[bappybeach] ☼ Beachy Bloomtide Bliss ☼

The air was thick with humidity, large clouds weighing heavy in the first rays of early morning sunlight peeking over the distant horizon. Dual colored drooped eyes blinked sleepily as they peaked out the window, blinking sullenly at the thought of the looming storm ruining what was supposed to be a perfect day at the beach.

"Ugh..." Calixta groaned as she blinked clear the last vestiges of tired clinging to her, pushing her purple mess of bedhead out of her face. Small paws came up to tie the unruly hair into a quick bun as she spun on her heel, refusing to look outside for now in the hopes that it would miraculously clear up. 

The young Symprite glanced at the cozy tangle of blankets and furs cocooning her younger sister on the bed. The cute bappy was currently snuggled up and sleeping peacefully with the family ourobo and chu-owls. She was so small that they were all roughly the same size, looking like a cluster of litter mates piled on top of each other. It was such a cute sight and had a fond smile touching Calixta's lips as she gazed at them for a moment. 

Pulling herself out of her own thoughts, the ocean symp quietly made her way to the small kitchen and began prepping a light breakfast for them. She moved cautiously to avoid waking the little ones as she relished the peace and quiet before the chaos that always followed her younger sibling when she was awake. While she went about making the food her thoughts drifted to their plans for the day. Today was supposed to be the day that Calixta took her sister to Snowshell beach for the first time as the bappy was finally old enough to go out and enjoy it without it being too dangerous, but those dark skies threatened to ruin the plans. She frowned to herself as she set the table. 

"Lixie...?"

The sleepy question slipped out of the bappy as she stirred awake and sat up in the middle of the cuddle pile, blinking around the hut to find where her older sister was after realizing she was no longer in the bed with her. She rubbed at her eyes and let out a big yawn while the critters around her started to wiggle and stretch as they woke as well.

"Over here Minty!" Calixta cooed as she made her way over to the bed and scooped the groggy bappy into her arms, nuzzling Minty's cheeks with her nose gently. 

"Good morning baby girl~"

Minty giggled and grabbed the older Symprite's cheeks with her little paws, squishing them and nuzzling back happily. Calixta chuckled and brought her over to the table, plopping her on one of the chairs and loading up a small plate of food for her.

"Looks like there's going to be a storm today so maybe we should go to the beach on a different day, okay?" Calixta said calmly after they had both begun to eat, eyeing her sister for what she knows will likely be a bad reaction.

Sure enough, Minty's eyes widened, almost tearing up, and her lip pouted out as she frowned. The bottom lip wobbled a bit as she complained, "but... you pwomised! I wanna go to the beeaach..."

Calixta sighed inwardly and reached up a placating hand to rub the bappy's back in an attempt to soothe her before tears were shed or temper tantrum was thrown. "I know I did, but you wouldn't want to be caught in the rain would you?"

Minty thought about it for a minute, eyes still watery. "I like the wain," she finally piped up, lips tugging into a smile as if to try to really convince her sister she was completely fine with the thought that even if it rained it would still be worth it. In her defense, the bappy really would have been fine in the rain. Nothing was gonna stop her from wanting to go to the beach today as planned. "It's nice and wawm wain in bwoomtide and fun to pway in!!"

Minty chewed on her lip as she debated, gaze darting between her innocent sister whose face was so full of hope right now, and putting on her best puppy dog look, and the clouds darkening the sky outside. She weighed her options. 

"Pweeeaaaseee?" 

Another sigh, this one exhaled loudly as Calixta hung her head with a wry smile. "Fine, we can still go, but you're not allowed to complain if you get rained on!" She almost always caved in to Minty, which probably was bad for spoiling the bappy, but she just couldn't help it when the girl looked at her like that.

"YAYYYY!!!" Minty cheered gleefully, hopping off the stool and spinning around before launching herself at her sister's legs to hug her. "You'we the best sister evew," she exclaimed with an excited giggle, smushing her cheeks into Calixta's knees. 

The older Symprite couldn't help but chuckle and sweep her up into a hug, content she could make the bappy so happy despite knowing this meant a likely more interesting day ahead of them than she had thought.

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The pair of siblings managed to pack everything they would need for the day's trip, including some rain protection, fairly quickly despite the fact that Calixta had to divide her time between wrangling an excited Minty and doing the actual packing. She had also cooked them a quick lunch and plenty of snacks, knowing how voracious of an eater her younger sister could be. Their ourobo kept trying to crawl into their bags when the older wasn't looking, knowing that packing means them being gone for an extended period of time and wanting to come with them.

"You little brat, get out of there," Calixta cried for the umpteenth time while dragging the little purple and green critter from the bag once more. "Iris, I already told you you can't come with us today, sorry fella!" She held him up to her face and narrowed her eyes at him while she spoke, tone admonishing but still light. 

She knew how attached the creature was to Minty but the beach wouldn't be a great place for the anxious little bean. She gently deposited him on the bed with the sleepy chus and scritched under the chin before flipping the bag closed a final time.

