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Purple fur darkened with a slight flush as Naom struggled not to falter in his flight. He turned his gaze back to their destination. "No problem, Ning," he said softly, his voice almost lost in the wind. She was indeed happy, which made him happy. Though that 'thank you' kiss had thrown him off just a tiny bit. He shook it off, smiling faintly to himself. A giddy feeling had welled up in him... one he didn't know. And, so he believed, by the way his head felt light and his heart felt like it was constricting in his chest, he didn't want to know.

"Yeah," he muttered, keeping his eyes on the shining object. He used a paw to point to it. "I just don't know what it is," he sighed, looking up for a moment to catch her gaze. He still wanted to know what it was, and if it was alive or not. Crazy thing, he knew, but if it wasn't, it'd look pretty on a string.

He nodded, watching her paw at the water's surface. "She wants it..' He thought, looking back at the shiny object in the water. His wings ruffled on his back, his mind whirring with the pros and cons of diving into the water right then.

For one, you can't swim.

That didn't change the fact that Ning wanted it. Plus, he had to learn sometime, right? He only wanted to keep Ning happy. It was so pretty when she smiled. He'd just about do anything to keep that smile on her face. And it was clear she liked him... kinda.

Kinda? You're gonna risk your life for a "kinda"?

He sighed, his paws beating restlessly on the ground. His heart told him to jump, his mind told him not to be a fool. But, which should he follow? His mother used to tell him to follow his heart, but could he? He thought he could. Then again, she had also told him to think through his actions. So...

Scenario number one: You jump in, you get the shiny thing, you drown.

He grimaced. Well, that wasn't what he'd hoped to come up with. Bright side of that was that it was only his first one. Moving on, second one!

Scenario number two: You jump in, you get the shiny thing, and attempt to not drown.

Again, not what he'd hoped for. He growled at himself, crouching low to ground.

Scenario number three: You jump in, get the shiny thing, remember that you can't swim, and Ning has to save your sorry butt.

Ouch. That was definately not what he wanted. It would make him look like a fool in front of her. So, his only chance was learning how to swim. What was that saying his human had told him? Sink or swim? He sure as hell wasn't going to sink.

With a leap of faith, he dove into the water. The cold liquid seeped almost to his bones, making him shiver. His eyes searching for the shiny object he'd had his sights on. Not there... not there either... there! He kicked his legs, going closer to it, until finally he could snatch it up in his maw. Kicking off the bed, he darted upwards. Ah, swimming wasn't so bad... there was nothing to it. He smiled, happy that he'd gotten the thing. That is, until the stream's current caught him. He went tumbling in the water. Thrown from side to side, doing forced somersaults and flips as the water carried him away.

From beneath the gallons of water on top of him, Naom watched Ning race beside him, then zoom ahead. Great, now he looked so foolish. He growled mentally at himself, pushing against the current to right himself again. That didn't work as he planned, either. He was sent into more spinning flips, making him rather dizzy. Another growl ripped through him; oh yeah, now he was frustrated. He spread his wings underwater and finally got the result he wanted. He was upright now, but losing breath quickly. His head was beginning to feel light, and his vision was starting to get all blurry.

Oh great~ You're gonna die. And for what? A stupid shiny thing and some girl.

Shut up. She's not just 'some girl'. She's Ning, and she's the best person I've met so far.

Yeah, sure. I'm so sure she's good enough to drown for.

He blinked a few times. Sure, he'd been arguing with himself, which was just about the craziest thing he'd even done. But, still, it made him realize something that would have taken him forever to get by himself...

Yeah, she is.

His ears twitched at a splash, causing him to turn his head at just the wrong moment. His muzzle collided with a rather large hunk of wood. That was going to hurt in the morning... He looked up, barely missing having his eyes scratched out by Ning's flailing paws. Oh God... Here goes. Making sure he still had the thing in his mouth, he reached up, catching the bark with his claws to at least try and pull himself up. His fur and feathers were soaked, adding at least ten to fifteen pounds onto him, making this not such an easy feat. He growled, pulling up to his shoulders out of the water. The air hit him, making him shiver; his oxygen deprived lungs worked furiously to get everything back on track.. including his delusional mind.