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He was not accustomed to swimming, especially in deep water. So he was all the more relieved by godly grace as the waves rolled over reef. Lapping waves made it hard to see beyond his immediate surroundings, and distorted the world below. When he submerged after her to help pry it from the corals, saltwater stung eyes and nose, and Hotep felt great urgency to breathe despite lungfuls of plentiful air taken in to abide the dive.

Hippos and crocodiles were unnatural beasts, indeed, to favor these climes!

He was grateful for Phoenix's promptness, and an easy return to shore. Thin fur clung even closer to his body, protruding ribs and spine and making him look too-thin, again. He gasped on the sand, snorting water from his nose and shaking at the stubborn clogs in his ears. A quivering, put-out thing he was, in the fading light!

But his eyes gleamed at the prize they had won. Phoenix had found runes before, but for him, this was the first to set eyes upon, The power upon it! You can feel it in the very air. He awed. It was no carving he recognized — not a traditional hieroglyph. To her, he tore his away from the stone, What happens, now?