dinner and a show

The yearling was quite lucky indeed. The moon was round and full and climbing the indigo sky, readying to pour its soft white light into the open cavern hovering beneath. Soon, she would be greeted with her own, private little light show, a lovely little diversion the girl had yet to discover. Mala would explore this part of the coast for days, if she could. The black "sand" that stained her legs was a wonder she'd never seen, the nooks and crannies in the surrounding caves begging to be nosed into.

Luckily, there wasn't much rule-breaking going on at home; her new responsibilities hadn't quite tied her down. Neither had the snow delayed her travels. It was a private goal of hers to familiarize herself with the lands of southern Boreas, to better know and defend her home. And mayyybe indulge in a bit of youthful wanderlust while she was at it...

Chuckling quietly, she treaded lightly across the beach, and placed careful steps atop the wet stone, tail flagging behind her for balance. The tide foamed at her paws. It swelled like a breathing thing, rolling coldcoldcold up and onto the beach; drawing back between the maze of haphazard rocks, losing its fullness with every turn. If the gnawed fish bones scattered here and again told her anything, she'd be eating well once the tide was out.

Patience was the name of the game. Mal crossed the sand, the strip of grass, and treaded further into the cave, where the light and the ocean slowly withdrew. Darkness enveloped her, and her nose twitched as she breathed in the cavern's interior.... Hmph. All she could smell was salt, if she was being honest. But a gentle breeze batted at her fur. Hopefully it'd carry the scent of anything approaching... although, too, where there'd been fishbones and glittering sand, there'd been a distinct lack of anything wolfish. It came as a surprise, considering just how intriguing this place was.

The girl only shrugged. "More for me, then."

She made her way by feeling. Underneath the shafts of sand and washed in debris, the floor was mostly smooth, interrupted by platforms and crumbling boulders and many clusters of stones. Strangely, it sloped down, the water lever climbing as she splashed inward. But that was relative, really. At its highest, the tide was a few inches off the ground, and getting shorter still. And there, in the back of the cave, was the telltale splash of trapped herring and salmon, and tight bunches of mussels and clams.