Cerulean Cape wave-wracked and wanton

To keep the flow of the thread going, I’ll be making another post fairly soon that will gloss over the hunting part so they can get at least one sea lion down and start bartering for their food. ^^ ♥ If you want to play out the whole hunting bit for trades, feel free to take down a second sea lion!

As the festivities wore on, the moon took on a sanguine blush — and the Cortens began to sing. Brontide threw back his head and howled, his deep, sonorous voice blotting out the hubbub; and Serein was quick to follow, her own aria taking on a more meandering tone as it wandered up and down the octaves. Even Coelacanth, who had no voice to speak of, tipped back her finely-sculpted head and went through the motions. A thrill danced up and down her spine at the rallying cry — “Come and hunt! Come to the water!” She stretched deliciously, casting the sand from her fur with one vigorous shake.

@Faeryn’s appearance was greeted with a particular amount of joy. Seelie bounced through the sand and flopped bonelessly at the blue she-wolf’s forepaws, wriggling appealingly. Another member of the council had returned to the fold — and during the Hunter’s Moon, too! Certain that this was an auspicious sign, the Groenendael turned as the hunters began to assemble, searching eagerly for their island —

— and at that very moment, another column of white spume coalesced above the mirrorlike sea, only to be followed moments later by the faraway crash of a whale’s tail breaking surface. “I guess we’ve got company,” Brontide murmured to his niece, who was already buzzing with excitement. “C’mon, tiny. Let’s get some food.”

Pitching his voice to carry, Brontide addressed the group. “Where we come from, there’s a taboo against killing sea lions,” he began conversationally, and proceeded to outline some of the stories his mother had told, revolving around the great creation myths that supposed all life came from the sea. He told them about the odd belief that seemed to belong to the Corten family alone — the belief that wolves and sea lions were cousins, in a way. “When the moon glows red,” he said, “steeped with the blood of the fallen, we consume our past to perpetuate our future.” Here he smiled benevolently at Catori in particular, for he’d always been quite fond of the @Spiritwalker and he knew what that telltale glint in her eye meant, but he didn’t linger long and extended this glance to Coelacanth.

“On this night only, we hunt the sea lion — and usually, it is the alpha female who handles the bartering part of things, but this year’ll be a little different. Normally we trade for our food, whether that’s telling a story, doing a dance, singing a song, being the fastest or the strongest in some type of contest, or finding something pretty on the beach.” He grinned toothily. “My sisters and I are in the habit of collecting stories or songs. If you’ve got any, we’d be keen to hear them. No pressure, though.”

When she judged Brontide had finished talking at long last, Seelie edged forward to draw the first sea lion toward the group. They could not be herded, but their territorial nature worked to her advantage, and almost too quickly, one of the younger cows spotted her slinking around and began lumbering after her.