Drift squealed loudly as a splash of water hit her in the face. From the other side of the river, Halt giggled before splashing her friend with cold water again. Sting and Diminish sat on the riverbank, watching the two Aquatic Tark'ee play while they had a snack.

They had been playing near the river, somewhat north of the headquarters but still on the colony's land. If you knew where to look, you could still the buildings of the colony poking out trough the tall mushrooms. Drift had insisted they go further from home, but Sting had voiced her discomfort at that, which had been the end of the discussion.

The river was nice and cool. It was slightly upstream from the river that ran trough the colony's clearing, which meant that it was slightly more dirty and filled with plants and fish. Neither Drift nor Halt minded, though.

They messed around like that for a while, until Halt noticed something in the water. It was far bigger than a fish, so the Tark'ee immediately panicked. "What's that?!"

Diminish and Sting instantly stood up, peering at the water nervously. The shadow stopped moving for a while.

"I see it too!" Drift called out in alarm, which instantly made all of the four Xunari move frantically away from the threat. Diminish quickly hid away behind Sting, who picked up a rock and tossed it at the shape in the water. The rock made a splash in the water, hitting the odd shape dead center. Quickly after, a very angry head poked out of the water, orange eyes glaring at the red belemoid whelp.

"You're not allowed to be here!" Sting cried out, moving to grab another rock. The beast lew out a loud, scary-sounding hiss. "Don't." it said, still glaring at the whelps. "What made you think you could mess around in MY home?" The beast growled.

"Actually, this is OUR home." Halt said, annoyed.

Drift nodded. "You can't just come in and claim it as your own! We'll send Guide after you!"

The beast did not seem impressed by this. "Whoever this Guide is, they will not win from me in a fight."

Diminished looked at her friends nervously. "Should we go get someone-" she whispered.

"Yes, we should!" Halt whispered back fiercely, her claws gripping another rock as if it could protect them all. "This thing is huge!"

The beast in the water tilted its head, its orange eyes gleaming in the sunlight. It didn't look particularly large at the moment, most of its bulk was still submerged, but its hissing voice and sharp glare were enough to make the four whelps nervous.

"Go ahead," the creature sneered. "Run to your colony. Call for your *Guide*. It won't make a difference. Tell them Dylidae has taken the river, and not to bother coming near it again. I do not take kindly to intruders."

Sting's ears flicked back in irritation. "You're awfully bold for someone who just got hit with a rock."

The beast's eyes narrowed. "You're awfully bold for whelps trespassing on *my* river."

"It's not *your* river!" Halt snapped, splashing water at Dylidae angrily. "This whole area belongs to the colony!"

The creature let out a low, guttural laugh that sent a chill up Sting's spine. "And who are you to enforce that, little ones? You're far from your colony's protection out here. You should be more careful where you play."

Diminish tugged on Drift's arm nervously. "I really think we should go get someone," she whispered again.

Drift hesitated, her pride warring with her common sense. She didn't like the idea of backing down in front of this smug stranger, but she also didn't want to put her friends in danger. "Fine," she muttered, stepping back toward the riverbank. "We'll go get Guide. And when we come back, you'd better not still be here!"

Dylidae's grin widened, revealing sharp teeth. "We'll see about that."

---

The whelps didn't stop running until they were well out of sight of the river. Sting, still clutching her rock, was the first to break the silence. "What *was* that Xunari? I've never seen anyone like that before!"

"Me neither." Halt admitted. "He looked like some kind of predator."

"Do you think he's dangerous?" Diminish asked, her voice trembling slightly. Diminish had never been one to like confrontation.

"Definitely," Drift said firmly. "Which is why we need to tell Guide right away."

The group hurried back to the headquarters. They found Guide near the main building, talking to a few other adults. The whelps skidded to a stop in front of her, breathless and wide-eyed.

"Guide!" Drift panted. "There's a… a guy in the river!"

Guide raised an eyebrow, her calm expression showing only mild concern. "A guy?"

"It was huge!" Sting exclaimed, gesturing wildly. "And it talked! It said the river was *his* home!"

Guide frowned, her ears turning forward attentively. "Did he threaten you?"

"Well, he said he wasn't leaving," Halt said. "And it didn't seem scared of us at all."

"He said you couldn't beat him in a fight," Drift added, looking at Guide expectantly.

The corners of Guide's mouth twitched, but she didn't quite smile. "Did he now?" She straightened up, her calm confidence instantly reassuring the whelps. "Take me to where you saw him. If there's a someone claiming part of our land, I'd like to have a word with him."

Sting lead the way, with the rest following. Diminish especially felt nervous about the situation- who knew what was about to happen?