Chapter 36: From Swimmer to Swimmer
Ducky had just finished her breakfast and was eager to get back to the cove where she was sure Mo would be waiting but everyone else was eating at a much slower pace. To her it was agonisingly slow but the others did not seem to mind. Ducky paced at the entrance in agitation.
"Can you please eat faster" said Ducky in the most respectful voice she could give but it was no secret that Ducky really wanted to head back to the cave.
"Patience little one, we are almost finished then we will get going" replied her mother, she sounded a little annoyed at Ducky's nagging. Ducky was visibly displeased at being made to wait longer then she wanted to.
Sura swallowed the last of her ground stars and got to her feet. Ducky was looking very excited, her tail wagged in anticipation that her mother had finished her breakfast and that they would shortly be on the way. But to her disappointed her mother went to take a drink at the spring. Ducky stomped her foot on the ground and paced faster in a deeper agitation then before.
Cyrest could not stop himself from giggling at Ducky. She looked like someone who desperately wanted to relieve themselves but were not yet excused. Finally after what seemed like ages to Ducky, her mother finally headed toward her. Ducky grinned in delight and raced outside the cave only to hear her mother calling her back.
"Not so fast Ducky you are needed"
Ducky gave a long groan and retreated back into the caves recesses. "What is it?" she asked in annoyance.
"You're on nest clearing duty Ducky, remember?" said Sura.
"Not again" thought Ducky in disgust. Her punishment for her disappearance yesterday was to clear out Jane's nest whenever she relieved herself. Having done it once before she was in no mood to do it again but with her mother watching her she knew that she would not escape her punishment. So once again she cleaned out the nest as quickly as she could and deposited the leaves at the relieving spot outside the cave.
After washing her hands in the spring she was back at the exit of the cave, practically jumping in excitement. "Can we go now mommy? Can we please?" she asked.
Sura chuckled at her daughter's enthusiasm "Okay dear let's go" she said.
Ducky sprinted out of the cave with a cry of delight, she could not wait to see Mo again or see the wonders of The Big Water like she had yesterday. Her mother quickly caught up to her and they both headed toward the cove.
Somewhere in the Mysterious Beyond near the shores of The Big Water
The small rocks by the stream trembled as did the ground around it with the footsteps of a large herd of passing Swimmers. A tall, fit green male led the herd followed by his mate who was also the same shade of green as he. Behind then was the herd's deputies and behind them were the rest of the adults. There was a large batch of children in the centre of the moving herd, under constant watch and protection from the adults. An old brown female was keeping watch over the little children as they chattered happily amongst themselves.
A younger adult female travelled beside her but she had a pale blue colouration. She was watching the children with longing. The old Swimmer placed her hand on the others shoulder, causing her to turn her head t and face her companion. "Beautiful aren't they" asked the brown. The other Swimmer whose name was Bluey due to her unique colouration gave a sad sigh. She never had children having never found a mate that suited her, most males turned her down because of her strange colouration.
"Yeah" she said. "I just wish that I had some of my own"
"My dear you still look after many of them" replied the old one in a compassionate voice.
"It's not the same as have my own children mom" said Bluey in sadness and agitation, even though her mother was only trying to console her. "I wish I never had this colour" said Bluey with a sob.
The mother nuzzled her daughter. Bluey had the hardest life out of any of her surviving children who had all left to create families of their own but not her. She had been bullied by many children as a youngling. If it had not been for her mother and a few of her siblings then she probably would have taken her own life. Though she wasn't as repressed as she used to be as an adult, but she could never find a mate of own.
Bluey tried to change the subject "So do you know where the herd is heading this time?" she asked. Her mother was a well-respected elder and was usually being asked for advice by the herd's young leader. Being up close to the herd's inner circle, she heard a lot about how the herd was run.
"We are heading toward the Big Water where we will stay until the middle of the Cold Time then we will head to the Great Valley to watch the younglings take The Swimmer Trials" explained her mother.
Bluey nodded. "I remember my Trials as if it was yesterday, everyone who said I was a failure was blown out of the water when I completed my Trials and won the single's race" said Bluey.
"Yes dear, I remember it too and I am so proud of all my children including you dear" said Bluey's mother. She then turned and looked into the distance with a troubled look on her face.
"Mom?" asked Bluey
"Sorry Blu dear, I just thought about 'that' Trial" she said.
Bluey looked down with a saddened look on her face "Must I attend it?" she asked.
"I'm afraid so dear. Besides I will be there to cheer the youngling on and hope that they survive" said Bluey's mother to which her daughter closed her eyes tightly. "Don't worry dear it's a long way off, let's just focus on getting the children ready for the Trials" she said.
"Yes mom" said Bluey.
