[Explore] Hide and Seek at the Beach

Ollie had the day off. He quite enjoyed working on the fishing ship, and being on the sea had always been where he felt most comfortable. But having some free time helped to relax the mind, and he was more than pleased to have an excuse to take Landfall out for another excursion. Exploring the wilderness around Ynnis required a bit more time, and he was glad to have the opportunity, particularly after their romp in the city. That had been a close call, and had it not been for Landfall's courage, the two of them might have wound up a little worse for wear. They had escaped unscathed, but Ollie wasn't looking forward to putting himself in a similar situation again. 

 

"Come here, good girl, we're going on an adventure!" Ollie called, and he was pleased to hear the sound of nails scrabbling on wood as Landfall came pelting out of the room she had been reclining in, pranced up to the door, and plopped her butt down readily. She didn't always love going for a romp - there were some days, particularly when it was hot, that she seemed to much prefer lounging about indoors - but today, with the skies a bit overcast, she felt in fine form.

 

Ollie clipped her lead on and opened the door. It was mid-morning, a weekend day. Immediately, the sounds of the market on the waterfront washed over them, and in the bustle, he could hear snippets of various vendors hawking their wares, calling out to passersby in an attempt to catch their attention.

 

"Fresh this morning, still live and swimming!"

 

"Baked today, and fresh loaves coming out all morning!"

 

"Hand-made and guaranteed to last!"

 

Ollie beamed, taking in a deep lungful of air. Some people preferred the peace and quiet of the countryside, but not him. He absolutely thrived on this endless buzz of human energy, on interaction, on the crossing of paths of random souls in this sprawling city. It made him feel truly alive, to know that he was part of the fabric of this place.

 

Landfall seemed to enjoy it too. Though she wasn't one to reciprocate, she quite liked the attention she got whenever they paraded through the market. People would stop to praise the shine in her coat, and how she walked in lock-step with Ollie, and though she pretended not to care, Ollie would swear that she always pranced a little more when she saw those eyes fix on her.

 

"Let's go through the market, then," he said, heading toward the pier. As they passed stalls with familiar vendors, Ollie waved and stopped occasionally for a chat.

 

"How you doing, then, Ollie boy?" said one of the bakers, clapping him on the back.

 

"Just fine, Anders, and good morning to you!" he replied, fishing out a cog to purchase a hunk of bread. "Just taking the lady for a walk out to the coast, you know?"

 

"Bet you she'll find you some trinkets out there," Anders said with a laugh. "She's a good girl."

 

The tip of Landfall's tail wagged a bit at that. Ollie chuckled and they continued their way out of the market, following the waterfront toward the beach.

 

They had identified the beach as a favorite spot of theirs, although there was plenty left to explore. As they neared, Ollie let Landfall off the leash so she could roam with a wider radius. She never went far, sniffing here and there as they went, happy to keep him within earshot as she went.

 

Near the beach, the rocks began to rise, with boulders and smaller formations dotting the landscape. As Ollie followed behind Landfall, he noticed that she was very intent on her sniffing, very focused on following her nose. And so, curious to know what she would do, Ollie chose a medium sized rock formation and ducked behind it.

 

Would she notice?

 

He peered out from his hiding place, poking just the tip of his head out so he could spy on her with one eye. For several moments, Landfall remained blissfully unaware, and then she seemed to notice something was amiss. She picked her head up from the ground, pausing. Ollie could almost see the little cogs in her head churning as she puzzled through what exactly was wrong. She looked one way, then another, then back over her shoulder, and then seemed to realize she couldn't see him anymore.

 

Uh oh!

 

She took a step forward, then broke into a trot, circling the area. She poked her head into some grass, and then into some rocks. No luck. Finally, Ollie laughed and let out a quiet whistle. Landfall's ear pricked, and then, zeroing in on his location, she came loping over, tail wagging happily, looking very pleased to have uncovered his hiding spot. 

 

"There's my good girl!" Ollie said excitedly, patting her all over to show her what a great job she had done. She wiggled a bit, licking his hand. What a fun game!

 

"You liked that? We can do it again, you know! Go on!" Ollie pointed away from himself, and Landfall went running off. Having promptly forgotten what they were doing, she caught a scent of something and immediately returned to sniffing about, discovering the smells of the land.

 

Ollie stepped out from behind his rock, happy to follow her for a bit, until he found another rock - this time a large formation that he could climb. It took him but two moves to hoist himself onto the top of the small boulder, where he flattened himself against the rock, leaning his chin onto his hands as he watched Landfall scurry about excitedly below.

 

Like clockwork, it seemed to dawn on her after several moments that he was no longer behind her, and that she couldn't hear his footsteps anymore. The head shot up once again. This time, the hound seemed to figure out what was going on much quicker. Ah yes! The game! Her tail wagged, somewhere between eager and uncertain, and she sniffed the air. Then she backtracked, sticking her nose back into all the rocks and bushes she'd visited before, and then she peeked behind the rocks Ollie had been hiding behind the first time.

 

No Ollie.

 

That seemed to properly confuse her. She paused, little brain cogs churning once again, before she wandered back to where she had been standing when she lost him the second time. 

 

HMMMMMMMMMM.

 

She stood still for a few moments, peering this way and that. And then, finally, she pointed her nose into the air again to sniff and - oh! There was was! She spotted him lying atop his little boulder. A happy little bark escaped her and she came running over, leaping to put her front paws up on the rock. She did a little hop, as if she wanted to scramble up to the top with him, but seemed to think better of it, letting out another bark as if telling him to come down.

 

"Hello!!" Ollie enthused, standing upright and waving to her happily. He clambered to the edge of the rock and hopped down, giving her a big hug when she came bouncing over. "You did so good!"

 

Landfall wriggled in happiness, rubbing up against him in excitement. 

 

"Great job, Landfall. Thanks for finding me," he said, laughing as he straightened up again. "Alright, now. How about we actually head to the beach? We'll hang out for a bit and then we can head on home."