Head under water, and they tell me to breathe easy

[Seniade Hawthorne]

Seniade tore outside into the fresh, warm summer sunshine, stretching her legs out as far as she could, her small frame darting quickly towards the lake as she dropped her bag and shoes at the foot of a tree. She looked around carefully before sliding her tank top off over her head and pulling her jeans down, hopping to take her feet out of them, clumsily. She was in a basic black one piece and pulled her waist length red hair back in a quick braid down her back.

Sen took a running start and then jumped into the water exuberently, making a big splash as possible on purpose. She loved being in the water; it felt like a soft embrace to her and soothed frazzled nerves. Seniade floated, tummy up for awhile, looking at the blue sky with some white wispy clouds and let the gentle rhythm of the water rock her into a half sleep.

[Phoenix Aster]

It was a while before she would have felt anything. Eventually, though, as she drifted closer to the shore, a grey wolf sniffed at her head curiously as it made its way along the shore. Like any canine, it had just been sniffing out the trail of something in the woods, which had led it to another trail, which had led it farther from the woods, until he was just following his nose along the ground, until he smelled the girl floating in the lake, and gave her head a little sniff. Hmmm... strawberries?

[Seniade Hawthorne]

Seniade had her eyes closed and a small smile on her face as she floated. She didn't realize she was close to the bank and thought she heard something ... inhaling, short little sniffs. Then she felt something touch her head, barely, very softly. Opening her eyes very slowly in her relaxed state, Sen looked up at a wolf, curiously sniffing her hair. She looked at it for a moment, wondering if it could swim and if so, how fast it could dog paddle compared to her.

"Um, good wolf, nice wolf.." She breathed as she moved very slowly, reaching her arm to touch the side of the bank and prepare to give herself a hard push off.

[Phoenix Aster]

Instead of really doing anything, the wolf just sat down on its haunches, cocking its head to the side as it regarded her. Then, in what couldn't at all be mistaken for a hostile gesture, it just lay down, its head resting on its paws as it watched her out of idle curiousity.

Inwardly, Phoenix was chuckling, hoping that he wasn't scaring the poor girl too much.

[Flyte Vance]

Flyte wandered along the banks of the Lake. It was soo hot today and she just couldn't wait to find Sen and go for a swim. she had been super psyched when she had been invited, it felt like slowly and surely she was fitting in.

Flyte paused when she saw the dog hanging around Seniade. She let her self centre and sent out a curious probe testing Sen's energy.

She doesn't seem comfortable but not really scared either, Flyte thought.

The empath approached the duo, stopping a short distance back and dropping her bag to the ground. Silently she slipped out of her shorts, adjusting her hair and straightening her two-piece suit. It was a jungle print and she loved how she felt in it - alive.

'Hey Sen..' she half whisper shouted trying to not to intrude too much.

She knew from home that animals aren't the dumb beings most people assume them to be, also in Africa a lot of her friends among the tribes had been shifters and though she had yet to encounter them here she figured that they had to be around somewhere.

[Seniade Hawthorne]

Seniade's grip on the bank relaxed as the wolf looked at her with it's head tilted and then laid down and stuck his head in between his paws. She took a deep breath and let it out, relaxing carefully and then pet the wolf on the head timidly a little. "Okay, obviously you're not going to hurt me, so you must be here to enjoy the summer day too." She murmured to the wolf. "You know, going around sniffing people while they are sleeping is kinda rude." She said more to herself than to the wolf. "But I guess since you're nice, I'll let it slide."

Seniade turned around in the water as she heard a soft Hey, Sen and saw her new friend approaching and waved her over. "Hey Flyte! About time you got here, I've been napping for ages. Great suit." She directed towards the jungle print clad girl. "What do you think? Room for one more to join the party?" Seniade nodded her head at the wolf, lazing on the bank.

