Chapter 68: Close Encounters of the Swimmer Kind.

As each of Sura's children went back to The Mingling with the other children, their mother watched as Ruphus returned to her side. "I'm going to take a walk dear; I just need to clear my head."

Sura grabbed Ruphus hand and shook her head. "Dear this is a once in a lifetime opportunity to see our first clutch here, don't let the bad blood between you and Auphous stop you from making the most of this moment."

Looking deep into his mate's eyes and hearing the wisdom of her words gave him more peace of mind. Ruphus nodded, lowered his beak and exchanged a quick nuzzle with Sura before they both returned to watch the kids but once again the peace was disturbed by something far worse than Auphous.

"Why hello 'dears' how goes your disgusting little moment?"

Everything about the false sweet girly tone of the first to words to the coldness and anger in the second phrase was almost like having someone spit in their faces and just hearing that voice certainly made Sura and Ruphus want to respond in kind.

"You couldn't have stayed away from us today, could you?" Ruphus asked and turned around glaring. "You miserable Swimmer" He finished as he and his mate confronted the elderly female that had seemingly appeared out of nowhere.

"Come now Ruphus my dear, I know you want to welcome me with the enthusiasm you did with your 'loving' father before but I don't think it is right to make love in front of everyone like that" Sculra said, her smile was a cruel taunt and the tone of her words seeped her desire for Ruphus and her cruel sarcasm that left both Sura and Ruphus momentarily dumbfounded and blanching. Ruphus eye actually twitched at hearing the word loving and father in the same sentence, just referencing his father enough to piss him off on a good day.

"Use your words, Sura, I thought you were supposed to be a mother" Sculra laughed mockingly at the subject of her deepest hatred. Implying that she was unfit to be a mother is she was unable to communicate properly.

"Sculra, I will say this bluntly. Get Lost!" Ruphus said. He was in no mood to deal with her after his confrontation with Auphous and his temper was already simmering just beneath the boiling point, it wouldn't take much for him to lose his composure again and with Sculra being around provoking him it seemed like he was a ticking time bomb and this time Sura might not be the voice of reason as she was absolutely appalled by Sculra's nerve. "I would love to have another reason get my hands around that neck of yours Sculra, just say the right word and I will gladly give you a dance you won't live to regret" Ruphus hissed.

Sculra smirked at his reply in mock fear though her eyes narrowed with fury over their last meeting. She had taken a good while to recover from Ruphus attempt on her life but in any case, it seemed that her little Great Valley 'party' that she had taken the time to organise had left him with more scars then her but it had not killed him and that was one thing that she was grateful for even if those stupid Sharpteeth didn't cause the damage she wanted.

It would be shocking if anyone found out the Sharpteeth had been led into the Valley by Sculra but it would be simply horrifying to hear her thoughts that the massacre of Striker's Canyon was not good enough for her. It would be enough to get her killed but she was not going to let her tongue slip that easily to anyone.

"I'm totally heartbroken Ruphus" Sculra made dramatic motion with her hand. "I'm only here to witness this momentous occasion and see how many proper children there are out there when I saw you, I figured I would be rude if I didn't say hello" Both Swimmers simply glared at Sculra.

"What do you want Sculra?" Sura asked firmly.

"That's not your concern Sura" Sculra replied coldly. "I've already made my deal with your foolish daughter; she is naïve and knows nothing about life" She turned around to head off but looked around once and glared at Sura with enough hate that a Sharptooth would drop dead at the sight of her. "But that deal she made was the best thing she ever did in her miserable little life; she will give me exactly what I want."

"Not if we have anything to do with it, do you hear me Sculra!? Your schemes will destroy you in the end and we will all be there to see that day when Ducky beats you! She has all the wi-Mfft!"

Sura's beak was suddenly clamped shut by Ruphus as Sculra walked off. Sura pulled Ruphus hands off her face but before she could ask why he did that, he simply gestured to the nearby judge who was in close range of their talk. It was obvious that Sculra was trying to get Sura in more trouble with the elders by riling her up and making her admit that her daughter knew the wisdoms and would face undesirable consequences from the elders if they found out.

Young Swimmers were not supposed to know the wisdoms as they were reserved for adults, to have any child know them would be an unfair advantage and would be a subject of much scorn and some pretty severe consequences from the judges.

Sura nodded and watched as Sculra disappeared into the crowd, Sura remembered from the last Trials that Sculra had been observing the children closely to see how many of them expressed traditionalist views and behaviours, she would then find out who their parents were and have a talk with them. She was obviously broadening the number of allies that she could count on and exerting her power and influence on others.

Sculra was clever in the way she approached over Swimmers to an outside view it looked like a normal conversation about children and herd life, topics that were certainly brought up but hid Sculra's true intent, she was looking to see which children would be the most useful allies if there made it to adulthood while also getting on the good side of the parents.

While also spreading falsehoods about traditions under threat from certain Swimmers that threw them to the wind, Sculra was able to sell the point that she had the best interests for Swimmers in mind and hence would gain an ally. This method also allowed her to deduce who was a traditionalist Swimmer and who was not and hence she would know who her possible adversaries would be. The bonus point was that she got to show off her status as a Herd Leader and a High Elder which only stroked her ego.

She was basically tiring a vine around those allied Swimmers and holding the end, they were her pets, her puppets, all a part of Sculra's massive web of deception and Sura believed that was what she was doing here today.

Checking on old 'allies' and making new ones.

Sura suddenly didn't feel like being there anymore, not with Auphous and Sculra and their toxic air around but one glace at her children was all that was needed to persuade her to stay to keep them safe and also to witness this major moment in their lives.


Echo and Opal trudged through the thick groups of Swimmer's almost aimlessly, their minds both still lingering on the confrontation their father had with who was apparently their grandfather, a million questions ran through their minds one of the foremost being why didn't they know that they had a grandpa on their father's side? The answer to that question didn't need much explaining through, there was obviously some very deep and personal issues surrounding. Such a rift could have led to the breaking of familial bonds, which the children had always believed was the most important thing in the world.

It was a mystery that they had no context too but they were anxious to solve the mystery, after all it was not like Ducky could hide her Trial from them. They would find out one way or another but the duo's apparent mental anguish had left them rather unresponsive to things happening in the material world so neither of them noticed the tail of the young dark green Swimmer that lay in front of them until Echo was right on top of it.

"Yowwww!" shouted a male voice making both Echo and Opal jump, Echo lost his footing and fell backwards with a cry grabbing onto Opal in the hopes that she would keep him up but this proved to be a mistake as she lost her balance and fell right on top of him.

"Owwhoww! My tail! Couldn't you guys have watched where you were going?" cried out the Swimmer whose tail that Echo had trod on while in the background a female voice could be heard laughing.

"Looks like your tail is too big for you, Nishir!"

The Swimmer called Nishir groaned. "It wasn't my fault someone else wasn't looking where they were going Takari!"

Opal pushed herself up onto her haunches and off of Echo who frantically pushed himself up into a sitting position. "Sorry! I didn't see you there!" he said offering an apology as quickly as possible.

"How do you miss my tail when it is right in front of you?" Nishir asked, cradling and messaging his tail. It was only now that they had regained their bearings did Opal and Echo finally see who they were looking at. Nishir was a dark green, almost murky brown skin colour, his eyes were a dull grey and he was a little shorter than them. As he stroked his slightly reddened tail, they could see a long scar on it and an absence of flesh as if something had taken a bite out of it at one point. It made for a strange sight for them as they had never seen a tail with so much missing from it.

The Swimmer standing next to Nishir that he had called Takari was almost the exact opposite of Nishir, she was an incredibly light shade of green, even lighter than Opal and Ducky, she was almost a lime colour and her features were smooth and elegant with water colour blue eyes though they were not nearly as dark as Opal's eyes which were a very deep blue.

"Really sorry, we were caught up in our own heads" Opal said with a grimace as she helped Echo up into a standing position.

"Hell of a time to be living in your head don't you think?" Nishir asked as he stood and let go of his tail which flipped back to its proper position behind him.

"We did say we were sorry…" Echo said awkwardly, his sentence trailing off.

"So, who are you guys and where did you come from?" Opal asked.

Nishir opened his mouth to answer but he was to slow. "I'm Takari and this is Nishir, we came from The Big Water." Nishir looked a little annoyed at being interrupted but didn't say anything he just nodded.

Echo gestured to himself then Opal with his hands "I'm Echo and this my sister; Opal, we live here in The Great Valley but we've been to many places out in The Mysterious Beyond including the Big Water"

"That's strange, because those big Swimmers over there," Takari pointed to about four tall boys and one girl that were almost certainly siblings. "They said you guys were soft and weak and that you never strayed out of your Valley."

Echo face palmed and groaned unhappily. "Why does everyone seem to think that?" he lamented.

