Sequoia Coast the seal hunters

raiyuk was under the water when the seal separated from its group, and he was trying to keep his eyes open against the intense cold, and trying to keep hold of his breath, so he did not immediately see it. it was not until the water-dog came sweeping in close to his belly that raiyuk reacted, first to the shifting of the water in its silent way and then to the touch of something against his underside, which made him kick out and lose some air; the surprise frothed from him in the form of obnoxious bubbles.

he calmed himself as best he could and finally got a glimpse of the round shape, the mottled hide, the sheer size of the seal — which were all familiar for being like the glacier seals, but surprising too, because it was so much bigger than raiyuk could have ever imagined. raiyuk paddled in place and tried to swim closer for a better look, and wanted very much to strike out at the thing, except he remembered how difficult the hide was on the glacier seals and did not know if he could be successful.

his breath was wearing thin, so he made the decision to surface again. once his head bobbed up from the icy water he saw his father waiting there, and took a few shallow breaths to ease his own racing heart, and then a larger gasp to prepare for the hunt; the look in his eye as he plunged in to the water again and saw his father was the only indication that he was ready to truly hunt the thing.

swimming desperately to reach for the seal now; hoping that its own curiosity would make it complacent until the moment the two wolves could strike, and rend through that rubbery hide, and put red in the water. as soon as raiyuk was close enough to hang there beside the seal, he used all of his strength and training to push himself towards it and strike out, clawing, snapping his teeth while his tongue was wedged far back to stop the water from choking him, anything — because he had to prove himself a man.