Spring Break [Kesle]

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Long strides brought the aging beta down the beach, sand kicking up behind him in small clouds. Flying barely a foot above the grey wolf was the avian known as Isna. Kawing with clear delight, she made several swooping attempts to tug at Huxleyi's ears, warranting playful yips and growls from the big carnivore. It was an odd sight, but a heart warming one none the less. He'd found companionship among the wolves here - not simply with the bird wheeling above him, but with the wolves too. He hadn't realized until his return to Shyia how much he truly valued and appreciated having friends. He was certain that friendship and love were indeed the norm in life, and that he had been forced to stray from this path so very long ago. Strange how the rash decision of leaping into the ocean can turn one's life around.

Lost in thought, Huxleyi hadn't been paying attention to where he was running and soon felt the cold northern ocean against his paws. A wave rolled in, the water washing up near his knees as the tide began to rise. Stopping for a moment he stared out at the expanse of water heaving along his sight lines. How had he survived it? Shaking his head he turned back in time to dodge a formidable attempt at his left ear. His maneuver caused Isna to falter in her flight path, and she ended up landing abruptly in the sand a few paces off. Yipping like a pup, Huxleyi sauntered over and bowed before her playfully, tail wagging. The bird glared at him, hopping around in the sand awkwardly, then lunged again for his ear - this time successfully. Grabbing the velvet triangle gently, she gave a small tug then took off triumphantly. She had won whatever game they were playing, Huxleyi collapsing as if in defeat.

"Alright! You're the winner." Isna descended back downwards and landed beside her canine companion, looking rather pleased. "There really wasn't a doubt that I would win." She stated, ruffling her body feathers casually, before settling down in the sand next to Huxleyi. Cocking her head she peered up at him, her feathers bright and in full breeding buff. "Isna do you really intend to stay here through another season?" He asked, very serious now in his expression as he addressed the bird, "I mean, don't birds mate every year? Don't you want that?" Bobbing her head curiously, Isna let her features soften at Huxleyi and she sighed a bit, her breath a raspy kaw. "I suppose a family of my own would be nice. But I haven't seen any others like me around here. I'm so far off course I'm surprised I've survived this long."

Huxleyi hadn't considered that this was the incorrect region for Kittiwakes, and that perhaps Isna was simply stranded here, stuck playing out the rest of her life in the company of wolves. He wondered if she was happy in this present state, or if the longing for same species companionship was too much to bear. As if she had read his mind, she spoke again, "I am happy though, if that's what you're worried about. Without you I likely would have died the very night we met." Preening Huxleyi's flank fondly, the large male smiled again; a moment of wonder at their odd friendship. He said no more about it, but nodded in agreeance, now simply content to sit and stare out at the ocean with his bird friend.

Words: 585
Muse: GOOD
Tags: @cogs

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"Huxleyi!" Kesle skidded around a stand of trees, trying to breathe through the thick post-winter fur of the rabbit in her jaws. The swirling, slightly briny-scented wind made it hard to detect the scent she was trying to follow, and that was above the very strong smell of rabbit in the form of the carcass practically up her nose. But she was just about sure she was going in the right direction to find the Beta of the Arila pack- her pack now, she corrected with another thrill of excitement.

She dashed around another stand of slim trees, scattering leaves and almost tripping down a small, gritty embankment, and then... she stopped dead. It was all she could do to keep her jaw from dropping open and the rabbit from tumbling out and getting all sandy.

She had never seen the sea before. The most familiar she had been with large quantities of water was a swift-moving river in a deep gorge in the valleys where she had grown up. That river had been angry and fast, frothing and rushing and tumbling over sharp rocks hidden cleverly in the white foam. It hadn't been a place for pups, and she had only seen it from the top of the gorge, and then once or twice at most.

It was nothing like this, this vastness. Kesle understood now why one sometimes referred to something big as a 'sea' or an 'ocean'- it was like standing at the edge of the world. The great blue-gray stretch spread far beyond her range of sight, until it finally blended into the distant horizon. Massive didn't do it credit. It was... infinite.

After a couple more moments of staring nearly slack-jawed at the sea she finally came back to reality and her whole reason for being here. Stepping (or stumbling, for sand was a new feeling under her paws and she had to keep herself from leaping into the air at the strange raspy tickling sensation of it on her paw pads) out farther from the sparse beachside treeline, she craned her neck out to either side of the beach, squinting a bit through the blustery wind. There! She spotted a dark shape a little ways farther down the beach and started toward it at a brisk trot, the hare dangling from her jaws swinging from side to side. As she approached enough to be able to pick out the beta's sandy coat, she noticed what looked to be a bird of some sort with him, pecking at his flank.

Is it attacking him? Why is he just sitting there? Concern made her speed up unconciously, though the bird probably couldn't do much harm from its position on his flank. But nearing the pair she quickly realized it was not an attack. It was a thing she had often seen birds do to one another- preening. Which meant that they were... friends?

This was not a new concept to Kesle- as a pup she had grown up with stories of such things, the first and foremost being the story of Wolf and Raven, where at the beginning of time Wolf shared his meal with the starving bird and in return for the kindness Raven stayed by his side as his friend and scout. She had even heard of such things in other parts of Anikira in her relatively short time as a loner- but she had never encountered such a thing in person. The idea filled her with a sense of wonder, and more than a little curiosity.

However, she stopped several bodylengths away from the duo with embarassment. Watching the two of them together was very heartwarming, and it was obvious their bond was very close. She didn't want to barge in on the two of them- it would be like butting in on a conversation between two siblings or old friends, and she couldn't fight the sense that it would be both rude and not her place. All the same, she didn't want to simply turn around and leave. Undecided, she just waited quietly, geeling a tad awkward.


OOC: Whoa look who it is! I have returned! Some very time-consuming real-lifey things took me away from the site for a little bit, but now I'm ready to get back into the swing of things! Sorry for leaving you hanging, though.

Muse: Good! Very good.
Tags: @huxleyi
Word Count: 731