Wolf RPG

Requiem had been carried away by a bird, and now, Theo was missing too. She'd been assured several times that it was impossible for Theo to have been carried off as well, and she had learned to tell the difference between the gulls who circled overhead along the shore, and the predatory birds that both fished and hunted for small prey on land.

She felt safe on the beach, not too far from where the tunnel provided shelter and access to the rest of the packlands that sat high above sea level, beyond the cliffs. She liked to visit the tide pools, and see what little creatures dwelled in them. She liked to note the flowers and grasses that grew sparsely along the dunes, too. 

She wasn't the only one picking around on the beach, though. A white gull had landed near the tide pools, and skip-hopped from one to the next, presumably looking for crabs. She watched it for a moment- and noticed the slight crook in its leg. She gasped- it was possibly the same gull she and her Grandmaman had released. She crept closer, but the bird had already spied her. When she crouched, it eyed her warily, so she stopped, and sat up. It went back to scavenging. 

She realized that it might think a crouch meant that she intended to hunt it. If she kept herself very visible, it seemed more relaxed. She wanted to get closer to it, but the gull could fly, and winged to another clump of rocks when she got too close for its liking. She pursued, as casually as possible, and tried to look more invested in the tide pool than the bird. 

There was a crab in her tide pool. 

She looked to the bird, which was having no luck. She readied herself, balancing her paws on the lumpy rocks, before she reached into the water and grabbed the crab by the back of its shell. It waved its pincers around wildly, but she was quick to bite down through its shell, making it go limp. The crackling of crabshell got the gull's attention. Its expression was angry, but that was what she'd come to know as the gull's default expression. She pulled off a leg and tossed it toward the bird. 

The gull knew an offering when it saw one- McDonald's french fries were its favourite, to be honest- so it swooped in and grabbed the offering, and flew off hastily. She watched it go with a soft laugh. She would have fed it more, but it didn't seem inclined to beg, so she walked down so she could lay on the warm sand, and began to pull crab meat from the shell and would enjoy the rest of her snack by herself.

Eti came from traveling to find Suzu missing. A sharp pain began in his chest and continued onward. He raced from the den with a whine. Nose to the ground. Tears streaming from his eyes. It was very much an overreaction, but could one blame him.

He caught her pale coat out if the corner of his eye and ran full speed towards her.

Suzu!!

He groused and eyed her as ate her snack with not a care in the world. He took little gulps of air and his gaze burned into her.

You didn't tell me you was goin' i come back and you is gone.

He closed his eyes the tears still flowing though they lessened some.

I t'oug't you was gone like Req and T'eo and it 'urt 'ere.

He placed a paw over his small chest.

She leapt up in surprise when her name was shouted, and turned to see Etienne. Her tail instinctively waved at the sight of him, and she immediately thought to offer him a bit of the crab she'd caught- proud of having made the kill all by herself without getting pinched- but when she saw how alarmed he was, her pride fizzled. Immediately, she felt bad for making him worry. 

Posture lowered, she crept toward him and licked at his cheeks, hoping to stop the flow of his tears. "I'm sorry, Eti!" She said. "De tide be gone out- I wanted to see what de sea brought an' left in de tide pool," She said with a sad shrug. She hadn't meant to frighten him- but she'd lost herself in her own bid for independence and had gone down the oceanside alone, thinking it was alright to do so. She pressed her temple into his shoulder. "Eti, I will not leave you," She said reassuringly. "I just want to go to de beach," She tried to explain.

She was happy to see him, and it did his heart good. She licked at his face, and he took one breath, two and then three. The tears slowly drying up. It wasn't her fault that he had overreacted so badly. But two of his three siblings were gone. And the last one. Well, it didn't bear thinking of.

He nudged her with his own muzzle. Licking along her cheek.

Is okay. I understan. I jes worry is all. You is okay?

He eyed her over and then saw the crab laying at her feet a gentle smile on his features, though a little darker at the worry that still clung to his eyes.