"We have lived half of our lives in The Mysterious Beyond and we hatched there, only our newly hatched brothers and sisters have never been out of The Valley before" Opal said, it was clear that there was already some stigma around Great Valley Swimmer's as she had noticed on the day that Barge, Storm and Whirler got their tails kicked.

It made her worried as to how widespread this misconception actually was, it now seemed that she and her siblings would have to prove their worth to everyone here, to show that they were not useless pushovers.

"Sorry, didn't mean to upset you that's just what they've been saying" Nishir pointed out after seeing the flustered expressions on their faces.

"Let's just not mention them please" Echo said rather disdainfully, an unhappy frown upon his beak.

Opal took charge in order to steer away from the current topic and considering that she was a social Swimmer that was very easy for her to do. "Anyway, are you guys brother and sister, you look that way"

Both Nishir and Takari blanched, shocked at being referred to as siblings.

"No! We are- "

"Friends, just friends, we've just been together our whole lives that's all."

Echo and Opal smirked as they saw the two Swimmer's cheeks starting to turn red, this was so clear a sign for affection that they had occasionally seen with Ducky and Trough and the opportunity for some fun was too good to let pass by.

"Oh great, we have a pair of lovelings" Echo said loudly, his smirk getting wider when he saw the startled looks and Nishir and Takari's faces.

Both Echo and Opal exploded into laughter which did nothing to help the two embarrassed Swimmers. "N-No, i-it's nothing like that! Honest!" Nishir cried.

"Yeah we are too different to be in love!" Takari objected.

"Nice try!" Echo said while holding his belly, "But it is so obvious!"

Opal pulled her hands away from covering her beak, still chuckling, "You're like our sister and her friend in the way you like each other the only difference is you just don't want to show it"

She couldn't have been more spot on but this was not something either Nishir or Takari would ever admit willingly especially in each other's company. They both looked at each other, Nishir pleading with Takari to do something through his mortified expression but she appeared just as stumped as he was which was saying a lot. Nishir had known Takari for a very long time and she hardly ever got caught out in a word joust but never had she been jousted like this. She was speechless.

The Great Valley Swimmers were far more than they ever expected.

Opal sat down and mentioned for Echo and the others to join her. "Now that we've had our laugh perhaps you can tell us about your adventures?" Her eyes gleamed with excitement at the prospect of finally interacting with Swimmer's her own age from outside the Valley, she couldn't wait to hear the juicy stories they had to tell, if only she knew of their tragic past, then she'd not be as excited…


Meanwhile Diver and Spinner headed back into the fold near the edge of the gathered group of children. Spinner was feeling a little anxious on going back in with so many Swimmers around, especially after the events he had just witnessed.

Diver was more annoyed by Spinner's unwillingness to get back into The Mingling. She gave a frustrated tug of his arm. "Come on Spinner, no use in letting that event darken your thoughts, we are supposed to be here 'mingling' remember?"

"Oh, cut it Diver!" Spinner shouted unhappily as he pulled his arm out from Diver's grasp. "I just didn't expect it that's all" He looked down and shuffled his feet about nonchalantly.

Diver sighed. "I know, none of us were but can we please focus? We'll worry about Dad and our 'Grandpa' later" She moved back into The Mingling.

"Wait up Diver!" Spinner cried as he ran in after her, not wanting to be left on his own.

Spinner was incredibly unsure how to act in this situation as he was not used to dealing with such a large crowd of Swimmer's outside of his own family. He knew nothing about these guys and they could easily come to assumptions about him like if they ever saw him working on his whirlpool or as his siblings called it; The Hopeless Case.

Diver was more confident but she was not actually the most social of Swimmer's like Opal and hence she was unsure how to begin any conversation with anyone. However, she realised she needed to talk to them but she was worried about making a fool of herself and Spinner's constant teeth clicking were doing nothing to help her nerves.

She stopped and just tried to focus her mind; she heard a dozen different conversations around them but something caught her ear. Something that caused her to prick up.

"Did you see how that crazy Swimmer just acted towards his elders, just no respect, I'm surprised he was even allowed here" Diver's eyes widened as she spotted the one who had said those words. Spinner also seemed to notice as he turned in the direction of a pale-yellow Swimmer with emerald green eyes that sparkled like wet tree stars. However, the most distinguishing feature of this Swimmer was her left thigh or rather the lack of it, there was a chunk missing from her left thigh which attested to a hard life. Her body was lean and strong and her expression was disapproving but conveyed a sense of confidence and strength.

But Diver couldn't care less of what she looked like. No one called her father crazy, her green eyes narrowed and she strutted over towards the Swimmer who had a small audience of other Swimmer children. Spinner saw what Diver was doing and quickly stepped in her way and held out his arms. "Diver, wait!"

Diver pushed straight through Spinner to his alarm, he knew her temper could be volatile and she never took an insult laying down. This was not going to end well.

"Hey! What did you just say!?" Diver called loudly as she stomped onto the scene, her arrival heralding the coming of a wild storm that was about to break on the hapless Swimmer.

"Diver, please stop!" Spinner cried out but Diver ignored him.

The other Swimmer scoffed. "I said that adult Swimmer was crazy to threaten his elders, he obviously has no respect for them so it's a wonder he's even allowed here. I wonder which herd he came from?"

"Don't you dare call my Dad crazy, girl!" Diver said getting up almost beak to beak with this Swimmer. They both seemed like physical equals had it not been for the scar on the pale-yellow Swimmer's hip.

"He certainly acted that way" retorted the Swimmer, both Swimmer's glared at each other as they engaged in a beak pushing duel.

"He's the best Swimmer in this Valley!" Diver hissed.

"I can see where your lack of respect comes from!" Retorted the other Swimmer coldly.

"GUYS!" Spinner pushed himself between the girls and pushed them apart with his arms, he was not going to allow Diver to get herself into trouble like this. "Stop this now! You're both acting like little tails!"

Spinner's comment seemed to have stuck a nerve with both girls and they both backed down as neither wanted to lower themselves to the level of a little child or hatchling.

"Good, now can we just talk like normal Swimmers?" Spinner asked not expecting an answer because he quickly started talking again. "Sorry about that but I'm afraid you kinda made my sister mad. I'm Spinner and this is Diver, who are you?"

"My name is Whirpool, I'm glad to see some Swimmers have respect unlike others." She gave Diver a dirty look.

The dark green Swimmer was fuming at that comment but she bit her tongue and forced herself to stay calm. She obviously gave the wrong impression to Whirlpool, just like she had been afraid of doing.

"Dad is respectful but when he gets mad it's usually for a good reason, we just don't know why he is angry at our…Grandfather, it must have been really bad though, we didn't even know we had one till now" Spinner said, trying to be as tactful as he could as this was not his usual role. Echo was far better at diplomacy than he was.

Whirlpool raised her eyebrows curiously; she never broke her cold look but it was obvious that she was seriously pondering the situation and there was something in her eyes that spoke of concealed trauma. "Hmmmm…" Was all she said.

Spinner nervously cleared his throat in order to prevent the conversation from becoming any more awkward. "So which part of The Mysterious Beyond do you come from?" he asked.

"The Sky Water Forests far away from here, it rains a lot down there and there are big jungles…" Whirlpool seemed to stare out into the distance, her expression becoming dark and distant. Diver raised an eyebrow and she exchanged a curious look with Spinner, who tilted his head curiously.

"It certainly sounds like a different place; I've never heard tale of such a land. We live here so we don't get out as much as you" Diver said thoughtfully.

Whirlpool turned to both Diver and Spinner with a deep frown forming on her beak as she narrowed her eyes. "Don't know why I would even speak of such lands and hardships to Swimmer's who clearly don't understand them" She said tensely.

Diver took an aggressive step forward. "And what are you implying!? That we are weak and stupid!? We are anything but!"

Whirlpool glared at her. "You certainly haven't convinced me. How many of you have experienced true trauma when you have been tucked up safe in the Valley your whole lives?" She raised her eyes, challenging them to find an answer.

"Only our young brothers and sisters were born here. We lived half of our lives in The Mysterious Beyond! We have seen trauma. Like losing friends and family, seeing injury and blood, surviving the Great Earthshake and even in The Valley it hasn't been safe, I was there!" Diver shouted "I was there at the battle of Striker's Canyon!"

There were many gasps around the Swimmer's and many heads turned to look at her which made Spinner fidget uncomfortably. Even Whirlpool took on a sceptical expression. Like many Swimmer's she had assumed that The Great Valley was the safest place anywhere and had convinced herself that nothing bad could happen there but that was a far cry from reality. The Great Valley and its residents had seen plenty of danger and trauma.

Whirlpool might never had believed Diver's words if she had not mentioned The Battle of Striker's Canyon. Tales of that battle had started to spread amongst the herds that had arrived from the survivors and it painted a grisly picture of death, blood and loss but also of success but at great cost. With so much circulating about this battle and the death of Red Claw none of the farwalkers doubted the truth of the story.

