He managed his stealth well enough, not perfectly, slipping into the shadows of the water.

Then, he began circling, at first consistently, but gradually, he moved closer and closer.

His goal, he decided, would be to incapacitate, since his prey was unaware.

It was time, as he got just close enough to shift direction towards the unaware fish and lunge. It saw him and reared back, but it was clearly aggressive.

The fish had not yet realized the sheer bulk of the predator attempting to catch it yet, slipping out of the shadows as he had been.

He still had a chance, he thought.

He lunged again, maw a ravenous display of sharp teeth opening wide. But the fish suddenly realized its mistake, and it swam away with great haste.

Alek glanced around, but in the commotion, the other fish must have fled to other, safer waters.

It was time to seek out yet another hunting spot. After this one, he would relax a bit more, he decided.

It was time to find another fishing spot, he had decided, and then he had done so. And this time, he had found a good place to lurk.

He set himself up to lurk at a distance, the aquatic dragon finding a place in the water to simply float down there in the depths.

And then, it would be time to lure next.

No fish came close, but neither did they notice him and flee. Perhaps, he thought, he could once more practice stealth, this time with a larger group.

That might be wise, if he was to one day fight Order. They were many, while he was one. And while he was an ambush predator, groups were alerted if just one of their members noticed.

Usually, at least.

It was successful, if barely. He knew he could do better than this, but this was enough to deal with fish.

But fish were his domain.

Perhaps, after he rested some, he would hunt a little differently.

He still needed to return to Cetus and speak to Erasmus, and then visit his parents briefly. He had opportunities available.

It was time for yet another fish incapacitation while he was being stealthy! Or, at least Alek hoped it was time.

This time, the incapacitation was fluid, a snatching of the fish and then a swimming away, the other fish barely even noticing his exit from stealth.

He was mostly full after consuming the incapacitated fish. Perhaps he would rest some more, digest, then hunt a bit more. He felt on the verge of a breakthrough with his skills, maybe.

He emerged to the surface, swimming upwards to reach it. Then Alek flopped onto the beach, intending to rest and digest until he grew hungry again.

Alek had enough time to do another serious hunt after he digested, he was pretty sure. He would see what occurred.

The sun was warm, so he contemplated tactics and then fell into a light slumber. When he reawakened, he felt renewed and powerful.

He felt prepared.

As he sank back into the waters and then dove, he thought to try his stealth to an even greater extent. He did not just want to succeed, he wished to excel.

And so that was exactly what he did. He excelled. Alek might as well be an underwater assassin, he thought with great amusement.

The killer that lurked in the shadowy depths of the waters.

At first, he searched for a fishing spot at too high a level. But he did not mind overly much, realizing this.

The aquatic dragon was still riding the high over his own success at stealth. An accidental failure to find fish was a minor setback that he could afford.

He did get any less stealthy for having failed to find fish, after all.