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[b][color=00CED1]Day ???, Week ???, Cycle ??? 
Springtime, Deep Harbour[/color][/b][/center]

Riverjack squatted and studied the items that had been brought before him by several young Merdhrai. Among them, her face grave, was Streambattle. The group had been collecting mussels along the shoreline when they stumbled upon the first of the objects, a hefty cord of wood with ropes hanging from it. Such ropes! Nothing like the kelp lines that the Merdhrai used among their own kin for fishing and building. It was stronger, so much stronger. The four of them had conducted a tug of war before bringing it home and had been unable to break it.

"All by the shoreline near the rocks?" Riverjack asked, raising an eyebrow at the groups ring leader, a fit looking creature by the name of Finbarr. 

"That's right Skipper. This here was floating when we found it, half submerged." A paw, claws retracted, reached out to touch the broad swath of cloth that had been found attached to another cord of wood. "It's tough and quite large. Big enough to provide cover for several beasts.

Riverjack nodded as he pondered the pieces. Individually they meant little to him, but coming together as they had, it meant something new and unexpected had come to his corner of the world. He scratched the back of his neck as he tried to make sense of the wreckage. Yes, it had to be wreckage. The wood was broken with great force at the ends, and the rope had snapped, the cloth was torn. This was all part of something that had once been whole. Something large.

"We must discover more. Finbarr, take these three and scout the bay. There was a strong tide last night, the pieces may have come from further out to sea. Be careful and go armed. The Teeth of the Deep have been active with the new moon. You must return before nightfall."

Finbarrs chest swelled with pride as he placed a paw across his chest and bowed his head slightly. Streambattle glared at her father but repeated the gesture as the four of them withdrew. Riverjack watched them go, their quick bounding steps coupled with barks of excitement as they leapt to jackknife into the water. He turned his attention back to the pieces at his feet and stared harder at them wondering what they could mean.

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Streambattle returned home swiftly, her cheeks burning from the humiliation of being overlooked for command of the little group. Deep down she knew Finbarr was older and more experienced, but she was the daughter of the Skipper of the Merdhrai! That ought to count for something.

"Been to see your father then?" Swiftpaddle, her mother, was seated just inside the small cave that they shared as a family along the riverbank. In one paw she held a white seashell, in the other a paintbrush that she dabbed in a rich purple colour. Like so many other Merdhrai, their small Holt, or family group, had one large communal space. Everything was done here, except relieving oneself of course. Two entrances, one above ground, and the other below water, provided access to a space made cozy with rush mats on the walls and floors. It wasn't much really, but it was home. 

"I have." Streambattle snarled as she grabbed her sling and spear from the wall rack. Several other spots were empty, her fathers and four of her siblings, were already out. "He gave command of the scouting group to Finbarr."

"You're not surprised are you?" Swiftpaddles eyebrows rose as her daughter turned with barred teeth. "You challenged him and lost. By all rights, you ought to be dead."

"And that wouldn't bother you at all, would it?" Sarcasm was thick in Streambattles tone.

"No, the Merdhrai suffer no fools, girl."

The cold reply stopped Streambattle dead in her tracks and she stared at her mother with a mixture of horror and disbelief. The same creature who had given birth to her, nursed her, taught her to swim and to hunt in the shallows... How could she..?

"The strong survive among our kin. You should know this. Of the seven pups I have given your father, you are the only one who lived." Swiftpaddles gaze challenged Streambattle who suddenly felt very small. She could sense the tension in her mothers voice and it dawned on her how worried her mother had been about the fight, though she never said anything.

"Well, um, I guess that makes sense..." She scuffed the mud floor with her hind-paw and then darted forward to hug Swiftpaddle. The two shared a swift squeeze before she was pushed away and shooed toward the entrance.

"Go on. Make me proud."

Streambattle grinned and slipped quickly down the mud slide and into the current of the river that quickly pushed her toward the ocean. She surfaced briefly to glance around, catching sight of her friends nearby on the riverbank. They waved and dove into the water with her. 

The four raced Northward, dodging and weaving among each other, the water rushing past, streams of bubbles marking their passage through the green water. Fish scattered before them and even the larger seabirds, some big enough to kill a individual Merdhrai, made good their escape. A hunting party was nothing to be taken lightly. The riverbed of smoothed pebbles and stones slowly gave way to sand and mud as the current slowed and the river widened.

The water turned to a turbid brown as they reached the ocean, the river current smashing into the ocean tide with such force that it churned up the sandy bottom and shortened visibility drastically. As they passed from fresh water to salt water it was easier to swim. No one knew why, but things floated better in the salt water than in the river.

"Keep within eyesight of each other. We will check the shallows first." Finbarr ordered and Streambattle nodded without argument. She did not see Finbarr blow out his cheeks in relief; he had been deeply worried about taking along the hot headed daughter of the chief.

In the end, the search for the source of the strange pieces turned out to be easier than expected. They encountered a foraging party returning from the upper reef who said they had seen a strange thing, a great wooden shell dashed upon the rocks, tree trunks rising from its decks but instead of leaves, its branches had been covered with rope and cloth. 

The four young Merdhrai turned their noses north and shot through the water, intent on seeking the mysterious arrival.