Cerulean Cape Saltwater and seagulls

Her feet ached, her stomach ached, her whole damn body ached. At least the sand feels nice. Her first experience with sand wasn't pristine white, tropical beach. But it was new. Ever the optimist when it came to being stranded in difficult situations only she was responsible for, her need to complain was strong. 
The sound of water rolling up to the sand then flowing back into the great endless sea, and an occasional bird call accompanied her trek.

she found the beach after skirting several populated areas. drawn to the strange newness of sand and sea. For a moment forgetting the consistent hunger, that nagging companion since she began to wander alone. With an overly dramatic sigh she halted her walk, dropped to her side with a low grumble and spoke to the nearby rolling waves. "Good a place as any to starve to death"  far from starving, she never claimed she wasn't a drama queen. "At least there's plenty to drink."  I might even get one of those dumb birds too.

She left the hollow to see the ocean again as she had done before. It was as if the ocean was a siren, calling the beastly woman into the foamy waters. Krypton had been to the bayside before, she had met another wolf here, what was her name, Pearl? It seemed fitting, for only pearls were found within the sea.

Before she reached the sea side though, Krypton had decided to try her paw at fishing. She was lucky to catch 2 small fish which she gulped in a single bite. But the one she was carrying now was HUGE. She wasn't sure what kind of fish it was, but all she knew was that her hunger wasn't going to last after devouring this thing.

with a delightfully long stride trot, Krypton worked her way through the forest before reaching the bay, the Oceanside where birds called to one another and flew on breezes. The agouti somewhat meshed with her surroundings due to her coat being somewhat similar to the wet sand beneath her paws. Speaking of paws, her huge ones left trails in the sand as gentle tides lapped against them, as if they were trying to wash them away.

Krypton couldn't catch the scent of the younger girl quite yet, the smell of salty air was all she wanted to smell and could smell. If she could live at the seaside she would, but it would be too dangerous. There are limited ways to escape when the home front is nothing but an ocean with a limited beach. She held her fish firmly, knowing well that it had been dead for only a few minutes.

The low rumble of wave after wave slowly became as consistent as her heartbeat, broken by the odd bird call mixed in. The warm spring sun helped to relax her as she drifted in daydream. Seconds, minutes, hours, she wasn't sure how much time had passed when she came out of her revelry by a decidedly different scent caught on the salty tang of ocean breeze. 

Without moving she looked around, as much as was permitted without actually physically moving, which was to say she opened her eyes and blinked a bit. The unfamiliar aroma seemed closer than permissible given her circumstances. Had she blundered into someone territory? 
No, they were all behind her. But there was no mistaking the scent of another wolf. 

The silver child found herself caught somewhere between fear and curiosity. What if she had stumbled into a territory and didn't notice, was the creature a warrior coming to take payment from her pelt for trespass. Was this a trick of the wind, the vague smell coming from some distant creature? suddenly in the deep recess of her scarcely adult mind came a thought. Play dead. Brilliant idea! 

And with that she decided to keep laying still, quiet, and wait. Either someone would stumble past, and they'd ignore the dead thing, right?
or she was imagining it and no one was nearby.

closing her eyes she suddenly noticed just how itchy a flank could get, and wait--; Dead things didn't breath did they? "Crap" she muttered.

the gamma continued along the seaside, walking through the water at times and almost enjoying the chill it sent through her bones. krypton was never raised by the ocean, if anything, she never saw it as a child. if anything, she encountered perhaps only a couple times on her alone travels before she met the silvertip gang and everything. it was good to return to a beach she held some nice memories at. her long trot continued as the heavy fish dangled from her mouth, limp. in all honesty, krypton didn't really need the fish. she was so close to going back to her normal weight that it was almost unnecessary to eat. however, food could always become scarce like it did last year. she didn't need to suffer through another famine. so, it was a gift she thanked the stars for and would eat because she had already killed it.

