dying for a way to kill time

It wasn't a long trip from the island to the land bridge, but his little puppy legs didn't go particularly far. Nor did they work particularly well. Half of his trip had been a swim, and that had mostly involved floating aimlessly on the little raft that he'd... borrowed. From the beach. All the while the tide pulled him along the shorelines. He'd find his way home eventually. Probably.

It was only when the raft butted up against the warm sand of a seemingly endless beach that his adventure came to an abrupt halt. Well. The little thundercloud hopped off of his mired vessel and toddled up the beach. The sand glittered in a way he'd never seen before, and he was a little obsessed with it already. Could he bring some back home with him? The sun was hidden by clouds that ranged through the same hues as his own fluffy pelage, but he wasn't particularly concerned- didn't know what dark clouds meant. So it didn't really matter. Something moved in the water, and drew his attention away from the shiny sand beneath his paws. Fish! Nim loved fish already. Their glittery bodies moved through the water so smoothly and easily, and he could watch them move for hours at a time. He waded into the water again, hoping to get close to the colourful creatures flitting through the surf.

Paddling awkwardly towards them got the boy involved in an unwitting game of tag with the unfamiliar fish, which were primarily silvery minnows that darted out of reach every time he tried to get them in his mouth. Needle sharp puppy teeth searching for purchase on their slippery bodies, and winding up with a mouth filled with sea water each time. The amount he kept swallowing each time wasn't going to help much either, in a little while. What really egged the youngster on was the way that the minnows started nibbling on whatever part of him they happened to be near, tugging on fur or tickling his belly every other minute.

All of that splashing was attracting other critters, some in the air and some in the water. A few gulls were curious about the pup's commotion, watching him fruitlessly chase the fish that wouldn't even make a worthwhile snack in numbers of less than a dozen. In the water, a few larger fish were hoping that the little minnows were distracted enough by their amateur hunter to make easy pickings. Which they did- a small Dungeness crab reached up with its pincher claw and grabbed hold of an errant silver body in a flash. Nim squealed with frustration, watching the thief scuttle away beneath the waves as he awkwardly rested with his hind paws brushing the sand underfoot.

A sharp pain in his belly knocked the wind out of the boy, and he quickly splashed back to solid ground. "Ow ow ow!" he whined, hunching over with his tail tucked. This was a valuable lesson, he just didn't know it yet. Don't drink the seawater, kids! The gulls crowded closer, beady silver eyes trained on the pup as he heaved his breakfast onto the sand. Chunks of meat and salt water quickly soaked into the glittering sands, and he whimpered softly. As the nausea faded, he sniffled a few times. And then, just as quickly as it had happened, it was all over. He straightened up and shook out his downy, waterlogged pelt. "All better!" he told the gulls, and trundled back to the water. His minnow friends were nowhere to be found, it turned out.

The boy frowned at the lapping waves, squinting to see if they were hiding under rocks or amongst the sparse greenery under the water. He splashed back into the waves, paddling further away from the shore to see what other friends were swimming about. As the water darkened beneath him, and the bottom dropped away, many more figures were visible under his paddling paws. Colourful and shiny and dull and grey and frilly and smooth, all types of different shapes and sizes appeared as he got further from dry land. The gulls had long since abandoned their monitoring of the wolf pup, settling for eating his upchuck on the beach instead. So when he dunked his head under the water, tail flagging up out of the waves like a bobbing duck, the only creatures aware of how silly he looked were the fish below. The salt water stung his eyes, but he was used to that by now, spending as much time in the water as he already did. As the blurriness subsided a little, he could see a few brave fish coming up to investigate the stranger in their midst. They didn't stick around long once Nim started splashing his way towards them and snapping at their retreating fins. It was not the way to treat friends, after all.

When he finally came up for air, he was all tuckered out. No longer in the mood to get himself a scaly treat or a chitinous companion. The goofy splashing paddle towards the shore felt way longer than it had when he'd come out this way. So when Nim hit the sand, firmly on dry land, he flopped onto his belly and sighed. Maybe a nap on the warm sand was a good idea?

(WC: 909)

"Nimbus"