(Dreadnauts May Prompt) Common Encounter

A nice day is typical in this beach town and locals often flock to the beach to relax, have fun or just take in the view of the ocean. Business is usual for any shop and stands owners sell their products such as t-shirts, bathing suits, surfboards, and food and drinks. One shack, in particular, is currently very packed today. Weaving around the crowd and looking up to the sign that is shaped like a surfboard the name of the shack is displayed on it: Scoops n’ Sips. The owner of Scoops n’ Sips can be seen giving orders of various ice creams and drinks. The owner is giving slight smiles to everyone that is given their orders. Small conversations can be heard, and tiny “thank you’s” and “see you next time” are commonly used. 

A group of children are up next and all of them rush to make their orders, none seem to keep still and none of them are forming a line. However, these keep chanting a name that is familiar to them.

“Narin! Narin! Narin!”

One child points at the menu that is displayed on the side of the shack, jumping up and down in the process. “Narin I want to order that one this time!”

Narin sticks her head out of the shack’s window just enough for the sun to land on her head. Narin’s blue hair gradient glimmers in the sun as she tries to see what the child is pointing at. “Ah, you want chocolate ice cream today? Would you like any drink with that?” She says as she’s still looking at the menu, making sure. 

The child nods and makes an ‘mmhmm’ noise. “Can I get…water please!”

Narin nods back and withdrawals into her shack to start the order, though the other kids that somehow were quiet when their friend got to order first, began an uproar.

“No fair! How come he gets to order first?”

“I was here first!”

“He lost playing tag so he should have gone last!”

Narin peeks her head out of the window again and waves her hands to try and get the kids’ attention. “Ah…hold it just a minute! I can’t take all your orders like this…can you guys make a line for me and tell me your orders while I make his order?”

The kids stayed silent while looking at each other and then looking at the kid who ordered. He looks back at them and makes a slight grin before he wipes it away with his hand. “You heard Narin!” The kids break into a chaotic clamor, protesting once again about their friend getting to order first. Narin starts to feel overwhelmed by all the commotion, trying to figure out a way to handle this. That is when she heard a large crash coming from behind her shack.

Narin jumps a bit and turns her attention away from the kids to the back of the shack. “What was that?” She told herself. Narin knew she had to check that mysterious sound out. Perhaps an animal is trying to get scraps? Is someone trying to break in? Or something else? What else could be there?

She made up her mind and looked back at the kids. “I’m sorry but right now I have a business to attend to, I will be closing up shop early today. I’ll hopefully open the shack again in an hour or two and you may come back later if you so like.” The group of kids gasped and groaned at Narin’s statement. They were bummed out but warmed up to the sudden temporary closure of Scoops n’ Sips. The kids looked to the ground and nodded in understanding. “Okay…” they all say in unison. They looked back up and waved goodbye to Narin and Scoops n’ Sips as they tried to figure out the next place to bother and cause a commotion. 

Narin waves the kids goodbye and hurries up to close shop. She closed the window and locks it and makes sure everything is in the right place before checking out the back of her beloved shack. Narin exits through the door that is located on her right of the shack, she takes out a key to lock it as she closes it shut and begins to turn the corner to see what caused the loud crash.

It could have been a soccer ball that a group of friends hit too hard on the back of the shack, maybe some beach raccoon that took a liking to the current menu at Scoops N’ Sips and wanted a free sample? Is someone hitting their beach bike into the trash cans? The answer would be...

A familiar figure can be seen with his legs resting on the Scoops n’ Sips wall while his body is face-first into the sand. Green wolf ears and an ahoge is the only thing that peeks from the guy’s head since the rest of it is buried in the sand. Though he seems to be slowly wagging his long and kelp-like tail. Looks like he heard Narin coming toward him.

“Owen?” Narin looks surprised as she sees her friend's face planted into the sand and in such an awkward position. “What happened?” Narin has had her fair amount of encounters with Owen having his face in the sand but this was in a new location. Owen slowly raises his head out of the sand and spits some out and puts both of his fists and arms in front of him as if he’s trying to do an army crawl and moves forward so his legs can fall straight onto the floor. “Oh so sorry Narin! You must’ve been working right…? I was doing my usual surfing and…a big wave came and I wiped out and landed over here…

Narin observes Owen once again and does notice that his clothing seems to be soaking wet and now is plastered with sand. She then looks over to the beach and stares at it for a bit before following a path all the way back to where Owen is laying. “A tide brought you this far inland? I don’t think that’s possible?” 

Owen blinks and looks embarrassed. “Okay…well I did get wiped out by a high tide… then I might have face-planted into the sand again then when I got up I slipped on my surfboard and I think I rolled all the way over here?” Owen rubs the back of his head and looks around, his mind wanders a bit seemingly forgetting why he was talking in the first place, “Oh!! Where did my surfboard go? Aw man, don't tell me I lost it again.”

Narin crouches down and touches the top of Owen’s head. “Owen I think that I do have to call an ambulance, you could have hurt your head taking all those trips.” Owen panics and stares at Narin. “No ambulance! I’m perfectly fine! Hmm…I could sit down.” He sits up and dusts the sand off his clothes.

Narin withdrawals her hand from Owen’s head and takes out her phone, debating to call 911. She watches Owen trying to get sand out of his hair and she sneaks a little smile when she sees Owen making a grossed out face when the sand from his hair landed on his mouth. Narin puts her phone back in the back pocket of her pants and sighed a bit. “If I’m not going to call 911, you have to at least get your head iced and rest under my watch.”

Owen has his tongue sticking out from trying to spit out the sand from his mouth and blankly stares at Narin. “Ah nice nice…wait? But you have work! I’ll be fine, I’ll go home to ice it and rest.”

“You did crash into the back of my shack, I do feel like I have a bit of responsibility.”

“That’s true but I’ll fix it up so it’s not your responsibility!”

“Even if you fix it, you’re still my friend and I would like to help you.”

Owen rubs his head again and nods. “You got me there…but I won’t stay too long! You should have full focus on your job. He nods his head more and more.

Narin waves her hand a bit and says in a worried tone. “Deal but please stop nodding your head like that! You probably have a concussion.” 

Owen stops nodding and gives a thumbs up instead.

—

Narin and Owen both go inside Scoops N’ Sips and Narin gets a small bag of ice with paper towels to give to Owen. Owen takes the bag of ice and puts it on his head and gives a thumbs up once again. He finds a small chair to sit on and watches Narin prep to open her shack up again.

 An hour passed and it didn’t seem like it, both were chit-chatting away and Narin making sure Owen would be okay enough to walk back home when she opened her shack up for business again. Owen looked fine and Narin was about to send him off until…

A loud rumbling can be heard in front of her shack now. Owen gets spooked by it and looks at Narin. “What’s that noise?” Narin slides her head through her shack’s window and takes a peek outside.

A group of children, some from the original group from this morning but a ton of unknown ones flocked together. Before Narin could react, the children were already front and center at Scoops N’ Sips. Hungry. Thirsty. 

“Narin! Narin! Narin!”

Narin and Owen just stood there in awe and shock at the number of children. Owen was the first one to speak. “Don’t worry Narin! I got this!”

—

Time was a blur. It went too fast. All Narin can remember was a big tall ice cream wandering into the group of hungry and thirsty children. Maybe it was the heat that got to Narin’s head but all she can recall was Owen’s yelling and the group of children carrying this tall ice cream man into the ocean.

Knowing her time at this small shack on this beach, this was just a common encounter to her.