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P** art Five: "The Urchinhide Family"**

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Truth be told, several moments after she'd dove off the Dynamic's deck at the crack of dawn to go pearl hunting, Nyrina's absence hadn't gone unnoticed for very long. Not when her father, Hudder, had awoken earlier than usual, gone about doing his duties of preparing the raft for sailing as well as finally noticed her not sleeping in her bed of a hammock back in the hut.

Thus, only a half hour after her departure, after the rest of her family had been woken up and become worried over her not being around, Nyrina's dad - thanks to being an experienced traveler - had soon enough picked up her rather meager trail. In turn, with utmost haste, he'd gone after her into the northern woodlands for several reasons; to bring her back home, to ensure her safety as well as to tell her that her mother, Mistdrop, had said that she was in deep, deep, deep trouble!

Put in other words, put into Felldewan otter terms, Nyrina was in deep, deep, deep coral!

As he now dashed upstream towards his uncertain daughter as well as her observing human rescuer, being nearly seven feet exactly in height, Hudder Urchinhide was a head and some taller than Nyrina. For being an ebony colored, sinewy, lithe river otter, he was unquestionably a giant amongst his kind. And never having been a clean looking specimen, with his scraggily whiskers wildly sticking out from his face at the moment, with his favorite tan bandana tied roguishly around his slick head, he looked quite intimidating to anyone - even Ivan - who didn't know him. Especially when he was carrying a spear!

Thus, not knowing who he was, wanting to keep Nyrina from coming to any more harm than she'd already been in recently, Ivan had his bow in hand within the blink of an eye. He was about to draw out an arrow when the Urchinhide daughter quickly explained, hurriedly waving the bow aside meanwhile, "No, no, no, Ivan, there's no need for any of that!"

"Oh?" The human responded, still closely watching Hudder rapidly approaching, "Do you know this he-otter coming our way then? I thought that I heard him say your name but I wasn't quite sure."

"Yes. He did say my name. He knows me. And I know him." Nyrina said gently, looking back to her coming parent while preparing herself for what lecture was to come, "Ivan, this otter that is coming to us is my father."

For a moment, the human registered the information with a blank face. Then, in an instant, he was extremely apologetic about his former intentions with his bow and arrows.

"By the goddess, I apologize, Nyrina! I didn't mean to bear arms against any of your family!" Ivan quickly exclaimed, immediately putting away his weapons in a rush, "Truly, forgive me. I meant no disrespect towards you or your father by showing my weapons."

Before Nyrina could tell her champion that everything was okay between them considering that no one had been hurt by accident, she found her voice was lost. Now she couldn't really think of anything to say, knowing that as her father neared... she was going to be in for the time of her life.

Still, for having obviously caused him and her family such worry, she deserved punishment, didn't she? Yes, she did. And she was ready to receive it like the grown-up that she was. She couldn't cry. She couldn't argue. She could only be mature. She had known what she was getting into earlier this morning by going off on her own.

Now, despite the circumstance that'd happened against her already, she was ready to see this bitterness through to the end.

Finally, with much gasping for breath, bending over to place his hands upon his knees, not being as young as he once was, Hudder crossed the distance between himself and his waiting daughter. For several minutes, the Urchinhide father drew in air. Then, straightening up, he looked about ready to explode with impatience. That was before he realized, a split second later, the condition Nyrina was in.

And her condition was this; poorly.

"Nyrina, my littl' tyke, my water lily, my sapphire of sapphires! Ye've had me sick with worry but at last I've found ye'." Hudder exclaimed in his traditional sailor otter accent while moving forward, finally getting to his quiet daughter and looking at her beat up state with his wide, worried amber eyes, "By the goddess, what's happened to ye', though, dearest? Tell yer ol' pa, why are ye' covered in bandages?"

For a moment, Nyrina could scarcely believe that her father wasn't verbally beating her up for having disobeyed his orders of not going off alone. Instead, even now when he was angered over her actions, even when he'd come all the way out into the wilderness to do nothing but lecture her about her disobedience, he was first and foremost her loving father before punisher. Honestly, at this moment, he was considering her well-being before the fact that she'd disobeyed one of the oldest family creeds.

