Finius was a very likeable bottlenose dolphin from the genus Tursiops. His kind from the oceanic dolphins are the most common members of the Delphinidae family. He has relatives in many ponds and though his kind are born in the water and stay with their mother for up to four years, he was different. His mother was caught a year after suckling him and lost her life to fishing newts. She was caught by the big trawlers who were searching for tuna, and she drowned in the chaos. Finius remembers the squeals of anguish and her frantic clicks, but he couldn't chew through the net. She was winched unceremoniously from the water and he saw it all, but by that time her body was already still and quiet. Finius was ushered away by his Aunts and they took over from there. They taught him how to be brave, be strong and be creative. They had no milk to suckle him and he needed to catch fish like them if he was to survive this ordeal. In the three more years he may have been playing with his mother, he was instead learning about life. Growing up quicker than a young dolphin should ever have to, but he learned quick. Finius missed his mother and he vowed never to forget the great nets and danger brought by mans vessels with their rock solid hides and their thunderous underwater roars. They weren't like dolphins, nor any sea beast he'd ever seen. They were cold and heartless, and they carried man. They came and took the food from the vast sea. Far more than they could ever eat, and they kept coming and taking. They took his mother too, but unlike them, she was never coming back. He missed her.
Whilst his Aunts were kind in explaining the ways of the seas, his Uncles were brutal and tough. They demanded pod loyalty and obedience, and they had no time for slackers or infants not ready to contribute to pod wellbeing. They saw him as a drain on their resources and many an argument was made to leave him behind to tend for himself. "Let the sharks have him" they'd tease, and to any young infant this sort of intimidation was very frightening So he felt he had to learn their hunting skills quickly to eat and survive the constant bullying and taunts. Their ways became his ways, and though his small stature and speed were against him, he held in there and they reluctantly began to accept him. He had turned into a contributing pod member by the time other dolphins were abandoning their own mothers and about to embark on solo hunts and sub-groups. He was already a part of many little breakaway pods. He found joining many helped his isolation and challenged him to be a more all round dolphin.
When he was in his adolescent years Finius embarked on his own self education. He observed the behaviors of his kind and tried to continue to grow from his Own first hand experiences. In the many sub-groups he was part of, the adolescent males would play and enjoy each other's company. Sometimes this lead to mating or playful fun, but it served to strengthen his connections with others. They'd even band together with others from various sub-groups to form a wider experience. The females weren't as readily available as the males, and often the youngsters lost out to bigger and older dolphins, so they were happy to relieve their frustrations. To be honest, Finius preferred the freedom and the camaraderie. He grew to like swimming with his brothers as he knew he wasn't ready to be a father. Remembrances of his mother's death and his own hard upbringing had really hurt his heart. He was very much a loner in a world of one pod needing to band together. Where could he go otherwise? He needed his pod but it always seemed to him they didn't so much need him. As much as he was liked and respected, he began to spend more time on the outside. He began to be gone longer, dive deeper, investigate the huge wide ocean more. And the elders started to notiCe and not like it. "We can't allow young dolphins to be going ott doing their own thing," they'd chastise, " you need to be a team player and you can't be allowed to set a bad example.
It happened one day on one of his many solo swims just after the pod had worked together in using their sonar to help confuse a huge shoal ot fish. They were so dazed and heeded so well that most of the dolphin's ate well that day, and Finius took it as a good time to abscond. It was whilst searching the shadows of the great reefs near the shoreline, that he came upon a river entering the sea. He decided to swim along it as he'd always been intrigued by these waterways. It was called the Mekong River and it was there he met a beautiful female Irrawaddy dolphin named Mi-ling She had a bulging forehead and short beak and looked so incredibly different. It peaked his interest and he gathered the courage to swim a little with her and converse. He loved her company, she was sleek and graceful, shy and yet knowledgeable. She spoke at length of how man had decimated their numbers and there were now only 92 individuals in the whole hundred miles or so of the great river. He told her of his mother's plight, and in that shared grief they bonded. For the first time in his life Finius felt like he was falling in love.
After days of illicit meetings his pod was due to swim far from the waters where Finius was. He feared losing Mi-Ling and so he asked her to come visit his pod and see whether she might like it. He wanted to show her oft and help her see the world he lived in. Travelling the vast expanse of the ocean, and not just the length of her mighty river. But she was timid, and she asked permission to go with him. However, her pod members said but you cannot go, why would you? You are Irrawaddy, our ways are not their ways! We arc small in number and you arc soon to be a breeding female, we cannot let you go, what if you like it there? We need you here, you are our family. No,you cannot go. But with Finius' murmurs of assurance, that she wouldn't be missed for one afternoon, he talked her into going with him. It wouldn't be tor long he knew, but perhaps long enough to show her his world and it's wonders.
