FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Otters are Made for The Water

Otters are made for the water; it's just one of those things that everyone knows and accepts. Our paws are webbed, our fur repels water, and our feet are basically flippers. We've even got this weird inner eyelid to protect our eyes from the water, and our noses reflexively close when submerged. Millions of years of evolution has perfected our ability to live and thrive in the water.

Because of this, it makes sense that a lot of otters end up on swim teams. Just look at the Olympics; nearly all of the professional swimmers are either river or sea otters. We're made for water, and we love it. When we go a while without taking a dip, it's like this itch, that only the cool sensation of the water on our skin can scratch.

My father was a professional swimmer in college. Our home is filled with old pictures, trophies, and medals from his swimming days. He retired after graduating, but still hops in our pool a few times a week for a swim.

When I entered high school, my dad was adamant about me joining the swim team. "Sam," he said, "I was a swimmer, my father was a swimmer, my grandfather was a swimmer. You're going to be one too."

As such, I found myself swimming on my high school swim team. The Baytown Orcas (Ironically, there weren't any orcas on the team.) I spent four years with them, sticking around till graduation. After that, I thought it was over. I hadn't won a single meet in high school, and expected my father to let me skip it for college.

I was wrong.

My father pulled some strings with my former coach, and got me accepted onto the college team without even a tryout. I was disappointed, but what was I going to do? I wasn't going to deny his wish, especially when he was the one paying for my education.

So I went. I showed up to every practice, I spent time with the team, and swam. In between practices, I studied, and worked hard. Life fell into a routine, and my first semester went by pretty quickly.

...

I arrived at the pool later than I had planned. My final exam for the semester was coming up, and I had spent the night studying in the library. My alarm had gone off, and I rushed out the door of my room without bothering to even comb my fur. Not that it mattered, the pool would smooth things out in the end.

"Erikson!" Coach Hopkins shouted as I shoved open the doors to the pool. "Get changed, we've already started!"

Coach Laura Hopkins was an intimidating woman. A tall and imposing sea otter, not only had she been the coach of the Oakwood College swim team for the past decade, she was also the engineering professor. And, according to my best friend Aaron, didn't tolerate lazy students.

I rushed into the locker room, and changed quickly into my suit. The team all had matching uniforms, and I'll admit, the gray and red fabric looked pretty good against my dark brown and tan fur. I shoved my regular clothes into the locker, and ran out into the pool.

Coach Hopkins gave me a sideways glance as I jogged up to her side. "We're doing laps, get going Sam." She said.

I nodded, and climbed up to the diving podium. I positioned my arms, and leapt off. The cold water rushed over my head as I felt my inner eyelid slip into place. The chill of the pool sunk into my fur, soothing my cramped muscles.

It felt good to exercise; to stretch and move around after another long night of studying. I turned my head to get a breath, and fell into a pattern as I swam back and forth, passing my teammates every once in a while.

Another fun fact about otters: Our right lung is significantly larger than our left, allowing us to stay submerged underwater for longer than other species. A river otter that's been practicing can stay under for about eight minutes. That may seem like a lot, but sea otters, like Coach, can stay under for three times that.

Practice passed swiftly, as we switched from simple laps, to relay, to rescue training. A lot of the other team members volunteered at the local pools, so it was important that we knew how to drag a struggling person from the water. It's a lot harder than you would think; a drowning person struggles, and can pull you under if you're not careful.

About two hours into practice, I heard the sharp whistle of coaches whistle. Three short bursts, and then one long one. The signal that practice was over, and to huddle up around her.

A wave of otters climbed out of the pool, our fur dripping water onto the tiles. We grabbed out towels from the benches, and gathered around her.

"Everyone's looking good so far." She said, nodding at us. "A few of you need to work on strokes, and I'll help you with that next time, but otherwise, another good practice." She said with a smile.

Coach Hopkins grabbed her clipboard from the bench, and flipped to one of the pages. "I've got a quick announcement, and then you can all go shower and change for classes." She cleared her throat, and started to speak.