The two Swimmer along with the herd continued their journey though The Mysterious Beyond.
Back at The Big Water
Sura and Ducky arrived at the cove where Mo had said he would meet Ducky. Ducky sat by the water's edge and waited patiently. Her mother was curious about the situation she found herself in. She had never associated with any Swimmer from The Big Water and was interested in the one that Ducky had befriended.
She did not have to wait long. Shortly after they arrived in the cove there was a loud high pitched squeak "or was that a laugh" thought Sura in confusion.
SPLASH!
Sura spluttered as she was splashed in the face by a sudden jet of water which seemed to come out of nowhere. "What was that" cried Sura in astonishment but only the laughter of her daughter and the same high squeaky laugh she heard before answered her. Sura looked at the water next to Ducky and saw Mo jumping high into the air and do a triple somersault before diving back into the water at a perfect angle.
Ducky laughed at the dumbstruck look on her mother's face at meeting Mo. She waved Mo over and he came to the shore.
"Hello mud brother" he said in his usual squeaky voice.
"Hi Mo" said Ducky with a grin on her face.
Sura approached the water's edge and studied Mo with interest.
"Mo this my mom" said Ducky when Mo looked over at Sura.
"Pleased to meet you" said Sura in a loving voice.
"Good to meet you toooooo" said Mo raising himself out of the water, on his flipping tail before coming back into the water.
"We are coming with you today Mo" said Ducky.
Mo grinned and swam side on to Ducky and offered his dorsal fin for her to hold on. Ducky jumped onto Mo's back and held onto his fin. "Let's go!" cried Mo.
Sura quickly dived into the water so as to avoid getting left behind. Sura kept pace with Mo who was giving Ducky a very exhilarating ride. He jumped high into the air before coming back into the water with a big splash. Ducky had gotten used to the feeling of flying through the air and was now really enjoying herself.
Mo sent Noon a message through the water as he swam so as to warn her of her arrival. Soon the three Swimmers met up with Mo's Water Kin. Where they were greeted by Noon.
She studied Sura with interest just as Sura had studied Mo. When she finished she swam in front of Sura and introduced herself. "Good morning, my name is Noon you are welcome to swim with my kin" she said.
"Thank you said Sura in a kind voice."I'm Sura and I don't think I need to introduce my daughter" she chuckled at her last few words.
Noon smiled. "I'm glad to see you here Sura and Ducky. We plan on helping her with her Trial" she said to Sura.
"Thank you Noon, I appreciate your help" responded Sura.
"Hey your Ducky helped my Mo so I should help Ducky as well. We help each other, Land Swimmer to Water Swimmer" replied Noon.
Sura nodded. "So what are we going to do now?" she asked.
"We will take you to arch rock and teach Ducky some of our wisdoms" answered Noon.
"Great, let's get going then" said Sura.
The Water Kin along with Sura and Ducky headed along the coast at a swift pace. They dived under the water a lot of times and giving Sura and Ducky a tour of the offshore reefs.
To Sura it was like nothing she had ever seen. It was the most amazing sight that she ever had laid eyes upon. Ducky was no less enthralled, although she had seen some reefs the day before as soon as she looked at a different reef she found a new strange creature looking back at her, it was as if it was her first day in the Big Water again.
Noon led them to a large rock arch way that reached all the way from the sea bed to the top of a large cliff. It was quite breathtaking to Sura and Ducky. Noon led them to a shallow ledge that they could rest on. Once Sura and Ducky had settled themselves on the ledge, Noon swam up to Ducky.
"Are you ready to really learn how to swim Ducky?" she asked.
"I am I am" said Ducky in response.
Satisfied by her answer she then went over to Sura and inquired at what Ducky had learnt so far. Sura explained to Noon about what she had taught her in the Great Valley then elaborated to tell her about what Cyrest had taught her and what she planned to teach her. Ducky meanwhile was caught in the playful antics on Mo and his siblings. Ducky was trying to dodge the various blasts of water that were aimed at her, while trying to splash back at Mo.
Noon nodded after Sura's explanation of Ducky's training then called for attention. Everyone stopped to watch her. She swam back too Ducky and addressed her. "Alright Ducky we have agreed to train you but before we can start on the important stuff we need to get your fit enough to swim comfortable beside us at our pace" said Noon.
Ducky could hardly supress a groan. That's just what she needed, more fitness training. However she nodded in reluctance, she would probably need this training to overcome her trial anyway.
"Ok" said Noon "we will accompany you back to the cove but this time you must swim with us. If you fall back then your mother and myself shall drop back and keep an eye on you"
Ducky nodded nervously, she would be in for a hell of an exhausting swim if she was expected to keep up with Mo's water kin. She took a few deep breaths in preparation for her swim.
