Oystercatcher Tide Pools reaching out to embrace the random

love and wonder for the coast filled his heart as vegas loped across the sand, as he had done so many times before in the prior weeks. the brisk, salty wind whipped past his ears along with the ever-presesnt sound of waves colliding upon the sand. his exploration of the day brought him to an area of the beach which held mounds and outcroppings of damp rock. this was an aspect of the sea he had not yet seen.

his ears perked at first sight as he pivoted his footsteps towards one of the small rocky hills. tenderly he climbed the wet stones and paused, his front paws on stone and his hind paws still on the sand. nostrils twitched as he surveyed the tidepools, blue eyes full of curiosity. there were small pools of water, and in them, strange creatures he had never seen before. clusters of oysters clung tightly to the rock, some nestled above the water and some fully submerged.

the strangest of the creatures was also stuck to the rock, but at the very bottom of the pool. it seemed to be comprised only of "legs," reaching out in a circle. vegas jumped up onto the rock and hovered his snout over the pool, staring at the many-legged sea creature. canting his head, he nervously reached a paw into the water & gently touched the animal with the tip of his claw. the animal abruptly closed all of its legs at the touch, surprising the snowy wolf enough to pull his paw away from the water and lift his head. then he laughed, realizing he had startled the little creature. 

intrigued, he stood very still and watched, waiting to see if the strange sea animal would open up again, simultaneously wondering what it might taste like.

He had seen oysters before. Once. Tasted them too. Cracked open by some other creature cleverer and more dexterious than he (otters, most likely). He recognized the strange rock things as living beings but was immediately perplexed by their solidness. They opened every once and a while, but as soon as he pawed the tidal pools they clammed up (sorry).

Even taking them off of their positions in the pools was hard. It was as if some kind of bond was preventing him or anyone from taking it off. How'd anyone ever eat these things? Luck?

But Ganondorf was stubborn. Sometimes this was a good thing. Other times, well... 

He dove his head into the pool, first using his teeth to wrench one oyster from its spot. He could feel it loosen, or he thought he could. Eventually he had to resurface, spluttering sea water from his mouth and nose. He shook his head and shifted his jaw, his teeth throbbing.

He heard laughter from far off, and turned his head towards the sound. There was a wolf there, and like him it was crouched over some strange being from the abyssal ocean. He chuffed, then called over to the snowy wolf. Sea creatures are weird, yeah? He said, grinning at his own predicament with the oyster.

vegas remained frozen in place until the abrupt sounds of water spraying and sputtering interrupted his strange reverie. he jerked his snowy crown towards the source of the noise to find a red-furred male who appeared to be wrestling with a clam. 

it was difficult for him to contain his laughter, amused greatly by the other's predicament. vegas had never tasted clam and had not the slightest idea that they were edible, much less how to actually eat them. 

at last the other man seemed to reconcile himself enough to speak, making note aloud of the thoughts that had been already spinning around in the snowy wolf's mind.

Very weird, he agreed with a nod of his damp maw. Are... are they... edible? the answer was probably already apparent but vegas required confirmation on the subject.

I know they are, he said. He splashed at the water in mock frustration. I've eaten clam before. But it was already broken when I found it. He looked up to the sky. There were seabirds nearby, as they always were near the ocean. There was some catch to be had, either on the shore or far off into the depths. Those creatures knew the benefits to be gained here. You might have to persuade a bird to pick one up and drop it from a height, He looked back at the pale wolf. Though I doubt it'd want to share. He smirked. He wondered if any ravens or crows lived alongside the coast, or if they were chased off by their marine cousins. They were at least personable with wolves. He had previous success in convincing a corvid or two to assist them. He'd never cheated them out of the deal either. He wondered if seabirds were just too suspicious.

I know they are. Vegas blinked. He tried to work out in his mind how such a tough-shelled creature could be eaten (unless it was a soft shelled creature, like a crab), but before he could come up with an answer on his own, the stranger answered for him. They'd have to convince a seabird to pick the clam up, drop it, and allow the canines below to reap the benefits.

I don't think a seagull would share, he spoke. A crow or raven, maybe, he continued, unknowingly mirroring the male's thoughts. 

So what would happen from here? It seemed out of the question that they would have success snacking upon a clam. I've eaten crab before. I'm sure there are a few wandering the tidepools. We could look around? Vegas tilted his head, punctuating his question.