"As you know, the semester is coming to an end, and Dan and I have been working on setting up a swim meet with another college." She said, nodding towards the Assistant Coach. Dan was another river otter, and in his final year of college. He'd actually been the one to greet me on my first day on the team, and was a warm and inviting person.

"Well, we just so managed to get one set up." Coach said with a large smile. "River Valley Community College has agreed to a meet, along with another local school in the area. I'll let Dan explain the details." She said, turning to leave.

Dan stepped forward, and clapped his webbed paws together. "Ok team! I know this is the first meet for most of you, but it's really not a big thing, just a friendly competition. There isn't even a price, actually."

A few joking complaints came from some of the team, and Dan shushed them before continuing.

"I'll send you all the details later, but just know, we leave in a few days." He said. "Also, everyone, and I mean everyone, will be competing. That's one of the requirements."

I felt my stomach drop, and my heart catch in my throat.

...

The small dorm room I shared with Aaron was on the third floor of campus housing. I swiped my keycard in the lock, and pushed it open.

Sitting on the top of a bunkbed pushed up against the wall was a fox, reclining against the wall. A guitar was held loosely in his paws, and he was strumming it idly.

I dropped my bag onto the floor, and flopped aggressively onto the bottom bunk. I shoved my face into the pillow, and held my breath, trying not to scream.

Above me, I heard the creak of the wooden bedframe as Aaron climbed down. He sat on the mattress next to me, and started strumming the guitar.

"What wrong?" He asked, still plucking at the strings. Aaron was an Engineering Major, but he'd Minored in music, always wanting to play in a band. Our room was filled with instruments, all played in various capacities by the fox.

I mumbled through the pillow, not really saying anything.

"You know I can't hear you through the pillow." He said. "These ears might be radar domes, but the fabric blocks most of the sound waves."

I rolled over onto my side, facing the wall. Aaron was my best friend; we'd met junior year of high school, and had been inseparable since then. We'd both been thrilled to find that we had been accepted into our various programs at the same college. Electrical Engineering for him, Biology for me.

"Theres a swim meet in a few days." I said, not wanting to even look at him. I could feel how tense my muscles were; my tail was like a steel rod.

"So? You went to tons of those in high school."

"Coach Hopkins said that everyone is required to compete, regardless of timing." I said sadly.

That's another thing you should probably know about me. I'm not exactly what you would call a fast swimmer. Yeah, I could swim laps around most other species, but compared to other otters, especially those on a swim team, I was barely average. You'd think I'd have inherited some of my dad's prowess, but no.

"And I'm guessing there's nothing you can say to get out of it?" He asked, knowing exactly how strict Coach Hopkins was. She was also the college's main Professor of Engineering, and Aaron had class with her several times a week.

I groaned again, and shook my head. "Nope."

"Where's the meet?"

"Some school a few hours away." I answered. "We leave in a few days. It's an overnight trip too, so that's another problem."

"Look, I get that you're not the fastest swimmer on the team, and that's ok!" Aaron said, trying to cheer me up. "Do you think I'm the best musician? You have heard me play, right?"

I laughed. Aaron had a few demo CD from high school. He wasn't the best, and certainly needed practice back then. He'd gotten much better in the past year though.

"My point is, you're passionate about swimming, even if you didn't want to join the team. I've seen the look on your face when you talk with teammates." He said.

I laid there, thinking about what he said. He was right. I did enjoy swimming, even if I had been forced into joining by my dad and former coach.

Aaron idly strummed the guitar strings, something he did when he was thinking. "What if I came with you?" He asked.

My ears perked up at his words. I sat up, careful not to bump my head on the bunk above me. "Would you, really?" I asked excitedly. My anxiety was always a bit better with him around. I used to call him my security fox when we were younger, pretending to drape him over my shoulders. That always got a big laugh from our other friends.

"I don't see why not." He said. "It's just over the weekend, right?"

I pulled out my phone, checking the group chat for the swim team. Sure enough, Dan had sent the details for the trip just a few minutes ago.

"Yeah, we leave Saturday morning, and get back around 7 the next evening."

