Oystercatcher Tide Pools rock lobster

as he explains she listens intently, following the subtle movements of his teeth at the shell's lip. such labor for such a small sustenance, she thinks, but does not say aloud, patient in her observations of his work. when at last it is open he offers it to her; it is unshareable despite their conjoined efforts at retrieving it. "i'm not sure," she admits, her tongue running against her lips automatically. 

she leans forward anyway, bending as she does so she might delicately hover over the shell. curiously hamartia runs her tongue against the meat. it is surprisingly flavorful, salty but crisp, herbal almost. the meat itself has a strange bounce to it, not unpleasant, though she isn't sure how to pull it free without taking the surely inedible shell with it. her gaze briefly flickers to govinda for potential insight as she rearranges herself, her paw cradled against the shell to try and pin it to the ground as she grasps at the meat with her teeth. surprisingly it gives easily, her mouth momentarily filled by a burst of salt, like eating ocean given solid form.

"it's better than i expected," she says, looking up at him as she licks her lips. "though perhaps a better treat than meal." smiling, hamartia rises from her crouch, and cuts to the point: "will you be staying on the coast? in your coconut grove?"