mentally eel

One of the old outbuildings near his work-in-progress greenhouse was home to a flooded basement, which was constantly replenished by rainwater that tumbled down the stairs uninterrupted during storms. Which made it prime fodder for him to cultivate into a delightful habitat for some new friends! The gawky youngster had been spending most of his days in chilly water up to his belly, rearranging the substrate to his liking. The slimy leaf litter was difficult to move, but the sound it made as it slopped back into the water more than made up for the trouble. Some time in the past few days, he'd pilfered a bucket from the waterline that had been previously used to hold fish. Right now, it was brimming with sticks and gunk that he didn't like for a variety of reasons. This needed to be just right for its new inhabitants, after all. A choice home, far better than the silly ponds and lakes outside.

A few tiny crabs already scuttled about, avoiding his clumsy paws while he worked. The little clouded pup was, to his credit, very mindful of their presence. He made sure there was no one hanging out under the water before he heaved a rock into place, or dropped a few waterlogged branches into a corner.

By midday, his tummy was rumbling, and so he hauled his waterlogged body up the slippery stone stairway. Pale eyes blinked blearily at the sunlight that filtered through the light cloud cover, thoroughly gloomy but not nearly dark enough to portent a storm of any kind. The greyscale pup wandered over the cool sand towards the more inhabited area of the island, searching for a sibling to bully into a quick hunt for some fresh meat, or persuade to help him steal something from the storage room to eat instead. Cal or Sid might be willing to help him, of he wanted to submit to a bit of roughhousing the whole time.

If he could find one of his siblings quickly enough, then he could tell them all about his latest developments on the makeshift aquarium in the basement. That was just a bonus though, and he wouldn't tell any of the adults about it. Didn't want them to spoil the fun by talking about things like danger, or hazards, or how animals needed sunlight, blah blah blah..

"Nimbus"