Submission (#7942) Approved

Harper could hear Silurian scrambling behind him in the common area. The itches the boisterous noises, laughter, and shouts he was making twitched his ears. Being a tad bit more sensitive to sounds wasn't really working in his favor.

At least, he was able to get him to dry clean himself with warmed water. It's.. the small things sometimes.

He'd spent all morning worried the idiot would get lost and monched up by some giant snapper in the open ocean here. Silurian overestimating himself usually lead him to block out everything else around him. And surprisingly, he is observant.. but he only paid attention to things he cared about.

Harper turned back around holding the tray of baked tarts and drinks. Carefully, he stepped ahead to where Silurian sat in the living room, tugging on the cheeks of his pomu. He was giggling to himself as he did.

"Put him down." Harper said, "or I'm not going to give you any refreshments."

"I didn't know pomus had cheeks. You learn something new everyday." Silurian whistles before letting Harper's familiar go. It immediately rolled away from the blonde-haired kittom's grasp over to hide behind his legs.

"I thought you knew everything there is to know." He set down the tray to the side.

"Well, having memorized knowledge isn't the same as having experience. You're lucky ya got your pomu early. I still can't shove crap in my shadow yet and my wee ol' shoulders are real sore after carrying all that by myself." Silurian rubbed his arm and stretched his shoulders.

"That doesn't give you the right to bully mine. He's quite timid." Harper gently cups his hand around his familiar and brought it to rest on his lap. He reached over to take a cookie and offered it to the small critter.

"Pomu..." It chirps and chows down.

Silurian hooked his finger on one of the teacups and brought it to his lips and made an obnoxious slurping noise. "Mmmmm that's great. Ealei's local tea has the best smell. It's made of what leaves? Not kelp is it?"

"Manaberry leaves infused with some of the fruit itself." Harper took his own cup. "I added some honey to sweeten it."

"I can't taste anything, you know."

"It's a formality."

Silurian takes a cookie and leans back, tilting his head back to see the outside more clearly. The shower of light was still ongoing and didn't seem to be letting up anytime soon. "Ya think it's gonna keep raining all day?"

"I don't know."

"I bet it looks gorgeous when it rains sparkles at night."

"Probably. I don't like going out late at night, so I wouldn't know." Harper's fingers ruffled his pomu's plummage. It cooed lightly, asking for another cookie, to which he obliged.

"You have me this time."

"You won't take me off the road, will you?"

"Well, not far enough that you'd be in any danger."

"..." Harper listened to his pomu offer input with small chirps. He didn't really know what it meant, but he could guess it would be distrustful of Silurian. "... Sure. But I won't go any further than what my pomu tells me."

"Pipsqueak's gonna fall into the water before he can stop ya from going over."

"That's why you're supposed to keep me from walking off the dock."

Silurian sat back up and rocked forward, leaning into his face. "You really trust me for that?"

Harper rolls his eye. "Now don't make me regret it."

The sound of soft ocean ripples gently enveloped his presence. The breeze ruffled his hair and drew past his skin. On quiet days, he enjoyed the weather of Ealei, where summertime's warmth lingered during the night but the winds from the seas kept them cool. Small twinkles decorated the edges of his vision randomly where the current showers landed sparsely.

"Did we arrive just at the end of it?"

"I think it's still got somethin' going fo' it. Give it another moment to kick in." Silurian answered. "Here, the edge of the dock is here. Sit down when ya feel comfy."

Harper's hand was taken into Silurian's own and his steps lead him over. He could feel underneath his paws was a soft fabric.. something his friend had laid out for him to sit on.

"Thanks." He lowered himself down and only briefly felt his toes graze the surface of the water. "It's too dark to see anything."

"I can see just fine with the moon. And the light rain, I guess." Silurian settled down besides him with a thwomp. He kicked his feet out, riling up the water with a splash. "Too bad pipsqueak is stuck in your shadow with the only lamp we had. Oh well."

"Don't call him a pipsqueak."

"You haven't even named it yet."

"I'll think of one eventually. Or I'll let him pick one himself." Harper hooked his eyepatch and pulled it off, blinking his eyes to adjust more to the light levels. Slowly, he made out the outlines of the clouds floating along in the distance. Their usual-white edges lit up with dashes of rainbow sparks as the rain disappeared into the billowing crevices. The silhouettes of stone pillars were outlined in the water as light passed behind them. Without the sunlight to drown out the light, he enjoyed the sensation of each colorful dot fizzling past his vision.

Suddenly, he pulled back as a light spark landed upon the tip of his nose. It tickled, but the unexpected light startled him. He bumped right into his friend, knocking them both slightly over.

"Haha- hey, that's what happened to me earlier today!" Silurian helped him straighten up with a laugh. "You alright though?"

"Mm." Harper nods. "Besides that just now, this is nice.. it's been a long while since I could see crags in the ocean from this far. At night, I mean."

"Yeah, ya'know why sailors don't like to head out after dusk. Visibility decreases."

"As nice as it is, I don't think the light rain makes for a good navigational subsitute." His eyes followed the trail of one streak of rain as it scattered upon falling into the ocean. "It's like throwing a firework over a cliff. It won't last for more than one burst."

"I didn't know you were the type to use fireworks to navigate."

"I'm just saying. I wouldn't actually do that," Harper gave a wry chuckle, "that'd be quite a waste. A lantern is more efficient."

"Yeah, shame we can't reuse the light sparks as firework subsitutes. It would've been a renewable resource too!"

"Probably. But if we could catch light and view it always, that wouldn't make moments like these as special anymore."

"Ohh yeah, that's true." Silurian leans back. "Well, I'm happy. I get to share this special moment with ya."

"Me too." Harper pulled up his legs, gently rocking along with him. Lights glistened as they fell by the kittom's face, illuminating his smile for him to see. "Me too."