Island

Talea stood in nothing but her braies as she surveyed the lake in front of her. She didn't seem bothered by the cold morning wind at all, instead soaking in all the sun she could. Fabienne, wrapped in a blanket, almost envied her. Maybe it was the daily swims Talea had taken to since they'd moved into the lakeside cabin.

"Today's the day," Talea finally declared.

"The day for what?" Fabienne asked, mildly interested.

"The day I'll swim all the way out to that island." Talea pointed across the water. It was pretty far. Even though Talea had been training every day, she was still only a novice swimmer.

Fabienne looked doubtful. "I'm not rescuing you if you run out of stamina," she concluded.

Talea pouted a little. "I wouldn't want you to anyway. You always say you hate water."

"Well, yes, but that doesn't mean I can't swim."

"Can you really?" Talea grinned. "How about a race, then? First to the island wins."

Fabienne considered the challenge for a moment. "Fine. I'll even give your puny human limbs a head start."

"You're on!" Talea huffed. She turned and ran into the lake. There wasn't much grace but a lot of enthusiasm in her movements.

Fabienne shook her head. She slowly got up. With great care, she stripped out of her clothes. It really was cold. She dipped a toe in the lake and shuddered. Icy.

Talea was about halfway to the island by then.

Fabienne took a deep breath. She ran, then dove into the water. It was so easy to swim. From above, she looked like an arrow parting the water. Catching up to Talea wasn't a big deal. Overtaking her was just as easy, though Fabienne swam alongside her for a while. Only when they'd almost reached the island did she draw ahead, making sure she won by a comfortable margin.

Talea came out of the water a couple of minutes later, out of breath and overall looking like a drenched cat. "How?!"

Fabienne grinned, showing off teeth. "Just because I hate it doesn't mean I'm not good at it. But don't ask me to breathe fire on anything for the next couple of days."

"Damn." Talea dropped into the grass next to Fabienne. "I really thought I could win."

"Next time, maybe," Fabienne lied. She rolled on top of Talea and kissed her deeply. "There's always a next time, love."