Cerulean Cape there's your obstacle.

Penn gave his coat a hard shake, annoyed by the light, misting rain that kept his fur uncomfortably damp. A chill ran along his spine as he paced along the cold sand, gazing out at the sharp waves that made such a ruckus as they crashed into the shore. He was only kinda sorta trying to avoid the waves, not coming close enough that they overtook him, but feeling free to walk close enough that they'd catch him up to his knees every so often when he didn't dart quick enough out of their reach. It was a game, but a boring one. He could've made it much more interesting, but he was distracted at that moment by the aching hunger in his gut.

He turned away from the waves, peering ahead and to his right as the clusters of rocks that lined the beach. He kept his eyes peeled for seagulls trying to keep cover from the weather, but he wouldn't limit his options if something else happened along. Not that he knew what that something else could possibly be except maybe more seaside birds. Or maybe that weird thing that was skittering across the sand ahead.

Wait, what?

Penn stopped, staring at the creature with wide, curious eyes. He hadn't spent too much time in this sort of environment before so he'd never seen anything remotely like a crab before. He wondered at first if it was some sort of frog, but it was flat, and it was... There were no words.

The yearling watched it curiously for a few minutes before trotting forward to get a closer look, unaware that it had claws and he was very unlikely to appreciate that.

If there was one thing Maia hated worse than being hungry, it was being wet.  Though that order would probably switch again if she hadn't just eaten... and wasn't currently wet.    She shivered in the fall breeze and paused to fluff out, groaning in annoyance.  Why did winter have to be a thing? Summer was so niceeee.

Maybe I can convince Wraen we should go somewhere warm, she mused quietly.  But, honestly, the image of the north with huge expanses of snow and huge bears and warrior wolves was SUPER appealing.  It just came with cold, and cold was awful.  D'you think a place exists with warm snow?  Sand is kind of like warm snow...

Maia shook her head and chuckled to herself, then looked up.  She stopped short when she saw a wolf ahead.  Hold on.... HEY I KNOW YOU!  She bellowed.  She knew that stripe, but from this far away, she couldn't exactly tell who it was or put a name to it.

Penn was very conflicted when he heard the words HEY I KNOW YOU! On one hand, he fancied himself to be a mighty popular and recognizable wolf, so it was gratifying when that proved to be true. On the other, he ran the risk of it being someone he wasn't much interested in seeing. So, he turned slowly to peer over his shoulder at the form that had spotted him further down the beach. And when he recognized her, he felt... conflicted.

Maia. He'd liked Maia when he was a kid, and part of him was happy to see her. He'd been pissed to hear that Fenn's family now ran the Copse because Wraen had bailed. It had made him feel even more like there was no room for him there; it was a Redhawks only zone, and if you weren't a Redhawk, then you didn't belong. It made Wraen and Maia outcasts like he was, which had made him feel less alone, and now made him feel sightly resentful.

He'd convinced himself he liked being alone. And here Maia was going to come and fucking ruin it.

Still uncertain, he dragged one of his charming smiles across his young face and called back, "NO SHIT!" He wagged his tail, not knowing if it was because he thought his response amusing or because that part of him that was happy to see her was stronger than he thought.

Maia wasn't one to notice subtleties in others as a rule, so she just beamed back as she came closer and finally recognized Penn.  She laughed when he yelled back, shaking her head.  Yeah, well, you try recognizing a tail from a mile away and see how well you do it!  She responded cheerfully, exaggerating without shame.  It was really good to see him.

What are you doing here anyway?!  Did we finally catch up to you?  Last she knew, he and Fennec had been off doing a trip, something she approved of a whole heck of a lot as a traveler herself.  If she'd been there when they left she might have even offered to go along.

Penn felt some trepidation as she approached, but he kept up his facade of joy (was it a facade, Penn? Really?) He didn't like others knowing when he was upset, unless it was anger. Anger was cool. Weepy sad sads were lame. And Penn Blackthorn was anything but lame.

