Unchained Melody

is this really necessary...

The boy hadn't been one to wander, not without his sister dragging him to the world's end, that was. This time though, it was a sight that pulled him away from his twin's side, seeing the glimmer of light on the horizon. Carefully picking his way across the muddy grounds, he made his way towards the sea. Gus constantly looked over his shoulder, sometimes both just to make sure that Mara wasn't looming around the corner with more mud to fling at him. He wouldn't put it past her, really. So the merle pup was cautious in his steps, blue eyes peeking from time to time at the sparkling horizon that started to expand in front of him. After some time it opened up to a huge, black sanded beach. Each grain of sand caught the light of the afternoon sun, glimmering like diamonds. A gasp of awe left the Adrevendi child, mystified by the glowing beach. He knew that it wasn't really glowing, that it was in fact the light glinting off of something with many faucets, but still, it really did look like it was glowing. Sometimes the truth took the magic out of the words, even though it was the knowledge that he craved. So what, then, was it that the sunlight was catching? Sand could come in many colours as he had learned, depending on what it was made up of. Black sand though, he couldn't say that he had seen anything like that himself. Curiosity pulled him forward, outstretching a white cloaked paw as if to touch the beach. At the last moment though, he paused, sucking back his paw with a vigor, tucking it into his chest. What if it was black because of some kind of chemical or something that washed up from the shore? It could be glass that caught the sunlight too, or something else that wanted to hurt him. Astra whined, shifting his weight across his limbs as he stood back on all fours, staring at the beach in a longing nature. While he wanted to know what it was, just what it was could possibly kill him. The unknown was a very scary thing, he much preferred to get himself into, or onto, things that he knew wouldn't try to eat him, poison him, or generally seek to harm him. Battling himself and his two passions, Astralagus dramatically flopped on the grass just before the shoreline. He rested his head on his outstretched forelegs, eyes squinting as he tried to puzzle together what the substance could be. Only once he knew for sure, or saw someone else walking along the beach without being eaten by a flesh-eating bacteria, would he set one paw on it. If Amaranth were here, he was sure that she could have rushed head long for the ocean, no matter how cold it might be, not a single care in the world. Sometimes the boy wished that he had her passion, and her sheer disregard for all the little things that could attack her. She would be dragging his butt through the strange black sand, like it or not, until he touched it. While it was annoying most of the time, deep down he knew that without her, he would always be stuck on the sidelines of life. Astra's heart beat painfully in his chest, missing her so fiercely all of the sudden. He had seen her this morning, but all these thoughts made him suddenly miss her, where he had only recently been paranoid about her muddy tackles. Gus could call for her, but he didn't want to take his eye off this strange beach. The answer would come to him soon enough, right?

Astralagus Adonis Adravendi