"Perfect!" He said, his bottom fangs poking out with his wide smile. "I don't have any classes or study sessions this weekend, so I can totally come with."

I smiled back.

"Wait." He said suddenly. "You'd better check if I can even come. I wasn't able to for some trips in high school, remember?"

I nodded. My coach in high school had been pretty strict. Aaron had been allowed to come to team parties, and with us for local meets, but any trip out of town had been forbidden.

Aaron leaned back against the wall next to me as I quickly texted Dan.

"Hey, is it ok if a friend of mine comes on the trip? He'll behave, I promise."

My phone buzzed a few minutes later with a response from him.

"Sure. As long as he doesn't mind riding with the team, and sleeping in the overnight housing with us."

I relayed the message to Aaron. "Dan say it isn't a problem, you just need to ride on the bus."

Aaron nodded. "I don't mind. Not the first time I've been on a team trip."

So, it was settled. Aaron would come with us to the meet, and hopefully I wouldn't have an anxiety attack and drown in the pool. We spent the rest of the morning just hanging out in the room, before splitting off to our various classes that afternoon.

...

The dark gray bus pulled into the college parking lot early Saturday morning; the college's logo printed on the side in maroon. Coach Hopkins had arranged for it to take us to River Valley, a small college town about eleven hours away, and the location of the swim meet.

Aaron and I leaned against the brick wall behind us, our luggage packed and at our feet. I yawned loudly. Unlike Aaron, I wasn't used to waking up at such an early hour. Most of the swim practices started at eight, but the message Dan had sent told us to meet outside the front offices at six that morning.

Coach Hopkins climbed down from the bus, and passed a clipboard to a waiting Dan.

"Ok everyone, store your luggage in the racks, and then climb on. I want to be on the road in thirty minutes." She shouted, before walking through the front doors to the offices.

We obliged, tossing out overnight bags into the storage racks underneath the main cabin before lining up at the front of the bus. Dan ticked our names off the list as we climbed on one by one.

"Hey, Aaron!" Dan said excitedly as we reached the front of the line. He gave Aaron a side hug. "I didn't know you were coming!"

"Sam didn't mention it?" He asked.

"Yeah, he just said a friend. Didn't know it was you!"

"How do you two know each other?" I asked, slightly confused. I knew the two of them had met at team parties, or when Aaron had been waiting for me after practice, but that didn't explain the intensity of their greetings.

"I'm the TA for the freshman and sophomore Engineering Classes." Dan explained.

"Yeah, he's been helping me with some concepts I've been struggling with in class."

Dan ticked our names off the list, and we climbed onto the bus. The first few rows, as well as the ones in the back, were already occupied, leaving us to find a seat in the middle. We sat down, getting comfortable for the long ride.

"Ugh." Aaron said, waving his paw in front of his muzzle in an exaggerated expression. "Smell like chlorine and musk." He said with a small smirk.

I laughed, and elbowed him in the side. "You wanted to come, remember?"

Aaron laughed back, and pretended to clutch his side in pain. "I couldn't leave you to travel to another city without me! What if you'd gotten lost?" He chuckled.

"Says the guy who got lost in the museum in 10th grade! So much for fox senses." I jabbed back.

"I had a cold!"

We chatted back and forth as the rest of the team piled onto the bus. A few minutes after that, Coach climbed on.

"Ok, a couple of ground rules everyone." She started. "This is going to be a long trip, about eleven hours away, so I hope you brought something to entertain yourself with."

I patted my backpack, where my tablet, along with a chemistry textbook sat inside. If I'm going to be stuck in a bus with twenty other students, I might as well get some studying done.

"If you've got electronics, be sure to wear headphones, unless you keep the volume down, and the people around you don't mind." She continued. "We'll take a rest stop at a small park halfway through the trip, so no eating on the bus. That also means don't drink too much, as we can't afford to be stopping every thirty minutes, Jackson." She said, calling out another member of the swim team with the reputation of having a small bladder. He and the rest of the team laughed, taking it in stride. Coach sometimes pulled little jabs at us like that, but it was all in good fun.

