A Perfect Ending To A Perfect Afternoon

Gatcha stood observantly on the beach-side cliff that resided on the western edge of his territory.  It was a blisteringly hot day, the cicadas sang loudly and the delicate breeze weaved past his thick hide and provided a slight relief, but it wasn’t enough.  Gatcha turned towards the path to head down toward the sandy beach, his heavy feet sinking into the slope walkway as it slowly transformed from hard dirt to sand.  Gatcha reached the bottom and turned to face the beach, breaking into a trot after feeling the heat of the sand beneath his reptilian feet until he met the damp sand of the seaside.  Gatcha paused, sniffing at the damp ground beneath him and looking around before slowly walking along the beach towards a more shallow area where the drop-off wasn’t so severe and wading was perfect. 
Gatcha’s wading spot wasn’t too far down the beach to the south.  It had shallow waters and a sandbar further out that protected the beach from larger predators.  The farther south Gatcha traveled on the beach, the rockier it got.  Tide pools lay between the rocks inhabited by small crabs and other sea creatures that had been caught in them when the tide went down.  Gatcha stepped over the rocks and toward the water, hopping down with both of his front feet before both of his rear legs followed in suit; splashing water loudly.  He walked out toward the sea, bowing his head down to dip his nose in the water before quickly raising his head up to splash water onto his back.  He dunked his beak into the water, stirring up the sand as he chomped down on the plump seaweed that had washed ashore.  Seaweed was a decent part of Gatcha’s diet, he came down quite often in the year to feed on the seaweed as it wasn’t in as high-demand as some of the other food sources on the island.

Gatcha knew of a few snacks that the ocean could provide.  He dropped to his belly and rolled to his side, submerging himself partially in the sea water before standing up again and trudging through the sea towards the tide pools at the shore.  The small crustaceans that skittered and pursued the small pools were another nice snack that Gatcha enjoyed, although they were much harder to catch.  He peered into the pools, looking for any distracted or cornered crabs that he could snap up.  Gatcha focused in on a crab that was busily munching away at some seaweed, he prepared his beak, slightly agape before plunging it forward. 
“GATCHA!!”  Echoed out from on top of the cliff, causing Gatcha to flinch mid-strike and missing the crab.  His beak went deep into the sand before he quickly picked his head up, sand and water dribbling from his mouth as his head rose.  Granite was standing at the top of the cliff, a slight smile on his gruff face as he peered down at his counterpart.  Gatcha looked up, slightly annoyed at the loss of his crab, but he couldn’t help but excitedly greet Granite back.

“Granite!  What are you doing here!?”  Gatcha excitedly trotted closer to the cliffside to hear better.

“Coming down to join you.”  Granite turned and headed towards the sloped path that led to the beach and Gatcha excitedly trotted toward that direction as well. 
The two met at the bottom of the slope, Gatcha touching his snout to Granites before gently running it along the side of Granite’s cheek and nuzzling his beak into his neck.

“Missed me?” Granite rumbled gently and somewhat teasingly.

“Of course.”  Gatcha smiled, nuzzling Granites neck gently before slowly pulling away, “Come check out the sandbar and cool down with me.”  He turned slightly toward the ocean, his feet sliding in the sand as he began to walk, followed by Granite.

The two Styracosaurus’ trudged through the soft sand, running toward the wading area side by side, splashing along the edge of the water together playfully.  As they reached the wading area, the two walked up the rocky shore to access their favorite spot, before gently jumping down into the cool summer water together.  

“I can’t wait to get some relief from this sun, it’s been baking me all day.”  Granite plopped down, laying in the water and letting it lap at his chest.

Gatcha trudged over to a clump of seaweed, grasping it tenderly in his beak and lifting it up out of the water before bringing it over to Granite.

“Have you eaten much today?”  He reached his beak out toward Granite, handing off the clump of seaweed.

“It’s been so hot, and I haven’t been interested in the scorched hay that’s left of most of our food.”  Granite joked, accepting Gatchas gift gratefully.  

“Luckily, we have this little cove and all of it’s seaweed to ourselves.”  Gatcha gently clanked his horn against Granites affectionately, closing his eyes and listening to the sounds of the water against the larger bull’s chest.