Ankyra Sound totem

Tiuttuk always appreciated an honest answer, though she had no idea what to say to Hakumele. It sounded like he was preparing for the end of his life. He spoke about it with such equanimity, Pie supposed she should take that as a cue. But she was still at a loss for words.

I wish you well, wherever life takes you, was all she could think to say in the end.

It sounded like a platitude, though the sentiment was genuine. Haku had put a chasm between them that could never be fully breached, though she harbored no ill will, particularly now that he’d apologized. If he wasn’t long for this world, Treepie genuinely hoped he found some measure of happiness and peace in his sunset.

What’s this? she asked suddenly, wading back out of the water to approach a shape just beyond the tideline.

She came to stand over it, staring as she tried to make sense of what she was seeing. It was actually several individual objects, each of them looking almost identical. They were all a deep shade of marine blue, with an opaque sort of flap down their centers. Each of these lappets drooped in a different formation. Whatever they were, they didn’t move or appear to be alive.

She tore her electric gaze away to look at Haku, wondering if he could identify them.