"Had I known that thou wast incapable of closing thine nostrils, there never wert to have been any assent on my part concerning thy ill advised accompaniment on this expedition."
I gagged and snorted out what felt like half my body's weight of salty water as Taklarr continued to look disapprovingly at me. Though he was floating easily on the surface of the water, I could still stand without much issue, though the, according to the residents of Tala, gentle waves fought to knock me prone whenever I wasn't paying attention.
"Perhaps thou wouldst be best able to observe our hunt from a position of thine security. This very location would provide the hunters the opportunity to pursue our prey whilst thou mayest watch and ascend for more breath at thine leisure. Dost this not suit thine purposes?"
I growled low in the back of my throat. I quickly realized that Taklarr wasn't being specifically disrespectful, he simply knew what he wanted and needed in order to live up to his personal expectations. He was a Sik'Tal, and had been trusted to act as one in nearly all his doings. That I was to be, or already was, his leader didn't matter to him. At this point, I was an impediment to what he needed to do, so reining himself in as much as he had already was a result of true effort. My pride was quickly washed away as I remembered what my role was as Zak'Tal. I was to lead, instruct, and protect my people. I'd made every choice available to me to that end, while Taklarr had forged himself to become a swimming, hunting resident of Tala.
"It does, though I wish I weren't a detriment to the hunt. I'll see what I can see from here." I waved a hand and off he shot. His pack, again, only four, followed in his wake. They cut through the water, their thick tails waving and pushing them onward. On the ground, their bodies seemed uncomfortable and unwieldy, but in the water, every part of their bodies was built for function, speed, and efficiency. Where I floundered and stumbled, they thrived, and I ducked my head under the water with my second eyelid closed to watch them better as they made their approach.
Underwater, everything was strangely vibrant. I was told that this was an uncommon sight around here, but the Alpha, once they'd heard that I wanted to accompany a hunt, had insisted that I be brought here. Though I hadn't seen what other options remained for the hunts, this was an amazing sight. The growths of what was called coral filled the area, and hundreds and thousands of fish darted through everything I could see. There was constant movement everywhere I looked, and the fish ranged in size and color from the size of a fingernail and drab to two feet long and glittering as if made of silver. None of the hunters approached these smaller fish, their focus on something else I couldn't see.
Though I had to pinch my nostrils closed to keep watching, I could see the small pack encircle a hole that didn't mean much to me. It was too small to house anything worth hunting, but they remained watching it. When necessary, one would surface, take a quick breath, and resubmerge to resume their place on the coral. They didn't sit or lay on it so much as hold a part to keep themselves from being pulled away from the tides. Several minutes passed without anything happening, and I continued taking breaths every thirty seconds or so. Taklarr hadn't gone up for air at all, and when he began to move, I thought he was finally needing to take a breath.
I was wrong. After creeping forward at a glacial pace, the leader of the hunt exploded into motion. A sudden cloud of dirt was thrown up, then replaced by a different, almost smoky burst of blackness. I shifted to my thermal vision just in time to see Taklarr's jaws rip into a strange creature. Its many thrashing legs tore at everything it could reach, but the keelish hunters were far too much for it. The murky water still hid the fight from my mundane eyes, but I saw as each hunter leapt into the hunt with their jaws flashing. The beast was quickly subdued, most of its limbs ripped off and summarily consumed, but I did see it strike back once.
Its beak, for that's all I could call it, bit deep into one of the other hunters' ribs, biting a large, nasty wound into the flesh. The keelish's mouth exploded in bubbles and it pulled back from the hunt. Taklarr didn't need any longer to dispatch the creature, though. He lunged forward and his claws punctured straight through its bulbous head. It twitched and another cloud of blackness exploded out of it, but its struggles ceased. The hunters swam towards me, the vestiges of the creature in their hands as they came.
"Make haste." Taklarr called out as he poked his head out of the water. "The blood and struggle will draw more dangerous predators. Now, speedily!"
A part of me welcomed the opportunity to hunt a predator, something to stretch my abilities, but I also struggled walking in the water at chest height, much less fighting. Thus, I made my way back to shore, and none too late. The other keelish, especially the wounded one, hustled to the water's edge and turned to watch the place where they'd just been hunting, only a quarter mile out or so. Once I got to knee height water, the splashing began. Calling it splashing, though, was a disservice. Where they'd shed blood and hunted the creature, now there was a reddish tint that spread further and further, until the pink hue faded completely.
"What's bleeding that much?" I asked.
"I wouldn't count mineself as one a seer." Taklarr flicked his tail in hesitation. "If I were forced to attempt a divination, perhaps I would suppose it were an otter. They only rarely appear anywhere near the grounds of our frequent appearance, but with the lifeblood spilt and so much struggle, I must assume it is the death throes of an otter beset by a school of shredders."
"Shredders don't sound too pleasant." I responded, ignoring the otters statement. "Are they one of the main deterrents from sticking around?"
"Indeed." Taklarr flared his frills. "They're ravenous little beasts, and too small to merit hunting with any way we've encountered or imagined until now. Follow the scent of blood, they do."
"About this big," I said, brandishing my hand, "with lines of sharp teeth filling their mouths? Red bellies and silver scales?"
"No?" Taklarr responded, his eyes curious. "I have never set eye upon a fish of that description. Shredders are about the size and shape of a single one of thine fingers, their scales a murky brown. They have no eyes and nothing but hunger in their bodies. That which you describe seems to be much more worth hunting and consuming."
I flicked my tail, dismissing the thought. I wouldn't hunt the Bloodsoaked Mother's chosen monstrosities anyways. Taklarr proffered the remains of the creature as we stood, watching the thrashing die down.
"This is known as an octopus. This is a smaller specimen, but they remain delectable regardless of their size. The Alpha has asked that thou beest given one preparatory to thine speech this day."
I reached out and took the body, which was twice the size of one of my fists. Then, I internalized what he'd said and asked.
"Wait, what speech?"