and took off, bounding through the foliage and trees to make it to where her dad had called her from. It did not take her all that long to get there and within just a few moments she was skidding to a stop in front of her father who she quickly noticed was soaking wet.

"Hey, dad!" she said enthusiastically, her head tilting with curiosity as she glanced over his dripping wet fur. "Have you been swimming?" She had not exactly been avoiding the lake since the incident with the ice and her brother, but she had not been actively seeking it out either. If nothing else she had definitely learned her lesson and had not gone further into the water than her elbows since then. She still felt kind of bad for getting her dad into that kind of situation where he had to save her from the freezing cold water and definitely did not want to upset him like that again. However, considering how it looked like he had already been swimming and he had called her specifically to the pretty, calm lake, she got excited as she started to put two and two together and began to wonder if today was going to be the swimming lesson that she had been waiting on for what felt like ages.

WC: 503
Total: 789 / 1500

"Rebel"

Knowing his daughter's enthusiasm to do any sort of activity with her old man, Maverick did not anticipate it would take long for Rebel to make her way over to the lake to join him. Sure enough, after only a handful of minutes had passed, Mav heard the rustle of nearby brush, followed by the emerging of his little Mini Me coming to a skidding halt before him. An amused, playful smirk spread across the father's lips. Though still very much a puppy, Rebel and her brothers were growing like weeds, and already it was obvious that the lanky, leggy child would grow to be a tall woman someday, much like her mother and no doubt just as beautiful as well. She did have both of their good looks, after all! "Hello, Trouble!" he greeted his daughter in turn, leaning down to nose and nuzzle at her forehead with a wide smile. She asked if he had been swimming and Maverick chuckled as he replied, "Guilty as charged. Believe it or not, your dad actually loves swimming when the water isn't covered in ice!"

Maverick was glad to see the excitement and eagerness shining bright in Rebel's amethyst eyes as she quickly put two and two together and realized why he had called her here. A knowing grin replaced the smile on the wily brute's lips as he glanced back towards the glistening surface of the calm lake, then looked back down to his daughter. "You wanna learn how to swim, Rebbie?" he asked her, already knowing what her answer would be. It was no secret that Rebel had been keen to learn ever since she had first been introduced to the lake. The winter had made it impossible for such lessons to occur then, but now that the summer heat was in full swelter, now was the perfect time to learn. Gesturing with a tip of his head towards the lake, Maverick led Rebel down into the shallow water, wading his way in until the water would come up to Rebel's elbows, halfway up her legs. "Swimming isn't very hard to learn. You just need to get the motions down pat, and then it's all a matter of muscle strength and managing your buoyancy against the current," he explained, wading in a bit deeper than her until the water touched his belly, a depth where Rebel would need to begin to paddle. "Calm waters like this are easier to manage than a river or the ocean, so it's good to practice here until you feel confident and strong enough to try more challenging areas."

With the basics introduced to her, Maverick waved a paw for Rebel to follow him in deeper. "As you go deeper, you'll feel the water begin to sort of lift you. That's your body trying to keep afloat. Don't fight it, relax yourself and let your weight go, then start kicking your legs like you're running in the water in smooth strides. Don't be afraid, I'll be right here to make sure you're okay, sweetie." Mav stood by and watched, observing Rebel's first foray into the water to make sure she didn't lose control or sink. They could go at this as long as she wanted until she got the hang of it.

WC: 548
Total: 1337 / 1500

"Maverick"

As soon as her dad asked the question that confirmed her suspicions, she grinned wide with excitement, her tail wagging happily behind her. "Yeah!" she replied without hesitation, already eagerly starting to head down to the water the moment her father made any kind of move toward the peaceful lake. She had already had a fascination with all kinds of bodies of water since she was very little and it felt like a very long time coming to learn how to swim. Rebel followed her dad out into the water until it got up to her elbows as she usually did and then turned her magenta gaze up toward her dad expectantly to hear what he had to say about how to swim. It felt like one of those things that she should just know how to do, but just like fighting it took some practice and finesse to get good at.

She listened and watched like any good student as he moved a bit further into the water and explained some of the basic ideas of it. She nodded along as he went, understanding of course that swimming here would be much easier than swimming in the ocean or river. Before she took any more steps forward, she made sure to listen to everything he said about the lift of the water, how her body was supposed to try and keep itself afloat, and to start kicking her legs like she was running. As impatient as she was to get started, she had learned from her lessons with her mom to listen first and act second. Once the explaining was done she nodded confidently and started wading her way out into the water, enjoying the cool, refreshing feeling of it from the hot sun.

As soon as she felt that weightlessness that her father had described, she immediately tried to kick off of the rocky, sandy bottom of the lake and begin kicking her legs, pretending that she was running through the water. At first it was kind of awkward and it was hard to find that balance between being able to propel herself forward without accidentally letting her head dunk under the water, but after a couple of tries she began to get the hang of it and started swimming in a circle around her dad with an excited grin. "I'm swimming!" she called out with a giggle, only to have to catch herself a bit as her paddling got a bit uneven in her excitement. She was quick to recover though and regained her focus to keep on with her steady movement through the water.

WC: 438
Total: 1775 / 1500

"Rebel"

The next few moments were filled with a tense, hopeful anticipation while Maverick watched his little Rebel begin to try to swim, following his directions as best she could. The sire wolf silently prayed that he was a half decent teacher and that he'd given her all the proper explanation needed. Guess he was about to find out. As soon as Rebel's paws left the shallows and she was bobbing along in the water, Maverick watched her with bated breath, ready to spring forward and fish her out if she went under the water. Thankfully though, that didn't happen. There were a couple of moments where Rebel's uneven bobbing dipped her a couple of times, but she was quick to right herself, obviously feeling what he had described to her with her buoyancy, and a few moments later his daughter was paddling lopsided circles around him in the water.

A proud grin spread across Maverick's face as he watched Rebel go, unable to stop from laughing triumphantly as she cheered out that she was swimming. "Yes you are, like a fish!" he remarked with another laugh. "Look at you go, little water baby! You've got it!" Mav sat back in the water, letting Rebel do as many laps around him as she desired to help her get familiar with the motions of swimming. She had taken to the water like she was born for it; just like her father had when he was a pup! Maybe now he'd have to take her to go see that rope swing once she got strong enough to swim in the ocean. "Keep going just like that, Bel! You can change how fast or slow you go with how much you kick your legs."

"Maverick"