Another post!
“Quick, nimble, silly white stag, we will catch you if we can; we’ll run, run, run in circles until us you cannot stand!” Laughing, we ran around in a circle, hands entwined, our naturally swift feet stopping us from tripping.
We were still giggling like little girls (nymphs such as us always acted like them, though we were the equivalent of seventeen human years) when a twig snapped behind us.
Stopping immediately, we faced the intruder. My eyes lit up at the sight: it was Peter!
“Oh! Sorry to interrupt,” he apologized hastily, making for an exit, “I’ll leave you to your dancing.”
Lua stopped him. “Oh no, come and join us!” She gave me a wink, saying, “You can stand right here and join hands with Nianna and me.”
He opened his mouth to protest, but I encouraged, “Give it a try; it’s very exhilarating!”
“Erm, all right,” he agreed, though reluctantly. He reached for my hand; his fingers were very warm over mine, leaving a funny tingle.
Vaele smiled. “Let’s start over again. You’ll catch on, Peter.” We started singing again, our voices joining as if it were one. It was quite hard to prance, as Peter did not seem to get the art of bouncing movements.
“This is kind of weird,” he confessed, his arms flying up and down because they were connected to mine and Lua’s, and of course we were flouncing about.
“Just let yourself go,” I suggested, glancing about. “No one here’s going to see you.” I flashed him a grin, one which I knew charmed many.
He gave in. “All right, you win again. I’ll try—er, what is it, exactly?” His eyebrows were raised comically. I had to stifle a laugh.
“It’s called frolicking,” I informed him. “That’s what nymphs call it.”
“Right.” Peter grinned. “Shall we begin?”
Beaming, we began again; this time, Peter joined in the chorus. It was a unique sound; there were three feminine voices like a stream flowing over rocks and a very masculine one, rough but heartfelt. Our voices drifted up to the trees and into the sky.
As we sang (and frolicked) I could sense that Peter was having a hard time keeping his feet in check. He’d stepped on my feet twice already, with an apology after, but still struggled to keep his balance.
We were singing, “silly white stag” when he suddenly tripped over a tree root, taking me down with him.
“Oof!” I quickly sprang from my position on him and offered a hand up. “Are you okay?”
He groaned, but nodded grimly, gripping his head. “Yeah, I’m fine.” He took my offered hand and I tried to pull him up, but failed. This time, we both collapsed on the ground. I could hear Vaele and Lua twittering in the background.
Flushing a deep shade of pink, I glimpsed at Peter, who I caught smiling impishly at me. “How awkward,” I declared as I climbed off him a second time. “Perhaps all three of us should help you up.”
Chuckling, he shook his head. “No, that’s fine.” With surprising agility, he rose to his feet and shook out the grass from his hair. “Thank you for the frolicking session, ladies. I’d best be going now.” Smiling, he bowed low.
Though I wished he would stay longer, I nodded with Lua and Vaele, waving to him as he disappeared back towards the direction of Cair Paravel.