He was the best father in the world. And he currently had a daughter torn up on the inside as well as outside which she began to show at once.

"Father, I... I... I..." Nyrina managed to whimper before - even though determined not to - she completely broke down into sobs, trying hard to find the right words to explain what she'd gone through to be so hurt, "There was... I didn't mean for..."

"Didn't mean for what, me' gem?" Was Hudder's fatherly reply, his frantic haste not helping the situation, "My darlin' Nyrina, stop cryin' or yer' eyes will stay red forever. Whateva' is the matter? Why are ye' so badly hurt? Why... By the goddess, why are ye' with a human?"

If the Urchinhide father's eyes weren't already wide with surprise over the situation he faced, they became so when he at last noticed Ivan standing close by. Mind, Hudder's eyes truly were already wide with worry over Nyrina but when he saw Nyrina's rescuer, well, they could have popped right out of his face. They went from being wide to being dangerously wide as dinner plates!

"It's a good thing she's with this human, sir. Rather, it's a good thing she was _found_by this human." Ivan said for himself, taking a sweeping bow like the gentleman he was to Nyrina's astonished father, "I am Ivan T'lore of Norlinth, sir otter. I take it that you are Nyrina's father then?"

"Yes, that's me. Proud to be so. Hudder is me name. Hudder of the Urchinhides." Hudder explained swiftly, looking from both his daughter to her human champion while tugging nervously on his whiskery face as well as adjusting his bandana, "Er, ye've met me beaut' of a daughter here then, human? Do ye' know what's wrong with 'er? Was it you per'aps ye' who bandaged her all up like this?"

"Indeed, it was I who bandaged her up like that." Ivan answered, nodding his head honestly and understanding every word of the thick accented father otter, "I hope that wasn't wrong of me to do."

"Not at all, not at all! But, um, what did ye' bind my little tyke fer?" Was Hudder's immediate inquiry, hugging his weeping daughter close to him as she went on crying out her overload of emotions, "Why did she need to be bandaged?"

"That's a long story. One that I was trying to figure out myself before your arrival actually." Ivan admitted, giving sobbing Nyrina a worried look, "However, it would seem that she is not in any state at the moment to say anything. She would be best off in the healing hands of her mother. Your wife, in other words, Hudder, sir."

"Aye. That she would. Yes, come on, me little dewdrop. Jump into yer' ol' pa's arms like you did when ye' were naught but yer' little brother's age." Hudder said softly, strapping his javelin onto his back as well as easily carrying his crying daughter in his arms in turn, "Shush now, shush. It's okay. Here I was ready to tell ye' that yer mother said that ye' were going to be in deep coral when I found ye' but now... Hmf, that unpleasantness can wait."

Before he took off back to the Dynamic, however, the father otter requested of the human man nearby, "Ivan, youngster, I would have ye' follow me. Me'self and me wife will have questions to ask of ye' about this, if ye' don't mind."

"But of course." Ivan casually said back, easily matching the hurried pace of Hudder next as the he-otter took off downstream in the southern direction, "And I hope that I will have answers to what questions you and your wife will ask of me."

With swiftness others perhaps maybe would have found hard to match, Hudder jogged back the way he'd come from Dynamic. Nevertheless, without breaking so much as a sweat, Ivan never allowed himself to be left in the father otter's dust during the hurried trip downstream through the forestlands. As they ran along with her in tow, the Urchinhide father couldn't help but sadly look to his hurting daughter.

In turn, at seeing her so torn up over what he did not yet understand, he wondered inwardly to himself, "By the goddess, Nyrina... what's wrong with ye', my otterling?"

Many things. There were many things wrong with Nyrina as she was run back to the Dynamic in her father's arms with Ivan trailing close behind them both. For one, she was in trouble for having gone off on her own into unknown territory. Two, as her family would come to discover one way or the other soon, she had been attacked by a shark. Three and most depressing... she hadn't been able to get her perfect mother the perfect birthday gift after all.

Well, even if the Urchinhide daughter wasn't willing to accept it at the moment, there was something of a bright side to this whole depressing event. At least the she had met a human for the first time in her life. A human who was now intent on seeing her returned safely home as well as healed. A human who, although she couldn't even begin to guess it at the moment, was bound to be her everything in the future and make her family eternally happy.