but the more she traveled, the stronger the scent became, and soon enough, she stopped. the smell of a rouge made the gamma prick her ears forward, spike up her hackles and tail, and lift her overall carriage of herself. it was not to show her arrogance, but rather express that she was healthy, hearty, and ready to fight if need be. if wolves were smart, especially loners, they would know not to attack pack wolves as big as her. krypton's yellowish green eyes scanned the sand as she began to walk forward, a bit more carefully this time. it took her a couple of steps before she saw it, a hump of flesh and fur on the sand. it wasn't moving and looked to be the shape of a wolf. normally, krypton would've just steered away immediately and just left the wolf be. but something got the best of her and made her inch forward a bit more. perhaps, it was the new maternal feelings she had for Day's kids, perhaps it was jus an unknown force of curiosity.

well, whatever it was, she went for it. she was too far away to see if the wolf was breathing or not, but she decided once she was at least 10 feet away, she would call out. after walking forward a bit more, she dropped her fish onto the sand and opened her mouth. "hey, are you okay over there?" she called out loudly, though her voice was almost drowned out by the crashing waves and lapping tides.

She could try and hold her breath. It might work, or maybe they wouldn't notice. No sooner had she decided to take a gulp of air and hold her breath until the stranger passed she heard the voice over the breakers. Hey. ..there.
the words had an odd pause, was this one of those slow creatures she heard about?

she was small, and if anything she was likely to stay small, but that meant she was quick, and outrunning a slow wolf would a piece of cake, if they turned out to be both slow and aggressive. Seeing no harm, and inwardly pining for some sort of social contact she shifted her weight and slowly pulled herself up from the rough sand, a quick shake sent the invading bits of sand floating away. She took a moment to compose herself before she looked over the creature. 

Her golden-yellow eyes widened slightly at the sight before her, half from the fact this isn't what she imagined a slow wolf would look like, and half from the sizeable meal placed on the sand. The fish caused a slight twinge of her stomach. A quick lick of her lips followed before she returned her eyes to the wolf. It's pose wras slightly intimidating to the young female but then, she was intimidated by most everything here. But food. 

​"Me. Feint" she called slowly in return, having convinced herself that this was a slow wolf. Keep it simple, maybe she could snatch the meal and run.

krypton was definitely not a wolf made for speed, anyone could outrun if they pushed their limits. however, she was strong and had her stamina, she'd be able to chase them forever if she needed to. so if the small girl had the idea of stealing krypton's meal, krypton would run after her. it wasn't that she wanted the fish, but considering krypton was older than the younger female, she had some ideas of decency and respect. wolves didn't steal from each other unless they were on death's door. and the wolf in front of her didn't reek of blood or decomposing flesh.

she then saw the other stand up and call back to her. feint, was it? strange name, but so was hers. the older woman picked up her fish, walked over a couple more steps, then stopped once again. when she dropped it this time, her paw stood on the tail of the fish accidently. it wasn't like the fish knew pain anyways, it was already dead. krypton kept her high posture as her ears swiveled like radars. "why were you laying down? the tide's gonna come in soon." she was curious, what exactly was the wolf doing, napping?

sure, krypton enjoyed her naps too, but even she had boundaries to where she napped. she avoided anywhere near water or near the edge of the border.

A slight grimace appeared as the newly arrived female spoke, quite normally. 
The odd pause in between her first words were gone. Feint supposed she might have jumped to conclusions about the other wolves cognitive faculties. Of course no sooner had she began to think that did the creature ask about the tide. "Ti-de?" The world rolled off her tongue as she spoke. Uncertainty etched on her face. What was this tide she was talking about coming in. A quick look around the area confirmed they were seemingly alone. 

"Well, I don't know about any tide turning up here." she took a couple of small steps forward and speaking with a matter of fact tone, "besides, why would I be scared of a tide. they're not a big deal"  bluffing her way through the situation might work. Of course a Rocky Mountain creature, this was in fact the first time she'd seen a water body this big, and she had no real idea how it worked. 

