[Maia]

Summer had arrived as the days grew longer and the heat became unbearable at times. As the sun dipped down below the fringe teeth, cicadas sang their long-winded songs and the fireflies lit the meadows with green light. Maia enjoyed the hottest time of the year, even if she wanted to do nothing but sleep through the heat, but the warm nights and fireflies captured her.

Today was like any other, except the sun rose early over the molten sea and would not set until very late. The girl would stretch, say her good mornings to the family under the tree before setting out on her adventures, either with or without her Aldebaran. Her feet carried her to the edges of the cliff side, salty waters licking against the edges below, the roar of crashing waves echoing in her ears. Blue eyes glanced out toward the clear horizon, squinting at the glinting bell just beyond the bridge that either just went under or was about to emerge.

Soon, she reminded herself. Soon she would be strong enough to SWIM across.

A chime glided across the black sand, her fixation broken by the calming sound. Confusion set in as she did not see anyone below, strolling along the dark shore, but she shook her head and took off for the pools. The day was early enough that the cool breeze of the ocean was soothing, enough to allow her to run without over heating. Her body was growing, as was her stride and her mind, her determination. Maia would soon grow over her siblings and she would be closer to the stars.

Closer to the Kings in the sky.

Maia finally paused at the fairy pools, deciding to practice on her own this morning. After catching her breath, she would jump in without hesitation. Though her vision was blurred, she would open her eyes to the watery world, legs pumping to send her down to the bottom where she would touch before pushing off the slimy floor to send her back to the top. Once she surfaced, she gasped, not used to holding her breath for long periods of time. That's what she needed to work on. The girl would swim a few laps before hanging around the edge of the pool, sighing. She was still so weak.

"How is this ever going to work... ugh."

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