Not even Whirlpool.

And she could see in Diver's eyes that she meant what she was saying, which meant that she had seen trauma which made her skeptical of all she had ever heard of The Great Valley Swimmers.

"What was it like?" She asked.

Diver's face hardened and her jaw clenched as she recalled memories of that terrible day. "It was terrible and bloody beyond belief; I have never seen so much spilt blood. I had never seen my mother or father kill but I saw them fight… I saw then kill and I helped with that battle just like my sister; Ducky and her friends." Many pairs of eyes watched her, a hush fell over the area as everyone listened to the sound of Diver's voice, describing the battle that they had heard so much about.

Whirlpool looked down, deep in thought for but a few moments before she looked up at Diver. "It appears I may have misjudged you" She said.

Spinner sighed with relief. "Good, because this was getting me worried, all my nestmates have been through trouble Ducky, Ray, Rapid all have their scars and we have all experienced hard times"

"Perhaps, you could tell me us about this Valley of yours?" Whirlpool asked, a small smile forming for the first time since they had met her, it made her look less stoic and more friendly like the child she still was no matter what trauma she had seen.

Spinner smiled that Diver and Whirlpool seemed to have calmed down and forgotten their previous row. "Of course," he said "I'll tell you where some of the best swimming spots are…"


Sura and Ruphus watched their children interact with the other Swimmers and they were pleased to see that nearly every group had managed to get into a conversation with the other Swimmers. She could see Ray talking enthusiastically with a Swimmer with an abnormally long tail while Ducky mostly stood aside with a bright smile on her face. She spotted Echo and Opal talking with a couple Swimmers, being able from the expressions of her children she could tell that they were hearing some pretty deep and emotional stuff from these Swimmers.

It didn't surprise her as Swimmers in The Mysterious Beyond often experienced harsher lives and while she knew her children were no strangers to the fickle nature of life and death; she knew there would be those among the large group of children competing in The Trials that had seen the true fickleness of life.

She noticed that Spinner was busy having his time in the spotlight which was unusual considering that Diver was his partner but she commanded the attention of a fairly large group of Swimmers, she would probably hear what they were telling them later.

"Looks like Rapid and Sandy are having a bit of trouble" Ruphus said, gesturing with his beak to the pair that were both standing near the group of large Swimmers trying to remain unnoticed. A concerned frown made its way over Sura's beak, it looked like Rapid was less confident due to his recent injury and how that would make him look and Sandy was just simply overwhelmed whether it was from witnessing Ruphus confrontation with Auphous or the sheer number of children or both, Sura was not sure.

"They'll eventually get the hang if it dear, I'm sure" Sura replied, though she was still uncertain.

"Oh, my word! Sura, Ruphus it is you!" A light green adult Swimmer jogged up to them with a gleaming smile on her face.

Sura and Ruphus eyes widened with surprise for a second before welcoming smiles bloomed on their beaks. "Alice!" Sura said welcoming her old friend with an embrace.

"Hello Alice" Ruphus said warmly, it was a delightful change to come across someone he could actually be happy to see. "I take it you came with Auphous?" He asked. Alice had been a childhood friend of Ruphus and had never left their herd. He hadn't seen her since he and Sura had left many years ago.

"Of course, it is so good to see you two again" Alice embraced Ruphus warmly and he returned the gesture. She was just as bubbly and excitable as he remembered, however she could also be a little naïve at times and was a traditionalist. While not strictly bound, she still preferred to stay on Auphous good side and in doing so she became bound by habit but she still questioned things only she didn't have the will to break her habits. It was one reason why Ruphus courted Sura over Alice despite knowing her whole life.

"So, what are you guys doing here!?" Alice asked.

"We live here" Ruphus said.

"So, you guys are an actual couple now!? Amazing!" Alice clapped her hands and patted them both on the back then looked at the children. "I am here to watch my son take part in The Trials." Alice pointed to a rather shy looking Swimmer sitting in a log just outside The Mingling. He too was a light green like his mother but with red eyes that shone with apprehension. "His name is Seel, isn't he a cutie!?"

Sura and Ruphus both exchanged a concerned expression with each other. "He seems rather frightened" Sura observed.

"He can be a real chatterbox when he wants to" Alice said then she gasped and perked up, "Are you guys here because you have children too!?" Her tail wagged with excitement.

Ruphus sighed at Alice's behaviour. "She was always a child at heart" he thought. In response to Alice's question Ruphus nodded.

"We have all eight of our first clutch here" Alice almost screamed in delight when Sura said that.

"Show me!" Sura and Ruphus both rolled their eyes and began a long-range introduction of Alice to their children. Looking back at them Sura noticed a few different things. Ducky and Ray had more of an audience and Rapid and Sandy seemed to finally have some attention.


Rapid and Sandy had indeed made contact but not in the best circumstances, because they had hung around the big Swimmers, they heard all the ridiculous myths about Great Valley Swimmers, such as them being weaklings and pushovers. Although while Rapid was less confident about standing up to others with his leg, he could only take so much super silliness before he lost his cool. It didn't help that there was one Swimmer who was really into what the big Swimmers were saying that he kept repeating everything they said and Rapid was having a hard time handling hearing things just once. Figuring that one smaller Swimmer would be easier to boss around them three big ones he headed over towards the smaller dark brown Swimmer with grey eyes and a light khaki brown colouration on his belly, even Ducky was taller than him.

The young boy was so entranced by the big Swimmers that he didn't see Rapid sneak up behind him and grab him by the chest and drag him away, making sure to cover his mouth with his hand so he couldn't shout out in surprise at being grabbed like that. "Rapid! You know that is not nice!" Sandy said in disgust at her brother's behaviour.

"I don't care!" Rapid retorted. He dragged the struggling male a short distance away from the three big Swimmers then set him up on his haunches. "Perhaps you can be quiet and stop blabbering out all the Spiketail dung that those Swimmers are blurting out about us!" He said angrily.

He released the smaller Swimmer. "Rapid step back!" Sandy said firmly and pushed her brother roughly aside. "I'm sorry about my brother, he always rushes to quickly into things"

"Oh, I am sorry! I was just trying to make friends like we are supposed to but-"

"Friends with those jerks!?" Rapid said loudly, cutting off the hasty apology.

"Rapid!" Sandy said in a warning tone, that she used when talking to her younger siblings when they started stepping out of line. "What he means is that those three Swimmer's might not make very good friends. I'm Sandy and this is my rambunctious brother-"

"Rapid! The best Swimmer in the Valley!"

"More like the biggest ego maniac in the Valley" retorted Sandy, rolling her eyes.

"I-I'm Cove, I am sorry, I didn't know you Great Valley Swimmers weren't as bad as those guys were saying" Cove said.

"Don't worry Cove, it seems most Swimmers don't know much about us" Sandy said with a friendly smile.

Cove nodded. "So, can I hang out with you? My mom and dad said we are supposed to talk and make friends today and I don't want to let them down"

"Of course you can!" Sandy said she heard Rapid about to protest and shoved her tail in his face to Rapid's great annoyance, he shoved her tail and of the way and gave a miserable groan.

"Why did I have to get caught with a rule follower?" He lamented when his eyes sparked and a devious smirk grew over his beak. "Perhaps I can have some fun with him" Rapid chuckled at the thought though Sandy raised an eyebrow at him. "Ok, he can tag along"

Rapid, Sandy and now Cove made their way towards the periphery to talk where they felt more comfortable.


"Wow, your little ones are adorable!" Alice cried out after Sura and Ruphus introduced each of their children in turn. It was a huge surprise for Alice to see that Sura had young considering that she never had any desires to be a mother all those years ago but now it seemed she was not only a mother but a highly successful one. "I don't think there is a family as big as your first clutch here and you say they all survived, that is just astounding!"

"That's not taking into account, our second and third clutches and my fourth clutch of eggs and my adopted son" Sura said proudly, "I have never lost any of my little ones but there have been some close calls" She thought back to Ducky and Spike more than anyone else despite, Rapid, Ray, Spinner and Diver all getting themselves in danger as well, they at least didn't do it as constantly as those two.

"I envy you Sura and you too, Ruphus" Alice sighed sadly. "Seel is the only one of my little ones to survive" She looked down at the ground, all her energy seemed to evaporate in an instant. "You still have each other but my mate left me when Seel became frightened of swimming, I don't have high hopes for him, I haven't even got him to bath without a struggle and a breakdown for so many cold times"

"Out of your first clutch?" Ruphus asked.

"Out of all three of my clutches"

Sura and Ruphus both cringed, it seemed that Alice was the example of one of the worst-case scenarios when it came to the number of children lost in their early years. There were so many dangers out there that could claim the lives of infants and children and eggs that it was a miracle to have even one survive sometimes but Alice had it extra rough if only one child out of three clutches survived to this point. It was a reminder of how lucky Sura and Ruphus were in the fact that they had never lost a child.

