Beach Party Writing Contest 2020: AnnaDragonShadow's entry
Prompt(s): Ice cream!
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You can't argue with the beauty of the beaches off of Oceandome- the paper white sand, the crystal clear water, the gorgeous cliffsides, the marine life... It looks like a clip straight out of a magazine here, no matter what time of day it is. I personally like to come out in the evenings so I can watch the sunset.
Whether it's for the getaway, the picture perfect landscape, or even the amazing beach grills out here, summer vacations up here have always been worth the 9 hour trip.
Well, except for the seagulls- I never missed the seagulls. They almost ALWAYS ruined everything.
Right now, they soared overhead, sometimes diving down to steal a sandwich or some poor kid's popsicle. There was even a little gang of them trying to get at MY food.
They squawked and hopped around my paws, pecking at me to try and get my ice cream. Shooing and kicking at them didn't really seem to work too well, so I was stuck with them. At least, I thought I was until they all suddenly flew off. I smirked as they left, sticking my tongue out at the dumb birds.
The cone was starting to melt onto my paw, so I got back to enjoying it in peace. Without seagulls. As I attempted to prevent my fur from getting sticky with ice cream, I looked up at the ocean. What I saw was NOT the ocean.
Some 5 or 6 feet away from me was a large, ugly sea creature that somehow looked like a rotten carcass, a blobfish, AND a sea-slug all at once. I had no idea what it was, but I did know that I wanted it nowhere near me.
I tried moving elsewhere to avoid it, but unfortunately, the monster kept waddling towards me, swishing its long tail behind it. I watched, disgusted, as it plopped down in front of me.
It opened what I assumed to be its mouth and let out an awful noise, which strangely resembled a bark. Its... Snout? Yes, its snout was sniffing at the air. I glance at the cone still in my paw, and the creature barked again, making me jump.
"Do... do you want some?" I asked the creature nervously, wincing as I offered my ice cream to it. The thing paused, sniffing curiously at it. Then it slurped up what was left of the scoop in one go, with the help of a long, slimy tongue.
The creature raised its head to me, clearly astounded. It'd probably never had ice cream before, judging by the way its tail started wagging. I giggled a bit, watching it search around hopefully for more.
"Yeah," I tell it, "That IS good stuff, isn't it?" The creature yipped before rearing up and giving me a long, slimy lick. I didn't know which was worse, that this thing was slimy and gross, or that it smelled absolutely horrible...
"Ewww," I tease, wiping my face off, "I don't know that I can be friends with somebody as slimy as you!" I tried to inch away from the monster, but it followed me all the way to the public restroom, where I had to listen to its panting while I properly washed my face. The sea creature may be hideous, but at least its behavior's adorable.
But was it safe? So far, the thing's only been a sweetheart, giving me kisses for feeding it junk food.
What if its KISSES weren't safe?? I watched the monster uneasily as I imagined its saliva being full of neurotoxins or bacteria that could kill on contact. I also wasn't dead yet, so thankfully, I could rule out the neurotoxins. Besides, I still felt great!!
To my dismay, the creature followed me everywhere, so I was stuck with whatever potential deaths it might cause me. I tried not to think about it too much as we walked up to a food stand.
The attendant was clearly just as unsettled by my new companion as I had been, but nevertheless served us a bowl with multiple different flavors of ice cream for the creature to try out. I'd figured that I should probably keep it happy and distracted until it grew bored and left, lest it try and eat me in the meantime.
I took the bowl away from the stand to give others here a bit of distance from the monster, who waddled happily behind me, making odd popping sounds. We settled for a secluded spot under a palm.
The monster watched in anticipation as I spooned out a mouthful of chocolate and offered it some. Once again, it slurped everything up with its long tongue, and barked, delighted.
It went on like that, with me feeding the monster at least 7 different flavors, but I could easily tell which it liked the most.
As soon as it had finished the spoon of cookie dough ice cream, it started barking loudly, jumping up and down and running in circles. Watching it play was enough to make me laugh, even if it was a bit creepy.
"Do you like the cookie dough?" I laugh, "Should I call you the Cookie Monster?" The creature whirled around, making more odd, but clearly excited noises.
"Okay, then!!" I chuckle, "I dub thee... Cookie!"
Cookie started to calm down, sitting on the sand. Their tail thumped on the sand over and over. I tilt my head, not so much watching as thinking.
"Do you like popsicles, Cookie?" I finally ask, grinning mischievously. Cookie tilted their head back at me, unaware of what a popsicle even was. "It's kinda like ice cream," I tell Cookie, "Wanna try one?" Cookie jumped up and yipped excitedly at the idea.
"Alright then, let's go!" I say, amused. I stand up and wave for Cookie to follow, although I knew they would anyways, as I start heading towards the food stand again.
