"Rise and shine, water babies!" Riva's cheerful voice cut through the early morning mist hanging over the river. "Can't learn to swim if you're snoring!"

  Alexander was already up, of course. He stood at the water's edge, methodically stretching his muscles in preparation for the day ahead. The rising sun cast long shadows across the campsite as the rest of the team stirred from their sleep.

  "I wasn't snoring," Elijah muttered, rubbing his eyes as he sat up in his bedroll. "At least, I don't think I was."

  "Like a bear with allergies," Riva teased, tossing him a nutrition bar from their supplies. "Eat up. You'll need energy for today."

  Alexander surveyed their campsite with practiced efficiency. The night had passed without incident, their makeshift arm system of tin pieces strung on wire remaining undisturbed. The river flowed steadily past, its surface catching the morning light in rippling patterns.

  "We need to establish some basic water protocols," he announced as everyone gathered by the fire pit where Lyra was heating water for morning tea. "Rule one: nobody goes in the water alone. Always have a partner watching."

  "Some of us might need more watching than others," Valeria remarked, gncing pointedly at Lyra. There was a subtle edge to her tone, the test in a series of small jabs she'd been directing at the Unaligned team member.

  Alexander ignored the comment. "Rule two: we test any new water area before entering. We don't know what lives in these rivers yet."

  Lyra nodded in agreement, passing out cups of hot tea. She'd steeped local herbs that Elijah had identified as safe the previous evening, creating a surprisingly pleasant drink that helped take the morning chill off.

  "Before we tackle those canoes properly, I want to assess everyone's swimming ability," Alexander continued. "There's a calm section about fifty meters downstream with a gentle slope into the water. Perfect for training."

  After finishing their quick breakfast and securing the campsite, the team made their way to the spot Alexander had identified. The river widened here, creating a natural pool with slower currents.

  "Alright, who wants to go first?" Alexander asked, removing his outer gear until he was down to a simple shirt and pants that wouldn't weigh him down in the water.

  "I'll start," Riva volunteered, already stripping off her heavier equipment. "I grew up in a coastal Worker district. Been swimming since before I could walk."

  She waded into the water confidently, then pushed off into a smooth, powerful stroke that carried her to the middle of the pool. She turned and floated easily on her back, grinning at them.

  "Show-off!" Elijah called, but he was smiling.

  "Your turn, bookworm," Riva replied, swimming back to the shallows.

  Elijah approached the water more cautiously. "I had swimming lessons," he admitted, "but it was all in controlled environments. Nothing like this."

  "Just take it slow," Alexander encouraged. "Remember your training."

  Elijah nodded, wading in until the water reached his waist. He took a deep breath and pushed forward into a serviceable but somewhat rigid swimming form, making it about halfway across the pool before turning back.

  "Not bad," Alexander said when his brother returned, slightly out of breath. "A bit stiff, but you've got the basics down."

  Valeria demonstrated competent swimming skills next, unsurprisingly meeting the standard requirements of corporate training. She performed the exercise with mechanical precision, neither showing off nor struggling.

  Then it was Lyra's turn.

  Alexander watched with interest as she approached the water. Given Sector 17's well-known water shortages, he expected her to be the least comfortable in the aquatic environment.

  Lyra removed her outer yers, carefully setting her modified toolkit on top of the pile. She waded in without hesitation, testing the water temperature with her hand before submerging herself to shoulder height. Then, with a smooth, efficient motion, she dove forward into a perfect streamlined form, cutting through the water with surprising grace.

  Alexander's eyebrows rose as he watched her execute a fwless stroke pattern, her movements economical and practiced. She swam to the far side of the pool, executed a neat underwater turn, and returned, barely creating a spsh.

  When she emerged from the water, shaking droplets from her short dark hair, she found everyone staring at her.

  "What?" she asked, wringing water from her shirt.

