The Sun, the Seas, the Sands (Squiss / Flame)

[Flame]

It was a rare day, a very rare day, at least for Hien it was one day in a million. A day off, a day without the thought of what she needed to be doing. Soft red eyes stared up towards the glaring sun, its rays beat down upon her warming her by many degrees. She threw from her mind so many pressing issues of the time, the blasted marines, the sometimes questionable leadership of her comrades, the cause she was so invested in. They all slid aside for today. For today, her first day off in what was months, probably more than a year, honestly she couldn't recall the last time she'd done something like this.

She shifted carefully, one of her fingers traveled carefully down her side to adjust the strap holding the bottom half of her bikini. It was a strange choice of clothing for her, for some odd reason one of her coworkers had given it to her upon hearing where she was heading. It was a strange choice but it did allow her to fully experience the sun rays, which was somewhat rare for her given the usual propensity for full cloaks.

Placing both hands down upon the sheet of cloth she'd laid out beneath her Hien momentarily sat up and took a glance around. The place was crowded, kids and adults both were strewn out before her all up and down the way. They played and danced, talked and ate, as well as probably a hundred other small things she didn't really care to pay attention to.

She laid back down, shifting slightly upon the cloth she messed with mounds of sand beneath it to make a more comfortable place to lay. She was ... comfortable, as comfortable as she could be doing such a strange thing. So many people just sitting around and enjoying there life made her a little annoyed. The sound of their lives going on overlaid with the crash of waves against the island was a low drum, none of it really mattered, or it shouldn't have. Upon her back she stayed for a few more minutes, her eyes were half closed because she couldn't get them to stay fully so.

The inaction of it goaded her, made her almost twitchy. Raising a hand up she shaded her eyes for a moment as she looked around. The beach was, such a boring place, she sighed. Why a break, and why here ... she wondered to herself. HQ was so weird about these things. A cool sea breeze turned up a refreshing feeling for a moment. Once more she looked up and down the line, maybe there was something more interesting she could do, something more active. Unfortunately swimming was out of the question.

[The Prettiest Squish]

"Heah you go, Miss! Double scoop of Wocky Woad!"

A short but plump boy handed a crisp waffle cone over to the buxom bikini clad lady in front of him. She stood over him like a titan, forced to bow to come face to face with the tiny lad. Nonetheless, the woman smiled warmly at his gift and patted him on the hair softly before strutting away tongue already savoring her chocolatey treat. And the boy smiled too, happy he could be of service. He shifted his focus to the larger picture at hand and put both wrists to his squishy hips. "Ooh, I hope I gots lots of cones today!" 

Robbin Berry playfully marched through the sand, a surface he had never been familiar with. On a beautiful beach such as today, he felt the energy of the sun pumping him up for a day of nonstop fun! Except that he felt the sunrays through the umbrella propped up on his backpack. The child strolled past people of all sorts, from couples on dates, families on vacations, other kids of his age or younger. No matter what background they came from though, he was sure that they wouldn't pass down a treat such as his delectable and delicious desserts! As if to answer the call, a pair of girls came skipping towards him with curiosity. 

Robbin gulped and rubbed his shaky hands up against his bathing suit. He was never quite the salesman he wanted to be and that included talking with others. But they were definitely in the mood for treats from he could tell. "H-hi, did you want something fwom the 'stoh'?" The berry boy opened his palms to the ladies and oozed out various colors of ice cream from his fingertips. Both girls gasped and looked at each other before giggling like children. One of them turned to him and said, "Um yeah, hehe, can we like get something fruity or something?" His face brightened up and he reached to his backpack's waffle cone dispenser, "Coming wight up!"

[Flame]

Standing up she stretched her arms into the air. Glancing at them she frowned at the sudden contrast in skin tone, it was much greater than it had been a few moments ago. Bored she twisted them about swinging them back and forth, not that it really seemed to do much. Stepping away from the cloth blanket she'd set her feet pressed into the sun-burnt sand, the grains enveloped her toes finding their way in between them.

