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Axel and Nero had been walking the marketplace perhaps only a half an hour earlier, but after a run-in with an overly-friendly dog they had to take a little sidetrip as the marketplace's 'scariness' factor just got bumped up another notch. The older of the two males didn't seem to mind, the day was a nice one. It was a perfect day to wander on over to the sand. He stood on the sidewalk right before the beginning of the sands, hands hidden away in his pockets. His eyes trailed over the waves of water and sand, momentarily thinking on how refreshing the breeze felt. His charge felt no need to stay back with his caretaker- he'd already plowed forward into the sand. Sure, he wasn't so fond of the water... But the hills of sand were more than a little bit appealing.

He made a pleased noise as he felt the heat from below him, and promptly dropped into a roll and tumbled a short while down the miniature dune. He lay on his back at the bottom, arms extended at his sides, face lit up. He loved the sand- even if it wasn't desert sand. And the suun~... He stretched his entire body out, tail flicking contently at his side, two of his four eyes closed and his extra legs folding in at his sides. "I-it's n-nice." He informed himself quietly, pleasantly.

And then he was sitting up again, sand clinging to his clothes and hair. Time to play. He climbed partway up the dune again and then began digging into the side of it, tail waving about behind him. His extra legs pulled out and began assisting him in his digging.

Nero's head jolted up at the sound of an unknown voice hollering at him from somewhere, and he looked about uncertainly. He eyed a seagull that had landed near him hesitantly, and then swung a claw at it and returned to seeking out the owner of the voice. Where had that come from? He spotted the girl who was sliding down the dune in his direction and relaxed a bit, offering a small smile. "H-hello!" He shifted, wiping a wrist across his forehead. "I-its re-real nic-nice o-out!" He informed her cheerily, endlessly happy to be out and about in the heat and sand. He adored the sun and sand. Best combination that could be found anywhere- EVER.

"Wh-what are y-you d-doing?" The boy asked idly, turning away from his hole momentarily. He was curious to see as to what other children normally did whilst visiting the beach- he was certain from her reaction that his current doings weren't normal... But then again, not a lot about the timid boy was what one would classify as 'normal'. "I-I'm dig-digging a h-hole." He informed her quickly, as if she wouldn't be able to tell simply by looking at him. He shook sand out of his tousled hair, huffing a bit. Hey, he was just trying to be sociable. Even if he did look like a green sand monkey currently.

Nero nodded merrily in agreement to her statement about the weather, and then turned and settled back in the sand. He let out a soft contented noise, loving the feel of the warm sand against his skin. He stretched out all of his legs languidly, and then turned two of his eyes towards the girl once again. He laughed softly and nodded once more at the mention of the birds, perking up a bit to peer thoughtfully at one of the little bird groups. Birds weren't scary! They were almost as scared as him most of the time, so he never considered them a threat. "Bi-birds are a-afraid o-of ev-everyb-body." He paused a moment, and then turned his attention back towards his new companion, "M-my d-daddy sa-says that i-if you g-give 'em f-food th-then they-they'll st-stay ne-near you! B-but he s-says I-I'm not a-allowed." His caretaker seemed to have a disliking for all the birds that inhabitted where they lived- which was basically just pidgeons. Oh, and he didn't like the beach birds either. He said they were dirty and he wasn't allowed to play with them.

The boy blinked in surprise as his intent was questioned, "W-why?" He echoed, "Wh-why am I d-digging..?" He had never been asked that question before, to be quite honest. He lifted himself up off his rump and returned to his knees, body turning back towards the hole. He lowered himself a bit, peering excitedly into it, "A f-fort!" He peered up at her with a wide smile, "I-I'm m-making a sp-special f-fort!" He had one at home, too. He liked forts better when they were underground. His guardian had said something about him liking 'burrowing', whatever that was. "Th-they're r-really c-cool.." The deeper and darker, the better!

For the scaredy cat he was, he had a surprising affinity for the dark.

(Sorry for the wait... I had a tempa-hiatus... Bad rl problems.)

