#beachevent2020

[fortuitousflowers]

Shallow’s Bounty

@ceaselessblade

continued from here.

          It would be a waste of a dream if Sumia didn’t spend some time exploring, no? After all, everything on the island was so welcoming! From the silk sheets on the beds, to the shining blue waters, down to the one-hundred percent lack of bugs to sting and bite you. Lucky! Sumia clasped her hands behind her back as she strolled through the trees, keeping her eyes peeled. It would be absolutely magical if she could find some beautiful tropical birds. Oh! Even better. Some beautiful tropical bird feathers. What sort of fortunes would those tell, she wondered? 

          Sumia didn’t have too much time to ponder that before she came across--ah! A boat. She approached slowly and examined its structure. It seemed… sturdy enough! By which she meant the boat was floating, and that was a boat’s job. (Okay, so Sumia wasn’t a pro when it came to naval expertise…) This would be perfect to take her a little further into the sea. Such a lovely island was bound to have just as many beautiful things below the water as above it. She examined the inside, and a smile broke out over her face when she saw two drinks. Even the beverages looked pretty in this place! 

          ...Come to think of it, Sumia hadn’t felt thirsty or hungry since she got here. But the drinks quenched her eyes more than her throat. Clear glass, bright liquid, small beads of chilled sweat so you knew it was the perfect temperature to cool down with… One even had a lemon in it! Logic dictated that you shouldn’t consume strange foods you found, if not because they were potentially dangerous, then because they were probably someone’s property. But Sumia threw caution to the wind since this was a dream, anyway. She leaned forward and grabbed a glass in each hand, only to realize in that moment that someone was approaching from behind. 

          “Oh, hello!” Turning around, Sumia saw an unfamiliar face… Or so she thought. He wasn’t a person she actually spoke with, but she vaguely recalled the man to be a Golden Deer student back at the monastery. Considering that he had that look on his face… 

          “S-Sorry. I didn’t think that this belonged to anyone!” Even though it was a perfectly good boat with drinks on it. Gods, Sumia, you sounded like a dolt! “I mean, things just kind of appear on the island, so I figured... Maybe this was one of those cases? I wanted to try exploring so a boat was exactly what I needed.” She held out the drinks to him. “Pardon me for the transgression.”

[fortuitousflowers]

"Pssst, Stumbles." She's probably distracted again, so when he approached her, he lets out a sharp whistle before walking up to her. Gaius is holding up a little sign board that says 'KISS' and puts it up by his mouth in an attempt to hide his smug grin. He's trying to be cute, trying to stir a reaction from her. Sometimes she's so easy to fluster up, he just had to pester her with this the moment he saw the monastery kiddos doing it... he he. (1/2)

Summer heat must’ve been going to their heads. If she stared long enough, Sumia could barely make out transparent waves that ever-so-slightly distorted the island, giving it an even dreamier than dreamy appearance. She wondered what it looked like from above. Her eyelids drooped, because if Sumia looked at this angle, all the colors mixed together. So pretty... She wanted to coil up in the sand right now and imagine open skies and white feathers drifting into the waves forever. Until a sharp whistle nearly made her jump out of her skin.

“Ah!” She blinked rapidly. Her vision of blues and more blues was interrupted by a loud, but not unwelcome, dash of orange-red. “Oh, hello, Gaius! What do you have there?” Sumia squinted a bit and leaned forward. She could just make out the words “Kiss!” on the sign board. So, he got it from Cynthia. Heh. It was nice to know that even in a dream, her not-daughter was up to mischief. 

“I’m glad she’s having fun!” Sumia said, a bright grin on her face. She wasn’t sure what this update was meant to entail, until Gaius lowered the sign, revealing the pouty lips beneath. 

Yep. Her brain MUST’VE been fried. Sumia stared at Gaius’ mouth, then looked up at his eyes, then looked down at his mouth again. “Are you…? Wait a minute. You’re not, haha, being serious, are you?” Sumia smiled. He was just teasing her, like he always did. Except at the part where the punchline usually came, he just pouted more. “...You are! You’re being totally serious right now!” Her cheeks went as red as cherries on an ice cream sundae. A melting one. It was a wonder she didn’t dissolve into a puddle right then and there. 

