Chapter 23: Swimming Lessons
"C'mon, Sonic! The water's really warm!"
Sonic shuddered as he stood at the edge of the pool, just barely dipping his blue toes into the water.
Maddie sat by the steps of the pool, waiting patiently for him to come in, her arms outstretched and ready to catch him should he choose to come in.
Elsewhere in the pool, Tails laughed adorably as he sat on Tom's shoulders while Knuckles was simply content with floating in the water.
It had been a hot summer's day when they had woken up in the morning, so Maddie had suggested that they go to the pool and have some fun.
Tails and Knuckles of course were excited to go to the local pool.
Sonic, however, was rather hesitant. And in the end, it took a lot of convincing to get the blue hedgehog to come with them. The whole drive over he had been silent, shaking like a leaf as he kept himself from curling into a ball.
"You know what, uh… I, uh… I think I wanna go for a run right now." Sonic tried to excuse himself, only for Maddie to gently grab his wrist.
"Hey, it's okay. You can do this, I know you can." She said, smiling encouragingly. "Besides, don't you want to join your brothers? I think they'd really like your company."
Sonic looked over to where Tails and Knuckles were, seeing them joyfully splashing and swimming around in the water with Tom. Yes, he did want to join his brothers. He wanted to spend time with them as much as he could because they meant the world to him. But what if…?
"But… what if I sink?" Sonic still looked hesitant.
Maddie's smile softened. "You won't." She stated. "I'll be right here with you."
Sonic looked at his mother before slowly dipping his foot into the water. Gently, Maddie took his hand into hers, giving it a reassuring squeeze.
Bit by bit, Sonic slowly stepped into the pool, eventually getting to the point where the water was up to his waist.
"There we go. Now, let's practice treading, okay?" Maddie said. "I'm going to let go of your hands."
That set Sonic into an immediate panic as he gripped Maddie's hands tighter, his eyes pleading her to not let go.
"Hey, it's okay. You're not going to drown." Maddie reassured him gently. "I won't let you."
Sonic let the soothing words of his mother resonate in his mind. The words themselves triggering a distant memory from long ago.
"Come on, Sonic. You can do it, I know you can." Longclaw said, standing in the water and holding out her wings with a gentle smile on her beak.
Sonic stiffed, his brown boots patting in the sand. His eyes fixed on the pushing and receding waves.
The young blue hedgehog let out a small whimper as he began to shuffle away, his mind and heart racing as he was tempted to use his speed to run all the way back to their home.
"Sonic…"
But then Longclaw's soft voice snapped him out of it, causing him to look up at his guardian's soft smile, her eyes filled with kindness and reassurance.
With a bit of hesitance, Sonic gently took her wings into his hands, and let her guide him into the water.
"That water cannot hurt you unless you let it, Sonic." Longclaw told him. "Remember, there is no greater harm to you than fear itself."
Sonic snapped back to the present, his eyes still fixed on Maddie's as he took a deep breath, carefully stepping further and further into the water.
"That's it, there you go." Maddie smiled, feeling proud of his progress. "Now, I'm going to let go, okay?"
Sonic silently nodded, swallowing the lump in his throat as he mustered his courage.
Slowly, Maddie let go of Sonic's hands. "Remember to kick so you don't sink."
Sonic began kicking his feet, going faster and faster as desperately kept his head above water. His breath began to quicken as he began to kick more erratically, his eyes widening as he began to panic.
Seeing this, Maddie quickly grasped his shoulder. "Woah, woah, woah, slow down, okay? Take your time." She said calmly. "Remember to breathe."
Sonic settled down as he began to kick more lightly, keeping his arms spread out as he stayed above water.
"There you go, you're doing it!" Maddie cheered.
Sonic began to smile widely as he swam. "Yeah. Heh, y-yeah! I'm doing it!" He exclaimed. "Dad! Tails! Knuckles! Look! I'm doing it!"
"Whoo! Go, Sonic!" Tails cheered happily as he, Knuckles, and Tom approached them. "Your finally in the water!"
"Alright, buddy!" Tom smiled proudly.
"Well done, brother!" Knuckles grinned.
"Ha ha! Was there ever any doubt?" Sonic questioned.
"And now that you're in the water, we can now do this!" Tails smirked before swiping his paw and splashing Sonic with some water.
Sonic sputtered a bit while Tails laughed. "Oh, so that's how you wanna play, huh?" Sonic grinned mischievously.
With that, the blue hedgehog dove underwater, disappearing beneath the surface.
Before any of them realized what was going on, Sonic suddenly emerged from the water, picking up Tails and putting him on his shoulders, earning a squeal of joy from the fox cub.
"Rawr! I've got you now, Tails!" Sonic laughed, holding Tails' legs and keeping him on his shoulders.
"No! Sonic! Ha, ha, ha!" Tails giggled, resting his chin on Sonic's head. "Knuckles! Dad! Help!"
"Take this!" Sonic yelled, tossing Tails off of him and ducking him in the water.
Tails quickly emerged, he and Sonic laughing happily before Tom and Knuckles began splashing at them.
Maddie sat off to the side, smiling fondly as she watched the splash war between the boys. Feeling especially proud of Sonic for finally confronting his fear of water.
It seemed there would be more swimming lessons in the future, but that would be for another time.
