Closed Barrels of Fun

[Magpie]

The afternoon found members of the Deepseeker pod docked at a small town dock on the north end of the Suvan, various Svefra bargaining for supplies throughout the town. Hamlac was leaving such negotiations to those more experienced at it. Himself, he was to be found on the dock at the far end of the harbor, heaving barrels and boxes into a singular line. At the moment, he’d gotten a line of six, spread nearly the length of the pier. Locals paused to watch him sweat and grunt, but none approached, leaving him to rearrange in peace. Finally, he stood back and admired his handiwork. His tavan, a dolphin, lingered under the wooden planks of the pier, popping up occasionally to check his progress. Seeing that he’d stopped shifting, the dolphin circled out wider to watch for his next move. Hamlac stretched a moment, down to his feet, then crossing his arms, throwing a confident grin out to the observing tavan. Taking a single deep breath as he narrowed his vision to the line of evenly spaced barrels and boxes, and let out a deep roar as he charged down the pier towards the first one. The first barrel, he hopped nimbly onto, and with a grunt of effort, did a front flip onto the box in front of it. Pausing only for a triumphant ‘Ha!’ to the watching dolphin, he took a step and leaped the further distance to the next box, pulling his knees up to his chest and throwing out his elbows midair. A quick gasp for air and he leapt again, performing a wild spinning kick that landed him with one foot on the next barrel. He was off balance though, and his weight lurched to the side, arms spinning. The barrel abruptly tipped, sending Hamlac sprawling to the wooden planks with a thunderous crash. Over the sound of the barrel rolling down the pier, the dolphin’s chirping laugh could be heard, and it immediately swam over the send a spray from its blowhole over Hamlac and the section of the pier he was laying on. “You just wait, I’ll get it!” He called defiantly, shaking his fist at the circling dolphin.