It really did look inviting, after all.
Aiyanna stood on a pebble-covered beach, eyes wandering back and forth along the water's edge. She had never been a particularly good swimmer, but she liked the idea. Her mother had warned her to never go too deep in, once your feet left the bottom there wasn't much you could do but try to paddle back ashore.
Her mother. Aiyanna had flown the coop and struck out on her own, but deep down her heart missed her family still. She had never truly been the rebelious type, always returning home even when she had wandered off just too far to see what was on the other side of this hill or that rock. Sometimes, she just needed that moment to think deep and try to discover what made her. Her siblings all had families of their own, but she.. she still needed some time to wander.
Her wings spread wide and beat down just so she could watch the ripples across the pond. They spread outwards further and further until they disappeared from view. Is that what she was? A ripple? Aiyanna's face curled into a frown. She didn't want to just disappear, she wanted to be there, in the thick of things. Her place was with friends and family and in the company of others, not alone on the edge of the pond.
She lifted a hood and hesitated, and then plunged forward into the water. As expected, it was colder than she would have liked, and it made her feathers stick together and wings feel heavy. Once her back was submerged she stopped, feet planted firmly on the ground. Could she go further? There was a sand bar towards the center of the pond where the water would reach just her knees, but she needed to cross a gap that was well over her head before that. Her brow furrowed and her burst of courage wavered. Was she strong enough for it?
