Ankyra Sound I wonder, maybe they'd never find me.

for Ace!

As the sun began to rise over the distance sea, swathing the Teekon's morning sky in dim shades of orange and lilac, Nyx loped along the coast. Nose to the ground, ears forward and electric eyes searching, the tawny wolfess weaved across the sand - just beyond the reach of the waves that lapped the shore - and followed a strange thing with keen interest. Unusually, a lone deer had trailed too far onto the beach, leaving a fresh trail of prints just begging to be investigated.

She figured it had been separated from its herd in some way and wound up there in desperate search for them. Sniffing enthusiastically at the sand it had crossed over, her plush tail lashed with anticipation when she concluded that it'd been there recently. Pausing briefly to raise her proud head, the agouti she-wolf flicked her tongue over her lips to scan the open area for any movement up ahead.

Other than the obvious prints, Nyx did not see any sign of a lone deer. What she did see, however, was enough to distract her entirely. Tufted black ears fully erect with newfound curiosity, she observed with wide-eyed wonder at a small ashen-coloured creature as it scurried across her path, just a few feet in front of her. It looked like a giant, flat-bodied bug and her initial instinct was to... well, step on it.

She inched closer, but it suddenly seemed to object to her presence. Raising as high as it could on its hilarous little legs, the crab lifted its equally funny pincers in a threat display. Stopping again with a surprised snort, Nyx dropped to her elbows in a play bow and waved her tail excitedly at her hindquarters.

The journey to the northern area had proven to be more strenuous than Ace had originally thought, but of course, it wasn’t anything he couldn’t handle. No matter how hard things might seem, he still had that intense feelings of wanderlust that would make his paws itch to travel far and wide. The cold wind was still taking some getting used to, it’s occasional gusts of winter’s chill was enough to send ripple after ripple of shivers down the ridge of his spine, but as he trudged onward through the white sand that blanketed the ground so densely, he took refuge in knowing his coat would eventually thicken to that fit for a sand-like wonderland such as this.

Ace had recently caught many scents of wolves in the air, especially the ones that belonged to their packs, but he had distanced himself quite a ways away from them – and he took this opportune moment of brief solitude to study the expanse of region. Thus far, he could only see a field of sand along the sea. Indeed the sand was found covering everything in view, the light of the bright sun reflecting off of its wet surface in a faceted prism of colors. Ace’s medium ears twitched slightly as he enjoyed hearing the calm susurrus of the blue waves. The white noise upon the sea was pleasant to hear – it was so pleasant that Ace could fall into a deep slumber if he settled himself on the soft ground.

After a moment of enjoying the nature’s harmony, Ace spotted some hoof prints on the sand and it could only belong to a stray deer. Strange to say, a brave deer was trotting all alone on the beach. How is it possible? He was utterly mystified for a few seconds, his aureate eyes skimming his surroundings, desperately searching for his favorite prey. His ebony nose wrinkled involuntarily as the scent of a canine wafted through his nostrils. He could tell that the stranger was just nearby, but where exactly? Narrowing his gaze, he continued to examine every small detail on the shore. It wasn’t very long before the vivacious female wolf had appeared in his peripheral vision. He could clearly see that she was preparing herself to attack the flattened carapace creature.

Without thinking too much, the large wolf approached them at a deliberate pace, his wispy tail moving lithely from side to side. Reaching in a suitable proximity, he came to a slow stop, his golden orbs gluing to the she-wolf, and then he stared at the angry crab. “Hey watch out! Those pinchers can be painful… so painful as a boulder that falls on a paw.” Wait what? He exaggerated way too much. “I mean.. so painful as a bee that stings someone. Wait.. What the heck I’m saying. Anyway, just be careful.” Ace quickly lowered himself, his dark belly pressing against the sand below, his tip tail arching over his back.

Nyx stared down at the threatened creature, which reared up with pincers well prepared to catch onto an unsuspecting snout or paw, but she remained nothing but entirely amused. It scuttled closer to her, heading straight for the wolf's pale muzzle, but she yipped playfully and sprang into the air, bounding over the crustacean to twist in the air and land directly behind it. There, she hastily reached out a paw to 'boop' it right on the ashen carapace, which seemed to enrage it as it thrust its pincers upward again.

She barked, and darted out of reach again, amusement in her vivid eyes as it followed her movements across the sand. The arrival of a dark male did not distract her from her avoidance of the crab, though she was very much aware that the display had attracted his attention.

