DOWN TO THE RIVER → [open]

[JOHN WILLIAMS]

we rattle this town, we rattle this scene, oh, anna sun, oh, anna sun

"You're a such a chicken;" John called with a laugh, one hand on his hip as he stared up at his daemon. He only stood calf deep in the water yet the lion still refused to join him. Or rather, continued to refuse to join him. Aslan had refused to go swimming outright when they had arrived at the lake, so John had decided to use him as a coat hanger, draping his shirt over the lion's head and trying to stick his shoes on the lion's ears before he climbed down to the water. Aslan had not been all that amused by his antics and now did appear amused by his teasing. "Aren't lions supposed to be able to swim? Aren't you supposed to be brave?" Needling his daemon gave him great pleasure so he continued to bother the watching beast until he responded to the jibes at long last.

"I merely do not see the point in joining in your tomfoolery, John;" Aslan said, his mental voice calmly projected into his partner's mind. With a roll of his eyes and a wide, goofy smile plastered on his face, John sent a wave of water arcing towards his companion and then promptly allowed himself to fall backwards into the lake. He emerged a moment later, pushing his brown hair back out of his face, gasping for breath, and tugging his swim trunks back up his hips. The cool water felt wonderful. It was early August and it was hot. It was said heat that had driven John from his dorm room. There was also the fact that he was bored, but he had told Aslan that it was because of the heat. Done watching his partner splash about in the water for the time being, the lion lay down on the rocks above the beach and closed his eyes to bask in the sun. "Tell me when you're done, John." The teen blew a raspberry at his daemon.

[ZOEY CAMPBELL]

oh brother are you gonna leave me wastin' away on the streets of philadelphia

"Gwyn....really?" Zoey groaned quietly as she opened the door to the dorm with a bit of difficulty, the crunch of ice sounding upon her ears as she entered the room. Everything was covered in ice - the bed, her dresser, even some of her papers from last year's school work, as well as a few registration papers for the upcoming year. "Why did you cover the dorm in ice again? You do realize I'm not going to be able to sleep in my bed tonight because of the water?" She said, narrowing her eyes as she dropped her bag, arms crossing across her chest.

The leopard raised his head, blinking his ice colored eyes as he looked at her, his tail swishing back and forth as his lips pulled upwards, almost as if he were smirking at her. "Well, what do you expect me to say? You were in the bathroom long enough for me to do this. It's just to hot." He responded to her. Zoey narrowed her eyes slightly, shaking her head before she sighed quietly. "I swear....alright, come on. We'll head down to the lake for a bit. But when we get back, you better clean this up." She said to him, narrowing her eyes slightly.

The big cat bobbed his head once in a nod, hoping down from the bed as he plodded over to her, his pads hardly even slipping on the icy floor. Zoey turned, striding to the stairs with the leopard by her side. It took them a matter of minutes to reach the lake, and as Zoey slowed down, sticking her hands into the pockets of her jeans as the flowing fabric of her white tank top flitted about in the wind of the day, her dark locks dancing about as well. She slowly slipped down into the grass, Gwyn laying down behind her as she lay back against his soft pelt, closing her eyes for the moment as her hands found there way to rest behind her head, taking this moment to relax despite the heat of the day.

[JOHN WILLIAMS]

we rattle this town, we rattle this scene, oh, anna sun, oh, anna sun

Aslan turned his head when his ears caught the sound of softly padding feet. It was merely Gwyn, another daemon, and his human partner. "Hello;" the lion called in order to be polite, thoughts easily carried across the distance between them. Down in the water, John continued to splash about the lake, oblivious to his environment until he finally noticed that something had captured his daemon's attention. He looked up and saw the lounging form of Zoey up on the grass. However, it took him significantly longer to place her name than it had for Aslan to remember Gwyn. He knew who she was. Her face was familiar to him, her name simply was not.

"Zoey, right? Hi!" John shouted once his mind finished running through every name in Felid, waving at her in hopes that she would notice him. Being quiet was not something he exactly did well. Since she was a ways down the beach from him, he sloshed his way in her general direction, grinning from ear to ear. "Enjoying the sun?" He could feel Aslan all but rolling his eyes at him in response to his cheerful words. The lion never understood his constant enthusiasm.

[ZOEY CAMPBELL]

oh brother are you gonna leave me wastin' away on the streets of philadelphia

At the sound of the other daemon's voice Gwyn's head popped up. The leopard blinked briefly before he caught sight of the great lion, giving a curt nod in return. "Hello." He responded back. Zoey stirred slightly at the movement, her eyes opening slightly as she propped herself up, glancing around to spot the lion daemon upon the rocks. It only took a few moments for the girl to put two and two together, and it was right then that she heard the voice of the boy. Well, she heard the sloshing of water before that, but still.

The young woman nearly jumped as she heard his voice again, her eyes darting over to the boy as he made his way over towards her. Zoey could feel the leopard behind her tense as well, for she knew he had seen her jump, but soon enough the girl relaxed. She hadn't been expecting anyone else to be out here today, and honestly, she had been hoping that no one was going to be out here. But seeing as how he had already called out to her, she didn't just turn and leave. She realized that would be extremely rude, and she wasn't that sort of person. Slowly, she nodded. "Yeah, it's Zoey....and you're John, right?" She called quietly as she tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. "And yes, I suppose I was. It's been a while since I've just taken the time to rest outside and enjoy it." She responded. "That's cause you're such a book worm." Gwyn said in a amused tone, but he was soon silenced by a quick glance from Zoey.

[JOHN WILLIAMS]

we rattle this town, we rattle this scene, oh, anna sun, oh, anna sun

"How are you?" Aslan did not exactly know Gwyn all that well nor did he remember the snow leopard with any particular fondness from the past year, the pair of them being entirely different in every possible way, but his honor demanded that he make pleasantries since he had noticed Gwyn. Companionable silence was all well and good, but there were times to be silent in the manner of honorable men preparing to go to war and there were times to remember one's manners and say nice things. This was a time for the latter.

"Yep, I'm John and isn't summer great for that sort of thing, though? No school. No work. No nothing;" John said with a satisfied sigh at the end. Yes, life was beautiful, wasn't it? However, that moment of introspection on his inner serenity didn't last long. The sigh was replaced with a new grin, an expression he seemed to have in great supply, and he clambered out of the water. Once on the beach in front of her, he shook himself like a wet dog, tugging on one ear to make sure it was clear of water. "So, want to go swimming? You're invited as well, of course, Mr. Leopard." The idea that she might like to stay on dry land and enjoy some peace and quiet didn't even cross his mind. It was hot, thus you went swimming, preferably with friends or strangers you just met if friends were unavailable. It was a logical progression in his eyes.