Kaimana watched as Comet went back in and demonstrated that they could learn phenomenally fast! "Wow!" Kaimana couldn't help but marvel. "You're a natural!" She smiled. Comet's next idea sounded a little daunting, a rather overconfident leap from one step to the next. Kaimana wasn't sure how well that might so over. "Ah, I wouldn't try that yet, even if you are a fast learning swimmer. You've only just begun! Swimming for a little while is easy once you've got the hang of it. What really requires practice and training is your endurance. Swimming from here to that island, or to any island in these waters, means you need to be able to last a while." It would be especially dangerous for a child like Comet, who looked nowhere near fully grown yet.

"How about we try some smaller distances? Here, I'll go out passed you into the water, and you can swim to me." Kaimana would glide back into the lake and begin to do just that.

@Comet

Comet

Arctic Wolf

Comet beamed at the jaguar's praise. She listened to her opinion on swimming to the islands and agreed. Endurance required practice to build up, and this was only her first time swimming anyway. "Okay!" she took Kaimana's suggestion and watched her swim far out into the lake. It looked very far actually, and Comet wasn't sure if she would make it. She took a deep breath and pushed off into the water.
Her even strokes took her far, and before she knew it, she had actually passed the jaguar. "Yay!" Comet didn't even know she had so much endurance in her. It must be from all that hunting she did in Eridanus. She swam back to Kaimana and floated in the water, waiting for her next directions.

@Kaimana

Kaimana began to chuckle a little as the child came up and passed her! Incredible! Kaimana felt an even greater swell of pride within. She hadn't been teaching this student for very long, or any student for that matter, but she was already finding it a very rewarding experience. "Excellent! Well done Comet! Let's go back to shore and take a breath, then I'll swim out again." Kaimana didn't want Comet to tire out too fast. Often in the water it was hard to notice how tired you were getting. She would swim out another distance once they'd rested, if Comet agreed to do so. The jaguar wanted to see the point in which the student would begin to have difficulty.

Once Kaimana made it back to shore, she shake out her pelt, take a few deep breaths, and swim back out. She swam as far as she dared to go, as far as she would expect the young one to be able to swim without being far too tired to reach.

Comet

Arctic Wolf

She could feel the jaguar was very happy with her progress. Comet followed Kaimana back to the shore, and rested for a bit. She shook out her fur, and let her tongue loll out as she panted heavily. Swimming was not super easy. When they finished resting, she waited for Kaimana to finish swimming and mark the end position before heading out once more. She was more tired this time, and to add on to that, the jaguar had swum even further than before.
This time she had only just barely reached her before she was exhausted and ready to go back. Her endurance really needed work. But she was ready to keep on practicing, swimming was an essential skill.

@Kaimana

Kaimana could see very plainly that the child wasn't ready for the distance yet. That was alright! "Let's go back to shore Comet! You can rest for as long as you need to. I think I gave you one easy test and one hard one, so I'll give you a medium one when you're ready!" Her head had nearly dipped under in the midst of her saying that.

She swam back to shore. Even Kaimana was getting a little tired now. Teaching was hard work! But it was fun. The idea of doing this kind of thing with the owner of the stone slowly regrowing in what was essentially 'her den' for the moment made her feel a special kind of bliss. She hoped they would enjoy this too, whoever they turned out to be.

This time, Kaimana took a longer rest. The moment she felt ready, she was back out in the water. It was important not to rest for too long when exercising! She would actively try choosing a distance this time, one that she hoped was a midpoint between her first and second distances. Unfortunately for Kaimana, her estimation would be off, and she'd end up at a medium-easy level of distance.

@Comet

Comet

Arctic Wolf

Comet gave a small nod, focused on staying above the water. She followed Kaimana back to shore where they took a break. The more she swam, the more tired she became. So she was relieved when the jaguar announced that this time she was going to swim a medium distance.
She watched Kaimana swim out to in between the two previous distances, but she must've underestimated, because it was closer than the midpoint should have been. Well, no problem, because Comet was getting really tired anyway. She struck out after the jaguar, but her legs were too tired, and she swam back to shore right away. "I'm too tired I need a break."

@Kaimana

Based on Comet's reaction to her next test, it would appear as though endurance really was a problem for the child. Kaimana didn't blame them, absolutely not. She would've struggled too had she been that young. Comet was doing amazingly well for a first time swimmer actually! She hoped Comet was proud.

"Let's take a break then!"

They'd both swim back to shore, and this time, Kaimana would allow far more time for relaxation. Maybe even conversation, to help pass the time. "So, Comet, you've been doing really well! Endurance takes much time to learn, and this is your first time swimming! You should be very happy with your progress. I can't help but wonder, what brought you here looking for swimming lessons?"

@Comet

Comet

Arctic Wolf

Comet was relieved when Kaimana announced they would be takinga break. Her sore legs really needed it. She lounged across the sand, allowing the small waves of the lake to wash against her paws. She listened to the jaguar, it felt good that someone else other than her also thought that she was doing well in swimming, she could've been doing horrible for all she knew. "Well, I came here at first just to look around, but I saw there was a lot of water. And I have water magic so I saw that is was important that I know how to swim." If any of her spells had failed, it would possibly have caused an overflow of water, and swimming was important anyway, for catching fish and for adventuring. Especially adventuring, but she didn't say that part.

@Kaimana

"Oh? Water magic?" Kaimana's ears perked up at the words 'water magic'. The concept of magic sounded... vaguely familiar. Kaimana herself didn't really delve into such things. She wasn't even aware of her own water magic, as it was rather weak and slim. "Water magic makes it a necessity to know how to swim?" Sounded bizarre, honestly. A good kind of bizarre. Kaimana didn't doubt for a second that magic was real. She'd seen it many times, probably. Just the identification of it was something she lacked. She wondered if Comet had learned about their water magic as quickly as they had learned how to swim.

@Comet

Comet

Arctic Wolf

Comet listened to the jaguar's comments. It sounded as if she didn't possess water magic herself, strange. "Um, yeah, I guess. In case I get a spell wrong I don't want to drown in my own water right?" she laughed. "Right now my spells are not that good yet. But when I do get better swimming will be important. And I like to start early." she thought about things for a moment, "What's your magic?"

@Kaimana