In truth, he expected so much more, from her, from them and sadly from himself. He was so full oh hope and life, he was infectious to be around with his happiness and his clicks of joy. He showed her the deep ravines, the turtles on the beaches nearby and the caves along the coastline. Yes, she liked them and they intrigued het, but more for the love of being with him. It scared her to be so far from her pod, but Finius tried to reassure her with gentle prods of his nose and rubs with his flank and even touches between their fins. He wasn't used to such gentle affection as his brothers were rough and boisterous, their love was always exciting and fresh but rarely tender like this. So when Finius stood up one day on his tail in the middle of his pods retreat, it was to announce his love for an Irrawaddy dolphin who he sensed he loved. His affection had not prepared him for the laughter and taunts they received. Oh but brother, she's so ugly, she's not one of us. Or what right do you have to dictate to the pod who they shall allow into it, we do not know her. There were so many negatives, but still Finius stood proudly above his pod and demanded they listen. "But we are in love!" his clicks resounded, and his tail flicks spoke of the passion in his heart But they wouldn't listen, no matter what he said. He just couldn't see it. She was a dolphin, a female, she was beautiful and shared his thoughts and some of his ideals. Okay, she may not be exactly like them, but neither was he. Then Mi-Ling had had enough, her tail drooping, her posture rejected, "It's okay Finius, enough, your pod has spoken and mine too. We must accept this, it is not to be." And with that she turned around and started heading home up the tidal flows she knew so well.
Finius was heartbroken. He'd escorted her home but her pod would not let him any closer once she returned. His own pod was leaving and her pod wouldn't have him. Hed offer to swim away with her, to see the world together, to be a pod of two. But that wouldn't work, he knew Mi-Ling needed more than just him. Where he needed only his love and adventure, she needed more. She had safety and security in her pod, she knew the waters and had her family. Her greatest ambition was to find love not adventure, and she was grateful he showed her a glimpse of what that could look like. But practicality won the day and he was forced to leave.
He was heartbroken. He had no option but to return to the very pod who he felt had rejected him. He felt unwelcome and no amount of playful banter and solo journeying could bring peace back to his heart. Finius took many years to mend, from anger to acceptance and then to routine. The pod was always there, but he was older now and of an age to mate. The elders said it was his duty, the pod needed to expand and he was fit and healthy, a mighty dolphin. The females liked that he was clever and agile but had a deeper side to him. He'd learnt from Mi-Ling to show his more tender side more often. The females liked this, it was unusual for a male to be so considerate. But the more they pressured him the more he relented and started to journey again. It was then he met a very handsome porpoise. He too was a wanderer and had an adventurous spirit. He wasn't like Mi-Ling in any way, except that he listened well. Although they were both similar, they were from different families ot cetaceans. Porpoises belong too the Phocoenidae family, but it is not unheard of that they mate with dolphins. Hybrids in various aquatic species like between whales and dolphins do happen. But Finius saw in Vladimir a portly, powerful mammal who was doing what he himself would love to do. He kept leaving his pod to venture off with the porpoise, and again it wasn't about look for him, it was about how he felt. He fell in love with Vladimir, he recognized the signs, and he was more cautious to not be so crazy and carefree. It was a shame, because Vladimir was like that himself. He knew what was in Finius heart even before the young dolphin did. They didn't rush things, they just happened.
Then once again, during the communal Swim to new waters, Finius stood up on his tail and made an announcement. He introduced a wary Vladimir to his pod hoping he could tag along with them. But to his utter disappointment they had learned nothing since and he was meet with a barrage of negatives. But he's a male, we don't need another of those round here. Stick with your own kind, why do you have to find all these weirdos? Not this again, just be a dolphin Finius isn't that enough? Vladimir smiled, he knew he had only to bide his time and wait for his love's own realisation to dawn. And finally it did! "No, it isn't enough. I deserve more. I want more from life. I'd hoped to experience it with my pod, to share my discoveries and make you happy. But I can't make myself happy here with you. I love you all, we arc family, but Vladimir is my family too. Now we are a pod of two. Anyone wants to join us they're welcome. But I'm leaving, with Vladimir." And with that he did a somersault in the air with joy of realising his hearts intent and they both swam away.
A boat ot humans was off the coast. They were spotted far from them and the murmur went up that something marvellous was happening There were camera flashes from long lenses and binoculars coming out aplenty. Way off in the distance a most unusual pod was passing by. There were porpoises, various kinds of dolphins, a killer whale and of all things some amazing hybrid babies looking so cute diving and jumping next to their Aunties and Uncles. This pod was expanding, taking in waifs and strays and discovering the seas wonders together. Then one huge dolphin rose up on his tail from amongst them and in high clicks and tail flicks signalled to his pod they'd best be off, far from the humans. And with a mighty splash he landed next to his love and swam to safer waters in the middle of the great expanse of an unknown sea.
The End.
