Sea Lion Shores it helps me make it, knowing you care

all welcome, but specifically for @Huā. :)

the waters were rough, uninviting. each wave rushed upon the shore with notable ferocity, crashing against the stone lining. there were sea lions below, an entire colony of them.

the huntress watched with earnest interest. there was a male toward the back, somewhat smaller than the rest. aside from size, he seemed healthy. ying picked out a potential point of entry and waited for an accomplice to appear.

There she was. Further down on the beach. Did her eyes deceive her? A silver coat, a splash of black. Too familiar to be a coincidence. Her paws carried her towards the figure eagerly- and once close enough, her sister's scent filled her nose, and a rare smile filled her face as her eyes sparkled. 姐姐, She called, 是你? She already knew the answer but she waited hopefully for the girl to turn. As for the sea lions down on the shore, they could wait. Her sister was more important even if they were coming out of a famine.

the huntress turned to greet the familiar face. it'd been months since they'd last seen each other, but the recognition was immediate. shh! she called back with a smile, 他们会听到我们的声音. 

a smile spread across her maw to reveal the tease. ying trotted forward and greeted her sister with a playful embrace. she attempted to leap over the girl's back, likely bringing them both down in the process.

我找到你. 然后我们再谈. conversations were best had over a meal, ying thought.

She giggled quietly when her sister shushed her and warned her. "好, 对不起." Her heart was giddy to be reunited with her. It was only a moment later that Ying embraced her, playfully leaping and tackling her in the process. She had to hold back laughter, still careful not to disturb the sea lions.
At Ying's suggestion, she nodded. Huā was not passionate about hunting herself- it was merely to keep her breathing- but Ying was good at it. 哪一个? She whispered, referring to the sea lions. Her seaglass eyes studied them, figuring it was that small one- but she wanted to confirm.

the focus shifted back to the sea lions. hearing her sister's question, ying nodded. 这很危险, she sighed, 我们要小心一点.

when on high alert, their prey was prone to attack. having just reunited, she was not keen on caring for an injured or dead sister. ying nodded toward their target and whispered to hua, 分心.

Ying answered Huā's question with a nod at their target, and Huā's eyes narrowed as she focused on it. Ying warned her of the potential danger, and she nodded. And then her sister suggested a distraction. Seeing as Ying was the superior hunter, Huā decided she would make a better distraction. She communicated silently with a look of her eyes, before sneaking away. She planned to enter from the opposite direction, so that Ying could prowl up better from behind.

rolled for it!

the sylph snaked around the the westward entrance. the sea lions closest to her quickly perked up and began to move away, the rest of them showing little concern. ying bit anxiously at the inside of her cheek as she tracked her sister's movements.

there was another sea lion near their target. this one was substantially larger and appeared to be hyperaware of hua's presence. ying, no longer comfortable with her sister going in alone, shuffled quickly down onto the playing field.

she could hear the calls beginning to sound.

She slinked in their direction, attempting to distract, but perhaps it worked a little too well as a frighteningly large sea lion took notice of her. His gaze seemed to wonder how she would dare to even approach. She noticed as Ying changed her intentions to support Huā in the face of the threat. She too heard the calls, her ears swiveling. Huā took a step backward with a slight stumble of nervousness. Suddenly she wondered if they had underestimated the power and temper of the creatures, as she feared they would charge at any moment.

maneuvering in the sea of panicked prey proved more difficult than ying had anticipated. on the other end, the bull reared back and charged, a clear attempt to attack.

from the corner of her eye, she could see their target's attempt at escape. the sea lion in front of hua was putting on a show, an attempt to convince her to flee. ying believed it was a bluff but didn't want to risk finding out.

she took a moment to think, then barking to get her sister's attention. if she could find a gap large enough to sneak through, they would still have enough time to go after the weakling.

sorry I havent done large game hunting threads in years that's why I'm super rusty X(

The sight of the beast's anger caused Huā's eyes to widen in alarm. She stumbled backward, and then the bark caught her attention. She wondered for a moment how she could reach her sister among the creatures, but decided to use her speed (thanks, long legs built for swimming) to her advantage. She darted away like a bolt of lightning, making a wide circle around the scary thing and attempted to make her way back towards her sister. Fear kept her from looking back.

you're good! also my kitten fell asleep in my lap and made me break the spree :((

the colony moved opposite of the girls, threatening honks filling the air. hua caught up to ying and they made off running, though their target was lost in the mess. the huntress scanned the scene, desperate to locate him.

it was then that she realized the weight of the situation. they were but two, while the sea lions held numbers in the tens. even against a weak colony, the pair had little chance of a clean break should the creatures retaliate.

the panic was still present, all animals on high alert. ying cursed and motioned for hua to follow her back onto high ground.

lol dw!! and omg u have a kitten? T.T that's sooo cute

 

Huā made her way back to Ying, who intently scanned the herd for their target. Huā looked too, but in the chaos of their movements she did not locate him just yet. It seemed that Ying no longer liked their odds, and Huā was secretly thankful. Just facing the beasts had her fur bristling on ends with the fear of attack. She followed her sister back to the higher ground, letting the stronger woman lead the way. As they arrived, Huā cast her seaglass gaze back down upon the shores, muttering a quiet 哎呀.

it was probably a stupid idea to begin with. smart on paper, sure, but any idea that involved putting herself and someone else in danger — on purpose — yeah, it was stupid. impulsivity would be the huntress's demise.

once they were back to safety, ying collapsed beside her sister. 下次,我们需要帮. she shared an apologetic gaze and reached up to paw at hua's cheek. 