"Can we gooo yet?" Calixta turned to spy the playful bappy dancing from foot to foot excitedly, face brimming with a big smile from ear to ear in hopefulness. 

"Yes, we're ready! Come here you little monster," she said with a light laugh. The older Symprite secured the bag straps over her shoulders and scooped the wriggling girl into her arms, stooping to grab the picnic basket as well before heading out the door. 

Calixta loaded the bags, bappy and basket into the little wooden wagon in their yard, making sure everything was secure before heading out the gate and following the small path to the outskirts of the village. 

It would only take a half hour to reach their destination and so far the looming storm had yet to actually make an appearance. The dark clouds still blanketed the sky and the air was still heavy with a stifling humidity, but so far no rain. The ocean Symprite inwardly prayed for it to stay that way. 

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The pair managed to make the journey without any issues (not counting when Minty got bored for the umpteenth time, digging into the snacks early only to tip the basket over the edge of the wagon in the process - oops). It was still morning, though with the sun hidden behind the clouds it was hard to tell, when they crested the last hill. The sprawling expanse of Snowshell beach and the vibrantly colored shallows of the ribbon reef corals came into view and Calixta looked back to see her little sister's reaction to seeing it for the first time. 

The bappy was perched at the front of the wagon, paws gripping the edge, jaw slack as her mouth opened in awe with a gasp. Her eyes were as wide as Calixta had ever seen them and her tentacle hair wriggled excitedly. The older Symprite smiled sweetly at her little sister, committing this precious moment to memory, and was so happy that she could give this to her. 

Minty could barely contain herself as the two of them made their way down the hill to the beach itself. Calixta spent a fair amount of time wrangling and convincing the young bappy to not clamber out of the wagon and try to run there herself. The small Symprite bounced around and strung a litany of oohs, ahhs, compliments and general bappy babble nonsense that the older Symprite could barely keep up with. She was glowing and laughing though, just generally in such high spirits watching her little sister be so bubbly.

When the ground turned from beaten path to soft sands Calixta finally turned and helped Minty out of the little wagon, setting the wiggling Symprite down gently but holding her still for a moment to try and get her attention before letting her loose. 

"Minty... I know you're excited, but please don't wander too far or your older sister is gonna get worried okay? Also no going in the water without me, it's dangerous by yourself and it's important to Lixie that you're safe yeah?" She gave Minty her soft but stern look to let the younger one know that this was serious. The bappy had managed to tear her wide and wondering eyes away from the large expanse of sands and waves long enough to understand her sister meant business. 

"I pwomise! I don't want Lixie to be sad!!" She nodded sheepishly in response and patted the older sibling's cheek with her little paw. "But we gonna go swimming soon, yah?" She followed up, her smile and excitement returning in full force to brighten her chubby cheeks. Calixta just chuckled and nodded before letting Minty go and trailing behind her with the wagon and watchful eyes full of adoration.

Minty danced around in the sands as they made their way further into the beach, diving and rolling and scooping up handfuls to marvel at the softness of it while singing and blabbing to no one in general. She let out squees of pure delight when she came across small shells and shiny pebbles of any kind, quickly filling her arms with her findings and calling out for Calixta every time to show off her treasures proudly. It wasn't long before the older Symprite had to dig out the bucket to relieve the bappy of her goodies, piling them in carefully before heading out to hunt for more. 

Once they had reached a fairly nice patch of beach without too many others around, Calixta went about unpacking their supplies. She stretched out a large quilt and propped up their large canopy umbrella for some protection in case the rain really did make an appearance. The responsible Symprite made sure to keep a keen eye on her little sister, laughing as she watched her trying to chase down and befriend some small crabs scuttling away from her every time she got too close to them.

"Minty!! Why don't you give the little fellas a break and come have a popsicle?" She called while popping open the little chilled basket and pulling out the frozen treats, sitting down on the blanket with a satisfied sigh. Minty yipped and scurried over as fast as she could while lugging her now-heavy bucket behind her. The bappy took the popsicle but was still much too energetic to join her sister for long, instead opting to go back to critter hunting, her melting treat in hand. 

It was so cute and peaceful watching the little bappy enjoy herself despite the gloomy clouds sitting heavy overhead. Calixta joined her sister, following her around and complimenting everything she could manage to with her sister pointing out new treasures or creatures or other Symprites and Aramelles also enjoying the beach. The bappy chatted away commenting on seeing even the mundane events of the beach such as the group of older kids playing some beach games and the group of Arkeos flocking around a family barbeque, but when she saw a mielle making an epic sandcastle she immediately darted back to their area and dug out her own tools.

"Hi I'm Minty! Can I make castles with you? I pwomise I'm weally good at it!" The bappy announced proudly when she approached the young Aramelle with a friendly smile and beachy supplies. 

