Good Things To An End

Drowning

May reached into her jacket pockets, bringing two small water bottles with her. They were going outside again, but Owen said it was going to be colder today. So, May took one of the jackets that mom bought for her. It was a raincoat with a white sheen, with a hood.

May slipped the hood on, trying it on. "Why did you have me wear a rain jacket? It doesn't seem like it's going to rain too soon."

Owen turned right at the entrance of the school. "Well, you'll see. I mean, you're going to practice water magic, so may as well be dressed for the occasion!"

They passed a grassy field, with a playground next to it. Small children went down slides and climbed on monkey bars.

Owen waved at some of the kids, and they waved back, with wide grins on their faces.

"You're popular, huh?" May chuckled.

Owen reached in his pocket, taking a sip out of a water bottle. Owen's jacket was blue(again), but a darker kind of blue. It had fingerless gloves on it, and black buttoned large pockets. "I guess? I always found younger children nice. Wondering what they would be when they grew up."

"You would be a good dad, huh?"

Owen got flustered again, just like when someone complimented him. "N-no! Being a dad is such a big responsibility, I don't think I could handle it, even when I grow up!"

May ruffled Owen's hair. "You really think too little about yourself, don't you? Doesn't hurt once in a while to praise yourself. Anyway, where are you taking me? This isn't the path to the flower garden."

Owen put his hands in his pockets. "Well, a flower garden isn't very good for practicing water magic. You need a good supply of water, don't you?"

"That's what I've been wondering. What's wrong with being dehydrated? It won't harm me if I just rehydrate quickly."

"It's not just about being dehydrated." Owen clarified. "The thing is, taking out the moisture from your arm doesn't dehydrate your entire body. Rather, the water you visualize condensing in one point is where the water is taken away from."

"So?"

"So your blood pressure there will drop quickly and blood probably won't travel to your arm, meaning that your arm won't be able to move."

May frowned. "Oh. I didn't know about that."

"Well, on the bright side, if you put your arm in water, your body uses Gaia energy by reflex to make it so that all the water goes into your blood through osmosis. So you just have to put your arm in water to fix yourself up. The main problem is if your blood pressure is so low that the blood pressure shoots up at such a drastic change that your body can't handle it."

May took a sip out of her water bottle, realizing how precious this was to her. "Well, that sounds fun. So people just balance out water and sand, right?"

Owen nodded. "Yeah. It just takes double the energy to use water if you use it that way. So, learning sand and water is key. Don't worry, what we're learning right now isn't too straining onto your stamina, so we don't have to go to the gym yet."

They reached the end of the playground field, which was fenced off because it led to a steep slope. Owen looked left and right, making sure nobody was watching. Then, he pulled May over and slid down the slope.

"Wait a second!" May panicked. "At this speed, we're gonna hit a tree and break our legs!"

Owen sighed. "Do you not trust me still? I found a path that was clear, and it leads to where we're going. Just keep holding my hand and I'll guide you there."