This is @PurpleLemonade306’s alt by the way ^^ Hope you don’t mind me remixing, I didn’t feel like pasting all of this in the comments lol- plus it would be more notifications so yep Mako pouted as his siblings insisted that he be left out of another game of defend-the-castle. "But I'd make an /awesome/ knight!" he whined. Standing on his back legs, he clawed at the air with his tiny paws. "Take that! And that! And that!" he hissed, determined to make his brothers and sisters see that he was strong. Mako's sister, Salmon, looked over just as she was pinned down by their brother, Trout. "You know we can't let you play," she sighed. "You get hurt too easily." Mako grumbled and sat down. He hated that they were right. "I never get to do anything," he muttered under his breath. "You just don't want me to play with you." A loud giggle made Mako look up. Trout was chasing Salmon, both of them squealing and laughing with joy. As they neared him, Trout accidentally kicked a cloud of sand in Mako's direction. "Hey! Watch it!" he yelled, but Trout didn't seem to hear him. Mako sighed and flopped onto the ground. As he watched his siblings play and chase each other, an idea popped into his mind. He sat up abruptly. "Guys! Guys!" he called, waving his paw. "Listen to me for a second!" His siblings paused mid-wrestle and looked over. "What is it?" Trout asked. Mako's eyes were practically glittering. "Let's have a race!" Salmon sat up. "A race?" she repeated, tilting her head. "Yeah." Mako nodded enthusiastically. "I've been working on my swimming for a long time now. I think I can beat you." He hesitated. "No, I /know/ I can!" He stood up, puffing out his chest. "You know what? Whoever wins gets to have half the others' dessert today." "Alright then," Trout agreed, shrugging. "If you say so." Mako frowned. He didn't like how casual Trout sounded. It was like Trout never expected Mako to win. Like there was no risk, and it was impossible for such a little runt to be faster than his big, healthy siblings. "Hmph. Whatever. The race is on." ------------------ Even Mako's mother didn't look too confident when he suggested a race. As she treaded water near the starting line, a worried look formed on her face. "Be careful, Mako. Don't push yourself too hard." "Yeah, yeah," Mako sniffed. "Just start the race." He looked to his left. Salmon had her eyes fixed on the finish line, a piece of driftwood floating in the distance. She had a determined look on her face. Mako then looked to his right. Trout didn't seem too interested, but Mako saw him slapping his tail on the water. /He always does that when he's excited,/ Mako thought. "Ready, set, go!" announced their mother. Immediately, Mako pushed himself forward as much as he could. He could feel the water streaming through his short fur, small pieces of seaweed tickling him as he raced past, and most of all, his heart pounding with excitement. The sound of his heartbeat was almost the only thing he could hear. Mako didn't dare look next to him, but he caught flashes of Salmon's pink fur and Trout's green stripes out of the corners of his eyes. In front of him, the dark shape of the driftwood grew bigger and bigger until- "Done!" Mako gasped, surfacing. He scrambled onto the top of the driftwood, panting. His muscles burned as he searched the water for his siblings. There! A hint of pink! And there! A flash of green! They were still in the water! Mako had won! Despite his exhaustion, Mako let out a whoop of joy and jumped around happily on the driftwood. As Salmon and Trout came up to the surface, they both wore a look of surprise. Their mother did, too. But behind it, there was a hint of pride. "Wow!" Salmon exclaimed, not even trying to hide her amazement. "You were super fast!" Trout nodded in agreement. Mako looked up as he saw their mother paddle towards them. She wore a warm smile on her face. "Good job, my little Mako," she said, her voice almost bursting with pride. "I knew you could do it."
