Kelpie

Kelpie swam slowly through the murky river until she slid upwards among the reeds and weeds that lined the bank. Her pale eyes skimmed the beach for the sound of life that had lured her, and she allowed a vicious smirk to slide onto her lips as she eyed the hatchlings that were wrestling on the sparse beach. In the past she may have stayed in the water and watched, but those days were well and truly past.

Kelpie crooned quietly as she stepped onto the rocks, letting the children realize that they had company. They squealed and though one of them turned to run the rest crowded closer. Kelpie cast a quick eye for any minders, but the only adult dragon in sight was curled up in the sunlight on a broad rock.

"Would you like to swim with me?" Kelpie crooned to the hatchlings, motioning to the sluggish river.

"Yeah!" One of the hatchlings shouted, and the others seemed more than willing to follow the lead of the vocal one. A quick glance showed the adult was still breathing deeply and evenly.

"Then why don't you follow me?" Kelpie led the way down to the water's edge, lifting each hatchling from the shore and setting them deeply among the reeds, spaced a little apart. The dragons splashed and squealed as they floated, and once Kelpie had taken the last from the land she dove underwater. She popped up near the hatchlings and heard their delighted shrieks as she reappeared, shaking her head slightly as she vanished again, popping up near another of the young dragons.

This went on until she had made her rounds, then she drifted out into the open river, trailing a long handful of grassy weeds behind her. The hatchlings were tiring of their games, and she waited just long enough for them to tire of the effort to stay afloat before she narrowed her eyes and dove. The weeds jerked taut behind her and she felt her claws curl with twisted pleasure as she found a rock to secure the strong plants to.

She surfaced for a gleeful chuckle before Kelpie worked her way slowly upstream once more.