Reward really wasn't sure how *he* got saddled up with the whelps. Seize, Believe, and Witness had all *demanded* they be taken for a walk today, and had somehow managed to get their way, too. It had become obvious in the last few weeks that the whelps brought back from Rekes were Bloo's. Their leader had quite a bit of explaining to do, but most of the colony easily agreed that the whelps were not at fault, and should be treated just like any other colonist. Still, Reward had noticed that sometimes these whelp had a bit of an easier time getting their way because of their history.

 

"Carefull!" Reward called out as the black whelp- who he believed was Believe, was walking dangerously close to one of the rivers. He had already told all three kids that they weren't allowed near the waters, especially now that they were all murky and covered in debris from a previous flood, but none of them had seemed to pay him any mind. He was pretty sure the only reason Seize stayed away from them was because of a lack of interest.

 

"We'll be okay!" Believe called out, crawling closer to the waterline. This particular river was a low point, so the banks were steep, and would surely be difficult to climb out of if a whelp fell in.

 

"I said no! Get back here!" Reward called back, patience faltering. Seize had, thankfully stuck to his side, but Believe and witness were reaching down into the river to splash each other with the water now, shooting a taunting look at Reward.

 

He groaned, looking at Seize "Stay here, please." the whelp nodded- he wasn't one for mischief, unlike his sisters, and Reward was more grateful of that now than ever. Just as he was about to reach the whelps, one of them shrieked, and instantly tried to scramble back up to where Seize had been waiting for them- but her little paws couldn't get a grip on the wet ground surrounding the river.

 

Luckily, Reward managed to grab hold of Believe just in time, barely stopping her from falling into the river. He hauled her up out of the river banks, and grabbed Witness right after. 

 

"What was that about?!" he snapped at the whelps. They had put both of them, and by extend Reward, in danger with that dumb move!

 

Both Believe and Witness seemed embarrassed now, standing next to Seize and looking exceptionally guilty. Good, as they should be.

 

"I ah- felt something in the water- it spooked me." Believe spoke softly.

 

Reward sighed. He had thought he saw something pink and lime green scurry away, but with how murky the waters had been really couldn't have been sure. Believe probably just managed to sneak up on a fish and scare it away. "Let's just head home."

 

"Hang on!" Witness said, "I wanna know what was in the water! Can you go check, Reward?"

 

Seize gasped with excitement "Yea! Maybe Believe found a treasure! Please check, Reward!"

 

Reward rolled his eyes, looking at the river. Since he was a lot larger than the whelps, he could probably reach in and see... It would probably be easier than to fight the three on this. He sighed, walking back to the river bank and kneeling down. He honestly hated the rivers- they were kind of gross- and it took him a moment to mentally prepare before reaching in.

 

He searched around for a bit, until he touched something with a weird texture. He yanked it up- and was met with what once was some sort of leather bag. He sighed, trying to hold back his annoyance.

 

"See? It's just some junk. Let's just head back home." He started to herd the kids back home, making sure to make a mental note to mention to Roam that he'd have to find someone else for babysitting duties next time.

 

---

 

Victoria peered at the small group of colonists as they left. She had *not* been happy about one of the younger ones suddenly grabbing her tail at all, but neither had the adult who had been with the whelps been. The group had made her curious, though, and she decided to follow them trough the river for a bit. She hadn't originally caught their names, preoccupied looking trough the river for anything interesting swept away by the flood, but quickly learnt that the adult Tsabhua was called Reward, the black whelp Believe, and the two blue whelps Witness and Seize.

 

She had been curiously observing the colony for a while now, watching their interactions with each other in a way that she had managed to convince herself was not at all creepy. The land that this specific colony had claimed as their happened to cut trough a narrow part of the river- which Victoria had to admit made watching them rather easy. 

 

The colonists all seemed pretty close-knit, which made Victoria almost yearn to join them. Maybe not this group, but still she felt hesitant. She watched the group as they disappeared into the distance, wondering if there was room for her in such a community.