[Explore] Ollie & Landfall Explore the Beach

Days flowed into weeks, and as Ollie settled into his new life in Ynnis, he began to feel his spirit come alive with an immutable desire to learn and to see more. Every new experience thrilled him, and particularly so when it made him feel like he was bettering himself in some way, learning new skills, living life at new heights.

 

On days when he wasn't booked in to work, he tried to spend as much of his time as possible with Landfall. This seemed to suit her just fine, although there were days when even thirst for adventure surpassed even the hound's. She seemed to enjoy a moderate amount of difficulty in life, and anything beyond that was enough to elicit a bit of complaint from her as Ollie dragged her from the docks to the park to the training guild to the countryside and back. Some days, they would end their adventure with Landfall in a huff, burying her head into her tail as she balled herself up in a corner of their flat and went straight to sleep upon returning home.

 

Other days, though, she seemed content enough to put up with his excitement and zest for life.

 

On this particular day, Landfall seemed to be quite delighted at the prospect for some exploration. Ollie could tell by the way her ears perked when she saw his hand reach for the collar and lead, and her pointed tail began a languid wag - as if she didn't want to give too much away by showing her excitement too quickly. There was no resentment in her amber eyes when he fastened the collar around her neck, though, and she rose to her feet all too happily, pulling toward the door.

 

"So even you get bored some days too, don't you?" Ollie said with a laugh, pulling the door open. They both slipped outside, easing the door shut behind them, and taking the steps to the ground floor two at a time. Landfall gave a happy huff, tail picking up speed as her nose twitched in the air, taking in all the smells of the port as if it was her first time out.

 

"I know, it smells great. But I thought for today, we'd go out to the countryside. What do you think? The coast was pretty cool when we went," he said, leading the way toward the edge of the city. Landfall trotted along contentedly, happy to follow and sniff about.

 

Getting out of the city took a while, but following the waterfront along the port, stopping to peer at some stalls selling fishermen's daily catch, the time seemed to melt away, and before Ollie realized it, they had left the bustle of the city behind them, the landscape transforming from buildings to trees and rocky coast as they meandered along the path.

 

"Alright Landfall, not many people here. Let's see how our obedience class is paying off, eh?" Ollie said, unclipping the hound's leash as the land opened up into a wide, unsullied beach. The hound's brow twitched as she tilted her head up to look at him, waiting like a good girl for a release. "Go on, then!"

 

Her ears stood bolt upright for a moment, then she dashed off, charging onto the beach with pure, unadulterated delight, spraying sand every which way as she flailed through the soft footing. In a flash, she was through the sand and threw herself into the salty wash of the ocean's waves, prancing about, sticking her nose into the water as she attempted to snatch clams out of the sand.

 

"Go on, get 'em!" Ollie hooted his encouragement, pausing to pull off his own shoes and socks and rolling up the bottom of his trousers. He dumped the shoes next to a rock and sprinted down across the sand to join Landfall in frolicking in the waves. She ran up to him and leaped, raising her front paws into the air and smacking two sandy, wet pawprints onto his chest.

 

"Yea, there's a good girl!" he laughed, pointing out into the waves to send her running out into the water again. "Look, there's plenty of cool stuff here to pick up, isn't there?" Ollie paused, picking up a discarded seashell and inspecting it for a moment before dropping it back into the sand. 

 

"Keep an eye out, won't you? There could be some valuable stuff on this beach!" Landfall looked at him, tail wagging at a much higher frequency than it had at the start of the walk. "Go on then, run around."

 

She was perfectly happy to comply, sprinting off a short distance into the waves before skidding to a halt, throwing herself into another direction, and taking off again. Periodically, she'd come running back and bounce around at his feet, egging him into joining her.

 

"Well, I can't run all the way out there, can I!" he said with an exasperated laugh, throwing up his hands as she bounded into chest-deep water. "See, look, I've got trousers on!"

 

That didn't seem to be a good enough reason for Landfall. She came prancing back and nudged him quite insistently until he relented. "Ah, whatever," he said, grabbing her playfully around the shoulders and shoving her back. "You've rubbed all your salt water off on me anyway." It seemed he was destined to get soaked on this adventure.

 

But that was all part of the fun, wasn't it? He eyed her for a moment, resigned smile on his face. Panting happily, Landfall looked back at him, oblivious to his internal struggle. And really, who was he to deny her of this great, simple joy? Ollie reached down, doing his best to roll his trousers up to his knees, although he knew that it, too, was an exercise in futility.

 

"Ah, whatever!" he said finally, throwing his hands up again and dropping into a half squat. Landfall reacted instantly with a loud bark, dropping into a bow, tail moving in a frenzy. Her eyes locked onto his, both of them still for a breath, and then Ollie lunged forward, grabbing at her. He was too slow. Landfall wheeled about and bounced effortlessly out into the waves, leaping over the water until she was submerged up to her chest again.

 

"I'm going to get you this time!" Ollie said, wading out behind her, trousers be damned. But she evaded him again, running parallel to the beach and looking like she was positively on top of the world. "You think you're so clever, eh!"

 

But try as he might, there was no catching her in this game of Landfall's own creation. That suited Ollie just fine, and as the hours slipped by, he stopped worrying about how wet his clothes would get. At a point, they were beyond saving.

 

They stayed for the better part of the afternoon, charging through the waves until both of them grew tired enough to flop down into the sand. "That's a good girl, Landfall," Ollie said, giving her a tired pat as he pulled his socks and shoes back on and clipped the lead back onto her collar. "We deserve a nice dinner, I reckon. Let's go home."