Ouroboros Spine song

"god, today is so hot!" chickadee declared, flinging herself down near wherever @Kivaluk was. her nose twitched. "have you ever been to a fen? it's like a big wetland, i guess. real cool." 
a thought came to her, accompanied by a sigh. "hey, uh, i need to go visit my family. aaaand the sun guy, he said i couldn't go alone. so — maybe you come with me to brecheliant and i uh, show you the fen?"

yeah, kivaluk agrees in a low murmur, squinting an eye at her as she plops down beside him. he's taken refuge at the lake's bank — ready to jump in it to cool off the moment he felt uncomfortably hot.

already, his fur was damp from a swim a few hours prior.

a fen? i ... don't think so. kivaluk hedges, golden champagne gaze taking in her face.

he bites back a small snort of laughter as she refers to aiolos as 'the sun guy', and sobers himself up quickly to give her a serious answer.

`course i will. he says breezily, as if there wasn't any possibility of any other answer he could've given her. when do we leave?

"well, any time, really." her lips curved; chickadee was relieved, and it showed across all of her face. "it's really just like my mom and my dad, and my brother. and teya, she's like my aunt, and her kid and stuff."
a family, just like this one. 
the girl closed her eyes and sighed into the stifling air. "maybe we should travel at night."

do you wanna go soon? or like now even? kivaluk inquires, after she speaks and he takes in her words.

a small pack, then, from how she described it.

well, not now then ...but tonight? the kids are a bit older now and things seem pretty calm. or, so at least as far as kivaluk knew.

at any rate, a small trip to visit her family surely wouldn't cause too big of a deal.

a long pause is given on his end before he asks, with a soft flick of his paw in the water, words quieted and without pressure of an answer. do you miss your family a lot?

"i mean, yeah," chickadee mumbled, not wanting to admit how much she wanted to tumble into maia's arms or hug her dad eljay again. "but — you know i left."
she idly waved a paw at nothing in general. "i want to be able to say i, like, did something, you know?" the idea of leaving that same night taking root in her mind, she sighed. "yeah. we can go then." only it would be another week before they did leave.

he's quiet as he contemplates her words, that she missed her family but that she left. but it wasn't for him to analyze her or her words and so, he lets it go.

maybe i'm weird but a i think joining moonglow and making a friend in me constitutes as a lot. or at the least pretty notable. then again, he couldn't say what sort of expectations she laid on herself. what she hoped to accomplish when she'd set out ... aside from marrying stratos with her sister.

ok. sounds like a plan. he sinks a little further into the water, ankles submerging before an idea strikes him.

d'you know how to swim?

chickadee laughed a little at that. "no, it's true. you're quite a friend." and she gave him a look that lasted as long as her nerves, which was to say not at all. 
in the process, however, chickadee saw how he descended into the water, and thought briefly of antigone, and joined the firsthunter at once, splashing a little. "uh. maybe. you know. not super well."
her teeth chattered, but chickadee was unwilling to leave without at least submerging herself once. "you?"

i try, i try. he jests in a not-so humble brag tone before he laughs. kivaluk was many things but thankfully arrogant hadn't been at the top of the list.

he liked to think he straddled the middle ground of not being arrogant but not having low self esteem. many times, it was sometimes a hard line to walk.

i'm a pretty good swimmer. he says simply. i'm not a huge fan of fish but being able to swim makes hunting them easier. ... not that his skills as a fisherman were great.

they were sub-par but fish were notoriously hard to catch ( at least as far as kivaluk cared to see it ).

he moves a little deeper into the lake, belly submerging into the water.

i won't let you drown. 'promise. he grins at her.

"i hope not," chickadee shot back, though she stumbled against him as the current swept against her legs. her breath shook; she leaned into kivaluk for a second and then tried to find the bottom again.
taking a breath, she pushed off, launching herself out into the lake with a laugh that was surprised — at herself!
"come on! show me, okay," chickadee shouted, then spluttered a little as her muzzle dipped beneath the surface for a second.

ok, ok, kivaluk agrees, shivering softly that had nothing to do with the cool kiss of the water mingling with the stifling heat of the day.

hey, wait! kivaluk calls after her as she launches herself from the shallows. he hurries after her, legs making smooth paddling motions. ok. you gotta ... trust yourself. it sounds silly but your body knows what to do. you can float — his body goes lax and he floats with the soft current, head bobbing up and down, sneezing after a bit of water trickles into his nose.

but you can also swim. just paddle. its like walking. or running in the water. he explains, swimming in a circle 'round her.

what was most reassuring about kivaluk's explanation was the way the water got him too. she smiled and tried to relax a little, trusting herself even as panic gripped her belly again.
but chickadee concentrated on kivaluk, moving her limbs in loose approximations that tightened the more she stopped focusing toward the water itself.
"am i doing it?" she asked with a stifled laugh.

yeah! kivaluk chirrups encouragingly. you've got it! he bobs along like a floating piece of driftwood, before the distance between them threatened to yawn too vast and he paddles back towards her.

for me, the more i thought about it the worse it was. he adds with a sheepish, small chuckle. there was a lot of flailing and frustration for me when i was learning to swim.

"well, i'm sure if you weren't here i'd do that too." finally she'd had enough, and pulled herself out of the water with a grunt.
her teeth chattered on the bank, but she shook out her coat with happiness. "first lesson down, one hundred and six more to go!" chickadee joked, poking mockery at herself.

a hundred and six?! kivaluk playfully groans before he pulls himself up on the bank a little bit away from her, giving her space.

he stretches and gives his coat a hearty shake, too; water flying everywhere.

in all seriousness, you did well. you'll get the hang of swimming in no time.

"yeah, of course i will. because you're signed up for one hundred and six lessons," chickadee cooed, holding up a paw as some of his droplets sailed her way.
"i'm freaking exhausted. let's get something to eat. then i think i'll take a nap," chickadee declared, flicking her wet tail against his shoulder.

to her suggestion, kivaluk offers: sounds good.

he bumps his shoulder against her's, playfully, in affection only to let out a low, throaty chuckle ( that sort of surprises him ) as she flicks her tail against his shoulder.

drawn by the promise of something to eat, he follows.