A growing smile crossed her face as she quickly spun her arms about her for a moment. Laying about too much had made her a little stiff. Not turning about to grab up the blanket she walked away from it. Instead she scanned her way across the whole of the beach. Her eyes crossed over swimmers, loungers, food stands, and people playing all about. She frowned to herself wondering what to do for half a moment. Then shrugging her shoulders she headed towards where a group seemed to be bouncing a ball about from either side of a net.

Her singular focus had her walking straight toward the nearest group doing so. Eyes aimed forward she headed on without stopping. Or at least until a misplaced step went into a mound of sand that seemed strangely flat. Looking down she paused confused to find her foot planted in what looked to be a wall of sand. From a smile she changed to a bemused look, she slid her foot out only to see the wall crumble apart. "A castle?" She wondered curiously to herself before what a cry broke out from behind her.

Her head tilted about to see a young lad on his knees tears beginning to sprout from his eyes. Hien licked her lips sheepishly, "I suppose this was yours wasn't it ..."

[The Prettiest Squish]

From his chubby little fingers, Robbin carefully aimed at the center of his waffle cone. The two ladies before him stared with intensity like an audience watching a show. He squinted and licked his lips ever so subtly, eyes focused right at the light beige cone in his hands. Then, the movement commenced.

His index finger and middle finger began to leak out a thick but fluid cream that cascaded over the container. The color was a brilliant green and light red sprinkled with dark bits evenly scattered around its contents. Robbin twirled his hand around the diameter of his vessel, mixing the two together but not so that they would blend. Eventually a smooth swirly mountain of watermelon flavored ice cream appeared before the two girls and they clapped to themselves with giggles, "Hahaha, that was like totally radical little dude!" The ice prince blushed -more so than often- and shyly handed the treat whilst looking away. "Th-thank you...one fwooty c-cone like you said." She laughed at his bashful nature and rubbed his hair energetically before ushering her friend to join along. As they left, he saw the two share the ice cream between each other and widen their eyes in surprise before diving back in, a good sign he had done his job well. 

But Robbin nervously grimaced and stared at his feet, cheeks still red. He enjoyed that people were grateful for his product but cursed his inability to sell it like he meant it. There were so many people around in need of a sweet treat but it was no good to be gifted with such a power if he couldn't muster up the courage to use it. The boy crouched down in the sand and scribbled some doodles before looking up and seeing a very brawny girl nearby. He gulped and wondered if she would be interested when he then saw a tiny boy, perhaps younger than himself crying on his knees. The scene reminded him of himself far too much and his little heart ached at the sight of it. Robbin's face strengthened and his chubby fingers formed into a courageous little ball. He marched over to the two while pulling two cones from his bag. 

From behind the woman, he gathered his lingering confidence and desperately muttered, "Excuse me, miss? Did you and yoh fwiend want some ice cweam?" He flashed the cones in advance and put on the most adorable grin he could muster, being sure his blush sprinkles sparkled in the sunlight.

[Flame]

Hien frowned as she looked down at the child before her. Her eyes flickered back to the partially crushed sand castle behind her. Biting her lip she felt a sly bit of guilt wash over her. Allowing it trouble her for the time she bent down onto her knees. "So is this yours?" Her voice was as soft and friendly as she could make it in the moment. Before her the child still bubbled with tears nodding his head up and down. So it was, she sighed inwardly, it was an accident but, it was still her fault.

"Well for whatever its worth, I'm sorry. Would you like me to help you rebuild it?" She asked staying as calm as she could be. The child responded with a shake of the head. No ... well then. Hien stood back up, "Huh ... that's good, better to learn the joy of doing it yourself. If you need any-" She stopped as a voice popped up from behind her. She turned to see a smiling little boy probably not much older than the one in front of her holding two cones in his hands.

"Ice cream?" her voice asked curiously. She'd never heard of whatever this was before. Behind her the boy spoke up with hope resurgent "Ice cream?" Waddling a little he passed over sand coming out in front of her to look curiously at this new incomer. "Ooh ooh, I'd like some, maybe a ... strawbewwy ... double ! , in a banana boat! With fudge! and .. and .." The kid's thoughts seemed to pass from one thing to another as more and more ideas sprang to mind.

