Forever and never

Chapter 1

Bela stood there until she could no longer see the boat.

"I wish you the best of luck," she whispered.

~10 Years Later~

"Ama! The seals are here!"

"Sweet!" Amaranth yelled, running outside.

"C'mon, Hana!"

Hana ran outside barking.

"She sure does love the seals."

"Yup. Hey Lukah did we get any birds today?"

"No. I think they've forgotten about us by now."

"Does that mean we can go back?"

"Aren't you happy here?"

"Yes but I miss home."

"This is our home now."

"Ok."

"If we went back and they found us, we would be separated."

"Oh."

Lukah glomped Amaranth before running to catch up with Hana. Amaranth laughed and then followed Lukah.

"Sukey! I missed you!" Lukah greeted her favorite seal.

"Lisse, where are you?" Amaranth said, looking for her favorite seal.

"Ar..ar...."

Amaranth ran over excitedly.

Her seal was waiting for her, lazily sprawled halfway in the water.

"Hi, Lisse."

The friendly seal waved her tail in greeting.

"I missed you, Lisse."

Lisse nodded and another seal appeared by her side.

"Hi, seal."

The other seal was slightly larger and nuzzled Lisse's cheek.

"Is he your boyfriend, Lisse?"

The female seal slapped her tail on the water.

"That's great."

Both seals waved goodbye with their tails before swimming away as Lukah joined Amaranth.

"I like when the seals come."

"Me too. They have such unique characters."

"Yup."

"It's getting dark. I'll go start the fire if you pull in the net."

"Alright."

"You should take Hana with you for protection."

"I'll be fine. Plus I don't want her climbing into the net."

"But she always gets in the way and you don't have anyone to watch your back while I'm inside."

"Alright. Come on, Hana."

Lukah grinned and hurried back to their home to start the fire that would cook their food and keep them warm throughout the cold night.

Amaranth walked to where they kept the net, Hana following loyally and sitting nearby as her owner reeled in the bulky net full of flopping fish. Suddenly, the dog jumped up and ran barking a short distance, where she began pawing at something on the ground.

Amaranth pulled the net onto land and walked over to the dog "Hana what are you pawing at?"

Her dog moved so that Amaranth could see her catch. It was a small bird.