It wasn't long before a voice reached her ears. The white female, who Steady seemed to be around a lot. She wondered what their dynamic was, but had never come out and asked. Her mind was always on something else. Niita seemed nice, though. Adeline came to stop and faced her, her tail wagging. Hey, Niita, she greeted. Are you going somewhere? Because I want to go. 

She didn't have any clue what Niita was up to, but whatever it was, Adeline was already on board. She hoped the female wouldn't turn her away. She had gotten accustomed to generally getting what she wanted, and right now she wanted something fun to do.

She was almost worried that the older female would turn her away, but instead invited her to go swimming. Adeline jumped, almost literally, at the chance and quickly matched her pace with Niita's, though she had to work harder since her legs were shorter. Where are we swimming? Is it where Uncle Steady taught me how to fish? she asked, not knowing that Niita might not know where that was.

Can you teach me how to swim? she asked. She had stayed in the shallows with Uncle Steady, not venturing out any further. She had been too interested in the tiny tadpoles to think about swimming at the time.

Niita seemed to think it was alright to call Uncle Steady Dad instead. She nodded in response, and let the subject fall. Both her parents were deceased, since Steady was the closest thing she had to a Dad, it seemed comforting to call him that.

The came upon the lake, and Adeline raced forward, stopping just as her front paws hit the water. Her tail wagged, and she had a delighted expression upon her face as she looked back to Niita. What do I do first? she asked excitedly, as she tapped one paw on top of the water so she could watch the waves it formed.

Niita splashed water Adeline's way, and Adeline gleefully splashed back, though it wasn't as much. Most of her focus was on the task at hand-learning to swim. It was something she really wanted to do, and so her attention didn't waiver this time. Her ears perked when Niita explained she would have to go deeper, and so she did, wading through the water until her paws could just touch. 

She felt Niita's let, and her jaws on her scruff as she tried to swim, kicking her legs as her instructor had said. However, she kicked her front legs a little too forward, and simply ended up splashing water everywhere instead of actually swimming. It was a bit awkward for Adeline, having never swum before, and she didn't realize her legs needed to be fully under water.

She could tell she wasn't doing this right, and Niita confirmed it by redirecting her. Niita shifted, and tried to get Adeline into proper form to swim. She continued to kick hers, but this time they were under her and not spread out. Then, Niita asked if she could climb onto her back. Adeline nodded, and moved to do so.

By this time, Adeline was good and wet, which made it a little difficult to get a good grip to climb. As she had been done to numerous times, She grabbed Niita's scruff a bit and hoisted herself up onto the other female's back. Once positioned, she gripped Niita's shoulders with her forelegs, trying not to slip off.

Since Adeline was behind her, she was unable to catch the grimace that appeared on Niita's face. She couldn't help but giggle her excitement as Niita carried her into deeper water. She had never been out this far, and took the opportunity to look around and see how different it seemed from being on land and looking out onto the water.

But, she did remember why they were out here, and moved her head to the side to see that Niita's legs were under her body, and not splayed out as Adeline had had them. I'm gonna try, she said bravely. She slipped from Niita's back and into the water, going under momentarily. She kicked her legs out, panicking, but regained herself enough to bring her head above water. Now that she could breath, she focused on her legs and moved them directly under her body, as if she was walking, but she paddled them quickly. She found it rather easy, but her heart hammered in her chest with excitement. Look! I'm doing it! she said happily, swimming further out. 

She practiced her swimming, going to and from Niita. She liked the feel of the water around her, finding it cooled her body quickly. But, her muscles weren't accustomed to beating against the water, and they tired rather quickly. Realizing it, Adeline made her way to the shore, walking when she could reach the bottom, and laid down in the shallow water. 

She watched Niita a little while longer, before letting go of a yawn. But, she fought a nap this time, not really wanting to take one. Instead, she splashed in the water, though didn't slap it hard enough for it to splay everywhere.

Niita wanted to go home, but Adeline was in denial about just how tired she was. She growled in defiance; not towards Niita, but a sound to display she didn't want to leave yet. Instead of getting up, she plopped her upper body down in the water. It wasn't deep enough to even cover a quarter of her head, so there was no thought of drowning. 

Her legs waved in the air, like she just didn't care. She liked to be out and about, and didn't want to go back to the confines of the den clearing. She had explored all there was to explore there, and even though she was too tired for exploring now, it was the principle of the thing. And, so, Adeline didn't move to follow Niita.

Niita splashed a little water towards Adeline and she giggle, righting herself to splash a little back, but it was half-hearted. She couldn't really deny what Niita said; she was tired. But, she still didn't want to go back. It was a feud that was being battled in her head.

She grumbled a bit more, but eventually, she lifted herself out of the shallow water and began to follow Niita. While she still didn't want to go back, she also knew she'd fall asleep as soon as she got there.