And to add insult to injury it seemed her only surviving child had a reversion to water which was unthinkable for a Swimmer and of course Alice losing her mate would have been a harsh blow on its own.

"I am so sorry, Alice" Sura said, patting her on the back. The green female sniffed and took a calming breath, "at least I still have my little one, so how many children do you have?"

"Twenty-four," Ruphus said "Including our adoptive son and not including Sura's latest clutch of eggs"

"Wow, you guys have done well and who is this adopted son of yours? The poor dear lost his parents?" Alice asked.

"Yes" Sura said with a nodded.

"That's sad, I hope he is doing well in your family Sura."

"He is, my little Spike has lived with us all his life"

Alice blinked and gave Sura an awkward look. "Do you know how strange that sounds Sura?" Alice thought the name was suggestive of the wrong things "And what a strange name for a Swimmer."

Sura looked at Alice. "Spike isn't a Swimmer, he's a Spiketail." She said, though she really should have known what she was getting into.

Alice gasped as if she had just heard something inconceivable. "You have a Spiketail as a son!" She shouted making Sura clench her teeth as she saw a couple other female's approach with shocked looks on their faces.

"Is that true!?"

"You have a Spiketail as a son!?"

There was less anger then Sura expected only surprise and curiosity so she launched into the story of how Spike ended up as part of her family.

Ducky and Ray were now in a conversation with Pellie and her two other siblings, Penny and Dripple, they all had the same body colouration but Dribble's eyes were lime and Penny had aquamarine like Pellie. Penny was also a male and Dribble a female. They had been searching for their sister when they had bumped into Ducky and Ray, the latter of whom was in a deep conversation with Pellie about scars of the past.

Dripple seemed to be irritated that Pellie had zoomed off and Penny just seemed overly worried which did nothing but annoy Pellie. "I don't need help and I don't need to be watched like a hatchling all the time!" She cried out angrily, her hands on her hips as she stuck her head up indignantly.

"Nevertheless, you should sit down so you don't- "

"Exhaust myself yeah, thanks for the reminder Penny" Pellie cut in.

"Pellie can you stop with that attitude already." Dripple groaned at her sister's trademark stubbornness and rambunctiousness.

"No" Pellie replied bluntly. "Now, I introduce Ducky and Ray, they are Great Valley Swimmers"

"They are Great Valley Swimmers?" Penny said in surprise, looking over the scarred siblings with a critical eye.

"You're pulling my tail Pellie!" Dribble said.

"I wouldn't want to pull your tail Dribble; I never know what might come out that rear end." Pellie said laughing at her sister her crossed her folded arms with a gasp of disgust.

Ray, Ducky and even Penny laughed at Dribble's expense.

Ducky recovered from her laughing fit first. "We- We are Great Valley Swimmers, we are, we are" she said taking a moment to recover from her giggling.

"But all those scars…" Penny said gazing at Ducky more than Ray.

Pellie butted in again. "Ray got his scars in The Mysterious Beyond where he and his nest mates lived half of their lives" She explained, saving Ducky and Ray the effort.

"What about Ducky?" Dribble asked.

"I don't know" Pellie shrugged, she hadn't how she had gotten her scars yet.

"I got my scars in the Mysterious Beyond I did, I did" Ducky said, casting her head to the side, not wanting to elaborate anything more but that was exactly what Pellie and her siblings wanted to know.

"How?" Pellie asked.

Ducky saw Ray open his beak but she gave him a pleading look and shook her head. Ray understanding his sister's message nodded and backed down. "I do not want to talk about it no, no, no" She said.

Pellie and her sibling looked disappointed but seeing that this was clearly a stressful thing to recall for Ducky they all backed down but Pellie was extra curious and now determined to find out how Ducky got her scars and with her stubbornness, she would find out eventually.

Meanwhile a short distance away Echo and Opal were both shocked about the emotional story that Nishir and Takari had told them about how they once lived in an isolated cove on the shores of The Big Water until a large pack of Fast Biters attacked and wiped out their whole herd. Nishir and Takari had to witness the death of their herd, friends, parents and siblings and be chased by Fast Biters and all while dealing with depression. Eventually they escaped and came into contact with one of their distant family members who adopted them and allowed them to live on their island home until they came to The Great Valley for The Trials.

"Wow, I can't believe you have been through that. I mean we have seen a lot but we have never lost any family members, apart from our Aunt that we never met and we have lost very few friends too" Echo said quietly, thinking of Elliot and his tragic demise.

Opal looked sympathetic and walked over to Takari and Nishir "I am sorry, no one should have to experience that." She held both of their hands and gave them a squeeze.

"That's ok, Opal." Nishir said and Takari nodded "We'd like to hear what adventures you have had though" He added.

Opal and Echo both smiled, "We'll start of the tale of The Great Earthshake" Echo said taking the undivided attention of his two new friends, these Swimmers were less competitors now after talking with them. They had their own lives and when Echo thought about it, it was enough that they all made it to this point in their lives.


"So, the Thundering Falls supplies most of the water in The Great Valley?" Whirlpool asked.

"Yep," Spinner said. He had been elaborating on the different places in The Great Valley like Roaring and Thundering Falls, The Great Stone Walkover, Smoking Mountain, The Sheltering Grass, The Sinking Sands and some of the best waterholes. He mentioned several fast water rivers running throughout The Great Valley and another river called The Raging Rapids, a waterway that sped out of The Great Valley through subterranean system of caves but the waters were too violent for anyone to enter. Diver also described Striker's Canyon, The Secret Caverns and even mentioned The Crescent Caves though she only mentioned the name and nothing more about it.

Diver elaborated on their nest and to Spinner's major embarrassment, she told them about 'The Hopeless Case'. "That is low, Diver even for you" Spinner thought especially considering that the Swimmer they were talking to was named Whirlpool.

Whirlpool listened for the most part, occasionally commenting on something but she seemed genuinely interested, she was like a completely different Swimmer then before when she was tense and cold, she seemed to have opened up a bit. Both Diver and Spinner could tell that she had experienced some form of tragedy but this wasn't the best moment for bringing that up.

Spinner was embarrassed when Whirlpool was told about his whirlpool obsession. However, she seemed to be more interested then weirded out. "Why would you want to create a Whirlpool aren't they dangerous?"

Spinner looked at her dead in the eye "Have you ever been in a Whirlpool before?" The aptly named female shook her head which was a little disappointing to Spinner as he was sure that she had been with the name that she had.

She seemed to read this. "Just because I am named 'Whirlpool' doesn't mean that I have ever been in a whirlpool!" She announced loudly. Diver chuckled at that comment.

"You don't know what you are missing" Spinner mumbled so quietly that no one heard him.

"What?" Diver and Whirlpool both said, apparently having heard that Spinner had muttered something. Which caught the young Swimmer off guard.

"Well, you see being in a Whirlpool… it is the most amazing experience you can imagine!" Spinner said gazing into the distance as he recalled the memory clear as day of what the inside of that whirlpool, he had been trapped in looked like, all that colour and light and darkness and movement. He could not describe it in a way that would do is justice. Not even the possible threat to his life concerned him.

"You should be lucky, hardly anyone has been in a waterwhirl and made it out!" Whirlpool said.

"I have and so have my mom and my sister, she got to do it twice! Why couldn't I!?" Spinner hmphed and went into a pout that made Whirlpool giggle a bit. Spinner was rubbing off on her but the fact that his sister had been in a Whirlpool twice was something outstanding, something she never believed a Great Valley Swimmer would be able to do.

Whirlpool looked at Diver. "I can't believe you did that" She said with respect, assuming she was the one Spinner was referring too.

"You're talking to the wrong sister, Ducky was the one that went through those blasted Waterwhirls not me" Diver said, she gazed at Spinner, "Even you would not want to be in the second pool that Ducky escaped from." Spinner grimaced and nodded, being in a burning water was a big no go for him even if it was in a Waterwhirl.

Whirlpool eyed the two Great Valley Swimmers curiously "Can you tell me about your family?" Perhaps Great Valley Swimmers were worthy of her respect after all?


"But how can you have a Spiketail as your son!?" Alice cried, "It goes against all our traditions!"

"Because he was a hatchling in need and I couldn't leave him, not when he had bonded so much with my little Ducky and in time, I have grown to love him, now I cannot imagine a day without him, He is and always will be my son. To my children his is their brother and I wouldn't have that any other way either" Sura replied firmly.

"I admire your parenting Sura but the tradition should-"

"To the dung heap with them!" Ruphus said firmly. The three females around him gasped. "All they have done is cause trouble for me and my family. Why do we even have a Swimmer Trials? Because some kid did something incredible and everyone decided to make a tradition out of it?"