"And finally, remember to have fun." Coach finished. "This may be a school trip, but it's still a vacation in a way."

Her speech finished, Coach Hopkins nodded to the bus driver, an older coyote, and took her seat. The bus started with a deep shudder, and we pulled out of the parking lot.

...

The sun was high in the sky when the bus pulled off the side of the road, parking in the dirt lot outside a small rest stop halfway between our college, and River Valley. The bus stopped suddenly, slamming me into the seat in front of me.

Aaron laughed, and picked my textbook up off the floor for me. I had fallen asleep while trying to study, and no one had bothered to wake me.

I rubbed my nose, pushing the whiskers down on the side. Aaron pulled his earbuds out, and turned towards me.

"Are you ok?" He asked.

"I'm fine, more startled than anything." I admitted.

Coach Hopkins stood at the front of the bus, and explained that we would be stopping here for an hour to eat and stretch our legs. Following that, we all climbed off the bus, and into the parking lot.

Dirt crunched beneath my paw pads as I dropped from the bus to the ground. I arched my back, stretching it in the midday sun. Aaron dropped down beside me, and lightly punched me in the shoulder.

"C'mon, let's find a place to sit."

"Just a second, I need to head to the bathroom." I said, turning and walking towards the squat building on the edge of the park.

I smelled it before I entered; the stench of waste and uncleaned stalls. I held my breath as I entered, grateful for my lung capacity. I found a relatively clean stall, did my business quickly, and rushed out before I needed to take another breath.

I found Aaron sitting at a wooden bench near the bus. Two brown bags sat next to him, along with some water bottles.

"Where'd you get those?" I asked as I sat down, careful not to scrape my tail on the wood. The benches clearly hadn't been sanded in a long time, and I worried about getting splinters.

"Dan passed them out." He answered, taking a long swing from his bottle.

I grabbed one of the bags, and opened it. Inside was a plastic wrapped sandwich, and an apple. I unwrapped the sandwich, and check what was inside. I'm not a picky eater, but I do like to know what I'm putting into my body.

Just peanut butter and what looked like grape jelly. Not a problem. I pushed the two pieces of bread back together, and took a bite.

"So," I said to Aaron, trying not to spill crumbs out of my muzzle. "What's your final project for the semester?" I asked. All the engineering students had to make something for their final exam, rather than taking a written test. I was jealous; my professor's papers were long and complicated.

His eyes lit up as I asked my question. A smile grew across his muzzle, and he set down his apple.

"I'm making an auto-drummer." He said excitedly.

"An auto-drummer." I said dryly, not knowing what he was talking about. This happened more often than you would think. Sometimes he would go on for hours about some bit of engineering, and other times I would bore him to sleep talking about molecular biology. There wasn't a lot of overlap between our two majors, but we didn't mind.

He started to gesture with his paws, something we both did when we got excited.

"It's so cool!" He started to explain. "What it is, is it's a small box that you fit over the top of a drum. You program a beat, and it plays it automatically! Never faltering, never messing up, never losing the tempo."

I rolled my eyes, but smiled. Of course he would make something to do with music.

"So, what happens if you need to change the beat in the middle of the song?" I asked.

Aaron didn't even miss a beat (pun intended.). "You just program that into the tool!" He explained. "It's not meant to be a replacement for an actual drummer, just a tool to help solo musicians who want a percussive accompaniment or bands that don't know a drummer."

I ate silently, listening to Aaron go on and on about the technical specification. If I'm being honest, most of it went over my head. I've never been a big fan of physics, or engineering. But Aaron was, and he was my best friend, so I listened and tried to respond when I could.

A while later, Coach blew her whistle, and we climbed back on the bus, setting off again.

...

The sun had begun to set by the time we arrived. River Valley was a small college town, much smaller than the one Aaron and I went to. Orange and red rays from the setting sun crested over the hills of the valley, bathing the town in brilliant hues. It was beautiful, and a nice change from the green forests and open plains we had spent the past few hours staring at.

