"Hey, sleepyhead. Wake up. You'll miss breakfast before your lesson." A big paw gently patted Elix's back, and sunlight jumped over him with the rattling rush of the curtain being drawn open. Elix rolled over and sat up, rubbing his eyes. The antique clock on the bedside table read 8:15, and the sun proved that it was quite a bright day outside. The surf rolled on, as usual, and a brisk breeze pushed whitecaps off the top of the waves just down the beach.
     Elix got up and stumbled into the bathroom, clad in only the fur nature gave him, and a few minutes later he stumbled back out with an empty bladder. Uncle Keith was already dressed, in shorts, a loose tropical shirt in the kind of gaudy colours one can only get away with while on vacation, and light sandals with a cork bottom. A tray was sitting on the bed, and Keith was working on his laptop at the desk, typing something. "Eat up, precious. We need to get to the class a little early."
     The kitten sat down on the side of the bed and picked up a slice of toast with jam. "Why?" He chomped a bite out of the toast while his uncle answered.
     "Well, turns out you're the only kid booked for lessons, so you're going to learn how to dive with some adults."
     "I am? But I thought y'couldn't do that."
     Keith turned and smiled at his nephew as another pair of teeth marks introduced more of the toasted bread to its fate. "If you can dive to the bottom of the deep end and stay there on your own, you'll be okay learning how to dive with some adults. Remember that you'll have an air tank."
     The kitten grinned, a glob of jam standing on his lips like a rather disturbing premature pimple before it was licked away. "Do I get to wear my blue trunks?"
     Keith looked over at Elix's suitcase. Tucked in the second layer of clothes was a snug navy blue pair of Speedos for Elix. The pair were mostly used when Elix was in a more private area, as even for a little boy with not a lot below the belt, they were somewhat revealing.
     "Do you really want to go in those? What if you get stiff?"
     The kitten chewed his food, politely. "I wun'... I'll be concen... con... concentratin' on learnin'." The boy had a point; at this age, erections came from direct stimulation or horny thoughts. It would be another several years before the kitten's hormones started pumping blood at awkward and random times. He parted his spry little thighs apart, exposing his flaccid penis. "See?"
     "Okay, you can wear them. Good boy, now finish your breakfast. We'll have more after your class, because it'll be almost lunchtime." Elix inhaled the other half of the slice of toast, and he polished off the cup of cereal in near record time as Keith reminded him not to eat too fast.

Elix adjusted his sun hat and stepped out onto the walk up to the main walkway parallel to the shore. Keith locked the villa door and walked with him. The kitten walked snappily along the path towards the dive pool, a five-minute walk away, dressed only in his sandals, woven straw hat, and his beloved swimsuit. It was Keith's favorite, as well, but mostly for the way it hugged the kitten's bottom when it got wet, giving a show to anyone interested in looking.
     Along the way, a siamese couple stepped out onto the walk in swimsuits and headed the same way as them. "Are you goin' to the scuba pool?" Elix asked, cheerfully.
     "Why, yes," the male answered, looking over his shoulder at the kitten just behind them. His female partner smiled, and cooed, "Oh, isn't he precious?"
     "This big guy's learning to dive today," Keith said, chest rumbling in just a little bit of pride. The sandy-tan couple slowed down a bit to match pace with the boys.
     "Your son?" the lady asked, and Elix grinned up at them, putting a little swagger in his step.
     "My nephew," keith answered. "He got to come along because the person who was supposed to have the plane ticket decided that breaking their leg while riding a bicycle with a dozen of the brewery's best was more fun."
     Elix turned and looked up at Keith. "I thought it's 'cause I got a good report card?" Keith chuckled. "Well, no, that's why you were allowed to come. Your ticket was paid for because of that, though."
     "Oh." The siamese couple chuckled, and they paused at the corner of the walk, where the path branched off into a walled-off section.
     "Here's the pool."
     "Indeed. Thank you for the company," Keith said as Elix started down the path, tail flicking excitedly from the hole in the back of the boy's bum-hugging suit.
     "We're heading this way as well," the two said in unison. "We're booked for lessons."
     "Oh! Oh, well, then..." Keith smiled and walked up with the pair, following Elix. To the boy's disappointment, the first hour was on dry land, learning the basics of diving.

