Having spent most of the morning trying to fix the damage the hail storm did to his poor beleaguered plants and checking up on the bees, Benedict finds himself hot and sweaty and covered in mud. Normally, he'd splash himself more or less clean — at least his hands and arms — in the fountain and deem that good enough until the evening when he'd wash properly, but the high temperature and utter stillness of the air has left him wanting so desperately to cool down.
He's heard one or two people talking about the waterfall pool, and how nice the water was, and how much they enjoyed going off there to swim for a brief respite from the climbing heat. It sounds lovely, actually, and he's sorely tempted to go give it a go himself, but there's one glaring problem that he just can't seem to get around:
Benedict cannot swim.
Benedict actually hasn't even been in a body of water larger than a bathtub in his entire life, so the thought of walking into the pool at the base of the waterfall and trusting it to somehow hold his body aloft is more than slightly terrifying. It's stupid, and he knows that, and every time he gets nervous thinking about it he crossly reminds himself of the fact that he took down a Silkweaver with nothing but his gauntlet and a sword, that he was awarded the Order of the Spire for his bravery in the service of the Spirearch, that he'd sailed through the Mists on The Predator and come out the other side to tell the tale. He's fought alongside Cats, he's helped thwart a terrorist attack by a neighboring Spire from destroying Habbles Landing and Morning, he's on first name basis with the ruler of Spire Albion. He's even managed to learn how to tend a proper garden, how to cut down trees, how to take care of animals and run the inn, how to survive through an actual winter. And yet...
Still, the temperatures simply grow too high for him to handle it, and somehow he finds himself at the base of the waterfall, eyeing the churning water with some trepidation as he carefully peels his clothes off.
"I'd never hear the end of it if I drown," he mutters to himself as he steps out of his trousers, leaving himself in the cotton underwear they'd been provided. Gwen would never let him live it down if he allowed something like water take him down.
OTA
He's heard one or two people talking about the waterfall pool, and how nice the water was, and how much they enjoyed going off there to swim for a brief respite from the climbing heat. It sounds lovely, actually, and he's sorely tempted to go give it a go himself, but there's one glaring problem that he just can't seem to get around:
Benedict cannot swim.
Benedict actually hasn't even been in a body of water larger than a bathtub in his entire life, so the thought of walking into the pool at the base of the waterfall and trusting it to somehow hold his body aloft is more than slightly terrifying. It's stupid, and he knows that, and every time he gets nervous thinking about it he crossly reminds himself of the fact that he took down a Silkweaver with nothing but his gauntlet and a sword, that he was awarded the Order of the Spire for his bravery in the service of the Spirearch, that he'd sailed through the Mists on The Predator and come out the other side to tell the tale. He's fought alongside Cats, he's helped thwart a terrorist attack by a neighboring Spire from destroying Habbles Landing and Morning, he's on first name basis with the ruler of Spire Albion. He's even managed to learn how to tend a proper garden, how to cut down trees, how to take care of animals and run the inn, how to survive through an actual winter. And yet...
Still, the temperatures simply grow too high for him to handle it, and somehow he finds himself at the base of the waterfall, eyeing the churning water with some trepidation as he carefully peels his clothes off.
"I'd never hear the end of it if I drown," he mutters to himself as he steps out of his trousers, leaving himself in the cotton underwear they'd been provided. Gwen would never let him live it down if he allowed something like water take him down.