  "Where exactly did you learn to swim like that?" Valeria asked, her voice deliberately casual. "I thought Sector 17 was in the drought zone."

  Alexander noticed the momentary tensing of Lyra's shoulders before she shrugged. "We had some flooded lower sections," she said, reaching for the cloth she'd set aside to dry off. "Part of my salvage team's job was recovering materials from submerged areas."

  "Must have been some pretty frequent salvage operations," Valeria pressed. "That kind of technique takes regur practice."

  "When our lives depend on getting in and out quickly, we get good fast," Lyra replied, a hint of defensiveness creeping into her voice. "Besides, we recycled every drop. The water wasn't wasted."

  Alexander stepped in before the conversation could become more uncomfortable. "Good. It looks like everyone has basic water competency. Let's move on to the canoes."

  As they returned to camp to collect the watercraft, Alexander filed away this new inconsistency in Lyra's background. Swimming with that level of skill required years of practice, not occasional salvage dives. It was another piece that didn't quite fit with her Unaligned sector story, joining her unexpined technical knowledge and interface modification skills.

  The question was whether these inconsistencies mattered. So far, Lyra had repeatedly proven her value to the team, often putting herself at risk to help them. Whatever secrets she was keeping, Alexander was becoming increasingly certain they weren't a threat—just carefully guarded for reasons he didn't yet understand.

  "I'll take point in the first canoe," he announced, dragging one of the log boats to the water's edge. "Lyra, you're with me. Elijah and Riva in the second. Valeria, you said you can handle one solo?"

  Valeria nodded, checking the bance of the smallest craft.

  "We'll start upstream," Alexander continued. "Map the river system from above the camp first, then work our way down to the split shown on our map."

  They loaded essential gear into the canoes, keeping most of their supplies secured at camp. Alexander had rigged a simple but effective arming system using trip wires and more of the tin noise-makers before they left.

  "Remember, even with these canoes, stay close to the shore when possible," Alexander instructed as they prepared to unch. "If you capsize, get to the nearest bank immediately. We don't know what's in the deeper sections yet."

  The first hour of navigation went smoothly as they paddled upstream against a gentle current. The river valley opened up around them, revealing lush vegetation and occasional wildlife at the water's edge. Elijah called out pnt species he recognized, mentally cataloging potential medicinal resources.

  "There's something weird about these currents," Riva called from the middle canoe, where she was demonstrating proper paddling technique to Elijah. "They don't flow like normal rivers."

  Lyra, seated in the front of Alexander's canoe, nodded in agreement. "I noticed that yesterday. They have patterns—almost like they're programmed."

  Alexander had observed the same thing. In certain sections, the water moved in almost geometric arrangements, creating swirls and eddies that repeated with unnatural precision.

  "Let's map them," he decided, reaching into his pack for a small vial of concentrated dye Elijah had prepared from local pnts. "These current patterns might be important for navigating the byrinth challenge."

  They developed a system, dropping small amounts of the bright blue dye into the water at regur intervals and tracking how it moved. Lyra quickly sketched the patterns on a piece of waterproof material they'd salvaged, creating a crude but effective current map.

  Around midday, they reached a wide section where the river suddenly narrowed between rocky outcroppings, creating a series of rapid currents and whirlpools. Alexander signaled a halt before they got too close.

  "We'll need to portage around this," he said, guiding his canoe toward the shore. "Those currents look strong enough to—"

  "Watch out!" Lyra suddenly called to the second canoe, which had drifted slightly closer to the narrows. "There's an undertow to your right!"

  Riva, who had been confidently handling the paddle, suddenly found her canoe being pulled sideways toward a seemingly calm section of water. The boat accelerated with arming speed toward the rocks.

  "Hard left!" Alexander shouted, but Lyra was already in motion.

  She grabbed a coiled rope from their gear, quickly tied one end to a secure point on their canoe, and without hesitation dove into the water. With powerful strokes, she swam at an angle to intercept the drifting canoe, fighting against the current patterns she'd been observing.

