A Happy Family

Writers: Chelle, Eimi
Date Posted: 25th April 2010

Characters: Parale, Ioven, Venrys, Syren
Description: Parale takes the girls swimming and to have a picnic.
Location: Garnet Valley Hold
Date: month 8, day 19 of Turn 5

"No, Syren, your legs up and down, not in and out," Venrys said
as she stood next to her sister, waist deep in the water.

"That's what I'm doing!" The little five-turn-old was trying with all
her might to get the hang of kicking in the water, cradled safely in
Parale's arms to keep her body mostly above the water. Despite her
efforts, though, she was still kicking from her hips instead of her
knees, and the result was a motion more like running than swimming.

"You're still doing it wrong," her older sister frowned, her hands on
her hips. "Tell her, Parale."

Parale sighed. "Venrys, love, why don't you show her over there?"
Tipping Syren up, she let her sit on her knee while the other girl
demonstrated exactly what Syren *had* been doing.

"What's all this, then?" a voice called from the bank.

"Daddy!" Syren cried, and almost fell off Parale's knee in her
enthusiasm to turn around to see him.

"Look, Daddy," Venrys called as she tread water, "I'm showing Syren how
to kick! Watch!"

Her father did just that as she made a grand little circle in the water.
"That's wonderful, trundlebug!" He turned to the foster mother. "Good
afternoon, Parale. I'm off early today."

"How nice. Care to join us?" Getting a better grip on Syren, she
wondered how best to go about this. "Okay now..do you think
you can kick like your sis?"

"But I am kicking," Syren muttered, convinced that her sister was just
being mean again.

Ioven overheard their conversation as he pulled off his boots. "I'll
help you, if you like."

"Yay! Daddy will help me!" The little girl's face brightened
instantly. It had been a fun game when Parale had been teaching her to
swim, but it would be double fun to have her father help too!

It suddenly dawned on the smith that he hadn't exactly come prepared for
swimming. "I'm sorry, Parale, but I didn't bring anything to change
into. I'll have to use my underthings. I know the girls won't mind,
but if you wouldn't be comfortable..."

She took a breath. In reality, she was a virgin in her third decade, but
she wasn't about to tell him that. However, she had seen men in stages
of undress before. "That's allright." Setting Syren down in the shallows
to wait for Ioven, she scrutinized the girls to make sure their skin
wasn't pinkening.

He took her turning away as a sign of modesty, and as such felt a little
awkward just stripping down right there. Instead he walked behind a
tree along the bank and used its branches as a convenient hanger. He
slipped into the water on the other side of the tree and waded around,
the water covering him up to his waist. "It's colder than I thought."
His bare arms were covered in goose bumps.

"You're used to the ocean. River water is usually colder..out of the
mountains here moreso." She was wearing a bathing costume that was a
yellowish color. "Syren, kick for your Da. Go on." She was determined to
see that the little girl could swim-it being a matter of a life or death
if she lived near the sea.

"Daddy, hold me," she said, holding her arms out to her father.

"Venrys, that's far enough. Come back a bit." He waded closer to the
bank to collect Syren and carried her into slightly deeper water.
Making a cradle out of his arms, his elbows resting comfortably at water
level, she laid across them and proceeded to kick. "Good, Syren, you're
doing great," he said encouragingly, turning in place slightly as if she
were moving on her own power. "Now, try not to move your whole leg out
of the water. Try to move only your feet out of the water and back down.
That's more like it."

Her older sister swam closer to Parale, not wanting to be left out of
everything.

While he was handling the smaller one, she kept an eye on Venrys.
She did allow herself to relax into the water, though. It was so nice
on such a warm day. Sighing, she surprised herself when all of a sudden
she realized her attention had slipped from Venrys to Ioven's arms. They
could hold her..

Opening her eyes wider, she focused again on the little girl, ashamed to
admit she'd been ogling her father, even to herself. "Venrys, have you
seen a dragon?"

"From far away sometimes." Up on the heights, or on Gather days she had
seen them flying up in the sky. She even had seen them land. "I've
never touched one, though."

"I went to the Weyr once to see my..cousin." Better not to mention
Briata. "They're big things. Beautiful though..in a dangerous sort of
way." Having seen those teeth, Parale didn't necessarily believe that
they were harmless, regardless of what the ballads said.

Venrys' eyes grew big as she grabbed Parale's hand in excitement. "Did
you _ride_ a dragon at the Weyr?"

"To and from aye. Lot faster that way." It had been her first and only
ride and she was proud to make the claim she had done it.

