The reef marked a turning point.
Inside it, the sea was familiar to the Metkayina. The water stayed clear, the currents predictable, the coral thick and alive with colour. Beyond it, the ocean dropped away sharply, blue deepening into darker shades where sound travelled strangely and movement felt heavier. It was not forbidden water, but rather avoided.
Nussudle rode his skimwing near the rear of the group, body low, hands steady on the reins. The weeks he had spent among the Metkayina had taught him that riding in the sea was nothing like riding in the sky. Speed mattered, but control mattered more. Every adjustment had to be measured. Every movement had to account for currents, weights, and resistance from the water around you.
Ahead of him, Tonowari led the hunt without words. His Ilu cut a smooth line across the surface, powerful tail strokes sending small ripples outward. Two more Ilu followed, their riders scanning the water below with trained focus. Several warriors rode skimwings alongside Nussudle, their mounts skimming the surface with sharp, efficient movements.
Tonowari raised his arm and closed his fist.
The formation slowed immediately.
Nussudle followed the signal without hesitation, easing his skimwing into a controlled glide. The water beneath them shifted from pale turquoise to deeper blue as the reef edge passed beneath their shadows.
At first, Nussudle saw only stone and sand.
Then a mass of movement resolved into shape.
Octofin.
A school of them fed near a rock formation where coral growth was thick. Their skin was translucent yet thick, maws flexing slowly as they scraped food from the stone. They were valuable prey, but dangerous if mishandled.
Tonowari gestured twice, then pointed.
The hunters separated smoothly, each rider moving into position without crossing paths. Nussudle angled his skimwing downward and slipped beneath the surface, the water closing over him with familiar pressure. His breathing slowed automatically, body settling into the rhythm he had learned.
Spears fired almost together.
Lines snapped taut as barbed heads struck flesh and joints. The Ocotfins reacted instantly, scattering in all directions, fins flaring as they attempted to escape. One Ilu rider surged forward, herding them toward the reef wall where movement narrowed.
Nussudle waited.
He watched the movement of the fish carefully, tracking how they turned, how their skin blended perfectly over each fold, then one of its fins shifted.
The dolt shot from Nussudles' crossbow struck cleanly.
His skimwing surged upward as he pulled back, hauling the struggling fish toward the surface. The movement felt controlled, practised. The fish thrashed briefly before going still.
For a moment, everything felt right as Nussudle slung the fish into a prepared basket along his Skimwings' side.
Then Tonowari stiffened.
Nussudle felt it a heartbeat later.
The water changed.
Pressure rolled through the sea, heavy and deliberate, like something large displacing space rather than moving through it.
Tonowari slashed his arm sideways in a sharp signal.
Move.
Nussudle reacted instantly, pulling his skimwing low and angling toward a jagged line of rock ahead. The others followed, tightening formation as tension rippled through the group.
Then the shadow surged upward from below.
It moved too fast for something that large. Armoured plates caught the light briefly before vanishing again into the darker water.
A Akula.
The massive predator's single visible eye fixed on Nussudle and his Skimwing.
It did not hesitate.
It charged.
Nussudle pulled hard on the reins, forcing the skimwing into a sudden turn.
The creature responded instantly, slipping beneath a Nussudle just bearly missing the two as the massive Akula smashed into the jagged line of rocks. The force was so impactful that the sound of its armour scraping and breaking the rocks travelled through water and bone alike before it suck violently before the chase began without pause.
Nussudle did not think. He reacted.
The skimwing weaved through narrow gaps between stone and coral, fins clipping rock as it surged forward. Behind them, the Akula followed with relentless focus, smashing through obstacles rather than avoiding them. It did not slow. It did not hesitate.
A spear flashed past Nussudle's shoulder as one of the Metkayina fired. It struck the creature's flank and snapped free almost immediately. The Akula barely reacted. The beast didn't even bat an eyelid at the warrior's try as it focused only on Nussudle.
It wanted him.
The realisation settled cold in Nussudle's chest.
This was not a chance.
Memory surfaced without warning. The night sky. The sudden darkening of the water. Nova's panic through the bond as jaws snapped inches from his wings. The violent rush of air and terror.
It was the same creature.
The Akula lunged again, jaws closing where the skimwing had been moments earlier. Nussudle ducked low, pressing himself against the creature's neck as they skimmed beneath an arch of coral.
Tonowari shouted, voice distorted underwater, signalling retreat.
The hunters tried to regroup, but the Akula was faster. It surged closer, its eye rotating slightly as it adjusted its trajectory. The distance closed rapidly.
Too rapidly.
Nussudle raised his spear gun.
His hands steadied despite the chaos. His breathing slowed, focus narrowing to the space between himself and the creature.
He waited.
The Akula's head filled his vision.
'Now.'
He fired.
The spear struck the creature's eye.
The Akula screamed.
The sound tore through the water like a shockwave, scattering fish and rattling stone. Blood clouded the sea as the creature thrashed violently, smashing coral and rock in blind fury.
The skimwing surged forward, escaping as the Akula lashed out behind them, jaws snapping at empty water.
Tonowari signalled again.
Full retreat.
The hunters turned together, riding hard toward the reef. Behind them, the wounded Akula followed, slower now but driven by rage rather than hunger.
Nussudle glanced back once.
The creature still pursued.
The reef changed everything.
Currents shifted abruptly as the hunters crossed the boundary, water shallowing and light returning. The Akula slowed, its movements growing erratic as pain and unfamiliar terrain disrupted its pursuit.
It stopped just beyond the reef.
The creature roared once more, a sound filled with fury and recognition, before sinking back into the depths it ruled.
The Metkayina did not slow until they were deep within the reef.
Only then did Tonowari raise his fist.
They surfaced together, gasping as air filled their lungs. Nussudle leaned forward, resting his forehead against the skimwing's neck as the tension drained from his body.
Tonowari swam over immediately.
"Why did it chance you not anyone else?" he said.
Nussudle nodded. "It tried to kill me before, Nova and I just over a moon ago."
Tonowari's expression darkened. "I'll have to tell the chief."
The hunters gathered, voices low as they discussed what had happened. None questioned Nussudle's actions. The shot had saved them. But unease lingered.
As they returned toward the village, Nussudle remained quiet, replaying the chase in his mind.
The feeling of the water passing him was similar to how Nova had reacted when the beast tried to claim them from the sky.
When the Metkayina village finally came into view, calm and unchanged. Nussudle watched as they approached the entrance of the cove before finally breaving a sigh as the exhaustion and adrenaline of the chase both caught up and left simultaneously.
He reached the hut where he was designated as collapsed into the hammock, which swayed from the sudden increase in weight as Nussudle Skimwing simply swam to rejoin its kin within the deeper parts of the cove.
Although it was bearly passed midday, the hunt had escaped from near death and had fully exhausted and wasted Nussudles' strength as sleep quickly overwhelmed his mind, not even Nova's calls through their bond could awake him as he fell into a truly deep sleep.