So I've been contemplating on these little ficlets for a while now. I looked up the name and found only two that had titles like this, one matching exactly but dating back from '03. But just know I didn't steal the name from anybody. This will be my collection of one-shots that I write that aren't related to any of my stories. I'm debating whether or not to move my current one-shots into here but that would be too much work, plus I want to make the one-shots that exist in here slightly related to each other. Gimme your thoughts on this! This was completed within two hours - yay short attention span!

So, without further ado, I present to you...A Dip in the Lake! Sveta/Tyrell KittyDogshipping/Singeshipping

A Dip in the Lake

Sveta had never known what Ayuthay truly looked like. She had always been cooped up inside of Belinsk, being trained for her duty as the new queen. She never knew Ayuthay was this beautiful.

Now that their tasks were at last done Sveta managed to take some time off from being queen and met up with all of her fellow Adepts, her friends, in said country. Apparently they were holding a surprise birthday party for Ayuthay's king, Amiti. How could they have remembered when his twenty-first birthday was? It was nearly a month after the Eclipse had ended, however, which in Sveta's mind was a good time to celebrate.

But for some reason, she felt…out of place.

While every other Adept made their way over to the king to congratulate him, both on his birthday and his coronation, Sveta sat quietly in front of Lake Barai. In the water her foot dangled freely, tracing circles in the coolness of the liquid. She hadn't yet congratulated her fellow Water Adept - she was too apathetic about everything at this time that she couldn't concentrate on barely anything other than the chills that ran through her body as she stuck her other bare foot into the water.

"Hey, Sveta," a voice from behind her called out. She turned around and faced Tyrell, the biggest oaf of the party.

She smiled weakly and turned back around, returning to her previous staring contest with the water; the water was winning. The reflection in the water was too bright for Sveta not to blink. She heard a dull thud on the ground next to her and looked over at the Mars Adept, lying on his back in the dew grass. He looked relaxed - something she wished she could've been.

"So what's got you so down?" he questioned, hands behind his head as he stared up into the clouds. I crossed those clouds with Matthew and Karis, he thought to himself. In order to reach Craggy Peak from Passaj, they had needed to cross the Passaj clouds, which were quite high in elevation. He abruptly sat up, turning his head to look at the beastgirl next to him.

Sveta sighed. "I…I do not know how to explain it." She finally looked at him with that weak smile on her face. "Do not worry about it, Tyrell. You should go have fun with the others." She looked past him now at the party. Matthew and Karis were dancing with each other, Eoleo and Amiti were chatting about some unknown topic, and even Himi and Rief were conversing with each other. It seemed to Sveta that the pair liked each other, considering how little they seemed to speak and when they did both their faces brightened and lit up like apples.

Tyrell didn't take no for an answer. "C'mon, Sveta. I know I'm not as smart as Matthew or Rief or Amiti, but I can listen almost as well as they can." He turned to stare at the water as she did and pulled his knees closer to him, resting his arms on his lower legs. "For once I wish somebody would tell me stuff," he muttered, now bringing his face down in between his knees and closing his eyes.

Her ears twitched. It wasn't as if she didn't trust him…just - oh, how could she put this? "Tyrell…" she trailed, looking at him. He was still stuck in his position but he brought his face up and looked at her as well. "I want to tell you, but I am not sure if you will hear it," she confessed, now staring at the ground, using her hand to pick at some grass.

"Hey," he suddenly said. Her ears perked up and she listened. "Remember when we were still trying to save Eoleo from being boiled alive?"

She sunk her head and her ears flopped down a bit. "No, Tyrell. I was not with you all when that happened," she said, remembering the painful explanations she had received from her countrymen about her brother, Volechek.

"Oh, yeah," he said stupidly, laughing a little. "Never mind, then." He turned away, a faint blush suddenly appearing on his face. How had he made such a fool out of himself again?

