Book 3: Chapter 12 - The Beach Episode (Patreon)

What would happen if the immortal toad wanted to break through the coral nest?

The same thing that would happen if Santa Claus did, I suppose.The toad may or may not be real, but that scenario is just as realistic either way.The oceans are massive, and that particular legend could be anywhere in their depths.I would worry more about the hedron you might actually see than stories no one has ever confirmed.—Virgil Clay, Lecture

“You look nice,” Hazel noted, the familiar awkward note coloring his voice. “I didn't catch you on your way to a date or anything, did I?” 

Violet leaned against her doorframe as she watched her older brother. He'd been preparing to knock when she'd opened the door, and his bumbling surprise was mildly amusing.

“Girls wear makeup because they like it, you know. We don't do it exclusively to impress a date,” she teased.

“No, I know,” he clarified. “It's just that you... nevermind. I just wanted to say you look good, that's all.”

She knew it was all an act. The concern and the nerves. The special attention he paid to being respectful and kind. She remembered years of disregard too well to be fooled by any of it. But she had to admit. He sold it well. The performance was endearing. 

“Oh, I knew that already, but thanks for stopping by to keep me updated,” Violet responded with a smirk. “If that's all, I actually am headed somewhere. It's my friend's birthday today. Or his party, at least. Mr. Clay is going to have us breaking our backs on the actual day, probably.”

Hazel gave her a half-smile at that, which was a bit unexpected. Some men did often seem to enjoy it when she was dismissive or condescending to them, but they weren't blood relatives. 

“It's good to see you doing so well here, Vi,” he said. So it was obviously just the feigned familial concern, which made sense. “Unfortunately, that's not what I'm here for. I brought another letter from Uncle Cyan.” 

His voice took on an apologetic tone even as he pulled the message in question out of his bag. Violet couldn't tell if that was genuine or just in response to the sour look she suddenly found on her face. She supposed it didn't really matter. It wasn't Hazel's fault that he had to deliver these letters. Violet simply refused to interact directly with Cyan again. At least until she was strong enough to overpower his talents.

“God, he is so fucking needy. He doesn't pay me enough for this shit,” she complained. Even so, she held one hand out while the other rested on her hip. “Hand it over, then.”

“I know. I'm sorry. I wish you weren't tangled up with the family at all,” Hazel apologized. He held the letter out, and Violet snapped it from his hand with a roll of her eyes.

“Yeah, well, sometimes uncles are a necessary evil, alright?” she replied. She slid one fingernail under the fold of the envelope and tore it open. 

“No, I get it,” Hazel assured. “I just worry, you know?” 

Violet pulled the letter out and narrowed her eyes as she scanned it. It contained... irritating news, and an even worse request. Unfortunately, she enjoyed having money. And she really enjoyed having more of it than everyone else. So she'd work around the disruption. At least she didn't have to abandon her plans for the day.

“Well, that's going to be a massive waste of time. Thanks for bringing it to my attention, Hazel,” Violet grumbled.

“Sorry again,” he repeated. “I hope it doesn't ruin your friend's birthday.”

Violet carefully folded the letter into the smallest square she could, then casually popped it into her mouth and swallowed it. Hazel blinked in surprise, but didn't offer any further reaction to the act.

“Nah,” Violet answered after a moment. “It wasn't urgent. Anyway, I'd better head out. I don't want to keep Kiera waiting.”

“O-Oh,” Hazel replied with only a slight stutter. “Is it Kiera's birthday? What is she doing for it?” 

Violet raised an eyebrow at him, then smirked before leaning back against her doorframe. “Guy's, actually. I don't think you've met him, but he's the dude in my class with the famous nipples. You’d like him, probably,” Violet answered. “Why, were you hoping to do something nice for my roommate?”

Hazel paused, too many responses boiling up at once and strangling him. He had to shake his head before he could process any of the things Violet said, but he did manage something eventually. “Famous nipples? I don’t think I’ve heard of anyone like that, sorry,” he apologized.