[Phoenix Aster]

And with that, the wolf began to change, shifting quickly until it was Phoenix laying on the ground, head on his hands, watching them swim. He rolled onto his back, looking up at the sky. "What can I say, I like parties," he said tiredly.

[Flyte Vance]

Flyte watched the wolf change into the shape of a boy she had seen around school.

'Don't we all love parties? Dancing is one of my fav things in the world..and theres no better place for that then at a party..' Grinning Flyte plunged her head under the water and emerged soon after.

She reached out and with a lazy hand flicked water at the boy and then at Sen.

'You're Phoenix right?'

[Phoenix Aster]

Phoenix craned his neck back so that he could see her upside-down. Then, regardless of how strange it looked from this angle, he nodded. "And you're... Flyte? I have Charms and Potions with you, right?"

[Flyte Vance]

She nodded with a smile.

'Thats me... glad to see I wasn't as invisible as I felt... ' Flyte sank low into the water. 'People just never feel right, well the ones around here anyways.. Apart from Sen .. and you.. .' she laughed at her own slip.

She splashed the lazily floating Sen and turned to Phoenix.

'Are you coming in or not?' she laughed

[Phoenix Aster]

Phoenix smiled. "Of course you weren't. But what do you mean... 'feel' right?" He considered the water for a moment, then, shrugging, stood and began stripping out of his robes, down to his shorts. It was a hot day... some swimming might do him some good. He seemed somewhat self-conscious as he stepped into the lake, although there didn't seem to be any reason for him to feel that way.

[Flyte Vance]

Flyte sank under the water as she felt Phoenix's discomfort as he disrobed. She gave him time to wade in then re-emerged.

'I am an empath. Its not that common in pure-bloods because of the frequency magic is at.. or something like that...' Flyte blushed, 'my father has this whole theory.. but yeah.. when people aren't being guarded their emotions leak out everywhere. '

Flyte looked over at him and Sen.

'Being so full of people this place is swamping me under, you see I don't get the thoughts.. just the 'feeling'... pumped up adrenalin, heart racing, blushing, guilt... and if I am not being careful I can echo that emotion myself...'

She trailed away...

[Phoenix Aster]

But at this, Phoenix looked sincerely amused. "And I'm one of the ones who doesn't feel wrong?" he asked, quirking an eyebrow. "That's... well, I wouldn't have expected that," he said, chuckling, as he swam back into the waters where he didn't have to crouch to stay submerged.

[Seniade Hawthorne]

Sen was slightly surprised when the wolf shifted into a dark haired young man, and furrowed her brow in thought. "I remember you from defense against the Dark Arts. I didn't know you were an Animagus." She felt rather silly and embarrassed after petting the wolf when it turned out to be a human.

She stayed quiet and floated while Phoenix and Flyte chatted a little; Sen heard Flyte say she was an empath and started, splashing a little as she rose up from her stretched out position on the water.Bugger. People who can be inside your head. She treaded water as she tried to regain her composure and watched Phoenix strip down in wade into the water.

As Flyte explained she didn't get thoughts just feelings, Sen sighed silently to herself. So not my thoughts, my emotions are what I have to keep a handle on. Easier said that done. Deep in thought, she drug her hand through the water, watching the ripples made by her fingers idly.

[Flyte Vance]

Flyte noticed some alarm on Sen's face at the mention of her being an Empath.

'I can block most of the time, I don't like being subject to other peoples emotions and it feels like a violation of privacy sometimes.. so I just try not too.' Flyte treaded water for a moment, not wanting to lose the closest thing to friends she had made so far. 'There's little tricks that people can do too, build a little wall inside their head kinda that stops leaking...'

Flyte gestured vaguely. The two watching her were so paying so much attention she was feeling a little like a freak. Imagine - the freak in the school for Wizards, witches and otherwise..

Flyte smiled evily and wiggled her fingers in the air.

'If I TRY to feel you, lay my hands on your arm, deliberatly seeking out what you are thinking... well then you are Screwed!'

She dived back under the water chasing after the other two.