Practice Makes Perfect {LUNA/ KIVA}

[Sasha]

Bright blue sky shown over head, flawed not by one single cloud as the sun gently rose up into the heavens, warm rays beating down on the lands as the great ball of light attempted to heat up the cool lands. A gentle breeze blew a few grains of sand from their positions resting on the broad beach setting. A lone wolf laid at the edge of the turquoise colored water. Her piercing blue eyes gazed at the lapping waves as she pondered her next move. For months now, her mother had been speaking of going to the mainland, but to do that, they had to swim. The silver wolf couldn't, though. Approaching one year old, she was almost to her full size, and she still couldn't quite grasp the process of swimming. The current was strong, and she was just not a great swimmer. Of course, she should have been. With who her father was, she should have been able to do anything. That is, if he was as grand as she thought he was. Her mother thought highly of him, and he was the Beta of Kairos after all... Then again, it sounded like the young wolf had many half-brothers and half-sisters... So she was really nothing special.

She was beautiful, though, she supposed she had that going for her. Sassy and already showing a flirtatious side, she was sure to bring trouble with the boys. She was gorgeous. Her coat, a pure, shining silver, accented with a blue crescent on her hip and the black tips on her ears. With eyes so piercing blue, she was a looker. So young, but already turning into such a beautiful young female. Yes... Her mother would have to fight the males off for a while before Sasha was anywhere near ready for a mate. Sasha sighed as she slowly stood and took a step closer to the water. The only way to get better was to practice, she supposed. She was hesitant, though, because her mother wasn't around to save her if she started to drown. But it was a risk she had to take. She had to stop depending on her mother so much. Taking a deep breath, the young female pushed herself forward and trotted steadily into the water until she could no longer touch, her legs immediately getting to work as she thrust herself forward and up so that she could make progress and stay afloat. She had to be ready for the trip across to the mainland.

[Kiva]

Fall was coming soon, it was easy to tell. The days were still warm, though they were cooler than they had been in the previous months. But, it was the changes in nature that spoke of the changing seasons. Green leaves were beginning to change into beautiful hues of orange, red, and yellow. Flowers were starting to shrivel up and shrubbery was becoming thinner and less full. Animals could also be seen starting to store food for the coming winter. It was one of the two times of the year that Kiva enjoyed most, spring and fall, and she inhaled deeply, taking in the changing scents.

Things had begun to change for Kiva and her pups and she wasn't sure if it was for the better or not. She had instructed Cato Jr, her only son from her last litter, to begin spending some time on his own to better prepare for the upcoming agoge so she didn't see him as much as she used to and she missed him dearly. Her daughter Sasha was growing into a nice young wolf and was developing a personality similar to that of her mother's. She loved watching her grow and was eager to see what she would be like as she matured.

With thoughts of her daughter on her mind, she set off in search of her. With fall just around the corner, Kiva knew it would soon be time to return to Inamos, despite enjoying the alone time with her family. Yet to do so, Sasha would have to learn how to swim. She was learning but at a slow pace and Kiva knew she would have to be more strict with her teachings. With the first agoge taking place, they needed to hurry and get off Vorosa.

As Kiva rounded the corner and spotted her youngest daughter her eyes lit up lovingly. She was practicing her swimming and Kiva watched her quietly from a distance. She enjoyed watching her but finally, she moved to the shore. "Don't move your legs faster than you have to, it'll make you tired quicker. Move only fast enough to stay above water," her words were spoken lovingly but seriously. Time for games had come to an end. 

[Sasha]

Sasha hadn't been seeing much of her brother lately, and if she was being completely honest, it made her quite sad. She was lonely without him. Sure, she had their mother, but the young wolf also needed someone of her own age to play with. It wasn't fair that he had to go off and spend time with 'his own kind' as her mother called them. Sasha wanted to spend time with them too! She wanted friends. She was so lonely without the pack, and she wondered why her mother would have isolated them so much during the first year of their lives. What was the objective? Sure, it was nice to be alone with just thei family, but Sasha and Cato would be late for everything. They would be like new members of the pack when they got back. None of the other pups would know who they were... Well... Really, none of them would know Sasha. They might know Cato since he's had to prepare for the agoge for the past few months... But Sasha would be something new to the others... Something foreign. Hell, they could possibly even see her as a threat rather than a pack member... Though Sasha was almost positive she'd be no threat to anyone.

Grunting softly, the young female felt herself already getting tired of swimming, and she had only been doing it for a few moments. Flicking her ears, she heard her mother speak, and she turned to look at her, swimming to where she could stand. "It's hard, Momma... I'm never going to learn..." She whimpered, rolling her tongue out of her mouth as she panted softly. It wasn't too hot outside... In fact it was actually a little cool, and the water was definitely cool, but Sasha had exhausted herself with her swimming practice. She hadn't thought that she may be doing it wrong, and practicing wrong only made her go backwards as far as progress. If she was already tired from swimming, there would be no way for her to make it across to the mainland, and then she would be stuck on the little island forever... And that was certainly not something she wanted.

[Kiva]

Kiva could tell Sasha was upset that her brother was no longer around but there was little to nothing she could do about it. She knew what was best for Cato Jr and it was for him to go and practice for the agoge. If she held him back from doing so, he would not succeed nearly as much as the others in his group and that would lead to both him and her getting in trouble which was definitely not what she wanted. She missed him too but she wouldn't let that stop her from giving him the best start in life that she could. That was her job as her mother as she had learned from the past 3 litters she had conceived.

The silver colored female watched as her daughter swam back onto shore so that she could stand. Kiva moved down to the water's edge before responding. "If that is the attitude you have, then no, you won't ever be able to. You have to practice and you have to believe in yourself." She knew the words she spoke may not have been the words her daughter wanted to hear but they were the words she needed to hear. There would be many things in life that would be hard to learn and hard to do and Sasha  wouldn't get anywhere if she kept giving up on herself. Kiva didn't raise her pups to give in, she raised them to be strong and capable, able to do anything they set their mind to.

She moved into the water, deep enough to confortingly swim but still close enough for Sasha to easily watch her. "Watch me, and pay attention to my legs," with that, she pushed herself forward, moving her front legs and then her back legs. Her legs moved swiftly, not too fast but still with enough force to propel her forward. Once she swam out a good bit, she turned around and swam back, keeping her head above the water the whole time. Once back on the shore, she walked out and shook herself off. "Try again," she instructed her daughter, "And believe in yourself this time."