Sveta started to giggle, making her body shake slightly, her feet trembling in the water. Tyrell looked over at her, his blush gone, and raised his eyebrows.

"What's so funny?" he inquired.

She calmed herself and stared at him, stifling another laugh. "Oh, Tyrell. You are such a comic relief."

He grinned. "So, are you gonna tell me what's wrong?"

She sighed, her expression darkening ever-so-slightly. She thought for a moment, twisting her feet in the water, watching her reflection with sad eyes. "Do you think I will make an adequate queen?"

Tyrell was surprised; this was what she was upset about? "Well, of - of course, Sveta." A red color crept onto his face once more as he continued. "I mean, why wouldn't you? You're smart, wonderful, brilliant, intelligent," he resorted to counting off his fingers but stopped doing so at the last word, "…beautiful."

Sveta smiled at him, crimson appearing on her face as well. "Thank you, Tyrell." She circled her feet around in the water some more before another pair joined hers. She suddenly thought back to that time in the Teppe ruins. She had despised Tyrell from the moment he called her a kitty-dog, mistaking her for a dumb animal. Her senses were more attuned than animals', her fur never had to be trimmed, and she could walk on hind legs, not to mention wear clothes. Her sadness came back as she pressed another question onto him.

"Do you still think of me as a…'kitty-dog?'" This sounded silly coming from her but she had to know. Did her friends truly think of her as just another animal, but one that could talk and walk? Surely they didn't just see the asset side of her, right?

"No," he answered at long last, staring into her eyes. "I think you're much more than that." He was beginning to tremble; why was this bothering him? He was a warrior who could fight countless monsters with barely a thought, yet when it came to confessing not even his deepest feelings he was powerless? To him it didn't seem right. He sighed, shaking it off but still trembling slightly. "I'm glad you joined our party, Sveta." She smiled at him, a genuine smile, and ever-so-carefully he moved his hand on top of hers, returning the smile to her. She blushed a crimson red but continued smiling nonetheless. What was this feeling she felt? Was it adoration? Likeness? Attraction? Lo -

All of a sudden she felt a force push her into the water. Her hair escaped from its braids and flowed every which way until she made her way to the surface, gasping for air. She rubbed her eyes and looked at her assailant, Tyrell, who was grinning mischievously. She glared at him, her ears flopped down and clinging to her head.

"I thought you said you were glad I joined your group," she said, climbing out of the water with his help. She glared more daggers and wrung out her hair, leaving puddles in the grass. She shivered but resisted the bestial urge to shake out her fur.

"I am," Tyrell said in between laughs, "so I could do that."

While he was still laughing she plastered on her own mischievous grin and pushed him into the lake, catching him off guard. He sprang up to the surface almost instantly and stared at her in shock.

"Hey!" he yelled. By now the party behind them had quieted down to watch the two with amusement. Sveta didn't care; they could stare. She grinned again.

"The water is cold, isn't it?" she asked him. When he nodded she laughed.

Suddenly she felt her arm being tugged and she gasped and found herself in the water, next to Tyrell. Something about his close proximity made her stomach flip and she shivered uncontrollably.

He chuckled. "It is rather cold," he said, mocking her as he saw her shiver. But then she stared up at him with a look that he couldn't decipher at all. His stomach flip-flopped and he felt a blush creep onto his face yet again. He found himself leaning down, closer to her, and then -

She splashed some water in his face, laughing again childishly.

"Hey! That was mean - "

He was cut off by her lips smashing against his and the sparks that flew through his body. He suddenly had no control of his eyes, which closed, or hands, which snaked around her waist, pulling her closer to him. He could hear her sigh into the kiss and his lips curved upwards, never breaking it. From behind them one of the Adepts whistled - most likely Eoleo - and some clapped while most stood, mouths agape.

At long last they pulled apart and smiled at each other.

"Hey, Sveta?" Tyrell asked. One of his hands moved from her waist to her face, cupping it. "Do you think I would make an adequate king?"