The mielle nodded back enthusiastically and the pair easily fell into making their shapes and castle together, fast becoming friends. Oh to be young and make friends like that... Calixta smiled fondly as she watched over the pair, not even attempting to keep up with their seemingly-nonsensical babble as they talked animatedly while they worked.

As the afternoon started to pass and their castle turned into a whole ass village, Calixta made her way over and let the cute pair explain each building and part of their creation, making sure to give all the appropriate compliments as they preened proudly under the praise. Not long after the mielle's family came to collect their young one as the two children teared up at the thought of saying goodbye, hugging tightly. Calixta exchanged info with the parents and soothed Minty with promises for play dates as it turned out they didn't live too far away from their village. 

Finally satisfied, the sisters returned to their quilt and the young bappy flopped down. It appeared her seemingly boundless energy was finally starting to sputter out, though Calixta knew it would not be long before she was raring to go once more. Making sure to take advantage of the moment, she pulled Minty in her arms for cuddles and hugs, cooing and nuzzling the giggling girly.

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After a little while of chatting, Minty still snuggled up in her sister's lap while the older Symprite rocked her gently, they pulled out their picnic goodies and enjoyed a late lunch of sandwiches, fruits and veggies, and even some pastries that Minty squealed in delight to learn her sister had secretly baked for the occasion. Her sister's baking was one of the bappy's favourite things in life and today was no exception. 

When their bellies were full, the younger Symprite had managed to convince Calixta to let her feed some small fruits to the Arkeos that skirted their little area waiting for such an opportunity. It was cute at first but of course it made the critters bolder as time passed and soon more had gathered around, pushing closer and closer to the pair. Eventually the older Symprite had to shoo them away and pack what little remained, burying it in the bottoms of the basket and under another blanket just so they would finally leave. She couldn't get too annoyed with the situation though as Minty just rolled around laughing loudly at her sister's efforts, the older enjoying the pure joy adorning her features.

The sisters played some small games to let their food settle which soon resulted in its usual playful banter, stolen prizes, tackles and tickles, and so on. They were still young siblings after all. When they came to a stalemate in their bickering on who won the last game, they finally gave up and packed the games away.

"Can we go swimming now, pwetty pwease?" Minty questioned, pressing small paws into her sister's thigh and looked up with the puppy dog eyes she knew her sister always caved with. She even batted her eyes cutely for good measure when Calixta pretended to debate, humming loudly and tapping a finger to her cheek in thought. She finally gave in, nodding and chuckling as the young bappy shot up and danced merrily while chanting words of 'thank yous' and 'you're the best sister' and so on. She was just too cute. 

Calixta dug out the floaties she had made sure to pack, inflating some water wings and just barely managing to get Minty to hold still long enough to slide them up and secure them in place on her arms. She knew it was probably a little overkill since they lived near a lake and it was not the first time they'd been swimming, but with the storm looming she didn't want to risk the weather causing dangerous waves no matter how strong a swimmer the Symprites naturally were from a young age.

Minty grabbed her hand and pulled her along, barely containing her excitement as she bounced along the sand to the water's edge. The brave bappy barely hesitated as she reached the ocean waves, jumping forward after only a moment of glancing back at her older sister. More squeals of giddiness bubbled up from the young Symprite as the waves splashed up her legs and biote. Calixta couldn't hold back her own mirthful laughter as she joined the bappy in the shallows, scooping her up and splashing and playing together. 

After playing for a while, the pair had paddled out a little farther to dip beneath the waves and marvel at the gorgeous vibrancy of colors and textures of the ribbon reef. Minty was fully awestruck, green eyes as wide as Calixta had ever seen them. Bubbles spilled from the bappy's mouth as she tried to exclaim her excitement and delight into the water, only garbled sounds coming out instead. The pair floated around, exploring the corals while they pointed out all the fishes and small critters swimming in and around the dips and crevices of the reef on the ocean floor.

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Afternoon passed into early evening before Calixta finally coaxed an exhausted yet stubborn Minty out of the waters and back to their quilt. She wrapped her grumpy sister up in an oversized towel before setting about packing up their things and preparing to leave. When the bappy was finally settled among the bags in the wagon once more, stifling a loud yawn and fighting to keep her eyes open, they set out for home. 

"Thank you for showing me the pwetty beach Lixie, it was so fun," Minty mumbled out sleepily, satisfied with her big day at the famous Snowshell beach for the first time. "It didn't even wain... you wowwied about nothing silly billy!"

Calixta patted her younger sister's mop of tentacles and opened her mouth to reply, but was stopped short by a thick water drop choosing that moment to splatter on her forehead. It slid down her cheek while the pair just looked at each other stunned. That one drop was soon followed by more and soon the older Symprite was cursing under her breath and jumping into a chaotic flurry trying to cover their supplies and start to hurry home while Minty just cackled at her sister.

Submitted By Lark for Beachy Bappy Memories ✧ Writing Only ・ View Favorites
Submitted: 7 months ago ・ Last Updated: 7 months ago