[Trade] Blockage

When the spring arrived, so did the rain. Water fell from the skies, feeding the new plants and soaking into the ground. Plants blossomed and bloomed, and the rivers swelled as fresh water cycled back to the ground. 

For suchomimus who tended to lurk around rivers and ponds and other bodies of water, this was the best part of the year. Soon the storms would arrive, and the water would only grow. Fish would be spawning, and a feast awaited.

A trio of female suchomimus were making their way to their favorite pond- over the winter it had iced over, forcing them to seek land shelter. Osa lead the way, her gaze confident and calm. At her feet followed two smaller suchomimus- Lethe, a dark brown female with starry patches on her side and Morysso, smoke blue with scattered white spots all over her body. The two younger carnivores were bickering good naturally, excitement at the thought of returning to the pond making them hyper and rambunctious. 

Osa let out a sigh as she broke the treeline and came across the pond, only to stop in her tracks. Something was not right. Lethe and Morysso didn’t seem to notice at first, until a shrill screech broke the air. “The water!” Lethe wailed. “Where has it gone?”

Indeed. The pond was lacking something very important- water. While some liquid remained in the pond, it was much lower than it should have been. The river that fed into the pond was almost completely dry, as if something had simply taken all the water away and left this area to dry.

Osa hissed lowly, stepping forward to investigate the river mouth. Morysso joined, scrambling up and into the river mouth. “Osa… what does this mean?” The other suchomimus nervously scrapped at the ground. “No fish can survive for long in this water! And with no river…” 

“Then we need to go upstream and figure out what is stopping it.” Osa spoke firmly, brushing the worries away from the other two with her firm plan. “Hurry, we must move fast. Who knows how far we are from whatever is stopping it.” 

The trio began to trot down the dry riverbank, and as they walked the started to notice more and more signs of oddity. Tree trunks with unusual markings, branches that seemed half gnawed on, and many strange tracks in the mud. 

Lethe was the one to hear them first, pausing in her tracks. “Wait! Listen!” The other two paused, the wood falling quiet. The only sound was of birdsong, a strange chittering sound, and the sound of rushing water- wait. 

Morysso broke the treeline first in her dash, pausing in confusion at just what was in front of her. A large pile of sticks and logs was piled into a part of the river. On one side it was bone dry, and on the other side the river sloshed and raged. Curious, Morysso moved forward to nose at the twigs and wood- maybe she could shake it loose- when she almost lost the tip of her snout to a bite from sharp yellow fangs.

Morysso yelped, staggering back as something furry and brown hissed at her. A furious roar broke the air as Osa charged forward, teeth bared in fury as she charged towards the creature. With a yelp it backed away, quickly hiding back in the dam. 

“What… was that?” Lethe caught up to them, cautiously peering around Osa at the pile of sticks. “It seems to be the problem.” Osa huffed. 

“Its a beaver. They are menaces- these dams are their dens.” Osa pressed her snout against one of the wood pieces, earning a muffled hiss from the defiant mammal inside. “This is what is blocking the river off.”

“Then we need to take it down!” Morysso growled. The dam was large, but they were huge carnivores. It would be laughably easy to take it down. 

“But… should we?” Lethe seemed a bit less eager. “Its their home…” 

“And the pond is ours.” Osa sniffed. “They can make a new dam somewhere else, but the pond cannot move.” The other two let out sounds of agreement, one more eager than the other.

Osa was a full grown suchomimus, and the dam was still large to her. Taking it down would take strength. “You two, stay back and away from the water. I don’t want you to be washed away once it breaks.” Morysso seemed disappointed, but Lethe was much more happy with that. 

Wading into the water, Osa wasted no time. Hooking her claws into the wood, she pushed with all her might. Angry and fearful chitters sounded as the beavers fled the den, wood splashing into the water which started to seep through the cracks- making pushing even easier. In a spray of water and wood the dam finally burst, pieces flying everywhere and being swept away by the once contained current. Osa felt herself wobble, almost pushed off her feet by the current- but she held strong. 

“Osa!” The suchomimus turned her head to the bank, where Lethe and Morysso had crept forward to the now raging river. “You did it!” 

“Of course.” Osa shook herself off, a smug toothy grin on her face. “Now, lets go home.”