You catc'ed de crab all by yourself, Suzu?


He nosed at it and then looked up at her a gentle feeling of pride in his sibling licking along the seams of his chest. You want find de tide pools, look for de T'ings granme was telling me about?

"Mmhmm! Oui!" She reassured him, waving her tail. She wasn't even terribly worried, here. She felt safe on the beach just below the cliffs, still close enough to the tunnel that she could run and hide if she needed to. He asked about the crab and she nodded, licking her lips. She pawed at the shell, turning it around so he could see how she'd cracked the crab's shell from behind. 

"I sneak up on 'im. 'E can't pinch me when I grab 'im from de behind!" She said with a small giggle. When he suggested they search more, she nodded. "Dere be not much left of dis one, but I'd be happy to fin' more. I looovvvvvvve seafood," She said, wiggling and rolling her eyes back to emphasize the word.

Etienne gave a soft little wuff, and motioned for her to follow him. There were not as many here, but there were enough that he could at least show some of it. He nose around the beach looking for the source of a pool.

He kept an ear backwards as his sister spoke. You is a good crab 'unter, Suzu. I 'ave not caug't many crabs, my nose still stings w'en I try.

He thought with disgust the day he had a crab latch upon his nose. He had not tried to hunt them since then, perhaps this was something Suzu could teach him, share with him.

He chuckled. I know you do, it is yer favorite.

"I can show you!" She volunteered eagerly. Not because she wanted the attention or praise, but because she wanted her brother to NEVER get pinched, or bleed in any way whatsoever, EVER again. Unlikely, she knew, but if she could help stop that from happening, that'd be something, at least. She toodled after him, deviating from his path so he could search some tide pools in between the big, dark rocks, and she could search other ones. 

"Barnacle, barnacle, barnacle," She said softly to herself as she looked the rocks over, stepping on the barnacles which seemed to attach themselves to the rocks everywhere the sea water touched at low tide. "Is too bad de barnacles not be better tasting or easier to pull off de rocks, dey be everywhere," She called out. "I see sea otters eatin' dem, but dey be usin' rocks to smash dem in deir weird little front feet! Dey 'ave like..." Hands. Not a word Suzu would know. "Grabby feet." She giggled. "Ooh! Eti! Come see de colour of dis starfish!" She shouted, having found one, stuck against a rock, that was bright orange in colour.

Eti smiled as his sister chased after him. Volunteering to help him. He was fine with this. He was terrible at catching the seafood. He couldn't even catch a fish, and when the crabs flashed their claws. It made his fur prickle uncomfortable like.

I like de sea otters too. De 'as cute babies. Like little pudgy furry t'ings.

he smiled at the thought. They were cute, he didn't imagine he could ever eat an otter, at least not when he had their little ones fresh in his minds eye.

Etienne ran towards her and eyed the starfish. It's like de sun!

De are 'ard and bumpy.

He studied the creature, looking at it's little hard legs. The raised bumps that made up it's legs.

Deir legs grow back.

She squealed- as softly as possible, knowing how her brother hated loud, high-pitched noises- and jigged on the spot. "I love sea otter babies!" She whispered excitedly. It was tough, sometimes, keeping her excitement to a soft volume level for his sake but she was learning. 

He liked the starfish, and offered a little gem of knowledge that was new to Suzu. "Like crabs?" She asked. "I wonder why it is dat sea creatures can grow legs back. Maybe it is because dey eat kelp. Do you t'ink if I eat enough sea food, I can regrow legs too? Maybe I sprout an extra, just in case- starfish have five so why not me!" She laughed, and tapped at the surface of the water with her paw, creating little ripples.

Suzu was mindful of his sensitive ears, and he gave her lopsided smile, ears perked forward, floppy and up. As he tilted to the side, tongue lolling out. He joined her in her jig, matching her rhythm from the feeling of the ground and her paws.

He nodded. Yes like de crabs. Grow em back, jest like poof! he raised his one paw in a quick movement as if mimicking the poof.

