Xilukulkas parts ways with us, going to the museum. He invites me to spend some time there as well, but... for the moment, at least, I'd prefer to spend time on the little beach.
It's not quite home. The trees that border the beach are pink and gold and remind me of wisteria, and the sand is gold and silver color. I think that it might be an artificial color, though, as the beach near the starsail had been simply normal sand.
But...
There's only one sun in the sky. The sky is blue, the sea is blue. The birds overhead sound like seagulls, or close enough that the distant memory of them overlaps with what I hear now. The sand is soft and light under my feet, and there's no toxic, putrid smell or eel-like creatures in the sea looking to drag any of us under the water.
Though, I suppose, with Llywelyn here even if there were such creatures I'd be in far less danger.
I-
It's ridiculous. There aren't any such creatures. The water is clear and I can easily see there's nothing huge and hulking in the water nearby the shore. This isn't that world at all, and there's no reason for me to assume a creature from an entirely different planet would be here.
Yet...
Somehow there's still a part of me that loosens just a little. Like...
It's a relief.
To know that Llywelyn is here. That specific danger, at least, just isn't something I have to worry about.
Mira squeals and runs directly into the water, arms up over her head. It's one of the stranger sights I've seen since waking up on Xilukulkas' moon, watching her just...run underwater. She doesn't float. Not even a little. She just runs until some cliff under the water drops off and then in a moment, she vanishes.
The suddenness of it causes me to lurch forward before I even think about it. "Mira-!"
"Relax." Llywelyn sighs as he walks past me toward the water. "She doesn't need to breathe."
"But if she can't float she can't swim, so how is she going to-"
"She can float if she wants to." Llywelyn tsks. "She's a vapid, empty-headed gem but even she won't run off a cliff and force Master to rescue her."
He dives into the ocean himself and swims into the deeper water at such a high speed that he immediately becomes a blur.
And I'm.
All at once, standing on the beach alone.
It's fine.
I sit down on the sand near the water. A swell immediately rushes to greet me, whirling around my feet with stiff white foam. I wince, closing an eye, tensing and drawing my feet back immediately.
But there's no burn. No sting.
It's cool water on my skin. Nothing more.
I swallow.
Right. It's like I've been thinking. This place isn't toxic or dangerous. It's just a beach. Almost just like one on Earth, apparently.
My shoulders sag, and I let out a breath. I can't believe how tense that made me. It shouldn't have. There shouldn't be any reason for me to expect it to be like it was back then. I'm just being-
I reach out for the water again and cup my hands in it, lifting it up to splash my face.
It's fine.
I let myself relax a little and look around. There are other people here on the beach, but most of them are sitting in groups or lounging in the sand far from where I am. None of them are any kind of alien species I recognize. Which doesn't really mean much, since I don't recognize that many alien species, but... they do have children, or something like them. There's a little creature that looks like a chinchilla, but bright red, running around on the beach with something that's like a cat, but also the same size as the rodent. They're playing some kind of chase game and there's an alien that looks like some kind of an eldritch horror, made of tentacles and spines, watching them from a short distance away.
The sun's light is warm on my skin, the sea breeze is gentle and salty. It's a perfect day, and I'm just sitting here getting wet and sandy.
My eyes flutter shut, and I just sit there, listening to the sounds around me. I fall backward, laying on the sand. It's warm and soft. I could fall asleep here. It's so peaceful.
There's a strange sound then. A rushing sound of water being moved through quickly. Then something heavy falls on me and I gasp, bolting upright.
"SARAH!"
I'm suddenly soaked and being squeezed half to death by a statue.
"What?! What is it? What's happening?!" I ask, my heart pounding in my chest. I push Mira away from me, but she just giggles and sits back.
"I found something in the water! I wanted to show you!" She beams, and then holds up a strange object in her hand.
It's... I don't even know what it is. It's a round, white ball. It looks almost like a pearl, but it's the size of a baseball. It's smooth and shiny and has an iridescent shimmer.
"What is it?" I ask, reaching out and taking it from her.
"I don't know!" She leans forward, her eyes sparkling. "It's pretty, isn't it?"
"It is." I agree, turning it over in my hands. It's light and cool to the touch. "Was it in a shell?" I ask, trying to imagine how this could be a pearl.
"No, it was just lying on the sand at the bottom of the water!" She shakes her head, and then leans closer. "Do you think it's rare? Valuable?"
"I don't know, I can't even tell what it is." I say, and then hold it up to my ear, shaking it a little. It doesn't sound hollow.
I frown and then toss it up into the air, catching it again.
There's a flash of blue and Llywelyn is suddenly next to us, his chest pulsing. "Don't you fis'ia dare-!" He snaps, and I flinch, clutching the strange object to my chest.
Mira immediately starts talking over him, "Sarah found a pretty thing! Look, look!"