Hien glanced between the two boys. It seemed this ice cream was a dessert of some sort. If not it was a strange sort of meal to go with what the kid had lined up. "So ... how much?" She asked.

[The Prettiest Squish]

"How much?" Robbin tilted his head and raised a brow with innocent confusion. He looked back to the boy whose mouth ran on with endless requests, to the ice-maker's own delight. It was the smiles of others that fueled him to do this after all, not money. His eyes returned to her and he smiled, "Why it's fwee! Absolutely fweeeee!" As he sang, Robbin flailed his arms about like a manic puppet. His smile stretched into a toothy grin and the boy squinted with glee. 

About a few seconds in, the chilly child opened his eyes and realized that his little customer was staring at him nervously from behind the leg of the woman between them. He quickly took a proper stance and widened his eyes, anxiously petrified like a statue. His arms then mechanically moved forward so the cones in his hands lay horizontally. With a stutter, he then muttered out whatever he could so break the silence. "U-uh. Er-erm. Um. I-I don't have ba-ba-banana bo-boats but I got lots of oth-other stuff."

[Flame]

The price she was quoted was that it was free. Hien raised an eyebrow at this, her eyes watching the giddy child carefully. He was flailing his arms like a true fool, she sighed. It was hard to believe that whatever this was could be free. But then it was equally hard to believe that this child before her was anything more than half-brained fool speaking not but the truth. He had none of the poise or guile of someone who might do something of the sort. She sighed.

From beside her the young child she'd made cry moments ago stepped forward. "No banana boats?!? That's howwible. You shud get dem deyz da bestest." Hien could naught but raise an eyebrow at this as well. Her lips formed together to keep herself from laughing. "Den howz about a float? You gotta be able to do that. Ya know, ice cream and soda in a cup." The kid said his head bobbing up and down 'thoughtfully'. She stepped back a little taking in this conversation for a moment, it was highly confusing to her as she had no idea what any of this stuff was.

Perhaps she'd been with the revolutionaries too long, their chefs weren't up to date or something. These seemed strange ideas, it really didn't help that she still didn't know what ice cream was. Scratching her chin she glanced around, maybe this wasn't the first person this kid had tried to give ice cream. All she needed to do was spot someone with the same strange cones that this kid was holding right now.

[The Prettiest Squish]

The little boy vendor frowned sadly at the request. "A float? Hummm, I mean...I do have some sodey pop in my bag." Robbin turned his head and stretched his chubby arms back to reach his bag's pocket. His itty bitty fingers rummaged inside for a good few seconds until they emerged with an ice cold can of fizz in his palm. The child stared at it for a good while before looking back at his impatient customer. He had been saving the pop since he arrived on the beach and while he would love to feed the masses, a float wasn't on his menu. Nonetheless, he was a provider of goods and if his own product was solely insufficient without the immersion of carbonated beverages, then he would rectify the situation immediately!

"Well, I nohmally don't do this...but shawing is cawing!" He gave a goofy but warmhearted grin and rummaged in his bag for a cup. The child was well prepared for customers' preferences on containers and this scenario didn't faze him in the least. Robbin also grabbed a spoon without needing to ask and plopped the vessel on the sand as he worked at opening the can. The aluminum popped and the bubbles sprinkled over the top of the cylinder. He carefully poured in until the fizzy fluid filled up half the cup then laid it down gently on the tan floor. Robbin placed an open palm over the cup in contrast to the two fingers he used for the girls earlier before. He hummed to himself as a ball of strawberry-banana fudge fusion of ice cream dropped smoothly into the cola. The duke of desserts joyfully picked up the container and presented it to the child in front of him. "One Stwawbewwy Fudge float with Bananas!"

[Flame]

Her eyes scanned about if there were any with cones they weren't facing her, or perhaps they'd already eaten what this boy had given them. Attention turning back it seemed that the ice cream boy could actually make this next request of the kid's. A float, whatever that was, Hien watched curiously as a cup was produced from the boy's backpack.

Moments later it was poured to half full with a fizzy drink, this was probably the so-called soda that she'd heard about from her compatriots. Either that or beer, and beer was not really given to kids this young. She raised an eyebrow as the child put his hand over the cup. A soft plop hit her ears and she glanced at the cup as he revealed what was beneath it. Within the dark fizzy water floated a large reddish-yellow ball with paleish color. Hien raised an eyebrow at this, whatever he created had come out of ... A devil fruit ... The revolutionary's eyes narrowed with concern.

