Wheeling Gull Isle are you feeling it now, mr. krabs?

Permission given to PP @Nüwu <3

It was a nice day out - a little chilly, but mostly sunny. Haoming was beyond happy to be back on the island, away from all of the strangers and free to be alone. Or, mostly alone. Her siblings didn't count because they were perfect and could do no wrong in her eyes, so they were never a bother or an inconvenience. 

Like now. Her littermate sat on the beach, fixated on something in the shallow water. 

Haoming padded over to Nuwu's side, craning her neck a bit to try and see what she was looking at. There, below the surface, was a large blue crab, and it currently had her sister's full attention. 

"W-would you like me to... to get it for you?" Haoming questioned, tilting her head to the side as she looked to her littermate. Perhaps Nuwu would like a closer look, and who was Haoming to not bend over backward to help her with that?

she had been gazing upon it so intently, and now haoming offered her own help. the sandy girl blinked down at the foreign creature: it was similar to the hermit crabs that skittered across the sand, but appeared much bigger. and yet she was not afraid, knowing nothing of its claw. all it was was another characteristic of the world to be carefully dissected (in the mind, of course-) and she wished to learn. thus nüwu nodded eagerly to her dust-grey sister, a small smile touching her features.

Really, Haoming wasn't sure how bad this was gonna hurt, either. She'd been pinched by hermit crabs before, sure, and those suckers hurt a bit, but it wouldn't be anything like this crab. The spotted girl crouched near the water, multicolored eyes locked onto her prey, before she lunged into the water. 

It was cold, biting into her skin, but it felt nice at the same time. The crab moved away from her, but it was to no avail. 

Haoming dipped her head under the water, salt stinging her eyes, and fastened her teeth around the creature's exoskeleton. For the moment, she was safe, hauling it backward out of the water and placing it haphazardly onto the sand near Nuwu's paws.

haoming was such a real hunter! nüwu watched, impressed, as her big sister went to grab the creature straight from the water, seemingly fearless. and then she was away from the water again- placing the blue crab onto the moist sands. without it's shell crushed, it only took a moment to begin skittering around- but the little scientist didn't want to see it go back into the blue so fast. she leapt forward suddenly, nailing two dark paws onto its back and using all the strength she could muster to hold it down. maybe haoming would get a chance to look at it this way, too.

Woah, Nuwu was right. This thing was pretty cool, with the way it skittered sideways and snapped those big grabbers on its front. Haoming walked a wide circle around her sibling and the poor creature they were tormenting, eyes round as she observed it. 

But she got a bit too close on the front, and before she knew it, one of the grabbers had effectively grabbed onto her upper lip. She let out a sharp yelp and jerked back, but unfortunately (for both her and the crab) yanked one of the claws off of the hard-shelled thing's body. It was stuck tight to her face, and no matter how hard she scrubbed at it, it wouldn't come off.

nüwu, scientist-in-training that she was, was not very smart yet- thus when her sister got close to the creature's arms, she didn't think to advise hey, might not wanna do that, and instead glowed wide-eyed with curiosity, expecting haoming to share something exciting that she observed. but the moment everything fell to chaos- the snap of a claw, THE CLAW HANGING FROM HER SISTER'S FACE, nüwu let out a high-pitched scream of terror, EEEEEEEK!! in her fright, she leapt back, subsequently releasing the terrified crab- which ran this way and that like a chicken with its head cut off. the sandy girl was more focused on her sister now, despite her interest in the sea-thing- and was frozen for a moment, unsure how to help as her sister tugged at it. can i pull it?!? she squeaked nervously in a rush, dancing uncomfortably on her paws at the dreadful situation.

The intial pain had dulled down into a consistent throbbing, and Haoming was doing her best not to be the biggest baby in the world about it, but it had really shocked her. Nuwu, too, from the sound of her scream. Haoming took a few deeper breaths and stopped pawing at her own face for a moment, fixing multicolored eyes up at her sister from where she was crouched on the ground. 

Was it a good idea to pull it? Probably not, but what choice did they have?

Haoming nodded and held still, waiting for her fate.

her sister nodded, and nüwu approached cautiously. at first she just barely grasped the end of it in her jaws- too scared to go fast- but she realized that pulling slowly would probably prolong the pain. like ripping a bandaid (not that she knew that similarity.) and so she decided instead to use all the force she could- yanking in one swift motion, tearing the crab arm from her sister's lip and throwing it into the sand. she stared at it for a moment, too scared to look back in case her sister's face was covered in blood. in truth, her imagination was probably worse than reality... but she stood as still as a statue, awaiting any sound from haoming behind her.

Haoming released a loud yelp that cut off in a sharp growl as she tried to tough her way through the pain. Her paw came back up to brush across her maw, where blood was welling on the new cut on her lip. It wasn't bad - probably wouldn't even scar - and it no longer hurt like it did with the claw attached. 

The spotted girl immediately stomped over to where the crab huddled on the sand a few meters away and stepped on its back to hold it in place, staying plenty clear of the claws this time. 

"I h-hate this thing," she growled, narrowing her eyes at it and pouting - though she wouldn't admit that part.

she yelped, but it fell into a growl, and nüwu dared to turn and face her. it was... a little bloody, but nothing like the exaggeration the sandy scientist had imagined. she flattened her dark ears to her head, sorry if i hurt you, haoming, the girl whined slightly. her spotted sister was back to the crab soon enough, holding it down and declaring her hate for it. nüwu frowned. i wish he didn't hurt you, she offered weakly, and continued, you wanted to hurt him now, um, revenge? or... you'll forgive him? it was an open question free of judgement; she was merely curious. she knew she couldn't understand how her sister felt without the same blood on her tongue.

"You d-didn't. It was this... this thing," she insisted, still glaring at the crab. She'd never be mad at Nuwu, or Luli, or Xiaoqing, but that rule didn't apply to literally everything else in the entire world. She could hate everything else but them, and right now? She hated this crab. 

But Nuwu's voice flittered back in and Haoming paused. 

Revenge... or forgive him?"

Well, that was a good way to get Haoming to stop being so... Haoming. Because she wanted revenge, but how could she slaughter this thing with Nuwu standing right there, asking if she would forgive it? 

Short answer: she couldn't. 

Haoming let out a sharp exhale through her nose and gave the crab one good, last little squish, before stepping off of it and letting it scuttle its way back into the water. 

"I f-forgive it," she muttered, shoulders bunching up indignantly. Not in Nuwu's direction, but at herself.

haoming assured nüwu it wasn't her, and she relaxed a little bit. the moment awaiting her other answer had the sandy girl a little on edge, only because she wanted a moment to look away if haoming was going to torture the alien. instead, the pale girl released it- a little to nüwu's surprise- and the one-armed beast returned to the ocean. a reluctant forgiveness. i think it is really brave of you, to forgive him, she spoke up shyly. it seemed a lot easier to act out on pain and emotions... and nüwu imagined that the self-restraint her sister just practiced took real strength.

the two discussed the crab itself as well as forgiveness a while longer, before they each departed back to their den.