He snickered at her retort, but didn't offer one of his own. He ought to have, he realized when the next question came. It might've distracted her from asking that shit question about things he didn't like to talk about. But he was being cool Penn, so he gave a nonchalant shrug and did his best to sidestep the whole Where's Fenn? conversation. "Something like that, I guess," he commented, "I've been traveling solo the past few weeks. I stopped by the Copse to shake off some baggage, but you guys were already gone. What's the story behind that? You still hangin' around with Wraen?" 

He left no time to question further about said "baggage" and merely crossed his toes that she would be distracted with telling her own story rather than have him expand upon his.

Yeah I... guess traveling alone can be fun too.  Maia responded a little awkwardly.  It was pretty clear she didn't believe it, but she wasn't about to knock it if it was what he wanted to do!  The only thing that got her was the baggage comment.  She would have felt horrible if anyone ever called her something like that, and wasn't he talking about Fennec when he said it?

He did it so easily, though, that she could only assume it was fine and he was joking.  Still, wasn't that kind of a mean joke?  Her sensitive side wanted to see what was up there, but avoiding unpleasant conversations was a pretty big priority for her.

Well, I'm glad to see you, anyway!  She said, picking her verve back up.  Wraen and Arcturus and I have just been kinda hanging out on the coast for now!  They didn't like that Firebirds were doin so much with Moonspear, so we left.  It isn't like we hate anyone there or anything! I'm definitely planning on going back for a visit at some point.  Traveling is just so much fun, and there's so many cool places out here to see.  Maia delivered this in a bit of a rush.  Then she paused, as if a lightbulb went off.  If you wanted, I mean, you could totally join us?  At least for a bit, if you feel like company.  

He'd literally just said he was happy to be alone, but Maia couldn't connect that to being true in her mind.  How could any wolf be happy with only themselves to talk to?

Penn might've informed her that traveling alone was a blast, but he held his tongue and merely grinned. Part of him honestly did enjoy being alone, and not just because he had some serious rejection and committment issues. He liked his independence. He liked deciding where he went and when without having to worry about what someone else wanted. He'd had that with Fenn, though. She'd always been up for anything and despite her disability, he'd never really felt like he had to worry about her. She'd never been a burden...

Erm. Uh. But yeah, fuck her. So.

He was relieved when she went on to talk about her own travels, as he'd wanted her to. He hadn't paid much attention to any of the drama that had been explained to them while he'd been at the Copse--preferring to roll his eyes and sulk and stare pointedly off into space whenever someone other than Fennec was talking to him. He was intrigued now about this Moonspear place that apparently had been enough of a point of contention that it had caused Wraen to leave.

The last bit slapped him right in the face, though. Join them? No. Absolutely not. What the fuck.

Fortunately, he didn't say any of that out loud. "I was going to continue along the coast and head up North, go ranging in the mountains for a bit," he said, completely making it up on the fly. He was going to say more, but he hesitated. He was hungry, and there was better food to be caught when you weren't running solo. "...But I could hold off for a few days. It'd be cool to say 'hi' to Wraen again and give her some shit." He didn't know about what, but he'd figure it out.

Okay, great!!  She wouldn't have been too bothered if he had said no, but she was thrilled that he accepted. Even if it was for just a few days.  She'd always felt a little out of place with the Blackthorns in the Firebirds, partly for the same reasons as Wraen, but partly her own doing.  She just hadn't been around a whole lot.  For some reason, meeting Penn now felt a little different, like they were on more equal footing.  Sure, he was like, young... but he also didn't have an entire family he'd probably much rather hang out with than her.

Wraen will be happy to get more of that, it's a full time job.  Maia added brightly, waving her tail.  She didn't bug her sister nearly as well as Penn undoubtedly did, but she kept things interesting at the very least.  The mountains, though? That's awesome!  Anything particular up there you wanted to see?

Her joy at his acceptance pleased him, making him feel more at ease with the decision. If nothing else, he'd get some attention for a couple of days and a spotlight under which to brag about his accomplishments during his travels. Those were always nice, even if the arrangement did come with its risks. Ah well, he was good at avoiding things when he needed to. 

