Sea Lion Shores i can not boast

Sandpiper was doing her damndest to antagonize him but he was not about to let her succeed on the eve of him showing her up. Raptor felt her at the tip of his tail and flicked it aside and out of the immediate reach of her mouth, keeping his focus on the gulls as descended. He supposed that, in a way, she was doing what he asked. No doubt the birds would take notice that her interest was in his tail and not in them.

One bird broke from the flock and started down. It landed on the rocks nearby, casting tentative looks around and calculating its safety. Seeing the disinterest of the predators, it picked its way closer. Raptor licked his lips but continued his charade as he groomed a foreleg. Step by step the gull approached the urchin until at last it stood over the delicacy and considered it.

"Wait for it," he murmured quietly. This was a ripe opportunity but it was not the opportunity.

The gull grasped the urchin in its bill and looked around. Then it lifted and ascended an appropriate height before letting the urchin fall and crack open on the ground. Raptor was ready, and as the gull descended to claim the urchin's sweet flesh, the sable pirate launched forward. With a squawk the bird hurried to gain altitude but Raptor sprang and caught a webbed foot in his teeth, hauling the gull back down and letting it hang upside down from his jaws — a noisy, flapping mess of a trophy.

"That's how ye get a gull," he teased through grinning teeth. The corsair whipped his head and slung the gull's skull into the rocks. It went limp and he let it drop unceremoniously. Beside his foot was the busted urchin. "And open an urchin too."

he ignored her masterfully, and eventually, she settled into mirroring his behavior. she kept slyly glancing over, far less subtle in her fleeting looks than he was. it made her nervous to proffer such delectables (not that she knew what an urchin tasted like) to those raggedy birds -- and when one came to swoop one away she nearly leapt up in alarm, her expression indignant - he had given that snotrag her food!

she watched in disbelief as the gull flew upwards, and then watched as the urchin descended rapidly onto the stone and splattered like a freshly fallen egg. she remained motionless, almost caught by surprise herself when raptor managed to nick the squawking gull as well.

figuring show and tell was over, she cast the skies a furtive glance before stealing over to the exposed urchin. "ok fine, i admit you are master of all things. that was clever." she said dryly, reaching for the urchin as he struck the bird against rock. the compliment would likely be the most he would get from her -- heaven forfend she admit he had done her a favor by teaching her the worth of baiting gulls.

Raptor was a braggat — that could not be denied. He was also a talented liar and a fine crafter of tall tales. It would have been in his most expected nature to take the compliment paid to him and then not only confirm it but flaunt it and stretch it out a bit too. That he had been patiently waiting for and constructing this moment (and it came together so perfect) made it all the more expected for him to act boastful. But now that the moment was here that was not what happened at all.

The sable pirate's mood became subdued and insouciant. In place of his grin there was a half-smile, and he mostly brushed her compliment off as though he received them all the time. "I know a trick or two," he murmured as he looked out across the roll of the waves. "But it ain't nothin' really. Now ye know and ye'll be able to get yerself a scoff of gulls and open urchins whenever ye wants."

Raptor stepped away. His eyes were still trained on the sprawl of sea and shoreline as he bid his crewmate an abrupt farewell. "I'll see ye around. Goin' t'see what else is I can rustle up." Then he set forward at a brisk lope, leaving Sandpiper with the spoils.

she was sure her lack of gratitude lanced him; as he turned away she fancied she saw something in his eyes, but could not place it. with a shrug she waved him off with a jutt of her jaw and returned to the spoils he had acquired for her.

maybe because sandpiper was inherently selfish, or maybe because she was truly rough-cut, but his quick departure did not weigh a moment on her mind longer than it had to. delightfully she set on the bird first -- with raptor gone, she was not sure the urchin was appealing anyway. maybe she would use it later to bait another bird, as he had taught her.