Her eyes turned to the young child beside her as he grasped the cup in both his hands. Tilting his head over it he looked down eyes widening with awe. If it was a devil fruit ability ... she bit her lip, no one else seemed to have been complaining perhaps it was okay. Nah, she was pretty sure it'd be fine. "Strawbewwy and Banana ... with fudge?" He said in wonderment as he began to tilt the cup upward plastering his mouth to one edge.

Moments passed and liquid started to dribble down his chin before he brought it back up. A great smile was woven across his face. "It's good?" She asked kindly to the child. "AMAZIN!!" He responded jubilantly.

[The Prettiest Squish]

Tears welled up in Robbin's eyes as his grin wavered into a blabbering whimper. His nose began to leak some goopy mixture of pink, brown and white as he knelt to the boy', "W-weally?...It's amazin'?" The strawberry and fudge haired seller began to subconsciously lick the creamy snot from his nose and occasionally wiped his tears with his fingers and stuck them into his mouth. "Th-thank you...that means so much." Robbin sniffled and cleaned his face with the non-sticky side of his hand. His eyes turned toward the woman who still hadn't been fed yet. 

He got back to his feet and smiled at her, eyes still creamy. "So, missus, did ya want anything? I can make a lot of stuff!" His hands spread out to signify just how large his collection of flavors was. 

[Flame]

At the compliment the ice cream vending child began to cry, happy tears, but tears nonetheless. The young kid that had given the compliment smiled happily for a moment longer at him before returning to his ... float. Both of them looked like foolish idiots, Hien smiled at that. It was good, kids should be like that, kids should be allowed their happiness, until it came time for them to take responsibility and change the world.

Once again she was asked if she wanted any. Hien paused thoughtful for a moment before swinging her head back and forth. "No thanks kid, none for me." She said casually, she wasn't particularly hungry at the moment she didn't care to eat anything for now. Running a hand through her hair she looked about. Her hand pressed against the braids at the back of her head for a moment.

Why the hell did they send me to the beach ... Hien sighed to herself as she looked about the beach once more. What did these people find so interesting about it. Her toes moved softly through the sand spreading it about her feet. She felt the singular grains adjust against her feet. She preferred wearing shoes.

Glancing back down at the kids she stood beside she wondered if she'd been like this as a child. She could hardly remember anymore so much of her life had been spent with the revolution, her youth was but a memory to her.

[The Prettiest Squish]

The boy's bright expression quickly dimmed at the girl's refusal, thought it was hardly malicious, he felt hurt she did not wish to indulge in his delightful dessert. Nonetheless, Robbin understood that it was her own choice and felt that perhaps he would be better needed elsewhere. He motioned to turn away in the opposite direction while looking back at the girl and boy, his hand waving at the happily dining child, "Anyways, thank you fo' the compliment! Enjoy the west of yo' day!" 

As he turned to walk away, a sudden booming voice came from the distance and visibly affected everyone around them. The beachgoers all muffled their ears at the sound and grimaced with pained looks. Robbin's own portrait was no exception. He groaned at the aching in his ears but managed to make out a coherent sentence among the din, "HEY THERE, SAND DWELLERS! WE GOT A SPECIAL GAME FOR YOU!" 

Then a pause interrupted the quaking tone before a gentler voice replaced it. "Whoops, sorry about that! Technical issues, it seems!" The beach returned to its pristine condition as the residents all removed their hands from their ears and looked into the direction the voice came from. Robbin followed suit and watched curiously in the distance. A few measures away, about a couple minute's jog at least, there stood a large muscular and tan figure set on a pedestal. He flexed his rippling body with every random gesture that followed his words. "Today, we're hosting a sand castle building contest! And you won't believe what the grand prize is gonna be!" Suddenly a large group of people began to rise from their towels and the ones already standing slowly walked toward the center of the voice. Robbin's eyes sparkled with curiosity as he whispered to himself, "Sand...castle?"