Gyrfalcon's Keep There's an albatross around your neck

God damn, it was loud here. Phocion supposed that was his fault, disturbing the birds and all. But-- "Hey, stop that," he snarled, as one bird's beak came dangerously close to his left front shoulder. He trotted quickly away from the gyrfalcons, especially the cluster of nests made by the females, and reached the top of the summit, overlooking the sea.

It was a clear day, nearly cloudless, and the sunlight glimmered off the blue expanse of the ocean. Phocion sat and watched, deep in thought. He was feeling good after Steady and he had resolved their conflict. Not only that, but he was finally allowed to see the pups, and he was rising up the ranks of Silvertip. His ascension was accelerating.

A skinny little bird was a few feet away, pecking mindlessly at a fish nearly as big as it was that it had apparently snatched from the water below. "Good food?" he mused quietly to the creature. Its head shot up in alarm, but it relaxed and went back to eating as Phocion remained still, frozen on its haunches. He suddenly felt faint, vision going blurry, swaying in the wind. He had not had a bite to eat and days, all of his hard work going toward the young mouths in the pack. Phocion stared at the gyrfalcon covetously, mouth watering. If he were to continue hunting for his pack, he must have something to eat to keep up his strength.

"Sorry, buddy," he murmured under his breath. I'm talking to a bird, he thought cynically at the same moment as he pounced, landing on the small creature and breaking its neck with a satisfying crunch. Phocion began to tear into the bird, chewing down the meat and small bones and spitting out the feathers in distaste. For good measure, the remainder of the fish the gyrfalcon had been eating went down the hatch, as well. He licked his lips after he had finished, and continued to watch the sea, feeling a little more satiated and steady than he had a few minutes ago.

The top of the summit was a somewhat difficult trek for Anita. She had seen Phocion around these areas and decided to follow him this time. It wasn't that she wanted to watch him, but the ocean was a new experience that Anita couldn't wait to see. The she-wolf had mostly stuck to the forest and mountains during her past journeys. Something about the sea was simply breathtaking.

Anita craned her neck to watch as Phocion sat amongst a flock of gyrfalcons. Self-control stopped Anita's stomach from growling too loudly, but she was drooling a bit. Those birds looked delicious. Obviously, Phocion was just as hungry. Anita couldn't help but chuckle when she heard Phocion holding a brisk conversation with the bird before killing it.

Well, I blew my cover. Now he'll know I'm here. Anita's laugh had most likely given herself away, so she decided to go ahead and step out of hiding. The she-wolf padded silently up behind Phocion, sitting down towards the ocean.

"What a coincidence, I just happened to be heading up here and I see you are here as well." Anita figured Phocion didn't need to know that she was following him in desperation to see the ocean--as well as to have some company. Her stomach growled again, giving away her hunger as Phocion finished the last scraps of his kill.

Get it together Anita, we're all hungry. She gazed around, seeking a stray gyrfalcon or two. However, they had mostly flown off to an outcropping too far away to reach. Anita decided to focus on something besides her hunger and turned to Phocion.

"The ocean sure is amazing, isn't it?" She asked, gazing out to what seemed to be a never-ending expanse of water.

A chuckle of amusement came from behind, though he ignored it until he had finished eating. Spinning round slowly, he found Anita, watching him. He gave her a friendly smile in return, continuing to lick the remains of his meal from his chops. He gave the sea a sidelong glance before responding. "Oh yeah, it's gorgeous out there. Do you think it ever ends?"

What a stupid question, he chided himself, mentally rolling his eyes. Of course it ends eventually, you idiot. It has to, right? He recovered gracefully from his geography faux pas, adding, "I'm sure it ends somewhere, sure, but. . .where?"

He sounded like a complete fool. Pretty women usually brought that side out in him. He turned his head to look full on at the ocean, keeping his mouth shut until Anita decided to respond. It was a lovely day out here, truly. Summer agreed with Teekon, and the fresh, salty smell of the sea brought him renewed energy.

The roar of the ocean and the chattering of birds made it quite hard to hear, but she listened to Phocion's remarks despite this. "Sometimes I wonder where the ocean ends as well, it's quite mysterious, isn't it?" The furthest edge of the ocean Anita could see seemed like a small speck, and to think that there were miles of ocean beyond that was awe-inspiring.