"Remember, don't breathe t'rou' your nose." Keith snapped a picture as the otter instructed the group of six adults and lone child on using their equipment properly. Elix looked properly goofy in his oversized squared-off goggles and rebreather, but so did everyone else.
     "Everyone under for ten seconds. Don'tchoo panic. Remember, you's tanks are turned on, and you's have air."
     One by one, the students dipped their head under, face down in the pool, and little bubbles popped up as they took their first breath below the surface. Elix was front and center in the small ring of students in the water, and he had a box to stand on under the surface since he wouldn't ordinarily be able to touch bottom without going under. Sal and Eric, the siamese couple from the walk, were to the boy's left. In Keith's estimation, they were maybe in their mid-thirties, and childless. Privately, the tabby figured they'd come here to get the romantic groove going because they hoped to conceive.
     Elix's mask stayed in the water even as everyone else straightened back up, and the instructor had to tap the boy on the head to get his attention. "Elix, up you get."
     "That's really cool!"
     "Yah, but you has plenty of time to try again in a second."
     Keith took another photo of the boy's grinning, goofy face, before he noticed a figure walking in the background--only a red tail was visible as the figure passed behind a column. Keith lifted the camera, and on a hunch, he pushed the shutter button as a foot popped out the other side of the column, capturing the pedestrian in the frame--the white-eared fox. The vulpine was dressed in a green t-shirt and cargo khaki shorts and sandals, and he glanced over at the group in the pool as he went by. Keith looked directly at the fox just before he passed behind the wall for the side of the pool, and the stranger's eyes clearly darted over to the very edge of his peripheral vision as the instructor got everyone to leave the pool, including Elix and his tight-in-the-seat shorts. A sharp flick of the tail and he was gone.

Elix swam up to the side of the pool. "Uncle Keith! Watch!" Keith looked up, blinking out of his daydream. Elix was hanging on the edge of the pool, right at the deep end, mask over his eyes, rebreather under his chin. Little neon yellow nose plugs were stuffed in his nostrils, connected by a little plastic hook. "Watch!"
     The kitten popped the rebreather in his mouth and then disappeared with a splash and a flick of a safety-orange flipper. Keith stood up and looked. A trail of bubbles printed grammatically-incorrect morse code along the surface of the water, and suddenly Elix showed up, hugging the bottom of the pool like a submarine, coming out of the deep end and back towards the shallow end where the adults were gathered to practice proper breathing. The otter instructor was giving specific information for the squirrel couple in dealing with their physiology during a dive, namely their tail.
     Keith watched as the boy made a complete circuit from the deep end to the shallow end and back, all while under between three and fourteen feet of water. This from a boy who had only gathered the nerve to put his head under water a scant twenty-four hours ago. Elix popped up at the deep end and let out a little gasp as he spit his rebreather out. "Did you see?"
     "I did, champ! That's awesome. Did the instructor tell you you could do that?"
     "Yeah-huh! He said I could practice while he talked to th'grownups, because he was gonna need to talk to me special. An' he asked me to get you to come over, too."
     "Oh? Okay... here, why don't you do that again so I can take a picture?" Keith fished his digital camera out of his pocket and turned it on. Elix didn't wait to be asked twice and popped the mouthpiece between his lips. The boy let go and disappeared behind the lip of the pool.

