Stavanger Bay she said there's nothing to be said, nothing to be gained

it might have been spring, but sandpiper was hardly in lifted spirits as she coursed down the cold coast. the brief spell of warmth had been interrupted by a deep swing of cold -- it was unseasonably hyperborean in nature and she looked up to the hidden sun with a deep scowl to her features.

hadn't winter had enough? she had -- and she was glad to be rid of it. the coast still spotted some faint vestiges of snow, but the brief warmth the week had afforded before it closed had been enough to expose earth that had been covered for months. sandpiper would have investigated the bright swaths of snowmelt had they not immediately frozen over by the sudden dip in temperature overnight. soured by the cold and feeling tremendously cooped up, the girl stalked down the coastline at a huffy clip.

As she tries to find some sort of usefulness in her being here, and an attempt to distract herself, she spent the last several days marking the borders away from the shore. There aren’t as many birds and she has to make sure she’s not scared to leave the territory. If she stays on the border, it’s kind of like leaving and not leaving at the same time, but her patrols are often short lived and if she spots enough, she ducks away and finds herself further into the territory.
 
It’s how she’d gotten to the shore, darting through the forest until she’s out on the other side. The sight of another down the way doesn’t make her feel any better. She’d been trying to avoid someone only to run right into someone else.
 
Nox huffs a breath, shakes out her fur, and begins to trot down the coast toward her unknown cousin as if nothing had been wrong a moment before.

sandpiper's temper was already fouled, but it was further egged on by the mere presence of another wolf. GOD! didn't everyone know she was brooding? and not the shit hens do either -- what did a wolf have to do to earn some god-forsaken privacy around here?!

with an extremely chilly expression she huffed loudly (read:arrogantly) and abruptly changed course for her unknown-cousin, her posture overbearing and eyes hardened into a suspicious glint. something about the way the off-white wolf carried herself suggested she was a hardy creature -- sandpiper suddenly wasn't so sure if it was good to engage in physical interaction with this clear intruder without some sort of backup. after all, her fight with rosalyn had really only taught her one thing: never fight fair.

she issued a loud bark then, her tail curled in sickle fashion over her back as she awaited the intruder's explanation for why she was waltzing down the strand like she owned it.

The other doesn’t have the friendliest reaction to her presence and in result Nox doesn’t take her eyes off her. She knows little of the hierarchy aside from those filling Big Shoes and she’s only noted this female by scent somewhere. She never got a face to face introduction with every member of the pack but she’s been here this long without putting herself out there and surely, by this girl’s reaction, it’s already starting to kick in.
 
She narrows her eyes until the other is close enough to bark at her, arching her tail above her spine. Nox’s shortened tail stiffen out behind her without lifting, keeping her posture relatively even. If Sandpiper charged her in attack, she’ll be ready, but she won’t try to pull her into one for the sake of it—not when she feels a little gunshy anyway.
 
Nox barks back, taking a few steps to circle around, keeping her distance from the stranger.

upon second thought, maybe going full-throttle against an unknown quantity was not such a good idea. sandpiper flinched as the she-wolf barked, feeling her hackles prick again along her neck and spine. the stranger circled, and sandpiper was quick to return the favor - the two engaging in some strange, grotesque dance as sandpiper bowed out and weaved in with her eyes narrowed in suspicion.

"who are you?" she called over the high wind, each step slow. each step measured.

The stranger matches her gait but she does not gain any proper momentum to charge. Nox holds back too; the last thing she needs is to start fights so soon after joining, and contributing so little for show. How good would that reflect upon her? A new swab mouthing off to the higher ups. She snorts.
 
“Nox,” she barks back, taking a few steps forward and searching high and low for further signs. “Who’re you?”

as nox slowed her prowling, sandpiper followed suit. her gaze still remained riveted mistrustfully on the she-wolf, but the aggression had since faded from her posture. she tested the wind cautiously, and thought she caught the faintest hint of a packmate on the female's coat -- but she couldn't be sure.

she halted then and puffed out her chest, receiving the other's name with a flick of her ear. "sandpiper, one of the crew."

Tension begins to deescalate and her movements slow to a stop, standing in the sand and watching the other—Sandpiper—decide what to do. She isn’t familiar to Nox. Narrowing her eyes, she twitches her ears to mimic. “Me too,” she adds, after the fact. “Smokestep lemme in,” she says with an upward nod of her nose to prove it. She knows the leaders name. That’s enough.
 
Nox takes a few steps somewhat diagonally forward and glances toward the water. “I’m hungry,” she points out with a roll of her shoulder. Never been one for tact.

indeed, knowing her brother's name was enough to dissipate the last sour rankling of mistrust sandpiper had. she nodded in return, acknowledging that she believed nox's statement. at least now that introductions were out of the way, sandpiper had less of a reason to be a dick to her -- one of the crew was one of the crew.. even if nox pulled a rosalyn and threw her for the fishes.

sandpiper followed the other wolf's motion, looking towards the rippling water as she mentioned she was hungry. conveniently, so was sandpiper -- she took a few steps after the female and then reconsidered: "it'll be low tide soon."

