Sea Lion Shores feel the bern

@Behati, feel free to hop in anytime. hope the slight pp is okay -- i assumed they would just pick up after resting at ravensblood <3

following a night spent on the edge of the creepy red forest, the young pair of aspiring outriders set off along the coastline. Casmir knew he had been instructed to go south, but a little exploring never hurt, and besides, he had never seen the ocean. it loomed ahead of them, massive and dark blue beneath the dim light of early morning. "i'm hungry," he grumped to his travel-mate, the loud roil of his belly evidence enough of this.

breakfast was first on the agenda -- Cas supposed they could find some cool eats on the beach. a strange, oily scent caught his attentions as they emerged out of the scrubland onto the sand, and a loud, rasping sound followed. "the hell?" the Mayfair boy swore under his breath. not far from them, a weird animal rolled near the briny shallows, its feet ending in fishlike  fins and its eyes round and liquid with a dumb expression. it was covered in short, velvety-looking fur, and reeked of fish.

"what is that?" Cas hissed, hackles surging to the fore. he dared not approach; the animal honked and writhed to face them, clearly disapproving of the wolves' presence.

Hope it's ok if I join!

Always, it seemed, she had a way of returning to the coast.  The past weeks she had been a ghost, seeing no one and simply hunting for anything she could manage to catch.  Colder weather was approaching, but it was still fair enough for her to have some luck.  She knew that fact would change once winter set in, and the thought had begun to settle that she should either join a pack or look to be heading south.  As a lone wolf she wasn't opposed to the idea of migrating.  You could always stop by Red and Pan's pack, her traitor mind whispered, and she snorted audibly to herself.  Right.  Good idea there.

Distraction came in the form of a couple of young wolves facing off against.... was that a seal?  Her tail lashed with curiosity and she stopped, dropping lower so that perhaps she would not be seen.  Were they hunting it?  Oooh, this might be a fun watch.  If they managed it, maybe she could steal some as well.

thanks for joining!

the odd animal honked at the pair, startling Casmir backward several paces. "i don't get it," he muttered, circling 'round. it was at that moment he caught the distinct feeling of being watched, and glanced toward the scrub to see if he could spot the spy. but he saw nothing, despite the fingers of wariness that trailed along his spine. between the odd sea-dog and the sensation, the boy was thoroughly unnerved.

"i think someone is nearby," he murmured to his companion, pretending to be engrossed in the ocean creature once more. an impulse seized him; the boy whirled suddenly and lunged in long steps toward the sandy turf behind him, several feet from where the wolfess crouched. "hey!" he barked, hoping to scare the unseen watcher off.

She was too far away to see if Casmir tensed, so she was surprised by the alacrity he displayed in approaching her.  His mark was off a bit, so it did not startle her from hiding, but a grin spread over her face at the curt 'hey' he issued.  "Hello is more civil.  Then again, so is not shouting." She rose and took a few steps forward, tail swinging in a relaxed manner.

Her gaze fell on Behati, then traveled back to Casmir, who was closer. "Do hope I'm not intruding," she said, though her smile said otherwise. She'd never been much of one to abide by personal boundaries. Not to a point, anyway.

she was small and well-groomed, and her sudden appearance surprised the boy. however, her crisp words took the spice out of his sails and he relaxed somewhat, eyeing her immaculate pelt and pretty eyes. another girl! his mind shouted exuberantly. be quiet, he told himself. "s-sorry. i had to be sure you weren't a bad -- didn't mean us harm."

waving his own plume in response, Casmir glanced behind himself. "do you know what that thing is?" he asked of the newcomer, looking back to the girl's eyes briefly.

"And you decided I don't, then?" She hadn't fully expected him to apologize, and the sudden switch intrigued her. Seemed he was an easygoing sort, if cautious. Not many took her manner so well at face value. "Quite an assumption to make of a stranger." Did she mean them harm? Probably not, except for the intended theft of their kill should they have been on the hunt. The fact that her size presented less of a threat to the lanky stranger and his friend didn't even cross her mind.

She walked closer to the creature, who eyed her warily with baleful eyes. A warning sound emitted from it, a strong and guttural bark, and she paused. "A seal," she replied, turning her head to look at him. "Big, stupid things. But powerful." Not something you wanted to take on, especially during mating season. Luckily the lack of aggression on the animal's part showed it wasn't that season currently.

"i figured if you wanted to attack, you would have done it when my back was turned," Cas rejoined with a cheeky grin. the idea that she would have been after his kill, in turn, had not occurred to the trusting boy. padding back toward behati, he sniffed in the direction of the animal. "Seel," he muttered, overpronouncing the syllables accidentally. 'mating season' presented a conundrum to the boy's mind -- he wanted to say he knew what that meant, but his knowledge of it existed on a very base level.

"how do you kill them?" was his next question. this stranger seemed to know the beach and the name of the weird creature -- perhaps she also knew how to dispatch it.

Clever little bit, wasn't he?  "Hmm."  She neither affirmed nor denied his claim, simply continued to appraise him with something akin to mild amusement.  His cheeky bravado made him somewhat endearing, though she was smart enough not to let that fact show.  Let someone know you think well of them and suddenly they have something to use.

Immediately when he learned the name, he asked how to kill it.  A boy after her own heart.  "You d..." she almost finished with don't, but died before she had barely begun the 'd'.  Why not let him try?  Oooh, that was wicked, Roz.  Let the young, obviously naive hunter take on the seal and, if we wins, reap some of the benefits.  If he loses?  Well, not like you have a stake in that bet.

"You just do.  Seals are big, but they're slow and stupid on land."  That much was actually true.  They were more dangerous than she let on, but if he thought he had a solid chance, whose to say he couldn't take the thing down?  "Like a fat, lazy deer."  She smiled disarmingly, giving a small shrug.  No big deal.  Right.