The college was much smaller than our own, maybe a third of the size. Peering out the window, I could see the pool, just behind what looked like a block of apartments. It was uncovered, and banners showing the school's colors had already been set up.

The bus stopped in front of the main building, and we disembarked. After grabbing our luggage, we lined up on the sidewalk, as a small feline approached.

Coach Hopkins walked up to the man, and shook his hand vigorously before turning to address the team.

"Team, this is Principal Newman." She said, introducing the cat.

He stepped forward, and nodded to us politely. "Welcome, Oakwood College Swim Team!" He said loudly. "We're delighted to have you here, and invite the competition that arises from it!"

I rolled my eyes. This shouldn't be too difficult, I thought. Sure, I wasn't going to win us any points, but the rest of the team would.

Principal Newman continued. "We've prepared accommodations for you in the away team housing. It's not the most luxurious, but it warm, and well ventilated."

"I'm sure it'll be fine." Coach said, laying a paw on his shoulder. "Dan, if you'll take the team to the rooms, I'd like to catch up with Principal Newman here."

"Do you think they know each other?" Aaron asked me as Dan herded us towards a small building on the other side of the soccer field.

I shrugged. "No idea. It's possible, you make a lot of contacts when you've been working in education for as long as she has."

He shrugged, and let the matter drop as we came to the rooms.

"Ok," Dan said, glancing down at the slip of paper in his paw. "Men to the left, women to the right. Claim a bunk everyone. Oh, and the bathrooms are at the back." He added, almost as an afterthought.

The hostel room on the other side of the doors was expansive, much larger than I had expected for a school of this size. Two rows of bunk beds lined the walls, with two benches taking up the center of the room. It could easily house thirty people or more.

Aaron and I tossed our bags onto a bunk, and collapsed next to them.

"What time is it?" I asked, smoothing down the fur on my arms and tail. I sniffed under my arms. Hours stuck in a bus hadn't done my scent any favors.

He glanced at his watch before answering. "Just past six." He said. "When do we need to be up in the morning?" He asked me back.

I groaned. I'd completely forgotten about the actual swim meet.

"I have to wake up around seven, so we can warm up and stretch, but you don't need to be in the bleachers till eight."

Aaron pumped his arms in the air. "Wooh hooh." He said sleepily. His head fell to the side, his muzzle facing mine. "Top or bottom bunk?" He asked.

"Bottom." I answered. "Last thing I need is to fall out in the middle of the night." I was a pretty fitful sleeper, especially when I was stressed out about something.

"Fine."

We unpacked, and ate quickly at the tables in the center of the room. After cleaning up, I took a quick shower, the warm water soothing my cramped muscles. I wasn't looking forward to doing it all again the next day, especially after a long day in the pool. I turned off the water, and dried off slowly, taking care to get as much water out of my fur as possible. No need to soak the borrowed beds.

Aaron was already in bed by the time I got back, and the lights had been turned down. A few of my teammates were seated at the tables, playing some game with cards. They invited me over to play, but I turned them down, wanting to be well rested for tomorrow.

It was going to be a long and stressful day.

...

Someone had set an alarm, and the constant beeping woke me up. I rolled over in my sheets, momentarily forgetting where I was. The memory of yesterday's trip quickly came back to me, and butterflies began to form in my stomach.

"Morning." A voice said in front of me. I looked up to see Dan standing in front of me.

A yawn escaped my maw. "Hey." I said back. "Were you the one to set the alarm?" I asked.

"Yeah, sorry about that. Coach wanted everyone up and in the pool an hour before we're supposed to start."

"Its fine." I said, climbing out of bed and pulling on a shirt. Dan handed me a mug of something, some kind of soup, and I sat down in the center of the room.

"So, you ready?" He asked, sitting down across from me.

I raised an eyebrow. "Why are you singling me out?" I asked, suspicious.

"Someone might have mentioned you were feeling a bit nervous. Besides, I know you're embarrassed about your speed."

I took another sip from the mug. "Was it Aaron?"

