Oystercatcher Tide Pools until your bones are clean

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As the morning sun breaks over the crust of the earth as it ascends from the east the tide is shrinks back on itself as it laps eagerly at the shore. The tide pools that are exposed are a welcoming sight and the leviathan moves towards them with an insistent hunger in his steps. Sandpipers scurry away from him as he pads through the low tide, the surf rushing forth to erase away the paw-prints he leaves in his wake. The salty brine whips through his fur, a rough caress that he relishes in. He has followed the coast this far. He is struck by the desire to rest. A low rumble vibrates in the strong column of his throat as he descends upon a tangled mass of washed up seaweed, eyeing it greedily. He tears through it, tasting salt and fish as he pushes through it’s tangle with his nose, drawing back when he has reached it’s middle. Salt water coats his black, leathery nose and his salmon pink tongue draws across it to collect the salty droplet of water before it can fall to the dry sand underfoot.

Sometimes, there are delicacies to be found in the tangles of seaweed in Brittlebone Cove but this particular tangle does not present such a delicious prize for him and though Snapjaw is not necessarily hungry — his belly is still relatively full from the half moose carcass he had found and eaten from when he’d been further inland much earlier in the morning when Hati still reigned in the sky — he had hoped nevertheless. Still, the seaweed is a resource not to be wasted and Snapjaw promptly grasps the slippery knot of seaweed betwixt his jaws and carries it further along the beach, not yet sure whether he intends to eat it or dry it for medicinal purposes.

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The woman's never ending quest for a hefty meal seemed to have taken her all over the coast. She'd caught a few rabbits and voles in the more forested areas, feasted on the discarded carcasses of whatever washed up on the beaches, and had now even taught herself to fish from whatever bodies of water she could find. Though it sounded like a lot of food had been secured, the meals were often scrawny and far and few between, not even coming close to satisfying her needy stomach, which prompted her to keep traveling, keep hunting. Perhaps this was the life of a loner... just constant travel and never ending hunger; sore paws and an aching belly. Had she known this would be her future, she wondered if she would have ever left her well fed home in the first place...

Oh well. It didn't matter. She was here now, and as previously stated, still very hungry.

The burly female found herself hunched over a shallow pool near the ocean, hungrily staring into the pool's waters and scanning for any signs of life. Whilst waiting, she had hatched a plan that was uncharacteristically intelligent for a female that was more for action than thought — she would seek out a fish or some other temping sea creature in the pool, kill it of course, then lay it out somewhere in the sand in hopes that it would lure in a flock of scavenging seagulls. From there, she'd plan to snatch up a few of the birds as quick as possible, her logic being that they would be more fulfilling than eating straight from the pools them self. Even then, if the plan failed, she'd at least still have her bait and anything else the small bodies of water might supply her with. So, in theory, it should be a win win.

After what seemed like decades of sitting out in the mildly hot Spring sun, she caught movement in the water and quickly snapped at the poor, unsuspecting creature, earning a wildly flapping fish in her jaws. She killed it with one squeeze and allowed herself to savor the salty flavor that spilled into her maw before turning to trot across the sand, her gaze now searching for the perfect place to lay it down. Had she known another wolf was nearby, she probably wouldn't be parading around with her kill out in the open like that... but she was oblivious and just kept searching.
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In the end, Snapjaw nibbles little bites of the seaweed, chewing it until it is little more than salty mush in his mouth before he swallows. He does not particularly have need of it’s medicinal properties but seaweed is, in and of itself, a delicacy in Brittlebone Cove and he cannot help but give into the temptation as is seizes him. He tells himself he will save the rest, tuck it somewhere so it can dry and pay frequent visits to ensure it isn’t stolen by scavangers. It almost sounds like too much work when he does not intend to linger in a single territory for too long. These Wilds appear to be quite vast and he is as fickle as the sea. He has no reason to commit himself to any one place, yet, and so he deigns to let the tide take him where it will.

The stench of blood and fish overwhelms him and though his nose is once more buried in the seaweed knot as he tears another strip apart he knows that particular scent does not come from his prize. Sea green gaze searches the expanse of beach as he chews. His ears cup forth atop his skull, alert. It is then he sees her: a bear-like woman, heavyset but sturdy looking. He ducks his head down — not because he is hiding but because he seeks to study her without being seen by her. It is as if Snapjaw forgets that he is not actually of the sea and cannot meld into the sand and sea foam left from the apex of high tide later in the night.

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So focused in her endeavor was she that the woman did not notice Snapjaw right away. Her head was bowed low to the sand and her murky brown gaze was trained hard on the path before her, only occasionally lifting her sights so as to scan a little further ahead, and even then, not far enough to spot the stranger. The thoughts running through her mind kept her distracted as well... mostly fantasies about food and the steps she'd take to obtain it. Find the right spot (somewhere with enough room for lots of gulls to land and for her to chase them), find a good place to lay low so her presence wouldn't ward off the creatures, wait for them to flock (shouldn't take long—she could already see a view bird shaped shadows passing along the ground), lunge at just the right moment...

A small, hardly noticable smirk tugged at one side of her maw as she envisioned her goal, the feel of the feathers between her jaws at the sensation of the birds' blood seeping through her lips, and it wasn't long before she'd found a pretty good spot. She unceremoniously dropped the fish to the ground with a hard plop and promptly sneezed due to the bits of sand that had flown into her nostrils in retaliation. Then, she turned her gaze skyward, wanting to do a quick scan of just how many birds were already overhead... and that's when she suddenly became aware of the beach faring stranger.

All thoughts of the seagulls were lost as her head quickly jerked back down, eyes wide and intensely staring ahead at the crouched lump of ashen fur, whom seemed to be returning her glare with equal intensity. Before even scanning his body language or taking the time to see if he was really a threat, her lips curled back to reveal sharp, sallow fangs, her eyes narrowed skeptically, a low warning growl rumbled in her throat, and her head bowed back down to the sand once more, now lingering over her kill in a protective stance. She even placed a single paw on the lone fish, further implying that this was her's. It wasn't an invitation to fight, persay, but she made it certainly clear that he would not be getting this kill... at least not if she could help it. His sudden company was certainly not appreciated, as he was now wasting time that could be used to lure in some tasty birds, but she sure as hell wasn't going to step away from her only fish when this other wolf (whom may be just as hungry as she) was nearby, watching her every move. 

So, she waited. Waited to see what he'd do. Waited to see if she could resume with her business, or would have to protect what belonged to her.
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