Sea Critter Caper [2022]

Wriggling out of his mate’s embrace, Andy crawls closer to the water, watching as the gentle waves deposit several small glowing lifeforms on the wet sand.  Tail swishing and ears perked up curiously, the brown Scarfox lowers his face mere centimeters from the sand, getting a better look at the glowing critters.  “Hey, Moony, come look!  They’re like little bugs!”

The soft jingle of bells and the rustle of fabric is heard before the darker fox lowers himself down on the sand beside his mate, observing the glowing foamy critters with interest.  Digging the tip of his finger into the sand, he gently lifts several of the glowing specks up and brings them closer to his face to get a better look.  “Hm, they are rather cute,” he admits, “but they’re so small.  What are they?”

“Not sure,” Andy replies, “but I want some, almost as much as I want a Bleebnuy!”

“You and your Bleebnuy,” Moon heaves a sigh.  “Is the plush one I made you not enough?”

“Of course it is!” Andy protests, looking offended at the implication.  “I love the plush one to bits, you know I do!  I just… Want to see what a real one feels like!  I imagine they’re soooooooo soft and squishy~!”  The spectacled fox puts his hands on his face, swooning at the thought.

The other rolls his eyes, but he can’t stop the quiet chuckle that escapes his mouth.  “Love it to bits indeed,” he muses, a sly look spreading across his face.  “I had to re-sew it for you five times already.  When you said you were going to hug the stuffing out of it, I didn’t think you meant that in the literal sense~”

“Hey!  Wow, I see how it is,” Andy playfully sulks.  “I invite you out for a fun day and not only do you miss most of the fun by showing up late, but now you’re also coming for my head.  Ruuuuuuuuuuuuuude.”

“That’s right~!” The starry fox gives Andy a metallic silver grin.  “That’ll teach you to invite me into having fun, evening star.  Didn’t you know?  I’m a very serious Scarfox.  No fun allowed~”

Just as Andy is about to retort, Sunny washes up onto the shore, her elemental cloak covering her in water.  Startled at the sudden surge caused by the watery figure, Moon yelps and skitters back, stepping on his own arm in the process and toppling into the sand.  Sunny laughs at the sight, a melodic and ethereal sound, dispelling the water covering her body and turning to face Andy with a big smile.  In her hands is a turtle-like creature with a shell that looks like a clam.  It’s sizeable, requiring both hands to hold onto it, but it seems calm in her grasp.  Andy’s ears perk up as he gazes at it, and Sunny holds it out to him.  He reaches out to take it from her, but she pulls it back, holding it closer to her body, hunching up protectively.

“Oh, okay.  I won’t take it from you,” he raises his hands defensively.  “Can I touch it, though?”

She nods and holds it out again, and Andy traces the tip of his index finger along the shell before touching a flipper gently.  “What is it?”

She tilts her head to the side and looks at him curiously.  Her first answer isn’t in a language that either of the other two foxes can understand, and when they exchange confused looks, she bows her head, reminding herself how to communicate with them.  “Jelly… Sea glider…?”

“Ooooooh~  It’s very cute!”

Andy takes another poke at the creature, and Moon joins in, also intrigued by the new discovery.  Sunny seems thrilled that her friends like sea critter, and after deciding that they can be trusted, she hands it to Moon.

“Uh, thanks…?”  He takes the creature from her, awkwardly holding it in his large palms.  It turns its head up, gazing at him quietly.  “Um, hello…” He makes one-sided conversation with the Jelly Sea Glider and it seems to relax into his hands.  “Hm, I think it likes me,” he gently ushers it into one hand, using the other to gently pet the creature.

Once he’s had his fill of interacting with it, he hands it back to the Merfox and she passes it on to Andy.  While he’s distracted with the turtle-like creature, Moon pulls Sunny aside and whispers a request to her.  She grins and nods enthusiastically, and within moments she’s disappeared back into the water.  Andy notices her absence a moment later, and when he questions Moon about where she went, he just shrugs.

“Probably to collect more marine life?”  He sits back down in the sand, digging his finger in again and letting more of the Foamlite Flies crawl onto him.

