Sohalia
The water was cold, but not unbearably so. It actually felt quite nice to Sohalia, whose nerves and embarrassment had left more than her cheeks burning. Unfortunately, all she had to do while she waited for Tal to lower himself into the water was watch him, and watching him kept her cheeks flushed with heat. Focus, Sohalia told herself sternly. He's your friend.The lesson itself was at a standstill until Tal - somewhat unwillingly - bent his knees and let the water rise to his neck. With him all the way in the water, it was easier for Sohalia to keep her mind on the lesson, and she felt a wave of relief. "You're doing great," she told him encouragingly. "Just remember that you can still touch the bottom. If you get nervous at all, just stand up."
When Tal tried to copy what Sohalia had done, she had to give him credit for trying. Unfortunately, he was far too tense, and immediately began to sink. She'd been planning to work slowly toward this rather than throwing him in the deep end, and she'd also been planning to ask permission before she touched him. As it was, rather than let him sink and make his fears worse, the young woman reached out almost instinctively to place her hands on his back.
With one hand gently between his shoulder blades and the other more firmly on his lower back to lift his hips higher in the water, Sohalia swallowed hard at the skin-on-skin contact. "You're going to have to relax," she told him gently. She could feel the tension in his body, and floating was never going to work that way! He'd have to get more comfortable moving in the water before he could learn to float at all, let alone swim. "Take a few deep breaths. I promise I won't let you go under."
it's just a spark, but it's enough to keep me going