Another twang in her stomach was followed by an almost instinctive glance at the food placed on the ground again. A single paw resting on it. "Besides, I was just resting before a decided to get a meal." Turning sidelong to the tawny creature as she spoke, if she didn't look at the fish, her stomach might stop rebelling at the emptiness it suffered through. As if to prove the point wrong she felt the grumble in her gullet.

it seemed that the fem was unfamiliar with krypton's verbiage, especially the word tide. she cocked a brow at her before just shrugging it off. the girl in front of her looked inexperienced, perhaps from her youth, or just the lack of actual teaching. whatever it was, krypton didn't really have the time to teach her about the wave system. at the remark, she could only just chuckle. "the tide is the wave that sweeps stuff back into the ocean, you don't wanna get caught up in that. you'll never escape the water, no matter how strong you are." the water and oceanside was a beautiful gift, no doubt, but could be really dangerous and go south in a second.

she had yet to see and actual wolf get caught in the tide, but that didn't limit the things she saw on her own. coyotes, often, were too dumb to realize the tide and before they knew it, they were swept up in one gulp and taken into the sea to drown. poor way to die, but she couldn't save them. all they would do is infect her with vicious bites and drag her with them to die. she had a long life ahead of her still and she wasn't going to give it up for a coyote.

"if i were you, i'd rest somewhere else unless you have a deathwish." she was straightforward with her answer, though she did tilt her head at the word meal. krypton had eaten enough for today, so she could spare her undeniably large catch to the girl who looked to be starving. now, krypton didn't have the sharpest hearing, it was about average, but that didn't mean she wasn't able to catch clues. the girl was obviously looking towards her fish. krypton picked it up in her large jaws, she cast a look of pity to the smaller female before nearly chucking the fish towards her, aiming to hit the sand in front of her paws. 

"you're probably hungrier than me," she said to her after.

The silver girl watched the dead fish land before her, accompanied by a soft thud. An almost desperate need to devour the fish threatened to rise up, mixed in with the desire to eat was a strange sense of guilt. The normally trusting girl looked back at the lady, cupped ears suddenly laying against her skull. "Do I look like a charity case?" The words tumbling from her mouth in short order, frustration causing a hint of menace, which in the small girl was likely to scare a cricket, not so much a full grown wolf. Besides, What kind of insane creature feeds someone not of their kin?

She stared for a moment longer at Krytpon, until her attention was torn away by the low grumbling in her stomach, accompanied by the typical stab of hunger. "Don't answer that" she grumbled, with a quick movement she dropped herself to the rocky sand and began devouring the meal in ernest. After her first gulp she managed to speak around her second mouthful. "Unt. som-wen. gon. be mav. you guv." Swallowing she continued "away a good meal to a random?" What were manners?

it appeared that her kindness wasn't going to be welcomed so easily, the flattening of the ears made krypton go on the offensive, a strange reaction from her. she'd normally contain herself as a pacifist but the snarky remark made her flatten her own ears and lift up her stature to flare her large and muscular body. however, she just let out a breath, the same way she did when chaska deserted her and the pack, then returned to a normal, more irritated posture and facial expression. she watched the girl soon devour it quickly, making the woman shake her head slightly. "whether you want my answer or not, you do. and count your lucky stars i decided to actually feed you,"  she chided with a swish of her tail as she stepped back, turning her gaze a bit to see where the sun was.

she had time to find shelter a little later before night fell. she didn't want to be stuck at sea and on the coast with some loner she never saw before. however, her food-filled mouth brought her attention back to her. krypton's yellow eyes remained locked on the female until her head tilted in the slightest manner. did she think krypton was going to get in trouble, all because she gave her a meal? the older woman hummed before shaking her head. "no one restricts the choices i make when i'm alone. besides, it isn't a crime to give to others who you are unfamiliar to." was this girl raised in a madhouse or something? giving to others should be met with enthusiasm (at a limit).