Exploring. So much to see!

Thorn was thrilled!  Mom and dad had given him permission to explore the sandy shoreline.  Of course, he had ended up with two foxes and a raven traveling with him. Corbin the Raven, Argent, and Marigold the foxes kept a cautious gaze around the landscape and the pup to make sure he didn’t get in trouble.

Thorn had been told a bit about the ocean by his aunt Bowen and it had only increased his curiosity. Out here it was colder than Thorn was used to.  Most of his home was surrounded by a magical autumn but out here it was still winter and the ocean bringing in a cold wind to go along with the temperature.  Still, even the weather was a bit of curiosity though forgotten between wind gusts with all the amazing things around him.

It wasn’t night so he didn’t get to see how the sand glowed in the dark but there was a fascinating scent that came from bacteria he didn’t truly see.  The salt of the water was all the stronger here, with fewer distractions by other plants close by.

Partway down the shoreline, Thorn stopped to look out at the ocean waves and how they would slide up to the beach before pulling back.  Thorn started to walk to the water and heard warnings from all of mom and dad’s pets to not go far in the water.

“Don’t worry,” he assured them, “Aunty Bowen told me all about the water.  I’ll be careful.” The boy put his feet in the water, but only so deep that his paws were fully covered when the water splashed up against the sand.  Thorn would like to try swimming but now wasn’t the time for sure.  He was bound to get in trouble if he tried that without an adult present and what if something did go wrong?  Thorn was a brave child but he would like to believe he wasn’t foolish.

A rock stuck out of the water, a cautious glance to his parent's companions to see if they would mind before hopping up onto the rock.  It offered him a perch to see water that was ever so slightly deeper, sort of.  Even if he hopped off the rock and away from the shore, the boy would still land with his feet on the ground, at least he believed so.  The foxes had stepped into the water also, a warning glance on them and Thorn sighed, leaping back to them.  “See? I promised I’d be good.  I will.”

The foxes and Corbin seemed to all give each other a look but then relaxed.  Thorn moved back on, walking the beach.  Pausing, his gaze went to a crab scuttling on the beach.  “Woah, looky at that!” Thorn followed after it several steps but didn’t harass it and eventually it disappeared into the water.

As inspiration struck Thorn tried digging in the sand, for no other reason than wondering if anything was underneath it.  After a few swipes, he unearthed a shell that was partially broken.  Thorn nudged it with a paw, tapped it with his nose but then lost interest in it.

Thorn wasn’t giving up that easy though and after a few more strides started digging again.  This time he found nothing and eventually gave up on that spot.  He took a third try a few more steps down and found a sand dollar after just one swipe.  This was also nosed, nibbled on, and then picked up to be carried with him.  A few strides more and he froze before moving back to peer in the water.  “Woa,” the sand dollar fell back to the sound when he spoke up.  The new thing he found looked ever neater than the sand dollar.

With a paw he tapped at the starfish, lowering his head, nosing it, and then flipping it over.  Hey, did it move on its own?  The motions were slow but Thorn’s captivated eyes watched the tiny movements.  Was it the water?  He spent several minutes just watching before he decided water wasn’t the cause.  Thorn carefully put the starfish right side up and then stepped back onto dry sand.  The blue pup picked up his sand dollar and continued onward.

Thorn paused to stare at the sight of a crazy-looking bird.  Its legs were thin but so incredibly long!  It didn’t look like the bird itself should belong to the legs by the size comparison.  The bird's head turned to regard him, its beak also a good size and thin.  Bird and wolf pup stared at each other for a while before the white bird spread its wings and flew off.
Thorn continued on his way but eventually turned about and with the sand dollar in mouth started back towards home.  At first it was with a spring in his step but by the time he was back in the castle the pup's adrenaline was wearing off.  He made his way back to the family bedroom and found himself a good spot for a nap.  The boy's sand dollar prize between his two paws.

"Thorn Carpathius"