The first thought that crossed Dytis’ mind as the fish he had been stalking for the past half hour noticed him and vanished in a flick of a silvery tail? I much prefer this to living on the surface. He merely sagged his shoulders for a moment as potential lunch disappeared, treading water as the Merme decided his next course of action. Dark eyes covered by a milky film scanned the murky water of the Amazon river, a handful of meters below the surface as chest ached from a lack of oxygen. For a moment he thought about surfacing right there and them, but he just had a feeling that above him the currents were a bit too strong for his current state. His eyes continued their search for a tell-tale shine of a tail, his eyes wide and staring as a newcomer traveled along a current, a rather medium-sized one. He strengthened his grip upon the flimsy piece of metal serving as a harpoon, a length of rope attaching it to his wrist. With experienced ease, he moved behind the fish he began closing the distance between prey and predator.

Keeping behind it as the distance closed to simply a handful of feet a very peculiar sensation on the back of Dytis’ scaled neck, and a phantom presence coming from somewhere beneath him. Without a second thought he altered his course to swimming almost vertically. From below him the sound of something rumbling below him, and a cloud of blood on the edges of his vision. Dytis struggled to keep his mouth shut as he slammed into a strong current at almost a right angle, tumbling downstream as he went. After a handful of moments he managed to figure out which direction was up, but the presence of the thing behind him was still nearby. He took stroke after frantic stroke as he sensed the thing approaching, bursting his head from the water. He released his stale and foul air from his mouth in a great gasp, and quickly gulped fresh oxygen as he reaffirmed his grip on the harpoon. However, when he stuck his head back under the water, the monster was gone- the faint silhouette of a large tail vanishing into the depths of the murk.

... Well then. That is one feast that I won't be eating. He calmly observed as he made his way to the bank, resting his head beneath an overhanging bank.  He pulled himself onto a protruding stone as he took a small rest, opening his second eyelid so things wouldn't look so... odd.  Blinking several times to get used to the light, he took in his surroundings-  trees, trees, and solitary fishing boat moored along the opposite shore.  He rolled his shoulders as he took this all in with ease, trying to recover his spent energy.  

Better luck next time-  huh? Dytis squinted his eyes as he tried to make sure he was not mistaken in what he saw.

(To be continued)