Wheeling Gull Isle and if you don't want me at my goodnight

She was as a Sphinx, presiding over her domain. The guardian maintained her station with careful obedience. Each visitor that came was greeted with the same stoic stare, though she often slipped a smile when no one was around to see. 

Ying enjoyed her self-imposed responsibility, but loathed her inability to hunt. She couldn't wander too far from the stranger (@Nukilik), so most worthwhile prey was out of question. Unless...

Hey, she barked, Can you hunt? She had wandered to the woman's side and stood, waiting for an answer.

Someone was always watching her. It didn't feel right at first; she didn't know these women, and the last woman she had been drawn to had stabbed her in the back, so... She was leery. At the same time she could not fault their diligence. Hua brought her little bits of food sometimes. Ying, on the other hand, kept to herself. In this moment Nukilik was accompanied by the ghost and her dark-capped sister was doing her own thing elsewhere - but it wasn't unpleasant. There was a stoicism to the woman that Nukilik appreciated. She seemed strong and stalwart, both aspects that served to comfort the injured woman.

The grass grew sparsely across a cobbled clay deposit, raised out of the snow as a balding shelf. She was content here - sprawled in the glimmering too-bright sunlight. When Ying appeared and called out to her, Nukilik was alert and attentive. She cast a glance towards the woman and smirked; how odd that question was to her. 

Of course I can. She retorts.

What had she eaten while hidden in quarantine? If her voice was any indication, Ying thought that the woman was making an impressive recovery. She wondered what had persuaded Hua to show the foreign girl such uncharacteristic kindness, but figured that it didn't matter. The decision had been made, and it wasn't one that she could — or would — refure without reason.

Her attitude was promising. Ying flashed a short-lived smile and motioned for their guest to follow. Get up, then, she called back as she began to head toward shore. The caches were well-kept, so there was no shortage of meat, but she was still having trouble finding something to satiate her hunger. The huntress was in the mood for shellfish; who would have thought?

The woman instructs her to stand. It isn't common for anyone to order Nukilik around so she takes a beat before she accepts the situation and does as she's told, and even then, she is casting a careful look around. Her limbs are stiff and sore, but she had managed to crawl out to the stony knoll for her sprawling, so this wasn't too different. There was a twinge of discomfort in her hips as she rose to her paws but Nukilik kept the discomfort to herself.

After a few glances around Nukilik falls in to step behind Ying. She's lagging a little bit, as to be expected.

Knowing that the woman was willing to push herself gave Ying some reassurance. She took care to move slower than she would have liked, but still went beyond her companion's pace. It didn't take long for the shore to come into view, prompting her to pick up the pace.

Ying looked back and waited for the girl to catch up. Every few yards, she would stop and wait, until the tide was pulling high enough to meet her ankles. She didn't speak for a while, biting at the inside of her cheek while she searched for something to say.

What you call yourself? she asked, finally turning away from the horizon, I am Ying.

The day before, when they had found her, she had been much weaker. Bits and pieces of the day were blank in her mind; she could recall waking beneath the henge where Hua had found her, recalled in snippets the conversation they held together. The names of the sisters were like an anchor for her mind. Nothing else had come back to her since waking though, and that was a different sort of struggle Nukilik was ill-prepared for. Being a tactile creature, one built for physicality and the shaping of one's body rather than the mind, Nukilik did not know what to make of her new-found mental voids. She knew she did not like them - but could not tell if they were a weakness or a boon just yet. Why would she want to remember being swept out to sea? 

She could recall the names of the sisters; dark-capped Hua, ghostly Ying. The woman introduces herself, likely not knowing that her sister has already done that for her; the castaway acts as if this is news to her though, and replies: Nukilik. But the same quip she offered to Hua comes next. Nuka is acceptable too.

If they were going to help her, she did not want to alienate them in any way - least of all with a name that might be hard for them to use. She had noticed that both women held accents of varying degrees, so perhaps the common tongue was not their forte.

