Sea Lion Shores squid to be stolen

@Vienna

Luke had a secret passtime. Except it was not really a secret, the blue-nosed wolf was quite open to sharing and even teaching others how to be effective at the game; but the fact of the matter was that was Luke was a thief. He was born with a natural inclination toward snatching things from others, demonstrating an early prowess for taking his siblings' toys and food. As he grew a bit older, it became a thrill-seeking hobby, something he felt a rush from doing, something exciting when life was otherwise stable and quiet. Later, it had even been an advantageous skill to have in his back pocket for when food was scarce.  

Now Luke crouched in the sands, eyeballing a sea lion that had just come ashore with a catch of squid. Luke had never had squid, it would be an exotic treat for him, and he was eager to taste it, but the seal was not in the right position yet. It was still lumbering its way to a spot to eat. So Luke would bide his time.

Vienna, being the intrepid explorer she was, had decided that another trip to the coast would be a rather fine thing.  Her proclivity to wander was in high form as spring graced Teekon with its presence and she was fully enjoying the beautiful weather.  Her trip to the coast had led her through lands she had already traveled, but she looked on them with new eyes because she had never seen them in spring before!

She still intended to take that trip north with Jace... soon.  But for now she headed west, through the familiar mountain passes and forests to the sandy beaches.  She still hadn't quite gotten over the wide berth she gave the looming cliffs, though her mind dwelled less on such things, and it was more a habit than an active avoidance.  

When she finally reached the sand (after a very fluid, undetermined amount of travel time because I can), she stopped and stared for a moment before giving a single, elated bark and galloping towards the waves.  With a leap she entered the water, allowing the push and pull to carry her a short ways before leaping out once more, now soaked in the brine.   With a happy laugh and a shake, she expelled some of the water, then began to stride along the edge of the tide, the water lapping at her paws refreshingly at intervals.

Before too long the specks that were Luke and the seal began to grow, and when they came into view she stopped to watch, intrigued.  She could tell immediately that the wolf was focused, so did not wish to disturb, for once observant enough to not barrel in without hesitation though the temptation was there. 

When the seal found what it believed to be a secure spot to consume its catch, Luke made his move. He leaped forward and rocketed toward the seal. As there was no cover to hide behind in order to make a slow, calculated sneak toward the target, his strategy this time was to surprise it and make off, well, like a bandit. His athletic legs held nothing back and he reached the seal in mere moments. There was no pause to his reckless charge, when Luke got to the seal he grabbed hold of the squid and kept on going, ripping it not-so-cleanly from the teeth of the aquatic predator, who for their effort would be left with one tentacle and a bit to eat. It roared after him, but it could do nothing more than watch its meal be whisked away.

Once the white wolf got back to where he had more or less started, his eyes met a smoky figure he had not noticed before. "Hey!" he called out, his tail waving. "Come on over!"

She found herself bouncing on her toes as the wolf edged closer, a huge smile on her face as she silently cheered the guy on in his obvious challenge.  As he shot forward, her breath caught, half expecting the angry seal to take a chunk out of him for his daring.  Instead, he made off with the prize, the seal left holding barely a scrap.

Heart now effectively racing, she met his gaze as he finally seemed to realize she was there, then her attention went to the thing he'd stolen.  As she approached, she could now tell it was a squid.  It had been a while since seafood had been in her vicinity.  Though the spectacle had delighted her, and still the grin was seated on her face, she shook her head.  "What'd the seal ever do to you, to deserve goin to bed hungry tonight?"  She asked, tail waving.  "Imagine what it's poor children will think!"  Well, that is.. if it had any.

Luke was delighted to see the gray female oblige his invitation, but quirked a brow at her commentary as she approached. "I left him a piece," he answered back in a joking fashion and gave her a wink. Although he was a compassionate creature he was also a predator, and on top of his thrill seeking personality he was possessed by predatory instincts and thus saw his actions as both entertainment and an example of survival of the fittest. It was not a crime nor an indecent act. It was even wise to keep such skills in practice, in case they were needed when the situation was more dire.

