 |
With his toes popping out of the shallow water, soft sand under his back, and head nestled into a perfectly placed little divot, complete-and-utter bliss was the only way to describe the state of mind Leukos was in at the moment. The sky was painted a rosy purple as the sun was preparing to set, another long, hot day spent. But the heat came with some perks: as the tide had lowered in the morning, little pools of water were left on the eroded stone slab further up the beach, and as the day wore on, they had become heated by the sun.
Being sweaty and winded, Leukos had not been looking forward to heading back to his drab little room to partake in another cold sponge-bath, meandering down to the beach to try to kill time before the inevitable. Unfamiliar with the phenomenon, having grown up in a giant sand-box his whole life, Leukos had slipped his shoes off and stepped into one on a whim, expecting the usually cold ocean water. What he got instead was surprising: his feet were sheathed in warm water. It took all of a second for him to start peeling off all his clothes, tossing them aside to slip naked into the shallow pool before the blessedly-temped waters grew any cooler. He hadn’t been able to have a bath in many days, and while he may come out of this salty and sandy, there was no way he was going to pass up on the opportunity to savor this unexpected gift.
He’d almost started to doze off, relaxed as his mind floated in a hazy cloud of euphoria, when the sensation of something tugging at his hair made his eyes snap open, heart leaping up into his throat. Last time he’d fallen asleep in a pool of water, a huge bug had been staring him down, and while the results of that encounter had led to a pleasant afternoon with a cute girl, he was not at fond of the interaction that had started it all. He slowly rolled his head back to look behind him, prepared for the worst, half expecting a shiny-carapaced monstrosity to be waiting there. But instead it was three furry creatures, snuffling about his discarded clothes, nimble fingers picking at the fabric and sparkling beads. The tugging had come from one that was gnawing at one of the jeweled baubles in Leukos’ long hair, attempting to dislodge it from his locks.
With a heavy sigh of relief, he slowly sat up, turning in the water to face the primates. The one that had been man-handling his hair skittered back with an exclamatory chitter, bumping into one of the others as their heads swiveled to watch him. Leukos shook his head, resting an arm on his knee as he leaned forward, “What are you doing? I think you will all be sorely disappointed to find that I am as lacking in foodstuffs as you are, much to the regret of my stomach.” His eyes caught on the fistful of fabric one had, raising an eyebrow, “Were you attracted by the detailing? I find it hard to resist some nice shiny bling myself, so I can see the appeal. It couldn’t have been the smell that drew you in.” He brought a hand up, reaching closer and flicking his fingers, “But that is not for you, I still need this stuff. So kindly run along, strange furry things.”
But while they may have been content to watch as he spoke, once Leukos moved his hand closer, the Kehtra chattered angrily, taking whatever their little paws could grasp and bolting. Leukos could not have expected them to take his clothes with him, his hand darting out too late to grasp the air where one of their tails had been. It was with clumsy fumbling that he clambered out of the shallow pool, scrambling to get to a stand as his wet feet slipped around on the smooth stone underfoot, “Nononononono! Come back here!” Eventually he was able to secure a foothold, darting towards the jungle in hot pursuit of the mammals. Two of them were able to nimbly climb up the trees, hissing down at him as he slammed against the trunk, no time to slow down. And as they leaped off into the canopy, Leukos was able to scuttle up enough to grab the last one’s hind foot, clamping hard and dragging it back down the trunk, “JUST GIVE ME BACK MY CLOTHES!”
With an infuriated screech, the animal dropped its grip on the fabric it held, turning to swipe its claws at Leukos’ face. But he was able to pull away in time, snarling irately back at the insufferable little thief. That did the trick of switching the animal’s priorities from fight to flight, clawing at the tree trunk to get away. Having gotten what he wanted from it, Leukos released his hold on the creature as it scurried away lighting fast into the gloom of the foliage. The others were already out of sight.
Cussing a stream of words just for him and the leafy greens, Leukos stooped and scooped up whatever had been dropped. Grumbling lowly, he brushed dirt off the long red sash, untangling some of the tassels that had become twisted together. The little blighters had gotten away with his pants. And his top. And most importantly, his undergarments.
Using the cloth to dry off his sopping wet body as best he could, a gentle wind tauntingly began licking his bare skin, raising goosebumps along blue flesh. Following the path back to the pool, he was met with at least one consolation prize: the bag with all his supplies for the day had been too heavy a burden for them, his money secure under the flap still. And one more golden scarf was dancing about on the rocks, evidently dropped in the mad dash for the trees. Sighing, he scooped that up as well, securing both bolts of fabric around his waist in a short makeshift sarong. It could have been worse; he’s made due with less before. That didn’t make everything suck any less though, starting the long walk back to his place as Leukos lamented the loss of one of his precious few outfits, one more thing that had been taken by this damn country.
[1,062 words]
|
 |
Reply
