Exploring the Reef (open!)

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To say that Näteus was glad to be back at the reef would be a fantastic understatement. He was overjoyed to be in his homeland, the place he was born, and the place he preferred more than anywhere in all of the oceans. His clan had been overtaking the waters of the Indian Ocean for a while, a place Näteus never quite got used to. It was just so different from home, and as such, his first decision as clan leader was to go back to the Great Barrier Reef. They were reef sharks after all; this place was more their home than anywhere else. They were safer here than in the rest of the seas, which is what they needed desperately.

That said, it was probably still a bad idea for him to be swimming off alone. He should have stayed with the clan, made sure everyone was settling back in to their homeland and the hunters had found their hunting grounds. But leading a clan was tiring, and Näteus wanted nothing more than to get away and explore the land he remembered combing over as a child. It was silly of him, really. The other Mers would call him a useless leader if he did this.

But it wasn't like they had to know, after all.

He made his way quickly through the warm ocean water, skirting over the shallower parts of the reef. He knew his way around, here in his homeland. He also knew that he and the other sharks were the most feared creatures around this part of the ocean. Schools of tropical fish scattered as he pushed through them, even though he wasn't out on a hunt and obviously wasn't going to eat them. He wouldn't have bothered with them, anyways. Too small for his liking.

Näteus ignored the fish and swam deeper, almost to the edge of the reef. The water here always seemed purer than anywhere else and he closed his eyes for a brief moment, letting the clear ocean water pass over his gills as he rushed to the deepest parts of the reef. Here, the sunlight finally reached the point where it had trouble hitting the bottom of the ocean floor. He peered into the deep, uselessly, though. There was nothing one could see down that far.

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Lor and his pet were swimming idly through the deeper water close to the Great Barrier Reef. He came here simply for a chance to relax and enjoy the warm waters. Since his clan was constantly of the move, the Heir to the Bull Shark clan always happened to be off in the deep water by himself. Even though that this could have been a mistake, leaving the Clan to go off on his own, Lor was not worried.

He was quite large in size for his species, much larger than any member of his clan so far, so he really wasn't worried about other Shark Mer attacking him. Besides that, Lor always had his loyal and protective pet with him; a 10 foot long Bull Shark named Duxor. The Bull Shark was certainly large enough to take out many of the threats that could be lurking in the nearby waters.

Lor patted Duxor on the side before take a bite of a seal that he had recently killed, before tearing off a piece to Duxor. Lor knew that Duxor was still growing, which meant that he needed all of the meat that he could get.

The Bull Shark took the piece and then nudged Lor with his snout lightly. Lor rolled his eyes at his pet and continued forward. He wanted a few days of relaxation before he went down to South Africa to hunt the fur seals in that area. He wanted to test out his new hunting method; one that had been modified to incorporate the White Shark's breaching attack. He smiled at that. Thanks to the White Shark's princess, Shiara, he had been able to observe their hunting and see how that would actually work.

It wasn't until Duxor bumped him again that Lor spotted the other Shark Mer. He looked at the reef edge and spotted the Shark Mer. After a moment, he recognized the Shark Mer as a member of the Reef Shark Clan. Both relieved and curious, Lor decided to swim a bit closer; not too close that it would make the Shark Mer feel that Lor and Duxor were a threat, but close enough to be able to communicate if he chose to.

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It was only a few moments into Näteus's swim when he had the creeping feeling that another Mer was watching him. He paused, circling around and sighing. It was probably Rosalyn, coming after him to tell him he had to get on his duties and meet back up with the clan. Honestly, he didn't want to deal with his younger sister right now.

He was duly surprised when he came face to face with an enormous bull shark Mer and his equally enormous bull shark pet.

The other Mer didn't seem to be acting threatening, if the fact that he was huge wasn't enough of a threat. Näteus already felt the urge to shift into an offensive position, but he restrained himself, hoping that this Mer was as calm as he looked. Then again, someone of his size probably didn't have to do much to intimidate anyone. Näteus tried not to look startled, but felt he had mostly failed that.

"Who are you?" he asked, only daring to swim a few feet closer to the other Mer. Somehow, he found himself regretting that question.

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As Lor came closer to the Reef Shark Mer, he noticed the unease that the mer was feeling. Lor understood that very well. He knew that the sheer size of Duxor and him could intimidate most Shark Mer. The fact that most Bull Shark mer and their pets were generally aggressive did not help that fact. Lor was not like most of his clan, however, and always weighed out situations before attacking. He stopped his swim and allowed himself to float as he came close; his posture and body movement relaxed and calm.

Duxor mimicked his master, except he was swimming slow circles around Lor to keep the water flowing over his gills. Knowing there was no real threat to his master, Duxor allowed his attention to wander a bit around as he searched for a small snack.

"Hello, I am Lor of the Bull Shark Clan." Lor stated in a calm manner. He knew that if this Reef Shark Mer was in a powerful position within his clan, then he would be able to recognize Lor's name and position. Being an Heir himself, Lor knew the names of any Heir, Leader, or Leader's mate from each of the clan. It was his job to know them, after all. "And who are you?" He asked the Shark Mer.

Lor felt at ease around any shark Mer that was not of the Tiger Shark Clan, so he did not have a hard time being relaxed around Näteus at all. Now if the Shark Mer had been of the Tiger Shark Clan, Duxor would have had to keep in eye on his master so that Lor wouldn't attack him. Thank Goodness that that was not the case.