Violet shrugged and stood up straight. “Well, it’s his birthday all the same. I should get going. If you don’t mind. You know. Moving.”

Hazel didn’t respond at first, instead standing dumbly in Violet's path while the words crawled their way to his conscious mind. Finally, he jolted and stepped to the side. Violet smiled and gave him a curt nod, then walked past him. She made it a few steps before, much to her chagrin, her older brother caught up and started walking alongside her.

“Can I come?” he asked, his words escaping like air from a burst balloon.

Violet froze between steps, then turned her head to meet his eyes. “Why? I thought you hadn’t heard of him?” she questioned.

“I haven’t, but...” He trailed off, apparently struggling to voice whatever was on his mind.

“But?” Violet pushed. “But you want to see Kiera in a swimsuit? But you want to confirm the quality of Guy’s nipples? But what?”

“But I was hoping to reconnect with you, Violet,” he finally answered. “You’ve been here for what? Half a year now? Maybe a month or so shy? And we haven’t had the chance to so much as talk. I missed you. I was worried about you. And I was kind of hoping, at least now that Mom and Dad aren’t looming over our shoulders, that we’d finally be able to hang out. You know. Like normal siblings.”

Violet was irritated at that answer. She wasn’t in the mood to play games with Hazel. She didn’t hate him, exactly, but she barely knew him. He didn’t have a spine to support her, nor a sense of humor to entertain her. He was just... some guy who’d shared her house when she was younger. He’d spoken to her frequently, sure. But they’d never had anything like a loving familial relationship. Which meant this was just some game, exactly like her parents had tried to play before she’d left. She almost dismissed him outright, but stopped herself.

He’d be useful someday, if only a little. To feed false information to Cyan, maybe. Or even to keep tabs on her parents. They’d dropped the facade of love the minute she’d left town, and she hadn’t received so much as a letter from them. The train had visited Roseville more than a few times since then, so they’d had the opportunity. Maybe Hazel was closer to them, since he’d had a decent calling his entire life.

“Yeah,” she agreed. “Alright. But we gotta make a stop and get you a swimsuit on the way.”

“Swimsuit? Please tell me we’re visiting a public pool and not the beach,” he replied, suddenly far less enthusiastic about the party.

Violet offered the sweetest smile she owned. 

“Violet, you can’t be serious,” he complained.

“Relax! There haven’t been any hedron in Elliott Bay since the coral nest hit violet, like, a hundred years ago. It’s perfectly safe,” Violet reassured.

“The Category Violet nest nearby doesn’t actually make me feel all that safe, even if it does protect us,” Hazel complained. 

“Then this is probably not a great school to attend, my man. In any case, that’s where I’m heading. So take it or leave it,” Violet dismissed.

Hazel grimaced. “Um. Alright. I guess. Where do I get a swimsuit? Actually, do you even know how to swim?” he pestered.

Violet shrugged. “I’m a fast learner. Come on, I’ll show you. Oh, and if Kiera is the real reason, you can still back out. Apparently, they don’t make tail-friendly bikinis, and for some reason, she doesn’t want her whole ass out all day? So she wears a one-piece. Sorry about that.”

Kiera’s swimsuit was, apparently, not Hazel’s true motivation for tagging along. He was obviously nervous about visiting the beach, despite the century of safety the waters had enjoyed. He wasn’t alone, of course. The ocean was, to most people, nothing more than the worst nightmare their parents had ever given them. Nearly all hedron in the unknown depths were violet, and there were no living lancers who would survive them.

Still. The bay was safe. And Violet figured that if Guy of all people could brave the beach, Hazel could. She hadn’t remembered her brother being so cowardly in the past, and she almost wondered if it was all part of the act to make her lower her guard. 

