Chapter 66: River Afternoon
The first lesson ended around midday.
Liaraen could already float without assistance, already propel herself gently with her arms, and had already swum approximately ten meters in a straight line under Nathan’s supervision. It wasn’t formal technique. But it was functional. And Liaraen wore the smile of someone who had achieved for the first time something she’d considered unattainable for many years.
Nathan handed her a towel that Sella had brought in the bags.
Liaraen wrapped it around her shoulders.
Sella swam in the main part of the river, about twenty meters away, with the speed her mixed divine body apparently allowed effortlessly. Kalen remained in the shade of the big tree, now awake, cutting something with a small knife Nathan hadn’t seen before.
They sat on the flat stones.
Nathan took out the provisions from one of the bags. Bread, aged cheese, some apples, and a small container of what appeared to be a mix of dried fruit with honey. Sella had brought too much food for four people, apparently out of caution.
They ate for a few minutes in silence. Liaraen, with wet hair and the towel over her shoulders, ate slowly, savoring the post-physical-effort sensation. Nathan ate with his usual specific efficiency.
Sella came out of the water when she saw them eating.
She approached the flat stones.
She sat beside Nathan, specifically close, her legs dangling over the edge of the stone. Her sky-blue swimsuit still dripping. Her silver hair, soaked, fell over her shoulders in strands that left small dark spots on the fabric.
"Nathan," Sella said. "Pass me the bread."
"Here you go."
Nathan passed her the bread without taking his eyes off the river.
Sella took it. Bit into it. Chewed slowly.
Then, casually:
"Nathan."
"Yes?"
"Aren’t you going to ask me if swimming like that was hard?"
"No."
"Why not?"
"Because you swim better than I do. Apparently it wasn’t hard for you."
"Correct."
Sella took another bite.
She glanced at Nathan sideways.
"Nathan."
"Yes?"
"You can ask me things."
"Like what?"
"Like what it feels like to float like me. Like how the water feels at this temperature. Like how it compares to other rivers."
"Sella."
"Yes?"
"Have you been to other rivers?"
"Two. The Arren and another smaller one north of Sareth. Not many. But I know them."
"Understood."
Nathan bit into his own bread.
He glanced at Liaraen, who was chewing slowly on the other side, her posture fully restored since Sella had sat so close.
Nathan processed the scene in about two seconds.
*Good.*
*I’m going to handle this without drama.*
He reached for the container of dried fruit with honey. Took it. Turned to Liaraen.
"Sprout."
"Yes?"
"This looks sweet. Want some?"
"Yes."
Nathan handed her the container.
Liaraen took it. Ate a small handful. Chewed slowly.
Sella observed the exchange.
Then, even more casually:
"Nathan."
"Yes?"
"I want some too."
"It’s in the container. Liaraen will pass it to you when she’s done."
"She’ll pass it to me?"
"Yes. She has it."
"Understood."
Liaraen smiled slightly without looking at her. Finished her handful. Passed the container to Sella. Sella took it with her usual broad smile, without a hint of defeat.
"Acceptable," Sella said.
Nathan looked at the river.
*She uses Sprout and I’s word just to annoy Sprout.*
And with the calm of someone who’d navigated that small social situation, he kept eating.
---
About half an hour later, Sella stood up from the flat stone.
She stretched her arms above her head with her usual specific naturalness. The sky-blue swimsuit adjusted slightly against her body with the movement. Nathan kept his gaze specifically on the water.
"Nathan."
"Yes?"
"Formal challenge."
Nathan looked at her.
"Challenge?"
"Yes. Formal. To you. Now."
"Sella."
"Race across the river and back. Double length. Starting and ending on this flat stone. Approximately sixty meters total."
"Sella."
"Yes or no."
"Sella, you have flight, amplified divine strength, and apparently can swim at specifically superhuman speeds. I have ongoing recovery, a Class that probably doesn’t work well in water, and two days of rest pending."
"Yes or no, Nathan."
Nathan looked at her for a full moment.
Then at Liaraen.
He turned back to Sella.
"Yes."
"Excellent."
"With the condition that I can use Soul Sense."
"For what?"
"To orient myself in the water without opening my eyes. I open them when I lift my head to breathe, yes, but I prefer to keep them closed the rest of the time. Soul Sense confirms where the opposite bank is and where you are."
Sella laughed.
"Nathan."
"Yes?"
"You’re rationalizing the advantage."
"I’m calibrating the disadvantage."
"Acceptable. With Soul Sense."
"Acceptable."
They both stood at the edge of the flat stone.
Kalen, from the shade of the big tree, raised his voice for the first time since midday.
"I’ll count," Kalen said.
"Good," Sella replied.
"One."
Nathan bent his legs.
"Two."
Sella prepared herself.
"Three."