Keith sat down by the edge of the pool, and the otter swam over with Elix in tow. "Ei, I's Adrian, 'n I the chief diving instructor," the otter said with a grin, and he reached a wet paw out to the tabby. Keith gripped the wet paw and gave him a firm shake. "I'm Keith; Elix's uncle."
     "Nice to meetcha, and your nephew, he be made of the sea itself," the otter said, patting Elix on the head. The kitten just grinned. "I gonna show Elix how buddy diving works. You's certified, right?"
     Keith nodded. "And you's been certified or retested in the last three years?" The tabby pulled out his wallet and removed a stiff plastic card and handed it to Adrian. The otter glanced at the Sea Diving Furs card, at Keith's picture, and the date of the renewal. "Yah," he said, handing it back to Keith. "Okay, so you's know safety in a hose break, right?"
     "Yessir," Keith said as Elix floated, treading water. "Okay. Elix," he said, turning to the boy. "If you's ever get a break in your hose, whatchoo do?"
     "Um..."
     "You's gonna swim to your uncle, and fast. And whatchoo do then?"
     Elix blinked, and he looked up, tilting his head back. "Oh! I hold my breath 'n do this." The kitten made a unhooking motion, bringing both fists together at the thumbs and pulling them apart like he was rending a Yule cracker in two.
     "At's the way. Now, ax' I's to ya, what's your uncle gonna do?"
     "Share his oxygen with me!"
     "An'?"
     "Surface?"
     "Good. Now, I's gonna get you a weight belt for dis'afternoon."
     Keith tilted his head. "A belt?"
     "Yes, sir. This by' is ready for da'ocean, if that's ok. After lunch he can take he written test, do a quick pool dive, an I's take him out witchoo on the boat for he dive test. If he do good, he's be certified."
     Keith smiled at Elix. "Is that what you want to do, kiddo? Are you ready to dive where there isn't a pool to hang onto?" The kitten just grinned, bobbing in the shallow water.

Lunch was a quick but excited affair. Elix and Keith had swung through the beach buffet again and picked up their plates. Elix had grabbed a scoop of a salad with tropical greens and slices of some sort of red pepper without even asking what it was, high on the excitement of his dive. Or just high on the dive air mix, one of the two.
     "Let's go back to the room for a few, kitten," Keith said as Elix fit the last cookie from dessert into his mouth.
     "Hmm?"
     Keith leaned over and whispered, "I wanna reward you for being such a good boy this morning." Elix's grin lit up in recognition, and he hugged his uncle with one arm, holding his plate. "Okay!" The pair set their dirty plates to be collected and walked down the path a short distance. A passionate squeal echoed from a window on the second floor of the villa as they walked by.
     "Uncle Keith, isn't that where Eric 'n Sal stay?"
     "This is the corner we met them at, kitten." A louder squeal leapt from the window, and the distinctive sound of bedsprings wafted out behind it. "And that sounds like Sal. I've never heard her do that, but it sounds like her." Elix giggled as they continued on down the walk to their place.

Elix gasped as his snug swimsuit quickly found itself at his knees. Keith hadn't even waited before the door had been locked, pressing the boy back against the wooden panel with a kiss on his exposed penis. The attention quickly had its desired effect on the boy, and he became erect as his uncle's lips brushed their way up the underside of his little length. Fingers gripped Elix's bumcheeks, massaging them and drawing them apart gently, and the kitten moaned as a muzzle wrapped his penis in wet warmth. Paws lifted Elix up and carried him to the bed and set him down on his back. The boy's paws pressed on Keith's ears as his uncle sucked him off, bobbing along his length.
     "Uhh, uncle," Elix mewled. His uncle's big paws drew his trunks down to his ankles and spread his knees, caressing along the boy's thighs as that little bum flexed and humped back against the tabby's lips. "A-ah!" squealed the third-grader as his uncle's fingers grasped his sensitive ears, making him shiver and hump. Thumbpads dragged against the smooth skin lining the inner cone of the boy's ears, causing his squeals to turn into passioned whimpers. A light pinch to his eartip made Elix tense up. Cheeks flushed, the boy huffed and panted as a warm feeling in his belly tightened up.
     "G-gonna!" Elix's toes clenched, and he bit his lip. Keith's tongue flicked right along the boy's penis as both paws rubbed those oversensitive nerves in the kitten's ears. A very tiny nibble to the base of his penis was enough to throw Elix into a short, hard little orgasm, squirting a single splatter of clear fluid into his uncle's muzzle.
     Keith slipped off the kitten's penis, and he stood up, leaving the flushed kitten laying flat on his bed. With a whirr and a click, the grownup tabby had a picture of his young nephew coming down from a good quickie, a goofy grin sitting beneath half-squinting eyes.
     "What'bout you, uncle?" The kitten lifted a foot, pressing little toes against Keith's member, through his shorts.
     "Not enough time, kiddo. You and I've gotta review your SDF Cubs license stuff before your test. If you don't pass the test, you're not going diving with me except in the pool."

