Dragoncrest Cliffs Anglerfish

While the pale-faced girl hurried to find her perfect branch, Swordfish moved languidly. There never seemed to be a sense of hurry in his strides. Each step brought him to another stick. He inspected it with a few sniffs, sometimes pulling the bark from the sand to review its length, before he would move on and search for another one.

Suzu’s voice drew his ears to a sharp point. The young seafarer lifted his head in fear, worried that she had found something that might hurt her. When she shouted about a monster, his fur bristled. Where her snout was pointed, Swordfish’s head spun. He scanned the area where she had looked, stiffly standing beside a curiously gnarled branch. Presented with the image of a monster on their beach, he had completely missed the target Suzu had in mind.

There ain’t nothin’… he mused quietly. Deep blue eyes were still trained for signs of the beast she had spoken of. The young boy did not reach the possibility of a distraction until it was too late.