Beachfront Banter

A paw collides with the back of Asphodel’s head, causing him to stumble, and he yelps. He swivels to gaze pitifully behind him.

The owner of the paw, his best—or only, depending on how pessimistically you slice it—friend, chirrups in sadistic glee, snickering.

“Pei-Pei,” Asphodel sighs, “why?”

“Chin up!” The larger Stelciar bounces around to his side, one massive plume of fur, practically glittering in the fading light of the sun. Asphodel squints, bewildered. He knows they’re naturally rather shiny, what with the shimmering of their wings and silky fur—but he swears that’s an iridescent shimmer in their fur, like…dust? Is that dust?  “If your nose was any closer to the sand, lil ol’ me ain’t gonna be the only thing tipping you forward!”

“…You never answer straight,” Asphodel whines, bunting his head against their shoulder in defeat before straightening up, intentionally lifting his head up from its usual morose droop. “Had a nice day, I take it?” He watches her ray-like tail flick to and fro wildly, dangerous in its excitement.

“Oh, completely!” Konpeito cheers, “Here, here! Follow me!” They lean in to briefly nip at his cheek before bolting off, not pausing to wait; she knows he’ll follow, after all. It’s been long enough since Asphodel’s arrival that Konpeito’s long since learned all his little habits and, of course, just how easy it is to boss him around. (If he likes you, that is. And lucky for the brilliantly-hued feline, he likes them quite a bit. Their cheery aura never fails to bring a tired smile to his face.)

And follow he does, after licking down the tuft of fur that Konpeito had nipped at. Her star-shaped pawprints are easy to follow in the soft sand, and lead him to a small beachfront table of sorts. Atop it is a particularly large drink, topped with a heart-shaped straw—straws, rather, as it splits in two. He narrows his eyes at it as Konpeito hops atop a cushion and pats the one next to them with their tail.

“C’mon, c’mon! Get comfortable!” They beam.

“Isn’t that supposed to be shared? By a couple?” He replies. Konpeito rolls their eyes, grinning.

“I already had two. This one’s all for you, don’t worry! Besides, I’ve got food, too.” They waggle a tube at him.

“That’s…a cat treat,” he points out. Konpeito’s teeth poke over their lip with his increasingly wide grin.

“Duh! Don’t tell me you’ve forgotten we don’t need normal food?”

Asphodel goes quiet, and sits down at the spot he’d been gesturing to. A second passes.

He had, indeed, once again forgotten about that fact.

As the silence drags on, Konpeito gasps, his eyes going wide.

“You totally did.”

“I—yes,” Asphodel sighs. “I did. I still—I eat normally! I just…dish out the food myself. It’s easy to forget.”

Konpeito’s squeak is ear-achingly high as he affectionately plows into Asphodel, nearly toppling him.

“Ooooh Aspho! I forget how young you are!” He exclaims warmly, “You’re just like a kitten! It’s so cute!” Asphodel huffs, and nips at their ear. “Bite like one too. Don’t worry! Won’t tell a soul! Scout’s honor!”

“You aren’t even a Scout,” he sighs, unable to hide the amusement in his body language. “I don’t even think your housefolk were.” Konpeito gasps, reeling back with a paw on his chest, mock-offended.

“Why, I never! The gall! The humanity!”  In interest of not prolonging the inevitable ramble, Asphodel chooses not to point out that the humanity is also not very applicable. “You’d doubt my word? My true and honest word? Asphodel, Aspho, Dellie, Del-Del, my dearest friend. My sweet comrade. My brother-in-arms.”

“Paws,” Asphodel blurts out.

“My paws-in arms,” Konpeito steamrolls on, “How could you cast such slander on my person? I am a feline of dignity, you realize! Such horrible accusations…truly, I might just have to revoke my kind and generous gift and devour it myself—”

Asphodel’s paw shoots out to bat at Konpeito’s as they slyly reach for the drink.

“No take-backsies,” he flippantly snorts, tossing one of their favorite phrases at them. Their groan is comical and exaggerated. “Say. I’ve been wondering it for a few minutes now. Why are you glittery?”

Konpeito’s mock outrage vanishes at once, and they bounce upright, lapping at their treat.

“Comet dust!”

“Comet dust?”

“It’s that time of year again!” She cheers, “The Star Monarch Festival! I’ve been soooo busy running all around—”

“You were on a date.”

“—all day long, gathering up all sorts of things! Not the least of which are comet shards! I guess I must have gotten some dust in my fur while helping grind it up!”

Asphodel hums contemplatively, beginning to enjoy his drink.

“Like, actual comets?”

“Course. What else?”

“…I dunno. Fireworks? My housefolk set off rockets sometimes.” He shrugs, and squints at them. “Peito. C’mere.”

He leans up despite their curious “What? What’s up?” and pushes his nose into their thick mane of fur.

“Tickles!” Konpeito sneezes, but Asphodel’s done what he intended to do. He pulls back, something small and hard gripped in his mouth.

He drops it on the table between them, watching the iridescent flecks of light dance around the table.

“Peito, what’s this?” Konpeito claps their paws together, letting out an excited mew.

“A comet shard! I must’ve missed it earlier! I ought to get you to comb through my fur, if it’s thick enough to have dust and shards lodged in it like this!”

“Where were you getting them?” He wonders, and Konpeito snickers.

“Ocean. Beach. Got some little Phosrays to lend a hand.”

“Didn’t eat any this time?”

“I’ve never eaten a Phosray. Only held them gently in my mouth. They like it, you know.”

“Right, right,” he says, amused, returning to his drink. “I’ll take your word for it, you nutcase. Will you be keeping that little shard?”

“Sure will! It’s perfect, actually.” Their paw shoots out, nabbing it lightning-fast, and tucks it into their mane again. “I only needed one or two more! Thanks for that~”

“Good luck,” Asphodel rolls his eyes, “don’t get in any trouble now, mhm?” Konpeito’s devious smile puts him ill at ease, but he knows his friend can handle themselves more than well enough…no matter how unpredictable they may be.