Dragoncrest Cliffs twilight stone

sobeille had little concept of peril. her eyes doggedly trailed the distant astera, looking for that impossibly small speck of purple. a wave crashed over her, nearly snapping her little head off. for a moment, sobeille lost contact with her lifeline.

she was quickly seized and repositioned. over the roar of the seaspray, sobeille heard little -- but she watched suzu's head go temporarily under, and at this point understood the waves, however playful, were far stronger than she.

the urgency and the fear in her relatives soured the air; sobeille was aware she was the only one having fun. her nose hurt, and her ears were sore from the assault of saltwater, but she had already forgotten how moments before she'd been supping pure saltwater, and she had no respect whatsoever for the terrifying things that lurked in the pelagic deep that might snatch her.

they grew steadily closer to shore. sobeille cackled and splashed at a foam-capped wave, nearly loosening again. the waves became more insistent -- sobeille cheered as each wave carried them to a new apex, and then grumbled as each wave dashed them from their exciting heights. realizing a pattern, she clattered atop suzu's spine, eyes alighting on the distraught face of her mother.

MAMAN! sobeille crowed from her throne of victory atop suzu's shoulderblades. that she had flirted with death was of no consequence. the glittery stone and its owner were forgotten as sobeille was heaved from suzu and thrust into her mother's arms. squirming, sobeille squinted as she resisted the rightfully panicked attentions of her mother, sending one paw up in protest as she tried now to return to the sea.