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"Look at all these giant green sea anemones! Esgryn Duw, they absolutely cover this rock!"
"They…look a little…ah…distortedly yonic."
Emil snorted, their brow rising as they looked up at Fitzy. He wore a somewhat perturbed look as he investigated the anemones. Being low tide, they were retracted, their tentacles curled up inside themselves while their mouths were just barely visible. Most resembled the closed-up anemones seen in cartoons, though a number of them did, indeed, look rather….indecent.
"That's because these ones are closed," Emil chuckled. They stood upright once more and, reaching over, took hold of Fitzy's hand as they began to lead him away from the boulder. "When we get to the actual pools, you'll see how pretty they are when open."
"I hope so, because I certainly don't want to subject my instructor to those kind of wildlife images." He let them drag him away as he covered his mouth with his hand; it was barely seven in the morning and he hadn't yet had his morning coffee. "What other creatures did you say could be found in the tidepools?" he asked through the yawn.
"Barnacles, blue mussels, Dungeness and hermit crabs, sea snails, ochre starfish, and, if we're lucky, sea urchins and nudibranchs."
His brow rose slightly, a small, playful smile coming to his lips. "Mussels, Dungeness crabs, and sea urchins? Sounds like a breakfast smorgasbord," he joked. It was illegal to harvest animals from the tidepools—something Emil had emphasized on the drive over to the coast.
"You're so very funny, Mister Dalton." Though Emil had their back to him, the sarcasm in their voice told Fitzy they had rolled their eyes at his joke. But when they glanced over their shoulder at him, he could see mischief—not annoyance—dancing in their eyes.
And that was when a small wave rose up and crashed into him from behind.
He let out a small yelp as the cold waters of the Pacific drenched him. 'Miraculously', his photography equipment and phone were given a wide berth, leaving them perfectly dry. The rest of him, though?
Thoroughly soaked. And also, now thoroughly awake.
Emil made a clicking sound with their tongue. "Those sneaker waves really live up t' their names, don't they?" As they spoke, they tried their damnedest to not grin, but failed miserably.
Fitzy pouted. "Was my joke really that bad?"
"Aye, it was." They chuckled softly, reaching over and brushing a damp lock of hair from his face before kissing the tip of his nose. His tee shirt clung to the dips and valleys of his torso, making for a rather attractive sight and rendering Emil so very tempted to leave him drenched. But, lazily, they waved their hand and every bit of seawater absorbed into Fitzy's clothing and hair flew down to the ground, forming a puddle at his feet.
"At least you're benevolent enough to dry me off after that." Though he still wore the pout, he reached out and hooked an arm around their waist. He held them in place as he stole a kiss from them, making them grin against his lips.
"It's not quite warm enough yet to let you be soaking wet for long. That may change by noon, though." They chuckled softly before nuzzling his cheek with their nose. "Now come along. I think I saw some starfish up ahead."
At the mention of starfish, his pout disappeared and he let them grab hold of his hand once more. "Oh, good! I hope these ones are more, ah…photogenic than the ones in the Sound. The ones up in Seattle…aren't very photogenic at the moment." He followed after them, being sure to watch his footing as they climbed onto the wet rocks.
At that, Emil let out a small sigh, though it wasn't quite joyful. "Yeah…that'd be the fault of the starfish wasting syndrome," they explained. Crouching down beside the large pool, they grinned when they saw a group of six or seven of the echinoderms. Despite being named 'ochre starfish' some were brilliant shades of purple while others were bright orange. "I could go on a whole rant about it, but I'll spare you."
Kneeling beside them, Fitzy pressed a kiss to their cheek. "I like listening to you rant about marine animals and marine ecology, though," he assured them.
A small, almost shy smile came to their lips and they pointed to a spot across from them, about halfway down the wall of the tide pool. "There you go," they said. "A small cluster of them. They look fairly big and healthy, too." Regardless of Fitzy's assurance he wouldn't mind their rant, they would stay quiet.
"Looks like they're also nestled among some of those giant anemones." Fitzy unzipped his camera bag and, after putting the lanyard around his neck, turned the camera on. He used its screen to focus on the starfish before beginning to fiddle with adjusting the focus as well as the various settings. "You're right. They're a lot prettier when they're open."
Emil glanced over when they heard a few clicks from the camera. Fitzy's expression was one of concentration as he tweaked a few more settings, took another couple test photos, zoomed in…A smile came to their lips and, resting their elbow on their thigh, propped their chin in their palm as they continued to watch him. It was nice, seeing him partake in a hobby he actually enjoyed for once.
As they had grown up among the aristocracy, the two had been forced into a number of different hobbies their parents had chosen for them. Activities such as sports and dance, as well as learning foreign languages and studying politics. Their parents' efforts had mostly been in vain, however, as Fitzy had a proclivity for the arts while Emil's chief interests lay in the marine world (though, their parentage was partly to blame for that).
"Perfect," Fitzy murmured, a grin coming to his lips. Turning toward Emil, he offered them a view of the screen only to find them staring at him with a smile. "…Have you been watching me this whole time?"
"Mhm," they chuckled. "You know I like watching you work." Shifting, they rested their fingertips against the rock, keeping themselves stable as they leaned over to look at the screen. "Oh, that is a nice shot, fy melys." They then pointed at a different part of the pool, one closer to them. "There's a hermit crab exchangin' its shell for a new one if you want to get that."
He blinked and, looking to where they had pointed, aimed his camera. It took him a moment to find the crab Emil had mentioned, but when he did find it, he smiled and began making some adjustments. "How did you manage to spot that?" he asked, slowly twisting the lens until the shot was perfectly focused.
"Just like you're training to spot the most interesting angles of your subjects, I'm training to see different kinds of sea life," they chuckled. Once more propping their chin in their palm, they went back to watching as Fitzy went about, photographing the various bits of life in the tide pool.
Their fascination with watching him started to wane after a while, though and, getting to their feet, they headed over to another tide pool to look at its occupants. This pool was shallower and longer than the other, allowing them a good view of the crabs scuttling around the bottom. To their surprise, however, there was also a small octopus lurking on a rocky shelf, its tentacles wrapped around a juvenile Dungeness crab.
"Ooh, look at you, catchin' a hearty breakfast," they murmured.
Not caring about the dampness of the rocks, Emil laid down on their stomach at the edge of the pool. They crossed their arms. resting their chin atop the backs of their hands as they watched the octopus beginning to pry the crab apart. A small smile came to their lips; it was a rare sight to get to see an octopus eat so close up.
It was when the octopus was just about finished when Emil became aware of the sound of a camera shutter clicking. Brows furrowing, they looked to their left only to find Fitzy kneeling a few feet away, face hidden behind the camera.
"What are you doin'?" they chuckled. They pushed themselves up onto their knees and stretched their arms above their head.
He lowered the device, a small grin on his lips. "You looked so entranced, I couldn't resist taking a few shots," he said. As Emil stretched, he couldn't help but notice the bit of their midriff that became exposed as their shirt shifted upwards. "What were you watching?"
"An octopus eating a crab," they replied. "I got to watch the whole thing."
His fascination with their midriff faded and his gaze returned to their face. "An octopus…eating a crab?"
They nodded, now grinning themselves. "Yeah! I got to see it tear the crab apart and everything! Octopus usually take their meals to their dens or to a hiding spot to eat, so getting to see it was a rare treat."
Fitzy's expression faded into a mild look of disgust. "I'll, ah…take your word for it, love."