无论如何, she said, standing with a steady wag of her tail. after moving a few steps away, ying shifted into a play bow and smiled up at the other. 你想念我吗?

She nodded at her sister's comment, and smiled at the pawing of her cheek. Huā collapsed into a sit beside her. As Ying playfully stretched down, although Huā did not join in- her tail wagged quickly as a smile broke her face again. 我想了. 我要看你了. 你呢? 怎么样了? She would hesitate to admit it, but she had missed her sisters very dearly. She had worried about their condition and prayed that they had not met too much danger. She only hoped that Ying would answer that their experiences had been pleasant.

technical difficulties, wow.

the winds blew northward, carrying the salt of the southern beaches to yuèguāng's nose. the sting was familiar, comfortable, and beckoned a childish giggle from her throat. the shift in attention wasn't intentional, but it'd happened nonetheless. by the end of hua's questioning, all ying had gathered was her curious tone.

the huntress licked at her snout, freeing it of any remaining debris. then, she gave her sister an apologetic look. 这是一段轻松的旅程, ying replied, then moving to stand once more. 梅珍跟着我. she'd assumed so, at least. paying attention to other wolves was much harder than keeping track of prey.

Relief filled Huā as her sister confirmed that the journey had treated her well. Thank the heavens! And oh, Mei Zhen had come along too? Huā's ears perked up more intently.

美珍? 现在她在哪里? She questioned eagerly. Her eyes flit across the landscape as if to search for the third girl, wondering if she had been nearby all along- but came to find they were as alone as she had iimagined.By what circumstances had the two bee. seperated, she wondered?

the huntress shrugged her shoulders. 我不知道, she admitted, then adding on, 好吧,我以为她在跟着我. meeting up had been a part of the agreement, right? 

of course, ying thought. what reason would mei have had to remain at the camp? 我敢肯定她会很快来的. she hoped so, at least. if their sister was lost, they would have to organize the most boring party to go and find her. yeah, no thanks.

mei had bid ying to rendezvous with huā with the promise of following up shortly. however, the din of distant seadog barks cut her excursion short. she was near enough to glean that her sisters were trying to snag one but had no success. unrelenting in her pace, she finally caught up to the pair on the bank. as if on cue, her arrival was timed just as ying claimed to know not of her whereabouts.

我让你们两个人呆了五分钟，我发现您已经陷入麻烦了, she chided in jest, faint smile tugging softly at her dark lips.

When Ying said she didn't know where Mei had dissapeared off to, Huā's eyes widened. The worry-worm couldn't help but feel a tad nervous, thinking about the willowy girl out on her own, without Ying's muscle to back her up. And how did one just lose a companion? She was almost ready to scold Ying, but ah- speak of the devil! Mei came waltzing up, looking lax as ever. The girl's coloration resembled Huā's closely, and it was almost like seeing herself in a mirror. Joyful once again, she laughed at her sister's teasing comment and strode over to greet her with an embrace.

the worry was clear in hua's expression. ying was bracing herself for reprimand when, as though by the hand of the divine, mei joined their gathering. she laughed at the girl's remark, replying, 没事做. 

there was nothing worth hunting, no tracks to follow; the wolves were apprehensive at best and rude at worst. why hua chose to settle in these wilds, ying was unsure. she took a step back to make room for the embrace, finding herself disinterested in joining.

she warmly returned her sister's embrace, feeling whole again with the trio all in one place. part of her wanted to ask what they should do now that they were free. with freedom came uncertainty, & it was natural to fear the unknown. she looked to the sea and watched the waves crash violently onto shore, yet the sight calmed her. live in the moment, mei reminded herself.

我想我们都还是饿。您是否想再次尝试印章，还是我们会发现风险较小的东西? she asked. hunting wasn't her area of expertise, so she looked to ying for her input.

As she finished greeting Mei, she took a step back again. Huā nodded slightly at the girl's mention of hunger, feeling her own stomach pinching her. As the question of their hunt was asked, Huā turned her gaze upon Ying, knowing that the girl was the most reliable when it came to advice on this, considering her hefty experience with the trade. She would follow the girl's suggestion.

wrap this one? we can start another one so this doesn't make it to 30 replies lol

the spotlight fell onto the huntress's shoulders, her ears falling back in response. if one thing was true, it was thing ying quickly shrivelled under pressure. a breath was forced through her mouth to make up for the momentary silence.

我们应该尝试一些较小的事情, she finally replied. even with the three of them, it was a high risk hunt. the sea lions were probably just as starved as everyone else, increasing the danger. 鱼,也许. 

without waiting, the huntress giggled and took off down the slope, her destination being the fertile coast.

forgot it was my turn, oof. sure! i can make a new thread at totoka river.

relieved, she nodded when the huntress of the three suggested fish instead. she at least had some experience there, whereas tackling seals was daunting. ying dashed off without warning, giggling as she went. with an amused glance at her remaining sister, mei bounded after her.