After I order a lemon pop and held it out for them, Cookie eagerly snatched up the entire thing. Cookie must not have liked the lemon flavoring, though, because a second later I had a sticky popsicle thrusted back into my paw, followed by retching noises. I raise an eyebrow at the sea monster.
"Could I get a cherry twin-pop, then?" I ask, turning to the cat that was on duty. She'd relaxed some around Cookie by now. The cat nods and fishes one from the freezer at the back of her little stand.
"$1.95," She yawns, setting it on the counter. I give her the change and break the popsicle in half. One half I gave to Cookie, who seemed to like cherry far better than lemon, the other I enjoyed.
Once Cookie had spit the stick out onto the sand, they looked out towards the ocean and starting squeaking excitedly, wagging their tail. Curious of what they were looking at, I turned around too.
A very unhappy looking Momma Cookie was headed up the beach towards us. I knew she was Momma, because she was at least 8 times bigger than Cookie, and even less of a charmer. She smelled rancid, and growled fiercer than she stank. Momma Cookie was here for her baby.
Cookie seemed pleased to see her, but I couldn't say the same. How could I, when she towered over me, as if threatening to rip my head off? Instead of greeting her with the same yippy giddiness that Cookie treated her to, I stumbled backwards, intimidated.
"Hel-hello Momma Cookie!" I decided to greet her respectfully. "I promise I wasn't hurting your baby! We were just having a good time! D-do you want a popsicle, too? They're quite amazing."
Momma Cookie snarled down at me at first. Thankfully, however, she eventually lowered her head to sniff at the popsicle, seeing that her baby had, in fact, enjoyed them too, and seemed to be fine.
"It's cherry," I say sweetly, holding it up.
I jump as her long tongue shot out to snatch up the entire pop. She crunched up the whole thing, stick and all. Finally, she gave me a short nod of what I assumed to be approval and turned to Cookie, who'd been playing with her tail.
Momma picked up Cookie by the scruff and started to waddle back to the ocean, where the sun was beginning to sink. The seagulls swooped around, launching up out of the water to avoid them until they'd slunk back into the deep just as silently as they'd rose out of it. I sigh, relieved that they were finally gone.
Oh dear. Not the seagulls! Those rascals were back, despite me not having any food for them to steal.
"Shoo!" I bark at them, "I haven't got anything for you, get a move on!"
However, several of them hopped up and pecked at the wrappers and popsicle sticks. One looked dead at me.
"Mine?"
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You can't argue with the beauty of the beaches off of Oceandome- the paper white sand, the crystal clear water, the gorgeous cliffsides, the marine life... It looks like a clip straight out of a magazine here, no matter what time of day it is. I personally like to come out in the evenings so I can watch the sunset.
Whether it's for the getaway, the picture perfect landscape, or even the amazing beach grills out here, summer vacations up here have always been worth the 9 hour trip.
Well, except for the seagulls- I never missed the seagulls. They almost ALWAYS ruined everything.
Right now, they soared overhead, sometimes diving down to steal a sandwich or some poor kid's popsicle. There was even a little gang of them trying to get at MY food.
They squawked and hopped around my paws, pecking at me to try and get my ice cream. Shooing and kicking at them didn't really seem to work too well, so I was stuck with them. At least, I thought I was until they all suddenly flew off. I smirked as they left, sticking my tongue out at the dumb birds.
The cone was starting to melt onto my paw, so I got back to enjoying it in peace. Without seagulls. As I attempted to prevent my fur from getting sticky with ice cream, I looked up at the ocean. What I saw was NOT the ocean.
Some 5 or 6 feet away from me was a large, ugly sea creature that somehow looked like a rotten carcass, a blobfish, AND a sea-slug all at once. I had no idea what it was, but I did know that I wanted it nowhere near me.
I tried moving elsewhere to avoid it, but unfortunately, the monster kept waddling towards me, swishing its long tail behind it. I watched, disgusted, as it plopped down in front of me.
It opened what I assumed to be its mouth and let out an awful noise, which strangely resembled a bark. Its... Snout? Yes, its snout was sniffing at the air. I glance at the cone still in my paw, and the creature barked again, making me jump.
"Do... do you want some?" I asked the creature nervously, wincing as I offered my ice cream to it. The thing paused, sniffing curiously at it. Then it slurped up what was left of the scoop in one go, with the help of a long, slimy tongue.
The creature raised its head to me, clearly astounded. It'd probably never had ice cream before, judging by the way its tail started wagging. I giggled a bit, watching it search around hopefully for more.
"Yeah," I tell it, "That IS good stuff, isn't it?" The creature yipped before rearing up and giving me a long, slimy lick. I didn't know which was worse, that this thing was slimy and gross, or that it smelled absolutely horrible...
