@decanard asked: The girl is trembling just slightly but holds onto her dad as they step into the water. The cold feeling makes her squeeze her eyes shut and press closer against his side but refuses to get out. Dad was here. Everything is going to be fine.
🦐; Fethry smiled and held her closer in return, and paused when the water was just about up to her knees. Let the water settle, and feel the sand underneath. It was important to take this one step at a time, let her conquer her fears at her own pace. It takes many tiny drops to fill the mighty ocean, after all.
And she had already made it so far, he couldn’t possibly be any more proud of her. He had taken her to a pond, not large in diameter but had a depth of about 7-8 feet, far more than any of the practice pools he’s had her swim in so far. But, she didn’t have to swim today. Just wading for a little while in the shallow water would already be such a huge step.
Fethry squeezed his daughter’s shoulder, letting her know that he was absolutely not about to let go of her as he knelt down to her level. He gave her a gentle, encouraging smile.
“You’re doing great, Webby! Now, we could go further into the water, or we could turn back now and try again another time.”