**This thread takes place when Elysium is still a band and roaming Auster

Seeing the wild dog again had been fun. Kione’s colorful coat and attitude had buoyed the heavy-hearted boy. So, with a bounce in his step, Ricin had decided to go exploring again, this time he had left when the moon was high in the sky and had traveled past the forest where he had seen the wild dog. Sand crunches under his paws as he skirts the edges of tidepools and the weird, red pinchy things that seen to skitter across the beach. When he had first seen them, the light pup had been curious as to what exactly they were. So, as any inquisitive pup would do, he poked one. Big. Mistake. The hard-shelled mean… thing had taken a pincher and grabbed his toes! With a yelp and several hard shakes of his paw, Ricin had dislodged the grumpy creature and quickly retreated. As he deftly moves across the beach, Ricin shoots the pincher animals dirty looks while taking time to peer into the tidepools that liter the sand.



"Ricin Dauner"

TABLE & CODE © SKELLE 2022

There was no mistaking the sound of a child’s yelp and fairly certain Kione knew which kid he picked up his stride a bit as he made his way to the cove.  Low tide and plenty of trapped water with life teaming in them.  Further away, past a decent number of crabs, one of which was now trying to right itself from where it had apparently landed on its side.  Kione’s mouth opened in a grin, easily guessing the problem here.

Kione jogged out farther to meet up with Ricin, “Hello again Ricin.  Crab for dinner?” Kione would let Ricin out of admitting the truth if he didn’t want to say a small creature like the lobster had pinched his nose.  They could hurt and Kione imagined any child that had a beach to play at would learn it eventually.  Kione grinned as the aggressive crab finally righted itself.  Kione moved around behind the crab and scooped it up from behind, flipping it in the air as if just tossing a stone.  When the crab was on its descent Kione bit, crunching through the nose-pincher.  “I like to flip them up, they can’t really aim at you that way.  So long as you can catch it and get a good bite in, no danger.” Unless you missed of course.

Kione glanced in the tide pools, paw pointing to a different crab, “they come in different colors too.  Look, that one has blue claws.”  Kione didn’t know a lot about the ocean but he’d learned a bit on his travels, including about crabs.  “Just be careful what you play with.  Apparently, some things that come from the water are poisonous.  So if you don’t know what it is, don’t eat it.”  Wordly wisdom for land and sea really.  


"Kione"

The blue pup sits glaring at the mean crab, his toes throbbing from where it pinched him. A call pulls his attention away from his glaring contest and he sees the wild dog approaching. Ricin calls back, “Kione be careful! These things a mean! That on pinched my toes!” He held his wounded digits aloft while pointing his nose at the wiggling… thing. Crimson eyes follow the colorful dog as he moves behind the now righted crab, Ricin’s lips parting again to offer a stronger warning. The words stall as Kione easily flips the crab high into the air. Mouth rounds in surprise as the wild dog stops the creature’s descent… with his mouth. A loud, ‘CRUNCH’ rings through the cove and the blue pup immediately screeches out, “Teach me! Teach me! I want to do that!!”

Dark dipped paws dance excitedly in the sand as he watches Kione, the pup eager to learn this new trick. He listens as the dog talks, eyes obediently following the pointing paw. Blue? What did blue mean? Brows furrow as he looks back to Kione, the dog’s next words only confuse the boy more. Paws stop moving as Ricin tilts his head, trying to figure something out. Finally, he asks, “So are the blue ones bad? I haven’t seen anything like them before. So, are the red ones good and the blues ones bad?” The wheels in Ricin mind turn as the pup tries to comprehend what he can eat.



"Ricin Dauner"

TABLE & CODE © SKELLE 2022

Kione chewed up the rest of the crab while the boy asked his questions, finally swallowing the last bit as the questions finished.  “Nah blue is just ‘different’, just an example of the differences.” Kione shrugged, “the things I’ve learned about that are bad would be a fish that looks a lot like a rock.  It’s kind of squarish looking, and it has lose folds of its skin that looks kind of like the algae in the water.  Apparently stepping on it will kill you.  I’m new to oceans but that’s one I learned about.  I know there are more.”

Kione stepped away a few spots, getting up behind a crab again, “The pinches are at the front as you noticed, so bite em in the back, try to just get the edge of it though.” Kione riched down to snag the rump end of the crab, lips pulled back to show how just the edge of it was being gripped in his teeth.  He stayed still for a moment before lowering his head then jerking it up high and letting go.  The crab spun in the air for that precious second.  Kione watched and as it came down snapping it again, and a loud crunch followed.  “Jus’ li’ this’” The wild dog had to take a minute to crunch down the meal.

“No idea if these guys are seasonal or not.  It will be interesting to see if they come out as much over the next few months or go away.”  Kione shrugged as it wasn’t overly important, just a curiosity.  
Kione really didn't know much about the beach but he'd seen how the tides came and went leaving a wide variety of ocean life stranded.

"Kione"

Ricin nods his head in understanding, listening as Kione explains about what he knows. And then the fun begins! The wild dog describes the pinchers on the front and the blue pup gives a solemn nod, his toes giving a painful throb. Crimson eyes watch carefully as Kione walks around behind a crab, grabbing it by its rump. With that, the wild dog moves his lips to show just how much of the crab he is holding. Giving a nod, Ricin watches as Kione flips the crab up into the air to catch it with a crunch a moment later. The blue pup shakes his head, saying, “I better not try that yet. My luck it would land on my nose!” He chuckles while skirting the edges of a tide pool to look at the life that teams within. Maybe there is something easier to catch in here…


"Ricin Dauner"

TABLE & CODE © SKELLE 2022

Kione chuckles, glancing about the tidepools himself but perhaps not looking for the same thing as Ricin.  After a bit he walks over to the boy, holding something different in his outh, “ ‘ere,” he speaks, dropping the object near his feet, “there ya go pal, that’s a shell of something but its pretty similr size.”  Kione flipped the turtle shell with his paw.  “You can practice flipp’n it.  That won’t pinch you if you don’t bite it where ya plan.”

That said Kione starts nosing around another one of the pools, “ya know Ricin, its good not to be a fish.” Looking into a small pool he watched as some strange looking fish that was long with tiny fins and pretty small head was stuck swimming in place. “Imagine bein stuck to a small pool like this.” Glancing out towards the ocean, “I love the water, but I would never want to be stuck in it.”

"Speech"