Chapter 3: Isabel

The moment Isabel's feet hit the muddy earth, she took off running. the bus had just dropped her off at home; but she didn't bother to go into her house. She ran straight past it to the acres of forest that was her back yard. The cool green of it welcomed her, but she didn't slow to enjoy it. It was raining and had been all day, and mud clung to her feet with every step. So when she reached the river several minutes later, her shoes and her pants up to her knee were caked with mud.
Isabel didn't hesitate. She stripped down to her bathing suit which she had worn under her clothing everyday since she was three. Then, without a word to her daemon, whom she still had not spoken to since the incident at lunch that day, Isabel dove into the river.
Instantly, everything changed. The icy water jolted Isabel into the present. The current flowed tirelessly around her, washing away the mud and grime of Isabel's day and carrying it downstream.
With equally powerful stroked, Isabel and Olin swam to the place where the river deepened, and the current slowed to a gentle push now and again.
As one, girl and daemon slipped seamlessly beneath the surface. They plunged deeper and deeper, drinking in the perfect silence. Then they turned and rain drops play on the surface of the water.
-Race you.
Isabel grinned in reply and shot off after her daemon who had not waited for an answer. With each fierce, grateful stroke, Isabel grew closer to her daemon. But, as always, he won.