Except, as they emerged on the beach and climbed over criminal quantities of driftwood, his fear certainly felt legitimate. The wall of thick mauve mist in the distance was imposing, even to Violet. The barrier provided by all the clarity in the city was as strong as ever, but the density of the mist over the ocean was incredible. It was terrible, but also beautiful, in a strange way. It was hard to imagine a time when people would stand on the same beach and simply see the horizon. Now? Prism was lucky that the barrier was tall enough for sunlight to reach the city.

Hazel swallowed hard, and Violet smirked. She didn’t know if the fear was real, but who was she to dismiss comedy simply because it was an act? If she could laugh at funny movies, she could laugh at Hazel either way.

“See?” she asked. “What did I tell you?”

Hazel turned to face Violet, but his eyes left comprehension behind. “Is this your evidence that the beach is perfectly safe?” he answered.

“Nah,” Violet responded. “Look, my friends. What did I tell you about Guy?”

Hazel followed her pointing finger and blinked as he spotted the group gathering around a few chairs. They had a portable pavilion and a blanket with a frankly impressive picnic set up. Violet’s entire fireteam was already there, plus Koral with Aubrey. Much to Violet’s annoyance, Kassie’s fireteam was there, too, excepting Zach. Guy likely hadn’t invited the boy for the same reason Violet had beaten the shit out of him in training. This was a group that protected their favorite fox. 

“Which one is Guy?” Hazel asked. In his defense, there were three men in the party already, considering AJ had shown up in his masculine persona today. If “masculine” was even the right word. 

“Guess,” Violet ordered. 

Hazel squinted, then sighed a moment later. “Ah. Yeah, I see what you mean,” he finally replied. It was the closest thing to a genuine response Violet had ever heard from her brother, and she found herself smiling at the words.

“Come on, I need to introduce you to everyone,” she said. Then she walked out ahead of him to meet with her friends. 

It didn’t take long for the pair to be noticed. Violet was explaining that she'd brought her brother, not an unmentioned boyfriend, a few minutes later. 

“I didn’t even know you had a brother,” Guy complained.

“Dude, she’s, like, an Asher. They all have brothers. Even the ones who only have sisters have brothers,” Kassie teased. She looked up from a coal grill to smile and wave at Hazel, then returned to making lunch for the group.

“I’m almost positive I mentioned him to you before, Guy,” Violet replied.

“Well. Then I forgot! It’s my birthday, I’m allowed. Enough with the accusations,” Guy quipped, feigning outrage near the end.

“I knew about him,” Koral pointed out.

“We’re in the same class,” Hazel laughed. “Still, I’m glad to be meeting everyone. It feels criminal that I’m only now being introduced to Violet’s friends.”

“Bro, we’ve met at least thirty times,” Kiera protested. 

“Oh, he remembers,” Violet teased. This comment colored Hazel’s cheeks pink, although the crush had been entirely invented by Violet. She decided she either had a good eye or the public accusation was enough to embarrass the boy. Or, most likely, he’d decided to play into it as yet another manipulation tactic. She hoped it was real, though. Kiera might’ve been flattered, but Hazel wouldn’t stand a chance in the same room as Guy. And that would be funny to watch.

“Oh, leave the poor boy alone,” Koral lectured. “I’m pretty sure he’s into someone else entirely.”

There was just a little pride in the claim, even after the girl’s habitual pause before speaking. Violet wondered if there was truth to the implication, or if maybe Koral was just trying to make Aubrey jealous. She didn’t really care either way, but the latter could’ve been useful. She filed it away for later.

“I see why Vi gets along with all of you,” Hazel grumbled.

“Now, whatever could that mean?” Violet teased.

“It means you all suck,” Aubrey explained. “And some of us are only here because we’ve always wanted to try swimming in the ocean.”

“Please. We’re all here to admire Guy’s flawless skin and you know it,” Violet countered. “And I’m sure he won’t want to actually swim.” She glanced meaningfully at the billowing mist on the far side of the water, and she saw only a flash of shame cross Guy’s face.