Incidentally however, he was at this time well fed and finding food in plenty, so he did not mind the female's company and was even open to sharing with her. In leaner times, he would not have been so welcoming, in fact he was more apt to be aggressive and would have hoarded his food, keeping it to himself, looking out for number one. Luke placed the squid on the ground, holding its slippery carcass as best he could while he tore off a chunk and tossed it to the girl. "Have a bite," he encouraged as he sank to his belly, preparing to eat. He first introduced himself. "I'm Luke. Master thief," he winked again.

Indeed he had, and the sight of that large creature holding such a small part of the prize had actually been a little amusing to her.  "Somehow I doubt he was so grateful."  Then she laughed. "That was pretty amazing! Master thief... So you do that often?" That meant he likely had a good story or two to tell. The lives of rogues were always so exciting! Some were willing to share, others were more tight-lipped, but those who were always found an eager audience in her.

"Thanks," came her response to his offer, gladdened by his friendly manner and the fact that he was nice enough to willingly share. She grabbed a bite, then stepped back, closing her eyes in appreciation. She'd forgotten how much she loved seafood. "So good! I'm Vienna. Wanderer extraordinaire."

"Well thank you!" Luke beamed, his tail thumping the sand. Swiping some squid from a slow moving animal like a seal on land was not much of a feat, but he appreciated the compliment thus accepted it with confidence. Luke had stolen a meal from almost any predator one could think of: a rabbit from a weasel, a fawn kill from a coyote, a big salmon from a bear. One of these days it was bound to get him into trouble, but so far he had lived up to his just-now self-proclaimed title of master thief. "It's something of a hobby of mine," he chuckled as he bent his head to take the first bite of his stolen prize. The texture was surprising and the saltiness of the sea evident, but Luke found that he enjoyed it.

"It is good!" he agreed, taking another bite, smiling at his new companion. "Are you wandering somewhere specific or just wherever"? he queried.

It was some hobby, and Vienna was impressed. Surely his life was never dull, as roguish figures always made the best story protagonists. Not only did their occupation lend itself towards adventure, but their skill set as well. There was hardly a quest that didn't involve a thief's trade in one way or another!

"Nowhere specific, though i usually know it when I find it!" She answered happily. "I usually just explore until I find a place to strike my fancy. Which isn't hard to find." Most places did, after all. "I'm from a pack east of here, in the mountains. What about you? Passing through, or do you live around here?"

Luke could not help but grin broadly at his new companion, for her words sounded so much like him, and his tail beat the sand with evident amusement and delight. "Aha, I can relate!" he said brightly. "I always say I go where the wind blows me and the river carries me," he laughed. If he had a motto, that was it. How many wolves had he told that to since he left home? A fair number, to be sure. "I'm from far up north, but I plan to live here, somewhere. I'll know where when I find it," he winked, using her own words but they were words he had said before as well.

It would seem they were birds of a feather, and her delight mirrored his own in finding this happy fact.  "It's a wonderful way to be!"  It had been a while since she'd fully gone where the wind took her, but her wandering paws had gotten little rest since her homestay a few months ago.  "Do you have any sort of image in mind, even a bit?"  She hadn't, for her idea of a home was more about the wolves in it than the landscape.  As focused a naturalist as she may be, she could always travel to see lovely sights.  Home didn't need to be the prettiest, or the most majestic.  It was just by perfect coincidence she'd had the luck to find all of the above in the spire.

"It sure is!" Luke beamed, his eyes closing momentarily in utter contentment. Many did not understand his impulsive and carefree ways, or at least could not relate to them, so planned and purposeful were their days. "Of where I want to live?" he asked, although he was not really looking for an answer, having understood the first time what she meant. "Yeah! Well," he paused. "Not an image. But a requirement. Wherever I settle has to have water, and that water must have fish I can eat and be big enough that I can swim in." His tail waved.

