Sea Lion Shores From my mouth I could sing you another brick that I laid

Setting: Sea Lion Shores.

The yearling—soon to turn two, just next month—decided to venture west for a drink from Totoka River. She preferred the taste of the water there; as long as she headed far enough inland, it was fresher than anywhere else in the surrounding territories. While there, slaking her thirst, she thought she heard something above the rush of the current and she lifted her head and pricked her ears even as she licked the last stray droplets of water from her jowls.

Intrigued, she found some shallows and crossed the river, then trekked in a parallel line, following the sounds. She wound up overlooking a stretch of beach veritably teeming with—Pied wasn't sure what they were, actually. She'd never seen a sea lion in the flesh before. There were so many—and they were so loud—that she hung back timidly, observing them and trying to decide whether it was worth it to venture closer.