Sea Lion Shores she's the first in line at the party

there was a prickle along her spine, one she disregarded. muzzle hung low over the water's surface, inching downward at gaze sought out the same shadows and ripples she'd learned to look for in the ponds and rivers. the ocean was a different sort of beast, and silt obscured the shadows that may have been prey or floating weeds. there came the prickle again, the sound of sand underpaw. the chuff came a moment later and she peered over her shoulder at its source; a looming titan that seemed almost part of the sea and shore. "hello," the greeting came after a moment, and she shifted within the shallows so that she may better face him, but made no move yet to come to shore. he stood with quiet confidence. "you're the first I've seen along the shore. is it always so empty?" there was little of the life and light the had distracted from the vast stretch of these shores when she'd been here last; in the winter, drained of colour and life, it seemed almost desolate.