The huntress began to dig into the sand. Nu-gi-lik — she was quietly testing the syllables — Nu-ga. I like Nuga. Ying felt a claw clamp onto her toe and pulled back, revealing a small crab clinging to the thin meat around the nail. She panicked and flicked her wrist, sending the potential snack off into the distance.

She sucked her teeth and began digging once more. A curious eye was turned to Nuga, Where you come from? The coastal life seemed to come naturally to the she-wolf...in this encounter, at least. Ying had a feeling that there was more about her worth learning.

Settled on a name, Nukilik watched as the other woman began to work. She reacted to one of the tiny scuttling crabs with a momentary panic (with Nukilik watching in good humour as the creature was catapulted away at extreme speed, listening for the tiniest of plops as it hit the sand again). When she fixed her attention to the wet sand and the rocks embedded within it, Nukilik took that as a cue to help. Ying dug at one area and soon, so was she. Her efforts were a little bit more hesitant, and she was more invested in overturning stones rather than digging; some of the rocks came away easily as their barnacled surfaces caught in Nukilik's blunted claws, while others took a little more effort due to being suctioned by sea water. Either way, there wasn't much beneath them but the scurrying of more tiny crabs.

Speaking while working, Ying's question caught in Nukilik's ears and made the woman pause just as she was pulling at a rock. The wet sigh of the shifting object paused. So did Nukilik's thoughts for a second. A flash, a memory of home, which served as a brief distraction. I was born on an island similar to this one, but further north. Hopefully that would be enough to satisfy Ying in the moment. And you?

Really? Ying stopped digging and looked up at Nuga, yearning for more details. She didn't know that there were islands north of the Teekon. She'd imagined the arctic to be too cold for an island to form. Her attention shifted back to the seemingly pointless task they'd taken up. I not find anything, no crabs or nothing. 

Catching shellfish was more difficult than she'd thought. You know how to get these fish? Ying asked, adding, Bèi lèi, the land fish.

While hoping to ascertain a little bit about Ying's history, and by proxy some information about the sister's, it appeared to be lost in translation. Nukilik let it go for now. She peered over at the patch of pitted sand and trailed her gaze along Ying's freshly browned limbs. The woman had made short work of the beachfront in her digging and that was commendable - but she was right. Neither one of them had anything to show for it. 

The easiest way is to wait for the tide to go out. If you time it right, things can get caught in pools - or in pits like the one you just built. Nukilik explains as best she can. She had never been a teacher to anyone before and wasn't sure if she was making sense with words. It would be easier to show Ying what she meant, but, the tide was not destined to go out for another few hours. That gave them one other option though. If we dig pits in the right places, the water will come in and maybe leave us fish. Would you like to try?

It would be a lot more work for Ying, though. Nukilik knew she wasn't strong enough to do something strenuous like digging pits right now, even if she pushed herself. She was more likely to seriously strain her body if she attempted.

Nugilik's question had gone ignored, though not intentionally. Later, when she remembered that the question had been asked, Ying would answer. Oh, I know water fish will come — a forlorn downward glance — but I want these ones. It didn't seem like she would be getting her wish.

She said a quiet curse as her frustration continued to grow. Inwardly, she knew that this was an overreaction. What you call it? Ying asked, hoping to ease her mind with a less aggravating topic. 

A pit. Her voice was as a whisper once more as she locked the word into memory. Okay. We dig pits then. The huntress began to move further down the beach to find a spot for their next trap.

Oh. Ohhh. She had wanted crabs, but Nukilik did not understand. She did now. Seeing the flash of emotion zipping through Ying's eyes reminded her of a time when her mother's chosen, Yutu, had been equally frustrated by his fortune. He had not been built for seaside living but he had adapted. Perhaps with some help from Nukilik, Ying would grow to do the same.

