Whiteout, Noodle, and Snickerdoodle were gathering some sand dollars along the seaside, with Waveform technically accompanying them, but the youngster was off chasing crabs instead. The adults chatted quietly, listening to the sound of the seabirds crying, circling above in the clear air. The sand crunched underfoot, cool as the day worked its way towards midday. The soft roar of the surf was a constant low rumble and rush, calming and relaxing.

Snickerdoodle half-opened their wings, letting the ocean breeze ruffle through the feathers, plucking another sand dollar from the damp sand.

Up ahead, Waveform yelled, a crab having had enough and fighting back, flailing as it latched onto their nose. The adults meandered up to them as they flailed, knowing that there was little the crab could do despite Waveform's panic. Eventually, the crab was tossed into the air and scuttled gratefully back into the surf.

Noodle nudged the youngster back to their feet, amused. "You see the downsides of messing with the crabs now?"

Waveform grumbled and scampered off again, and Snickerdoodle laughed, but Whiteout was frowning at the seabirds. They seemed to be circling something… a prone form down the beach. She frowned and picked up her pace.

"Is that someone laying there?"

Snickerdoodle and Noodle turned to frown in that direction, and Waveform perked up, following interestedly.

The youngster reached the form - a saltwater - before Whiteout did, and before any of them could stop him, yelled "HELLO!"

The adults all winced, and the saltwater stirred slightly. Snickerdoodle shuffled Waveform off before he could yell again, while Noodle began taking the saltwater's vitals.

"Hello?" ze called gently but insistently. "Can you hear me?"

The saltwater stirred again, and Whiteout took up calling to them, while Noodle began checking for injuries.

Their eyes blinked open, and Whiteout smiled warmly. "Hi! I'm Whiteout. What's your name?"

The saltwater blinked slowly, then after a moment grunted, "Sae'lvus."

"Sae'lvus! This is Noodle, our doctor, whose checking to see if you're okay, and that's Snickerdoodle and Waveform over there. Sorry about Waveform yelling at you. He gets overexcited."

Sae'lvus grunted and blinked slowly, then started to stand up, shaking their head. "Where-?"

"You're on the shores of Rekes," Noodle jumped in, nodding towards the snowcapped mountains that rose sharply past the shore, and the glowing crystals that wove through the bluff.

"Rekes…" they said slowly, then frowned. "I was swimming off the coast of Issiq, when the currents changed suddenly… I got knocked into something, and then I woke up just now."

Whiteout winced, and caught Waveform as they tried to sprint past to say hi to the saltwater again. Snikerdoodle skittered up a second later, looking chagrined.

"They're a slippery little creature," they said somewhat affectionately, and inclined their head to Sae'lvus. "Snickerdoodle."

Sae'lvus inclined their head in return. "Sae'lvus."

They all turned to regard the stone spires that rose jaggedly out of the ocean, almost serving as a walkway for giants between Rekes and the coast of Issiq in the distance. The same thought was on all of their minds - that was probably too far for a still confused Sae'lvus to swim.

"You can walk back with us," Whiteout suggested, "and then one of us can fly you over there?"

"Me!" Waveform insisted, and Whiteout handed them back to Snickerdoodle, who began quietly explaining that they were too young to pilot a flyer.

Noodle nodded in agreement. "And I can give you a quick check to make sure you're not hurt."

The saltwater cocked their head at them, looking grateful. "...thank you. I would appreciate that. I am… not quite feeling up to such a swim, quite yet. Do you happen to have anything to eat?"

They had packed a picnic for later in the day, but seeing as their beach time was going to be cut short, Noodle unloaded it and set it out. Waveform was delighted to eat, and Whiteout and Snickerdoodle divvied up the food - giving some of it to Sae'lvus, but some to Waveform so they didn't try and steal it. Once the saltwater was done eating, the group turned and began the walk back to Skyward.

Well, Whiteout supposed, at least they had some sand dollars.