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"One may fight against the will of Ka - and sometimes win..."

The two youngsters ran through the shallows, diving in once the beach fell away from dry sand. They swam around each other like playful Ora'ka, spiraling down to a depth of several feet to play among the rocks and hoops formed by the reef, a game of follow the leader quickly turning into hide-and-seek.

Still young, their lungs didn't hold enough air to stay under as long as the village divers however, and they were driven to the surface in a short time. Swimming for the shallows once more, the game continued with much splashing and laughter. Sounds that drew other pups from the beach to expand the game, increasing the splashing and laughter as the pups squealed and dove to avoid being hit.

ShinyTail laughed as he dove to avoid the sheet of water Malana sent at him with her webbed paw. Throwing himself into the water, he managed to catch her and another girl with his splash.

Malana giggled, wiping saltwater and hair from her eyes. As she turned trying to find him so she could splash him the moment he surfaced, she saw movement on the beach. Distracted, she didn't see as he moved behind her and tugged on her tail.

When he didn't get a response from her, ShinyTail stepped up beside her as the others continued splashing. "What's wrong?"

"There. Something's happening on the beach," she pointed to where the entire village had gathered, young and old alike. Even old Lee-Lee was seated on a fallen tree, watching with a troubled look. "Want to go see what it is?"

"Okay." He began wading through the shallows towards shore, hearing her right behind him. They were still several yards away when two females moved away from a small throng of malima'ka. ShinyTail recognized Sundance and WhitePaw, sisters who had been for months arguing over Thorn, one of the strapping males in the village. Scanning the beach, he saw him standing apart from everyone else, his tail twitching nervously.

"What's happening?" Malana touched his arm as she caught up. "I've never seen the whole village on the beach before."

"I-I don't know. Come on!"

The oldest of the village elders was addressing the gathered villagers, speaking of tradition and the fair judgment of Ka in matters poor malima'ka were unable to settle among themselves. "Ka, in her infinite wisdom, gave us the Kema'ora to settle disputes such as these young malima'ka now find themselves in." Everyone turned to the sisters glaring at each other as their mother wept into her mate's shoulder.

Thorn, obviously distressed, pleaded with everyone to offer a better way to decide which of the sisters he was to marry. Surely Ka did not wish one of the beautiful girls to die just because he couldn't decide between them!

"The moons choose and the sea decides! Ka shall decide which of the sisters shall be your wife and bear your pups!"

"A Kema'ora! There hasn't been a Kema'ora since before we were born!" ShinyTail looked at the girl beside him, excited at seeing the ritual for the first time. Only Malana did not seem to share his excitement as she watched the sisters making their way to the surf.

Thorn tried to go after the sisters, to stop the ritual before it was too late, but was roughly pulled back by his friends. WhitePaw and Sundance waded into the surf up to their waists then dove into an approaching wave. The villagers on the beach moved closer to watch through the crystal clear water as they raced downwards to the reef.

Sundance was the first to strike, arching her back in a graceful somersault that caught WhitePaw in the face with the tip of her thick tail. The other girl burbled, stunned by the blow, allowing Sundance to grab around her sister, and with powerful kicks, pull them both down deeper past the reef.

The girls' mother, Shade, gasped, clutching at her mate's arm as the girls struggled and sank into Ka's depths, soon lost from sight.

A flurry of bubbles broke from WhitePaw's mouth as her younger sister yanked hard on the fur between her legs, bringing an intense pain. Though the air bubbles carried most of the sound of her cry to the surface, some of it reached her sister's keen ears and brought a satisfied smile to her face.

WhitePaw closed her mouth tightly to keep what air remained in her lungs. She struck out at Sundance's head, much of the force of her blow lost to Ka's waters, but enough to stun and she pulled free of the painful grip. Back-kicking out of arms-reach, she then spun in the water to catch Sundance in the stomach with her foot. Before the girl could react, Whitepaw launched herself at her sister, grabbing around her waist and driving them both deeper still.

Back on shore, Shade cried out as her beloved daughters' struggles could now only be seen as occasional rips of bubbles breaking the surface. "Ka, please spare my daughters! Don't take them into your womb so young!"

