[SkyWolf11]

Silva fought his way next to Lu against the currents.  Feeling the sand beneath his paws, he dug in and steadied himself.  He looked puzzled at Lu, trying to figure out what she was looking at.  Then he saw the magnificent shell she had in her paw.  The colors captured his eyes and made him gasp.

"Oh wow!  That's beautiful!"  He smiled, admiring the swirling colors of the shell.  A thought slowly crept into his mind and he dunked his head into the water.  He looked along the coast and ran his paw through the sand, forming clouds of sand around him.  He poked his head out of the water for a breath and shook his ears clear of water.

"I wonder if there's more like it."  He continued sweeping his paw through the sand bed.

{33}

[clackno1]

Lu tore her eyes from the shell to look at Silva. She smiled and realised what he was doing. She locked the shell firmly in her claws and started to help. Her paw pushed fragments of broken shells as it sweeped through the sand. She dug her tails in to help also. She gritted her teeth when she felt bits of sand get stuck in between her toes and tangle in her fur, realising it would take hours to get out and it would he dried by the time she got home. the sand would be a pain, but she'd live through it. She dug her paw down deeper, stretching her claws as far out as they would go. Most of her arm was covered by sand and she started to splutter water so she removed her paw from the suctioning sand. She washed her arm of the sand and dunked herself to make her head cooler. She shook the access water from her ears, sending droplets everywhere."Did you find anymore?" She asked Silva. She looked at the shell locked in her claws and thought for a second.

[SkyWolf11]

Silva was fully submerged into the cloud of sand, only his tails were visible as they wagged above the surface.  Needing a breath, he surfaced and coughed at the sand on his face.  Still clinging to the sand bank with his back paws, he wiped the sand from his face with water and his paw.  He turned to Lu and sighed.

"Nope."  He quickly perked up though at the thought of finding more.  "But I'm gonna keep looking!"  He smiled and dove once more.  His paws ran over the settling sand, causing it to stir once more.  He held his face above the water to avoid another face full of sand.  Then his paw ran across something rough and spiky.

"Oh...here's...something."  He grasped the object and pulled it above the surface for a better look.  Wet sand began dripping from it, revealing its nature.  "Wow look at this..."      He whispered, turning it carefully in his paws.

The object was a hollow shell, spiked all over.  It was a dull pink color with swirls of light green mixed in it.  Silva had never seen a shell like this before.  He continued to look it over.            

{34}

[clackno1]

Lu stared at the shell. She touched one of the spikes with her claw gently so she wouldn't cut herself."Where do you think it came from?" She tore her gaze from the shell to glance at him. Her claws were still locked tightly around the other shell. Her eyes filled with wonder and amazement."it's so odd..." She flicked sand from her tails absent-mindedly. Her eyes went from the purple shell to the pink one. She could feel her fur being pulled by the current and she dug her claws back into the sand to keep from being pulled away. Her mouth was dry from the salt in the water and she started panting. Her gaze went to the shore, searching for a store where she could get a bottle of water.

[SkyWolf11]

"No idea..."  He whispered then looked at Lu.  "I've never seen a shell like this before."  His body rocked gently with the current until a strong pull almost pulled him backwards.

He grabbed for the sand and regained his balance.  He frowned, loosening his grip slightly on the shell.  He suddenly felt...dehydrated...sickly.  Then he realized why.  This was salt water.  Salt steals the water from your body.  He had forgotten he shouldn't stay in too long.  He noticed Lu's panting and started for the shore.

"I think we should rest a while, maybe go for a drink."  He smiled at Lu.  He carefully clenched a spike on the shell with his teeth and clawed his way towards the beach against the waves.

{35 = lvl 8}

[clackno1]

Lu nodded slightly returning her gaze to the shell. The current became stronger slightly and she was pulled backwards a bit. A small yelp escaped her lips as a wave bawled her over and pulled her along with it. She tumbled under the water before coming back to the surface and gasping for air. She stood up and walked the rest of the way to the shore. She coughed up a bit of water and sand and wiped the water from her eyes with the back of her paws. She could feel the sand in her teeth and tried to spit it out. She shook herself to get the water out of her fur. Her fur became spiky and she realised it would dry that way and when she brushed it it would become frizzy. She sighed as drops of water dripped from her muzzle. She turned back to the ocean and waited for Silva.

[SkyWolf11]

Silva continued up the bank, keeping his ears flat against his head to keep them dry.  The force of a wave pulled him backwards then shoved him forward as it crashed over him.  He scrambled onto the dry sand out of reach of the water and gasped for breath.  He let out a sigh as he looked over his drenched body.  His fur clung tightly to his being and the sand stuck in his fur, making him feel extremely dirty.