"Nothing in particular," he answered, "The views are pretty cool, and mountain climbing in general is fun. Hunting on mountainsides is fun too--it's a cool challenge. Oh, speaking of which..." Turning, he looked back at the crab that had slowly begun to scuttle away behind his back, "D'you have any idea what the fuck this thing is?" he asked Maia, not taking his eyes from the bizarre alien rock thing.

Sounds like a lot of work, Maia said with a gentle laugh behind the words.  She wasn't a fan of work in general, and hunting on a mountain sounded even worse than hunting normally.  She loved a good chase sometimes!  But not when the 'tired' outweighed the far more important 'fun' aspect.  And definitely never when 'frustrating' was thrown into the mix.  Mountain hunting? Most definitely frustrating.

Maia probably should know what it was, she'd been visiting the coast for a very long while.  But she'd never actually been to the beach beach.  Maybe she hit the shore up once, but that was more to briefly view the ocean, not to examine and learn about the local wildlife.  Ummm, some kind of bug?  If it was fantastical she might have had an idea, but a crab was too normal to ever feature in one of her mother's stories.  She leaned in for a closer look.  Or a really weird crawfish?  She'd dug up some of those from rivers in her youth for snacks, and this had similar claws.  That was about where the comparison stopped though.

Penn frowned at the creature. Maia didn't appear to have any better idea of what it was than he did, though her suggestion was a fair one. "It does look kinda like a spider," he mused aloud, "If spiders were made of rocks..." He hadn't touched it yet to know for sure, but that certainly looked like a hard shell encasing it. That was intriguing in itself. Something so well protected had to be hiding some delicious meats, right?

"Let's find out if it's edible, hm?" Penn suggested, a bright grin dancing across his muzzle as he picked up his paws and hopped over to it. The crab stopped its scuttling and stared at him, little claws raised. Ignoring the defensive stance (and honestly, just not even noting it for what it was), the Blackthorn reached out to grab it. Unfortunately, he was not the only one capable of grabbing. In the next second, Penn was reeling backwards with a yelp, the crab now attached by its pincer to the wolf's upper lip.

"FUUU---" Penn screeched, surprised and in pain. He flailed his head backwards, hurting himself even more as the crab held on tight to him. He dropped his head to the ground then and tried to grab at the crab with his paws and pull himself away, crying,  "GET IT OFF ME!" as he failed to free himself.

Maia had no reason to stop him. She'd been eyeing it for the same reason, but fortunately, Penn had decided against "ladies first".  She winced as the thing clamped down on his nose and took a quick step backwards, to avoid any of his frantic flailing.

Oh!! Oh shoot, hold....  She wasn't experienced enough to know how to remove it aside from the good old "yank and hope for the best" approach.  Here.  She inched forward and eyed it from behind, then bent down and grabbed hold of the thing.

It's legs immediately began to scrabble into a super awkward feeling way, and she felt her teeth slide before catching hold and clamping down on the rough shell.  Puuu she mumbled, tugging lightly back as if to demonstrate.  This was a very, very bad idea... but unless he had a better one?

The little fucker did not want to let go of him. He shot Maia a panicked look, desperate hope blooming in his chest as she reached for the creature. He had no better ideas than trying to just tug it off of his face. It didn't occur to him that it would hurt, but then again, it already hurt, so what was the difference? He whined pathetically as she grabbed it, trying to hold still. But the moment he noticed what she was doing, he decided to help her out by jerking backwards.

Okay, so there was a difference. This did hurt a lot more. Not that it stopped him.

Oh, oh shoot.  Nothing for it.  She closed her eyes, then crunched down as hard as she could on the crab.  Please be edible, please be edible.  The shell was mega-hard and uber crunchy, but with enough pressure her teeth burst through, and the thing died in a burst of juice that made her flinch.  

It wasn't just edible.  It was heckin delicious.

If it weren't for the darn shell she'd have finished the thing now, but instead she dropped it.  Hopefully now that it was dead, it would... let go.  Otherwise Penn would just have a dead bug mustache for the rest of his life.  Worse things?