They both dove into the water.
---
Sella touched the opposite bank first.
With approximately four seconds advantage.
She turned underwater with the efficiency of a mixed divine body. Began swimming back. Nathan, still with his feet against the opposite bank, turned as well. Began swimming back.
Sella touched the flat stone first.
With approximately three seconds advantage.
She emerged from the water with the broad smile of someone who’d just won exactly as she knew she would. Nathan emerged a few seconds later, his breathing specifically labored.
"I won," Sella said.
"Apparently."
"With a three-second difference."
"I almost had you."
"Nathan."
"Yes?"
"You swim fast for a twenty-two-year-old human with a left hand still functioning at eighty percent."
"I appreciate the observation."
"It’s not a compliment. It’s a technical observation."
"Understood."
Sella leaned against the flat stone. Ran a hand through her hair to squeeze out the water. Looked at Nathan sideways.
"Nathan."
"Yes?"
"Again."
"Another race?"
"Yes."
"Sella."
"What?"
"I just lost by three seconds."
"You can improve."
"Sella."
"Nathan."
Liaraen, from the flat stone, spoke with her usual specifically careful voice.
"Sella."
"Yes, Liaraen?"
"I’ll take the second race. Against you."
Sella looked at her.
She laughed her crystal-clear laugh.
"Liaraen! You just learned to float!"
"Yes. But I accept the disadvantage. I’ll give you a full lap advantage. And I still challenge you."
Sella looked at her for a full moment.
Then, her voice softer:
"Acceptable. As you wish. Let’s go."
She turned to Nathan.
"Rest, Nathan. It’s between Liaraen and me now—and I hope you cheer me on."
Nathan nodded.
He came out of the water.
Sat beside Kalen under the big tree.
And watched as the sixteen-year-old aristocratic elf and the eighteen-year-old divine hybrid prepared in the water for a race with specifically absurd rules that neither had accepted seriously but both would execute with complete seriousness.
---
Kalen handed Nathan a glass of fresh water.
Nathan accepted it with a grateful gesture. Drank. Kalen settled beside him with his usual calm.
"Nathan."
"Yes?"
"The situation with my sister."
"Yes?"
"I appreciate how you handled it."
"I didn’t do anything specifically."
"You did. You redirected attention toward Liaraen three times without humiliating Sella. That’s a technique that requires practice."
Silence for a few seconds.
Nathan watched the race begin. Kalen counted from the shore with a clear voice. Sella swam with her strength deliberately contained to let Liaraen maintain her lap advantage. Liaraen swam with the awkwardness of a beginner who’d learned to float two hours ago.
Nathan smiled watching the two of them move through the water.
"Kalen."
"Yes?"
"I’m going to ask you a technical question."
"Go ahead."
"You’re divine-mortal hybrids. Children of a god and an elf. Apparently you’ve already reached eighteen."
"Correct."
"Elves reach the major transition at eighteen, according to Liaraen. Adult change all at once. Development paused until that age."
"Correct."
"Did you have that transition?"
Kalen inclined his head.
"No."
"No?"
"Not specifically. We grew at a human pace."
"Understood."
"And apparently we’re going to stop growing from this year onward. Not by our own choice. By design."
Nathan processed that for a moment.
*Ah.*
"Semi-immortals."
"Semi-immortals, yes. Vera calls it that. Our biological father’s divine essence took full control of the mixed nature. It eliminated the functional elven lineage. We grow like humans until eighteen. Then we don’t age naturally. We can die, but only by being killed."
"Something harsh, but I understand."
"It’s not a secret. Vera explained it to us when we were about fourteen. She told us that from eighteen onward we’d stop seeing normal human physical changes, and we had to decide how we were going to live from that reality."
"How did Sella process it?"
"Sella decided to live to the fullest without holding back. Her logic is that if she’s going to potentially exist for thousands of years and can’t age, the only thing that can end her existence is murder. And since murder is always possible, she’d rather not waste time holding back for safety."
"Understandable."
"It’s functional logic. But not all observers interpret it the same way."
"I interpret it functionally."
"Correct. And that’s why she accepts you with the energy she shows."
Nathan looked at Sella, who at that moment was swimming in circles around Liaraen to specifically let her maintain her lead.
Kalen continued.
"I processed it differently. I have the ability to see possible paths. I use that ability to choose carefully. Sella uses hers not to choose at all. They’re both valid approaches. We’re twins, but we’re different people."
"Understood."
Silence.
Nathan drank more water.
Then, in a specifically different tone:
"Kalen."
"Yes?"
"Last night you mentioned that you see the possible paths of the future."
"Yes."
"Do you see mine?"
Kalen inclined his head. His white eyes pointed at Nathan without seeing him.
"Yes."
"What do you see?"
"Nathan."
"Go ahead."
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