She moved on quickly to the plan that Nuka had put forth. With a nod the woman moved away from the overturned stones and barnacle-heavy bits of debris that made up the embankment. Winter was no time to find crabs but that wasn't something she wanted to discuss with Ying in that moment, nervous that it might set the woman off -- much like Yutu with his intermittent rage; in her silence she opted to begin work on her own pit instead.

As Nukilik dug through the sand she felt a pinch in her shoulders and a small knot in her back, but she remained silent about these things. Better to put her voice to other use. If we dig shallow pits then they'll be filled with sand, leaving no room for fish. If they are deep enough, we'll get both. The sand wasn't what they wanted, but on more than one occasion this exact technique had saved Nukilik's own people.

Plus, Finding fish buried in sand makes gathering easier.

One cannot describe with words the outburst brewing in the secrecy of her mind. She was stubborn and hard-headed, and hated to be taught new things. How poor of a hunter was she, that even a sickly drowned woman could outperform her? Ying wanted to fling herself at Nuga and tear into sickled flesh but forced herself to breathe, breathe, breathe.. instead.

Well, she continued to dig anyway, despite her known disinterest in fish. They lived on an island where only three things came in abundance: water, sand, and fish. How long could a wolf go, eating only fish?

Ying kept these thoughts inside, afraid that saying them out loud might affect Nuga's opinion. Truly, she was a kind girl, simply plagued by a poor temper. Her paws worked furiously against the slick sand, a low boof escaping her each time the water pushed it back into the ditch. This is hard, she complained, looking up at Nuga with expectant gaze, No other way for this? Ying liked things that she could win, but based on her guess, digging ditches was not one of them.

Focused on her task, she did not immediately answer. It wasn't until the ache in her shoulders grew too great to ignore that Nukilik sagged against the sand, panting over the half-sized pit she had been working on. It was too hard for her to continue - meanwhile, it looked and sounded as if Ying was ready to give up too. Her effort had produced a better result: her pit was at least twice the size, and just deep enough. 

Nukilik was panting for a few minutes before she could get the next few words out.

Well, we could... Try to fish them outta the.. the water. Is there a pond anywhere on the island? Somewhere with fresh water? Her pulse raced from the exertion but began to regulate soon enough. Nukilik did not know the island as well as the sisters might, so they would know the best places to look for streams or fresh-water areas that would feed in to the sea. Such things were necessary; even though they lived around water at all times, the sea water was not good for drinking. The beach was good for crabs and lucky offerings, but it wasn't the right season for anything substantial.

She shrugged her shoulders, admittedly unsure of the answer. I d-do...don't explore, really, Ying said. Her improving grammar was a source of great pride. We can find one? The three ditches that had been dug were a good starting point, but a deep, deep part of her wanted to keep going. Hearing Nuga struggle helped to calm her nerves a bit, allowing her to see how helpful beach traps could be in the long run.

Too cold, maybe. You sit and I dig, okay? Next time, we fish in a pond. Hua probably wouldn't have been happy if she knew how hard Ying was pushing their new guest. With that thought in mind, she hesitantly went back to working, ears perked for the continuation of conversation.

Sitting felt wrong, and right, at the same time. Nukilik did not like to idle for long, so even after Ying pressed for her to relax while she worked, the woman was angling for a good view or fidgeting with her sore body against the sand. It surprised the castaway that the island would be home to unsuitable creatures. Not that she considered Ying ill-suited in general, she was able-bodied and strong, but the little tricks she had picked up for herself were not common knowledge among the sisters. It was difficult to see them thriving if they could not find fresh water somewhere. Perhaps that would be her next personal quest - as repayment for keeping her alive.

Yes, if there is a pond. Nukilik agrees with a nod, and ponders to herself about many things as she watches Ying work.

Gonna fade this. <3

Of course. Maybe not on the island, but there is a pond. Travelling inland would be easier once Nuka was completely healed, whenever that happened. She finished digging another two holes, neither of which was really deep enough, and said her goodbyes. Ying crept out of sight and sat down to wait for Nuka to leave, so that she might resume her patrol outside of the cave.