Nox eases some of the tension in her form but she isn’t able to get rid of all of it. She shakes out her fur a little in her trot to try and take care of the rest of it. It doesn’t, but she doesn’t let it stop her. With her companion in stride, instructing her low tide is on the way, she nods her head in consideration. The sand softens between her feet as she glances back, assuming the woman knows more of the bay than she does. “Where’s th'best tide pools?” she shoots back, glancing over her shoulder and slowing down so the other can take the lead.

for a brief amount of time sandpiper had hung back after nox -- for similar reasons, she still felt tense -- but as the woman turned back to ask her of her opinion, and then slowed her gait so that she could catch up -- well, that eased sandpiper's feelings considerably. and possibly, her ego.

she bounded up to the woman and her expression was one of deep consideration. then she said "this way," swinging abruptly to the south, she picked along the hard-packed sand at a casual dogtrot. it would be a while yet before they reached the pools, and in an effort to quell any awkward pause between them sandpiper asked "so... how'd you end up here? like... why ironsea?"

The other gives instruction and Nox easily follows along. It was easy enough to get the information out of her and make a little headway with a pack mate. Maybe she’ll find a little insight on these wolves. For a moment, they’re quiet, Nox trotting along after the other girl with her tongue hanging out the side of her mouth. Excitement and anticipation fuels her and her stomach drives each pounding step against the sand.
 
“Huh?” she asks mid-question, before realizing it was to come. “Well, Roz found me after some birds attacked me,” she says with a swaying point of her nose to the ugly scars evident but huge, missing chunks of fur. They’re big enough that, when the fur grows back, they’ll always be noticeable, claw marks from her ribs and shoulders and down her spine. “Brought me’ere and became part ah’the crew,” she adds with one particularly scarred shoulder, lifting a brow to ask the same in return. “You?”

sandpiper hid her displeasure at the mention of rosalyn - for a moment her gaze trailed the marks that scuffed nox's muzzle. while there was no sympathy in her fiery eyes, there was no disdain either -- it was almost a clinical look.

she might have wondered if nox, like rosalyn, would someday turn against her, but she quelled those troubled thoughts in favor of pride -- for nox had asked her how she had come to the crew. her tail bobbed arrogantly behind her and she swelled her chest with a puff as she answered smoothly: "born into it. smokestep's my brother." she fully expected some ooohs and ahhs -- maybe even admiration or jealously -- and kept the woman's muzzle in the corner of her eyes to witness her reaction.

Her brow quirks when Sandpiper admits to being the captain’s brother, curious. She hadn’t figured out the familiarity between them yet but she doesn’t push anything too far. “Oh,” she says abruptly. “That mean I gotta be on my best behavior around ya?” she asks, turning back with a stupid grin smeared across her face.

sandpiper hadn't missed the light surprise that quirked nox's brow -- it wasn't an expression of awe or wonder, but she would take it. she puffed up a little bit, not unlike a bird after a bath -- and smoothly rejoined: "you should be on your best behavior regardless."

it probably wasn't the answer nox was hoping for, but sandpiper had never been the pleasing type. however, a rough smile appeared on her muzzle - one that might placate any suspicion that what had just been spoken was contentious. "you close with roz?" she asked in afterthought, picking along the ground as if she were uninterested in the real answer.

Sandpiper doesn’t take what she says at a joke and so her smile disappears from her features. Okay then. She licks her lips and refocuses on what’s ahead of her, wishing they were there already. At least then she can focus on feeding herself instead of awkwardly having to answer to someone that somehow has power that she doesn’t even know. But she doesn’t get out of a silent, awkward trot as another question is given to her and she glances over, curious. “Uh, I’unno. She’s oneuva few I know here but like,” she shrugs without finishing her sentence, clear she doesn’t know much about the auburn leader.

sandpiper did not let on how critically she was studying nox for an answer -- she flicked an ear as if in dismissal, pleased with the wolf's reply. of course, it was entirely possible nox was lying -- but sandpiper hadn't yet come to that conclusion. "ah." it was all the utterance she offered, for she considered the response satisfactory and any further probing would betray her underhanded interest in nox's relationship with the female.

she picked past a jutting expanse of sea-stone and raised sand-bars, coming to rest at a gently braided flood-pool that trickled out one end back to the torrential sea. here the tide-pools, exposed to the glum face of the grey sky, seemed to sit reflective and stormy as the world above them. "here ya go." she exclaimed, stepping back to survey the tidal flat with a hungry but appraising eye.