  Alexander grabbed the rope to anchor it, watching as Lyra reached the second canoe just as it was about to enter the most dangerous current. She tossed the rope to Elijah, who caught it and immediately began to pull, while Lyra swam to the side of the canoe and helped guide it away from the undertow.

  Within moments, both canoes were safely pulled to shore, with Valeria joining them seconds ter.

  "How did you know that was there?" Riva asked Lyra, clearly shaken by the near miss. "The water looked completely calm."

  Lyra wrung water from her clothes for the second time that day. "The dye patterns. When we dropped some near that section earlier, I noticed it disappeared in a spiral pattern. Cssic undertow indicator."

  Alexander studied her with renewed interest. That kind of current analysis was advanced hydrodynamics—not something easily expined by occasional salvage dives.

  "Good catch," he said simply, helping to secure the canoes. "We'll mark that section clearly on our map."

  They spent the rest of the afternoon carefully documenting the treacherous currents in this section of the river, identifying safe passage routes and dangerous areas. As they worked, Alexander noted how quickly Lyra adapted to watercraft handling, her initial inexperience giving way to intuitive understanding of how the canoes responded to different paddle techniques.

  By te afternoon, they'd completed their exploration of the upstream section and returned to camp. Riva had managed to catch several fish using a makeshift spear, providing a welcome change from their dried rations.

  As the sun began to set, they gathered around the fire while the fish cooked on improvised skewers.

  "So tomorrow we head downstream toward the split," Alexander said, reviewing their newly created current map. "Based on what we've seen today, I think Elijah's right about the 'Confluence Conundrum' being our byrinth challenge. These current patterns are too deliberate."

  "They form a kind of network," Lyra agreed, pointing to her sketches. "See how they connect and intersect? I think we'll need to navigate specific current sequences to reach certain areas."

  Alexander nodded, noticing the ease with which she analyzed the hydrodynamic systems. Another skill that seemed at odds with her background.

  "The whispers are getting stronger when we're on the water," Elijah said quietly, accepting a portion of fish from Riva. "Especially when we were mapping those current patterns."

  "Any useful information?" Alexander asked, keeping his voice neutral.

  Elijah shook his head. "Nothing specific. Just... more organized somehow. Less random."

  As they ate, Alexander observed the subtle interactions between team members. Despite Valeria's occasional pointed questions, Lyra seemed more rexed with the group than she had been just a few floors ago. She and Elijah had developed a particur rapport, often exchanging technical observations that the others couldn't fully follow.

  "We should build some basic safety equipment tomorrow," Alexander said as they finished their meal. "Flotation devices, rescue ropes, signaling systems in case we get separated."

  "I can rig something with the reeds growing along the bank," Lyra offered. "If we weave them tightly and coat them with that tree sap Elijah found, they should be reasonably waterproof."

  "Good," Alexander nodded. "Riva, you've got the most natural swimming ability. I want you to work with Elijah on improving his form."

  "Oh joy," Elijah muttered, "more water up my nose."

  "Better than water in your lungs," Riva countered with a grin.

  As night fell over the river, Alexander took the first watch again, positioning himself on a rock overlooking both their camp and the water. The sound of the flowing river had become almost soothing now, a constant white noise that masked smaller sounds but provided a predictable acoustic backdrop.

  He reviewed the day's discoveries, mentally preparing for tomorrow's exploration of the confluence. The river system was proving to be both more complex and more deliberately designed than he had initially expected. If it truly was the byrinth challenge for Floor 7, then navigating it successfully would require mastering these unnatural current patterns.

  And as for Lyra's unexpected swimming prowess... Alexander added it to his growing mental list of inconsistencies. Not threatening, perhaps, but certainly curious. One day, he thought, she might trust them enough to share her full story. Until then, he would continue to watch and wonder—and be grateful for skills that kept his team alive, regardless of their mysterious origin.