Submission (#8219) Approved

The late morning in Palu’Au was painted in shades of gold and blue. The sun lifted itself lazily over the horizon, sending beams across the bright waters until the entire sea shimmered like liquid crystal. Waves rolled in, soft and steady, their foam curling up against the white sand before melting back into the tide. The air carried the smell of salt and coconut, already warm and heavy.

Palm trees swayed overhead, their long fronds whispering in the wind as seabirds called from the branches. Colorful stalls lined the beachfront road behind the dunes; vendors selling seashell trinkets, skewers of grilled fruit, fish and squid, and iced drinks, offering a much needed refreshment.
Out on the water, sailboats drifted wherever the breeze carried them and further still, in the deep, the faint shimmer of the Rainbow Reef teased the eye with flashes of impossible colors.

Himmel and Mitternacht wandered to the vendors, where Himmel sipped a coconut drink far too large for him, the little paper umbrella sticking comically against his nose. Mitternacht opted for nothing more than fresh fruit, though he smirked every time Himmel slurped noisily through the straw, before finally heading to the beach itself.

Himmel hopped down a small sand dune at Mitternachts side, his paws sinking into the warm grains. The kittom took it all in. “It’s… so bright and different,” he murmured, squinting until Mitternacht reached down with a paw and placed a woven sun hat on his little head.

“Try not to melt,” the older elnin said, amusement playing in his tone.

Himmel blinked under the shade of the hat, then gave a small, satisfied smile. He ran towards the tide, leaving uneven pawprints that the waves hurried to erase. Mitternacht followed him at his steady pace, relieved when the sand grew damp and cool.

The kittom splashed in with little hops, waves tickling at his ankles. He crouched down to peer into the shallows, where tiny fish darted between the sun-speckled ripples. Every so often, a crab scuttled past, vanishing into a hole as quickly as Himmels paw reached for it.

Mitternacht stretched out on the sand, content to watch. The sea breeze stirred his fur as he lay half in the shade of a leaning palm, eyes half-closed. He had long since learned that Himmels curiosity could burn itself out in a safe place like this. A beach day was no more dangerous than napping under peach blossoms - though decidedly warmer.

When Himmel grew tired of chasing fish, he trotted back up the shore, damp and grinning, carrying something clutched in his paws. “Look!” he said, dropping it onto Mitternacht’s side.

It was a spiral shell, pink as sunrise, still glistening with seawater. He pressed an ear to it, his tail swishing. “It sounds like the sea is trapped inside.”

“Perhaps it is,” Mitternacht said lazily and grinned.