Sequoia Coast STRFKR golden light

@Vulcan

another mantra of the sea: waste nothing.

bijou tore into the flaccid flesh of a long-dead seal. rubbery, soft - a delicacy befit of turgid waters and rotting corners.

she chewed and tore again. better her belly be full, than an enemy's.

Something was rotten in the state of Denmark. Oh, wait, no, it was just that seal.

And a woman eating it—eugghh. Well, Vulcan supposed some parts of it might be edible still, and the pirates had taught him that waste was a grave sin. Yes, he, too, had learned from the sea.

Wouldn't suppose you'd let me have a bite of that, eh? the Tortugan asked, cocking an eyebrow. She wasn't not pretty, but a far cry from some fair maiden. He glanced up her spidery limbs and blue-black coat before his gaze landed upon her face once more.

No, he supposed not, probably. Maybe it would come to a fight, let him flex his muscles a bit. He almost instinctively looked round for Eartha, making sure his captain wasn't watching him from afar.

she expected carrion-birds and gulls while she ate. she did not expect a carrion-hound.

oh, but he was pretty -- if she was the type to believe men attractive. bijou paused mid-chew, a strip of putrid flesh dangling from her gums as she considered his question.

glancing back at the corpse, it was far more than she could eat. even if she didn't want to share, he did not smell as if he was alone. better to save her energy appearing diplomatic, even if on the inside she was imagining his body alongside the seal's.

"sure." bijou smiled, not an inkling of her thoughts displayed on a face that appeared genuine. "better eat fast. tide comes soon." bijou ripped a great piece of the flesh and backed several steps away, watching vulcan warily as he approached the corpse.

Well, I'll be damned, he thought as she invited him to eat. Not often that one got an invite to the buffet, unless your fellow diners were your crew or your kin. She was neither, and yet he would feast beside her. Thanks, he said warmly, grinning.

Vulcan stepped forward, beginning to tear the still-edible bits of meat from the seal. He'd been born and raised inland, and while blubber kept the belly full, he still much preferred the game that lived on land. Fish and seals—and the occasional landed shark—they were too chewy. He missed the warm, earthy musk of a deer.

You live around here? he asked, mouth half-full as he continued to gnash down a particularly tough bit of flesh. Big ol' glutton; he always had been. But then, food was food, and she was eating, too.

a stab of resentment to see him pull such heaping portions from her kill -- bijou hid it masterfully and continued to chew.

after masticating a particularly fatty edge of tailfin, bijou spoke. "no." she allowed a few more moments to pass where she passed her tongue between her bladed teeth, savoring the film of blood and fat along every fang. the things she could do if she was so inspired... bijou kept her face pleasant despite the ugly thoughts which lurked just out of sight. "just passing through. you?"

the pleasantries they shared were poor pittance for bijou's appetite. she kept her countenance clean and polished. he would never see beneath those warm eyes the malevolent thoughts stirring like a cobra.

she let him leave with his life intact, but she did not forget him. come morning, bijou would leave and follow after vulcan -- ready for something besides tide-kill on the menu.