“What’s Tenné Quai?” piped up an inquisitive voice, the blue-speckled visage of Argo Navis poking up from among a gaggle of whelps, gleaming eyes looking up at their mentor. Ara, the current only Leafwhisperer of the tribe known as Moonraiders, had decided to take a number of the younglings out to the docks, after hearing of the opening of the place and of its resident fisher, Lilith. Ara looked over the group, trailing over the three belemoid younglings - all with some form of striping spreading over their bodies. 

Orion, Ophiuchus, and Argo Navis had all found their way into the tribe from other places, though Argo had been apparently sired by their tribemate, Abaddon, during his time in the wilds. Achernar, one of the young tsabhua in the gaggle, was a child of two long standing members, whereas Aries and Seven Two Zero had been brought in from the Immigration Center. Sometimes, Ara wondered how well they were getting along. She herself was daughter to Cepheus and Delphinus, two of the most senior members of the tribe. They, along with Cassiopeia - that is, Achernar’s grandmother - had founded the Moonraiders long before her own birth.

“They’re Tellurian words,” Ara explained to the youngsters, noting Aries’ ears pricking at the word and spotting Achernar taking note. “Human. I believe Tenné is some sort of colour, a brown, and a Quai is a type of shipyard.”

Orion snorted derisively. “Why does it have a Tellurian name when it never let them in until now in the first place?” Ophiuchus gave a soft murmur of agreement, shuffling closer to the other striped belemoid. She’d always been close to Orion and Ara wondered if their friendship would continue after they’d lost their whelp fluff.

The quai was coming up ahead and Ara gave a soft blast of announcement, letting the sound ring through her horn. “Here it is. Children, stay close.” Argo Navis shuffled closer while Seven Two Zero - still without a chosen name - eyed the surroundings gloomily. 

Her eyes centered on a blue flash as lo and behold, the green eyed face of Lilith popped into view. She grinned at the group, her black-streaked face exploding into a look of joy. 

“Visitors!”

Ophiuchus shuffled back to hide behind Ara, while Aries and Orion stood their ground to give her a once-over. Ara ducked her head to nuzzle the youngest, Argo Navis, before picking her up and settling the whelp down on her back. Achernar had shuffled over to stand behind Aries. The first of any of them to approach Lilith was Seven Two Zero. The leaf tsabhua strode right up to Lilith and took a sniff, which the curious belemoid took with grace.

“You’re wet,” Seven Two Zero announced, “But you don’t look like the others when they get wet.” She narrowed her eyes. “Why?”

“Great eye, kid,” Lilith said, swapping her fish from one clawed hand to the other. Ara noticed the creature’s fur was sleek and short, shiny from the dampness but natural looking. “I’m what you call a Reef Belemoid,” she gave a grin, flipping her tail to the side to shake off some of the extra water. “Welcome to Tenné Quai! I’ve been waiting so long for them to decide to let colonists in! I’m Lilith!”

“Colonists…” muttered Orion with a blink.

“Yeah, that’s what you lot are called!” She indicated towards Ara, who was wearing one of the translation collars, set with the marks of Argo Navis’s budding teeth. “Least I think so? Got one of them non-Xunari back home?”

Ara gave a nod, though didn’t want to delve into that can of worms. “We’ve come from the south, taking the kids out on a scouting trip or two and we figured we would come see what the commotion is all about!”

Lilith gave a grin, looking over at Ophiuchus, who was slowly coming out of her shell and approaching, though she was clearly still deferring to Orion. Seven Two Zero had come closer too, now sniffing around the wooden structures. She looked back at the others, looking a tad nervous but apparently well enough pleased. Aries, with Achernar close behind, tested the wood and made his way up onto the dock. 

“So, Lilith, what do you do here?” Ara asked, glancing back at the yawning Argo Navis.

“I fish! The ocean is a wild place, let me tell you. Ever gone swimming in the deep?” Lilith tilted her head, curious, though she wasn’t sure how well such a bulky, fluffy thing as Ara would do if she tried to go for a swim.

“No, I haven’t,” Ara admitted. She looked over at Orion, who was showing off to Ophiuchus and Achernar by balancing on the edge of the dock, much to Aries’ dismay. Seven Two Zero was trailing along, orange eyes never missing a thing. Argo Navis shifted on Ara’s back and she dipped her head to let the youngster off.

“What all is out there?” she asked, turning back to Lilith. 

“Far more than you’d ever expect,” the reef belemoid said with a glint in her eye.