River Hopping

The sun was high above them when they stopped again. The path had come to an abrupt halt beside a small stream, which ballooned into a deep pool beside a clearing just ahead of them. The pair were silent for a moment, before Elysia's confusion got the better of her.

"Why have we stopped? There's nothing here." She said matter-of-factly, the familiar frown reappearing on her brow.

Aytan looked down at her, shaking his head in amusement, before walking confidently into the space, leaving Elysia waiting on the path. "This clearing," he said to her, gazing about the small area. "This clearing is where I played when I was a fawn."

Elysia seemed stunned to realise that her Papa had once been as big as she was, but quickly hid her shock. "But there's no-one here to play with!"

Aytan chuckled at her naivety, walking towards the river. "Come over here, Elsy," he called, and the filly was soon at his side, peering into the clear water with him. "This part of the river is very slow-moving, so you can go in without fear of being washed away. Me and my sister used to play in there, and sometimes my mother or father would join in." He explained, turning his head to watch her. "I thought perhaps you might like to do the same."

Elysia looked unimpressed. "But how can I play with no play friends?"

Aytan shook his head in exasperation. He loved Elsy deerly, but her lack of comprehension was sometimes infuriating. "Well, when I was by myself, I invented my own games."

Elysia chuckled. "That's silly, Papa. You can't play with a play friend!"

Swallowing his irritation and taking a deep breath, Aytan straightened up. "Well, since I forgot to ask any of your play friends to come along, perhaps I could be your play friend for today?"

Elysia frowned. All her play friends were around her age, and she'd never played with anyone quite as old as Papa. But, she'd never been told play friends couldn't be old. Satisfied that it would be acceptable, she nodded. "Yes, you can be my play friend today. But next time I need one my own age, or else you might get too tired to play with me." 

Somewhat stunned at the statement that had just exited Elysia's young mouth, Aytan smirked. 

"What games can you play here, though, Papa?" Elysia asked. "You can't race anywhere..."

"Well we could go swimming - or you could swim and I could paddle - or we could splash one another, or we could play river hopping?" Aytan smiled, remembering the times he had played the same three games with his family as a colt.

"What's river hopping?" The fawn asked, intrigued.

"Well, you see those rocks over there?" Aytan asked, gesturing towards the rocks at the top of the pool that were responsible for its slow current. "You have to hop from one side of the river to the other, using only those rocks. If you get your feet week, you've lost!"

Obviously excited by this idea, the filly bounded over to the rocks, peering at them, already trying to figure out the best route across. The frown returned. "Papa, will you show me first? The rocks might be wobbly..."

"Of course," Aytan said confidently, placing a huge hoof onto the first rock. That last time he'd played this game his hooves had been decidedly smaller, and he could now see why his father had often opted out of partaking - the rocks were barely bigger than his hooves were! Though, that being said, he was on the third rock, balancing precariously as he stretched over a fourth - too small for his hooves - to reach for a fifth. Soon though, he had a front hoof planted firmly on the rock, and he carefully leaned his body weight forwards so he could move a back hoof forwards. Then, his newly-placed hoof slipped sideways on the fine coating of algae, and Aytan found himself off-balance. His body weight now working against him, he scrabbled at the rocks for a moment before he tumbled off the rocks. The water didn't even reach his knees when he was stood in it, but landing back-first sent the stag's head underwater for a brief moment, before he re-emerged, spluttering and coughing up cold water. Struggling to regain his footing as the current pushed against him, he found himself sat awkwardly, his rump and back legs submerged while his front legs were extended, supporting his front end.

It took him a moment to realise the strange sound in the clearing was Elysia laughing. The fawn was on her back, giggling madly while her legs flailed like a spiders. She paused for a moment to glance at Aytan, but the sight of him started her off again. Hauling himself to his feet - no easy task when his entire coat was a sodden dead-weight - he stepped onto the bank and shook himself, sending water spraying in all directions. When he stopped Elysia was watching him curiously, but his puffed-up coat sent her reeling backwards into more fits of laughter.

With a smirk, Aytan walked over to the fawn, and, bending down, carefully nudged her towards the water. The fawn rolled easily, though soon realised his plan and scrambled against him. She was too close to the bank though, and with one final shove, she was in the water, flailing madly in the cold water. The water she was on would barely reach half-way to her knees were she stood up, but it was enough to thoroughly soak her through. When she stood, her coat was dripping, and she glared at Aytan angrily. Then, she suddenly sprayed a jet of water out of her mouth, hitting Aytan square on the nose.

Elysia was giggling again, as Aytan snorted in an attempt to clear the water from his nose. "You made this face!" She cried, mimicking his expression crudely.

"Oh, did I?" Aytan asked, making his way back into the water. "Well, let's see what face you make when you get water in your face!" He exclaimed, kicking a hoof through the water and spraying his daughter. The youngster recovered quickly though, returning the gesture, though with decidedly less effect.

Instead she ran towards him, launching herself at him. Taken by surprise, Aytan once again lost his balance, staggering backwards and eventually falling back into the water, with Elysia laid awkwardly on his shoulder. Seizing his opportunity, Aytan sucked in a mouthful of water while his head was submerged, then, once he raised it out again, sprayed it at the fawn, who squealed in shock. His aim was hardly as good as hers, but she was so close to his head he could hardly miss. Elysia wrinkled her face up, and Aytan chuckled in amusement. Elysia recovered quickly, but giggled as well, and soon the pair fell about laughing, happy.