Ankyra Sound lingcod

the bald exposure of granite jutting from the sand looked like an immense forgotten obelisk, or something of that nature, although it cut from the sand with a wide profile rather than an erect one; and as sulukinak came upon it, creeping as a flea across a giant's spine, she was granted a view of the surrounding beach that might have impressed her, once.

she didn't see anything of note. the tide was far from where it usually sat, and she knew from experience it wasn't a forever thing. there might be something worth eating in one of the drying piles of refuse left behind, and that's what drew her along the granite ridge.

gulls had the same idea, and this was what drew sulukinak's eye in the beginning. the sea birds contended with crows as they picked their way through bands of shell and weeds.

lafayette was a young man torn in two—distressed by goings-on in sapphique, yet feeling the pull of loyalty to his home.

the sound was close enough for comfort, though, and he traversed down the cliffs to search for shellfish and other tasty morsels. his arrival along the beach sent the birds scattering, and amid the flutter of white and black wings beating frantically into the sky, he caught the dark silhouette of another wolf.

with a chuff, he trotted closer, kicking up sand in his wake. she was alone (or so it seemed) but still a potential threat. his green eyes sized her up and down as he approached, chin lifted in friendly but firm query.

you be travelin'? lafayette asked her bluntly. passin' thru? 

this place was technically neutral territory, but it had always played an important role in his family's history, and he thought of it as a soft extension of sapphique's claim. strangers here always brought his hackles slightly up.

a sound cut through the distant cackle of gulls and the swarming sea; when sulukinak alerted to it, she saw a lean figure staggering across the sand and paused her approach, allowing the stranger to close some distance.

was this what she had hunted for? she did not know. there was a striking similarity to the cut of his body and her own - sea wolves, the two of them. that was where their sameness ended.

queried, sulukinak's nostrils flared and she found scents of many mixed with the stranger, and above all the saline of the ocean.

best to be careful.

hunting. the shadow motions with her chin to the winged swarm peppering the beachfront, keeping her eyes trained upon the other wolf. tension affixed her there upon the sand, coiling in her haunches, in case she should bolt.

hunting. she technically had the right to do so here, though it felt wrong, given all that had transpired in recent days.

that said, lafayette could eat. he needed to eat, if he wanted to keep up his strength on the journey inland.

can i join you? the boy asked. what you be huntin' for?

he was good enough at snaring various shellfish, though the fish in the shallows still eluded him. he was also secretly happy for the company; he didn't know how much of it he'd have on the road.

it seemed a dull question.
egg, she answered after a too-long beat; bird, crab... seal? but she didn't know if seal came this far south from the cold places. the stranger appeared guarded, perhaps they knew the area and were defensive of it? they would know if bigger prey could be caught.

sulukinak did not dissuade them from sticking around. it would be easier with the two of them.

lots o' crabs, lafayette remarked, nodding. oysters an' urchins, too, in de pools. dunno 'bout seals. his ruddy shoulders lifted and fell in a shrug, his expression fading into something resembling a smile.

he moved forward, looking at the sea, and then back at the woman. 

your name? the boy asked. and where you be from? 

while he waited for her response, he began to snuffle along the beach, looking for anything of note that had washed up. perhaps better to go into the shallows, he thought, and stepped into the water.

the surf was cold and crisp against his ankles, and for the first time in days, he felt some measure of peace in the swirling waves.

her ears twitched when the stranger spoke again, and she listened intently—but she did not know oyster, or urchin, and thought maybe they were said in a language she did not know.

the stranger prowled, and soon sulukinak was climbing down from the stone butte to also skulk about the beach. she could smell lots of salt, of course. the saline and dry weed scent was too pervasive for her to find much else, and had to huff a few times to clear her snout of the invasive aromas.

the questions were answered absently, sulukinak.. i follow caribou.
an odd sound caused her to lift her head, and she saw then the ginger-and-soot boy was walking in the shallows of the tide. she hurried along the path he had left behind, but kept from the water herself.

you are saltborn? sea wolf.