Of Sea And Sky (Zirith)

[wolfbloodrei]

In was late Autumn, in the month of November. The temperature was getting colder, and winds were picking up.

For some, this was a hindrance. But for those who ruled the sky, these winds were a gift, an elevation that carried them further upward to the clouds above, and even higher than that if they would let it.

It was a Keiyou's dream to soar upon these winds, and one Keiyou, herself, was taking full advantage of them.

With white at her legs and base, layered by a tan colored upper body, and a brown blaze. The blaze ran down her lion-like tail, swaying around in the wind as she pumped her brown wings, and her legs every so often to straighten out, as if running on air.

Her sky-blue eyes focused on her path, but full of the joy of flying.

As she flew over the Okoe Beach of Yvit Cove, she aimed downwards towards the water, pretending to run on the rolling aims and then flying towards the beach.

[zirith]

Zirith swam lazilly in the ocean, his belly just barely touching the sand. His silver eye scanned the ocean floor, darting from one rock to another. Then, with a quick snap of his jaws he snatched up an oyster that was hidden in the sand next to the rock. He carried the oyster up to the surface, where he balanced it on his paws as he breathed deeply.

Just a week ago he had taken the journey back to the sea, having gotten bored of the smaller lake. He often missed the ocean so he made sure to come back at least every couple of months until winter. Once winter hits, Zirith heads deep into the ocean where there are lava spouts.

Zirith licked the oyster resting on his paws, his two left canines gave a brief ache to remind him to be careful. He sighed softly and took the oyster in his mouth, diving back down into the water. Getting onto the beach was his next goal, now that he had his lunch. With the wind picking up, the waves were getting more fierce and dragging his body up onto the sand was getting increasingly difficult. But, he had no other choice; eating in the water is simply not possible.

It only took him a few minutes before getting to shallow water, the waves pounding at his back and the rocks digging into his scales. He panted around the oyster, growling softly as he fought the water to get out. His paws dug into the sand and his shoulderblades shivered with the struggle, he moved his tail much like a snake to help move. He spit the oyster out, shoving it with his nose so it rolled further up on the beach. He glanced around, making sure no bird was going to steal it, before continuing his struggle. The oyster was his goal, when he got to it he could rest.

[wolfbloodrei]

As Rei flew towards the beach, she pumped her wings,nearly running on the waves.

She didn't yet smell the Cael on the beach, his scent covered up by the water. She would soon enough.

She veered upward when she was about twenty feet away from the shore, raising herself in altitude. Flying in a hill-like pattern, she straightened her position, making a u-turn when she was above shore, and slightly angling her wings downward.

When a few feet from the sand, Rei expanded her wings completely, and slowly lifting them all the way back, so that the landing would be slow and controlled, putting her back legs forward.

Once her back legs touched ground, she splayed her wings out one more time for balance, and then folded them completely as her forelegs landed.

Her lion-like tail curled up behind her as her eyes and ears flickered about. She sniffed the air, maybe there would be some food nearby?

She thought this as she moved towards the water. Sometimes fish washed ashore. It would be a good start. As she approached the water, she first saw an oyster, and then the Cael shimmying onto the sand.

She tilted her head at him. She didn't see Cael's very often.

[zirith]

Zirith's tongue hung out his mouth as he gave one last pull onto the beach. He flopped down and panted, still staring at the oyster that was now just a few inches away. The wind gently blew across his scales; drying them. It would still be a while before he would get his land legs.

After resting for a few minutes he took the oyster in his mouth, positioning his upper canine on the lips. He held the oyster still by clamping his paws tightly around it and wiggled his tooth slowly back and forth, wedging it into the oyster. He then twisted his head and wedged in his other canine in, the oyster cracked and strained but was eventually no match to the Cael's powerful jaws.

He first licked at the mucus surounding the oyster meat, since this expedition always made him thirsty. Then, happilly, he gobbled up the delicate meat. He sighed with content...until the wind shifted. At first, the wind was blowing against his right side, but then it shifted and came at him from the left; bringing in the scent of another.