“What? I-It doesn’t have anything to do with age!” 

It was more that it didn’t befit them as soldiers at all! Not Sumia as a flying instructor, and especially not Gaius as a knight! But, still… Sumia looked at him again. When Gaius made that expression, how was she supposed to say no? Her pulse quickened. Anyway, it wasn’t a big deal. It was just a dream. It was Dream Gaius.

“Oh… Alright. But stand very, VERY still. Don’t move a muscle.” 

Sumia approached carefully. If she didn’t do this right… She’d trip, or hurt him, or even miss her target completely. She took a deep breath and reached out, firmly cupping his face in her hands like she was worried he’d slip away. Which, knowing her track record, could very well be the case. Sumia was NOT about to risk getting a mouthful of sand. Taking a deep breath, she leaned closer… closer…

“Um, Gaius? Could you close your eyes?” 

This was embarrassing. But Sumia was true to her word. Once she was sure he wasn’t peeking, she got on her tippy-toes and planted a soft smooch on the corner of his mouth, right between his lips and cheek. Sumia made sure to hold on. Her kiss wasn’t hard, but she stayed pressed against him for several seconds. Long enough to catch the faintest whiff of sunscreen and to feel his skin grow slightly warmer under her touch. 

Finally, she pulled away. 

“There. If you hated it, please don’t tell me.”

[fortuitousflowers]

"...Stumbles.... be honest with me here..." He's whiny, and it's not just cause he's melting under the sun. He's not too bummed about it. It's not like he asked a whole bunch of people but he got denied a few times in a row, it made a guy think. "Ya still think I'm a 10/10? I swear, no one's biting the candy anymore. Can't even get a name, yeesh."

          The island was super fun to explore, but sometimes a girl needed a good book to relax! The problem? The books here weren’t… Well they weren’t quite right. Like the one Sumia currently had, for example. Sitting by the beach was the perfect place to read, but no matter how much she squinted, she just couldn’t make out the words. Hrm… 

          It took a second for her to notice Gaius coming her direction. When she glanced up from the pages, she only blinked. 

          “Huh?” Didn’t he ask this before, too? “Gaius, I told you already, you’re very handsome. Ten out of ten!” She nodded eagerly to back up her point. Why was he suddenly so worried? Because of the sweets or… Oh, right! This must’ve been because of the game that Dream Cynthia and the others were playing. Before she could even reply, a pen manifested in her hand. 

          “I’ll sign!” She took Gaius by the wrist and wrote S-U-M-I-A in bold letters on the back of his hand. She even added a smiley-face, just so he knew she was always rooting for him with a big grin. 

          “See? You have one already!” Sumia pulled away. “Good luck with the rest. Just have CONFIDENCE in yourself, okay?” She curled her arm and flexed with her fist. Even though... Seriously. Gaius and anyone else playing had a thousand percent more confidence than she ever could. Waving him off, Sumia turned back to her book. Now, where was she...

          Hold on. She could see the words! The print became clear in the sunny light. Her eyes eagerly scoured the page. She’s been wondering for ages what kind of story--

          The beach was sweltering in moist heat when he appeared. His taut muscles glistened with the spray of the sea and the voluminous follicles of his hair dripped over tender orbs of emerald. His lips, lush from the blush of coy desire, parted with a single breath, and she was sure he tasted like salt and can--

          Smack.

          The book closed between her palms, held as tight as the line her mouth now made. 

          ...On second thought, maybe what she needed was a walk. A VERY long walk.

[fortuitousflowers]

🍽 to experiment in the kitchen with my muse

send a beach ask! ( accepting ) | @lolucina

          “The trick to a perfect pie, is a perfect pie crust.” Sumia opened several cabinets, searching through the contents. The kitchen wasn’t the first place that called for exploration, admittedly. But upon looking through what was available, she found that the pantries were well-stocked with fresh ingredients in several varieties. She was no master chef… but there was fun in trying to put a recipe together. It reminded her of baking with her mother when she was a girl.

