"It's lovely here." Eliaren remarked faintly, in an absentminded fashion. Mauja appeared beside her. There was no need to raise her head, as she saw his reflection join hers in the gentle ripples of the water. Her pale skin tingled a little beneath the sun's fiery rays. This was as close as he had come to her. She was slightly surprised, but showed no sign of it on her features. She watched as he unfastened the curious leather bag and lay it on the bank, gently placing the crystal staff beside it. Eli did not bother with questions. It didn't matter. Or did it? What was she getting herself into? What did she want...Before the hesitant woman could make up her mind, Mauja took the lead once more, slipping into the water. Her gaze followed the snow-laden stallion as he glided gracefully toward the middle, disrupting the stillness of the surface with his splashing.

What are you standing about for?

There was worry; sometimes when she swam too deep, the water felt thirty times heavier on her back, so dense that it was as if she wouldn't ever be able to surface. It made her feel somewhat weak, like she could easily be defeated at any moment. But oh, how she was fond of the water. When she saw it, particularly large bodies of it, she was happy and her troubles slipped away. She didn't even have to go in, she could just stand on the shore and watch it move fluidly and sparkle in the sunlight for hours on end. Listen to it lap gently at the bank. Watch the beautiful shapes and configurations that the water made. It was never the same twice. The peace and serenity that came upon her when she was by the water, there was nothing like it. It made her feel free. It made her calm. Well, on any other occasion she would be calm. This was certainly not a feeling the mare was used to and no matter how hard she tried she could stop her stomach churning. Was she afraid? There was something else- another feeling was also brimming in her chest, nearly spilling out her along with her nerves, something she couldn't quite make out. Forget about it. She exhaled deeply.

"Wait up!" She called out, voice echoing after him.

Dabbling her hooves in the pond, she slowly waded further out. Each step she took was carefully placed, her movements graceful and lithe as her smaller form slipped into the shallows. The response was immediate as the liquid spread around her body, the sudden shock of cold making her muscles tense. It rose up around her fawn-colored barrel as she immersed herself in the element that felt like soft velvet. The biting temperature slowly warmed up to the maiden, soothing the ache that clawed at her limbs. Gliding through the depths, moving her legs in rhythm, she was swimming. Oxygen flowed into and through her lungs, giving her the power to stroke and kick. Eliaren watched the mystical light around her, the sunbeams playing amid the undulating currents in silvery whites, blues and rainbow colors. Time stood still as her body moved silently and serenely, almost joyfully.

The sounds of their breathing and that of water intermingled with the chirping of birds overhead and the whisper of the wind in the trees. Clear aqua glided over her shoulders, wrapping her in a cold cocoon. When she reached Mauja in the center, her entire body was submerged up to her neck. The water met her long fuchsia-dipped mane, dancing into the mess it was, ridding it of the knots time had given.