Redhawk Caldera AQUACULTURE

Raven's heart had been set on visiting the "giant puddle" Lake Rodney since she'd first seen it on the day the family had moved to their rendezvous site.  Ever since that morning, she hadn't shut up about it.  She loved puddles, after all.  Nothing made her happier than splashing and playing in muddy water after a good, heavy rain, and of course, being as young as she was, she didn't understand that a lake was nothing like a puddle at all.  The scale was simply too enormous for her developing mind to grasp.

Until today.  Finally -- finally -- Dad had given in and decided to take the family to visit the shoreline.  Of course, it wasn't Lake Rodney, but Raven wouldn't know the difference.  She bounced with excitement and glee the whole way there, probably getting on her parents' nerves with her incessant babbling and rambling. The instant the water came into view, she and Nightjar had the same idea at the same time -- both puppies immediately bolted.  Nightjar was corralled by Dad, however, while Raven was restrained by Mom.  A frustrated growl bubbled in her throat for a second or two before draining into a desperate whine.  Dad promptly laid down the law, saying something about rules and the calling the pack, but Raven wasn't paying any attention at all.  Mom said something about a test, swimming...but Raven's grey-gold eyes were glued on the water.  She was transfixed by the way it shimmered and glittered in the sunshine, the way its surface shifted and undulated.  The sound of it lapping at the shoreline was mesmerizing; she could listen to that sound forever and never grow tired of it.  More than anything else, though, she was overwhelmed by the sheer size of it.  It was the biggest puddle she'd ever seen.  It was the biggest puddle in the world!  

Moments later, her Uncle Elwood showed up.  She scented him before she saw it, and she reluctantly tore her gaze from the lake to green him with a smile and a waving tail.  She loved him, and she hoped her Aunt Finley would join them too.  A moment later, they were joined by a white wolf she didn't know.  Nightjar approached her curiously, but Raven remained by her parents, saying nothing and watching the stranger with wary eyes.