Alice looked a little uncomfortable listening to the criticism Ruphus was putting out to traditions. "The Trials are a difficult and stressful time for everyone and is more intense than any other kinds rites of passage except the Threehorns' and yet we can be just as cruel as them in the way we judge our children to the very best standards when they shouldn't be! They should be judged by their own standards and congratulated on surviving all the hardships to this point."

Sura nodded and even one of the females nodded. Though the other female looked hesitant and Alice was shifting around on the spot, her tail swaying with agitation as she looked down. She couldn't deny that Ruphus had made a good point but she was not very good at arguing and especially not with someone as passionate as Ruphus.

"And let us not forget our worst tradition in this Trial; The Trial of Destiny. Can anyone count how many children have died in that Trial before their time? It is the cruellest thing we Swimmers do and I would love to see it thrown away!" Ruphus stopped and took a deep breath, his demeanour returning to a neutral state.

Sura held his hand. "Alice, can you imagine what would happen if your son was selected to do 'that' Trial? How would you feel? Would you let it happen? Would you try to stop it? Would you try to give Seel the best chance possible?"

Alice looked up. "Seel will never be chosen with his handicap, I have nothing to worry about"

"And what if you did, Alice!?" Ruphus asked forcefully.

"You of all Swimmers know the trials of being a mother, Alice. You also know the pain of losing your children but you don't know the pain of losing any of your own children to Swimmer traditions." Sura said looking at her with pleading eyes, hoping to get through to Alice. "What if despite all odds, your child was chosen?"

Alice was silent for a very long time as she looked down at the ground, neither Sura nor Ruphus pushed her as they could see the emotional turmoil that Alice was in at even considering such a scenario. Alice was a traditionalist Swimmer and while sympathetic towards others, she had blind faith in their ways. Because of that, putting her in the same situation that Sura and Ruphus had been confronted with was unfathomable to her. To pit her own will against traditions that had stood for generations. "I don't know…. I think I would just… run away but I would never make it but… I can't lose my Seel"

Sura gave Alice a sad smile and nodded. "I know how you feel more then you know, be thankful that will never happen to you but can you see how bad some traditions are? After all there is a reason that we have dead traditions because they don't hold any meaning, the never did anything useful for us. I'm not saying that all traditions are bad but many Swimmers give these ways of ours a bad name" Sura said, thinking of Sculra and Auphous.

"I understand Sura but I also can't just abandon our way of life…" Alice said, she looked to Ruphus. "You know that traditions can be very useful" She said to him.

"I hate them," Ruphus said bluntly. "I was raised with them most of my life but I grew to resent them, I got in trouble? I got beaten, I went out of line? I was made an example of. I suffered harsh consequences as others did. Hell! Look what happened with me and Sura in our old herd! They can all rot as far as I am concerned. We make our own life here, not the same as a normal Swimmer Herd but we keep the beneficial traditions in our lives. Now, we can live in peace and not be bound be these rigid rules dictating how we must live our lives" Ruphus said passionately. "And I never ever punish my kids like Auphous did with me."

Alice nodded. "That is your choice and I can respect that, it was good seeing you again, Sura, Ruphus" The now emotionally drained Swimmer trudged off towards the Fast Water to drink, looking for less joyful as she had been before.


Rapid was having a very hard time, Cove was proving resistant to any kind of fun, namely rule breaking, pranking and verbal jousting. Cove was a strict rule follower and it seemed that he would not bend. His mindset annoyed Rapid greatly, but what annoyed him even more was that Cove's annoying habit of repeating every rule quoted perfectly from his parents whenever he tried to temp him into having fun.

Rapid could handle verbal quirks after all he had Ducky and Spike for siblings but the consistent repeating of the same rules was really beginning to get on his nerves. Sandy was not oblivious to her brother's obvious attempts of causing trouble, she watched his attempt to get Cove to join him on some ill-fated prank with disdain but each time Cove refused which got a smile from her as she talked with him about The Big Water while keeping an eye on her brooding brother. It was so satisfying to watch Rapid get ticked off like this but she was still on her guard. Rapid was most troublesome when he was bored and he was certainly not acting like he was having fun, he was in one of his pranking moods which meant trouble.

Sandy just needed to figure out what kind of trouble, she wasn't very good at catching Rapid with his pranks, she left that to Echo but she didn't have to wait long before Rapid made his move.

As they were passing by a small group of girls Rapid thrust between Sandy and Cove. "Wow, those girls look pretty cool" He said making his sister glare at him.

"I know and mom said we are supposed to find a girl partner for the dance perhaps I should ask one of them?" Cove asked optimistically to Rapid's delight.

"Yes, but you need to make a memorable entrance!"

"Really?" Cove asked to which Rapid nodded and pointed at a small log next to the group of girls and headed over to it dragging Cove behind. Sandy narrowed her eye's; she knew exactly what Rapid was up to now and she was not going to have any of it! She headed for the group of girls, while Rapid and Cove hid behind the log.

"All you got to do is jump on that log and introduce yourself and jump down among them with some cool line, they'll like it I am sure!" Rapid said.

Cove took a deep breath. "Ok, I'm ready…"

Rapid was struggling to keep himself from sniggering.

Cove jumped onto the log. "Hello!" He called to the girls who all looked at him including Sandy. "I'm Cove!" He jumped off the log and on the ground "It's great to m-"

Phhrrrt!

Cove stopped, the blood rushing to his cheeks at that sound had he really just passed gas in front of the ladies? Rapid burst into laughter from the side when he saw the look on Cove's face but surprisingly the girls didn't seem to be disgusted or unhappy, actually they all crowded around Rapid. Sandy patted Cove and gave him a wink when Rapid gave a surprised exclamation as he was grabbed by the small group of girls and unceremoniously thrown into a nearby puddle with a loud splash.

"Gah!" Rapid cried as the girls laughed at him. "What was that for!?" he cried.

Sandy came into view, her hands on her hips and with a triumphant expression across her beak. "That Rapid, is what you get for pranking poor innocent boys!" She said giggling at her brother's shocked expression.

"Dammit Sandy! I'll get you back for this!"

Rapid pounded his fists into the water indignantly, splashing the water as he got to his feet with a sour look on his face as Cove chuckled at the sight.

It was going to be a longer day then he wanted. Rapid groaned as the Day of Mingling progressed.


The Day of Mingling was vibrant with conversation between adults and children alike, Swimmer's traded stories about their lives and different places and what they knew about The Trials they would soon be doing. By evening all the younger Swimmers had chatted themselves to exhaustion and as The Bright Circle touched the mountains. At that point the Mingling was officially ended and each of the Swimmers and their families or guardians went their separate ways for the night. Sura walked home beside Ruphus who was constantly looking over his shoulder checking the kids and also keeping an eye out for any unwanted company.

Merri and Grandma Swimmer had everything ready for their arrival, they had gathered food for everyone. Spike greeted Ducky enthusiastically and their younger siblings also ran to meet them, bombarding their older siblings with pleas to tell them how the day had been. Everyone got their chance to speak and tell what happened in their groups. Ray, Spinner and Sandy had all had luck in finding partners for the dance in Pellie, Whirlpool and Cove respectively when they asked if they could be their partners.

Sura said they would have a second change to grab a partner at another gathering before the dance that would allow any partnerless Swimmer's to get a partner for the dance.

Diver had taken a liking to Whirlpool when they encountered Barge, Storm and Whirler telling falsehoods about Great Valley Swimmers with the big three boys that towered over even them. Whirlpool had given them a real piece of her mind after she had learned that Diver's clutch mates where actually worthy of her respect unlike the three bullies who she publicly denounced.

Sandy also took great pleasure in telling them what she did to Rapid which only pissed Rapid off even more, he was red faced and subdued the whole dinner, clearly sulking about the whole thing. Ducky also said it was wonderful to meet so many Swimmer's after the lunch they had. When all their groups reunited with their new friends in tow. She also referred to them that Sucky had been there which was a shock to everyone who knew her.

It was a very lively conversation from then on.

However, the biggest bombshell was the knowledge that their Grandfather had shown up and their father almost fought him. It caused a big stir in the nest, one that Ruphus did not hang around for long once it was brought up. He simply finished his meal and told everyone to get some sleep. Tomorrow was the last day off they would have in a while and it was their first clutch's Starday tomorrow so they would want to be well rested for that, especially for the first event of the Trials in two days.

With that he left and went to stand on the border of the nest.

Grandma Swimmer watched him with concern. "Sura," She called. Her daughter walked up next to her mother and gazed at her mate.

Sura sighed, she knew Ruphus well enough to know what he was doing. "He's standing watch for the night"

Grandma Swimmer's narrowed. "There is some very bad blood here Sura and it makes me worried. Ruphus rift with his father is worse than yours with your father ever was. What happened between them?" She asked. The fact that Ruphus was guarding his family in the middle of the night in a Valley safe from Sharpteeth against his own father was deeply disturbing.