Dan laughed. "It might have been." He admitted. "But even if he hadn't, it's pretty obvious. We may be otters, but even I can smell your anxiety from here."

"I just don't want to let the team down." I said, staring down at the metal table. "I got in without having to try out, and sometimes I feel like I don't belong with the rest of the team."

"Hey, look at me." Dan said. I met his eyes. "You belong on this team just as much as the rest of us. I know you're not the fastest, but you're a strong swimmer, and a hell of a lifeguard. In the time it takes me to grab a drowning victim and get them back to shore, you're already back in the water and going for a third." He said, trying to make me feel better.

I smiled; it was working.

"So don't you dare say you don't belong on the team." He finished. "Chin up kid, we're gonna need every last one of us if we're going to win this." He said with a smile.

I smiled back. "I'm not that much younger than you, you know."

"Four years is a pretty long time." Dan laughed as he stood up from the table. "Finish that, and get dressed, Coach wants us at the pool as soon as possible."

I drained my mug, leaving it on the table. I didn't know what else to do with it, and there were others there as well. I headed to the bathroom, brushing my teeth and changing into my uniform. The school had gotten gray and red track suits for the team to wear when not in the water. I pulled the pants over my suit, slotting my tail through the hole at the back, and zipped the jacket up around my shoulders.

Aaron was up and at the table when I came out, eating a piece of toast. No idea where he got it from, but the smell of the toasted bread was intoxicating.

"Looking sharp." He said, his mouth full of chewed up bread.

"Gross." I laughed, before walking out the door. I wanted to stay and chat, but the thought of facing Coach Hopkins' anger if I was late made me shudder.

The sun had barely risen above the hills as I exited the room. I walked quickly down the sidewalk towards the pool, catching up with my teammates as I approached.

The smell of chlorine greeted me. It was a comforting scent, and I could feel myself start to calm down just a bit. I know I'd complained about not being the best swimmer, but pools were a safe place for me.

Most of the team had already arrived. I guess I took longer in the bathroom than I thought. Coach had set up a white board, and was going over the program for today.

"We'll start with three sets of 100m sprints, followed by an interval race: breaststroke, front crawl, back crawl, and butterfly." She began. She wrote the events on the white board, and added the names of the swimmers next to them.

I tuned most of it out as Coach Hopkins continued explaining the events of the day. My eyes wandered over to the other side of the pool, where the other two teams had set up their own stations.

Underneath a large blue and white banner was the home team, River Valley Community College. They didn't look half bad. Their team was a mix of otters and a few canines, one feline. We definitely had the advantage though; our team being nearly entirely composed of otters.

The other team, however, worried me. Seated just a few feet away from River Valley was the Phoenix University Varsity Swimmers. Their suits a sleek orange and black, every single member of their team was an otter, including the coach. What's worse, a large chunk of theme were sea otters, their large frames and increased height giving them the advantage over us.

I started to panic slightly. I'd been so confident in us, before seeing them. How were we supposed to defeat a team of sea otters? Only a few of us had a chance beating them in a dead sprint, least of all me. Hopefully Coach Hopkins and Dan had planned for this.

A webbed paw tapped me on the shoulder.

"Sam, did you hear me?"

"Huh, what?" I asked, turning around. Coach and the team were looking at me.

"Were you even listening?" Coach Hopkins asked, sounding annoyed.

"No, sorry." I said sheepishly.

"The final part of the meet is a relay." Dan explained. "Jackson will start us out with butterfly, before being relieved by Lucy, who will start breaststroke." He continued. "She'll swap over to me, and I'll swim back over on my back, before handing it over to you, Sam."

I squeaked. Embarrassing, yes, but it was involuntary. I'd hoped I could get through the day without having to compete, but it looked like I wasn't going to get my way.

"Sam, its ok." Coach said. "You'll be going right after Dan, so you should have a head start."

I nodded, not trusting myself to speak. I glanced towards the benches, looking frantically for Aaron. I needed to talk to him.

A tuff of orange fur caught my eye, and I quickly headed over to it. Aaron was seated at the top of the benches. His black feet on the seat in front of him, a book in his paws.

