Prompt Submission: Beach Party (Sep 2021)

The fiery hot noon sun beat down upon the waters as Pacapillars from everywhere gathered at the beach. Unsurprising, since despite the sheer cliffs covering most of the beach, there was a long path leading down the middle, connecting paths from multiple different places and allowing Pacapillars from all walks of life to arrive. Some of them were here to have fun, play, and generally cool off. Some others, meanwhile, were here for other purposes.

For example, Apollo. The brightly-coloured Pacapillar was sunbathing, as he always did. The sun may be hot, but lying in the light allowed the light to refract off his body in just the right way, making him shine like the sun itself. Very unfortunately, though, the light right now made it almost impossible for anyone to gaze at him directly, so Apollo’s actions were backfiring on him horribly, even though he seemed to not notice, instead looking around at other Pacapillars as if he was befuddled why no one was gawking at him.

In contrast, Thimble was doing something completely different. Finding a small amount of shade thanks to the cliffs, the blue Pacapillar had curled up and dozed off, praying that no one looked this way. Thimble really just wanted to go to sleep, but got dragged out here by some others.

Chohea, a brown Pacapillar who looked like a hot cross bun, was looking around in a daze. He began to regret coming here. There were so many more Pacapillars than he had expected. Oh dear. Why did he let himself get dragged along to this…

He gripped his journal tightly and took a deep breath, heading for one of the less crowded areas-the small patch of shade occupied by Thimble. Most Pacapillars were headed for the water to play, so the shade was actually surprisingly empty. After a moment of hesitation, Chohea moved partly into the shade, leaving some distance between himself and the blue Pacapillar so that they didn’t get uncomfortable.

Chohea’s pets hovered around anxiously. Bluu and Puff moved in front of him and acted as extra shelter from the bright sun. Choki, Zeus, and Strawberry curled themselves up next to Chohea. Moments later, a small fight broke out among the three as they tried to squeeze themselves into what little shade there was.

Meanwhile, a Pacapillar who resided here was befuddled. From its nest on top of the cliff, Honeydew peered down below, having just woken up. It had fallen asleep late last night and had only just woken up, due to the opening of its nest facing downwards. It hopped onto the cliff, surveying the crowds below with a look of complete confusion, before one particular ray of light got into its eyes. Honeydew let loose a quiet yelp, causing a very confused Hope to pop out, blinking xir eyes at it. “I’m fine, sorry, sorry.” Honeydew mumbled, before glancing down again. “Oh dear, we weren’t even informed about this…”

Honeydew and Hope made their way down to the beach, only to be suddenly approached by Apollo, who had finally decided to get to the bottom of why no one was looking at him. “Why’s it that no one wants to look at me?” He asked Honeydew, getting straight to the point. “Don’t I look nice in the sun?”

“You look nice out of it.” Honeydew pointed out. “The sun shining on you from here is too strong. It’s, like, blinding levels of strong. Maybe, you know, more people would look at you if you get out of direct sunlight…”

“Oh yes, good idea!” Apollo ran for the shade, and a confused Honeydew quickly followed after him. Who knew what he was going to do.

A very startled Chohea looked up as Apollo approached. “Hello! I’d like to join you guys here. You good?” He asked out loud. Chohea stared at him for a moment before quickly writing on his journal and showing it to Apollo. Sure, I’ll get out of this shade then. Just don’t disturb the other guy, they seem to be asleep.

As Chohea began moving aside, though, Thimble stirred. The blue Pacapillar peered at Apollo for a moment, then at Chohea, then wordlessly moved out of the shade, flopping down in the sun a short distance away.

“Wait-” Apollo blinked. He didn’t mean to do that, he didn’t want to disturb anyone who was originally there, especially since Chohea also agreed. Chohea watched Thimble as well, looking awkward.

I wish there was enough shade so that we didn’t have to fight over it… Chohea thought.

Just as Chohea began writing a concerned question to Thimble, the sky seemed to darken. It wasn’t a cloud. Instead, it seemed that the intensity of the sun-both the heat and light-was dropping in a large area on the beach and in the water, making everywhere as shaded as the small patch of shadow. Pacapillars from all around gasped, staring up in anxiety. Thimble blinked one eye open and looked up, also confused.

When the sun didn’t return to normal after a few minutes, the Pacapillars began to leave. After all, there was no point staying here if the sun didn’t return. What fun was there in playing in water now, when it was cold?

Among these Pacapillars, Apollo, Thimble, and Chohea could all be spotted leaving, Chohea and Thimble meeting up with whoever had dragged them along. And behind all of them, Honeydew stood, a look of dejection in its eyes.

It hadn’t meant to grant that wish. And yet, there wasn’t much it could do as the Pacapillars filed out of the beach.