You're right. He nodded with faux scowl, glaring down at the slick of ice. You hear that? Lady says I oughta give you what-for over a slight like that. And he growled a little, for good measure. Then grinned back at her, I think it gets the idea. We can probably let it... slide. Just this once.

Squinting in the direction of her aim, he tilted his head and followed. His shoulder smarted with each step, but Nate refused to limp and walked through the pulses of clumsy consequence.

He saw the shapes in the distance — but it was the smell of them that truly captured his attention. Like the sea but stronger somehow, a living part of it. His nose wrinkled. But his eyes were wide. Woah...

Their hollering was loud enough to twitch an ear even over the surf and wind. Perplexion on his face molded into a baffled grin, and his tail wagged. Now that's something I've never seen before.