Donny led them around the river to a secluded spot where they wouldn’t be bothered as the heat of they day became oppressive. A big tree stood beside the river and Dodger saw an old rope was tied to a sturdy overhanging branch.
“I used to come here when I was a kid. We used to swing out on the rope and drop into the river,” Donny said while tugging on the rope.
Dodger sat on the ground and started removing her shoes. “There’s no slaughterfish in there is there?”
Donny pulled off his shirt, the muffled sound of his voice coming from under it, “No, no slaughterfish. I saw a snake once, but it was a little one. Probably not even poisonous. Besides, aren’t you a relative?”
Kitty even laughed at that.
“Hey! I’ll bite you!” Dodger said, then noticed Donny wasn’t stopping at his shirt. “Oh! Skinny dipping are we?”
“Well, duh! Unless you brought some swimming clothes. You got a problem with that? Last one in is a rotten egg!” Donny yelled, then ran towards the rope, leaping onto it and arcing out over the slow-moving river before letting go and going under.
“DANGLY BITS! DANGLY BITS!” Kitty called when he resurfaced as she finished stripping and grabbed the rope. “I SAW YOUR DANGLY BITS!”
“Jealous? You got nothing!” he called back, but the cat was by then arcing on the rope even higher than Donny had, giving it her all.
“I’m FLYING!” she cried as she let go of the rope.
A few seconds later she proved that Khajiits could, in fact, swim just fine.
“Nice tits Dodger!” Donny called, but Dodger just kicked off her pants, grabbed the swinging rope and and almost managed the height that Kitty had.
“Lookout Donny! Incoming!” Kitty yelled as Dodger’s trajectory and good aim sped her straight at the boy, who dove underwater at the last minute.
Dodger felt an accidental kick on her tail from him as she went underwater herself, and turned back to look at her two friends treading water above her. She could hear their muffled voices through the water while she stayed submerged.
“Where is she?” Donny was saying.
Kitty dove underwater and looked around, but didn’t see her as Dodger had circled behind her.
“I don’t see her Donny!”
“Can Argonian’s swim?” Dodger heard the panic rising in Donny’s voice.
“I don’t know! I thought so!” Kitty answered him.
“Oh no! Maybe she thought it was shallow!!!” Donny said, in full panic mode now and submerging to look for her.
But Dodger lay still on the bottom and he didn’t see her through the murky water. Then she saw Kitty do the same, though she had to laugh a little when she noticed that the Khajiit’s eyes were tightly shut and the cat couldn’t stay under very long. Then she swam up behind Donny and emerged slowly and quietly inches behind him.
“We swim just fine, Donny,” she whispered in his ear.
His scream had both her and Kitty laughing while he tried to recover his dignity. “Damn you Runt! I mean, Dodger! We thought you drowned!”
“You really don’t know much about Argonians do you? I can breathe underwater! You think these fins are just for show? Why, we’re practically fish!” Dodger expounded proudly and proved it by a quite impressive simulation of a dolphin standing on the water with only her tail and feet still in.
“Wow! That’s cool!” Kitty cried delightedly when Dodger sunk back under and then leaped out of the water over them both.
Donny was still a little miffed though when Dodger rejoined them. “Never seen boobs on a fish before,” he pointed out.
Dodger thrust her chest out, again above the water higher than either her friends could dream of maintaining. “Never heard of a mermaid?”
“HA! A mermaid with scales? And no nipples?”
Dodger sunk back into the water at the level of Donny, then noticed Kitty swimming back to shore. The figure that emerged from the water looked dangerously close to a skeleton with a huge head.
Dodger caught up to her quickly, leaving Donny behind. “Kitty? Are you okay?”
“Yeah. I know I look weird. Like a skeleton, right?”
“Well, yeah. But that’s not what I mean. What’s wrong? I’m sorry about the whole drowning thing.”
“It’s not that,” Kitty said as she climbed back up the bank to her clothes, then looked back to see Donny calling for them to come back in.
“Well, what is it then?”
Kitty looked down at herself, then at Dodger’s boobs, then back. “Guess.”
“Oh. That.”
“I’ve got nothing. Just like he said. I’m a freak.”
“Yeah, you are. Guess you’ll have to kill yourself.”
“Hey! What kind of sympathy is that?"
"At least you have fur. Try being bald. Can’t hide that. Or these teeth!”
“I bet you don’t get into fights much though,” Kitty replied enviously.
“I’d bite their arm in half!” Dodger said, baring her toothy maw. “RrrrrAHGH!”
“Nice! I wish I had those!” Kitty said, turning back to look at Donny who was still flailing around in the water. Dodger noticed she couldn’t help smiling at him despite her self-pity.
“….ASSHOLES!” he was yelling while trying to present his butt to them but failing to get it out of the water.
"Well, come on Dodger. Let’s go back in. He’s going to drown himself at this rate.”
“Race you!” Dodger said, running back towards the rope.
They arrived at the same time and swung out together over the lake, but the rope snapped at the peak of their arc and they went sailing out far beyond Donny who hooted at them as they flew overhead, landing with a huge spash awkwardly.
“Hold on to my neck Kitty!” Dodger called after they’d surfaced. Kitty grabbed hold and Dodger swam as fast as she could around Donny.
“Whoa!” Kitty laughed, the speed enough to blow her fur around a little as Dodger came within inches of Donny before speeding past.
“Hey! I want a ride!” he called as they went by.
Later they all clambered out of the water, Dodger panting from the exertion of hauling them both around for what seemed like hours. They lay flat on the ground to dry off and rest while the afternoon wore on.
“So what do you want to do next?” Donny asked as they watched the clouds float by.
“Don’t you have to go home sometime?” Kitty asked while absently combing her fur out.
“Shit no. Dad will still be conscious. He’ll probably just tell me to go get more booze. If I go home way after dark he’ll be asleep. Best time.”
Kitty turned to Dodger on her other side. “How’s your money holding out Dodger?”
“Fine,” she said between breaths, “if we don’t go crazy. I’ve got enough for another dinner anyway.” she replied without opening her eyes.
The sun felt good and Dodger really didn’t feel like getting up though. Fortunately the others were in no mood to leave either, so they just sprawled there in peace for a while more. Finally Kitty got up and got dressed, her fur mostly back to normal, so Dodger and Donny did likewise and they all headed back to the city.
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