Zirith let out a sharp growl, twisting sharply to see the other with his good eye. The hair on his back rose slightly and his scales lifted slightly to give a rougher appearance. His left eye stared blindly, yet appeared to still see deep into the soul.

He shifted his heavy body nervously back towards the water, eyeing the winged creature. He knew about wolves, and he knew about birds. But he knew nothing about wolves with wings, it both confused him and made him curious at the same time.

She seemed harmless enough, but he didn't know for sure. So after a short period of silence he finally spoke; "Hello..." He said slowly, his voice having a thick drawl to it. After all, creatures of the ocean never had a reason to use voice boxes much and when they did, it was never with words. He frowned, fighting for words to use- it had been awhile since the last time he actually spoke. "Who are you?" He finally asked, his eyes darting from the flying creature, to the water, then back.

[wolfbloodrei]

Rei watched the Cael for awhile. Watching him get fully on land, drying, eating the oyster, and getting his land legs.

Not during any moment of this time did she move to approach or withdraw.

When it seemed that her presence was discovered, she moved back a little bit when he had let out the growl.

But it seemed he was more nervous than hostile. He seemed to regard her with as much curiosity as she regarded him.

She didn't move into any hostile positions against him.

"Hello..."

She tilted her head the other way when he greeted her. The voice sounded like he wasn't used to speaking in such a way.

"Who are you?"

As he spoke, it was obvious he was still wary.

To show she was no threat, she let her lion-like tail wag about behind her.

"I'm Rei," she answered. The voice was light, but not at all childish.

"Who might you be...?" She asked. She was interested in this Cael. Keiyou's naturally took to other species quite easily, as they were really social.

[zirith]

"I'm Rei," When she spoke he took a step back with his wobbly land legs. Her voice was crisp and sounded nothing like he's heard before. It made his own voice sound ugly and terrible. "Who might you be...?" He hesitated before answering, his eyes shifting to the ocean.

"My name is..." His face scrunched up in thought as he tried to remember how to say his name in this language. He let out a gurgled sound that would have been a swear word in way of speaking. He dug his paws into the sand and wiggled his toes to ease his frustration. "Sssss...." He sounded out, his ear flopping to one side and twitching. "Seereth."(Zirith sounded out)

His newly formed tail wagged slightly at the success but it quickly dropped back down in nervousness. "Ssorry for grrrling*." He layed his ears back and kept his head low, eyes watching the winged wolf carefully. "Don't watch from bad eye.**" He dug his toes deeper into the sand, frusterated at his language. He wanted to jump into the water and swim away to avoid further humiliation in front of this female.

((Imagine his voice kinda like a thick, throaty german sound.))
*growling
**Can't see from bad eye.

[wolfbloodrei]

The Cael seemed surprised when she spoke. Rei wasn't certain as to why. Did she startle him?

When she asked who he was, he seemed to hesitate before answering.

"My name is..." He seemed to have trouble with the universal language. Did he really not talk to others very often?

Still, she waited patiently for him to finish, giving him time to get used to the language, the speech.

"Sssss..... Seereth."

She watched him wag his tail momentarily, before resuming his nervous stance.

"Ssorry for grrrling. Don't watch from bad eye."


She saw his ears go back.

It took a moment before she understood his meaning, but after running the words over in her head, she got them.

"Do not worry about such a thing. Forgive me for startling you," she said. She let her tail wag a little as well. She didn't thinking anything bad of his actions or speech. She understood that it must be difficult using the new language.

"I did not intend to intrude upon your meal."

[zirith]

"Do not worry about such a thing. Forgive me for startling you,"

He sighed in relief, wagging his tail slightly. This language was very difficult for him, and he was glad that she was understanding him. But, he knew that it was only going to get harder to hold a conversation. He hoped that he would be able to learn quickly, as to not cause misinterpretations in the future.

