Blackbeak Bluff why'd they roll out that last genesis update

@Zero ? @Frontier ? @Sorcerer ? all three of u ??? *eyebrow waggle*

damn, that kid put him in a tight spot.
do this, do that.
beats being back at home,
or sleeping in the dirt.

he's managed to fill his belly
with the last of that seal he wrangled.
poor guy,
it was almost dirty --
come up ashore to whelp out
cayetano grabs the whelp,
the mom lunges,
and it's all over.
life ending before it begins.

he supposes there's worse fates
then finding your windpipe crushed in
choking out on your own oxygenated blood
is one of life's little ironies:
killed by the red liquid meant to nourish you.

his errand draws him south.
there's a salty tang on the wind
riddled with something a little off:
a body somewhere, he had to guess.
turns out he's not so hungry
his stomach's been off ever since that night
even now it protests
as he zigs and zags along the bluff
searching
with one ear trained back.

it has been a long time. the first post is always the hardest. pardon me.

desperation drew him to the coast, though his aimless wandering betrayed his lack of purpose.

blood, fresh, — !

but he quickly found his hopes dashed against the stone face below. it would go on like this for miles. he could tell. just something about it.

might as well get going, then. he scavenged a bone from what was left. maybe if he worried at it, he could trick his twisted stomach.

he kept moving until that damp crawlspace smell of decay started feeding in from the tide. until he saw that stranger … hmmm,

better stay still, he thought, but he knew there wasn’t a chance he hadn’t been caught.

thank u for joining!! <3

two souls conveyed on a shore, and i—
nah, fuck it. cayetano sees the familiar shape,
cousin, interloper, vagabond, grey —
he squints.
its not the man from the sound,
so he earns a little less suspicion.

still the scent of rot and decay
floats around them in death’s brutal bouquet.

hey, how goes it stranger?
a little lyrical, a little wary —
listening for any cue
that might tell him this stranger
is sooner friend than foe.

and thank you for the tag! it was nice to come back to that.

caught.

that was an interesting thought. guilty conscience?

maybe so.

the stranger came calling. friendly. wary. let’s meet the new neighbors but not get too friendly with ‘em.

the bones of his jaw worked ‘round the bone in his jaw before he let it fall to his filthy paws. he’s older than this one, maybe, but none the wiser. still, there is something about this he doesn’t like.

maybe it’s the thought of those bluffs, the ceaseless roaring thunder beneath that drop that could swallow them both. he let himself believe that it was just unfortunate circumstance that stole the life from whatever was fermenting there.

hey there, with an implied stranger or maybe partner. but i’m not your buddy, guy. better not to be too familiar. some folks were just real funny about that kind of thing, and frontier had been traveling too long to give some hell back if this one wanted to go on and start something.

you stole my line. cringe. fuck. he knew it as soon as it left his mouth.

maybe he should just quit while he’s ahead. i’m lookin’ for somethin’ to eat. doesn’t have to be much of anything, just better’n that. he gestures towards the source of the rotten smell. i haven’t seen it but i don’t got to.

another hungry predator
that's the biggest inconvenience of life,
cayetano thinks.
you never stop having to eat
to drink
to stop and refuel.
would it be nice if you could just
keep on churning
without ever having to rest.

this stranger's affable enough
he grins at the purloined line
still doesn't let his guard down.

there's a dead seal back that way,
he motions in ankyra's direction
tell you what --
he thinks of the girl,
the suspicious boy
and shoots his shot.

i find you food, you come with me.
what do you know about sapphique?

i find you food, you come with me.

for what, exactly? maybe it isn’t right to be so suspicious. but frontier hadn’t shown himself to be smart or resourceful in their short exchange. and besides, this stranger had already given up everything he wagered. he could just scavenge some later if he wanted to. but the truth was, if he kept on like that for much longer, he wouldn’t be around to keep on like that for much longer.

he shifts his weight. at least appears to think about it. call it curiosity. his stomach coiled at the promise of a meal.

okay. frontier walks towards the stranger.

i don’t know what that is.

the stranger is wary,
but in the end affable 
good. 
things were hard enough alone
he could use company
a pull or a beacon 
to bring him back to civilization. 
it’s a pack, that way.
he gestures to the sea battered cliffs 
civilization, just out of reach. 
turns out there’s a price to pay for entry,
and food isn’t good enough.
i’m cayetano, by the way.
he makes a motion that says follow me
tracing the scent of ptarmigan 
as he ducks under winter heavy canopy.