(Fish.)(Was the creature a fish or a crocodile?)
Tait brushed his poor, poor mother off. Nothing should ever dare scratch her, say nothing about her being dragged down stream. Something splashed behind him. Oh no! The monster! It was coming back to get him! He spun around and-Zara sipped water from the river, pleasuring in it's coolness. Downstream, Mercedes could be seen standing in the river, eating berries. Personally, she didn't see the appeal.
Distant shouts interrupted her moment of zen. It was, of course, Tate, barging through the forest, running into trees and things, apparently panicked because his mother was going for a little swim.
It was somewhat embarrassing to watch a male act in the way Tait did.
Zara kind of wished he hadn't come, but she couldn't peel her eyes away. It was touching he cared so much for his mother, but she hadn't seen the cause for alarm. That is, until Tait fell over and emerged with a sharply toothed creature gnawing on his head. He quickly got it off, but boy, that had to hurt! Zara really didn't like Tait, but she wasn't a monster. He needed help!
Zara trotted down the bank and then plunged into the river, now a bit anxious that a bitey creature would chomp at her ankles.
She ran through the river and bounded up the bank to examine Tait.
"Are you all right?" she asked. "When creature was chewing on your head it looked like it really hurt!"
"Um, yes?" Tait tilted his head. "I'm... I'm fine."
Zara? What was she doing here? He stepped back and grabbed his tail. She- she... was beautiful standing there with the sunlight sparkling up the water and refelecting stars in her eyes.
Ah! What was he thinking! A pure moment of exhaustion stealing his attention from caring for his precious Mother, how dare he! He looked down. His Mother's tail swayed at his feet with a small bite mark on the end of it.
"Mother! You're hurt!" Tait snatched her tail. Oh, it looked so, so bad! The same creature that got him must have gotten her as well!
Mercedes looked at him sideways. Why was he always bothering her? She took her tail back, gave Tait a look of disapproval, and turned back to eating the berries.