Endlessly indebted to Triell for his patience and aide, Kinis couldn't help but feel a fresh wave of joy that they had been reunited. It had been a long, long time, and, no doubt, they had both grown into better wolves since they were children. Though they were technically far from adulthood, Kinis couldn't help but see a budding grown-up in Triell. He felt proud and jealous at the same time, but right now, he was just thankful.

His brother's soft whines effectively conveyed Triell's genuine and undeniable concern. Kinis would only grow to appreciate that more as he aged, for his ceaseless self-consciousness would have pricked him harder had he believed his rescuer to be mocking him at all. As it stood, Triell was exactly what he had needed. With only a little effort, Kinis hauled himself onto his feet. "I bet you didn't need someone to pull your butt out, though," Kinis grumbled, though he soon smiled and affectionately bumped noses with his brother. Shaking some of the water from his dripping pelt, he took a few deep, calming breaths and only glanced back at the water once. He was nervous, but didn't want to have his fear control him. Triell, after all, had more than proven his capabilities; Kinis had no real reason to be afraid any more.

"How'd you say to do it, again?"

Somehow, Kinis couldn't quite believe that Triell had struggled to learn; in his mind, he envisaged his brother overcoming all hurdles with little trouble. Was he just hard on himself? Probably, but seeing Triell behave slightly awkwardly did, at least, make Kinis realise that perhaps he should ease up on the self-criticism. It was quite possible that everybody struggled... he wasn't that unusual.

Still, as Triell had admitted, there had been nobody to pull him out. So, by default, his worst attempts had been more successful than Kinis'. Ah, it felt cruelly relieving to put things in perspective like that.

The situation was brought to happier terms as Triell explained swimming again. Now with a clear head, and nothing to distract him, Kinis vowed to listen carefully and take on board the advice... but when his brother started to walk as if he had thorns in his paws, his seriousness crumbled into thinly contained giggles. "Oh, right, I get it," he smirked, copying Triell's bizarre right-left motion but with great exaggeration, "walk like there's a stick up your butt. Why didn't I see that from the beginning? It makes so much sense." Having stopped alongside Triell, Kinis laughed as he playfully shoved his shoulder into his brother's.

Assuming that it actually worked, however, he never moved to truly question it. If walking like a fool was good practise for swimming, then he would look like an idiot for several days to come. "How'd you figure that out, then? Did Indru teach you, or this your own method?" Walking 'Triell-style' into the very shallow areas of the pool, he 'practised' as he splashed about in the water. It was really a lot less scary when it was only touching your paws.

Didn't think about it, huh? Through all the overwhelming panic he had been experiencing, Kinis could remember Triell telling him to stop trying so hard, stop overthinking it. Just act. This wasn't something that necessarily required brain over brawn, or even the other way around; it was a matter of instincts, of knowing how to move without worry or concern.

Whilst Kinis may have made good-natured fun of Triell's technique, he fully appreciated that it was meant for the water, not for land. The laughter was just one way of calming himself down.

Coming to a stop, Kinis relaxed, letting his body stand naturally and not in the stiff, awkward manner that the 'special walking' required. His tongue falling from his mouth as he panted softly, his eyes roamed the deceptively calm surface of the water, and he wondered if he had the courage to try again. He did feel safer, and he trusted Triell implicitly. Besides, he was a better prepared this time.

Turning to his brother, Kinis paused, taking a moment to appreciate how much Triell was doing for him without any need to ask it of him. Again, he lamented their relatively sparse time together; he may not have felt so indebted if they had spent a lifetime helping and strengthening each other. Perhaps returning to Swift River was a good idea...? No, no, that was an impulsive thought and he had to give himself more time. "Tri..." he called, the nervousness creeping into his voice despite active efforts to prevent it, "do you think I should give it another go, or wait a bit? One near-death experience a day is enough for me, but you're the expert."

All he had needed was to hear Triell's support. Not quite bearing the courage to make his own decision, Kinis was more than happy to go along with his brother's recommendation. If a second try was on the cards, then so be it.