She smiled at his question before, where he asked if the ocean ever ended. Truthfully, it didn't seem like a dumb question to Anita. It was understandable that a sight like this could bring up a question like that. "I do sometimes dream of going near the shore. Stepping in the sand and watching the waves just seems so enjoyable."

Anita gazed out towards the sea once more, watching the waves crash and roar. "I don't ask to chart every bit of the ocean or find its end, though that would be interesting," Anita chuckled. "Being able to walk along the shore, well, that's enough for me."

He smiled at her spoken desire to walk along the shore. "We can go sometime if you'd like," he replied, nodding toward the land directly below the keep. "No pack claims that beach down there." It was an interesting place, he had heard, full of birds, fish, and large, fat creatures he had heard called "sea lions."

Phocion realized he had heard a faint, grumbling sound from the vicinity around Anita's stomach. Of course, the girl must be hungry. They all were, at this point. "Would you like to join me in hunting more of these birds?" he asked. "I could use another bite to eat, and you need to keep your strength up."

Anita's ears perked, her eyes widening with excitement. She must of looked quite childish in that moment and shook it off. Gaining a calmer composure, the she-wolf spoke. "It would be nice to go down there some time," she added, glancing down at the roaring tides. Something about the ocean seemed to be both devastating and beautiful at the same time.

     "I would love to join you in a hunt," she said, standing up. She had seen a lot of birds around, large enough to provide a good meal. However, she had never hunted any type of bird whatsoever, and knew she would look like a fool.

    "Are there any...tricks you have found in hunting birds?" she assumed that's what they would be hunting since the population here was plentiful. She'd rather ask before the hunt instead of during it, seeing that her lack of knowledge could cause them to come back empty-handed.

Phocion couldn't resist a grin as Anita's expression became suffused with excitement at his mention of the beach. The white wolf preferred snowcapped mountains, but the warm sand on the beach was a pleasant change of scenery. Kicking up the stuff, and looking for treasures beneath, was not a bad way to spend the afternoon.

She agreed to the hunt, and Phocion rose to four feet, gazing around at the flock surrounding them. "They're flighty things," he noted, nodding up at one example, who had taken to the skies in a rapid flurry of feathers after a pelican attempted to steal his meal. "You have to be quiet, and fast. You really only get one shot with healthy birds. Wolves, unfortunately, have not yet learned how to fly."

He caught sight of a particularly intriguing specimen, who was busy picking idly at some fish bones just a few feet away. "That looks like a good prospect," he muttered out of the corner of his mouth to Anita, pointing his nose at the potential meal. Creeping some extra inches closer, Phocion was able to successfully nab the bird after a powerful pounce, giving the gyrfalcon a killing blow to the neck before carrying it back to Anita, its body dangling limply from his jaws.

"Look for duh oneth that are dithtracted," he mumbled through the mouthful of prey, then set the bird at his feet. "Good luck."

Success!

     The frantic flapping of wings surrounded Anita, and she strained to find a bird somewhere out of the crowd. If she managed to catch one in the flurry of feathers, it would most likely alert the others and all of them woulf fly away. After Phocion made his catch, Anita could see a gyrfalcon in the distance. It was a bit smaller than the rest, but still quite a large bird compared to others she had seen.

     "Quiet and fast?" Anita smiled, those were two things that she could actually do. The she-wolf couldn't help but laugh at Phocion's remark about wolves not being able to fly. It would be so much easier if wolves could fly, but the thought of it was almost comical.

     Anita turned her attention back to the gyrfalcon she had just spotted. It was hopping around some sort of corpse, picking at it absentmindedly. All the while, Anita slowly crept towards it. When she was close enough to pounce, the bird realized she was there. But it was too late. Anita pinned the gyrfalcon down, a flurry of wings flapping in her face. Feathers flew everywhere, and it looked like quite the disaster.

     Despite this, she managed to bring the bird back in her jaws, limp and still warm. "It was kind ofth a mess, but I got duh birdf," she laughed at how ridiculous she sounded, since she always tried to talk when prey was in her mouth. She dropped the bird carefully at her feet and looked up at Phocion, satisfaction in her eyes. "We were both were pretty successful, if I do say so myself."