Duck Lake dancing shores

uktark drove them hard into the bend, water exploding around his chest as the herd broke and scattered. the weak one peeled off just as he’d read—an older cow, legs trembling, river stealing her footing. he surged, a black mass cleaving the shallows, and snapped his jaws shut around her hind hoof.
not to drag.
not yet.
he held—testing. feeling the strain, the slip, the panic shudder through bone. the river foamed around them, his weight anchoring her in place as he lifted his head, eyes cutting to the shoreline.
now.
he waited to see who would answer—who would bite flank, who would cut escape, who would commit. the cow lurched; uktark tightened his grip just enough to keep her honest, water churning in his wake as he braced, patient as stone, letting the others choose their moment.