Embrace your fears

Kariko jumped in surprise, her paws landing back in the water with a splash that soaked her underbelly. She looked about herself for the source of the voice that had suddenly surprised her. There, in the water, she could see a face sticking up over the surface. How she had missed him when she had first entered the water, she didn’t know. Surely he hadn’t been underwater for that long. How long could someone actually hold their breath? It wasn’t something she had ever thought of before. The curious part of her mind was tempted to start holding her breath then and there… but time and place, right?

As she watched, the stranger swam over, and she wagged her tail in greeting at him. “Hello” She said when he was close enough to speak without shouting. He was almost like a fish in the water, his swimming strokes looked effortless. she felt a pang of jealousy, she wished she knew how to swim like that! “Is it?” She asked, with genuine curiosity in her voice. She supposed the heat was what had brought her to the edge in the first place. But she wasn’t sure what the parameters were for a ‘great’ day for a swim. Just the heat? Or were there other elements she wasn’t aware of.

The stranger was close enough now that the water was no longer covering him. He was stepping into the shallows, and she could see his form more clearly. He had lovely dark and light brown spots. More subtle than her own vibrant orange tones. “I haven’t, is it that obvious?” She asked, her voice warm and welcoming. Was he going to offer to teach her to swim? “You look like you’ve been swimming for a while. I’m Karaka, by the way”

WC: 309
Total: 1099

"Speech"