Sura gestured at Ruphus with her beak. "That is something I will let Ruphus explain, most of it is his story to tell, I will get the little ones ready for sleep" Sura said and with that she walked back to the nest while Grandpa Swimmer walked apprehensively over to Ruphus.

The Bright Circle finally dipped beneath the mountains and darkness fell over The Great Valley, there was no sign of The Night Circle this night, only the stars provided light and the many fireflies that darted around the meadows. Grandma Swimmer stood beside Ruphus and looked out at the empty expanse ground, devoid of any dinosaurs.

"A quiet night" She said.

Ruphus didn't respond, he just gazed ahead.

Grandma Swimmer stood in front of him in order to gain his full attention. "I am not playing games Ruphus, I need to know what happened between you and your father"

"Don't call 'him' that" Replied Ruphus coldly.

"Ruphus, this matter doesn't just concern you but your children and Sura. They are my family as well, if anything threatens their wellbeing I must know and I as a part of my family, I care about you as well." Grandma Swimmer said, placing a hand on Ruphus chest.

Ruphus sat on his hunches. "I am honoured that you care for me but this issue… I really don't like to talk about it."

"The first step to getting over past misgivings is to talk about them Ruphus." Grandma Swimmer replied wisely, her age and counselling nature seemed to relax Ruphus enough.

"Fine then if you want to know." Ruphus took a deep breath. "My family was a traditionalist family, I loved them all when I was young, even my father even if I got on his bad side a lot. We were family but Auphous, he didn't have interest in looking after his family, he left that job to my mother. He only taught us traditions, enforced discipline and gave us lessons in the ways of the world and the ways of Swimmers. He was really only teaching the promising children that he believed would carry on his legacy and ascend his family and himself into a more powerful position in the herd, one where he could gain all the respect and control, he could want. His herd, his rules" Ruphus said, thinking back to his past.


"Ruphus! Where are you son!? You're supposed to be at your lesson! Come out now!" Auphous called irately as he searched around the nesting grounds for his young son. If there was one annoying thing about his children, it was that they were so small that they could get into those small easily hidden places that an adult couldn't access. It made finding them a nightmare.

"Ruphus! My patience is wearing thin, I am not going to ask again! Come out or you will get one memorable spank across your tail!" Auphous said firmly, stomping his foot and making the ground shake.

Not wanting to cross his father the small Swimmer boy with an aqua green belly and brown back emerged from the hollow log that had been his hiding place, with an unhappy frown on his beak.

"Ah, there you are, much better," Auphous said, nodding his head as his son came into view. He shook his head and moved from intimidation mode to berating mode. "You are pushing your luck far too much Ruphus. If you ever want to be Herd Leader one day them you must take your lessons. I don't understand why you hide from them?" He said totally at a loss over Ruphus behaviour.

"Maybe because those lessons are so boring!" Ruphus complained loudly.

"Watch your tone, youngling" his father said firmly.

Ruphus cringed and took a step back but he was still not eager to come to the lessons. "Why can't I just play with the other kids Dad? The look like they have fun, I don't want to be stuck in these silly lessons all the time!"

"Those lessons are important for your future which will be brighter than all those children if you accept what I am trying to teach you. You are going to be a future Herd Leader; I expect you to act like one now!" Auphous said his deep tone of voice threatening punishment to a sustained argument and Ruphus knew better then to push his father's patience when he was in a bad mood, it never ended well for him.

"Fine…" Ruphus said and followed his father over to where a few of his siblings were waiting to start their lesson. "Another day, another boring lesson" Ruphus mumbled under his breath.


"Sounds like he was a control freak and a bit callous for a father" Grandma Swimmer said.

"He was not among the elders at the time and he was not a Herd Leader by any means but he thought we could be given the right training and education" Ruphus said with a nod. "He only cared about the position we could give him and the family and I was not interested but I couldn't get out of it because he thought I was 'too promising' to leave behind like he did for my more handicapped siblings."

"So, are you saying he didn't train them?"

Ruphus nodded, "He just left them with my mother, only reserved time for his 'chosen Swimmers'. He thought I was the most herd leader material but I ran off whenever I could. I was only interested in being a kid at the time and when I did grow old enough to understand things, I wanted no part in it. I already had my eyes on the Herd Defender which my father thought I wasn't good enough for me"

"What happened?" Grandma Swimmer asked quietly. "It sounds like you grew apart over the years and your father's actions were not in your best interests. Didn't you try to defend your case or even switch herds?" So far Auphous was not leaving a good impression on her and she could see why Ruphus would have lingering resentment about him.

"We argued all the time, but Auphous is as stubborn as a Threehorn! I could not get through his thick skull and I thought of leaving many times but I couldn't leave my siblings or my mother whom I loved with all my heart" Ruphus held his heart and looked up sadly at the stars, as if he was searching for something small lost among them. "I did choose to run away eventually; I was a young adult and guess who was in our herd. Well, it was Sculra."

Grandma Swimmer gasped. "That foul Swimmer was in your herd!?" Her expression turned sour at the mention of 'that' Swimmer's name.

"I wish she wasn't; she was scheming from the start and she had her eyes on me. I have no doubt that she was manipulating Auphous in some way and eventually she convinced him to mate me off to her!" Ruphus said in revulsion, a fierce glare on his face.

Grandma Swimmer's beak fell open in disbelieve and she spluttered for a while at the absurdity of the idea. "You guys are not even alike or close in age, why?"

"Because Sculra wanted me and she convinced Auphous that me mating with her would give him strong grandchildren and also with her age she was a probably runner for High Elder which made her position desirable and Auphous was willing to try. We had a huge row over his decision in which I got no say, he divided the family between those who agreed with him and those who didn't. I finally had enough, so I ran away…" Ruphus said.


"You what!?" Ruphus shouted in sheer amazement and denial.

"I think Sculra will be a great match for you and she certainly agrees with me. I see the way she looks at you and I can tell she certainly loves you" Auphous said. "So, I will allow her to mate with you"

Ruphus opened and closed his mouth a few times in disbelief. "But she-I don't even know her that well! And she is far too old! I don't even want a mate right now! You can't do this!" Ruphus replied in disbelief.

"That is not for you to decide, Ruphus. I am your father and I know what is best for you!" Auphous replied firmly. He was putting his foot down in anger, not going to give his point when he believed he knew what was best for Ruphus. Sculra was a traditionalist, she seemed kind and certainly clever enough and she certainly looked like she would gain a powerful position in the near future. It would be perfect for both of them and it would give Auphous greater prestige among the herd with Ruphus and Sculra in such high positions within the herd. It was the perfect match in his eyes.

However, it was not the case from Ruphus perspective, just because he was an adult now did not mean that he was interested in finding a mate instantly. Not to mention his father had been making all the decisions for him as of late. He eyed the position of Herd Defender with pride but his father wanted him to be Herd Leader and he didn't want to mate with Sculra but his father was going to try and enforce his will upon him anyway.

It was suffocating and it had been for some time. Ruphus stayed only because he loved the rest of his family but his father was constantly dictating what his actions should and should not be. It was far too controlling and restrictive and now he had stepped across the line. Ruphus was an adult now and he made choices for himself now, not his father.

"Why can't I have things my way for a change!?" He shouted.

"You're are still young and foolish, I will let you have your way once you show that you make the right decisions" Auphous replied, coming off rather harshly to his son.

"But- "

"No buts! I have made my decision! You're going to mate Sculra and that is final! This conversation is over!" Auphous shouted over the top of his son who was trembling furiously as his father turned his back on the seething Swimmer.

"You don't control me, father" Ruphus muttered and turned his tail on him. He was not going to stay here any longer; his father was not going to have his way this time. Ruphus turned his tail on his father and his family. It was time to him to carve out his own destiny. As he reached the outskirts of his nest, he looked back at his family sadly. "Goodbye mother." He said, a tear dripping down his face as he quickly headed off, not knowing how soon he would be back.


Grandma Swimmer gave Ruphus a sympathetic look "That sounds harsh but don't you think you are blowing things out of portion? That was a long time ago and I find it hard to believe that you can't move on"

Ruphus shook his head. "There is more… I tried to run away but I failed because in my attempt to head out of my home I saved a Swimmer that nearly drown in rapids. I couldn't leave her when she was starving and exhausted. That Swimmer was Sura."

Grandma Swimmer's eyes widened. "So that is when you met Sura?" Ruphus nodded.

"Things only got worse from there."

"I'm almost afraid to ask" Grandma Swimmer said with great concern.

"Rightly so" Ruphus said, nodding and taking a deep breath. "When I brought Sura back home, my mother and siblings welcomed her and were all willing to help her back to health, my father was just suspicious of her, then when she said that she had run away from her home because of her father, he said she should leave"

"And she didn't?" Grandma Swimmer asked.

