Sand in your Shorts (End)

[Nako]

Babysitting really wasn't all that bad; normally she only had to watch over Davy since Uluani was mostly off doing her own thing. Usually it was a really boring affair, but not this week! They had a very special company over from the Court. Even though the memories were faint, she remembered growing up around these kids, and saw them often when her family made a trip to the Court of Hearts.

Xolani couldn't keep the smile off of her face, packing up the fruit that mother had left for them before going off to the market. They were going to play by the beach, and had so much confidence in her swimming abilities that she allowed her to take the kids to the water by herself! Well, Charlie would be there too... but that was beside the point.

She was really making a great procession out of nothing; the beach was literally a few steps outside the hut at high tide.

"Don't forget the shovels!" Davy squealed, stumbling forward with his handful of beach playthings.

"No Davy! Put those in your bucket! This basket is for food." Even though she tried to say it sternly, but her voice just didn't have the strength for it. Regardless, it was enough to make the chipmunk's lip pout out. Finally, she sighed, taking his toys from him and putting them into his bucket herself. "Here. Now you have everything you need, and you won't get sand in the kiwi"

Davy beamed, grabbing up his pale and bolting out the door. Xolani called after him. "Don't get in the water until we're out there!" There was a faint rebuttal. Well, he couldn't get into too much trouble; the young boy was just as strong a swimmer as herself.

She scrambled up the stairs, rapping on Uluani's door. "We're going to be at the beach. You're welcome to come down." There was the sound of talking.. but it wasn't to her. She frowned. "Well, come down if you change your mind."

Moving to the second bedroom, she knocked on the guest bedroom where the boys were staying. "We're heading down now. Are you two ready? Davy already went outside and I can't leave him out there by himself for long."

[carcinoGeneticist]

Enkidu was restless. He liked being away from home, even if his stick-in-the mud brother didn't. Simun was content to spend the entire vacation in Zuberi's home, eating whatever she offered him and not making any fuss at all. It seemed sometimes like he was more interested in cleaning than exploring the Beach with his brother and Xolani! Those babies were more adventuresome than Simun, and they were babies!

When he'd heard rumor that they would be going down to the beach, Enkidu decided he needed to take things into his own hands. He'd marched right up to the guest bedroom where he knew his brother would be.

Sure enough, there was Simun, curled up with a book. It was a history of the beach, and Enkidu's ears flicked back as he looked at it over his brother's shoulder. "C'mon, we're going." The cat-eagle said in his usual rasping tone, doing his best to grin encouragingly at his brother. He was just shy. He needed a push in the right direction from time to time, that was all. It seemed silly to sit inside, reading a book about the history of a place when you were in that place, and it would be so easy to step outside and see it with your own two eyes.

Simun wasn't so sure about that, though. He made a soft, worried noise in the back of his throat, peering at his brother through his bangs. "Uh... we are? I was thinking I would stay here and help Miss Zuberi cook dinner tonight"

Predictably, the other boy was not appeased by that, and he tackled his brother. The two scuffled briefly for a moment, then froze at the sound of a knock. Enkidu's eyes went back to his brother, and he gingerly stepped off. Then he grabbed the other boy by the scruff, dragging him forward a few steps. "Come ON!" He hissed through the beakful of hair, then finally dropping him. "You're gonna waste our whole vacation away!" He glared back at Simun, who was pulling himself up to his feet, then opened the door.

"Yep! All ready." The slightly smaller kitten said with a bright smile, stepping ahead of his brother, who looked rather pleased with himself. "What's the bucket for?"

[Nako]

Xolani managed a pleasant smile for the two lads as the door opened, though her head canted curiously to the side at the rather roughed-up Simun picked himself up from the ground. Silly boys and their wrestling games. She was glad that she was still much bigger and stronger than Davy and could pin him easily. She didn't know what she'd do if she had a brother who could outmatch her in strength. They always played too rough!

"Oh, it's Davy's things. He left them with me, it seemed. Leave it to little brothers to think you'll do everything for them." She laughed softly, though she realized that perhaps they might not know what that was like. Did they even have any younger siblings they were obligated to watch after?

"Goodness, you have the window closed and everything? It's so stuffy in here." She wrinkled her nose.Mamma always kept the windows wide open, but that Simun seemed to like it shut. It made that stinky boy smell just a little bit unbearable.

Despite these thoughts, she managed to keep her smile rather static on her face. "And actually, I need to carry the lunch basket. Perhaps one of you can carry this?" She set it down next to their door and turned back toward the stairs.

"I'll see you guys by the water, okay?"

