Totoka River pressure wouldn’t squash me and fire couldn’t burn

for @Jorunn!

The sun slowly crept across the sky for hours upon hours. Beneath it the seasman’s trots as though he hadn’t been walking all day long. Even as the sky turned brilliant shades of orange and red and violet, he moves with a skip in his step and merrily hums a shanty. The tune of which fades as he steps into a delta that spreads across this beach’s sands.
Pure and crystalline, Valentine cannot help but stare at his reflection. He is beautiful, he notes with a smile. Especially now against the sunset. He leaned downward and picked at the hair that lined his cheeks with a paw. His eyes never leave the ones staring back at him until he sees a gull in his peripheral. It circled and circled, then dove towards him.
”Finally found ye! Sneaky devil!!”
Valentine shut his eyes and pursed his lips as the gull beat his wings in his face. He’d forgotten how painful it was.
Teka! He shook the feathers that clung to the fur on his face. The bird landed at his feet and glared up at him.
”I should kill ye, know dat? Runnin’ off witout tellin’ a soul where ye goin! Makin’ me job harder den it should be.”
Happy to see you too. He glanced sidelong and rolled his eyes.
”De recruits, boy!” Teka‘s wings outstretched as he waddled closer. ”WHERE DE RECRUITS?!”

the lone, pale figure trekking through the sands paused abruptly, ears pulled forward and alert. the strangest voices had reached her, a wolf and... something unidentifiable. yakone had never heard a bird speak before, and had no point of reference for this strange occurrence when she dared to investigate and spotted the odd pair. as disconcerting as it was, the strangeness excited her.

her tail began to wag uncertainly, picking up to a cheerful fan as she watched in captivated silence. delighted, kona pranced forward with little hopping movements and barked her excitement. hello! her eyes said as she danced 'round the pair, dipping into playful bows between every few hop-steps. curiosity sparkled in her silver gaze. who are you? what are you doing?

If there was one thing that could pick at Valentine’s nerves (or peck rather), it was Teka. That was a hefty accomplishment. The gull ought to win a medal. But who wouldn’t be annoyed by a bird constantly squawking in their ears.
I’m working on that —
”Don’t seem like it to me, ye lousy dog!”
It took all the strength in the world not to roll his eyes to the back of his head.
”Look at ye, out here alone. No crew at ye side —“
And it was then that someone came to his side. A pale woman with a scarlet heart. Teka was shocked to silence. Valentine grinned. Her arrival was a god sent miracle. 
See? I’m not such a lousy dog after all. Teka, allow me to introduce… His voice trailed off, and he slowly leaned in closer towards the woman and whispered; Ah… what’s your name again?

her entrance seemed to interrupt an argument of sorts, and the other wolf acknowledged her with a grin. yakone took a moment to truly examine him, and found herself somewhat flustered. he was... handsome. how embarrassing!

her tail fanned behind her, visible excitement fading into little body wiggles and faint snorts. the man seemed to be pretending to know her, showing off to his odd little friend; yakone might have played along, if she could have. but when he leaned close and asked her name, all she could do was smile a little shyly and reach out to lick his chin. she had no answers for him.

Valentine awaited an answer. So did Teka with a beady, skeptical glare. The woman was silent, however. She gave nothing but a brief kiss and a sweet smile, to which he cleared his throat and gave an airy laugh. That was unexpected to say the very least, but he mustn’t let it distract him.
Apologies, she’s a bit shy. He stepped took a step back, took the whole of her in with a few nods. Her name is Peony.
”Peony?” The gull squawked. Disbelief lingered in his voice, but it was not as evident as his gaze just moments before. 
Yes, Peony. And there’s others like her..
”… Good. Well, I be off for now.” He waddled away, wings outstretched and ready for takeoff. ”’N for Auk’s sake boy, pick a camp ’n stay in it! I’m getting sick of huntin’ ye down.”
With that Teka took to the skies. Valentine sighed in relief and rolled his eyes. 
I cannot stand that bird. More hen then gull. He turned back to the woman. His smile had returned. Right. Well I’m one hell of a guessing game player but I have a hard time believing I got your name right. So what shall I call you?

the man waited, but no response would come. he seemed to catch on after a moment, supplying his own name for her which seemed to mollify the strange little bird he answered to. yakone watched the scene with her head tilted, gaze following the bird until it was out of sight.

the man spoke to her again, and her eyes turned back to him. her head tilted in the opposite direction, and she gave an imploring whine. she ducked her head to nip gently at his legs, dancing in place and twirling once with a toss of her head as she stepped back. do you get it now? her eyes seemed to say.

Perhaps the exit of his feathered familiar would urge some words out of her. Witnessing a talking bird shocked the words out of most wolves after all. She probably was no different.
But still she did not speak. Only nipped at his ankles (the second surprise of the day), whined, and shuffled in place. He chuckled lightly at the oddity of it all.
What is it, mate? You don’t have a name? Still no answer. Valentine took a step back and hummed thoughtfully.  His eyes slowly grew alight, as a small match would, as the realization came to him.
Ah I see… you can’t speak can you?

the pale wolf smiled slightly, bemused but delighted to find that the man's first assumption was that she lacked a name. there was no end to the unique ways others took her silence, no shortage of diversity in their reactions. thankfully, he seemed to catch on to the truth quite quickly after that.

kona gave a simple nod, bored of this particular line of interaction now that the novelty had begun to wear off. she whirled around with a glance and a woof over her shoulder, trotting a few steps forward in a clear gesture of invitation. perhaps he would hunt with her now that he had figured out the situation.

She confirmed she was mute with a brief nod. He’d known his fair share of silent types — Gylfie came to the forefront of his mind — but even they uttered a word every once in awhile. Peony would be the first wolf he’d met to not speak at all.
She turned around and gestured Valentine to her side with a guttural bark. He’d follow along.
Taking me on an adventure?