Raine whispers woke up to the sound of rain pounding against their bedroom window. It had been raining all night, and the ground was sodden. Luz had been looking forward to playing outside today. She was going to be so disappointed. Raine got up and went to Luz bedroom to check to see if she was okay. Luz was sitting on the windowsill behind the curtain, looking out into the garden.
"It's raining Nini." Luz said solemnly. Raine went over to her and picked Luz up off the windowsill. Luz sighed as Raine did so, and looked up at them with disappointment in her eyes. They both have not been able to play outside for a week now, the rain just hadn't let up. Luz was getting bored of being indoors all the time. Raine decided that the weather wasn't going to let up, so they both may as well go out and play anyway. Raine took Luz into the kitchen and set her down on the floor.
"Tell you what Luz. Let's have some breakfast, then we can go out and play in the rain. Does that sound like fun?" Raine hadn't even needed to ask Luz really, as soon as They finished the sentence, Luz face was beaming and she was jumping up and down, yelling.
"Yaaaay! We gonna go outside!" Luz began running around the floor, ineffectively doing a little dance in celebration. Luz loved to do so when excited.
Raine gave Luz a bowl of oats for breakfast and had porridge themselves, though Luz was so excitable she barely ate her food. Luz just couldn't wait to get outside again. Raine finished up and then left the bowls on the table. Luz had began to run about again, and was hopping up and down near the back door impatiently. Raine dressed for the rain, putting on their coat and hood. Raine debated making a raincoat for Luz, but it would probably take too long, and Raine didn't want to upset Luz by making her wait any longer.
Raine packed several towels into their shoulder bag, so that when Luz got too wet or cold, Raine could dry her off and carry her home inside their jacket. Raine even filled a hot water bottle and placed it in the bottom of the bag, so when Luz got cold, she could easily warm herself up again.
When Raine came back into the living room, Luz was sitting on the windowsill, looking out into the rain with her nose pressed tightly against the glass. As soon as she heard Raine, Luz leapt down and ran over to Raine legs.
"Going outside now?" Luz said, looking up at Raine in their rain coat.
"Yes, Luz, we're gonna go outside now." Raine said back, and at that Luz ran to the back door again and stood on the mat, looking up at the handle. "No Luz, I thought we'd go out for a walk today, rather than playing in the garden. It might be a bit too muddy out there for you." Luz looked up at Raine again, her eyes beaming with such excitement. Luz ran at Raine and jumped straight into their arms, and began nuzzling her face into Raine jacket. They both rarely went anywhere except the garden, so Raine figured they would both go for a walk today, since Luz had been so patient waiting for the rain to stop.
Raine put Luz inside their shoulder bag with all the towels, and Luz snuggled down comfortably among them, peeking her head out of the flap to see where they were both going. Raine left the house and locked the door behind them, and began walking to an old country road where Luz could play without being seen. It was raining so heavily, Raine didn't expect anyone to be out in it anyway, so Luz would be safe. When Raine got there, Luz stuck her head out of the bag again and looked around. A drop of rain fell off a tree branch onto her head, she shuddered and retreated back into her warm cocoon.
"Luz, don't you want to play in the rain now?" Raine said, gently stroking her inside the bag. Luz timidly poked her head out again, this time looking around more. "Don't worry about getting wet Luz, that's what the towels are for. I can dry you off if you get too wet. Just have fun." Luz looked up at Raine and nodded her head.
"Okay Nini." Luz said. Raine lifted her out of the bag and gently placed her on the ground. Luz shuddered for a moment as she got used to the temperature change. Luz was looking reluctant, until she saw a bird fly down and start splashing in a puddle. Luz loved chasing birds, and she was soon running after it, splashing through the puddle herself in her boots. Luz found this great fun, and began jumping in and out of several puddles on the ground.
"Whee!" Luz said, as she ran full speed to a puddle and leapt into it. Luz was enjoying herself so much, although she was soaking wet and covered in mud all the same. Luz loved kicking the water around and making the biggest splashes possible. Luz then saw a giant puddle, far larger than the rest, and began to run towards it even faster than before. Luz took a running leap into it, and as she hit the surface she disappeared.
Raine ran over to the puddle as quickly as possible and reached in, it was shoulder deep at least. Raine felt around and quickly felt Luz, kicking her feet under the water, in a vain attempt to stop herself from sinking. Raine grabbed hold and pulled her out. Luz looked terrified, and Raine could hardly blame her after that. "Oh Luz, I'm so sorry!" Raine said, holding Luz tight to their chest. Luz was shivering and shaking. Raine quickly grabbed a dry towel out the bag and dried her off. Luz didn't say anything, she looked completely shocked. Raine bundled Luz back into the bag and rushed home with her, gently petting Luz hair all the way.
Once Raine got back home, They sat Luz down next to a radiator and gave her a juice box to try and comfort her. Raine filled the sink with water, so They could wash Luz and get her clean. "Luz? Are you ready for a bath now?" Raine asked her. Luz looked up at Raine and nodded. Raine hoped she wasn't too upset, and maybe playing with her rubber ducky would cheer her up.
