Stavanger Bay There's nothing like you and me on the beach

Oh my Vellamo, Quell thought as she perched on the cliffs overlooking the lavish bay, now that's a view! "And I bet the bay's full of seafood," she said out loud to the otter currently wound tightly around her right foreleg. Frolic clutched at her and she grinned down at him, an expression that was somehow fiendish and fond all at once. "C'mon, let's go down there," Q suggested, bending to let Frolic latch onto her neck and shoulders.

Carefully, she picked her way down to the beach, dark toes sinking into the soft sand. Her pale eyes scanned to the left, toward the familiar pounding of the surf, then panned to the right, where the dunes gave way to sea grass and the land sloped further inland. This place felt very insular and Quell felt strangely comfortable and at home here. She didn't make too much of the sentiment as she trotted toward the place where sand met sea.

Frolic leaped down from her back, bouncing joyfully toward the foamy waves, and Quell smirked as she watched him dive into the water and disappear. If she looked, she would see his head pop up somewhere as he surfaced for air between dives. But she didn't keep watch, instead swiveling and loping along the water's edge. She dropped her head to skim, searching for anything of interest and ignoring the dull pressure in her temple that meant a migraine was coming.