Whitewater Gorge xxxxi. that you left

AW, ecologist mastery #4

The turbulent stream was a treacherous one, without a doubt. In some places it narrowed to a trickling brook -- gentle and teasing in its playfulness. And in others, the land dipped away and the river widened to a roar of whitewater at the dizzying drops below. Lótë found herself slowing along one of the calmer stretches, pattering to a halt as she reached a calm pool -- calm only because of the dam that had been placed there by a family of beavers.

The deerstalker lowered herself to the ground, craning her neck to peer over the reeds and into the deep water where one of the creatures was currently paddling about. She hoped to avoid startling the swimmer and observe the beaver as it went about its business: hawing at tree trunks and building upon its aquatic home between snacks of grasses and pond weeds.