Cas flicked an ear at her half-sentence, but didn't think much of it. she seemed daring, and was pretty, so his brain was fairly satisfied by her presence. plus, if she wanted to try any sneaky shit, he had Behati for backup. he furrowed his brow at the wolfess' simplistic explanation -- no way was the smelly fat thing easy to take down, like a long-limbed and fragile deer. but how would he even know?

circling the beast, the Plateau youngling gave a half-hearted feint, darting at it not quite close enough to touch. the seal whirled and bellowed, and Cas pinned the newcomer with a scrutinizing look. "why don't you show me?" he suggested. "please?"

Show him?  The kid called her bluff.  Damn.  She eyed the seal askance, trying to decide if the meal was worth it when she was the one doing the work.  How long had it been since she'd hunted one of these things? A long time, that's how long.

It's neck wasn't a particularly easy target, but perhaps if she got behind it she could take it from the back.  Seals were solidly built creatures and hard to bring down just from that dint alone, but if she kept clear of some of it's more powerful defenses, maybe they could have dinner.  Normally it would be a 'maybe I can have dinner' but the size of it made her a bit more generous.

"Alright, but you're my backup.  Stay here and keep it looking at you."  She stared a minute longer before beginning to circle, giving a wide berth so that perhaps her approach behind wouldn't be as much a cause of worry as Casmir's presence ahead.  If it turned to her, maybe he could jump it instead.  Actually, she liked the sound of that.  Slyly she stumbled a bit, her paws sliding in the sand and creating a soft noise from behind.  She wasn't sure if it would be enough to distract the seal, but if it was, perhaps her young friend would take the opportunity.  He seemed eager enough.

Feel free to decide what it does ;)

;)

while Rosalyn pondered all this, Casmir was blissfully unaware of her intended deception, nor how truly awful the struggle would be when he struck the seal. he shot a glance at Behati -- she was dessert for the eyes and also backup if need be, and she nodded at him. returning his attentions to the grunting sea creature, the boy licked his lips to wet them and blinked when Rosalyn began to make odd noises, before belatedly recognizing what she was trying to do.

the seal swung its head to bark at the skulking wolfess and Cas leapt at it, striking his teeth against its neck. however, instead of skin yielding to muscle, the waterproof fur split over a thick layer of blubber, and before the Mayfair child could think to bite harder, the sea's flipper descended against his shoulder and threw him aside.

"the hell!?" he shouted, though the minute taste of blood had gotten him hyped. "i'll kill you for that," Casmir snarled, swooping in low for a second attack.

It worked.  She watched in (not completely feigned) surprise as the deal turned to her and Casmir, like the wonderful boy he was, sprang for the kill.  He did so with no prior knowledge, however, and she winced sympathetically as the seal'a flipper cast him aside.  Alright.  If she wanted to eat, she'd have to help.

Silently she got a running start and sprang at the creature, launching herself upon it's back and biting down hard on the back of it's neck. The preoccupied creature didn't see he coming, but it definitely felt that. With a bellow it rolled sideways, but she clung on, teeth digging down deep into the tough skin. Damn, this guy was huge. She couldn't get the spine in one go. She did manage to take a large chunk of flesh with her as she pushed away, not fond of the idea of being crushed beneath it's weight if it completely rolled. Not a pretty picture. If casmir was smart he'd finish it. If not, maybe he'd distract it again enough for her to finish it. Hopefully he didn't get himself killed in the process.

he cut off his attack to watch the loner leap gracefully atop the sea-creature, wound it, and roll away, like she was a fucking ninja or something. "whoa," Cas breathed, awestruck, before realizing it was his turn to land a blow in this bloody little game. the seal pulsed blood and roared angrily, swinging around to bite in the wolfess' direction, and the boy took advantage of the turned head to strike into the wound he had already made. 

this time he planted his foreleg against one fat seal-shoulder and bit as deeply as he could, past the layers of blubber and into the mortality zone below. a sinew snapped, an artery broke, and Cas fell away as crimson began to spray in jagged pulsations. "woohoo!" he hooted exultantly.

The rest went surprisingly smoothly.  Casmir took the same route she would have - a second wound taking advantage of the first - and suddenly the seal lay dying at their feet. "Nice shot," she said, circling the seal and gazing at it hungrily. But she stayed her approach for now. There was more than enough here and no sense in getting into a spar over who ate first. He had delivered the killing blow, so she could acquiesce to him.

Behati joined them, muttering something about keeping watch, and Cas' mouth watered. however, he'd been raised with manners -- the lone girl had helped and so he stepped back. "you can have first dibs, uh," he floundered, realizing he didn't even know her name. he himself turned to face the sea -- he wanted badly to partake, but would let Behati and their new friend at it first, while he stoically looked at the ocean for no good reason except that he appeared sort of bad.

Didn't have to tell her twice.  Flashing him a quick smile, she went at it, digging into the fat creature lustily.  Mmf it had been too long.  She went ahead and ate her fill before tearing off a chunk, one that would be easily carried to wherever she ended up for the night.

"It's been delightful, but time for me to skip out."  She indicated to her (presumably still eating) temporary partners.  She'd left plenty behind for them but wanted to ditch before they questioned her claim to the meat she carried.

fading here! <3

he would have shouted after her, not about the food, but because she hadn't given her name and he wanted to thank her properly. the blubbery flesh she'd taken was hers, as far as he was concerned, seeing as how she had been the one to help them bring it down.

belly stretched taut with meat, Cas eventually groaned, pulling away from the kill to stretch out in the thin shadow of a scrubby tree with a low curse. slumber overtook the boy and he soon napped beneath Behati's eyes, rising hours later to take his own watch.