Aliana kicked out her legs, and started to propel herself forward, enjoying the strange sensation of the 'water' around her. It felt warm and soothing, luring her in, farther and deeper. She loved to watch the flickers of lights that bounced around underwater, and the quiet calm of it all. She considered resurfacing so that she could gauge how far she had swam--since it felt as if she was losing track of time under here, but then the thought sort of drifted away from her.<br/><br/>She shook her head, and tried to clear it. Her thoughts felt so muddled, and slow--so unlike her usual self. Even her body seemed to be moving much slower, as if reacting quite belatedly. She was just starting to realize that perhaps this lake wasn't as harmless as it looked, when she felt something grab hold of her ankle and began to pull her down.<br/><br/>Aliana jerked into alertness as the tentacle began to wrap itself firmly around her calf. She struggled against the force that was pulling her down at a pretty alarming speed. She kicked out against it, and tried to use her arms to propel her up towards the surface. However, her exertions came to nothing, and she could feel herself still sinking, pulled along by the tentacle.<br/><br/>She opened her mouth to scream, and a short one escaped her. Then, she realized the futility of it--who was there to hear her anyway? She had to rely completely on herself to get out of this situation.<em>Perhaps this is one of the Cave's tests</em>she thought to herself. This thought comforted her a bit, because she knew she had to beat whatever it was that was waiting for her.<br/><br/>As the tentacle began to creep up her leg, and under her clothing, Aliana panicked again. She swiveled around from side to side, trying to locate the being that controlled the tentacle.