Eti shrugged. Not sure if dat works, mebbe we ask granme or manman?

He followed the ripples with his eyes and made a soft tap in a different spot to make his ripples chase hers, but in a different way. Dere is sea eneemenenen, enemy...anemone.....just pointy t'ings dat 'urt you bad you touch em.

Suzu was not about to try and drink sea water to see if that would make her re-grow any limbs...Nor was she about to try severing a limb to see if it would grow back. But she still found the idea fascinating. Sea life didn't seem as bloody or gory as land prey was, and she had to wonder exactly why it was that they grew so differently, and had different methods of healing....And if those methods could be applied to wolves. 

"Yeah, we can ask dem. I will just keep eating seafood in the meantime," She said with a little laugh. 

She watched the ripples spread from his feet and paused, watching how the ripples made crossed the ones Etienne made. It was quite pretty; yet another thing that made their seaside life so beautiful. She tilted her head to the side as he struggled with a word, before she nodded. "Dey be pointy?" She asked. "Or do you mean sea urchin? Sea urching hurt but deir eggs are de best," she rolled her eyes back and shimmied her shoulders. Even the thought of them made her mouth water. "But de sea anemn...enem.....It be impossible to say!" She gave up trying, and giggled. "Dey be like," She sat on her hindquarters, and flailed her feet around, swaying slightly from side to side. "Dey move wid de water, yeah? An' dey take back deir floppy arms when a shadow goes over dem," She said. "Dey bite?" She asked, then. She had observed them in the deeper water, but had not touched them.

Granme had told Eti not to drink the water, it was bad for drinking. Okay for healing sometimes, but bad for drinking. Eti didn't think he would want to be able to regenerate limbs or what have you. All in all he'd rather not lose any limbs in the first place, that'd be great.

Eti smiled, knowing his sister's penchant for seafood well. He hadn't caught many things from the sea yet, he focused more on the way things looked and how different things made the water against the shore or the creature sound different.

Eti laughed outright at his sister's clear love of sea urchin eggs. Not urc'ins no.

Etienee chuckled so hard he gave a small snort at his sister's movements and actions.

Oh Suzu. Laughter resounding all around the air.

He shook his head. No granme says dey sting. Tiny little sharp t'ings.

"Is 'ow dey look!" She said, wiggling her paws at him one more time before she too giggled, and settled her feet back onto the ground. Sea anemones didn't even look like creatures- they looked more like plants to Suzu, though they did seem capable of retracting their arms the way an animal might. Maybe they were related to snails- jelly-like animals that lived inside harder casings. 

"Won't touch 'em, though," She said. "I do not like t'ings dat sting. Or bite or pinch," She giggled. "Hmmm, let's see what be over 'ere. Dis bunch of rocks sometimes 'ave good tide pools," She said, hopping down from the rocks where they were and onto the sand, heading toward another cluster of dark, barnacle covered rocks. She hopped up onto them and peered into the pool and made a small squeak. "Etienne! Come see!" She urged with quiet excitement.

Eti chuckled again and waggled a paw back at her. Etienne didn't know exactly what they were. All he knew was they were dangerous and also very pretty if he was honest. Putting to his head, that sometimes pretty things were dangerous, which he supposed was true. Look at his family. All the women were beautiful and all dangerous if pressed.

Etienne followed behind her. Happy to go wherever she lead. As he imagined it always would be. Suzu need him there he be.

He ran towards her and jumped upon the rock to look down into the sparkling pool. w'at is it?

She pattered her feet eagerly on the rocks, and when he'd jumped up to see what she'd found, she gestured. "Mussels!" With their black shells all bunched tightly together, the cluster of mussels had attached themselves to the ropey kelp growing from below the rocks. In the water, from a distance, they would look like rocks, but a discerning eye knew the difference. There was about a foot of water in the tide pool at its deepest, which discouraged her from simply wrenching them out with her jaws.