"Gah...the one disadvantage to the beach.  Sand."  He shook his body trying to get the sandy water out of his fur.  He flashed his awkward smile.  He carefully repositioned the spiky shell in his teeth and slowly began to walk towards town.  He looked back, still walking at a slow pace as to not leave Lu behind.

{36}

[clackno1]

Lu positioned the shell in her teeth before following Silva. She matched her pace to his and started to look for a stand to buy a water bottle. She hoped they would give out water for free. She didn't have any money with her, and even if she did it would have gotten soaked from the beach. The shell felt so fragile in her mouth she was afraid to even touch it with her teeth. It hung limply from her mouth. She prayed desperately that she wouldn't trip and crush it. She thought about what she could do with it. Zila would probably want to make it into jewellery and Karma would want to put it on display. Jewellery didn't sound like a bad idea but she would have to carve it and she would probably break it. She watched the ground for cracks or rocks in the street that she might trip over.

[SkyWolf11]

A few people stared at them as they walked past.  Silva looked down to avoid eye contact.  He hated to be stared at.  He searched the streets for water fountain.  He had no money either, so the only chance of getting a drink would be to found a local water fountain.

"Hey don't they have those showers that people can wash the sand off them?  I've seen some beaches that have those."  He perked up slightly and looked around.  "Maybe we should find one of those first?"

{37}

[clackno1]

Lu glared menacingly at the people who stared and most of them turned when she searched for eye contact. She held her head high as a smug smile appeared on her face. Why should she care what other people think of her. It's not like their opinions matter. She glanced at the water fountain and her mouth seemed to become drier. She kept herself from panting by gripping the shell tighter with her lips. She listened to Silva and she started to imagine water, no matter what temperature, clean water running down her back through her fur. She nodded in agreement to him, not wanting to let go of the shell too much for fear she would start panting.

[SkyWolf11]

He looked at Lu, wishing he was more confident like her.  Carefully, he scanned the surrounding area, careful not to fling the shell from his mouth.  A small booth near the edge of the town caught his attention.  It looked to be the showers for the swimmers.  He smiled and trotted towards it, his tails dancing happily behind him.

"I think this is one here, Lu!"  He called to her.  He reached the booth and flung back the curtain that gave people privacy if they wanted it.  There was no line, a huge relief for Silva.  Politely, he stood holding the curtain open for Lu to go first.

{38}

[clackno1]

Lu trotted after him. She walked through the curtain and nodded to him in thanks, still afraid to loosen her grip on the shell. She walked to a shower and gently placed the shell down in the floor. She reached up and turned it one. She smiled as the cool water washed through her fur. She was suddenly grateful for her fur and that she had decided to come in kuhna form. Her tails went limp with pleasure as the water soaked her through completely. She watched sand wash away with the water. She let some water drip into her mouth but spit it out so she wouldn't drink it. The water probably wasn't clean.

[SkyWolf11]

While Silva waited for Lu to finish, he stood watch outside the booth and took a seat in the warm sand.  Delicately, he removed the shell from his mouth and laid it in the sand in front of him.  

The shell sparkled slightly in certain places as the sun hit it.  The green swirls seemed to move through the pink as he slowly turned it with one paw.  His tails, despite them being clumped with wet sand, flicked with interest as he continued to look the shell over.

"Maybe, once we get cleaned up and get drinks that is, we could see if there are anymore shells like this around."  He said, partly to Lu and partly for himself.

{39}

[clackno1]

Lu switched off the shower and shook some water off her fur. She pushed the curtain aside and walked out. Small drops of water still clung to her fur, making it sparkle in the light. She made sure to keep off the sand, not wanting to have to wash again. She turned to Silva. She placed the shell on the ground before talking to him."Sure. That sound like fun, after our fur dries, of course. it's your turn." She went to sit on the curb of the road to keep the sand off her fur. The shell had a pool of water in it from the water that dripped from her muzzle into it. The water made the swirls of purple glitter in the sunlight and she became mesmerized. her tails sat limp behind her, sitting in the grass.

[SkyWolf11]

Silva nodded to Lu and stepped into the shower, closing the curtain behind him.  He flipped the switch to turn the shower on and stood anxiously as he listened tot the water snaking through the pipes.  

In seconds, he was showered with cold water, making his body stiffen.  As his body adjusted to the temperature, he began running his paw through his fur to clean it of sand.  He made sure it was out of his tails as well.  When he was satisfied, he flipped the switch off and stepped outside.  He did a quick shake to further dry his fur.  

"It feels so much better without that sand clinging to me."  He smiled at Lu.  Picking up his shell in the usual way, he made his way over to her.  


{40 = lvl 9}