Stavanger Bay with flowers in the sunshine

aw! tags for visibility but also an invitation, feel free to pop in

sandpiper woke with a jolt, alone in the small den. it was high noon and the sound of the sea mutely droned on outside, interrupted occasionally by the snarl of wind. she no longer heard the concerning roar of those otherworldly birds - sandpiper had first seen them a few days ago, and assumed they were predators. they concerned her enough she had not resurfaced from the den whilst they flew overhead.

she paused at the entrance of den, listening carefully. assured they were no longer overhead she weaseled out into the sunshine with a liberal stretch of her limbs and loud yawn. @Smokestep's scent was not too stale, and she thought @Raptor's seemed fresh too -- curiously she wondered if @Rosalyn was still around (maybe if she was lucky, one of those ugly birds had picked her up and eaten her). as she nosed along the strand she thought she scented some newer scents as well; @Engel's were new to her, and she was surprised as @Dakini's scent rifled from the sand. she stopped in her tracks and looked down the beach, as if expecting them to show up any minute now.

"WHO WAS SNORING!?"

Raptor hollered as he dragged his heels down the bay. He heard the noise clanging off the walls of a nearby cave but as he was in said cave he never did see what the source of it was. "'Piper!" He called out as he spotted his fiery hued crewmate. "Did ye hear that racket?" The corsair asked as he made his way toward her.

He was still agitated over his run-ins with the not-a-Cairn. It bothered him. It felt like ants in his fur. But it did not show too much — he thought at least. His swagger was lazy and his expression a bit less animated and grinning. But Raptor felt he was doing a good job of masking how completely out of sorts he was feeling by keeping busy.

"What are ye doing anyway? Have ye met the newbies?"

replying bc im bored but anyone is welcome to pop in

raptor's voice punctured the air keener than any helicopter blade; sandpiper swerved round to face him. he had always been a tall glass to drink, but this time he looked a little off. sandpiper apprised him ruthlessly, raking her eyes from the bandit-mask that wrapped his face all the way down his long, darkly furred legs.

"you look chipper." came the curt announcement, followed by a somewhat less clipped: "did you see them? those birds in the skies?" she pressed her muzzle low and pulled her ears to the side, glancing about them with a rare form of doubt. truly, their black forms terrified her and all talk about meeting the newbies was forgotten as she pressed on. "i've never seen them before."

Sandpiper seemed able to read him like a ship's manifest. Raptor kept a straight face. He reckoned that if he never confirmed her assessment that she would assume it to be an error. He rolled his shoulders. "I was in a cave," he said. "I heard somethin' but I never seen nothin'." He could tell she seemed uncomfortable and he saw a perfect opportunity to distract any and all attention from his own discomfort. Raptor looked overhead and saw the usual things: stray clouds and a few wheeling gulls.

"I don't see anything different." He stated. "But don't worry, I'll protect ye from any loud and frightening birds..." He managed an impish and toothy grin.

while sandpiper might have intuitively picked up he was listing, she just as quickly forgot it -- she was easily distracted and ultimately quite self-serving, so when the conversation shifted from raptor's underweather demeanor to the very-scary, very-imminent birds above, she forgot entirely about it. sorry raptor, your side-chick just happens to be very vapid and very self-absorbed.

with a flinty scowl in raptor's direction she turned her attention skyward for a moment, her gaze browsing along the long tendrils of bright cirrus clouds with scrutiny. the one thing the strange aerial predators had that worked in her favor was she could always hear them (and feel them) long before she saw them -- which gave her enough time to flee for cover should she need it.

she scoffed at the notion raptor could protect her from the blackened things -- they were like giant, angry flies -- maybe mixed in with fat orca and terrifying eagle. nothing about their presence looked like they did anything but efficiently kill. "you couldn't." sandpiper contested, another roll of her eyes given as she started to walk towards the shallow shores where seals often rested. "how could you not see them? what were you even doing?" suddenly she leveled an accusatory stare at him - was he seeing other women? HOW DARE!

Raptor followed automatically — he was swinging from one distraction to the next like an alcoholic trying to avoid a bottle and that was not too far from the truth. The pirate's hankering for rum was all the more perpetual in his upset, and that alone contributed to his murky mood. If he could have had a couple mouthfuls at least of that sweet nectar it would have smoothed the waves over and made his seas all the more navigable.

