When Sixty Won Enter the Water
The pond had begun as calm.
It had not remained that way.
Footsore from walking, Leon waded in, expecting just relief. The sun had pressed down hard for forty-eight hours straight. Water might wash that away, maybe even clear his head so. All he wanted was air that didn’t burn. A mont without weight.
Maybe he’d learn next ti. Could’ve seen it coming, really.
Females began moving toward the shore, though none carried pure thoughts. Not one of them approached the man without hidden motives shaping her steps.
It started without harm. Light splashing broke the quiet. Laughter ca suddenly. A nudge slipped in, then fingers sent droplets flying. Sun danced on ripples made by joy.
Then the mood shifted.
A touch skimd across his shoulder blades, light but unmistakable. Over by the sleeve of his coat, a palm stayed put well past normal politeness. Just beside his ear, words slipped out soft - then broke apart into hushed amusent.
The splashing slowed.
Space folded into nothing. Bodies t without gaps.
Closest to move, Sona broke the stillness. Quiet certainty lived in her silver gaze - steady, unshaken, yet clearly focused. Down her shoulders ran water while she angled her head a little, watching him.
"Don’t think water weakens us," she murmured softly.
A flicker of curiosity lifted one eyebrow as Leon looked at her.
Hmm? His words ca out soft.
Sona’s lips curved just slightly. "You look too relaxed."
Before Leon could answer, another voice joined in.
Cynthia.
She stood a few steps away in the water, dark eyes steady and observant as always. She didn’t rush forward like the others. She never did. Cynthia simply watched him — that composed, thoughtful gaze lingering as if asuring every reaction he gave.
"Relaxed?" she said quietly. "No. He’s calculating."
Leon chuckled faintly under his breath.
"You make it sound like I walked into a trap."
Syra’s laughter cut through the mont.
She pushed through the water with no attempt at subtlety at all, bright green eyes shining with open mischief.
"Because you did," she said. "You just didn’t notice."
She leaned closer, her voice playful.
"one more round?"
Several won nearby burst into laughter.
"Syra!" soone protested from the edge.
"Give the man a mont!"
"After yesterday?" another voice teased. "He should already be running."
Leon exhaled slowly, dragging a hand through his hair as he looked around at the gathering faces.
Dozens of eyes watched him.
Curious.
Playful.
Hungry for the chaos they knew was about to begin again.
"So this bath..." Leon said calmly, glancing from one woman to the next, "was never going to be peaceful."
"Not with us here," Syra replied instantly.
More laughter followed.
Near the edge of the pond, several won remained seated in the shallow water, leaning against the stone rim or resting against one another. So were still sore from the previous night’s relentless energy. They dipped their hands into the water, occasionally splashing or reaching out to brush Leon’s arm as he passed.
One of them sighed dramatically.
"I’m not moving," she declared. "I’m just watching."
"Liar," another woman beside her said with a grin. "You said that yesterday too."
"I lasted longer than you did."
"Barely."
They dissolved into quiet giggles.
But others in the water were far less restrained.
They drifted closer.
The pond that had reflected the quiet morning sky slowly transford into sothing else entirely — a playful battlefield of attention and teasing desire, though lighter now, ward by sunlight instead of shadow.
The water rippled constantly.
Leon moved among them with steady ease. He never rushed. Never lost his composure. Yet there was a quiet authority in the way he stood, the way he t their gazes, the way his presence seed to anchor the entire chaotic mont.
At one point Syra circled him through the water like a predator pretending not to be one.
"You know," she said, tapping a finger against his shoulder, "most n would be terrified right now."
Leon glanced at her.
"Should I be?"
"Oh definitely," she replied with a grin.
Sona watched from the side, arms loosely folded.
"He won’t run."
"No," Cynthia added calmly. "He won’t."
Leon shook his head, amusent flickering in his expression.
"You’re all far too confident."
"Because we know you," Syra replied.
Ti blurred.
The sun climbed higher above the pond.
Voices rose and fell. Laughter echoed across the water. Soone splashed too hard and was imdiately retaliated against by three others. Soone else tried to pull Leon under the surface only to fail spectacularly, resurfacing with a dramatic gasp and another round of laughter from the others.
So won rested.
So watched.
So simply stayed close, enjoying the warmth of the mont.
And others remained relentless.
It didn’t really end, just shifted shape now and then. Waves carried it forward - soft lulls broken by loud grins or quick jabs dressed up as fun.
Foot planted firm, Leon held his ground right where everything t. Stillness clung to him while motion spun around.
Fear never moved him backward.
Slow steps carried him forward.
Quietly he passed through the ss, his steady presence holding them together while quietly pulling threads loose. Quietly.
Laughter began to fade, slowly giving way to quiet.
The splashing slowed.
Footsteps slow, each woman found her way back to the pond’s edge. Tired grins held on while shoulders brushed cold rock or dipped onto a friend’s shoulder. Quiet settled as bodies sagged into stillness.
Water pattered softly through the stillness while figures leaned into the sunbaked rock. Strands of wet hair rested on skin. So let their hands drape over the edge of the pool, pulling air slow into their lungs as stiffness slipped away. Silence held them like a net.
So let out loud complaints, stretched out like theater. Then ca the sighs, heavy and slow.
"I can’t go on," a voice murmured, barely audible.
"Nah, that’s not right," soone else chid in from close by, sending a tiny wave of water her way with a quick flip of their fingers.
"Let pretend."
"Pretending requires energy," Syra added with a mischievous grin. "And you clearly don’t have any left."
Laughter ca again, heavy with exhaustion.
Aria shifted her weight onto the rough stone behind her, pushing soggy violet hair off her forehead while eyeing Leon a few steps away. It was his doing, she said without smiling
An eyebrow went up. "Because of ?"
Well, she just sort of sighed it out, head propped up by her arms across the edge. You show up wearing that face, thinking everything stays calm.
"And what exactly is that supposed to an?" Leon asked.
Nova let out a quiet laugh. "Oh please. You know exactly what it ans."
Water whispered through their laughter, soft ripples moving between each tease. The way they joked floated on the quiet laps of the stream nearby.
And when at last the final sighs faded into quiet, contented silence—
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