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Since she'd become one twenty-one years ago, gracious "Mistdrop Urchinhide" had considered herself an adequate if not patient mother. More than once, more than twice, more than a million times over during the hardest times of her parenting years, she'd prayed to the goddess for strength, wisdom, courage along with many more things to help her show her children how to grow to be proper otters.

And to be perfectly honest, in the eyes of Gaia, the Urchinhide mother had done a more than good enough job of being patient with her pups, of showing them kindness, of teaching them what was right from wrong.

Thus, despite all of her efforts, why in Heavenall - the heavenly realm of the goddess - was it that Mistdrop had not been able to rub the rebellious side out of her offspring yet?! ARGH!

Truly, as it was known nowadays in the family, it was hard enough for Mistdrop to have to always be on the lookout to make sure her young, rebellious Clampter wasn't up to anything bad. So, here and now, as it'd been discovered by Hudder just after dawn an hour or so ago, why was Nyrina missing? Why was it that the Urchinhide daughter - the usually content, mature, rule obeying pup of the two - had disappeared this morning without a note, a message or anything saying where she'd gone?!

"Honestly, goddess... you gave me trouble for kids. I gave birth to two expert stress demons without knowing it, didn't I? Humph." Mistdrop grumbled to her pretty self while hurriedly fixing breakfast at a controlled fire pit upon Dynamic's deck, worrying like she always did when one of her family was giving her trouble, "Well, when that daughter of mine gets back, there won't be any excuses! I'm sorry but if her father hasn't punished her by the time he brings her back then I'll just have to be the one to set an example. It's like her brother said just a moment ago; Nyrina is in deep coral."

As she said that her eldest daughter was in deep coral for being off on her own in the vast wilderness, Mistdrop purposefully looked up from her work and directed her gaze northward.

As a loving otter mother, she did her best not to feel so painful on the inside about the fact that when Nyrina was brought back home she would have to be punished with no "ifs", "ands" or "buts". Truly, she would have to be lectured like she was an otterling again, humiliated in front of the family, given no breakfast and then be sent off to do chores without argument.

Or would Nyrina have to go through that? Today was becoming quite a beautiful day after all. Surely, if Hudder hadn't done so already by the time he returned with their naughty daughter, despite the arrogance that had been shown towards the family rules, Mistdrop wouldn't ruin the tranquility of this morning with yelling at her daughter, right?

Yet, having learned the ways of life as a mother for twenty-one years of her overall forty-seven, whether she wanted to do so or not, the Urchinhide mother had to enact punishment upon her sole daughter's actions to maintain the balance of her family. For if she didn't give Nyrina a hard time for today then perhaps there would be another case of disobedience tomorrow. If not that, Clampter would more than likely become irritated that his older sibling could get away with things that he could not.

Giving a sigh, feeling very tired all of a sudden, Mistdrop rubbed her emerald eyes with her paws. A thought passed through her mind next. A though that every Felldewan mother thought at least a hundred times during their lifespans; "It was so very hard to be a parent during some days than on other days."

Next moment, feeling downhearted all of a sudden that the morning of today - after three whole days of nothing but storms - was going to being depressing, the Urchinhide mother left her cooking to find comfort in sitting on the north facing side of Dynamic. There, taking a seat, she let her feet as well as tail soak in the passing river water. Lean, colored chocolate brown like herself with a creamy white underbelly, dressed simply in a riverweed jerkin along with bottoms, having a tan bandana wrapped around his head like his father to keep his short, brown hair out of his amber eyes, Clampter swam to his heart's content nearby with energy, skill as well as dexterity that his watching mother knew would one day match powerful Hudder's own.

"I know that Nyrina must be taught a lesson for going off on her own this morning. Yet, is it really necessary? Must I really bring about such tension, Gaia? Must I really be so crabby and ruin this gorgeous morning with screaming?" Mistdrop wondered somberly, looking at herself in the water before her, remembering the days when she had looked like her daughter. When her dark brown fur underneath her current cotton tunic had been glossy if not sleek, when her whiskers had not been so gray, when her eyes hadn't reflected the many troubles coursing through her tired mind, "Today... just today... Could I not let this trouble go without quarrel? Could I not go easy on my little Nyrina?"