Andy stares at his mate, ear flicking, sizing the starry fox up.  The other stares back at him, stoic facade masking whatever signs would have otherwise given him away.  Not managing to catch anything off about Moon’s expression or behavior, Andy hums suspiciously as he walks to the water, setting the Jelly Sea Glider back onto the sand so that it can make its way back into the water.  Once it’s gone back into the sea, Andy sits down with Moon to wait for Sunny to return, wondering if she even will, given how late it is.  When he’s just about to give up and tell Moon he’s ready to go home, Sunny emerges from the waves once more.  When Andy sees what she’s holding, he gives an ear-piercing squeal.

“A BLEEBNUY!  IT’S A REAL BLEEBNUY!  MOONY!  MOONY LOOK!”

“I see it, my dear,” Moon replies, lacing his fingers together and resting his arms on his legs, hiding the smile on his face.  “Lucky you~”

Turning to face Moon, Andy points at Sunny and the Bleebnuy.  “You totally set this up.”

“What?”  Moon feigns surprise.  “I have no idea what you’re talking about~  I had absolutely no part in any of this.”

Sunny giggles and holds the Bleebnuy out to Andy, who accepts it graciously and with excitement.  Holding it in his fluffy palms, he examines it from all angles, letting out a dreamy sigh before pressing his cheek to it.

“It’s bigger than I expected,” he thinks out loud, “the same size as the plush one Moony made me!  I thought they’d be smaller in reality, but I’m not complaining at all!  And I was right, it’s so soft and squishy, aaaaaaahhhhhhahahahah~!” He loses himself in his fanboy moment, Sunny and Moony exchanging looks with each other and laughing.

“Ah, wait!” Andy exclaims suddenly.  “Moony, take a picture!  I want a picture of me holding it!”

With a deadpan expression, Moon holds his fingers up in a square shape in front of his face and utters a monotone “click,” earning a look from the brown fox.

“…Really?  You’re gonna ruin my moment like this?”

“I don’t have a camera with me.  How am I supposed to take a picture?”  Moon teases.

“I have a cellphone!” Andy replies in exasperation.

“Then give it to me, and I’ll take a picture,” Moon purrs, fully enjoying tormenting his mate.

“Um, hello?”  Andy waves the Bleebnuy around.  “My hands are kinda full here.”

“Unfortunate… Guess you’ll just have to put the Bleenbuy down for a moment then.”

“…Can’t you just come here and take it out of my pocket?”

“Lazy,” Moon smirks.  “Don’t want to get up…”  He closes his eyes and pretends to fall asleep, earning a frustrated shriek from his partner.

Sunny watches the scene with great amusement, torn between feeling bad for Andy and encouraging Moon to keep tormenting him.

“Fine, I’ll just do it myself,” Andy grumbles, transferring the Bleebnuy into the crook of his arm and dragging out his cellphone.  Holding the phone out at arm’s length, he lifts the critter to his cheek and snaps a selfie.

Sunny looks eager to get in on the action, so Andy beckons her to join him and huddles close to her, snapping another selfie.  She seems happy with the image, so he saves it to his phone.  Then, it’s Moon’s turn to get in on the selfies.  Taking the cellphone from Andy, he holds it out at arm’s length and leans in close, checking their faces and positioning within the frame.  Once he’s satisfied, he presses the button and the image freezes on the screen, the two Scarfoxes snuggled together with the Bleebnuy cutely peeking into the picture from the bottom like an adorable photo bomb.  As soon as the image is saved, Andy snatches his phone back and immediately sets the pic as his new wallpaper.

The trio spend a bit more time with the sea critter before Andy reluctantly holds it out for Sunny to take back.  She considers for a moment, and then shakes her head, pushing it back to him.  The brown fox is confused at first, but when he realizes that Sunny is telling him to keep it, he’s instantly star struck.  He promises to take the best care of it, and after saying goodbye to each other, the merfox disappears back into the waves as Andy and Moon leave to return home for the remainder of the night.  Once they’ve ensured their new companion has a suitable holding pen for the night, the two settle down to sleep with plans to build a proper habitat the next day.