Malana's paw tightened around ShinyTail's as she heard the desperate cry. Surely, the girl thought, the goddess who had given birth to the world and all upon it did not now intend to settle the dispute by taking away that life. "This is wrong. Wrong..." Dragging the confused ShinyTail with her, she ran to the surf until the waves lapped around their ankles.

ShinyTail was about to admonish her when he heard her voice calling out for help. But her mouth was not moving as he stared at her face. He was hearing her voice inside his head, calling out to the denizens of the sea for help.

Unaware of what was happening on the beach, the sisters tumbled deeper into darkness. Closely matched after a lifetime of diving and swimming together, neither could gain the upper paw. Sundance's leaner, more lithe form prevented WhitePaw from exploiting her longer reach to get her sister in an embrace capable of ending the struggle once and for all.

Opportunity finally presented itself as Sundance's twisting put her back to chest with her sister. Wrapping her arms around Sundance, WhitePaw's paws locked together under her breasts trapping her arms at her sides.

Bubbles trickled from Sundance as air was forced from her lungs by her sister's embrace. Desperate to escape, she turned her head violently and bit as hard as she could into WhitePaw's arm. Her muted cry reached her and she pulled free to realize their struggles had driven them too deep, much deeper than either realized. At this depth Ka's embrace began to squeeze the air from a diver's lungs and with every loss of air, Ka's hold on them grew stronger. Any deeper, and they would surely reach the Hold, the point where Ka's embrace would be so strong, she would never let go.

WhitePaw felt her lungs ache, her cries of pain having cost her most of her air. She could never reach the surface in time. She saw her sister pull away, her eyes wild, cheeks bulging, stroking hard for the surface.

And Thorn.

A burning hatred flared within her at the thought of Thorn holding her sister in his arms under Ora'ne's luminous gaze. If she could not be Thorn's mate, then they would meet their fate together. She kicked upwards, grabbed Sundance's foot with her good arm and using what strength she had left, dragged her back down. She would take her sister personally to Ka's womb if that was what it took to stop her.

Sundance struggled to pull free to reach the surface. She twisted and clawed at the water, kicking at WhitePaw with her free foot but to no avail. A new darkness began to cloud their vision as life ebbed slowly from their bodies. Whitepaw watched her sister twitch violently, then go still, her eyes staring. She let go of her leg to try and kick, but her entire body had gone numb. She wanted only to sleep.

All those gathered on the beach grew silent as the commotion from the surface stopped, replaced once more by the waves. Shade fell to her knees, sobbing into her paws as her mate knelt beside her trying to comfort her without success.

The mournful silence was broken by a cry from Thorn. ShinyTail turned to see him pointing at the ocean where several Ora'ka were leaping through the waves towards the beach. As the pod drew near where the sisters had disappeared, two of the Ora'ka disappeared beneath the surface.

Shade clutched at her mate as hope began to replace despair. Surely the chosen guardians of Ka were not there to watch her daughters die. They must be there to save them!

WhitePaw saw the white forms swimming towards them through the haze of fading consciousness and reached out to feel the soft white hide beneath her fingers. As the guardian's hump slid across her palm, the blackness of unconsciousness finally claimed her. So she did not feel the sharp teeth biting into her flesh and pulling her towards the surface as Sundance was also dragged upwards.

Thorn rushed to the edge of the wet sand as the Ora'ka broke the surface, dragging the unconscious girls by the wrist. He pushed through the throng of villagers as Shade and her mate waded out to take the girls with profuse thanks to the Ora'ka for saving their daughters.

The elder who had officiated over the Kema'ora began the chant of thanks to Ka and her children for the blessing bestowed and soon the entire village was chanting as WhitePaw and Sundance were cradled by their parents until consciousness finally returned.

ShinyTail little cared for what was happening down the beach. He was still staring in wonder at his companion, whose gaze was fixed on the glistening sea. Who was this wisp of a girl who could call to the denizens of the ocean without speaking? And receive an answer from Ka's chosen guardians for her favored children?

Perhaps most importantly, how had he heard her plea to them?