"Everything ok?" He asked, probably noticing the nervous expression on my face.

"I'm doing the relay at the end." I said, sitting down next to him.

His eyes grew wide, and he set his book down.

"Really? What style?" He asked.

"Style?"

Aaron rolled his eyes. "Style, stroke, whatever."

"Freestyle." I answered

"Isn't that your favorite?"

"Yeah, but it doesn't mean I want to compete!" I said frantically. "Everything rests on me, since it's the last part of the meet, and it's a relay, and I suck at relays, and-"

Aaron put his paws on my shoulders. "Hey, hey. Calm down." He said, putting an end to my ramblings. "Just take a deep breath."

I did, breathing in through my nose. The anxiety began to subside, just a little.

"It's gonna be ok. It's just a swim meet, not the end of the world." He said.

Aaron was right. I was panicking over nothing. I took a few more deep breaths, and nodded to him.

"Ok, I'm better now. I think." I said.

He smiled at me. "Good. Now go out there, and get in the water, otter boy." He finished, patting me on the back.

"Otter man." I said as I smiled back. I said goodbye, headed back over to the team.

Dan glanced at me as I walked up to the rest of the team. "Everything ok?" He asked.

I nodded to him. "I guess."

"You'll do fine."

A bell sounded from somewhere nearby, and the crackle of old speakers rang out across the water.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to River Valley Community College!" Principal Newman said over the microphone. "We're very happy to welcome the Oakwood College Swim Team, and the Phoenix University Varsity Swimmers!"

A cheer rose up from each team as their name was mentioned. I tried to add my voice to the rest of my teams, but couldn't manage more than a light shout. Despite what Aaron and Dan had said, I was still freaking out.

"The program will begin in just a moment, so please remain patient, and stay in your seats. We'll be starting out with a 100m freestyle race between the three teams, followed by an interval race"

And so, the meet started. We immediately pulled ahead, with Dan and the other speed swimmers claiming major points in the sprints. It was unbelievably satisfying to see the smug sea otters of Phoenix University throwing a fit after Lucy absolutely creamed them in the interval races.

Soon, it was time for the relay. I'd spent most of the day sitting up in the bleachers with Aaron, cheering my team on. Coach Hopkins blew her whistle, and called Dan, Lucy, Jackson and I over to her.

"Huddle up you four." She said, gathering us into a circle. "It's looking good so far. We're in second place, just behind Phoenix."

I smiled. Things were indeed going well, but they could easily go wrong at a moments notice, especially if things were relying on me.

"We need to beat the other teams in the relay by at least 3 seconds to win, which is why we're changing things up." Coach continued. "Lucy, you're going to start us out with the butterfly, swapping Jackson out. Dan and Sam will stay the same, taking up the rear, understand?"

We all nodded, showing our comprehension. It wasn't a big change, but it could mean the difference between winning and losing.

"Good." She said, slapping us on the back. "Dan and Lucy, get to the other side of the pool. And good luck."

We wished each other luck, and the two of them set off to the other side. Jackson and I lined up behind the podium, and waited for the blank to fire.

"Good luck Sam." Jackson said. I could see his tail swinging back and forth slightly as he bounced from foot to foot. He was clearly as nervous as I was.

I placed my hand on his shoulder, trying to console him like Aaron had done for me. "You too. We can do this." I said.

He smiled over his shoulder, looking back at me. "Thanks."

"Racers, starting positions!" Principal Newman shouted over the speakers.

On the other side of the pool, Lucy climbed up on the podium and crouching into a diving pose.

"On your mark!"

Her tail pointed downwards, and she positioned her hands to dive.

"Get set!"

I could hear the rest of the team and Aaron behind me, cheering and pushing us on.

"Go!"

The gun fired, and Lucy and the other swimmers leapt off the platform, launching themselves gracefully into the water with a splash. I could see her powerful tail moving back and forth like a rudder beneath the surface, her arms propelling her forward as she swam across the pool.

