Penelope Perils - of the Book of Bird

It's time, ladies and gents! Your first look at the upcoming Book of Bird! Presented here is the feature length story of the volume. Contained within it will be multiple, delicious images of various birds, complete with a short story snippet by the talented Sofia. Presented here is the Initial draft, with further details to be added in the book itself.

Part one, hope you enjoy! <3

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A Day at the Beach pt.1 by Sofia Fluttertail

CW: Macro, Unaware, Non-fatal crushing


Dylan the hare was not partially fond of this heat. His preferred climate was on the spectrum of just-after-a-thunderstorm chill and basking in the exhalations of a frigerator. To his dismay, the present summer situation was firmly out of that range. Indeed, judging by the semi-molten state of things just outside his flat, things were just several degrees shy of boiling. It took very little convincing to secure enough friends to plan a beach trip.

Rather unfortunately though, it seemed everyone else had the same idea. By the time they’d arrived the shore appeared to be more umbrella and towel than sand. A sprinkling of parasols across a mis-matched quilt of fabric and fur and hide and claws in way too small a space to reasonably accommodate them all. The group had to commit a blundering trespass to even get to the waterfront and the withering heat paled in comparison to the calamitous growls and upset squawks they incurred stepping through everyones personal space. All just to find there wasn’t any practical place to set up. It was too wet. Too crowded. Too high traffic. Or else claimed under the ausipicious banners of several sandcastles; whose component kingdoms held no space for such destitute settlers such as they.

Dylan hmm’d as he surveyed the opportunities. While the group was alreadys starting to drift southward in hopes of a free space (a lengthy walk in the feisty heat), an entire segment of the beach just beyond a nearby pier was completely available. The entrenched swell of patrons and beach chairs firmly terminated at a thin line of rocks; beyond which the beach was a pristine expanse.

“Why not there?” he’d positited to one of their number, a gray wolf presently struggling with a cooler and beach chair under his arm.

The hopeful perk of his ears flopped straight down as soon as Dylan pointed out the apparently free-real-estate, and he firmly shook his head.

“Hell nah bruv, das’ da big beach.” He affirmed, gesturing around with the beach chair at a faded billboard that had been crudely jammed into the stoney separator. The words were barely visible in the heinous glare of the sun, and the peeling hazard tape at the bottom glinted with a painful reflection of the sunss hateful stare. Still; he could make out just barely:

SAFETY ADVISORY – MACRO BEACH

“Huh, isn’t it all a big beach?” Dylan returned quizzically.

“Nah nah, its foe’ da big folks y’know. Fee-fi-fo and such.” The wolf clarified in the least clear terms possible before reiterating. “You gonna have a bad time ova’ dere.”

“Well, I’m not exactly having a great time here, either,” Dylan elaborated, shading his eyes with a hand as he squinted at the rest of the group, already marching like ants down shore.

“Look, I’ll catch up with everyone in a bit; I just wanna get a quick dip in first,” Dylan added to the wolf who shrugged and started hustling to catch up before shouting back

“Aight fam, budchu’ bedda’ watch out!”

Dylan rolled his eyes and started hiking over the short expanse of stones. They felt mercifully cool from the ocean spray on his heels afer standing around yakking in the hot sand. Still, he hesitated before stepping down from the final rock; looking back at the tight throng of people behind and the barren expanse of undisturbed beach infront of him. Could it really be that hazardous or was everyones brain just cooked by the heatwave?

“Alright just a dip then I’ll go get everyone else,’’ he reasoned rationally as rational, reasonable people do.

The wet sand was immaculate against his toes as he trod down to the shore and the water was blissfully, exquisitely cool as it swallowed up his shins and thighs with each stride. He felt the water wick up his striped swimsuit and secure him in a nice, icy blanket of humidity just before the water caught up to it. Dylan permited a pleased exhale to pour from him before he closed his eyes and finally dived under. Letting the liquid bliss of the ocean percolate through his fur and drench his skin as he swam under water to escape the persistent surface waves trying to shove him back on land. His thick lapine leggies kicked against the nothing-substance of the water behind him and his arms scooped up the transparent ichor of the ocean and threw it behind him to propel him deeper and further into the cool dark.

He floated there a moment in armless embrace of the sea before the tickling ache in his lungs requested a topside excursion. Reluctantly, as if this weren’t something he had to do to survive, he started to surface again.

His ascent though – was interrupted by a sudden and prevalent SKWW-WOO-WOOOOSH that rippled through the aquata-scape around him. A pressure front of displacement followed swifty by the sound-shockwave of disturbed water and the splatter-patter of droplts raining back down. Nothing abnormal if you were in an occupied swimming pool – but the beach had been all but abandoned when he dove in?

The swell of pressure had come from behind him, halting his advance for a moment as he floated there. Squinting against the water pressure and the salty-bite of the ocean against his eyes Dylan tried to sort the source of the sound. But down so deep, the only thing he could make out was back-lit, jeweled surface, like a broken mirror viewed from below. He would need to breach and call out to the fellow swimmer.

But before he could resume his swim another gush of pressure swooshed by him. This time from below. And this time much, much bigger. With a “BLUB?!” of confusion and alarm, Dylan found himself spinning ear to heel in the water as something rocketed by him. Something immense. The sheer force of it yanked him in its wake. The current was sharp and forceful – and his floundering efforts to resist it were blunted by the cartwheeling that made it as difficult to direct himself as it did to figure out which way was up.

He tried to fight the direction of the spin; succeeding (with great effort) at halting his tumble. But as he floated there in the great dark wet, he got a glimpse of whatever had passed by; circling back for another pass!

There was glint of pink and bright white with a sprinkle of teal against the dark-turquoise black of the water; but before Dylan could so much as wave a warning an immense presence, like submarine roared by him. Bow to stern in an instant – but longer than a yacht it was moving – fast. He was so near to it that a deluge of warm bubbles battered against him as he twirled in the grasp of another impromptu – spin. He had to grit his teeth and shove the water in a counter-direction to steady himself; devouring more stamina and oxygen in the process. His lungs burned a bit more insistently now. Hurry it up and get out of here – we’re running on empty!

Dylan did not need to be told twice. Yet, as if feeling headlights painting the back of his neck on a midnight highway, a terrible presence chilled his spine. He looked over his shoulder and sputtered a few errant CO2 bubbles in alarm. It was right there! It was coming right at him!