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by BenMacTyr 7/8/2017, 11:12 pm"'Go canoeing at the lake,' they said. 'It will be loads of fun!' they said," the young woman angrily sputtered as she tried her best to paddle back to the dock. It was not as easy as they had explained, and Paeben MacTyr was starting to feel more and more like a failure. Swimming (and water sports in general) wasn't exactly her strong suit. She could survive, yes, but that was about as much contact with the water as she wanted. But the quiet girl had insisted on "broadening her horizons" this year. This was, after all, the first year she would be at the camp year round.
A slow burn had insidiously wound its way through the muscles in her arms, a sensation she had chalked up to the beating of that damn sun. Ben had prayed for a cloudy day but no such luck. It seemed the gods were against her today as there was no breeze either. Now, her arms were giving in to he exhaustion that was canoeing. A much different strength was required for the activity than her usual scavenging tendencies.
"Yo, MacTyr! Hurry it up!" A voice yelled from on the dock. A string of curses muttered under her breath, Ben waved to the caller in acknowledgement. She still didn't really know anybody in the camp. Faces were blurry in the two summer months before this, but she had to remember them this time. It was important. She was going to see these people day in and day out. Just the thought of gaining friends brought a helium-fueled lift to her heart--and the thought of leaving them deflated it.
"I can do this," Ben muttered as she started the last 50 feet to the dock. It wasn't far now, and her eye was set on the goal: tying the canoe up and headed to the mess hall for some much needed lunch... that is until she dipped her paddle a little too deep. The resistance surprised her. The wooden paddle was yanked from her hand, the rubber handle keeping it afloat as the small currents whisked it away from her. In a momentary lapse of reason, the daughter of a wind god reached out to grab the paddle. In her fluster, a breeze from her hand blew the paddle away, and her momentum of the reach made her capsize.
"Oh, lanta!" she gurgled as she was dunked underneath the waves. Panic made her thrash her limbs until she floated to the surface of the lake. Thank the gods for life jackets. Her breathing was quick and panicked as she fearfully tread the water. She couldn't see the lake floor beneath her, and images of monsters and big fish flashed through her mind like lightening in a Texan storm. "This is where I die. Not skydiving as dad would've wanted. I'm going to get eaten by a lake trout," she said to herself, green eyes scanning the waters in search for her paddle.
A slow burn had insidiously wound its way through the muscles in her arms, a sensation she had chalked up to the beating of that damn sun. Ben had prayed for a cloudy day but no such luck. It seemed the gods were against her today as there was no breeze either. Now, her arms were giving in to he exhaustion that was canoeing. A much different strength was required for the activity than her usual scavenging tendencies.
"Yo, MacTyr! Hurry it up!" A voice yelled from on the dock. A string of curses muttered under her breath, Ben waved to the caller in acknowledgement. She still didn't really know anybody in the camp. Faces were blurry in the two summer months before this, but she had to remember them this time. It was important. She was going to see these people day in and day out. Just the thought of gaining friends brought a helium-fueled lift to her heart--and the thought of leaving them deflated it.
"I can do this," Ben muttered as she started the last 50 feet to the dock. It wasn't far now, and her eye was set on the goal: tying the canoe up and headed to the mess hall for some much needed lunch... that is until she dipped her paddle a little too deep. The resistance surprised her. The wooden paddle was yanked from her hand, the rubber handle keeping it afloat as the small currents whisked it away from her. In a momentary lapse of reason, the daughter of a wind god reached out to grab the paddle. In her fluster, a breeze from her hand blew the paddle away, and her momentum of the reach made her capsize.
"Oh, lanta!" she gurgled as she was dunked underneath the waves. Panic made her thrash her limbs until she floated to the surface of the lake. Thank the gods for life jackets. Her breathing was quick and panicked as she fearfully tread the water. She couldn't see the lake floor beneath her, and images of monsters and big fish flashed through her mind like lightening in a Texan storm. "This is where I die. Not skydiving as dad would've wanted. I'm going to get eaten by a lake trout," she said to herself, green eyes scanning the waters in search for her paddle.