"No wrrry." He shifted his weight on his paws, lifting his ears up. His ear shivered ever so slightly, from the tension that was held in his body. Since he was so nervous, Zirith's ears picked up nearly every sound around them. From the shifting sand between his toes, to the rattle of rocks being pushed in the ocean. He even heard the steady heartbeat of Rei, whom was still standing a few feet away.

"I did not intend to intrude upon your meal." He blinked slowly, intend and intrude sounded very similar to him and he fought to figure out the difference. He stood in silence as a minute slowly ticked by. Finally, recognision lit up his face. "Ah! No intrugde." He gave a big wolfish smile. "I offer?" He nudged the oyster shell, then took a step towards the water.

He bounced on his front paws playfully, touching the water. The fur on his legs immediately turned to scales when the water touched them. "You eat oyst?"

[wolfbloodrei]

"No wrrry."

Rei was glad to hear that no offense was taken by her arrival.

He seemed confused when she said she had not meant any intrusion. He seemed to take a minute to think over the words, just like she had mulled over his.

"Ah! No intrugde."

He seemed to be getting better with the foreign language.

"I offer?"

As he spoke, he offered the oyster to her and took a step back, seeming to bounce with a playful demeanor, fur changing to scale at the slightest touch of water.

"You eat oyst?"

Rei tilted her head.

"I do eat oysters, yes," she said. She then shook her head.

"But you caught that oyster to feed yourself, I could not possibly take your meal from you. As the one who caught it, you have the full right to it," she added.

[zirith]

"I do eat oysters, yes, But you caught that oyster to feed yourself, I could not possibly take your meal from you. As the one who caught it, you have the full right to it,"

He splashed the water with a paw, wagging his tail. "Share!" He pranced up and down the beach, wagging his tail. Although he was still slightly wary at this bird-wolf, he felt that she meant him no harm. Then, suddenly, he felt the need to show off. "Wait!" He chirped, jumping in the water- causing his hind quarters to turn back into his dark purple-blue dolphin tail. He immediately disappeared into deep water.

His silver eye was quick to scan the ocean floor, it wasn't long before he found what he was looking more. He grabbed a large oyster from it's bed of sand and held it tightly in his jaws and he sped up to the surface. With a few powerful strokes of his tail he was airborne out of the water and using the momentum he tossed his head towards the shore; the oyster went flying in a graceful arch before landing with a thump as it hit sand.

Just as quickly as he was up- he was back down again. He snatched up another oyster and brought it up to the surface, launching himself as high as he could from the water. This time he did a nifty back flip as he sent the oyster flying. When he landed back in the water he let out a puppy-ish laugh as he darted back towards the shore, he snatched up one more oyster before grounding himselt into the sand to start the dragging process all over again.

Zirith panted around the oyster in his mouth, dragging his body back onto the sand. He dropped it and gave Rei a charming grin, showing his chipped canines. "Share!" He repeated, thumping his tail against the sand to mimic a tail wagging.

[wolfbloodrei]

"Share!"

Rei watched him prance around the beach, his tail wagging like crazy.

"Wait!"

Then she saw him jump into the water, returning to full Cael form. She tilted her head, wondering what he was up to.

And then oysters started being thrown onto the shore one by one. She watched him retrieve a total of three oysters before returning to shore, again, with the last oyster in his mouth.

Once he was back on shore, he gave a charming grin, and Rei saw chipped canines.


"Share!"

She blinked at him. He had more oysters for them to eat now, and he seemed very eager for her to eat with him.

Slowly, Rei moved toward, approaching him and the oysters he caught. She didn't want to startle him by approaching too quickly.

"Alright," Rei said. "If you insist."

She took hold of an oyster in her mouth and started working at opening it, like she had seen Zirith doing. Using her canines to open it, she worked diligently by carefully.

[zirith]

"Alright, If you insist."