[carcinoGeneticist]

If he had any say in it at all, Simun would have agreed with Xolani. He wasn't a fan of wrestling either, but his brother didn't give him very much of a say. In fact, if he'd brought it up, Enkidu would have likely responded by flattening the smaller kitten and then laughing. Which wasn't to say that he was mean, just... Energetic. Very energetic. And he liked to pounce people, and Simun himself certainly counted into that grouping. "Oh," he replied quietly, blinking at Xolani. He and his brother certainly had quite the mess of siblings between them, some younger and some older, but for the most part...

He'd overheard Mommy telling someone once that all of their Daddy's dalliances - whatever that meant - had happened with surprising speed. He figured that had something to do with why there were so many younger kids living in the court. "Oh, Davy's coming too?"

For Enkidu's part, he repressed the urge to growl. "'course he is. He likes the beach, too." He bumped against the darkly colored kitten softly, encouraging the boy to start moving again. He'd made it this far, now he just needed to walk the rest of the way outside. "Yeah, that's my fault. We were tellin' ghost stories last night and I told him a zombie seagull would fly in and peck his brains out if he left the windows open." He grinned, then giggled softly, giving his brother a beaky smile, his tail twitching from side to side.

Simun paused for a minute, staring at his brother, purple eyes narrowing. "You told it different last night..." He protested quietly, then picked up the bucket in his mouth and started to walk after the pair. He wished he could be more outgoing, but when it came to actually talking to someone... He blushed crimson beneath his dark fur. It was hard sometimes, at least without sounding weird and awkward. Enkidu made it look so easy.

"Yeah, sounds good," the boy replied, giving Xolani a little bob of his head. Then he turned, leading the way, fully expecting his brother to follow without question. When they stepped outside, he glanced back at the other kitten, expressive ears straightening out and sticking straight up. "...you gonna be okay?" He asked, realizing that his brother looked seriously stricken. He didn't understand why. It was just the beach...

The blond boy shrugged, speaking around the bucket. "Yeth."

That was a good enough answer for Enkidu, who bounded along the trail, following a line of footprints that had to have been Davy's. "Daaaaaaaaaaaaaavy~~~"

[Nako]

The sun was such a lovely thing; though she'd never been to the Hisstor Wastes, the sand and the ripples of heat and humidity was enough to at least give the illusion of some desert if she imagined hard enough. She'd only seen pictures in books.

But still, the Midori beach was her home. It was mamma's home and therefore she loved to be there. Her claws dug into the sands and she gave a soft smile.

Davy's ears perked up at the sound of his voice, tail sticking up in an alert fashion that was so true to his breed. The older kids.. were talking to him? Xolani had been attempting to monopolize them for most of their stay so far, having known them for longer than he had. She'd lived at the Court of Hearts for a while, or so his mamma had told him.

"Inky-doo!" His voice took the shrill note of his youth, bouncing up toward the older male. His eyes widened as he looked over to Simun. "Ye brought me my pail! Tha' was so nice of ya!" Fluttering his wings, he shuffled around their feet. "I been tryin' to build a sandcastle but the waves keep taking it away!"

[carcinoGeneticist]

It took every ounce of self control in Enkidu's eleven-year-old body not to simply fling himself at the little Chipmunk. That was what he would have done to Simun, or to any of the other children his age (though perhaps not Xolani - he worried that she would get mad at him, and he didn't particularly want that). But Davy was small, and he had all those wings, and if he played too rough and accidentally hurt the boy, well. Miss Zuberi would be pissed, and then Papa would skin him.

So he didn't pounce, just skidded to a stop in front of the other boy, crouching down low and reaching out one paw to lightly bap the Midori on the head. "Hiya," he rasped in the manner typical of one with a bit of blade sticking out of their throat. "How's the water?"

Oh, good. Enkidu hadn't pounced. Simun had been worried for a minute there, and he could still feel the warning sitting in the back of his mind, ready to tell Davy to run for cover or risk being squashed. The Cat padded forward, much more quietly than his sibling, but that was partly because he didn't feel the need to screech out his presence. He set the pail down in the sand, freeing up his mouth so that he could smile at the boy. "Xolani's over there, I think." He glanced up at his brother, raising an eyebrow ever so slightly. He knew that Enkidu would want to go right back to spending more time with the older girl, he always did...

Which meant that he would get to entertain Davy, most likely. "Did they? Well, now that you've got this, maybe we can try again, except this time it'll be easier to carry wet sand in farther from the waves."

Enkidu beamed toothily at his brother, then stood again, glancing in the direction he'd been told he would find the Hisstor girl in. With a bounce in his step, the hybrid wandered over. "Simun's gonna help Davy build a sand castle." He announced, plopping his butt down in the sand beside her.