"Err..." Raptor backpedalled as she accused him of something. "I was just lookin' around..." He said, wrinkling his snout and narrowing his eyes in offense. "Why do you care?" He fired back suddenly, instantly regretting his biting words the moment they sprang loose from his tongue. His ears flung back on his skull in ruefulness but his defiant expression was stubbornly stuck.

sandpiper would have been positively choked with umbrage if she knew raptor held counsel with rosalyn -- as it was, she wasn't omnipresent, nor was she all-knowing -- so any resentment she had for him was 100% manufactured and made by her own persnickety little imagination. it appeared raptor hadn't appreciated the allegation, for he reciprocated her level stare with a mutinous expression all his own.

well, another day, another way sandpiper's mouth got her in trouble. this was hardly news.

"it was just a joke." (it wasn't). sandpiper countered flippantly, though the oily thought that it was mightily suspicious he got so defensive suddenly snaked its way into her mind and made her more suspicious. well fuck. "what's your malfunction?" she suddenly spoke, feeling huffy that her not-joke had not been taken as a joke because it wasn't actually joke and god men were stupid.

Raptor bit his lip and puffed his cheeks and in doing so might have appeared to be a beached sculpin with a mug only a mother could love. But he had to. Somewhere at the back of his throat and crawling onto his tongue was an apology, and a confession of all the petty things that were bothering him. He refused to go there. He wanted to feel good about himself. He wanted to feel like a winner. He did not want to play the role of a butthurt whelp in need of consolation.

"I don't have one," he countered lamely after a long exhale. He wanted to take a jab at her; but he knew his aggression was misplaced and felt a hot iron of fresh guilt pierce his ribs. This was his crewmate and friend. Raptor sighed. "I've just been... you know. Tryin' to help get the ship in order. I even did a bit of recruitin' for us! Have ye met her? Roz?" He dared to grin and wag his tail, not knowing that he probably just lit the short fuse of a firecracker.

raptor's puffed cheeks and dark scowl would have normally evinced a smirl from sandpiper, who found the expression comically ugly -- except sandpiper had just accidentally stumbled through a thought corridor she shouldn't have: raptor with other wimmins. like a petulant fourteen year old school girl obsessing over her new crush, sandpiper found her feelings hurt for no reason. she didn't even want raptor that way (and at present, lacked the faculties to even engage with him that way) but it didn't mean she wanted to share him with anyone either.

especially not rosalyn. her ears flew forward in both surprise and annoyance, and she sat down in the sand with a prim plop of her haunches. she looked to the stormy beach for a moment, her expression equally as unfavorable. "rosalyn?" she asked softly, still refusing to meet his gaze.

Raptor's ears drew back and the corners of his mouth sagged. He expected a different reaction (this seemed to be a common folly with Raptor). He thought recruiting a seafaring lass to the crew was a notable contribution... sooner or later perhaps he would learn that bringing women back to the crew (read: Sandpiper) was not a good idea.

"Uh..." he hesitated, brows furrowing as he leaned forward and attempted to steal her gaze. Instead he found himself looking squarely at the side of her head. "Yeah? Do ye not like 'er? She seemed like a good fit t'me."

even though she stonily looked ahead, sandpiper could see raptor's dark visage swim in her peripherals. he leaned in, attempting to catch her attention. sandpiper would have none of it, and childishly looked further down the beach and away from his pressing presence. she caught the wrinkled confusion on his brow and it only entrenched her further.

if a wolf could cross her arms (and/or her legs), sandpiper would have been that terrifying vision of a thin woman sitting in a chair, arms crossed with one slender hand lifted to her sharp face as she drew from the hellish orange end of a cigarette. her eyes cross, her lips pursed. raptor was lucky she was just a wolf, otherwise she would have flicked the burning embers in his eyes and stormed off on slick red heels.

"too cocky." she answered coolly, still staring down the beach. of course he would like her -- and sandpiper worked herself up into a hysteric fit thinking of rosalyn oozing around raptor like the corpulent tendril of a jellyfish.

Raptor was a young and inexperienced wolf despite the things he claimed. The odd time that it seemed he understood the opposite sex was usually a fluke. This was not one of these times. The silence that fell between him and Sandpiper and the tight draw of his mouth was evidence to his ignorance. The sable wolf simply blinked at his companion while he mentally tried to solve a puzzle that he only had a piece of.

Raptor let his ass drop to the ground and slumped. He was teetering on the edge of spilling his guts about how much of a failure he felt like he was. It was a culmination that had begun long before he met her and it was becoming more than he could bare. But for now he kept himself checked.

