I took those sandals off

Wrecker peered cautiously over a sand dune. There had been a break of storms as of late, which had sent the short-furred wolf into a slight tizzy. Their typical demeanor slowly changed; they had to focus on survival, after all. All around them on the ring, water lashed at sand. Short trees and rustling shrubs bent as a storm began, once more. Wrecker heard it more than they saw it; their ears pinned back as they listened to the gale winds pick up, screaming around them. The weather, which had been so pleasant, twisted; Wrecker took a ragged breath. Their eyes tracked seabirds, trapped and struggling in the air above.

The sky had been so beautiful minutes before. Now, the sky darkened. Wrecker tensed their muscles. Fear clutched at Wrecker's heart despite their attempts to harden themselves against such things. Fear. They did not like being afraid. It reminded them of their homeland, and their father's brutish ways. Their teeth clenched. Instinct screamed for Wrecker to stay hidden. To crouch and linger and whine. The issue with that, of course, was that the air around them crackled and screamed; already, the sea was beginning to raise itself up. Waves, previously pristine and gently lapping, rose in bucking forceful drives.

As Wrecker stood, they peered through greenery, crouching as a particularly unfortunate tree was sent sprawling. Fronds from a palm slapped at them; Wrecker hissed against the blows and shook their body. Their sleek form slunk forward as lightning crashed above them.

They had been intending to cross back to the mainland, of course, but as Wrecker crested dunes and avoided slipping, they stared. Wrecker didn't feel anything at first. Just a numb awareness. A quiet, anxious acceptance. Then reality whispered at the edges of their mind. Teeth snapped in their brain. They saw the storm beginning to lap over the path back to the mainland. No. Wrecker became fiercely, immediately aware that they would have to move. Move. They could not stand still. They could not hide, or they would be trapped in the Swallet Ring during the storm. As they took a step forward, Wrecker felt sand slip underneath their paws, and they had to re-gather themselves. It was then, through chance, that Wrecker saw--

-- another wolf.

Her eyes were wide. Fearstruck. Wrecker stared at her. For a moment, the situation was almost comical: two wolves, staring at one another as a storm began to rage. The wind screamed; rain crashed, clattering as seawaves truly rocked and roared, spray spattering both of them. But they froze not out of fear for one another. No. The wolves froze because each of them, in the single instant, understood that they couldn’t both cross that sea bridge at the same time.

Almost as one, both Wrecker and the stranger snapped their heads towards the little bridge. They each knew what the truth of the situation was. They could not both cross at once.

Wrecker moved first, but for that effort, they wound up tripping over sodden sand and grass, yelping as they thunked down the dune. When they picked themselves up, the air temperature had dropped several degrees. It now felt chilly, the wind whipping around them into their short coat. Ahead of them, as rain began to fall, as clouds blotted the sky, the land bridge began to sink. Intermittently, the waves rushed over it. They hid the ground. Wrecker hissed a curse and struggled through sand, dodging a falling bundle of palm leaves. No. No no no no! They huffed a low breath. Below their paws, sand squished between their toes, kicked up by their paws. Something struck the stranger in the side; she staggered and almost fell.

Perhaps they could have advanced together, these two struggling creatures, but the roar of the wind and the sea seemed to be mocking. Promising. It lured them: a demand from nature itself. One of them would not survive. Wrecker was determined that they would be the one to live. They jumped, kicking sand away, struggling past the she-wolf to step onto the bridge. Immediately, Wrecker had to duck down and cling to a rising stone; the waves crushed over them, and Wrecker clung with all of their might so as not to be swept away by the powerful natural force. When it receded, Wrecker began to crawl forward on their belly, unwilling to raise up and race fully forward. Instead, they moved inches at a time, desperately aware that behind them, the she-wolf was gaining. No, no, no--! Wrecker scrambled. Their limbs lashed desperately, and they dragged themselves forward, jaws snapping, teeth clicking together. What were they supposed to do? They wanted to live. They wanted to live, they wanted--

Underneath them, sand shifted. They lurched up to their feet just in time for the she-wolf to bound past them, glancing at them with a stare that was equal parts loathing and grateful. Glad that Wrecker had stayed behind.

The red and black wolf shouted, once, in warning.

They crouched, again. The she-wolf was in mid-leap when it happened; the wave struck her mid-bound. She had been so graceful, moments before, while Wrecker wriggled forward pathetically, sodden to the bone; the she-wolf stood no chance. The waves crashed. The waves grabbed her. She screamed, Wrecker thought, a vanishing yowl among the storm-sounds.

Wrecker swung their head to the side. The she-wolf struggled among the waves. She bobbed like cordwood, her pale form tossed in a foam slick wave. Wrecker could not look away. They continued on with numb-feeling paws; their frame shook in nervousness, a deep sense of anxiety that demanded they maintain eye contact as best they could with the woman who was swallowed by the sea. Sand and dirt turned to molasses muck underneath Wrecker’s paws. They struggled on.

With a desperate gasp, Wrecker made it back to the shore. Back to the mainland. They staggered, their head dipping, their sides heaving. They felt like they were going to black out; their head spun. Sucking in air, Wrecker turned. The she-wolf was lost in the sea. The last thing Wrecker had seen of her had been a horrified face, dragged beneath dark blue. What could Wrecker do?

Nothing at all.

They trembled. Gathered themselves. And continued on.

WC: 1048/800