The Clear Ripple

My foot pressed into cold, wet pebbles. I paused, letting the gentle shock travel up through my claws. A thin trickle of forest water ran across the stones, parting around a flat grey pebble right in my direct line of travel. I did not step aside. Lowering my snout, I eased forward into the clear current. The cool ripple wrapped smoothly around my lower jaw, lifting a tiny fleck of dried moss from my scales and carrying it downstream. I held completely still for several quiet breaths, watching the water divide and rejoin behind my head, before lifting my foot and taking the next steady stride toward the opposite bank.