Sea Lion Shores and wolf's teeth

merc. trade task thread

the borders of yuélóng are hard to define. logically, he would assume that anyone on the actually isle itself is trespassing but there there was the issue of the sandbar. sometimes it rose from the depths of the sea, providing safe passage, and other times it below beneath the churn of the waves. there was never guarantee that howls would be heard across the water that separates the isle from the mainland. and so, when the sandbar reveals itself to him, atausiq crosses it with the purpose of making a patrol round of the sea lion shores.

Having relayed and collected further leads on his targets, Theseus departed the flatlands for the shores once again. He followed the familiar path on the levelled ground that stretched from Moonspear that would speed his paws the quickest — past the Weald, and the Glacier, until he came — once again — to the tidal pools and lumbering lions that lay before the ocean’s swell.

In a way he had missed the familiar scratch of sand between his toes, the cry of the wheeling gulls, and the briny air. The touch of salt still set him on edge, but Theseus turned this to his advantage now, so that he felt, within the choke of salt, as someone stronger, as if a different wolf altogether. Sharper, quicker, keener. The ocean was the life-giver to all death-bringers, he could not afford to be anything less.

When he spots the grey shadow on the shores up ahead, he directs his trajectory toward him and offers a chuff to alert the other to his approach. There is something of mystery in the way the other seemed to surface from the sea itself, one which Theseus finds he fears and thirsts for. Might this be one of the number he seeks? The sea breeze snags the fur along Theseus’ cheeks, his neck, and waving tail, to fill him again with the spray of salt that has long become a part of him.

the siren coast warden begins his patrol, steps slow and calculated as he moves thru the sand. there was no better time to prove his dedication to his siren bride and the pack then to see to it that he was vigilant during the absence of majority of their warriors. still, atausiq is trying to get his bearings of living upon an isle of the sea. the sound of the ocean never ceases and at times it drums inside his head; unaccustomed as he is. slowly, he is able to discern sounds that are not of natural sand shifts and the splash of waves upon the shore, or against rocks or sea lions that often stand in the reach of each wave.

still learning as he is, it is the chuff that draws atausiq's gaze of imperial jade. a stranger stands there upon the shoreline; something familiar about him. hail stranger, atausiq calls above the gentle roar of the waves, ankles wet as he sloshes through the cold saltwater that recedes as quickly as it rose to meet him.

"Aye, well met." There is, indeed, a familiarity there. Theseus squints against the sun, to shield his eyes, and to get a clearer grasp of him, for the stranger stands as a titan in size, and Theseus has only seen this rivalled in one other. Greyback. Between this, and the granite of his fur, he struggles to shake the likeness, and his run in with Clay, although well in the past, is still too fresh in his mind to shake the possibility that maybe, maybe more have wandered away from Easthollow's tender flock...

He places the name, puts it in safe keeping, and decides he will carry on, as if they have never met.

"Theseus Stark," he offers with a short nod, then, a gesture toward the ocean, Couldn't help but be curious -- it's not every day you see a wolf crawl out of the sea.

theseus stark.

the name brings with it no recognition despite that the familiarity remains there; nagging. it matters not, atausiq supposes; familiar or not times have and were changing. atausiq's life had become a whirl-wind of new adventures and new responsibilities. husband and father-to-be chief among them. though the thought of him — nearly a year old and fresh out of cubhood himself — is bizarre it is the root of his weariness now; the edge of protectiveness he feels to the isle at his back and the wolves it shelters even though he has yet to meet many of them.

atausiq. he offers his chosen name in return.

there's a sandbar, atausiq offers in explanation with a quirk of his lips. it comes and it goes. a lofty shrug is given followed by a very brief glimpse over his shoulder. my pack resides on the isle there. atausiq gestures towards it with his muzzle; finding that he likes the way it feels to call yuèlóng 'his' even though he simply means it as any other pack member does. it is his siren bride and his to-be sister that steer at its helm.

still, he surprises himself at how well he's adapting. what brings you this way? atausiq inquires, for even though sea lion shores is neutral territory he still feels defensive of it.