"You can do it dear" said her mother in an attempt to encourage her daughter.
"I am ready I am I am" said Ducky to Noon, who nodded.
"Catch us if you can!" cried one of Mo's brothers as they started to swim off. Ducky took a breath and dived into the water and began kicking her legs as fast as she could manage, she swam in a swift freestyle. Ducky was indeed going fast but she was dismayed to see that she was hardly keeping up with Mo's Water Kin.
Ducky pushed her physical limits, she kicked her legs harder. She took a brief breath at the surface after a few minutes of high intensity swimming, then pushed on.
"Good job Ducky" said her mother in an encouraging voice.
"Ducky" said Noon "dive and swim along the bottom, you'll find it faster than Swimming at the surface" she instructed.
Ducky nodded and plunged beneath the water. She dived down until she was just above the reef and powered through the water with Noon and her mother on either side of her. "I can do this I can I can" thought Ducky when she caught a glimpse of Mo's tail in the distance, so she powered on.
Ducky was giving it all her effort but after about another 2 kilometres of high intensity swimming and a few brief breaths on the surface, she began to tire rapidly. It became a challenge to hold her breath for long intervals during her period of physical exertion. Her exhaustion showed as her speed started to decrease and her eyes took upon a more desperate look. She was no longer swimming at the bottom due to the regular breaths off air that she now needed to keep herself going.
Sura and Noon both gave tried to encourage Ducky but the fact remained that the rest of the Water Kin were just a few dots on the horizon. This did not help Ducky, it made her feel very weak compared to the rest of Mo's Water Kin having only kept pace with them for about a kilometre and a half.
Finally Ducky's limbs seemed to stop as they reached their working limit. Noon quickly gave Ducky her fin to keep her at the surface while Sura swam beside Ducky with a worried expression.
"Are you ok dear?" Sura asked to which Ducky could only pant in response.
Noon looked doubtful as Ducky held on to her fin so that she could stay afloat. "Perhaps we should call this a day" she said to Sura.
Sura for her part was all to willing to agree, with Ducky physically drained and unable to keep afloat it was best they take her back. But to the astonishment of the two adults Ducky suddenly let go of Noon and started to swim again though at a lot more slower pace them before, she wanted to complete Noon's training and show to everyone that she could do it
"Ducky?" said both Sura and Noon in astonishment when she started to swim.
"Ducky you don't have to do this dear" said her mother after she caught up with her.
"I know I can do it yep yep yep" said Ducky, her voice was filled with sheer determination and an unshakable will.
"Come on Ducky, you can do it" said Noon. Who looked ahead and could finally see the cove come into sight. "Your almost there" she added.
Ducky saw the cove too. She kicked her legs with renewed vigour despite the fierce burning sensation coming from them. Her legs were aching and her heart was beating ferociously while her muscles strained with pain at being pushed this hard. Ducky felt a dizziness start to come over her mind as she became increasingly exhausted. Though she did her best to ignore the pain in her limbs, she could not ignore the growing dizziness in her mind.
Suddenly she could hear Mo and the rest of his family, though she could not tell what they were saying. Ducky knew that she was so close now. She closed her eyes tightly and taking a breath, she dived beneath the waves and then rocketed toward the surface. She jumped out of the water as if she was one of Mo's kind She opened her eyes and saw herself starting to fall back to the water with the shore only a few metres away.
SPLASH!
She entered the water and drifted back to the surface where she finally pulled herself back onto dry land. Ducky collapsed and lay on the ground panting horribly fast, her whole world was spinning and the disorientation that she was feeling was overwhelming.
Sura pulled herself onto the shore and picked up Ducky in her arms while the rest of Mo's water kin cheered at Ducky successfully swimming the distance even if she did not manage to keep up with them the whole way. Sura nuzzled her daughter. "I'm so proud of you dear" she said softly.
"Congratulations" said Noon. "You are even stronger then I though you were".
Ducky could hardly hear anything in her current state and all that she could hear was gibberish to her.
"Thank you Noon for your help" said Sura "but Ducky will need a long rest before she try's this again" she added in a more serious tone.
"Of course Sura, I am glad to have met you and I suppose we will see each other again soon" said Noon.
"Goodbye Ducky" called Mo "get better soon" he said as he swam off with the rest of his Water Kin.
Sura on the other hand began to make her trek back towards the cave. Ducky had recovered somewhat after a while but she still took deep breaths and she was to tired to move. "I did it" said Ducky in a barely inaudible voice.
"Yes you did dear" said her mother, giving her a gentle nuzzle which Ducky greatly accepted. "We'll get some food and water into you when we get back to the cave dear" she added. Ducky nodded.