Silence. A cool, refreshing, soothing silence only disturbed by the occasional call of a bird, the rush of a breeze or the gurgling of the Seidon River answered the somber otter mother's question. In turn, thanks to Mother Nature's gentleness all around her, Mistdrop became more torn in whether or not to punish Nyrina upon her return.

No doubt, being the big softy that he was, being the doting father that he was, Hudder wouldn't be so hard when he found their daughter. And because of that, because of his jolly if not charming nature, he was the favorite of the parents.

No. No, there was no favorite parent in the Urchinhide family. The mother as well as father were equally loved and Mistdrop knew that for she'd been told so numerous times by her precious offspring. She was foolish for thinking her husband was more loved than her. It was just that where her spouse was carefree, she was always a bit straight to the point.

Yet, due to her stern nature, that was why Mistdrop had come to love her spouse back in the day, wasn't it? Yes, that was why she'd married him. That was why, despite her severity, balanced by Hudder's jolliness, she had succeeded at being a good mother for the most part.

So, even though every part of her knew that she ought to do so, gorgeous today wasn't a day for another case of severity on Mistdrop's part. Instead, although knowing that Clampter would complain about it, following her carefree husband's ways for a change, the otter mother was determined to let the disobedience of Nyrina go easily. Of course, the Urchinhide daughter would still be punished. There had to be some kind of penalty placed upon her to keep the family together. Nevertheless, the sentence would be easy going.

In the meantime, during Nyrina's relaxed punishment, heh, Clampter wouldn't be able to complain much. Not while he was munching on some of his favorite treat, anyway; a bowl of salted, peppered, garlic sprinkled freshwater shrimp.

So, that was it then? That was Mistdrop's conclusion to how things would go this morning?

Yes, the otter mother was willing to allow today's disobedience - only TODAY'S - to slide. And what kind of punishment would she have Nyrina go through when brought back aboard the Dynamic? Well, she could check the raft bottom for leaks, couldn't she? Hm, yes, that would not only prove to not be such a hard task for Nyrina, the expert swimmer, to perform but it would also be productive towards her family's home. Two birds would be killed with one stone, in a sense. How convenient a solution.

Glancing uncertainly northward upstream towards where Hudder had traveled off into the forestland while tracking disobedient Nyrina, Mistdrop couldn't help but begin to wonder what exactly had made her only daughter venture north alone. Truly, for whatever her reason, why had Nyrina traveled north without a word to anyone? What had been her intentions?

Well, no matter what she tried to figure out... the older she-otter couldn't even begin to imagine that her daughter's disobedience had been done for a most wonderful purpose; her birthday.

Either way, the puzzling Urchinhide mother was abruptly distracted from her troubled thoughts when she spotted her son curiously poking if not nibbling at the wonderful smelling, grilling slabs of herring being cooked over Dynamic's fire. In turn, giving an exclamation, she pulled herself out of the water, ran after her startled pup, dived into the water after him as well as dragged him back to the surface where she tickled him!

In turn, Clampter erupted into a shrill screaming, squealing, giggling fit that displayed he was still part otterling and not fully grown yet. Truly, every so often, even though he didn't want to, the Urchinhide son let loose a thrilling, high pitched squeak that could have been mistaken for a toy.

"Ha ha ha, what do you think you're doing nibbling at that fish like some weasel in the dark, you? I'm your mother, don't you know? Nothing escapes my knowing!" Mistdrop cackled, holding tightly onto her squirming son with river water splashing all around their wrestling forms, "Did I say breakfast was served? Did I tell you that you could have a bite yet? No! Did you think you could outrun much less outswim me when I caught you during your bad table manners?"

"Ha ha! I was hungry! Dad's taking too long to get sister back, you know. So - augh! - it was - heh heh! - worth a - ack! - try - hoo hoo! - to get a bite to eat!" Clampter shrilly replied through his laughter, suddenly flipping himself over so that his mother had his tail end why he was trying to swim with his front, "And as for me out swimming you, ha ha, I could, heh heh, do that anytime!"

