I was soaking wet, cold, and annoyed. On top of all of that, despite us never formally declaring a competition, Agis was trying to explain to me how he was winning.

He waved his hand dismissively. “Whatever, the first one can be a draw. This one was clearly won by me though. I threw you in first, then saved you so I won, on top of that, I got you to dive in anyway. I was clearly in control the whole time. Who's the winner? It's me.”

I clicked my tongue against the roof of my mouth. “Ah that's where you're wrong, the strategy's effectiveness is measured by its outcomes, not by its chance of failure. Had you not dived in and saved me then yes, you would have won, however, you hit the water first, so I won.”

“I may have hit the water first, but not only did I counter your opening move, I chivalrously saved you from getting wet, I don't see how I lost here.”

“YOU!” I stomped my foot against the ground tensing my whole body before I stopped to think, holding in my frustration. ‘When you put it like that…’

Any anger I felt twisted until I was feeling shy and embarrassed again thinking about how he moved so fast and smooth, almost as if he was dancing. ‘Maybe he really did win...’

I reached up grabbing a handful of my hair. “We both know you didn't plan any of that.”

“Yes… Well, neither did you.”

We both paused staring at each other in silence. Then he smiled. I couldn’t explain why, but before I knew it we were both laughing.

When we were done the shaking had finally stopped. I wasn’t warm by any measure, but I wasn’t that uncomfortable either.

I let out a deep breath of air. ‘It feels good to laugh like this again.’ “Sorry for trying to prank you. If I’m being honest I wish you looked at least a little cold though…”

He raised a hand to the back of his head, scratching it as he looked down. “Oh, don't worry about that, you still got me good.”

‘What? But he looks fine.’

He slowly lowered his hand, looking back up at me. “I… actually can't swim….”

“There’s no way…” I muttered. ‘He’s being serious…’ I let out a small chuckle. Embarrassed I tried to throw someone that couldn’t swim into the water. “Wow… I actually feel pretty bad about it now… Sorry man.

Another shudder ran through me from the cold. “Let's just call this one a draw too…”

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“Alright, I suppose fair is fair. Zero to zero then?”

“Yeah yeah, zero to zero.” ‘This was a stupid idea to begin with. I should have just gone back to the mountain and drank my tea…’

His eyes seemed so soft, and his playful nature sharply contrasted with anyone else I had met. Everything about him was a little strange. ‘Even if he isn’t normal, he lived on the coast. I mean…’ “Seriously, how can you say you ascended, and not even be able to swim?”

“I just never learned alright, it's not like naval battles were a big thing back in my day. No point in fighting sea monsters at sea. You were just asking to become fish food.” He pouted, and when he did he looked just like a little kid.

I covered my mouth, letting a small laugh escape. I could tell it was more of an excuse than an actual reason.

“What's so funny?”

“Oh, nothing.” I had never had a little brother, but it almost felt like if I did, he would have acted similarly. It was ironic since he was older, but it was how it was.

He swirled his finger in the air, instantly drying his clothes. “Well, whatever. I can dry you off with my powers if you want, just a snap of my fingers.”

The same powers that dried his clothes swept back his hair. It took me a moment to respond, seeing just how different he looked.

“Uh… Dry.” I tugged on my wet shirt. It was thick enough to not be see-through or anything, but the chill of the water, and the way it was clinging to me wasn’t something I liked in the slightest. “Of course! why didn't you do that already, I'm freezing!” I was basically clinging to Flicker’s warm fur.

“Alright, so 1 - 0 then?” he asked.

I gritted my teeth. “Forget it. I don't need your stupid help.”

“You sure? You look pretty cold.”

I grabbed my hoody, which was thankfully still dry, and walked behind Flicker. “I’ll be fine if I get out of these wet clothes.”

I quickly changed out of my wet top, using the ever-so-calm bear as a draw curtain. While I was at it I took off my boots and socks too, rubbing my feet to try and warm them up a bit and get rid of the numbness. ‘It’s hard to believe I’m not really here… That this isn’t really happening.’

“You’re really stubborn, you know that?” His tone of voice changed slightly from normal, but I couldn’t tell what exactly it meant.

I didn’t even bother responding. ‘Ugh. He’s never going to give this a rest, is he? Why is he even trying to compete with me? I mean, if he’s an ascended being then how would I even have a chance?’

After wringing out my shirt I hung it from my belt, pushing my hair back in my hood to keep it out of the wind. ‘I can’t do anything about my pants, but if my shirt’s dry and my hair’s covered it shouldn’t be too bad.’

With an exasperated sigh, I got back onto Flicker. I was still cold, and maybe a little frustrated, but in the end I was still happy.

I groaned, leaning over and wrapping my arms around Flicker’s neck. Even if I was happy, I’d rather be happy and dry. “Whatever, let's just go back to the mountain. That's enough adventure for one day.” My voice was muffled by the bear's fur as I let my eyes close, hugging her tightly.

‘The only thing more childish than him not using his magic to help me after I saved him, is me telling him not to.’

“Uh yeah sure.”

He touched Flicker’s fur and in an instant we were transported back to the gazebo, walking back in silence and sitting down to calmly resume sipping his tea.

‘Where did all that energy go?’

I followed after him and plopped on the bench next to him this time, instead of being across from him.

“Hey, what are you doing?”

“Well, you seem to like competing, so I thought we could play a game. Have you ever heard of Go?”

He grimaced, looking at my clothes dripping water around me. “You’re getting me wet again.”

I stared at him for a moment wanting to say something I knew I shouldn’t. “Well, it’s your own fault for not drying me off with your magic.”

He groaned scooting away as he conjured up a gameboard. “Sure I know how to play, but can’t you just sit on the other end of the table?”

I scooted closer again in order to reach the game pieces and chose black. “Do my arms look long enough to reach all the way across this table?”

He groaned again, moving farther away again.

‘Geez, if it bothers him that much why doesn't he just fix the problem.’