WC: 108

It seemed Penn was destined to have a crab dangling from his face for the rest of his life. He considered accepting this fate--after all, it didn't seem like they had a choice. He had tugged back until he'd felt his lip tear, at which point he had stopped fighting and merely stood looking pathetic, bewildered and in pain. It was then he'd begun to contemplate what the rest of his life would be like with this wicked huge rock spider stuck to him. Maybe he should befriend it. Give it a name. They could travel and put on shows for all the wolves in the Wilds to see. Wouldn't that be fun.

It was the crunch of Maia's teeth through the creature's shell that snapped him out of his forlorned contemplation. He blinked in surprise as some of the weight fell away. He backpedaled once he knew he was free, tripping over his legs and landing hard on his haunches in the sand. He shook his head and blinked, licking his lips a few times and finding nothing there but his own blood seeping from the fresh cut on his upper lip. He wondered if it would scar. Maybe it would look cool. He didn't mind scars as long as they made him look cool.

But anyway.

"Fucking OUCH, what the SHIT WAS THAT??" he shouted as his emotions caught back up to him. He lowered his head, hackles bristled all along his black spine as he glared at the remains of the hellish creature in the sand in front of Maia.

Maia licked her lips as she looked at Penn sympathetically.  I dunno, but whatever it is, it tastes pretty good.  She frowned as she saw the blood on his face.  Jeeze, sorry!  I didn't know what else to do.  If you want, you can do the honors.  She wasn't about to eat the thing that had snipped him in the first place, that'd be super rude no matter how good it tasted.  Maybe she'd find her own later, though she wasn't sure how she'd catch one without a repeat.

Whatever it is, they don't mess around.  She looked automatically around them for any more that might be coming to get a bite of them themselves, but she didn't see anything in the vicinity.  For a little bugger it sure had a grip, and that sounded (and looked!) like it hurt!

WC: 140

Penn's face throbbed as he licked the blood off of his lips. The cut in his lip stung, but he'd experienced worse before. Still, he growled low as Maia spoke, his glaring gaze never leaving the heap of crab carcass. It was such a bizarre creature--he wouldn't put it past the thing to not really be dead.

"Hell no, I ain't going near that again," he replied, giving his coat a shake to relieve his nerves, "It's all yours if you want it. I'll find a seagull or something." Anything but crab. Anything but crab ever again.

Suit yourself.  Maia shrugged, then dug in with a cracking gusto.  This thing was delicious!  And she'd probably never get the chance to try it again because there was no way she'd be sticking her face next to anything that remotely looked like it. She licked her chops when she finished, then looked at the water, wondering how many other weird and delicious things lived out there.  Dang!  She should have taken some of this back for Wraen to try.  Too late now.

Maybe we can find something on the way, or if not, we have some good stuff piled up there.  It wasn't a ton, but it was enough that if they had an unlucky stretch they'd still eat.  He looked like he'd been eating alright, but she remembered what she'd been like on her own, and who knew?  She at least knew better than to ask.

WC: 148

Penn thought for a moment as he watched Maia's obvious enjoyment that perhaps he ought to have at least tried it, but he felt the sting of the cut on his lip as the salty breeze brushed over it and cringed. There were plenty of other delicious things in the world--this one could fall by the wayside. Surreptitiously, he turned his head to glance around and make sure there were no other rock spiders anywhere near him as he waited for her to finish eating. Seeing none, he relaxed a bit and turned back.

"Good stuff sounds good," he replied, smiling though it caused his lip to twinge, "Lead the way." Penn stood then to follow her, his doubts about the decision he'd made beginning to creep back in. He'd think of ways to redirect conversation if it came too close to things he wasn't comfortable with along the way.

wrap up? :)

He agreed to come and that was all she needed to hear!  If he had doubts Maia would hardly notice... she was one to enthusiastically take up the role of trip entertainer, and if he was up for stories or random chatter, she was there for it!

No matter the trip tone, she led him back to where Wraen and Arcturus waited, thrilled as anything to up their number by one familiar and highly welcome face.

WC: 76