"You're all mad and I don't get it." He huffed.

sandpiper continued her cold stare, as if whatever distant thing she focused on somehow held more interest than the poor soul before her. she would have had to have been chiseled from stone to not notice the tapering defeat that seemed to linger in his voice despite the huff that trailed the end of his statement. inwardly she knew she was being outrageously unfair, but it was too deep in the game now to possibly do anything but batter up.

the way he said it got to her too, like she had hurt him. like he was vulnerable. reluctantly she rolled her gaze to him, her jaw tightened in response. "it's fine." she said, dismissing it with a flick of her head as if she were cracking her neck. "that's good you got someone." she added, a feeble attempt to patch up the giant hole she had punched in the wall of their very weird and stiff conversation.

He lifted a single brow and fixed Sandpiper with a disbelieving look.

"Got a funny way of tellin' me I did a good job," he said. Raptor chewed the inside of his cheek and shifted his weight to lean on the other paw. It had felt strange to say that. He wanted her approval but he would never admit it and saying what he did came a little too close. Once more, he regretted not biting down on the first sentence to form on his tongue. Especially since he sensed that Sandpiper was making an effort of some sort and he was not letting her off easily.

Raptor looked down the coast with a long exhale, turning his head away from Sandpiper. He had an intense need to confide in her — he carried some long repressed desire to belong and to be understood — and Sandpiper had somehow weaseled her way into becoming as a trusted friend... but lol that was not going to happen.

"I think..." Raptor started to say as he got to his feet. "I think I am going to try to kiss a shark." Annnnd with that spectacularly immature and nonsensical comment, he started to walk away.

sandpiper didn't meet his gaze, but she did turn to face him now -- his brooding features were held in the corner of her eyes. it was obvious now that something was bothering him, and she felt a little (only a little) like a dick for being so cold to him before. part of her wanted to nuzzle his necky wecky and said it would all be ok :v but the other, more rational (was it tho) part of her insisted on keeping her distance -- she was too proud a creature to relent now.

she looked to him as he started to speak and fancied there was some twinge of sad rumination to his words -- and then he said something nonsensical about a shark. her ears whipped forward and she abruptly stood upright, flagging her tail over her hips with a cocksure and ardent gesture. "the fuck you are." she huffed, trotting right after him. once she caught up she tried to roughly jostle him. "why you wanna go kiss a shark for? aint gonna make you any uglier." she grinned, casting him a sly look to reassure herself her humor was appreciated.

OHAI YOU RANG!?
Lemme know if this ain't coo

After recruiting Dakini, Rosalyn roamed the surrounding territories a bit, seeking out willing souls but finding only some weird wolf-like creature in the process.  Not a thrilling find, all in all, but she was glad to have another friend on this bit of sand anyway.  She hadn't met the others yet, but as things stood, only Sandpiper had issue with her so far.  Not too bad, not too bad at all.

The copter noises woke her, a roaring that was definitely not the normal sort of morning chorus.  She didn't see the  cause, but hunkered down until the sound had passed.  It put her teeth on edge, and unlike some, Rosalyn wasn't a fan of chasing odd noises.  If life entered some sorta weird horror flick situation, she intended on being one of those who made it out alive.  Or whatever the hell the wolf equivalent to that would be.

When she did venture out, she figured a run on the beach would be keen.  And when she saw her old buddy Raptor, she called out a cheerful "Hoy!"  Before, of course, noticing his company and slowing to a stop prematurely.  Welp.  If it wasn't her favorite.

Sorry I'm late! Lemme know if this is okay lol

As the girl trotted towards the ocean, her eyes kept looking up, muscles tense. Those things were not unfamiliar to her. She wanted no part of them. The sound of them made her blood run cold. Stopping to give her body a full shake, her fur stood on end for a minute before settling down. The air made a smile come upon her face as her muscles relaxed. Something about the salty air had become a calming presence. She had missed it while she had travelled through the woods.
Sniffing the air again, her tail began to swish as she caught Rosalyn's scent. She then quirked her eyebrow at the realization she wouldn't be alone. Quickly, her small pads made almost no dents on the ground as she followed her nose. Her eyes lit up as she saw her, yet slowed down as she saw the others. Should she? Staying back, she sat down a small ways from them and watched, seeing Rosalyn about to talk to one of them. She curled her tail around her paws and waited to talk to her.

It was a stupid comment; just another ingredient in his sour soup.

