The Beach, Monday Morning

[firstofitskind]

Liam had been checking up on the radio broadcasts throughout the week and things seemed to be- well, still weirder than normal for Fandom, but, like, a harmless weird? So he'd booked a portal for himself, squirrel-Verity, and the mice, and-

... Found himself in a very small airport?

Manned by an anthropomorphic Dodo?

You know what? Liam was just going to roll with it. Which is how he found himself on a seaplane from Baltimore to Fandom Island.

Just don't ask what led to his current circumstances, which were swimming ashore instead of walking on to the island from the dock.

Also don't ask why he was completely dry the moment he stepped out of the water, squirrel-Verity perched on his shoulder. Or where the wetsuit he was currently wearing came from.

He did, however, very much want to know where the valise that the mice usually traveled in had ended up, and was looking around a little wild-eyed and panicky at the thought of losing them at sea.

Comments

[fh_animalcrossing]

A pink dog dressed in black just so happened to be walking along the beach when he showed up.

"You look all washed up!" she laughed, and then added, "I'm just kidding, what what."

[firstofitskind]

Liam had been in Fandom long enough to not so much as blink an eye at a talking pink dog. Besides, he had much bigger things to worry about. Or rather, a couple dozen much smaller things.

“You haven’t seen a suitcase wash up ashore have you?” he asked. “I had it with me when I left, and now I can’t seem to find it.” Which was concerning. Actually, distantly he found himself marveling at the fact that it should be significantly more than concerning, but at the same time he had the sense that it would probably be fine.

[fh_animalcrossing]

"No, but someone might be trying to return it to you already!" People returned lost items all the time. "Did you check your pockets?"

[firstofitskind]

“I don’t have-“ Reflexively, Liam’s hands went to where pockets would be on his wetsuit if he had them. Which he apparently did. On a wetsuit he didn’t remember putting on, much less owning.

He dug around in said pockets and pulled out- a black t-shirt, neatly folded.

“What.”

[fh_animalcrossing]

"You can keep so many things in your pockets! I save up fruit to eat later. You never know when you might need a snack," Cherry said.

[firstofitskind]

“I can see that,” Liam said drily, rummaging around in those should-be-impossible pockets until he pulled out the valise in question. He cracked it open. “You guys okay in there?”

His question was met by a chorus of ‘HAIL!’s, which generally meant yes. Satisfied, Liam snapped the bag shut again. Though he wasn’t about to go put it back in those seemingly bottomless pockets. “Wonder what else is in there,” he mused. And then glanced back over at the pink dog. “Thanks, uh....?”

[fh_animalcrossing]

"Cherry! What's your name?" she asked.

She had no reaction to him talking to his bag. Moe did stuff like that all the time.

[firstofitskind]

“Liam,” he introduced himself. “Nice to meet you, Cherry,” he added. “You just visiting, or are you sticking around?”

[fh_animalcrossing]

"I'm camping here!" she said. "I tell ya, though, I really like the vibe to this island. It almost makes me not want to go back!"

[firstofitskind]

"I'm pretty fond of it myself," Liam agreed, rummaging around in those seemingly bottomless pockets again. This time he managed to pull out... a sea urchin?

"I'm not sure I want to know," he muttered, staring down at it.

[fh_animalcrossing]

"That's a sea urchin! You weren't even 'earchin' for it!" Cherry laughed.

[firstofitskind]

"You're a fan of puns, huh?" Liam observed drily. "What am I supposed to do with this?"

Mostly a rhetorical question. But if Cherry had an answer, Liam would be glad to hear it.

[fh_animalcrossing]

"You can sell it for Bells," she told him. "Or you can donate it to Blathers at the museum. He'll put it in an exhibit for everyone to enjoy, what what."

[firstofitskind]

"When did we get a museum?"

Sorry not sorry about all the questions.

[fh_animalcrossing]

"It just went up today! We didn't have a ceremony, though, so I can see how you wouldn't know about it yet."

Also he'd just swam here.

[firstofitskind]

"I did just get back," Liam felt compelled to point out. "Anything else of note suddenly appear?"

Look, it was Fandom, sudden structural changes weren't exactly unheard of. So he was mostly taking this in stride. But he still liked to be prepared.

[fh_animalcrossing]

"I don't think so, but I just set up camp yesterday," Cherry said. "Unless someone started new construction! That would be exciting!"

[firstofitskind]

"Sure," Liam said agreeably, because why argue with the nice talking pink dog who was apparently camping out on the island?

"Don't suppose you could point me in the direction of this museum?"

[fh_animalcrossing]

"Sure! Right over on Serendipity Lane. You can't miss it," she said helpfully.

[firstofitskind]

"Maybe I'll go check it out," Liam told her.

After he figured out where the rest of the clothes he'd been wearing went. Probably somewhere in those never-ending pockets. But he didn't want to wander around wearing a wetsuit.