"just step in nice and slowly," adrianus murmured. "feel the way you relax as you lower your body into the water..."

she dipped her toes in. it was warm...

"that's it..."

she lowered the rest of her foot onto the first step, covering most of it in water.

"it's nice, isn't it?"

"it is..."

she wasn't in much of a trance yet, but the warmth was relaxing, especially when she took a moment to take it in, to really feel it.

it looked nice, too. it was dark out, but there were lights around the water, reflecting off the surface of it, shimmering with the light ripples. maybe it was a little hypnotic...

she took another step, her other foot dipping into the water now, all the way to her calf. another step, up to her knee. adrianus was stepping behind her.

"the more your body is submerged in the water, the more relaxed you feel... the more you sink into trance."

another step, up to her thighs. she could really feel it now, maybe partially because he'd just said something.

another, up to her waist. he had his hand on her shoulder now, like he was guiding her, pushing her.

"just sinking down..."

finally, she was all the way down the steps, the water coming up to her chest, adrianus right behind her, getting closer now that they weren't on the steps.

"that's right... it's nice and warm... floaty, and light, and drifty... and you move so slowly when you're in the water, don't you? but it's so nice, to slow down like this..."

sometimes she found it kind of embarrassing, turning random things into inductions. but this was nice...

"and if you'd like to go a bit deeper... i can guide you... you can just hold on to me... and float... or i can even hold you..."

he moved forward, and she grabbed onto his arms, kicking lazily and floating along as he stepped deeper into the water.

she felt strangely safe, even though she had such a strong fear of drowning, and he was going deep enough that she wouldn't be able to stand... but he was right there, ready to hold her and carry her back if he needed to.

"it's nice..." she said quietly, slowly, sleepily.

"it's always nice to be guided deeper, isn't it?"

"it is..."

everything felt slow, and warm. it felt right, holding on to him like this. it felt right how easy it was.

it was calm, and quiet. it was just the two of them in the water. she understood why adrianus wanted this to be hypnotic... she understood how special it was. how nice it was, to feel it so physically, to really be guided deeper...

and even later, when it was time to get out, he made it pleasant, emphasizing that heaviness, that tiredness, as he gently dried her off with a soft towel.