"She stayed, my mother stood up for her, she stated that Sura would only leave on her own choice or unless the Herd Leader banished her but that would not be until she recovered and things just went from there between us. She stayed at our nest, we got to know each other and I found sympathy from Sura and a new way of looking at traditions" Ruphus said, he smiled at the memories.


"How much… further…" Sura panted, she was being supported by Ruphus as he guided her through the forest. It had only been a short while since Ruphus had saved Sura from drowning and meeting her for the first time. Sura was not in good condition, she was drained, thin and starving if the growling of her hungry belly was any indication.

"Not far, just hang in there" Ruphus said as he held Sura up, her arm was around his shoulder as he kept her body up. Slowly they made it back to his nest.

Ruphus mother looked up from where she was sitting, she was an aquamarine coloured Swimmer with stunning blue eyes. "Goodness!" She said when she saw Ruphus come in holding Sura. She pushed herself to her feet and ran over to her son and helped support Sura's other side.

"Get her over to my scrape" Ruphus mother said urgently as she and her son guided Sura over to the older female's scrape and carefully lowered her down into a sitting position.

"You ok?" Ruphus mother got down in front of Sura, looking over her for any injuries.

Sura nodded. "I'm fine, thanks to Ruphus…"

Ruphus' mother, Alora, looked at her son briefly. "What happened?" She asked.

Ruphus quickly relayed to his mother how Sura tried to cross the rapids and how he saved her. "Oh my, well done Ruphus! Now I think we should get you some food, you look starved!" Alora said to Sura, she got up and headed for the tree line while Ruphus stayed with Sura.

"Where are you from?" Ruphus asked.

"Across the desert at the Great Inland Water" Sura said.

"Wow" Ruphus exclaimed. "You're a long way from home but why are you out here all alone?"

Sura turned away from Ruphus. "Father chased me away" Her tone filled with pain.

Ruphus placed a hand on Sura's back. "I'm sorry, I have Daddy issues too."

"Ruphus!"

"Speaking of which…" Groaned the addressed Swimmer.

"What is this Swimmer doing in our nest, I haven't seen her before" Auphous demanded.

"Her name is Sura and I just saved her from drowning in the rapids. She only just arrived here from The Great Inland Water" Ruphus said.

"What are you doing here?" Auphous asked Sura.

"She- "

"I am asking her, not you Ruphus!" snapped Auphous.

Sura didn't like the tone Auphous used and hence was already feeling threatened by him. "What are you doing here?"

"Starting a new life" Sura replied.

Alora returned carrying food for Sura which she placed down beside her. "What are you giving her food for!?" Auphous said.

"She is tired and hungry and nearly drowned, I think she deserved something to eat dear" Alora replied.

"She is not of this family; she should leave now!" Auphous said.

Alora raised her eyebrow, her glare crossing her face. "This is my nest Auphous, don't you forget that! I say that she shall stay until she has recovered!" She said firmly.

"You can't possibly-!"

"Auphous!" Alora stood up, suddenly becoming a strict Swimmer, showing why she was a mother and how firm she could be. Her mate was taken aback by her outburst and though he felt like pushing the issue, the look on Alora's face was enough to dissuade him, albeit reluctantly.

"Fine she can stay but only until she is healed, got that?"

"Yes" Sura and Ruphus both said. Looking at each other with surprise at how they had both spoken out at the same time.


"How did your father and Sculra take to this?" Grandma Swimmer asked.

Ruphus chuckled humourlessly. "Badly. I refused to mate with Sculra and the Herd Leader refused to order me to, he thought our age gap was far too big and he knew of Auphous desires and he saw that was not what I wanted so he sided with me"


"But can't you see she is perfect for him!?" Auphous protested.

"You can't order me around like your family Auphous, all I see are two Swimmers with little in common and no mutual love for one another and that is without the ridiculous age gap. Sculra is old enough to be your son's mother!" The Herd Leader said.

"And would you break Sculra's heart? She loves him!" Auphous questioned.

"She is a big girl; she can take it" replied the Herd Leader bluntly. "If so, good day." He trudged off leaving behind an infuriated Swimmer that was determined to get his way.


Grandma Swimmer sighed. "I take it that things did not end happily ever after then, did they?" she stated.

"Not a chance." Ruphus gestured for Grandma Swimmer to follow him further away from the nest and up to a nearby hill where he sat down there. Grandma Swimmer sat down beside him and looked over the Valley, it was dark and quiet except for the sounds of the bugs and beetles that were active at this time. A shining spider web gleamed in the starlight in a knot of branches a short distance away with the spider sitting in the centre of the web, patiently waiting for a meal to get stuck.

Grandma Swimmer couldn't help but think of Sculra when she saw that, she was like a spider, only her webs were lies and deceit, threats and cruelty. "Make a complex web and the hunter will be trapped or aim for something to big and it will break you and your web. Her web shall fail with the size and complexity it has reached" Grandma Swimmer thought, looking at orb weaver in its circular web.

Ruphus cleared his throat. "So, with Sura offering a new perspective I could finally start to see the flaws in our own traditions and over the years I became more open, less restricted and more rebellious to my father and he in turn became harsher to me and Sura whom he regularly denounced and threatened. He never stopped telling her to 'Go away', while Sculra was also very cold to Sura and things just got more and more tense and heated up."

Grandma Swimmer placed a hand over Ruphus back, a sympathetic gaze directed at him, prompting him to continue.

"It divided my family, my mother and many of my siblings liked Sura and they supported me and that led to fights with Auphous. One night after a bad fight I was sitting alone with Sura and I said that I wanted to spent my life with her, she had shown me so much love when I felt down and I had grown to love her in return. We decided we would leave in the morning…."


"What a day…" Ruphus said. "That old Swimmer of mine drives me up the tree more than ever nowadays." He groaned as he lay on his back on the hill where Sura's nest was. He was looking up to the starry sky, a half-moon shone down upon them.

Sura lay beside him in the same position. "Did you two have another argument?" She asked.

"Yep, he thought you were a waste of my time and said that you were a bad influence on me" Ruphus said.

Sura placed her hand over her brow. "Does he really think I am that bad?"

"Yep" Ruphus said. He held Sura's hand as they both looked to the sky.

"You know, I want to thank you for everything you have done: You and your mother. I never thought I would feel this at home ever since I left home and my father was not nearly as bad as yours." Sura said, turning to look at him.

Ruphus turned to face her directly. "No need for thanks, Sura, it was the least I could do. Besides, my life has been far better with you around. I don't need to get up at the crack of dawn anymore and I don't have to submit to my father's schemes. I can just be myself around you"

"You know, I knew I was ready to leave when my father chased me out and I would run away again if you were ready to leave with me" Sura said.

"But I can't just leave my family" Ruphus replied passionately.

"They will understand Ruphus, we all have to make our own path and you're are more than ready for it. Your family will understand when we tell them." Sura said though she didn't mean all of his family.

"Tell that to my father, he will lose his head if I did that." Ruphus said holding his arms out. There was no way Auphous would allow his most promising son to abandon him instead of following through with the plan he had set in motion.

"Auphous doesn't need to know, dear." Sura said, her eyes widened as she heard herself saying dear.

Ruphus smiled and nudged her with his elbow. "You may be right, dear. I say we leave tomorrow and get out of here while we can, we just got to let mom know first."

"I agree, dear."

"You know, Sura… If there is anyone, I would love to spend my life with, it is you" Ruphus said.

Sura chocked back a happy sob and turned her body over and hugged him, warmth filling both their bodies and hearts at the realisation of their love. "Will you be mine?" She asked.

Ruphus just nuzzled her lovingly. "Always, my love, forever and always."

The two fell into a peaceful slumber together, content at the choice they had made out of their love, a love that warmed them up during the cold night.


"That night was one of my happiest." Ruphus said, smiling as he recalled the night, he and Sura officially became a couple.

Grandma Swimmer nodded. "I can't think of a better match for Sura then you Ruphus."

Ruphus smiled and nodded in thanks before he stopped and looked down, Grandma Swimmer could see moisture collecting in Ruphus eyes for what was probably going to be an emotional climax to the story. "Come here dear." She embraced him warmly as Ruphus took a shuddering breath and sniffed.

"I'm ok…"

"You don't have to say anymore if you don't want to, Ruphus." Grandma Swimmer said, holding his hand as if he was a child that had just been reunited with a parent.

"No! I need to get this out now!" Ruphus said loudly, his voice full of raw emotion.

Grandma Swimmer nodded politely and listened.

"The next day was one of the worst of my life…" Ruphus said looking up at the stars again.

"Sura and I awoke in her nest and we heard a commotion nearby and my brother appeared, he said that my family nest was under attack by Sharpteeth and that they needed help to fight them off and we came. We fought, father showed up halfway through and he looked like he turned white. He joined in the fight and we drove them off but…" Ruphus chocked back a sob.