Raine lifted Luz up and lowered her into the water, but as Raine did so, Luz started screaming. "No, Nini! I don't like the water!" Luz squealed. Raine placed Luz back on the counter, and looked into her eyes. Tears had begun to run down Luz cheeks.
"Luz. I know that was scary today, and I'm sorry. But you're safe now, and I need to give you a bath so you can get clean. Look I've even got your ducky! You like him, don't you?" Raine mimicked a quacking noise to try and distract Luz, placing the duck on the counter, but Luz just throw the duck onto the floor, and turned away from Raine. Luz definitely wasn't happy. After much deliberating, Raine washed Luz on the counter using a damp cloth. Luz still squirmed uncomfortably, but Raine got most of the mud off. Raine didn't want to upset Luz any more that she already was.
Raine dried Luz off after this, and put her in bed for a nap. Luz looked tired, and Raine hoped she would cheer up a bit after a rest. Raine tucked Luz in and kissed her gently on the forehead. Luz smiled slightly as They did so, but then turned away so Raine wouldn't see. At least Luz still liked Raine a little bit, though Raine still felt bad for what had happened. Raine pulled the door to, and left her to nap. Raine resolved to sort Luz fear of water out as soon as possible, before it got out of hand. Raine wanted her to learn how to swim, so that if she was ever in danger and Raine wasn't around, Luz could fend for herself.
Once Luz woke up from her nap, she came out into the living room looking bleary eyed and tired. "Nini?" Luz said. "Can I have a cuddle?" Raine was so glad to hear Luz say those words. Raine nodded and placed Luz on their lap. Luz shifted until she was comfortable, and then sat quietly while Raine stroked her hair. After an hour of this, Luz had fallen asleep again. Raine put Luz on the cushion next to them, and went to the bathroom. Raine began filling the bath tub up with water, no more than a few inches. Raine then went and roused Luz, and brought her into the bathroom with them.
Luz had never seen the inside of the bath tub before, and Raine thought it scared Luz a little bit. The sides were really tall for a small Human toddler. Raine gently lowered Luz down and into the water, so it was only up past her feet. Luz stood in the water and looked at Raine, confused. Raine smiled. "It's okay Luz. We're just going to have some fun, alright?" Raine said.
"Okay Nini." Luz looked at the water around her feet and legs. "Can I have some bubbles, please?" Luz said, looking back up at Raine.
"I'm sorry Luz, not right now. We're going to teach you how to swim, okay? It'll be fun, trust me." Luz looked back at the plain water, bored and disappointed. Luz started kicking at it with her feet, which must have reminded her of the puddles, as Luz began to panic and kicked more vigorously, thrashing about in the water. Her hands reaching up to the side of the bathtub, trying to get out. Raine reached in and gently steadied Luz feet so she couldn't kick. "It's okay Luz. Trust me, you're safe here."
Raine began to fill the bath up with more water, so it started to reach past Luz body. Luz squirmed, but Raine reassured her it was okay. Raine placed Luz rubber ducky in the water with her as a distraction, and Luz seemed to like seeing it bob up and down with the ripples of the water. Raine turned the tap off, and then reached in and placed their hand under Luz Chest.
"Now Luz. I want you to start kicking your legs like you're trying to run, okay? Can you do that for me?" Luz nodded. Raine held onto Luz chest and lifted her up, so Luz couldn't touch the bottom of the bath. "Now Luz!" Luz began kicking her legs, and as she did so, Raine moved her around the water, a smile appearing on Luz face, as she enjoyed the feeling of the water moving around her legs. While they were both doing this, Raine subtly turned on the tap and filled the bath up with more water, until Luz could no longer touch the bottom.
As Luz kept kicking, Raine slowly lowered their hand from under Luz belly, which made Luz sit lower in the water. Luz started kicking harder as this happened, which was what Raine had hoped for. "Hehehe" Luz giggled. Luz was enjoying herself again, and it made Raine so happy to see. Raine eventually moved their hand away so it wasn't touching Luz at all, and watched in awe as Luz swam around the bath on her own, chasing her ducky around the water.
Raine was so pleased, They gave Luz a round of applause. As Raine did this, Luz looked at Raine, realizing Raine wasn't holding onto her, Luz stopped kicking and began to sink. Luz started splashing with her hands in panic as the water rose above her. Raine reached in and quickly lifted Luz up before she went under the surface. "It's okay Luz, you were swimming on your own! You can do it, just try again!" Raine smiled at Luz, and she smiled back.
"Okay Nini." Luz said, and began kicking again. It didn't take long for her to master swimming without Raine holding onto her. Luz looked so happy as she chased the duck around the bath, paddling around. Once Luz was tired of this, Raine drained the water out so she could sit on the bottom again. Luz looked at Raine, really pleased. "Thank you Nini."
"You're welcome My little Witchlet. I love you." Raine said. "now, how about those bubbles?" Luz beamed as Raine mentioned the bubbles. Raine poured the bubble mixture into the bath around Luz, and lifted her up so she wasn't touching the bottom again. "Swim Luz!" Raine said, and as Luz paddled, the bubbles frothed around her body, enveloping her. Luz began giggling as she made the bubbles herself.
"Yay! Bubbles!" Luz cheered, A large smile spreading across her face.