Ankyra Sound totem

She raised her paw to her mouth, grabbing the sand dollar carefully in her teeth. Treepie then spun, trotting out of the water and pausing just beyond the reach of the tide to give herself a good shake. She planned to head back to the grotto, eager to see what the little boy and girls thought of the “sea cookie.”

“Treepie,” a familiar voice called out from somewhere behind her, “is that you?”

Her head snapped around, her teeth unwittingly clenching and breaking her prize into pieces. Pie’s stomach sank as she gingerly spat them onto the dry sand, though her head swiftly raised to behold—

Haku?

Her yellow eyes bored into him. Tiuttuk didn’t know what to make of him. She had been fond of him once, though that had been long ago, before his wayward daughter had turned up and Hakumele himself had vanished soon thereafter. She remembered worrying about him and felt her jaw clench a second time. He was clearly just fine.

You didn’t even say goodbye, she said, her bitter tone feeling justified.