Sunnyfest - Treasure Dive Quest

Today was the day! Eponine swung down from the crow’s nest of her father’s ship with her trusted toucana flying down by her side. She landed on the deck, unsettling the dust below her hooves on the wooden floorboards. The anchor was lowered and the crew was already starting to unload the hold out onto the main deck ready for the markets the following morning. Eponine hurried down to her room and gathered the different instruments she would need into her satchel, ready for the adventure she had planned while their ship was back in the port. The crew members standing around on deck darted out the way as the captain’s daughter whirlwinded out the hatch, feathers flying and wings stretched. Despite her love of being at one on the water, Eponine loved when they got back on land after a long voyage.

Another young Pouflon was waiting at the mooring dock and laughed to herself as her friend flew past, the rushing air sending her hat flying to the side. She caught it effortlessly with a swirl of pink mist and puffed out her wings to take off after the other blue Pouflon. Eponine landed when she noticed she was being followed and turned around quickly, only to end up in a heap of fur on the ground when her friend caught up with her. 

“Aria!” She laughed, rolling her eyes as she helping the brown haired Pouflon back to her feet and greeting her with a quick hug. Aria laughed too and shook herself off as she got to her feet again. “You knew I was going to wait for you on the dock for the boat to come In, why are you in such a hurry?” She asked, flicking her tail as they started walking down the grey cobbled street. Eponine was double checking her bag as they walked and after assuring that everything was there, she lifted her head to grin at her friend.

“Vasha needed our help remember, she’s already waiting for us down at the pier with the boat” Eponine replied animatedly, nudging Aria’s shoulder as she picked up the pace down the path. She only looked back when she noticed that Aria wasn’t keeping up and she tilted her head questioningly. 

“Would it be ok if Nimbus joined us?” She asked tentatively, as if her friend would say no to her bringing along her boyfriend on their adventure. “It’s just that he, Remiel and the girls are up here for a little break during Sunnyfest and-“ her sentence was cut off by Eponine’s laugh as her toucana companion grabbed the rambling poufs hat and both Pouflon and bird took off down the street. “Come on lover-girl, lets go get your beau and find us some treasure” she called back as Aria grinned and chased after them to claim her hat back. 

Unseen in the shadows, a cloaked figure quickly followed the pair heading down the path from the docks. She’d been keeping an eye on the ship captain’s daughter for many month’s now, she’d been the only pouf she encountered that could match her in a sword fight. And that had only added fuel to the fire. Her orange striped tail flicking from side to side with interest as a smirk grew on her mischievous face. Treasure you say? Well this was going to be interesting. 

The two blue friends stopped when they got to the edge of the main beach further down the high street, grinning to each other as they skipped down the steps onto the warm sand. Aria grabbed her hat back with a giggle and looked around for where she’d left her friends earlier. They were still relaxing In the shade on the far side of the cove, sheltered by rock structures formed from years of wind and water tides. Remiel was laid out reading under an umbrella while Gwyn and Hope were running around playing with a beach ball. 

As soon a Nimbus spotted the two girls approaching he jumped up from helping Oliver with his sandcastle and trotted over to welcome them back. He bowed his head at the sailor and stepped up next to Aria so he could lean down and nuzzle her cheek In greeting. Eponine rolled her eyes at the two of them and flicked her tail “time to get going you two, and try not to make eyes at each other all day” she teased making the pair blush. 

After saying their goodbyes to the rest of the group, Nimbus secured his bag over his head and joined the girls as they made their way down to the pier to meet their team leader. Vasha was waiting impatiently next to her boat, her ears flicking back and forth as she searched the coastline for her competition. As the young Pouflon approached the boat she turned her head to watch them with a grin. “You’re finally here young’uns, it’s time to set sail before the tide comes in” she called out and grabbed the rope securing the boat with her mouth. The three adventures followed eagerly and jumped on board before she could take off without them, the toucana landing with a flutter next to the vespire at the steering wheel. 

“Where to first cap’n?” Eponine asked as Vasha began to steer them away from the mooring post. 

The shadowy figure that had followed the two girls to the beach earlier watched from her crouched position behind a nearby boat, eager to listen to any clues they gave about where they were going or if they knew where the treasure was. But she would have to be patient if she didn’t want to be caught by the sharp green eyes of the trio’s treasure hunter team captain. With a soundless splash, the figure slid into the water and opened a small bottle. A bubble grew out the opening and floated around her hooded head, letting her follow along underwater in her pursuit. 

The boat skidded along the water surface as It propelled out of the cove towards the open water, slowing when they passed a few signs pointing towards the coral reef. Eponine leant over the side, watching the water and letting the sea spray collect in her curls. Her eyes were shining at the hope of a good adventure, and having her best friend along would only make the day more fun. 

The reef was vibrant with life in the mid-morning sun and the girls couldn’t wait to flex their fins as they approached and set down anchor. Vasha nodded to her team as she set her map down on the boat console “I heard there might be some clues about the chests location carved into the rocks around the reef.” She said, circling the area with a pencil and marking their current location. “Seablade, Siren and I will go underwater and have a look around while loverboy stays up here on lookout duty. If you see any other boats approaching, shine the fog light into the water three times. Got It?” Vasha instructed, watching them nod In understanding. 

A flash of orange fur disappeared behind a rock nearby when Eponine dived into the water, making her blink behind the bubbles forming around her back fins. She shook her head and swam freely between the sea grass and coral ahead to start looking around for clues. Aria took a different approach as she stayed closer to the boat where there was less foliage as searched the larger rocks for any engraving or carvings. 

There were shells littered everywhere among the coral beds, some housing hermytes and some empty and waiting for a new tenant. Eponine gathered up a few larger or more valuable coloured empty specimens in a net bag as she combed the mocks nearby, almost missing the jagged marks carved Into the surface of a flat rock covered in live urchins and barnacles. She sent a blast of air through the water to catch her teammates’ attentions as she carefully swept the rock clear with her tail. There were two deep scratches carved into the rock ending with a line across the bottom, between them just above the line was a small X marking their next location. 

Vasha clapped a hand on Eponine’s shoulder for her discovery and motioned for them to go back to the boat to regroup. The Capricorn nodded her head and turned back towards the anchor, sweeping her tail against the surface but leaving the map visible when the dust settled. 

The two Pouflon and the vespire climbed back into the boat and shook the water off their pelts as they sat down again. A pink shell bounced onto the deck with them, two eyes poking out to stare at them all before it scuttled over to Aria who pulled the startled creature between her front legs in comfort. “Looks like we’ve picked up a stowaway” Vasha chuckled and roared the boat back Into life to get away before anyone else arrived.