[Santo - The Beach]

[walk_ins]

[master post]

You have to walk down a ramp to get to the sand. The ramp stretches over sand dunes, with sea oats dotting them, blowing in the near-constant breeze. On the same level as the ramp: a boardwalk, dotted with places to get sketchy-looking fried food, to try your luck at a number of games of chance, to watch performers, to ride roller coasters of the future!!!!

When you walk down the ramp, it's all white sand and blue water. Down about half a mile is a pier that juts out several hundred feet.

It's a nice beach. Not too crowded.

Comments

[simon_doctor]

It's not long before Simon is padding carefully down to the wet sand at the water's edge.

He spots something near his feet, and bends to pick it up.

[yankeedoodle_dr]

Hawkeye glances over his shoulder, after a minute or two.

"Sunken treasure, Doc?"

[simon_doctor]

"Seashells."

He holds up the one he's found. It's pale grey-blue shading to white, fluted, about an inch long.

[yankeedoodle_dr]

"Almost as good," pronounces Hawkeye, wading back toward him so that he can examine this specimen.

His mouth curves upward, surprised and a touch charmed. "I've never seen a shell like that," he says.

[simon_doctor]

"They're different on different worlds, sometimes."

He hands the shell to Hawkeye and turns, looking down the beach.

"There was ... a couple of years ago, I think, was the last time I was on anything like a beach. The whole shoreline was covered in these beautiful seashells, a dozen different kinds. More."

[yankeedoodle_dr]

Hawkeye is considering the shell closely, holding it carefully between thumb and forefinger.

"Back home, you'll find the shells of moon snails in tidal pools," he says, studying this shell's ridges. "They've got a swirl like this, just rounder.

"They're hard to find, but moon snails have this nasty little habit of crashing other mollusks' parties by drilling into their shells and sucking out the current unhappy occupant." Hawkeye shrugs lightly with one shoulder, and he glances up. "Shells with those holes are easier to find."

This may give away when the last time he was on a beach was.

He pockets this shell.

[simon_doctor]

Simon nods appreciatively. It's an interesting fact, even if he's not sure at all whether moon snails are among the countless species that never made it off of Earth-That-Was.

"None of the ones Kaylee and I collected that day had holes," he says. "I bored holes in a lot of the best ones later, though -- I made her a necklace out of them, for a New Year's present."

It's been a long while since he's seen her wear it.

[yankeedoodle_dr]

"New Year's present," says Hawkeye. "What, is that in addition to Christmas and birthdays and anniversaries?"

He has never heard of a New Year's gift-giving tradition. That may come across.

[simon_doctor]

"It's become combined with Christmas, over the past few centuries. A lot of traditions were ... blended, I guess you'd say, during the Migration and after."

He's moving down toward the waterline as he speaks, and gingerly touches the water with a toe.

[yankeedoodle_dr]

"You know," says Hawkeye, watching, "you probably won't drown standing in two inches of water."

[simon_doctor]

"It's statistically unlikely," he agrees, deadpan.

[yankeedoodle_dr]

"And you could -- statistically speaking -- probably step deeper into the water without getting eaten by a sea monster."

Hawkeye is, himself, standing in several inches of water.

[simon_doctor]

"I'm more concerned about the temperature, personally."

Which he has gauged to be comfortable, and thus steps further in.

[yankeedoodle_dr]

Hawkeye laughs, swift and startled. "This? This is balmy! It's the Sahara of oceans!"

[simon_doctor]

"Exactly."

Still deadpan.

"Much too warm for sea monsters."

[yankeedoodle_dr]

Was that-- It was. A joke.

Startled and pleased, Hawkeye says, "Oh, I don't know. Some sea monsters prefer a more temperate climate."

Beat.

"It still doesn't explain what you're doing on land."

He kicks a sheet of water in Simon's general direction, cheerfully enough; it falls far short of its intended target, besides maybe a few drops.

[simon_doctor]

Simon sidesteps, even though it's clear the splash won't reach him.

"Well, if I wait here long enough, the water may come to me. As you've just demonstrated."

[yankeedoodle_dr]

"Ah," says Hawkeye, seriously, "but it didn't reach you."

[simon_doctor]

"Also I'm beginning to wonder how long we could keep this up."

With exaggerated care, he steps a little further along the waterline.

[yankeedoodle_dr]

In the water, with less care, Hawkeye follows. "Keep what up?" he asks, grinning.

[simon_doctor]

"Me staying out of the water and you trying to maneuver me in."

There's a string of seaweed on the sand; he sidesteps it.

"It's like some sort of comedy routine."

[yankeedoodle_dr]

Hawkeye laughs at the 'comedy routine' part.

Simon has no idea.

"Who said I was trying to maneuver? Convince, on the other hand..." He shrugs, modestly. "Now that's where my powers lie." Beat. "Don't worry. I only use them for good."

Most of the time. Usually.

[simon_doctor]

"That's reassuring."

A larger-than-usual wave rushes up the beach, and without moving, Simon is abruptly up to his ankles in water.

There's a pause, and then he gives Hawkeye a faintly reproachful look.

[yankeedoodle_dr]

You'd better believe Hawkeye whoops with laughter. His is a genuine laugh; loud and knee-slapping and impossible to stop once it has started.

He's laughing with Simon, not at him.

Besides, you know, the part where Simon isn't (at least initially) laughing.

[simon_doctor]

Oh, Simon's not laughing.

Much.

"I have to say, that's more convincing than I was expecting."