<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #4080FF">"Yeah, well, y'know..."</span> She replied, but didn't say what he knew. What <span style="font-style: italic">she</span> knew was that as soon as the general excitement of visiting somewhere new had settled down, she had begun to feel jittery, the way she always did when it was that time of the week. She was sure he had picked up on that by now, since he had noticed so many other little things she did. Fiddling with her hair when she was nervous, that she liked to sleep in when she could, having a tendency to sit on everything besides chairs.<br/><br/>The lake was breathtaking. Alannah had to stop her wild trek through the carefully tended fields. She had intended to just walk right into the lake as soon as they reached it, but no way could she do that now. It was so clear and quiet out here. She took a deep breath through her nose and looked at the still water for a moment, unsmiling.<br/><br/><span style="color: #4080FF">"Right, then. Good thing ya seen me naked before, or this would be awkward."</span> Leaving behind a trail of discarded clothes, she walked into the water. The surprising cold made her curse and plunge down under as soon as she could. She opened her eyes and took a deep breath.<br/><br/>She had been expecting the water to be accepted in her lungs and gills, but that was not what she experienced. Her legs had transformed into a tail, alright, but she was not breathing easily. She tried coughing it up and failed. Black dots were swimming before her eyes. <span style="font-style: italic"><span style="color: #4080FF">Get up, get up, get up, get to the light, c'mon, get up, up...</span></span> She beat her tail furiously, gasping for air when she broke through the surface and clumsily using her arms to paddle towards a rock while using her tail to keep somewhat above water. She clung to the cliff, surprised to find how exhausted she was.<br/><br/>With another watery cough, she looked towards Dimitri and managed a weak thumbs-up. <span style="color: #4080FF">"Could be bettah,"</span> she cried across the lake. <span style="color: #4080FF">"But I'll be fine."</span></div>