"L-lotsa b-birds are d-d-diff'rent." The green boy chimed in without missing a beat, going on hands and knees and wagging his rump back and forth for a moment before kicking back into digging his fort. It was much more interesting than some wierd old birds... But then again, maybe that was just his male gene telling him action is better than fantasy--hey, looks as if even timid Nero had some masculinity to him after all. He never worried himself about flying.. Flying brought you too high, and you had nothing to climb on up in the sky! How boring. Besides, it would probably hurt really bad if you fell.. His extra legs twitched as he paused, wiping a wrist across his forehead. He only did that because he saw his father do it often, Nero actually never sweat. His tough, almost armor-like skin prevented any sweat from being released. There was a bad side to never sweating, and that was how he couldn't naturally cool off all that easily; thus, the rather thin clothing his father put him in and the older male's watchful eye whenever they went out during the summer.

A pleased sigh left him as the breeze wafted over him, and he paused a moment to bask in the sudden cool.. Mmmmm..... Niiicee.... He shook his head as he recognised the girl speaking to him once more, and he turned a pair of eyes towards her curiously, "Yeah.." He smiled, bright and cheery at the thought of another liking one of his games, "It-it's a l-lot of f-fun!" His somewhat lopsided smile faded and he took on an expression so serious it was almost comical to see on someone so young. He plopped down onto his rear, claws resting on his hips as he looked over his work so far. "Hmm.. I-it'll t-take aw-awhile if I-I do i-it al-alone..." His tail twitched behind him, "W-wanna h-help..?" He looked to her uncertainly, not wanting to force her into the activity if she didn't want to partake in his playing.

All four of the boy's eyes lit up at the other child's enthusiasm, and he nodded cheerily in response. He didn't mind at all! Thing were always more fun with a playmate, of course! He glanced momentarily back towards his caretaker, smiling broadly, before turning his larger pair of eyes back onto his new companion. His tail swayed about behind him, tip tapping lightly and harmlessly against the rough skin of his back. "Well~!" Now, what could se do..? She could help him dig.. But that probably wasn't any fun. Besides, now that he had initiative, he should be able to finish this hole in no time! And he'd make sure to make it big enough and deep enough for the two of them!

He began working over the hole-digging in his head, which began to tilt itself slightly to one side, "Y-you c-could go a-and get d-decorations a-a-and stuff, i-if you w-wanted t-to! A-and stuff f-for the i-inside! Th-there's lo-lotsa pretty st-stuff here! A-and t-towels and st-stuff maybe for the f-floor? O-oh.. And m-my daddy p-prob'ly h-has a light w-we can use!" He nodded merrily. Yes, yes! That'd do swell!

He turned back towards the hole, preparing to really launch himself into digging. How exciting. He loved to dig--and he especially loved the deep, dark forts he created. They were always so cozy... "A-and when y-your do-done, y-you can h-help d-dig, if you r-r-really w-wanna.. I-if I'm n-not done." He threw one last smile in her direction, and then immediately dove back into digging. If she stuck around for any time, she'd soon has seen his upper body completely disapear underground. This was something he was good at.

The boy nodded, although his attention was truly focused on the task at hand. He listened as the girl scampered off, tail swaying uncertainly. Now he was alone... A surge of uncertainty hit him and he glanced around to make sure nothing scary was coming his way. He reminded himself that he had just been alone right before this, and shook off his nervousness. That was a silly feeling that he always got right after a companion wandered off, for some reason. He'd suddenly feel very vulnerable and exposed. It was strange.

He continued to scoop out sand with his claws, chewing lightly at his armored lower lip. Tickticktack. His upper half was soon lost among the sand, and his rump was left up in the air, occasionally waving from side to side as he dug. He was a quick digger, it was one of the few things he knew he could do well.. He grimaced a bit when the thought came that he couldn't do much else, but he shook it off. Jekel would yell at him for thinking like that, certainly.

He wrinkled his nose and threw his mind back into digging, and soon he was completely gone beneath the sand. As soon as he had gotten it deep enough, he stopped to look around. Now to widen it up for two people, and water the entrance so that it got hard and wouldn't crumble. He crept out and ran to the water with surprising speed for his awkward body, and took water into the crevices in his claws and even into his mouth. He jogged back, and then set out to stroking and spitting water along the tunnel walls. After he was satisfied, he crept back inside and began making it wider. Into a fort. After he managed to hollow out the area, he began wandering whether or not his new companion would be returning soon whilst continuing to work.