Coconut Grove Some boys kiss me

Even with great strokes of his wings, the long-legged bird was unable to fly out of her reach. With a soft thud, the coconut was dropped and the sprightly windhound was quick to pounce upon it, rotating it carefully with one tiny paw until the cracked edge faced the sky. With an aggravated sigh, she rolled her eyes. 

The meat of the coconut was covered in sand now. It would have to be washed before she could use it again and now, the snake-eater circled around her in an intimidating orbit. 

Kennel! She barked at the bird- a command the creature would not likely understand. Go -kennel- She enunciated, as if the instruction might be clearer if spoken twice. She picked up the sand-covered coconut shell then, and glanced toward the frothing surf. 

Fresh water would be better than salt water, she thought. Salt water would make her fur dry, split the ends even more. She glanced past the bird as he stalked around her, up the shore where she hoped to see an estuary, a river or some kind of watershed that spilled fresh water to the ocean, but could see none. At this point, it seemed a fruitless task- but she held onto the coconut shell not because it was useful to her, but because it was something the bird seemed to want, and keepaway had always been one of her vices.