He waved her off, regaining his composure before anyone but Violet noticed. “Sure thing! I did pick the location, after all. It can be a bit spooky at first, but I’ve been coming here with Dustin for a few weeks. It really is safe, I promise.”

That answered Violet’s question, at least. And prevented her from feeling too impressed with Guy’s courage. He’d spent weeks acclimating himself to the environment. Otherwise, he would have been too frightened to come, after all. That was far more in line with her understanding of the spineless tank.

“Well, alright. I’ve been looking forward to trying, too, truth be told. Although, admittedly, I don't know how to swim. I might need someone to teach me the basics,” Violet agreed.

“I’m helping Aubrey, and I’m an excellent swimmer. I’d be happy to teach you both,” Koral replied.

“Really? That’s so sweet of you, thanks!” Violet answered. “Although I wish I’d known I’d be getting in the water. I probably wouldn’t have put on such detailed makeup. Or maybe I would’ve, since you did the same and were apparently planning on swimming all along.”

“Oh, mine is waterproof. Sorry, you’re going to have to look like an impressionist painting on your own,” Koral explained. Violet replied with a playful pout, but Guy interrupted any response she may have formed.

“Hey, let’s not lose sight of what’s really important here,” Guy complained. “Showering me with gifts and attention. Gifts other than introducing me to your hot brothers, I mean.”

“After we eat, please,” Kiera replied. “Kassie’s been working hard on the grill for a while now, and the smell is doing things to me.”

“Almost done!” Kassie replied. “But it’ll still be a few minutes. Let the poor boy open a gift, or he’s gonna, like, cry.”

Violet didn’t miss Koral shooting an almost hostile look at the blonde, but it was very deliberately replaced with calm. The new girl was either very hungry or she shared Violet’s distaste for Kassie. That was interesting.

“Yeah, I’m gonna cry,” Guy agreed with a smug grin. “Give me things, please.”

“Sure, sure. Kiera, give him things, please. I’m gonna get more comfortable. It’s too hot today for this dress,” Violet said. With that, she bent down and grabbed the bottom of her white sundress, pulling it over her head as she stood. The swimsuit underneath wasn’t particularly risque or provocative, but Koral and Aubrey both responded to it immediately. Aubrey shuddered and looked down as the treelike lightning scars revealed themselves. 

Koral, interestingly, had a hint of jealousy, which was quickly replaced by relief when the scars appeared. Both emotions, however, were washed away before Violet managed to even put the dress down. Most surprising of all was the disappointment that took their place. Not with Violet or her clothes. Koral almost seemed upset with herself, for some reason. The girl was going to be a fascinating project for Violet.

With that, the party slowly picked up pace, and everyone began to mingle and enjoy themselves. Guy loved his gifts, and Kiera was both mortified and grateful when he opened them. The records Violet had slipped in with more risque implications had been well-received, after all of that. It was fun. Violet had a good time in a way she’d never been able to back in Roseville. It was even fun hanging out with Hazel, somehow.

But, as much as Violet enjoyed being a normal teenage girl for once, she had other concerns and plans she needed to set up for. So she accepted her brief swimming lesson. She ate Kassie’s cooking, and she played more party games that involved harmless flirting that would never go anywhere. She tried beach volleyball, but had to hold back. She didn’t want to reveal her real physical abilities. That knowledge made her loss to Kassie’s team easier to bear. 

Finally, while everyone was packing up, Violet pulled Kiera aside for a private conversation. She activated her necklace to provide some privacy, which resulted in a little anxiety on her friend’s face.

“What’s up, Vi?” the fox asked. She ran her hands through wet hair and flicked her tail as they sat on a towel together. “Is it about... the plan you brought up before? I’m practicing, and I can do it, I promise.”

Violet sighed. “I know you can. I trust you, Kiera. It’s not that. But... I may have made a mistake,” Violet admitted. “I used my talent on Koral. And... shit. I don’t think Aubrey is safe with her.”