Gilded Bay keep your proud head from falling

@Eden; set a day or two after meeting Deirdre

The shoreline was still half a mile off, interrupted by rolling hills. From where she stood, Muses was at an advantage, peering out from a high, grassy rise. She wandered closer, without urgency, taking her time to understand her settings. This was a very strange place indeed. The air was still uncomfortably thick, but the sharp breeze offered some reprieve. On it, she could taste the unique smell that lingered, from the strange waters of the ocean that Deirdre had described to her. She wanted to get a closer look, to see for herself, but the rolling waves frightened her. She had never had to swim through such violent waters. The lakes and rivers she knew were usually idyllic, and all sides of the shore were visible from wherever she was. The ocean was vast and impossible to understand or seemingly predict.

The world around her was a symphony of bird calls and insect noises. She found the sharp squawks to be irritating, but as she wandered away from the hill and towards the bay, she gradually became used to the cacophony, and learned how to ignore the bright flashes of orange hues that sparked in the corner of her vision like fireworks. The hilly, rocky shore seemed to be a popular place among the avian, but Muses like the little pools of water that she came across. They were shallow, but filled with life, full of strange creatures she had never seen in her life. Without taking a look back from whence she came, the young wolf began a new game of finding paths among the rockpools, trying to keep dry as best as she could. When her dainty paw slipped into a shallow puddle, she was quick to retrieve it, cautiously lifting it to her maw. She gave it a small sniff, peering around cautiously. When she was certain that she was completely alone, she stuck out her tongue, and licked the water from her paw. Ech! Muses recoiled in disgust, nearly falling backwards into the pool behind her. The taste of the water was overwhelming! It clung to her tongue in an awful way, for she had not anticipated that it would taste so salty. Shaking her paw apprehensively, she wondered how anything could live in such salty conditions.