"I can handle it," she laughed off his concern, tail flagging behind her as she paused only to deliver a swift kick to the little creature's face that sent it bouncing comically across the sand. Triumphant, and with a proud smirk, Nyx turned her focus to her newest acquaintance: "what is it, anyway? Does it taste good?"

Ace’s face formed into a slight smile as he watched the hilarious confrontation between the feisty wolf and the crab. He almost laughed when she kicked the creature over the sand. He flicked his golden gaze toward the female, his smile broadening into an amused grin. “It’s a crab. They are also known as spiders of the sea.” He tilted his head to the side, his eyes locking upon the water surface, trying to remember if he had eaten a crab before. “Hmm. I think I never try them before, but I’ve heard that the crab legs are delicious and nutritious.” He chuckled softly, his delicate tail swaying to the left and then to the right. “Come on! Let’s try one!” He said enthusiastically, filling with slight excitement at the thought of trying the meat of the crab.

The brute took a few steps to make his way to the area where he could see the flattened creature. It moved sideways towards him, trying to grab his front paws with its menacing claws. He dodged it with ease and then he dodged it again as he stepped back from the brave crab. “Oh no, you don’t.” He crouched slightly, eyeing the nasty pinchers with caution. A short branch was not far from where he stationed. An idea brought a mischievous smirk to his lips. He picked up the branch with his teeth, poking the threatening carapace. Its claw managed to grasp the tip of the branch. Ace shook his head, trying to throw the spiderlike creature into the air, but its strong claw still holding the branch.

A crab, he called it. A spider of the sea, apparently. Nyx looked out over the sand again, curious yellow eyes seeking the creature's camouflaged form among the beach. Distracted by the ponderings of her newest acquaintance, however, she lifted her tail and loped after him as he seemed to have a better idea where the strange-looking seafood had gotten to after she'd booted it across the strand.

Enraged, the little creature made to nip at the dark wolf's paws, and Nyx grinned in amusement as she hung back to watch. He dodged it with ease, cleverly opting to use a tool in place of his own muzzle to avoid the active pincers, and the tawny Ostrega roared with laugher as it latched onto the twig and clung to it even as Ace threw his head around in attempt to launch it into the air.

Eager to get involved with this new challenge, Nyx stepped closer and parted her jaws to clack her teeth against the carapace. Biting down, her fangs scraped the surface of its shell and the she-wolf tightened her grip, feeling the satisfying crunch of her prey's tough exterior that gave way to the strange texture beneath. The flavour was not what she expected and, releasing her hold, Nyx spat the offensive-tasting creature onto the ground at her paws.

Ace watched the female’s new strategy with amuse. She was very clever to take the advantage of killing the motionless crab. He dropped the wooden tool near his front paws, his lips stretching into a slight grin as he examined at the flattened creature – just to be sure that it was dead. “Thanks for helping me out.” He said in a gentle tone of voice, his head angling upwards to glance at the grimace that could only belong to the beige wolf.

“It looks like it doesn’t taste so good from the outside, but I’m pretty sure it taste better from the inside.” He gave her an optimistic nod before speaking again. “I guess I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Ace. What’s your name or nickname?” He took a seat on the sand, his delicate tail curling around his frame, waiting patiently for her answer.

Editing in an ending since this has been sitting here for over a month.  :)

She scrunched her nose up, distaste present in the furrowing of her brow and the trembling of her lips. The urge to retch swept over her, but Nyx held strong against it and glared down at the crushed form of the crustacean at her paws as its legs twitched in its final stage of life. The tawny wolfess huffed through her nostrils, flicked her tongue over her teeth in attempt to rid her mouth of the foul flavour that remained, and turned away from it.

Her vivid eyes fell upon the dark-furred male again, who observed her misfortune with amusement. She blinked at him, then shrugged it off; "I guess the local delicacies are an aquired taste," she said with a smirk; for a wolf who disliked seafood, she certainly picked the wrong place to settle. "My name is Nyx," the golden Ostrega said with a curt dip of her head, and canted a raven-tipped lobe sideways in curiosity, "are you new here? Haven't seen you around before."

Upon discovery that the raven wolf did not belong to Grimnismal, the agouti Ostrega wasn't sure how to feel about it. While she still didn't feel much like one herself, and with the coywolf's altercation with the crimson Drageda female fresh on her mind, Nyx made to swiftly escort her newest acquaintance to the territory edges where she bid him farewell.