"Okay, that's a pass, so you's follow me. By 'de way, you's not allowed to fly on the same day you went for a dive, lil'fur. You got that one wrong, but all 'de rest were  correct."
     "Oops." Elix giggled, getting up from the table and walking with his uncle. The two walked with Adrian into the back of the dive shop where a small vinyl belt of rounded square yellow cakes sat in a chain on a bench. A dive tank along with Elix's pair of International-Orange flippers and mask sat beside it.
     "Okay, now you's gonna do your las' dive in the pool. You's gonna do it all by yourself, Elix. Ready?"
     The kitten nodded, grinning. "Yeah!"
     "Good." Adrian grinned that effable grin. "Tell I if this tank's ready for you."
     Elix blinked for a second, unprepared for the quiz. He looked at the tank, and then he padded over and picked up the meter attached to the tank and looked at it. The meter gave PSI and temperature. "It says it is," the kitten said. "It's not empty."
     "Good. But is it ready?"
     The kitten scratched his head, and then he noticed one of the shoulder straps was unhooked. Nimble fingers hooked it back on and locked it in, and then the boy quickly gave each strap a sharp tug to make sure everything was secure.
     "Good lad. Are you sure you's ready?"
     Elix blinked and looked at the tank, walking around the bench to see. No dents, scratches, or anything. When the kitten picked up the rebreater, a faint hiss curled over his cheek. "Hey, the valve's open!" He cranked the valve shut, putting his arm into the metal knob to tighten it firmly.
     "Good. Put it on, grab your fins 'n mask, and come wit' me." Adrian stood up, and he and Keith watched as the third-grader slipped his arms through the shoulder straps and pulled them tight. The rebreather was looped over the boy's front, hanging down over his collar, and then Elix stood up, taking the weight of the tank, and fitted the belly strap to secure the tank to his back.

Elix sat on the edge of the pool with his back to the water, ears perked, listening to Adrian. "You's gonna circle the pool twice. 'Den I's gonna t'row these rings in, and you have to pick up all five. While you gottem, you do another lap around 'de pool. Got it, lil'fur?" Elix just nodded. "Go to it."
     Elix tucked the rebreather into his muzzle and bit down, and then he rolled backwards into the pool with a small splash, and he twisted around as the weight of the tank pulled him down underwater. His bright orange fins kicked, and he swam down to the bottom of the pool. Adrian hadn't actually told him he had to do the entire dive right at the bottom, but he wanted to, because the tile had a really neat lapis pattern and he wanted to look at it up close.
     Bubbles followed Elix around the pool as he curled around a corner and kicked for a burst of speed. Keith watched from above, rumbling quietly in his chest as Adrian stood beside him. Both adults watched from the pool's edge. When Elix got to the shallow end of the pool, he practically walked on the surface with his front paws while he kicked along the wall. The kitten's breathing was regular as he swam around once, calm.
     "He's a good kitten, that one. You's lucky," Adrian said. Keith just nodded, penis giving a hidden throb in his shorts.
     As Elix rounded the pool the second time around, Adrian lobbed four weighted rings, two in the deep end and two in the shallow end, and Elix went to pick them up, spotting them as they sank down, shallow pair first. When he had collected all four and had them threaded on his arms, he stopped and looked around. Keith grinned as Elix literally stood up on the floor of the deep end, form rippling from the water. The boy lifted his arms, looking up at the wavy figures above the surface, as if to say, "What gives?" The fifth ring splashed into the pool halfway between him and the shallow end.

Elix surfaced back where he started, all five rings on his arms, and he rested on the edge a moment, just looking up at the pair of grownups through his wet goggles as water sheeted off, blurring his vision. After shaking his head to get the water out of his ears, Elix spat the rebreather out. "How'd I do?"
     "Perfect. Now you's gonna go out on the ocean w'us. Climb out on the ladder. I's got a new tank for ye." Keith just applauded his nephew, grinning.

The dive boat roared across the open ocean. Adrian stood at the helm, heading across the bay to the reef two miles out. Elix was settled in his uncle's lap, holding his tank. The neon yellow can hid the calico paw down the front of Elix's speedos, stroking his erection. The little puffs the kitten made were masked by the loud engine behind them. The otter was focused on driving, in case anyone was in the bay, so he didn't look back to notice Keith's tongue doing obscene things to the boy's ear, or the kisses they exchanged. He even missed the sight of Elix's erect penis being exposed as the boy pulled his suit out and down so uncle could masturbate him to a dry orgasm behind the air tank. All he saw was a flushed, excited boy ready for his first ocean dive, as the boat slowed down near the reef. What an eager student!

