The pull against TurboTAD’s tail weakened. 💧
THE BOOK OF TAD
PAGE 96
WATER GOING WHERE IT SHOULD 🌊
Nibble passed the last tangle to Zale, who carried it away from the intake. Glint watched the nursery mouth. Finley marked each cleared section on a fresh scrap beside the plate.
TurboTAD’s shoulder ached beneath the cover. Brink settled alongside and took half its weight.
“They sent me.” He nodded towards the shaded hollow.
Mira waved both flippers.
Marno cleared the return opening with a thin wedge. As he withdrew it, a small leaf beneath the shelf turned once and travelled through the balancing passage. Another followed.
TurboTAD waited for the backward pull to return.
It did not.
Water that had been forcing its way through the nursery now had somewhere else to go. Finley followed the first leaf until it emerged beyond the shelf, where the engraving said it would.
“There,” he said softly.
Marno and Nibble lowered the cover onto its stops. Brink stayed until TurboTAD’s flipper was clear.
At the nursery mouth, Glint let go of his test leaf. It drifted inward without a lurch.
Several little ones started towards the entrance. Sora held up a flipper. They stopped, grumbling.
Through the empty hollows, one ordinary green leaf went on its way.