Submission (#8670) Approved

The ocean in the Palu'au Islands was technically the same crystal blue that encircled Ealei but the rest of the island felt so much different than the former. The skies were clear and the shore went on for what felt like an infinity. Instead of the rock and roots that formed much of the island there, the island was encompassed by beautiful white sands and tropical palm trees and tropical flora. The buildings here much different. The villages didn't sit in the trees, nor were they like tree houses -- instead the houses were tropical buildings and huts that often sat on or near the beaches.

The small black kittom with the curly hair, he carefully put his paw into the sand and took a step. He wiggled his feet around, testing the environment with cautious curiosity. His green eyes scanned the area, looking at the seashells that littered the sand all around. He deemed it safe enough and put the rest of his paws into it. It felt funny, kind of neat but also kind of like a sensory overload in his paw pads as the grains of sand got between all the beans.

He carefully walked over to one of the beach huts and met up with his bestest of friends: Hebe. He saw her hanging out under the umbrella, eating a large ice cream cone with vigor. He paused a little, looking at each scoop of ice cream with concern before making his full approach towards her.

"Hebe!" He exclaimed, a smile going across his face and reaching his green eyes with no difficulty.

They made small talk at first, talking about the trip over here from Ealei and how the areas were fairly similar but also so obviously different. The skies were so clear here that Thetis wasn't sure if it was hotting in general or just that there were less places to hide from the sun's glaring rays. As he watched Hebe eat her ice cream, he felt like he was melting faster than the ice cream was. His fur was definitely not made for this weather, not in the slightest.

He was curious if the weather was as bad for her as it was for him. Was the ice cream just a snack, or a coping mechanism? She didn't look hot, and her coat was light and short. Deciding she was simply cooler because of the ice cream and umbrella, he sat down next to her, hiding under the umbrella with her.

"You know, after we parted ways when we got here so you could get your ice cream, I spotted this amazing sea creature swimming around in the water! It was blue with white spots across its back that made it really blend into the water, very cool! I approached it and it offered me a ride. I wasn't scared at all, and I hopped right on. We chased around a school of fish and had a race with a shark back to the shore. We won, of course, the shark wasn't going to take a bite out of us this day!" He said, waving his arms around a lot as he spoke.

Why did he say that? It was such a tall tale, there is no way anyone would believe him... So why? He wondered, and maybe... he just wanted to impress her. She was always so cool and heroic, not at all scared by absolutely unnecessary things like the things he was scared of. He wanted to be more exciting. Although they travelled around together, having fun and getting into trouble, he wondered if maybe he was too cautious and forgettable. Maybe she'd grow bored of him.

She smiled at him, offering some of her ice cream to him. He wondered, but he took a lick of the ice cream anyway.