This was not Tiden's preferred haul-out site, but earlier today the beach he and his companions frequented had been already occupied. Or rather the spindly-legged fur-beasts had lied in wait for the seals to come ashore in order to attack them mercilessly. The old man, who was so very awkward and slow on land, turned out to be pretty agile, when it came to facing danger. He had not stayed to see, if everyone had been just as lucky, which is normal for their species. They are not particularly fond of living in a pack. 

But - being a creature of habit and his nap long overdue - he had to find another suitable place. Such came in a form of a small rocky beach, bordered by a cliff wall so tall, that it seemed to end somewhere in the sky. Tiden surfaced from the water and on the third take got his 200 kilos of fat, flesh, bone and personality a top a flat, sun-warmed rock. There with a happy sigh he rolled on his back and fell asleep.

It seemed that there was no peace from the furred fiends no matter, where Tiden decided to take his nap. He cracked open one of his eyes, regarded the approaching wolf suspiciously. Then - as it continued to near him, he rolled on his belly with a grunt and his large, black bead like eyes scrutinized the canine. 

"ARUMPH!" he roared in the general direction of the wolf, in an attempt to deter him from coming any closer. 

Huh? Tiden knew that he was not the same agile and elegant beast on the ground compared to, what he was in the water, but even he was impressed by the show of gymnastics this seaweed was capable of. Reminded him of fish and he then idly wondered, if these odd creatures were just another kind of meal. After all did it matter, where the fish came from - sea or the land - they were fish all the same to him. 

With the notable difference that fish, when scared, scurried away and did not care to turn around and have a look at the creature, who was hunting them. Having the very considerable advantage of mass that was probably five-fold compared to the furred alien, he stared back.  

All studies of animal cognitivie capabilities have one very serious flaw - humans measure the intelligence of other animals against their own. They think of themselves as a benchmark, the one's at the top. In reality, intelligence is a relative thing. You can not really compare it between species, because the context of the conditions and environment they live in require different manners of thinking and problem-solving. 

Take a desert woodrat, for example. It will probably not solve secrets of the universe. It has no interest in global economics or politics. It won't engage itself with philosophy. Not very intelligent in the human world, is it? But then place the human in the desert and wait and see, how that math, physics, IQ, grand thoughts and ideas, superior mind helps them survive entirely on their own. It is very likely that they would not thrive for long in a place desert woodrat calls its home. Who is more intelligent?

Same here. Tiden did not speak the common tongue of the aliens. By the same token, they did not speak his language either. Was he more stupid than the other? He did not reply, just inhaled and exhaled and continued to stare at the furry fish. 

Tiden was more amused than annoyed by the antics of the pelted stick insect that just kept prowling around him and keeping those tiny eyes trained upon him. He worried about her as much as a Great Dane would worry about chihuahua nibbling at its feet. In other words - not that much. He vaguely remembered that a while ago some of her kin had attempted to intrude in his realm and even catch him. Perhaps the thing was trying to do it now. 

The nibble of his rear flipper earned a bored side-eye, as if the old man was saying - is that's all, what you got?

Yeah, probably, there was nothing else in the furry sea-weed, whose motivations on invading Tiden's personal space were still not clear to the seal. He was very sleepy and constantly watching the antics of the little alien was becoming annoying. 

Right before Sobeille went for the second go of his rear flippers, Tiden had moved awkwardly and tried to rearrange his position to a more comfortable one. What he had not taken into account was that the flat surface he was lying on was not very even around the edges. 

So the same moment the young wolf's teeth made contact with Tiden's flippers, the seal made a side-ways move, a sound of rocks scrambling beneath him followed and the next thing he knew he was sliding backwards in the water and eventually fell in with a huge splash.