Zuri lay down in the damp sand a few feet from the water, panting. They'd been exploring and running all over the sand for a while now, and the sun was starting to go down. They had discovered an amazing number of things in just a few hours -- many interesting shells, strange seaweeds, and even a weird scuttling crab that had tried to pinch his nose when he leaned down to sniff it. It had been a very full day, but he wasn't totally tired out yet. He looked up at Ianthe, waiting for a cue from her on what to do next.
Ianthe was trotting around, still gleeful about everything that they had found. Intrigued and reminded of what the lion had worn, Ianthe was sure that she was going to figure out how to have something pretty...somehow. She didn't have the means for it, but she'd hold onto some of the pretty things that she had seen and try to get someone to make something for her. Maybe a nice bird would help? She hadn't seen a monkey in ages, and normally they weren't very nice to her, but that didn't mean she wouldn't try!
She hummed to herself as she trotted over to Zuri, feeling quite content. "Are you tired already?" she teased. She didn't think he was, but they did do a lot of stuff today, didn't they? Seen so much, played a lot...at least there really wasn't any trouble with just the two of them here.
"Psh, as if a little exploring would tire me out." He retorted with a grin. He shifted his gaze from Ianthe to the slowly lapping water, and back. Then, after a long pause during which one could almost SEE the cogs in his head turning, he left sideways and scooped a pawful of water at his companion. SPLASH!
Ianthe didn't really get hy he was looking at her in that way. What was he thinking? Seriously, she'd never understand him. Let alone that she didn't understand her own self at times, but still! She was a girl, she could always bring up the argument that boys were just that way!
She wasn't expecting what she got, though. She all of a sudden felt a huge part of her side get soaking wet. Oh no! "Zuuuri!" she cried, a bit irrtated but laughing all the same. "What was that?" Her laughter continued as she bounced after him, intent on getting him wet in the same manner. Her accuracy wasn't a high point, though, and she didn't seem able to send water quite far enough for her satisfaction. Hmph!
Zuri broke out laughing at the sight of her half-soaked in water. He tried to roll over to avoid her counter-splash, but wasn't fast enough, getting a facefull of the salty stuff. Luckily, he'd managed to close his eyes! He spat some of it out and waded into the water up to his ankles, leering as though daring her to come closer.
She squealed a bit, surprised that she was able to get him, but pleased all at the same time. The look that he gave her was a red flag though. Uh oh! He was surely going to get her now, and he'd probably try to get every inch of her body wet with the salty water. She tried to bounce away but the waves that came in and out made that much harder than she though. She slipped once, getting more of her body that she would have liked all wet. Ugh, this was sooo his fault! She swiveled around, pretty much giving up on the chance to stay dry, and was i ntent on getting him, now. Two could play at that game! She tried to shoot him a dirty look, but all it really did was made her look quite comical.
He grinned and choked on laughter at Ianthe's attempt to look threatening, splashing through the waves towards her, not minding the water droplets that landed on him as he did so. "I've got you now!" He said, rearing up on his hind paws and WHUMP! splashing into the water with her. Surfacing and coughing, he tried to push the fur out of his eyes. He was completely soaked through, but it was worth it.
"Ack!" Limbs flailing, the wild dog tried to get out of the way, but her attempts were futile. She soon was nearly soaking wet, just a bit near the base of one ear was dry. It didn't matter much, though, since everything else was so wet! She shook the top half of her body, getting the super drippy bits of the water away from her face. "Meanie!" She wriggled her butt a bit, even with an awkward stance, and attempted to pounce on Zuri. Sure, he was all wet now, but that didn't mean that she still couldn't try to take him down. He deserved it! Being any bit lower to the surface of the water was interesting, though, as whenever a wave would come up, she would feel her back end slipping in whichever direction the water was pulling. What a werid feeling!
"Ack!" Zuri yelped, as Ianthe shook her soaking fur. He shut his eyes to keep the salty droplets from stinging them, then pawed at them to try and wipe some of the caked salt away. Because of this, he was completely oblivious to Ianthe's plots to bring him down. He wobbled slightly as a wave pulled at both of them.
She didn't expect a wave that strong, and her efforts turned into nothing as she slipped into the water, feeling her head bump up against Zuri under the water. When he head made it back to the surface, she coughed a bit as she wiggled her way to more shallower parts. Ewww! "Well, that was certainly...gross," she slowly said, shaking her head all the more. That didn't work well! Now they were both soaked, and she at least had a mouthful of salt water. Ewww. It sure was pretty, but it didn't taste pretty! She took an extra moment to shake her whole body, hoping that it wasn't all spraying back onto Zuri. That was actually the last thing she wanted at this point. They were both soaking wet, what was the point of adding onto that? She peered over her shoulder at the purple while dog, a small smile on her face. Even if it didn't work out well she did at least get him one. "Ha!"
