Lexx waded toward Chel, stopping at the edge of the outcropping. Chel started to scoot backwards, trying to get out of his reach, only to slip and fall feet first onto a lower section of the rock.
"Hey! Don't throw me in! I do not want to swim!" Chel yelped too late. Lexx already had her around the waist and was holding her up while stepping backward.
"Relax, Chel." Lexx was being careful, but that didn't put Chel at ease. "I'm not going to drop you on purpose or accidentally." Skate swam a circle around Lexx and stopped just to his side, holding steady. "Good girl. Skate catches on quick."
Chel found herself sitting on top of the dice as it broke the surface. "I'm too heavy for skate right now, so she can practice with you."
"I didn't volunteer for this!" Chel squeaked uncertainly. Skate had an odd texture to her skin and Chel was afraid she might hurt her. The dice was smooth and had a very soft skin that sunk in slightly under her weight, like a cushion. "Lexx…" Chel began to whine faintly, "Take me back to the beach, please!"
Lexx completely ignored Chel's protests, waving at Skate, "Hover."
Chel shrieked as she felt herself rising. Any moment now, she was going to slide off. She squeezed her eyes shut, trying to hold onto the leathery skin of the dice. Skate contorted her body perfectly to keep Chel from falling and didn't seem to have any problem in hovering a few inches above the surface of the water. Her long crimson tail twitched, the barbs at the end flicking water into the air every few seconds. Chel wasn't going to fall if Skate had anything to do with it.
And then, Chel heard Lexx laughing, a low chuckle that gradually rose in volume then tapered off to snickering. Lexx was amused by Chel's expression. She looked to be in tremendous pain despite nothing happening to her. "Chel, open your eyes."
The girl slowly sat up and looked around. "You said this was the swim dice! Why is it flying?!"
"She." Lexx corrected her. "All dice have attributes that enable them to survive in any environment,… they just may not like it… Zeta for example. He's a fire type dice, but he can swim if he tried."
