Ocean's Breath Plateau Shoreline Like Vines

Heph moved about the territory with a familiarity borne out of genuine time spent. She was confident in her own understanding of the lands Moontide had claimed and her own exploration of them. While a part of her remained breathless at the prospect of uncharted territories, at least to her, there was a familiarity and comfort with knowing a place. Earlier in the day she had cached a few rabbits and bolted down one so she was taking the opportunity to once again survey the land as it moved past her and perhaps meet some of her new packmates. Though her first meeting with one other than Rodyn or Samani had not gone well she did not let that deter her confidence about getting along with the rest or her curiosity from the glimpses she had caught at the pack howl and around the territory.

Mojag had been exploring the tide pools again, and this time he was patient enough to let the sea come in close and fill them; he waited until the tide started to ease out again, and he found the largest pool he could, to check what might be inside. In this instance he was fortunate enough to find a strange spotted fish!

As the water began to drain, he saw the top-most fin and got excited. He let out a few barks, startling some of the gulls doing the same thing overhead; they were watching the pools for a meal, and watching him, and his raucous excitement made them nervous enough to wing away. He didn't care - he'd found a fish!

The boy slapped his paws on the ground, his tail fanning the air. He didn't notice the other wolf wandering around yet - not until he'd tried to lunge at the fish and grab for it, snapping at the water and swallowing a good amount of it. The salt was disgusting; he sputteerd and spat, recoiling from it, and saw the wolf's silhouette a moment later as he blinked water from his eyes.

Hey! A little wheeze accompanied his call; —lookit this!

She saw another wolf in the distance weaving through the tidepools, but she did not hurry her pace quite yet. But as she neared she thought she detected movement, the sound of a splash and something as it struggled and her curiosity only increased. Picking up a slightly more jaunty trot she approached to a stop just in time to see the wolf spit out a mouthful of saltwater and she winced in sympathy having done that more than once already. Some of his face was covered in water and she let out a good natured laugh, assessing him after the vigorous movement to see if whatever he had caught had managed to injure him, her voice light and teasing "I'd just as soon look at you, you make quite a sight there." But as it became apparent he had been successful in his catch she turned her attention to the spotted fish he had caught in the tidepools. While she had wandered the shore she had not hunted much on it and she found the creature unfamiliar to her beyond its most general description as some sort of water-dweller. Her voice was questioning as she peered closer. "Huh what is it?" Though she had not met him before she recognized him and his voice from the pack howl and he smelled like Moontide which was enough to set her somewhat at ease.

Mo didn't bother trying to grab for the fish again. He was thrilled to witness it, and to have an audience at the same time. The stranger looked more amused by the display that Mojag made of himself, but he didn't mind the scrutiny.

Its a fish! I don't know what kind of fish. It looks different from the ones I've seen before, it wasn't going to be like a river fish, he figured.

Its got a weird shape! Kind of like -- like a snake mouth, I guess? I only got a quick look. And its got spots! Do you see them? The fish was moving around in the pool as best it could, and at times its back flashed in the open air, or a fin; the spots were vibrant white on brown.

The movement of the fish made it hard to discern the spots but in between flashes of movement she saw the coloration that the other wolf noticed first. "I do." Her tone was speculative, only half paying attention to the other wolf most of her gaze fixed on the movement of the fish flailing about. Nodding her head she peered closer watching it flail about in the tidepool. Enclosed as it was she took only a moment to notice the pattern of movement it was forced to follow and pulled her own head back tensing before shooting her muzzle forward, teeth bared. She lacked a strong hold on the fish but tasted it and the slip of its skin and blood in her teeth as well as a mouthful of sand and salt.

Sneezing she spat the thing towards the sand to let it flop and flail on land, blood trickling from the place where she had managed to grab it with her teeth. Spitting out the sand and salt she bemoaned that she would either have to wash her mouth with saltwater or stand the granules in her teeth and over her tongue. But before worrying about that she rectified the sloppy kill and wrapped her jaws around the head and body, until the last tremors of it stopped moving. Letting it go she shook her head out. "Ouch." Looking more closely she was able to detect her own blood coating its top fin the stinging in her mouth intensified. "Guess I should've just looked, I don't think I'll be able to eat comfortably for awhile." She tried to spit again, her own blood mingling with the fish and the sand on the beech. She gave her head another good shake but the stinging did not abate.

Mojag was excited by his first find, and would have stayed right there to study the fish had his new friend not lunged for it so suddenly! She snapped at the water and within seconds her teeth scored the fish. Throughout the splashing and the sudden tumult of the moment, the boy gave a choked protest of oh no - dont - !!

It was too late.

The fish was wounded and struggling where she'd dropped it. Mojag watched with a horrified expression at first which transformed in to a muted sort of resignation. He nosed at the fish as it gave its last few twitches, its wet body - now streaked with red where the skin had been punctured - dappled with brilliant white spots, as he'd thought.

The woman said something about looking and not touching and Mojag wanted to be friendly, or commiserate over her injury, but - he found more remorse inside of himself, rather than care for the woman. Why did you do that? He asked blithely, trying to shake the effect the moment held over him.

I was trying to show you the fish, not eat it.

Heph heard too late the call to stop. As she looked up from shaking her head she managed to catch his question. Shrugging her shoulders she tried to figure out how to talk past the pain in her mouth. Shrugging her shoulders her tone was almost imperceptibly tight with discomfort but she still managed a casual tone. "Sorry, sorry!" There was no regret in voice though which someone detracted from any severity in her words. There was a huff of laughter at her own carelessness as she explained. "I thought we'd both be able to see it better if it wasn't moving around and we might get a meal out of it too." The roof of her mouth still stung and it was starting to make her thoughts feel a bit sluggish although whether it was truly an added effect or just a byproduct of the stinging in her mouth she was not sure. Hesitating she decided to venture to ask. "You wouldn't happen to know if it is poisonous though?" She eyed the fish warily, making no move to snap it up and further her pain.