Soon the duo arrived back in the cave as the sun began to set. Jane was already sleeping and Cyrest was waiting patiently for them at the entrance. "How'd it go" he asked when Sura came into view.
"Just fine but Ducky is very tired and needs some food, she has had a very tiring day" said Sura in reply.
Cyrest nodded and after Sura entered the cave he gently placed some ground stars beside Ducky who immediately started to gorge herself on this meal.
"My, what did you do today? You look like you have been running from a Sharptooth for the whole day" commented Cyrest as he observed Ducky.
Sura nodded "she had to swim at the pace of the Big Water Swimmers over a very long distance" she explained to which Cyrest opened his mouth in astonishment.
Ducky got up and slowly with weary steps walked to the spring and took a long drink before returning to her mother's side where she curled up and was instantly asleep. Her deep breaths being the loudest noise in the cave.
Sura chuckled and wrapped her tail around her little one. Cyrest proceeded to his sleeping spot but Sura called him.
"Cyrest?" she asked.
Cyrest turned "Yes Sura?" he replied.
"Can I talk to you?" asked Sura and mentioned for Cyrest to join her. The old Swimmer placed himself down beside Sura and looked at her with an inquisitive look on his face.
"What is it Sura?" he asked.
Sura hesitated before speaking "Well I was wondering about why you live in this cave" said Sura. Cyrest looked down as if something troubled him. "My understanding of the Trial of Destiny is that if someone completes it then they become the herd's next leader but you do not appear to have a herd" she said carefully.
Cyrest sighed and looked out of the cave entrance for a long time. Sura waited patiently for Cyrest to speak and when he finally did his voice was filled with much guilt and regret. "My herd no longer exists" he said in a pained voice.
"What do you mean?" asked Sura.
Cyrest closed his eyes, a few tears fell down his cheeks "I am all that is left of my herd, they died a long time ago during The Great Earthshake" he said. Sura looked saddened by this.
"Nearly all my herd was killed. I only had my son and a few other children and there parents but after an ambush by Sharpteeth only me and my son remained" sobbed Cyrest, his breath trembled as he spoke his next words. "My mate died long before that, I promised her that I would look after our hatching right before I was forced to...to... Her injuries were just to severe and she asked me to do it.
Sura gasped, her hands were over her mouth as Cyrest revealed his darkest secrets. "I failed her" said Cyrest mournfully "and I failed Swayer" he broke down into a fit of sobbing. Sura put her arms around him in an attempt to comfort him. "I haven't had the heart to stay in a herd since" he finished.
"You haven't failed either of them" said Sura softly.
"Yes I have, I lost both of them and my herd is dead" replied Cyrest in a voice filled with pain and guilt.
"No" said Sura firmly.
Cyrest looked at her with a confused expression on his face.
Sura spoke firmly to Cyrest. "You have never failed them. Look at what your doing now. You rescued Jane and are now looking after her, you saved me from certain death and right now you are helping to train Ducky for her trial" Cyrest stared at her. "And it was never your fault that you lost your herd, not everyone can survive Sharpteeth but even fewer can survive The Great Earthshake and with Swayer, don't forget that if Sculra had not chose him then he would still be alive today" continued Sura.
Cyrest looked at her in shock as if he only just realised what she was saying.
Sura continued "I'm sure that both your mate and your son would be proud of you" she said in a compassionate voice.
Cyrest smiled sadly before nodding his head and holding Sura's hand in support. "Thank you Sura, I can see who Ducky gets her selflessness from" he said.
Sura nodded once. "Good night Cyrest sleep well" said Sura.
"Goodnight Sura" said Cyrest and went back to his sleeping spot.
Sura stroked Ducky's back gently. She thought of Ruphus as well. She understood that Cyrest missed his long lost mate and that she was helping him to deal with his loss. It struck her now of how lucky she was to have Ruphus as a mate along with all their children, it was even more lucky that she had not lost her mate or any of her children. Sura hoped that luck would hold when it came to the Trials.
She looked at Ducky and smiled proudly at her daughter. She had performed a difficult feat today, she knew that when the time came that Ducky would try her very best in the Trials. "Goodnight dear" she whispered as she nuzzled her gently. She could have almost sworn that she felt Ducky return the gesture as she disengaged. "I know she'll make me proud" thought Sura before falling asleep.
Unbeknown to any of the sleeping Swimmers in the cave a fifth face looked into the cave. The face of a badly burned grey Flyer, His eyes scanned the cave and he grinned wickedly when he spotted Ducky sound asleep by her mother. Yes he would soon have his revenge. The Sierra turned tail and left. He would make life hell for this batch of Swimmers especially for Ducky, he just had to wait for the right opportunity. But there was one thing that he wanted to do first.