Raptor slicked his ears back as he stalked off in search of a shark's mouth — or another hole to die in. But Sandpiper was at his heels and bumping into him before he made three paces. He tried his damndest to keep his mouth tight and preserve his scowl, but there was a flicker of a smile playing at the corner of his mouth that eventually split into a toothy grin. He was about to take a snap at his companion's ear to see if he could rouse her to a scuffle when the party bus arrived.

"Hey, Roz," Raptor greeted, casually stepping away from Sandpiper to peer around the earthen she wolf at the paler figure that followed behind her at a distance. "Who's that?"

For the moment, all of Raptor's issues were stowed below deck.

all traces of sandpiper's smile positively withered off of her thin muzzle as she looked up, interrupted by the arrival of her least favorite sea wench. a stony expression quickly coalesced her features and she looked to raptor coldly before trailing back to rosalyn with an inimitable scowl. their banter was forgotten in rosalyn's presence -- all sandpiper was aware of now was asserting that she was the big bitch around here. she had the sneaking suspicion that rosalyn would undermine her left and right, and sadly, wasn't smart enough to conceal her insecurities in front of the more intrepid, experienced woman.

her gaze flickered to the figure in the distance, recognizing it as that very weird mix that had so rudely called her a hermaphrodite. her posture stiffened and she looked back to raptor with a sour expression, as if she were some kid in class that had been instructed to share her favorite toy. no!  MINE!!

she closed the gap that raptor put between them almost possessively, and snapped rosalyn an unwelcome expression as she petulantly waited for rosalyn to introduce her (equally unwelcome) friend.

"Hey."  Rosalyn glanced back, initially confused by the question, but that clarified when she saw her newfound friend had snuck in behind her.  Lovely!  The calming vibes from behind offset some of the spite she felt radiating from a silent Sandpiper, a wolf Rosalyn was bound and determined to ignore at the moment.  Maybe she was unable to hide her own distaste, but Rosalyn knew better.  She needed to bide her time if this was going to work out.

Keeping her eyes on Raptor with an easy smile, Roz nodded back to Dakini with an inviting look.  "This is my new friend, Dakini.  She's joined on."

Sorry it's taken me this long! ;-;

As she watched the male peek over Rosalyn's shoulder, she smiled at him and dipped her head, yet curiousity was growing, and her ears cupped forward to see if she could hear the conversation. Too far away, her tail twitched as she watched. Their voices were only a murmur to her, and for a moment, her gaze was drawn to the sea, her stance softening a bit as the salty air hit her lungs. It was beautiful, dangerous, treacherous. Reminded her of her home. Yet instead of an expanse of browns and dirt, hills and valleys, it was an expanse of blues and salty liquid, waves and currents. She turned towards the ocean, their conversation fading into the background for a few moments as she closed her eyes and smiled, taking in another deep breath of air.
Hearing her name, her eyes opened, and she turned her head towards the others. She saw Rosalyn looking at her, so she gracefully trotted over, her tiny paws quiet over the ground. She smiled at Rosalyn and swished her tail, her eyes bright. ¡Hola! ¿Como es mi amigo? Es tan bueno verte de nuevo. Glancing at the others, she quirked her brow at the wolfess, amused by how protective...no, more like possessive she was acting over the wolf. 
Smiling at the male, she nodded her head slightly, her smooth voice taking on her native accent. My name is Dakini. It's nice to meet you. Rosalyn introduced me to Smoke earlier.
Her head swung towards Rosalyn, eyes inquisitive. ¿Están con nosotros? la he conocido antes. El, no. Smiling a little too sweetly at the wolfess she had met before, she spoke. We have met before, yet I'm not sure we introduced ourselves. What is your name? La llamo la Belleza Desagradable. The quickly Spanish was for Rosalyn, although the girl's eyes were bright with curiousity as she sat down and curled her tail around herself.

Translation: "Hi! How is my friend? It's so good to see you again." "Are they with us? I have met her before. Him, no." "I call her the Obnoxious Beauty."

It's too bad that Raptor was too boneheaded to take note of Sandpiper's almost-possessiveness of him, or to put it together with her earlier reactions when Roz' name came up, because he would have been endlessly amused by it. Instead he was focused on the new wolf. Something about her seemed off but he could not place it... until she spoke and he immediately and rudely declared "it's broken! Send it back!"

