Wheeling Gull Isle You Dream About Going Up There, But That is a Big Mistake

His remark caught her attention, and she turned, an amused smile growing over her maw without her volition. "Is that what they're called? Crabs? I've just been calling them pinchers." She waggled her right paw in illustration, feeling the sting anew. "They pinched me, once. I try to stay as far away from them as I can."

Maegi was grateful that he left the subject of her past far behind. There were few occasions that she wanted to talk about the Woods, even with her closest friends here. That would bring the trees alive once more, and it made the homesickness wash over her all over again. A pinch from a crab was superfluous compared to that ache in her heart.

"Do you, uh, wanna collect some shells?" she offered, cocking her head. "I'm sure you know more about them than I do." She wondered if they had any use, apart from being beautiful. Were they medicinal? Poisonous, even? These were questions that she'd have to lob his way; Maegi hoped he'd have answers for her.