Not only a sensible requirement, but a fun one too, and she approved of it wholeheartedly.  The mountain didn't have much water to offer, but she traveled often enough that she didn't miss this much.  Swimming could be easily done elsewhere, though that wasn't to say she wouldn't like having more nearer home.  "That sounds wonderful," she agreed.  "Kind of like where I grew up.  Though seawater isn't some wolves' cup of tea."  She liked swimming in it fine, but she knew others avoided it for the brine.

Since they seemed to be kindered souls in many ways, she was curious on another point.  "If you find this place, would you leave it often?  Travel?"  

Luke gently bobbed his head as Vienna spoke, especially when she mentioned sea water. The blue-nosed wolf appreciated the sea for what it was, but it would never hold the same place in his heart as a wide flowing creek or deep lake, or any other freshwater source.

"Not too often," he replied to her next question. "I'm really looking forward to settling down and being among packmates," he smiled, perhaps a bit wistfully as he imagined life in a pack again. He dearly missed it, as much as he was enjoying himself now. "I think I'll do some outriding, but I wouldn't want to be away from home all the time," he said. At least outriding would afford him the chance to explore and stretch his legs outside of the pack territory, and he would not likely be gone for more than a few days at a time. That would be enough for him.

His sentiments echoed those of most, and she ingested the words, musing a bit.  She did wonder at times if she was a bit of an odd duck, enjoying the wandering so much that sometimes (guiltily) she even forgot home for a bit.  She always returned, and always came to miss it... but it was so easy for her to get lost in her travels, and in the people she met along the way.  They all had such interesting things to share.  Those back home did as well, but it was different.  She could find brightness wherever she went, but it was in discovery that she flourished most.

"It is nice to have a home to return to, definitely.  I am often away, but I do miss it.  Good packmates make it harder to wander."  She said truthfully, making the distinction though she had never known a bad packmate.  She was sure they existed, and counted herself fortunate not to have met any.  Her luck had held so far!  "Bet the seals will be glad to hear that, though I'm sure the predators wherever you end up will soon come to appreciate it less."  She smiled at the thought of grumbly bears moving on, forced away by the thief's incessant raids.

Luke bobbed his head with an agreeing mmm. His thoughts briefly drifted to images of a pack, among good wolves that one did not want to part from, and his tail waved. His wandering mind was brought back to now with a laugh at her comment about the seals. "Yeah, I bet they will be," he grinned, his gaze shifting to glance at the seals. The one had had stolen the squid from had moved on, perhaps back to the sea to find another meal, one it would hope to keep. "My finest theft was a rabbit from an eagle," he shared, recalling this moment, when he had been at the right spot at the right time. Crouched in the bush, he watched as the eagle descended onto a grazing rabbit, and before it could carry its catch off, Luke seized it. It was not an opportunity that came around often, and had not since.

She tried to imagine how he would have gotten a rabbit from an eagle, the image that played within her head highly impressive.  That had to take some skill.  "Amazing.  That's not something you hear happening often!"  She'd heard a couple of times of eagles being caught and eaten themselves, but somehow stealing prey from one seemed harder.  She wouldn't relish having to face those wicked claws or beak.

She saw an opportunity, though, and took it eagerly.  She had never passed such an occasion before and wasn't about to start now.  "Have any that make a good story?" she asked with pure, innocent hope in both voice and expression, cocking her head in a questioning way.  It was an action she tended to perform and had become a bit of a habit, even when she was young.  She had the soul of a bard and any occasion for a good yarn was good by her.

Luke grinned broadly, nodding his head. "It was pretty cool," he said brightly. "I just happened to be at the right place and right time to do it. Otherwise I would have missed out because he was going to fly off with it." If only Luke could fly, what mischief would he get himself into then.

"A good story," he hummed as he considered the many thefts he had performed. There was one that came to mind, of a successful theft in which he got more than he bargained for. "One of my first times stealing from a bear," he began. "Was when I saw one with some honeycomb. I had never tasted honey, but I wanted to." He grinned again as he remembered, stifling laughter between his words. "I got the honeycomb, but that bear was so pissed, I'm telling you. I was running from the bear when I started getting stung in my mouth. The honeycomb still had dozens of bees on it." Luke started laughing, shaking his head. "My mouth and parts of my face were so swollen. But never was there honey that tasted so sweet."