A Swimmer whose tail and lower body was drenched in blood walked over the body of the fallen Fast Biter, his skull had been crushed by his foot, spilling blood, bone and brains all over the place, the blood was still warm on his feet and he felt the pain over his tail that had received that slash from the Fast Biter. He was lucky to get away with only a slash, it was a good thing that Sura had his back then, she charged the Fast Biter when he was down and saved him.

He got off better than the body a few steps in front of him.

"Oh, Arron…" He knelt down beside his dead brother. His chest had been savagely ripped opened with claws and many of his vital organs lay scattered around him in a terrible display of viscera and gore. It was a painful death that poor Arron had suffered; he had been torn open while still alive.

Ruphus was heartbroken at the sight, they had shared interest in being a Herd Defender but unlike Ruphus, Arron did not have someone to stand by him in his trial by fire and hence he did not survive his first battle and right next to him was Lively.

She had been Ruphus favourite sibling, always having a smile on her face and saw the bright side of everything but now she lay lifeless on the ground, her body pale from the massive loss of blood. The Fast Biter slit her neck while she slept and her bloody gurgles woke the rest of the family in time for them to protect the children and fight off the Fast Biters. She never stood a chance.

Sura trudged over to him and hugged him tightly, tears falling down her eyes at the terrible sight before her. Arron and Lively had been her friends and it was a terrible blow to see them dead.

"Son…."

Ruphus turned and his stomach fell as he saw his mother laying on her back in a pool of blood, her belly ripped open and her intestines, laying out of her body, beside her. The stench of death was already on her Ruphus ran to her and held her body up in his arms. He was hyperventilating, tears blurred his vision as she placed a hand on his cheek.

She was barely alive. "I love you… look after yourself… and Sura… she is a worthy partner…Ruphus…I…" Every word seemed to take a terrific effort for Alora to say.

"Don't talk… just… stay with me." He said, desperately denying that his mother was doomed. Auphous trudged up to them, his face as white as chalk while Sura knelt down beside Ruphus.

"I will watch you two from the stars…" Alora said as the last of her tears slipped out and she fell limb in Ruphus arms. Ruphus trembled and gently set her down, he crawled to the side and cried out in pain as he mourned the death of his mother while Sura held onto him and cried with him.

Auphous watched the scene with a feeling of guilt unlike anything he had ever experienced in his life, this was never supposed to happen… He could not believe how wrong things had gone. He engaged The Fast Biters as soon as he found out they attacked his family but it was too late… he had failed and his legacy lay all around him in broken tatters.

He felt light headed and fell to his knees beside the body of his mate, cupped his hands and began sobbing without restraint at the deaths he had caused.


Grandma Swimmer nuzzled his beak in a consolatory fashion.

"My brother Arron, my sister Lively, they were both killed and my mother was fatally injured, I held her in my arms when she finally died…" Ruphus closed his eyes and looked down, old pain and grief returning to hit him full force with emotion that he had repressed for years but finally being stirred up at seeing his father again.

"I'm so sorry Ruphus… it is never an easy thing" Grandma Swimmer said.

"It wasn't even an accident!" He cried. "Auphous confessed a few days later that on Sculra's suggestion he led Sharpteeth to our usual nesting spot near our family nest, only we weren't there so when my father finally escaped them, they attacked my family. All that blood… On His Hands!"

Grandma Swimmer gasped in horror; in all her years she had never heard of someone that would try such a horrible tactic. "That… That…!"

"Thing? Monster? I called him all those things and more, he tried to convince me to sleep with mother that night so Sura would be the only victim, he just didn't know we snuck off in the middle of the night" Ruphus said glumly. "Sura may have slept at our nest but her sleeping spot was the furthest from the nest, he thought that she would be caught there but he was wrong… He wasn't even thinking straight! He had lost his bloody mind!" Ruphus shouted.


The young adult Swimmer stood rooted to the spot while his while world seemed to fall apart around him as he stared at his father whose face was stained in tears. It had only been three days since they experienced their loss and early in the evening Auphous had come to Sura's nest where Ruphus had moved to and pulled him away to talk. The terrible confession that had been eating Auphous since the attack finally saw the light of day and it shattered his son.

His own father had tried to kill his mate only things had not gone to plan. Instead of Sura being at the family nest she and Ruphus had headed off to go to her nest after Auphous had left and he accidentally brought a whole pack instead of the one Fast Biter that he planned on luring. He thought he could stage the Sharptooth attack that would kill Sura and remove her 'corrupting influence' from his son and then fight off the Sharptooth before it harmed anyone else.

His plan lay in ruins and he had the blood of three Swimmers on his hand.

"You… monster…" Ruphus said. He advanced towards him and punched him in the jaw hard, a blow that sent Auphous staggering. "You bastard! You killed them! You killed them! You tried to kill Sura! You killed Mother, Arron, Lively! I am ashamed to be your son! I might as well be a Son of a Sharptooth!" He shouted at the top of his lungs.

Auphous looked at Ruphus, he was a broken Swimmer filled with depression, gone was the harsh air of sternness and confidence. He accepted that he was to blame for everything.

"I'm… I'm so sorry…" He said lowering himself to his knees.

Ruphus looked down upon him in hatred which flared when he heard those pathetic words.

"You're not my father… Tomorrow, Sura and I will leave this Herd… I never want to see you again and I promise that if we do meet again, I will make you pay for all you have done." Ruphus said in an emotionless tone. His face became as cold and hard as stone as he condemned the Swimmer in front of him.

"Goodbye… Auphous, I hope it was worth it for you… I hope you understand one day that you shall never have my forgiveness. May I never fall as low as you in all my years to come. Goodbye you…" It took all of Ruphus restraint to not choke the pathetic Swimmer to death but he would not dirty his hands with more blood. What is done, is done and he couldn't change that but he could still prevent more blood being spilt today.

This was not the way he envisioned leaving home and the way he ended that last sentence implied that Auphous was not even a Swimmer but a thing; An abomination for the gruesome actions he had committed. It was the harshest blow he could have dealt his father who was sitting weeping on the ground as Ruphus left. He never looked back.


Ruphus pounded his right fist into his left hand. "I wanted to kill him there! I really did! But he was needed to take care of his youngest clutch and he only confessed to me a few days later and I told Sura… I told him then that he wasn't my father, I denounced him and that day I left the herd with Sura but Sculra followed us and she would join up with the new herd we were in few cycles of The Night Cycle later" Ruphus said. "I hoped I would never see him again.

"I am appalled, I think you did the best you could at the time, no wonder you hate him, no wonder you hate Sculra" Grandma Swimmer said.

Ruphus nodded. "We didn't even know Sculra was involved until years later when she let slip that she chatted with Auphous the night the attack happened, I always suspected that she had some part in it, she wanted Sura gone as well as after all and that was all I needed to know that she helped my father kill innocent Swimmers of my family when none of them deserved it…." He swallowed the bile in his throbbing throat and sighed sadly.

"And now Auphous is a judge. Which means he will see all your children"

The male Swimmer nodded at Grandma Swimmer's statement.

"You know, I think you should give him this chance to see whether he has changed." Ruphus raised his head quickly to protest but Grandma Swimmer simply held up her hand. "I know now why you don't want anything to do with him but don't forget, you lost a brother and a sister and your mother, he lost his mate and three of his children because of his doing and he knows that. I don't think he will try to harm any of us, if anything he seems to want to gain your forgiveness."

Ruphus looked at her. "Something you have every right to refuse but I would like you to give him this change to show some remorse"

He looked ahead into the distance thoughtfully then looked back at his mother in law. "He caused me so much pain and I miss my brother, my sister and my mother… I don't think I will ever forgive him… but ok, I will try to let him have his chance… though I personally don't give a damn about him…" His words were strained as he was still feeling highly emotional.

Ruphus turned back to the older Swimmer. "You know, you remind me of my mother in some ways, she never let me keep my feelings inside, she always found a way to help me… I am glad to have you as part of my family"

Grandma Swimmer smiled "And I am delighted to have you as my family too dear, now come on. Tomorrow is a big day for your little ones and you don't want to miss it either, I am sure"

"I certainly don't" Ruphus said with a small smile returning to his face. They both got up and walked back towards the slumbering Swimmers at the nest. "Also thank you for being there for me back then" He said as he settled down in his scrape.

Grandma Swimmer smiled warmly at him. "You're welcome, have a good night Ruphus" She said as she walked off to her sleeping spot. Tomorrow would be a very special star day for Ducky and her siblings that was one thing she was sure about as she prepared for her well-earned rest under the starlit sky.


Proofread by Sovereign.

OC Disclaimer:

Nishir, Takari and Sucky Belongs to Ducky123

Pellie, Dribble and Penny Belongs to OwlsCantRead

Whirlpool Belongs to Sovereign

Cove Belongs tolionkingfactsguy3

I have permission to use all their OCs.