 "Lemme see if I can push 'em off de rocks," Suzu said, slipping her feet into the water. She felt for the mussels, and could feel the keen edge of them beneath her pawpads, but attached to the kelp, they could be dislodged without too much fussing. She fished the kelp out of the water, pleased to see that there were half a dozen mussels attached to it.

The sound of his sister's feet on the rocks was comforting to the masked boy. Dark brown shells stared up at him, and his mouth watered at the sight. W'at a treasure find, Suzu!

The sea had given them great things on this day.

Etienne kept a careful eye on his sister, and once she was in place, and pulling at the other stringy kelp, he was looking around for a rock to break the shells with. He found two small enough to be held in jaw, large enough to break.

Eager paws and bright eyes, stepped into place to help Suzu move them out of the tide pool, the two rocks placed kindly nearby.

Etienne was sharp as a razor clam, and knew to find some rocks to break open the shells. Suzu wished that they could grab the rocks with their paws and smash them the way the otters did on their bellies while still floating in the water. She'd seen birds drop shells from great heights to crack them open- but simply tossing things from the cliffs and then trying to find them afterwards was not practical.

But practical wasn't always fun. So once they had the mussles out of the water, Suzu plucked one from the kelp and settled it on the rock in a small groove, that might hold it still. She gave Etienne a grateful smile as she picked up one of the rocks he'd found, and sat back down by her mussel. With a giggle, she set the rock down. "Eti, look at me! I be an otter!" She said, and began to fumble the rock with her paws, trying to pick it up. Naturally, it was a near impossible task for a wolf, who also had to balance on their seat in order to free up the use of both front feet. Once or twice she managed to pick the rock up off the ground for a second, and she held her breath- before it fell from her claws and clacked back on the rock. "Okay, mebbe not," She said, picking up the rock with her mouth, pausing long enough to smile once more, before she began to peck at the mussel with her newfound beak, tapping at it until she cracked it open and could lick up the messy innards.

Etienne only knew of rocks from watching some of the other sea creatures that frequented their coast. The thought of otters brought a small smile to his face. He loved those furry, fuzzy things. So Bèl

Eti watched her and then laughter bubbled out of him and danced along the air. His eyes crinkled at the corners, and his maw wrinkled up past shining teeth. His tail weaved in the air, then he followed suit.

Den I be otter to. He made a face at his sister. Am i as cute as otter babies, Suzu?

Eti held his own breath, hoping each time his sister tried that she succeeded, unfortunately they both failed abysmally at being otters and he was fairly certain he was not as cute as baby otters.

He broke open his own mussel, and licked at the innards, licking along the seam of his muzzle to get the goop from the sides. And smacked them together.

"Chériiiiiiiiii," She groaned, using a term of endearment stolen from their mother. She grinned. "You an I bot' know not'ing be cuter den an otter baby, but you be second cutest by far." She hoped it was a good compromise. It was possibly an odd coincidence, but her brother did have otter-coloured fur, though their markings were reversed. Where an otter was pale, Etienne was dark- but the hue of his soft browns and beiges matched those of an otter. 

She helped herself to another mussel once she'd finished the first, and then another after that. Three mussels for her, and three for Etienne- a good reward for their teamwork. At her feet she left nothing more than shards of broken shell, which she scooted back into the tide pool with her foot. What she wouldn't eat, perhaps another sea creature might. "Dey be makin' me t'irsty. Wan' go up to de lake an' get a drink?" She suggested, but she began to bound away before he could answer. "Last one to de tunnel be a smelly sea cucumber!"

A smile twitched into his maw at her term of endearment, though his ears twitched at the loudness. He grinned at her words. You is very cute as well Suzu.

She wasn't lying, there really wasn't anything cuter than those fluffy babies, the river dogs. He grinned and shook his head. Suzu had all three of her mussels gone, before Eti knew what had happened.

Then she issued a challenge and was gone. He groaned and grabbed the two left Manman would like them. And bounded after her. Though he couldn't holler at her with his mouth full. He hoped he didn't choke as he chased her.