Mmm, honey.  Something Vienna hadn't had the pleasure of consuming often, but definitely a delicacy.  She imagined the prize would be worth almost any danger, though the experience he described made her second guess that decision.  A mouthful of stings sounded awful.  "In your mouth?  I bet that was fun to heal."  She shuddered, but her bright smile never wavered.  "An amazing story though!  Some might say karma kicked in."  She gave him a teasing wink.

She'd never put much stock in a merit system on life, though, and Luke didn't seem to deserve so harsh a consequence really.  Her cheerful demeanor demanded flippancy, though, and so fell into it enthusiastically, especially so because it rebounded off his own similar nature.  She found this male easier to get along with than most she had met up with, and easier to talk to.  Maybe because, like her, he saw no point in shutting others out.  So many threw their walls up so quickly, she could barely get a foot in the door.

"It was the bee's knees," he joked, shaking his head a bit as he recalled just how fun that had been. It was a nightmare to eat and drink for some time after, and even when the pain had subsided, it had been replaced with enough itching to cause a wolf to lose its mind. Inside, outside, there had been enough stings to deter a more sensible wolf, but for Luke, all it did was spur him to try again, but he had not yet found another opportunity to do so.

"Yeah," he agreed, "the bear got the last laugh on that one. I don't know how they do it. I mean he was all up in their honey comb and did not seem bothered by it." Luke pursed his lip for a moment at this thought. Was it their fur? Did they just not give a damn? Whatever it was, the blue-nosed wolf envied them for it. "I will try it again someday," he affirmed. "Now that I'm twice the wiser but just as foolish," he grinned and winked.

Mind if we wrap? :)

"Maybe you should ask one sometime.  Y'know, before you steal its dinner, of course."  Maybe then it'd be inclined to answer.  His wordplay delighted her, and she had the sudden playful urge to ask a very important question.  One that might be presumptuous, but to the ever-friendly and always optimistic female, one that followed naturally after a pleasant exchange such as this.

"Do you think.... you could show me how?"  Her eyes shone as she asked, and her tail took on a hopeful wag.  He needn't show her everything, but she would love to learn a trick or two from a master such as he.  If they could find a proper victim, of course!  Perhaps not the most honorable or upstanding of habits to pick up from an aquaintance, but an interesting one, and she was caught up in the roguish fun of it.  Hopefully he'd say yes!

sure!

"I should," Luke laughed, briefly imagining himself chatting up a bear before swiping its hard earned honey comb. But soon that thought was replaced by one of teaching someone else his trade. It was not something anyone had asked of him before, it was not something most endeavored to learn. Was it even something he could teach? "Hm," he hummed, making an exaggerated display of looking her up down as though assessing her suitability. He was, of course, just playing. "I think so," he grinned, his tail wagging. "There's just one problem," he paused. "The seals have already seen me, and I don't see another one with some grub anyway," he glanced across the seals again, and saw no possible target. "But tell you what," he continued. "Next time we cross paths, perhaps inshore somewhere, we'll go find us a victim, eh?"

She would have been willing to stray from the shore, but he seemed to have reason to remain.  The disappointment was fleeting, the thought of the unlikelihood of their crossing paths again drowned by the idea of how fun it would be should that occur.  Never mind she was planning on leaving for a while and had no clue where he hoped to settle.

"Sounds great! I'll hold you to that."  She winked, then paused a brief moment before preparing to head out.  She didn't want to keep him from anything.  "Good luck in finding that water place.  For what it's worth, hope you stick around!" And not just because she had a lesson to collect on. The area could never have enough pleasant souls to run into. "I'll see you around!" With a final wave of her tail she bounded off, back towards the mountain that made her home.

"Yeah, I hope I see you again! I really would like to show you a trick or two about thieving," he returned her earlier wink. "See ya!" he called as she bounded away. For a few moments he watched as she became a small form in the distance. Then he reclined in the sun, having decided he would let his squid digest a bit before wandering off himself.