Enormously comforted as Triell came to stand beside him, Kinis smiled contentedly and gave his sibling's nose a quick lick. Tail wagging slowly behind him - he was excited, for now, now he felt like he could do it - he began to step towards the centre of the pool, nerves tingling as the water quickly reached higher and higher up his legs. To ease any trepidation, he took a few seconds to practise the 'swimming walk', which cheered him up and put him in good spirits.

Unlike last time, he didn't feel the need to just plunge in. This time, he took the depth as it came, until, suddenly, his front paws could no longer touch the pebbly ground whilst not straining his neck. Taking a few deep breaths, he retreated just one step, now at the boundary between safety and the unknown.

Could he do it? Was he capable?

Triell's mere presence answered 'yes' and 'yes'.

The water lapped gently at his chest, his fur gently flowing this way and that with the ripples caused by the waterfall, and he thought it wasn't so bad. Resolving himself, ears high and eyes hard with determination, he pushed his body forwards, not reaching for the pool's bottom but letting his front legs remain suspended in the water, moving endlessly, as if he was running in slow motion. It was a cheat, for his hind legs were still planted on the ground, but it did absolute wonders for his confidence; realising that Triell's strange walk actually made a lot of sense, now that he thought about it, Kinis worked to keep his head above water without panicking. Repeating key pieces of his brother's advice like they were a mantra - don't think; smooth, not stiff; stop trying too hard - actually helped to take his mind distracted from what his legs were actually doing, and, as such, instinct was finally allowed to take over without his life needing to be in peril. It was only a few moments after he had been keeping his shoulder afloat that he felt an urge to move forwards, and carefully 'stepped' forwards with his hind legs, leaving the safety of solid ground for the world of water.

Small thrills of panic and concern ran up and down his spine as the recent memories flashed in his mind, but Kinis fought very hard to ignore them. He refused to give in again. It was not a simple matter to get his shoulders and hips in sync, but it helped that his front legs already had a rhythm. Once more, he recognised the merits of Triell's walk - you move one side of your body and then the other - and though it was far from confident or skilful, Kinis suddenly realised he was really treading water with minimal fear. Little gasps of instinctual worry were unable to be helped, but there was significant improvement. He didn't really know how to turn around or move forward with any great speed, and his eyes kept closing for fear of being splashed, but his ears swivelled about to try and locate his brother. He partly wanted the moral support, but also Triell's feedback; he was being Mr Miyagi to Kinis' Daniel, after all.

Truths poured again and again from Triell's mouth, and Kinis found himself again realising just how well his brother knew this art. It did feel as if it held him there, and as he slowly relaxed, his movements becoming more steady, he wondered at how he had slipped under at all. With calm, controlled actions such as this, it was actually harder to sink than it was to float. The comment about dead wolves flared up some worry in the pit of his stomach, but it soon subsided as he realised the dry humour intended behind it. Dead weight, ha. Very much determined not to become dead weight, Kinis nevertheless appreciated the comment, and consciously calmed his actions even more. How did it make sense for swimming to get easier the less thought you put into it? It faintly boggled him.

After a moment of consideration, Kinis gave a sharp nod at Triell's suggestion. He still wasn't entirely sure how to move forwards - it was just plenty to be able to tread water here, thank you very much - but, since he had already succeeded so much, he figured that he had nothing to lose. He wasn't going to become dead weight, so there was nothing to fear.

With a few uncertain, jerky movements, he tried to push himself forwards in the water, and succeeded to a point. The careful equilibrium that he had created was momentarily broken, and he suddenly remembered why it was so easy to sink, but then it became like riding a bicycle; he evened out and it abruptly became difficult to stop, but at least his movements were steady again. He wasn't going to win any medals, but at least he was moving, and it took comparatively little effort to be able to direct himself.

Face full of concentration - though he was trying hard not to concentrate too much, oh dilemma! - he began to paddle slowly around the lake, following its natural curve.