He wagged his tail, stepping away from the oysters to allow her to approach. She walked over carefully, seemingly so he wouldn't become nervous.

He watched her work at the oyster, much like he had. But unlike her, he had experience on his side. "Careful." He said, taking an oyster into his paws. "Get tooth pain lots with oysts." He wiggled his first tooth in, then his second, and with a few more wiggles the oyster cracked and opened. His dolphin tail thumped on the ground, making a smacking sound as it hit the wet sand.

Although, when he opened his second oyster and ate it, his tooth grinded on something painful. With a whimper he spit the intruder out. A small oval pearl fell from his mouth and rolled a bit on the sand. He stared at it and gently nudged it with his nose. "Not eatable...." He mumbled, pushing it away with a paw. He knew what it was, and didn't care for it. He saw them all the time. He didn't really know the use of them, but he did know that females usually enjoyed them...for some reason.

He pulled himself further up the beach, to dryer sand; where he waited for his hindlegs to return. "So...Rei? He said slowly, resting his head on his front paws. "I Cael...what you? Bird?"

[wolfbloodrei]

"Careful. Get tooth pain lots with oysts."

Rei lifted her head to look at him when he spoke. She watched him work at the oyster he head for a bit, watching how he worked.

It didn't seem to take him long to get it open.

She saw him open the second and spit out a pearl. Her ears flicked back.

"Not eatable...."

Pearls definitely weren't. Though they were pretty, Rei didn't know what to do with them, either.

Trying to mimic how he did it, Rei tried to open her first oyster. it took a bit of work, but she managed to pop it open and picked at the meat.

"So...Rei? I Cael...what you? Bird?"

She lifted her head to look at him, noticing he had moved up further onto the sand, and gradually was drying off.

"I'm a Keiyou," she said in answer. "I haven't ever seen a Cael before. Not up close, anyway," she admitted.

"Must be nice to be able to swim under water. It's difficult for a Keiyou to do that... What with our extra accessories," she said, gesturing her muzzle to her rather large feathered wings.

[zirith]

"I'm a Keiyou,"

"A Key-you?" His ears perked up, interested. Never before had he seen a bird-wolf, and now he knew the name of the breed. They were much different than the Cael, it didn't seem that they had different forms to take.

"I haven't ever seen a Cael before. Not up close, anyway,"

"I not never seen Key-you. Not even in four lifes." He said cheerfully, watching the winged creature work at her oyster. "Never in skies I see you. Birds and fish eatables only." He stood up, his land legs had finally formed. They were much smaller than his front legs- they were almost anorexic looking. His paws were tiny, only slightly larger than that of an outside tomcat.

He walked a few paces, his legs shaking with effort. He turned his head to the right to glare angrilly at them, although it was his fault for them being so weak. If he had walked more often with them, they wouldn't have been in this terrible of condition.

"Must be nice to be able to swim under water. It's difficult for a Keiyou to do that... What with our extra accessories,"

He smiled, slowly hobbling back and forth to move blood to his legs. "Cael swim, Key-you fly." He said softly, almost sadly. "Cael not fly. Cael not even walk well." He sat down on his haunches and sighed.

His ears drooped a little before perking back up. "Why Rei fly here? This place are usual for Cael, not Key-you."

[wolfbloodrei]

"A Key-you?" Rei nodded to his question.

"I not never seen Key-you. Not even in four lifes. Never in skies I see you. Birds and fish eatables only."

It took a moment for Rei to understand what it was that he was trying to say. But she got it. Birds and insects, he meant?

He seemed to have trouble with his back land-legs. He must not have been used to walking on land.

"Cael swim, Key-you fly. Cael not fly. Cael not even walk well."

That was when she saw him sit, seeming to momentarily give up.

"Why Rei fly here? This place are usual for Cael, not Key-you."

Rei sat back, herself, letting her wings folded against her back.

"I am traveling. Have been for awhile now. I'm seeing the world on my own. This beach seemed like a good spot to rest and catch some food," she said.