Wheeling Gull Isle with gunmetal bones

a wild merc thread appears!

it is in the early cusp of morn, when dawn prevails over the land, painting it in candyfloss pink and orange that atausiq stirs away and departs from his siren bride's side. though patrols feel a bit moot on the isle where the sea acts as a perfect moat to keep out unwanted visitors and trespassers; atausiq still combs the that faces the mainland on a self given patrol all the same. he watches the slow ascension of the sandbar as greedy waves rescind and reveal it; covered in strips of seaweed, bits of shells and skittering crabs.

imperial jade gaze focuses on the sea lion shore across the water, ready to intercept anyone who would cross the sandbar.

On small, dainty feet, she danced along the shoreline in hour before dawn, where she could feel the power of the tide as it drew the immeasurable ocean waves back, wave by wave. With each jesting lunge, she chased the waves out, and delighted in the fact that when they surged forward again- it was with less vigour, and with less reach. She moved with sprightly steps, her tassel-like fur swaying and playing on the air as she bounded along the water's edge, neatly sidestepping the lapping waters with ease. When the tide went out, it meant that she could scavenge- something she had missed very, very much. 

She rounded a sandy cape and saw, in the distance, a figure whose gaze swept over the toiling waters and to the mainland. She followed his gaze, but saw nothing that attracted her attention. Still, he seemed so...Still, so sentry-like. Thresher, as always, felt the island was a perfectly safe home, and that one only need watch the landbridge when it was actually present. Swift movement caught her eye, and with one lunge she pinned and grabbed the skittering creature before it could scuttle back into the safety of the water that swelled around the rocks. Still flailing its claws, the crab was clamped securely in Thresher's mouth as she made her way toward the stranger. She approached with an appeasing, low stature, and once she was close enough, she clenched her jaws- causing the crab's shell to break inward with a sharp crack, and made the snapping claws fall, lifeless. She set the crab down in the space between the, and shuffled back a few steps silently. Kneading the sand at her feet kittenishly, she smiled and looked at the crab with glittering eyes which flickered back and forth between the male and the catch hopefully. 

"Is breakfast," She peeped, quietly. "Welcome," She said, a small, high-pitched laughter pealing off her tongue. She wondered, then, if he had gotten used to a diet of sea life- or if this would be new to him.

to say that atausiq is absent nerves as hua's due date draws ever nearer, inch by terrifying inch, would be a lie. there is some familiarity in combing the area, in standing and watching the sea lion shores as if some mighty beast might arise from the sands. none ever do. the occasional loner but nothing that he genuinely needed to worry. the sea did a good job providing safety to the isle and the wolves that live upon it. still, he doesn't want to rely solely upon it. even still, it offers a distraction from what he suspects — knows — he's not really ready for. perhaps, he tries to assuage himself, no one really is regardless of age.

there's movement that catches his attention from the corner of his eye and his face swivels in her direction as she approaches. a stranger — but then many of them are. he studies the crab she has between her jaws with a small lip curl that would make elvis proud and studies it blankly even as she mentions its breakfast. for me? he asks dumbly.

The smile- or half a smile, rather- was received warmly, and in return Thresher's own smile grew, and brought a summery twinkle into her soft brown eyes. To say that he dwarfs her, in size, would be an understatement- as the male is both taller and a great deal more muscular than she is, but within the frame of his face, and the shape of his eyes lies a youthfulness that makes Thresher believe he might be a year younger than her, at least. She felt he belonged here, though; with his fur the colour of the straight in Autumn, under a dark and cold sky with the waters angry and pinched between the island and the mainland. His eyes, on the other hand, were the colour of a much warmer, saltier and gentler sea- one which was calm enough to allow the sunlight to penetrate through and reach into the depths where it would pull forth that hue of jade. 

"For you," She said, her eyes ful of mirth as she gently pushed the crab toward him again with her dark nose. She stepped back with a light and airy bound, her feathery legs sprightly and nimble as she lowered herself into a playbow for a moment, before she lowered her hind end as well. While she knew it was rude to watch another wolf eat- she could not help but want to see how he handled a snack encased in a hard shell. Even though he looked like he belonged here- Thresher knew that most of these wolves were quite new to the island, and new to its ways of life.