"I- you're the one that found it!" I hiss. Did she really just throw me under the bus the very moment the angry fishman appeared?!
"Let me see." Llywelyn's voice is even, but his collar is glowing and his eyes are narrowed. I hold the thing out to him, and he plucks it from my hand, holding it up to the light.
"What is it, what is it? Tell me!" Mira demands, hopping to her feet.
He ignores her and turns the object over in his hands, then knocks on it with a knuckle. He looks at it with a slight frown, and then he shakes it.
"What, is it valuable?" I ask.
He lowers his hand. "To some people." He says, and then looks at me. "It's an Aegol. A very, very old one. If I'm not mistaken."
"What's that?"
"An egg." He responds, and holds it out to Mira. "They take fifteen years to hatch. Mira. Put it back. It's not some shiny pebble you can hoard."
Mira pouts and looks at the egg. "But it's so pretty..." She complains.
He sighs and pinches the bridge of his nose. "I'll. Show you. A shiny rock. If you put it back." He says, and she lights up.
"Okay!" She agrees, and then runs off toward the water.
I squint at him. "You're just giving in to her?"
"She's the one that disturbed it, she'll know where to put it back." He crosses his arms and then looks at me. "Are you just going to sit out here on the beach?"
"Unlike you two I don't breathe water." I point out. "So... yeah. I am."
He looks me over, frowning. Then he walks over and sits next to me in the sand, leaning back on his hands. "Well. I suppose it is a nice day."
I look at him, surprised. "You're... joining me?"
He glances at me and then quickly looks away. "Xilukulkas will lecture me if he sees you sitting out here alone, and I can't expect Mira to have self control. So someone needs to sit with you."
I sigh and look back out at the water. "Fine. Thanks for babysitting me."
He clicks his tongue, but doesn't say anything more.
We sit in silence for a little while, just watching the waves roll in. It's not a bad silence. It's comfortable, and easy. I don't feel the need to fill it with words. And he doesn't either.
Eventually, though, he does speak. "What did you do before?"
"Huh?" I look over at him. He's still looking out at the water. "What do you mean?"
"I mean... what did you do? Before. When you were on Earth. I don't know what you do on that planet, since you're world-locked." He says, and his fingers tap on the sand. "So, I guess... what did you do for fun? For work?"
I think about that. "I don't... know. I didn't do anything." I admit. "I just... went to school, and then went home. I kind of..." I can't help but scoff. At myself. "Didn't have a lot of plans for my future. Life was just starting, so... I guess. I didn't do much."
He glances at me, and his eyes are a soft gold. "Sounds terrible."
I smile, a little. "It was, honestly." I sigh. "That's. What I thought then, anyway. I thought my life was kind of boring and pointless, and that I'd never do anything." My throat feels thick and I try, unsuccessfully, to swallow that away. "But... now. I wish... I could be... boring. And normal. And..."
His fingers entwine with mine. I look down at them, surprised. I hadn't realized that I was reaching out to him. But there his hand is. Holding mine. It's warm and soft.
"You're incredibly boring." He says, and I look up at him. His collar is pulsing blue, and there's a soft smile on his lips. "The most boring, mundane, insipid human I've ever met."
I stare at him, and then let out a disbelieving laugh. "I'm the only human you've ever met." I point out.
"And I'd like to never meet another one. You're enough." He squeezes my hand, and his eyes flicker to the water.
He falls quiet for a long moment and I...
Can't come up with anything to fill the silence with.
All at once, he stands up.
"Come on. If you're just going to sit around and be boring, you've got no excuse. Come with me."
"I told you, it's not a good idea for me to try to swim in an ocean-"
"You really think I'll let you drown, you annoying hetchki? You're a nishi'an pain, you know that? I'm offering to save you from the boredom of doing nothing and all you can do is complain!" He grumbles, and then reaches down, grabbing my hand again. "Just come."
Before I can protest, he's already pulling me effortlessly up to my feet, dragging me into the water. I yelp and try to dig my heels into the sand, but it's a futile attempt. He just pulls me along, until the water is up to my knees.
"Llywelyn, I'm not even in a bathing suit, it's a dress-!"
He turns around to face me, and his hands are suddenly on my waist. My breath catches and I look up at him. His chest glows faintly, his eyes intense.
"Will you just shut up and trust me for once?" He asks, his voice low and serious. "Just. Trust me."
I stare at him, my heart pounding.
It's just a quick trip to see whatever he wants to show me, right? It's not like I'd be risking much to trust him. He could be trying to drown me right now and it's not like I could stop him.
So, really, if I don't trust him...
I swallow.
"Okay." I say, finally.
His eyes soften, and his hands move from my waist to my hands. "Hold your breath."
Before I can say anything in response, he pulls me violently under.