Zuri's eyes opened and he panicked a bit as Ianthe went under. But before he could do anything to help her, she surfaced again. He waded back into the shallows with her, taking a step back as she shook, then shaking his own fur and dragging himself up onto the sand to dry. "Ha to you!" He retorted with a tired grin, rolling over to press his belly to the cool, wet sand. "You're wet too, you know."
Ianthe flopped down next to him, quickly sticking her tongue out at him. "Maaaybe," she said, settling herself to lay on her back. It was oddly relaxing, and she was able to look up at the darkening sky. Where had the day gone? It seemed to pass by much too quickly for her tastes. She rolled her head over to look at Zuri with a bit of a serious look on her face. Her tail swished underneath her back feet, doing little to help dry out her body. "Ummmm," she started, feeling oddly uncomfortable for a moment. "Thanks for coming with me, it means a lot." She knew that one day she was going to see it, but it seemed much more enjoyable with ihm around. Plus, with his proactive features, they had gotten here sooner than Ianthe would have on her own. She was a bit of a slowpoke, with pretty things distracting her all of the time.
Zuri grinned back at her as she stuck her tongue out, then flopped onto his back, as well, forepaws folded up on his chest to let his bellyfur dry off. "Hm?" He said distractedly, glancing over at her. "Oh." He paused. Well, the truth was that he hadn't had anything better to do, and that he was the type to follow a pretty lady anywhere, when invited, but that didn't really sound like a smart thing to say at this moment. He smiled at her. "Well, what sort of gentleman would be, if I refused to help a lady live her dream?"
Her tail twitched at that, since it wasn't something that she expected him to say. She paused for a moment, letting her play with what he said in he rmind. "Y'know, you haven't really said things like that much lately," she said with a small giggle. Perhaps all the activity of just surviving made them both change a little? While she was still a space case, in other parts she had grown up just a little.
"It's nice though, isn't it? I told you it would be!" She was convinced that he was having a lot of fun, no matter what he said. They had just finished playing in the water, and she knew that he laughed then. She let her paws rest on her chest as she looked up at the few stars that peered through the sky that wasn't completely dark yet. Brave stars, prehaps? Maybe like them, for everything they did? She liked how that sounded.
"Thing like what?" It was true though, he had dropped the "gentleman" mask somewhat since being around Ianthe for extended periods of time. Perhaps because he had simply gotten used to her being around, though she didn't seem to mind either way. She was fond of him even when he was being grouchy and short. "Yes," He admitted with a grin. "It's very nice."
She smiled. "Yay!" That was comforting to hear. She rolled onto her belly, snuggling comfortably next to Zuri. She had started to take his presence a bit for granted, since he had been with her for so long. It was nice, having someone there, and she would always say that she loved it. She didn't mind too much when she was alone, but there was a little bit of a boost when there was someone you could depend on. In he rmind, anyway.
"We should probably go find a dry place, huh? We're never going to dry out here if we lay in the wet sand all night!"
He paused, then curled back against her, pushing his nose under her chin briefly before rising damply to his paws. "Yergh, probably. I don't like the idea of staying wet forever." He wrinkled his nose and smiled, turning back and waiting for her to get up. "I think I saw some empty dens up by that dune earlier. We can probably stay there for the night." He eyed her expectantly, tilting his head.
She layed where she was for a moment, looking up at him for an unknown reason. "Alright!" With a quick bounce, she was up on her toes again. She moved a bit to the side away from Zuri, if only to shake a bit more of the water and sand bits that still clung to her fur. Most of it was off, and she could probably get the rest of them off by tomorrow. With a few wags of her tail, she trotted up to Zuri, expecting him to lead the way, since she wasn't entirely sure of where these dens were. At least it'd be a real place to sleep, nice and safe and not out in the open where anyone could walk by. She'd grown tired of that through their trips. "Just lead the way and I'll follow," she said brightly.
He waited as she caught up, and scanned the rocky ridge that overlooked the beach. "There." He said, spotting the dune and moving towards it. He glanced back at her. "And if we're still not dry in the morning, we can lay out in the sun aaalll day tomorrow." He added, grinning. Indeed, he felt contented, despite his dampness, and anticipated the coming days on the beach with cheer, something he had not expected. The feeling was far from unwelcome, however, and he smiled back at Ianthe one more time before turning and leading the way back to the dune.