          “Let’s see…” Flour, butter, salt, and sugar. Sumia laid them all out on the counter. A deceptively simple lineup. She knew how to bake a decent pie now, but it was only after hundreds of hours of practice (and nearly breaking a tooth). Hopefully Lucina wouldn’t have to go through the same ordeal. Or, dream-Lucina. Maybe real-Lucina knew all this already, or didn’t care to learn at all. But for now, Sumia could pretend she was useful.

          “That’s everything! Now we just need to put it together…”

          Into a bowl went measured-out flour, sugar, and salt. Mixing them quickly, Sumia glanced at Lucina.

          “You combine the dry ingredients together first so everything is dispersed evenly… Oh!” A grin. “Lucina, why don’t you choose the kind of filling it’ll have?”

[fortuitousflowers]

🏰

send a beach ask! ( accepting ) | @prodigiosusmagus

          Olivia had inspired the Shepherds many times, both on and off the battlefield. Today, after seeing the gorgeous sand castle she constructed, Sumia thought… hey! Why not give making one a try, too? She managed to find a pail and a shovel scattered along the beach. After settling in a spot that seemed safe from the sea, Sumia took to filling her mold with damp sand. 

          It wouldn’t look close to something fancy or intricate, of course. But there wasn’t anything wrong with humble beginnings! Even the Exalt’s palace started with with a single stone. After she finished packing, Sumia flipped the pail over and tapped it on all sides to loosen the sand. Carefully, very, VERY carefully, she lifted it upwards. If this managed to stand, Sumia would have her base. 

          “...Oh, pegasus plop.” 

          And there it went. To her credit, it didn’t fall apart completely. It was only the top and one side that crumbed. The real issues started when she tried using her hands. That’s when the shape went from not-exactly held together to just a giant mound. Sumia let out a sigh. Well, this was a failure. She looked toward the beach, wondering if maybe, like most things, sand castles simply weren’t her calling.

          That’s when she spotted him. 

          “Ricken!” Sumia called, waving her friend over. “It’s so good to see you! You’re just who I need for this!” Her dream seemed to be conjuring up just about everything she wanted so far. It made perfect sense for Ricken to show up in this situation. “Do you have any spells that could sculpt sand?” To demonstrate her point, Sumia scooped up a handful and let the grains fall through her fingers. 

          “I wanted to make a castle and… I haven’t been having much luck the usual way.”

[fortuitousflowers]

🎆!

send a beach ask! ( accepting ) | @cynthero

          Night came, and once again, Sumia couldn’t sleep. Not in a bad way, exactly. Just… ever since waking up here, she didn’t need sleep. An occasional nap was experienced more out of pleasure than necessity. The vacation atmosphere was lovely, but… Was it possible to have too much of a good thing? Sumia missed Magnolia, her friends, her home… 

          Some of those things she’s been missing for a long while now. Sumia knew it was wrong to think of the war with any kind of fondness, and she didn’t want to return to it nor was there a single person she would wish it on... She just couldn’t get unstuck from the fact that things haven’t been the same since Grima was defeated. There was a sense of unity in roughing it out together against all odds. It made her feel like she belonged somewhere, even if she wasn’t especially useful. 

          It was only a thread of fate that kept Sumia connected to everyone, and even that thread was ever thinning. She followed her friends and comrades to the monastery, but would she just be running behind them forever? It was only a matter of time before they wanted to get on with their own lives. Some of them already had. Sumia turned her eyes onto the sea. Huh. Was it her imagination, or did the waters seem darker? 

          Inky waves crept onto the shore and Sumia felt small, suddenly. If she changed course toward them, and walked, and walked, and kept walking… she would be swallowed whole by this place, by this dream. Would anyone miss her? Haha, probably not. She would just… wake up, surely. 

          A spark in the blackness caught her attention, like a shooting star against a void of a sky. Turning her head, Sumia saw another shadowed figure on the beach. An itch of curiosity drew her toward them. The form cleared into a familiar shape of a girl, two pigtails atop her head. Sumia paused. A tingle of hesitation ran through her, though she quickly clasped her hands behind her back and pushed forward. 

          “Hel-lo, Cynthia! What’re you up to all by yourself?” Sumia smiled and leaned forward, trying to see over her shoulder. “...Are those fireworks?”