"Ewww," I tease, wiping my face off, "I don't know that I can be friends with somebody as slimy as you!" I tried to inch away from the monster, but it followed me all the way to the public restroom, where I had to listen to its panting while I properly washed my face. The sea creature may be hideous, but at least its behavior's adorable.
But was it safe? So far, the thing's only been a sweetheart, giving me kisses for feeding it junk food.
What if its KISSES weren't safe?? I watched the monster uneasily as I imagined its saliva being full of neurotoxins or bacteria that could kill on contact. I also wasn't dead yet, so thankfully, I could rule out the neurotoxins. Besides, I still felt great!!
To my dismay, the creature followed me everywhere, so I was stuck with whatever potential deaths it might cause me. I tried not to think about it too much as we walked up to a food stand.
The attendant was clearly just as unsettled by my new companion as I had been, but nevertheless served us a bowl with multiple different flavors of ice cream for the creature to try out. I'd figured that I should probably keep it happy and distracted until it grew bored and left, lest it try and eat me in the meantime.
I took the bowl away from the stand to give others here a bit of distance from the monster, who waddled happily behind me, making odd popping sounds. We settled for a secluded spot under a palm.
The monster watched in anticipation as I spooned out a mouthful of chocolate and offered it some. Once again, it slurped everything up with its long tongue, and barked, delighted.
It went on like that, with me feeding the monster at least 7 different flavors, but I could easily tell which it liked the most.
As soon as it had finished the spoon of cookie dough ice cream, it started barking loudly, jumping up and down and running in circles. Watching it play was enough to make me laugh, even if it was a bit creepy.
"Do you like the cookie dough?" I laugh, "Should I call you the Cookie Monster?" The creature whirled around, making more odd, but clearly excited noises.
"Okay, then!!" I chuckle, "I dub thee... Cookie!"
Cookie started to calm down, sitting on the sand. Their tail thumped on the sand over and over. I tilt my head, not so much watching as thinking.
"Do you like popsicles, Cookie?" I finally ask, grinning mischievously. Cookie tilted their head back at me, unaware of what a popsicle even was. "It's kinda like ice cream," I tell Cookie, "Wanna try one?" Cookie jumped up and yipped excitedly at the idea.
"Alright then, let's go!" I say, amused. I stand up and wave for Cookie to follow, although I knew they would anyways, as I start heading towards the food stand again.
After I order a lemon pop and held it out for them, Cookie eagerly snatched up the entire thing. Cookie must not have liked the lemon flavoring, though, because a second later I had a sticky popsicle thrusted back into my paw, followed by retching noises. I raise an eyebrow at the sea monster.
"Could I get a cherry twin-pop, then?" I ask, turning to the cat that was on duty. She'd relaxed some around Cookie by now. The cat nods and fishes one from the freezer at the back of her little stand.
"$1.95," She yawns, setting it on the counter. I give her the change and break the popsicle in half. One half I gave to Cookie, who seemed to like cherry far better than lemon, the other I enjoyed.
Once Cookie had spit the stick out onto the sand, they looked out towards the ocean and starting squeaking excitedly, wagging their tail. Curious of what they were looking at, I turned around too.
A very unhappy looking Momma Cookie was headed up the beach towards us. I knew she was Momma, because she was at least 8 times bigger than Cookie, and even less of a charmer. She smelled rancid, and growled fiercer than she stank. Momma Cookie was here for her baby.
Cookie seemed pleased to see her, but I couldn't say the same. How could I, when she towered over me, as if threatening to rip my head off? Instead of greeting her with the same yippy giddiness that Cookie treated her to, I stumbled backwards, intimidated.
"Hel-hello Momma Cookie!" I decided to greet her respectfully. "I promise I wasn't hurting your baby! We were just having a good time! D-do you want a popsicle, too? They're quite amazing."
Momma Cookie snarled down at me at first. Thankfully, however, she eventually lowered her head to sniff at the popsicle, seeing that her baby had, in fact, enjoyed them too, and seemed to be fine.
"It's cherry," I say sweetly, holding it up.
I jump as her long tongue shot out to snatch up the entire pop. She crunched up the whole thing, stick and all. Finally, she gave me a short nod of what I assumed to be approval and turned to Cookie, who'd been playing with her tail.
Momma picked up Cookie by the scruff and started to waddle back to the ocean, where the sun was beginning to sink. The seagulls swooped around, launching up out of the water to avoid them until they'd slunk back into the deep just as silently as they'd rose out of it. I sigh, relieved that they were finally gone.
Oh dear. Not the seagulls! Those rascals were back, despite me not having any food for them to steal.
"Shoo!" I bark at them, "I haven't got anything for you, get a move on!"
However, several of them hopped up and pecked at the wrappers and popsicle sticks. One looked dead at me.
"Mine?"
