Naeemah | Pre-search
The leg of the journey with Kejo's pod was much too short for Naeemah's comfort. After only three days of swimming they reached the next pod, which was waiting for Naeemah and Thess.
"Weell miess youee, Neema," Kejo told her sadly as she let go of his dorsal fin began to tread water. "Weell veeset you sometim! Sivi and I'll bruing Kiy wiath us."
"I'd really like that, Kejo," Naeemah replied with a smile, giving Kejo one last, loving scratch behind the eye. "I'll look out for you, wherever I end up."
"Aes loung aes youee knoow dolpheens, wea'll fiund youee," Kejo assured her.
"We've got to get going, Nae," Thess reminded her gently. "The skies are looking angry and the last thing we need to do is be caught out in a storm."
Naeemah said her final goodbyes to the pod that had taken care of her for so long and then treaded water watching them until they were out of sight before turning to the next pod. It was a much larger pod then Kejo's had been, with maybe twenty, twenty-five members. An old, wise looking female came forward. "Iee am Liss. My pawd and Iee wieel be swieemming wieeth you faur two days."
"We really nead to start out," Thess urged, sounding a bit worried now. "Naeemah isn't made to stand a storm like the one brewing right now on open seas."
There were some clickings and trillings that Liss silenced with a deadly look. "We'll mauke good tieeme," she assured them. "Down't worray 'bout stowrm."
Naeemah grabbed ahold of Thess' strong dorsal for this leg of the journey. He would have carried her the whole way himself, but Naeemah had insisted that he swim free at least some of the time. Now, as the skies clouded and the waves began to become stronger, Naeemah was thankful for the feel of a familiar fin beneath her hand.
As they swam, it became obvious that they would not out swim the storm. Liss was giving orders in clicks and whistles and trills so fast that Naeemah didn't even try to interpret them. Had they been easy to understand, she still wouldn't have been able to: all her strength and thoughts were focused on keeping her grip on Thess.
The rain was pelting the pod now and Naeemah felt her grip slipping. She held on harder but slipped anyway. A flash of lightning lit the sky, making it as light as day for one horrifying second. Her hand slipped as the world was plunged back into darkness. "Thess!" Naeemah screamed above the raging winds. "Thess!"
For a moment, Naeemah wished she had never left her little island. It was not such a bad life, living with the dolphins. Kejo and Sivi and their pod had become a family to her. The next moment, however, she felt herself being pushed up by Thess's strong back. Automatically, she grabbed for his dorsal fin and hung on, pressing her face against his slick, wet hide to protect it from the pelting rains and wind.
The battered pod struggled on through the storm, only Thess, Liss, and Naeemah above water. The rest of the pod was underwater, trying to stay away from the wind and rain. Naeemah wished that she had an oxygen tank with her so she could join them.
For a few moments, the storm seemed to be dying down. The winds and waves slowed, the rain died down to a harmless, even comforting sprinkle. Then the something hit Naeemah hard in the head, and all went instantly black.
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