Night fell over the quiet lake, and as it did, thirteen swans--white, black, some even gray--landed gracefully upon the water's surface and spread their powerful wings and arched their slender necks as though to soak in the moonlight. It touched each of them in turn, and as it spread over them, they were no longer graceful swans but graceful--if naked--humans, men and women alike.
Aderyn was among them, and she shivered as the cool water soaked her to her waist. Yet it felt wonderful as it always did, the sensation of water on smooth skin instead of water-repellent feathers, and she drew in a deep breath and savored her humanity.
When she finally pulled herself from the lake, limping and wet and covered in gooseflesh (ha!), Dia, a woman several years older than her, was already dressed and at the lake's edge to meet her, holding a towel in one hand and her dress in the other. "That was a close call," she said. "Almost too close."
Aderyn was quick to dry off and slip the white dress over her head. "The fox or just now?" she asked, and looked around the area for signs of the creature. The lake was safe, for the most part, but there were still risks; this time it had been a fox that had forced them to take flight, and they had stayed out for the day, long enough for it to--hopefully--think they had left for good. They'd barely made it back by nightfall, and that would have been a disaster all on its own!
"Both!" Dia said. "Imagine getting stuck out there? We'd get in so much trouble."
"We made it, though!" Aderyn said, grinning, still thrumming from the excitement of the day. Escaping from foxes and flying out over the city! She'd never realized the city was so big. "And we got an adventure out of it, didn't we? I've never been that far before!"
"And you don't want to go that far again," Dia said with a grimace. "Foxes aren't our only problem. There's hunters, too, remember? They can't tell the difference between a swan that's shape-shifted and one that's...real."
That brought a momentary halt to Aderyn's giddiness, and she paled. "...You mean they'd eat us?"
"Well, yeah."
There was a long pause as she considered the implications. "Do you think we'd...turn back? Or would they just...never know they were eating human-swan? That they'd be cannibals without ever knowing?"
That earned her a cross, disgusted look from Dia. "I try not to think about that."
What a disturbing thought! Aderyn shuddered and rubbed her arms, and Dia shook her head. "Alright, as much as I'd love to keep talking about all the horrible ways we could die, I'd better get inside before the harpy has a fit. I'll bring you dinner later, okay?" And with that said, she turned and headed toward the theatre beyond with the others, leaving Aderyn alone.
With a sigh, Aderyn watched them go, and took a seat by the water's edge. Several days earlier, she'd injured her ankle in practice, and that meant sitting the next few weeks out until it healed.
Which also meant a lot of boredom and lonely nights. She could have gone inside with them and watched if she wanted, but she'd done that the first few days and it had only made her frustrated she couldn't join in. At least out here it was peaceful.
And it gave her some time to ponder what happened when swans died.