"What color was it? Did it fly really fast? And were you scared?" The
questions just poured out of the little girl. She probably would have
thought of more, but her father interrupted them.

"Look, girls! Syren's doing it!" He smiled at her proudly as she
kicked with all her might.

"A blue. And he was fast." Parale smiled at Venrys, remembering herself
as a girl. "I wasn't very scared, just a little. It's very high."

"Good job Syren! Now do you think you might be able to do your arms
*and* legs?" Once she had that, she could swim herself without help.

"I'm tired," Syren said, a little bit of a whine creeping into her
voice.

He pulled her out of the water and set her on his hip. "I think we've
got all we can out of her for now. But you did so well!"

"Allright then girls, I think it's time for the picnic. Syren, you did
very well. Venrys, thank you for helping your sister." Parale started to
wade out of the water. The bathing costume clung to her and she searched
for the towels she'd left.

"There's a picnic?" Ioven asked Syren, still on his hip, purposefully
avoiding looking at her to give her the same courtesy she had shown him.

"Uh huh, and I helped pack it!" Venrys proclaimed proudly as she began
to wade towards the shore herself.

Ioven started to walk closer to the shore so he could set Syren back
down on her two feet. "Well, I don't think you have enough for me, so I
better just head back up to the dining hall."

"Any good holder always has extra in case they have to show
hospitality," Parale recited from memory. She reached the shore and
wrapped the towel around her, making to unpack the picnic baskets.

"That rule extends to picnics as well?" he asked with a surprised
chuckle.

"Well of course." With the canvas spread, she started to unpack the
food. "Venrys, be a dear and empty out the other basket. Careful,
though, the waterskin is in it."

"Ok!" She skipped on over to basket to do as she had been asked.

"So, does that rule extend to towels, perchance?" Ioven asked with an
apologetic smile, still waste deep in water since he knew for sure his
underclothes were not meant to be worn wet.

"Naturally." She gave Syren two of the towels to distribute as needed.
Finishing her basket, she picked a spot to sit, relishing the sun. It
was a good day to go swimming.

Ioven couldn't think of a good way to get the towel from the little one
while he was still far from shore. "Just leave my towel there. I'll
get it in a minute. I didn't get to swim as long as you did. Why
don't you go sit with Parale? You too, Venrys. Go ahead and start
without me."

The girls didn't have to be convinced. They had worked up quite an
appetite in the water! While their backs were turned, he slipped out of
the water, using the towel to cover himself as he ducked back behind the
tree where he had left his clothes. He was still in their line of sight
but much less obvious as he stripped out of his breeches, hiding as best
he could.

"Daddy says we can go ahead without him," Venrys faithfully reported as
she sat down on the blanket, making sure she got to sit next to Parale.
Syren quickly claimed the other side.

"Ah well.." Little did they know she had been watching 'Daddy's'
progress. Taking a deep breath, Parale tried her best to focus on the
girls. "Okay now everyone gets a sandwich. And then there's the water.
And the chewies. We need to share, remember?"

As Ioven buttoned up his shirt, he couldn't help but do a little
watching of his own. But it was not Parale he was fascinated with. If
he had been a stranger coming across this little scene, it would have
been natural to assume that he was witnessing a happy little family - a
mother out with her two daughters enjoying the day. They just looked
like they belonged together.

His vision grew a little blurry as his thoughts naturally conjured up an
image of his wife. If only she could have been the one the girls looked
at with such fond admiration. As hard as he tried, and as much as he
loved them, he just could never fully be both parents for them. It
filled him with a sense of intense sadness, suddenly. As their father
it was his job to provide for their every need, and now he understood,
they were needing a mother. He would have to marry again, whether he
wanted to or not. It was his duty. But it made his heart ache anew.

He knew he would not be able to shake these thoughts. Ioven needed to
let them run their course on their own. If he joined their picnic, it
would just be right there in front of him, every moment, and he just
wasn't ready to put on a brave face in front of them. They were in good
hands for the moment. It was better for him just to go.

"Listen," he said, stepping back out from behind the trees, "I'm sorry,
I just forgot. I have to put some tubes in the kiln. You go ahead and
enjoy the picnic. I'll be by later this evening."

She caught the note in his voice. Parale wasn't fooled, but she was sure
he had a good reason so she let it go. "We'll save you some, right
girls?"

"Bye Daddy!" Venrys waved, followed by a half-hearted 'Bye' from her
younger sister, who was far more interested in the chewies to watch as
her father walked away to be alone with his thoughts.

Last updated on the May 3rd 2010

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A Happy Family