Twenty seconds later, her furred head popped up on our side of the pool, slapping Jackson's paw. He immediately took a running jump, leaping into the water. He began bobbing up and down in the water, doing breaststroke.

"Sam, get on the podium." Lucy said to me. She was below me, panting as she treaded water.

I climbed up, feeling the rough material used for gripping below my knees. We had the option to dive from a standing or kneeling position, and I chose to kneel. My heart was beating in my chest as I watched Jackson swap with Dan.

I glanced over to the other lanes, watching the other swimmers. As expected, the swimmer from River Valley, a female feline, was falling behind. I didn't bother trying to find the swimmer from Phoenix University; doing so would only freak me out more.

"You can do this Sam!" Aaron shouted from behind me. I glanced back. He'd come down from the bleachers, and was standing with the rest of the team.

I smiled back at them, and gave a thumbs up.

"Look at the water!" Coach shouted angrily. I turned around, and saw Dan rapidly approaching.

His paw reached up from the water, and slapped mine.

I took a deep breath, and dived in.

...

Time seemed to slow down as I entered the water. I felt the cool embrace of the fluid rush over my fur, hugging me from all sides. My heart pounded in my chest as I broke the surface, immediately falling into the familiar pattern of freestyle.

My webbed paws pulled me along as I watched the tiles on the bottom of the pool. I didn't think about the completion, about the other swimmers, about how the team's entire hopes rested on me.

I blocked it all out, and just swam.

My lungs began to burn as I turned my head to the side, taking a deep breath. The wall of the pool was rapidly approaching, and I could sense the movements of the swimmer to my left; my whiskers picking up the vibrations of the waves as they swam through the water.

I pushed myself forward, straining my muscles as I shot forward with a final burst of energy. My paw struck the wall in front me, and I climbed up and out of the water.

A roar erupted from my team on the other side of the pool, paws thrown in the air in excitement. Aaron grabbed a towel and rushed over to me; the rest of the team close behind.

A tide of fur and paws grabbed me, ruffling my head fur, and slapping me on the back. The rest of the meet was a blur. I found out about an hour later that I had beat the other swimmers by 4.3 seconds, according to the judges.

We had won!

The rest of the day passed quickly. We packed up out stuff, said goodbye to the River Valley team, (Phoenix University left shortly after the meet without telling anyone) and headed home.

We pulled into the parking lot of the college shortly after midnight. A car crash on the highway had delayed us by a few hours, much to Coach's irritation. Aaron and I said goodbye to the rest of the team, and stumbled back to our dorm half asleep. Coach had arranged for all the members to have the next day, Monday, off, so we were able to sleep in.

That afternoon, the team met up outside the pool, and headed to a local pizza shop to celebrate our victory.

Our celebration lasted late into the afternoon as people filtered in and out of the restaurant, congratulating us on winning our first ever college-level swim meet for most of us. Coach Hopkins even stuck around for most of the time, only leaving after it had died down around the time the sun set.

Aaron and I said goodbye near the end, heading back to the dorm room to just relax before classes started again the next day.

...

Otters are made for the water; it's just one of those things that everyone knows and accepts. Our paws are webbed, our fur repels water, and our feet are basically flippers. We've even got this weird inner eyelid to protect our eyes from the water, and our noses reflexively close when submerged. Millions of years of evolution has perfected our ability to live and thrive in the water.

I never wanted to be a swimmer. My father pushed me to join one, something that I've never held against him. The water may be my safe place, but I never felt that I was fast enough to be on a swim team.

Maybe I was wrong. Despite my lack of speed, the team welcomed me with open arms, helping me to become a better swimmer.

I may not be the best swimmer, but at least I feel like I belong now, just a little bit more than before.

Author's Note:

Thanks to everyone who managed to make it to the end of what turned out to be a relatively long story! (6976 words) This is my first upload to SoFurry, and hopefully the first of a few stories involving Sam and Aaron.

Feel free to send me a message, either here, or Erudite_Otter on Twitter. (More likely to respond in a timely manner there.)

Edit:

Adjusted the age level (all ages), added a folder, and added character profiles for Sam and Aaron.