It was not actually her second language that was throwing him; it was her ancestry. But her foreign words stole all his attention and he narrowed his eyes upon her and flicked his tail in an agitated way. He relaxed the tiniest bit when she reverted to the common tongue, only to bristle again when she switched back. This was the first time he had encountered another language, but he quickly decided he hated it and resented how she seemed to be telling secret things to Roz in front of him and Sandpiper. Rude!

Resisting the urge to mock her tongue because if she was a crew member he had to play at least a little bit nice, Raptor could only look to Roz like what the fuck?

sandpiper stiffened in rosalyn's company -- it disgruntled her how likable the older woman seemed. she just had friends everywhere, didn't she? her affable nature prickled feelings of intense dislike in sandpiper. she had been part of the "crew" for so long, and the only girl -- this addition threatened the status she had clawed for herself as one of the "boy's girls" and she childishly harbored resentment for it.

she didn't like the mix either, though it was not because of her ancestry. as raptor's posture shifted in agitation, sandpiper's followed suit -- the two of them momentarily looked like spooked cats. sandpiper stared somewhat nonplussed as the wolf started speaking in tongues again, her scruff hackles flaring. she was glad raptor took offense to it too, it made her feelings of dislike feel vindicated. "she's touched." sandpiper remarked cruelly, looking for any scrabble-hold to assert herself in the situation. she didn't want to give the wolf her name but begrudgingly obliged if only because one of the other two could undermine her refusal to play along by offering it. "sandpiper."

Rosalyn gave a quick laugh at Dakini's sentiment, though kept it brief.  If it had been only Piper there, she might have milked the situation for all it was worth; excluding her entirely from their shared language.  But she saw Raptor's look, and didn't want to alienate the captain's second (a wolf she'd formed some of a friendship with) if she didn't need to.

"Es apropiado.  No les importa." She said as an aside, not at all appreciating the ribbing.  Generally jokes were alright, but for some reason the tone got her hide up.  She let it go; no use stirring shit up right now.

"Yes, they are with us.  Raptor is Smokestep's second."  She looked back at them.  "Her native home is similar to my own," Rosalyn said somewhat pointedly.  She wasn't sure why the assumed teasing of her language got her so badly; probably because it had been years since she herself had spoken it.  "She's still getting used to the seadog talk."

Their reaction was not lost on the girl, and she felt her insides heat with anger at the way they had spoken about her native tongue. Flicking her ear in irritation, her stance remained calm with the only appearance of any type of emotion was a slight bristling of her hackles. Rosalyn's voice calmed her, and she sat down, wrapping her tail around her feet.
The wolfess surprisingly spoke her name, and she grinned lopsidedly. Her name fit her well. Yet she did little more than nod at her, a cool look in her eyes. Glancing to the man, she wanted to huff. A second in command who was ignorant? She took a deep breath, trying to rationalize it out. He probably had never wandered far from the coast, so she shouldn't be surprised at the fact that he hadn't heard her language. Her tail twitched in annoyance at his reaction, tho. To react like that...She spoke, keeping her voice even as she smiled slightly. I grew up in a desert. As she said, I'm not used to this...seadog talk.
The word felt strange on her tongue, and she hoped she had said it right in front of the other. She would have to prove herself, and her eyes brightened with determination as ideas crossed her mind. The desert is beautiful, yet it's the danger and excitement of the sea the calls to me now. Laughing softly, she looked between the three of them and smiled, an odd glint in her eye. The waves are calm, yet underneath, the danger waits. The beauty is in the danger, yes? 
She smiled widely as she stood and shook herself. Her fur stood out for a moment then settled. It's nice to be welcomed so... enthusiastically. I will try to match your excitement and warmth for newcomers with all that I meet, for it is...unmatched. Her eyes were a bit too bright, her voice a bit too sweet as she spoke, looking between Sandpiper and Raptor, swishing her tail slightly. She didn't want trouble, yet they had climbed under her skin, making it difficult to say she was glad to have met them genuinely.  Her smooth words held no malice towards them. Proving herself to these two would be hard, yet she would.
She tilted her head innocently as she glanced at the beauty then at Raptor. Wolves like yourselves surely have tasted sea lion, yes? They aren't bad once you get past the fat. Speaking of meat... She nodded towards them both and smiled at her friend, a spark of mischievousness in her eyes. ...I am quite hungry. I might go chew on one now. Again, you all are lovely. Adíos for now. A light laugh fell from her lips as she turned and started slowly trotting off, her long legs moving gracefully as her ears cupped forward.

longer than I thought it would be! ;-;