"Ho ho, bold words, my little oyster. Your father said the same thing to me at one time in the past. And like him, you can try to your heart's content." His mother snorted, happily as well as easily dragging him back to the Dynamic as he struggled to get away all of the while, "Hmf, c'mon, you. I'll take on your challenge. Mistdrop Urchinhide doesn't step down from a race of speed. You and I will swim to the opposite shore and back to here. Agreed?"

"Hah! No sweat!" Clampter boldly exclaimed, getting ready to shoot off into the water before his mother stopped him.

"Hold on, hold on. We need to make this race a little more exciting. There has to be a reward for whoever wins."

"A reward? Uh, okay... What'll be the rewards?"

"Easy. If you win, you can have a bite to eat. Your father really is taking his sweet time in finding that sister of yours. She's really going to be in for it when she gets back, you know." Mistdrop explained, feigning anger over her daughter's disobedience, "But if I win, Clampter, you're going to have to scrub Dynamic's deck. All of it. Every inch. Agreed? Do you still want to race me?"

At hearing what he would have to do if he lost to his mother, there was a moment of hesitation from the Urchinhide son. He was an expert at playing around, not so much about cleaning up his house. Yet, he was also very hungry and the fish his expert cook of a mother otter was grilling smelled far too good to pass up. Thus, following his hunger over caution, he grinned smugly before declaring that the challenge was accepted. The race between the Urchinhide son as well as his mother was on.

Getting out of the water onto the Dynamic's deck, the two otters positioned themselves facing the east to dive into the Seidon River. As smiling Mistdrop began the countdown, her son went to work in stretching himself out.

"One..."

Clampter cracked his back as well as rolled his shoulders back.

"Two..."

He placed all four of his paws onto the rift's face, ready to dive forward head first.

"Three..."

Both otters braced themselves, muscles showing, tails at the ready, eyes narrowed.

"GO!"

In the eyes of the racing Urchinhides, there was the sun shining in the blue sky at first. Then, all sound was rushed away as they dove forth into the water. Connecting with the river in perfect unison, mother and son shot forward with ease through the resulting bubbles, passing frightened fish as well as cutting through gentle current.

Clampter, having something to prove, had the lead during the first bit of the race. It was when he reached the far shore and turned around towards the Dynamic, however, that he felt the weariness kick in to his body. Indeed, where he had had somewhat of a commanding lead ahead of his mother, he now was slowing with her steadily catching up. When he noticed the smug look on Mistdrop's expression face, the excited shine her eyes, Clampter did his best to regain his composure as well as swiftness. Yet, due to his need to still grow up, not having the endurance like his well-paced mother otter, Clampter couldn't keep the lead.

He, overall, with a heavy heart but humbled spirit, came in second place with Mistdrop helping him up out of the current back onto the Dynamic.

"Heh, you put up a good bit of competition my little oyster but I wasn't called the Wind of Onyx Bay for no reason. Soon enough, you'll have me as well as your father outmatched. For the time being, though, allow me to keep my dignity." The mother otter said to her humbled son, surprising him when she gave him a plate of roasted fish to enjoy, "Also, here, eat up. You lost, sure, but the deck scrubbing can wait for when your father returns... with your sister."

Suddenly, the happy air between the Urchinhide mother and her son disappeared. Mistdrop, her eyes focused on something to the north in a trance, nearly dropped the wooden bowl of fish which Clampter managed to grab just in time. To try to figure out why his mom was acting so odd all of a sudden, the otter son looked northward too where he saw his father, with an obviously injured Nyrina, approaching quickly on the opposite bank.

What was behind Hudder though? To Clampter's surprise, there was a stranger following the Urchinhide father. One that he'd never seen before during his travels across Felldew.

"Clampter." Mistdrop finally as well as softly said without taking her eyes off of her husband, having found her voice at last, "Go inside and fetch my medical supplies. You know where they are, don't you? They're in my bags underneath my bed. I'm going to meet your father. When you get my medical things, bring them to me, okay?"

"Um..."

"Clampter!"

"Yeah, yeah, okay, okay." Was Clampter's rambled reply as he swiftly ran towards Dynamic's hut while his stern mother, with a most gracious leap, dove into the Seidon River where she swam like a bullet towards her ailing daughter.