"One, two, three!" Adrian tucked his rebreather into his muzzle as he tipped back, and all three divers rolled off the boat and into the water in a shower of bubbles. The weights counteracted the bouyancy of seawater, and the three got their bearings, making sure they could all see each other as the air fizzed upwards to the surface. Elix took his uncle's paw, floating beside him. Seven fathoms below, the sandy seabed rolled along. The water leant everything a light blue shade. Adrian pointed down along the anchor chain. Elix let go of his uncle's paw and bravely swam downwards, ahead of the pair. Bubbles floated away from him like clouds, rushing upwards. At the bottom, Elix drifted a few feet above the anchor as his dive buddies followed him. The boat anchor was a stainless steel rig, with one end firmly wedged into the heavy mud below the sand. Adrian swam beside Elix and took the boy's paw, showing him the dark mud along the edge of the exposed anchor. The kitten nodded. Keith swam a short distance away, and he turned back and waved at the pair.
     In the distance was the sunken shape of an airplane, covered in sea growth. Elix carefully kicked away from the sand, stirring up a cloud, and swam with his otter-instructor over towards the plane with Keith. Beyond the plane was a reef some distance away. Light filtered down, bathing the swimmers in an aura from above. The only thing Elix could hear was the bubbling of his and his partners' rebreathers, along with faint echoes of a motor somewhere in the bay, possibly miles away.
     The plane itself looked like quite a wreck, with no engine at all, completely gutted so nothing would contaminate the water. An incredibly dense school of tiny fish swam out from the windowless cockpit. One wing was embedded deep in the sand, or at least it was cut off, so the plane leaned on an angle in its final resting place. Up close, it was easy to notice that the entire sunken plane was a bed for coral to grow, which explained the fuzzy appearance of the many flat surfaces over the wings and chassis. Elix swam around the whole plane at least a dozen times, looking at it with wide eyes.
     Keith took Elix's paw, tugging the boy away from the plane, gently. He pointed at the reef off a ways. Adrian watched, following behind. The kitten was a natural--even with the excitement of a cloud of fish smaller than his fingers swimming right around him, getting a face full of the little things, didn't disrupt the steady breathing Elix had been taught, and the bubbles leapt from his rebreather almost on clockwork.

The reef had Elix waving in excitement, because it even had a part you could swim under, and a hole in the middle that allowed line to shine through and illuminate the small creatures living in the reef. The reef occupied the boy for a good twenty minutes. Keith admired it, as well, exploring under the arch of the reef, as it was his first time diving in the reefs in a while. Adrian tapped their shoulders to indicate that it was time to head back, never long enough. Elix took one little flick under the arch again, and then he wiggled through the gap in the top, clear of the edges. After he passed through the hole, he pulled himself through the water with his front paws, avoiding giving the reef a blustery kick so close.
     The plane was still in the sand as they drifted by. Off near the horizon, other dark shapes loomed, indicating reefs or artificial reefs from sunken objects. Elix looked about, holding paws with his uncle, as the chain for the boat came into view.

Elix flopped on the floor of the boat, dripping, as Adrian winched up the anchor. The sun was getting lower in the sky, towards late, lazy afternoon. "Back to th'shore, and we's gonna sign your license." The boy just grinned as Keith ruffled his matted, damp headfur.
     "I'm proud of you, kitten," the calico rumbled as the motor started pushing them back across the wide, flat bay to the beach.Strong arms wrapped around Elix and hugged him to his uncle's chest. Adrian looked over his shoulder several times, flashing that big grin, as the two snuggled nicely on the way back.

Elix flopped onto the bed, on his back, holding his laminated temporary SDF Cubs card and certificate. His legs felt rubbery as the long day of swimming finally caught up to him. Keith slipped his speedos off to hang them out to dry, leaving the boy naked.
     When Keith came back from the deck a few minutes later, the kitten was already sound asleep.