Rising from the Ashes

Chapter 21

The art class had gone well and went too quickly. It had started with Charlotte's disappointment because no they do not choose what they paint and it was not portraits they were doing. Elenora had told Charlotte that it would do her some good to challenge herself. She had merely responded that it wasn't as if Elenora was challenging herself. Landscapes are Elenora's area of expertise. They were painting a lake so Elenora added a dock, a boat, and a person to prove a point. Now the person doesn't look near as good as the rest does but she doesn't look terrible either.

All in all Charlotte seemed quite happy and she had indeed learned something. She also ate all of the food they had there. "Where are we going?" Charlotte asks for about the millionth time "And when are we shifting?"

"We will get there. I promise. For now there's this lovely thing called nature surrounding us. It would do you some good to enjoy it."

Right at that moment a bird chose to fly right above Elenora and poop. Thankfully it only landed on her shoe. "Ah the wonders of nature," Charlotte laughs

"Tell me about it kid. These are Cadence's shoes and it will be wonderful to see her face when she sees them." With that Elenora stops right beside the beautiful clearing. The Bluemoon pack is filled to the brim with several gorgeous places. This clearing is one of them. It's a small pond surrounded by trees. The water is so clean it is practically see through and it's fairly deep which makes for a good swim. As directed Mia left some swim suits on a rock.

"Isn't it a bit cold for swimming?" Charlotte mutters though she still looks fairly excited. "It's only just spring."

Fire engulfs Elenora's hands "Perhaps with anybody else it might be." With that Elenora sticks her hand in the water. Among boiling somebody alive from the inside Elenora can also warm up water. This took some practicing. At first all Elenora could do was boil the water instead of just warming it up. Mia was quite happy when she got the hang of it.

"Alright I'm jealous." Charlotte grumbles before changing into her swimsuit. Mia had bought her a nice one piece. Elenora picks up her own and eyes it.

"Where is the rest of it?"

"It's a bikini mom. That's all there is."

"I would have saved some money if I just wore my under garments."

Charlotte only laughs before diving into the pond. "It feels like a hot tub. I'm swimming in a fancy pond hot tub." Then she dives under the water again.

They stayed in the pond for hours. Long pass the time their fingers and toes started to wrinkle. Occasionally Elenora would have to heat the water up again. They stayed so long they lost track of time. Elenora told Charlotte hours ago that they would have to get out soon if she wanted to shift. Apparently swimming trumps shifting because they didn't get out until they resembled raisins. Apparently it had been a long time since Charlotte got to swim. They didn't have places in the Stonebridge pack. Not like this. You had to pay to go places and Charlotte never wanted to ask Jackson for anything. She didn't want to bother her.

"Remember you promised we could come back."

"I promised you we would go swimming again but not here." Elenora tells her as they walk towards the cabin. It's probably past six o'clock. Hopefully Nakoa will understand.

"Why not here? Here was perfect."

"I mean if you don't want to see the huge waterfall I guess that's fine. I thought you might-"

"Waterfall? There's a waterfall? Tell me we are never moving away from this pack!" Not too long ago Elenora might have told her that with absolute certainty. The Bluemoon pack is a beautiful place to go. It is filled to the brim with places that feel almost magical. Elenora suspects that somewhere near, if not inside of the pack is a door to the fairy realm. They are extremely hard to find but it would make since with some of the creatures Elenora has seen just walking through this forest. It would explain the feel of the place too.