Family of Chaos

by Animalman57

Serene Swimming

Whitetail Woods was truly a sight to behold, especially during summer. The leaves on the tall sycamore and birch trees were green, as was the grass. The sun shined brightly through the leaves and many animals lived in this forest, though thankfully, unlike the Everfree, the predators that did live here were nowhere near as frightening or as dangerous.

In fact, in pretty much everyway, Whitetail Woods was the total opposite of the Everfree Forest. Everfree was dark and dreary, Whitetail was bright and sunny. Everfree had loads of ugly brambles and thorns, Whitetail had gorgeous flowers. Even the trails were different, with Whitetail having nice soft soil, while many sharp and jagged rocks and pebbles were embedded into the trails in the Everfree, making the ground feel uncomfortable to walk on.

For many, a short stroll through Whitetail Woods was a perfect way to relax and that's precisely what Raven decided to do today. Having nothing else to do today, she thought it'd be a wonderful chance to go for a simple saunter.

With her parent's permission, of course.

And now she was resting in the bank of a large pool of water, a peaceful refugee for all who come. Above her providing shade was an old sycamore tree that seemed to lean on its side and was probably nearly two hundred years old. A small stream fed the pool with a waterfall that seemed to trickle down, passing over numerous stones that has congregated over. Many animals were also here, birds resting in the trees while an elderly stag, as well as a vixen and her two kits, were drinking in harmony. Even a vicious cougar, who sat five feet next to Raven, was more content with grooming itself than hunting.

Whitetail Woods was the perfect place for the teen to relax whenever she had a bad day or just needed some time away away from other creatures. And today was no different. The soft breeze that blew wasn't quite enough to offset the mild heat, but it still felt nice and cool as it hit Raven's fur and stroked through her luscious mane. The draconequus' violet snake tail brushed against the gentle dirt, seemily flattening the earth as she did. She breathed in and exhaled as a serene smile popped on her face.

Here, there were no ponies to hate her because of her father's past, her sister wasn't pranking anypony near her, none of her dad's amusing but crazy tricks. Instead, she was at peace.

She looked over the water's edge and looked at her reflection. The bright crystal blue water was almost impossibly clear, almost like it was actually some weird portal to another dimension. As she stared, a strong urge emerged, one that she was happy to indulge.

She used her paw to remove her hair band, her black locks flowing downwards. She gently set it on the ground before standing up and slowly walking backwards. She then ran forward and jumped as soon as she hit the water's edge. She did a few twists while airborne before her body made contact into the water, water splashing around her.

The animals paused after hearing the loud splash but quickly returned to what they were doing prior.

While not the deepest pool, it was deep enough that Raven could rest on the bottom and be several feet beneath the surface. With her cheeks puffed full of air, the draconequus used her body to push through the water like butter.

It was no secret that Raven loved to swim. From a young age, the draconequus adored the activity and took a dip whenever possible. It helped her ignore all the negativity in her life, all the stress society gave her, and it just allowed her to be at peace with herself. There were no bullies, no creatures seeing her as scum. Instead, she simply allowed her mind to let her thoughts go and become blank.

It also helped that she was a darn good swimmer, too. Her tail propelled her through the water like a otter and she made twists and turns like one too.

In some sense, Raven was transformed once she was in the water. While on land, she was a bit awkward and slightly clumsy. But in the water, she was so graceful and elegant. She was practically a sea-draconequus.

Eventually, she pushed herself to surface and breached. The adolescent draconequus gasped for air as her tail swished to keep her in place as she sat there for a second. Raven laid down on her back, spreading her wings out as she closed her eyes. She bobbed peacefully on the water, using her serpentine tail to gently push herself forward. As she floated, she started humming to herself.

She cruised for a short while before taking a deep breath and dove back under, her tail and back arching the surface before silently slipping past like a serpent. Her mane flowed behind her as she corkscrewed through the water.

Every now and then, the she-draconequus would blow a bubble from her mouth and pop others that would occasionally try to escape towards the surface, a strange joy filling the teenager up with delight.

Raven also greeted the numerous aquatic life that lived in the pool, everything from grumpy bass to bulky bullfrogs. She even swam with a family of streamlined otters, the young pups playing around her as she preformed somersaults.

After a full hour being underwater, Raven realized she should probably head home soon. The draconequus breached the surface again, gasping for air before brushing her black tresses from her face. She hauled herself out the pool of water and shook her body like a dog. She snapped her claw, causing a red towel to appear above her. The towel then succumbed to gravity and landed on top of her. A goofy grin appeared on her face as she stood up and began to dry herself off.

Once she was finished, she grabbed her hair band and was about to put up her mane when a pair of birds, a blue jay and a cardinal respectively, swooped down and tweeted at her. Like her mother, she could understand what they were saying.

"Oh, really? You're offering to help me with my band?" The draconequus responded to the words of the birds. The birds nodded, causing Raven to smile widely and wordless to hand the blue jay the hair band. The cardinal used its feet and beak to hold up her mane while the blue jay pushed the band in the thick black hair. The cardinal and blue jay fluffed up her mane a little and soon, her mane was back in its standard ponytail. She smiled as the birds flew up to her and landed on her extended claw.

"Thank you, friends." Raven said, nuzzling the birds before letting them fly off. The teenaged draconequus looked as they flew off before she suddenly thought about flying home. Raven was in such a good mood that flying actually seemed a little appealing. She unfurled her mismatched wings and flew off, staying fairly low but moved at a brisk pace.

It wouldn't be the last time this summer that she'd come here for a little swim.

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Author's Note:

Just a quick simple chapter involving Raven swimming, something she likes to do a lot, particularly if it's in a lake, pond or river.

Comments

[Skyshy]

I like this chapter I thought it was really cute, not going to lie for some reason when she first found the lake I thought she found the miracle, I don't know why wasn't that in the ever before she's in the whitetail woods