“What? No way. Sand is awesome,” I argued. “It’s warm and satisfying to run through your fingers.” I picked up a handful and let it stream through my fingers. “Mm… So good.”
Rorik grunted as he heaped a palm of sand onto the pile only for it to dissolve down the sides. “It doesn’t pack. It’s shapeless.”
“No, dude, you gotta get it wet. Here, I’ll show you.”
I grabbed a plastic pail, dashed to the shore, and scooped my fill before returning to where Rorik sat splay-legged in the sand.
“Watch this,” I said, then poured a bit of water on the pile. Rorik, Desiree and Kiara watched in fascination as I shaped the blobby pile into a vague rectangle. “See?”
Rorik furrowed his brow, absorbed in the art of sand castle making. He tried to make a spire, but it ended up looking so inappropriate that I slapped a hand over my mouth to hold back laughter.
“What?” Rorik asked innocently.
I bit back another snicker. “Never mind.”
He sighed. “Maybe building castles isn’t my thing… What else do you want to do, girls?”
The girls had short ferret attention spans and had already forgotten about the sand castle. They waddled in the direction of the shore. Rorik immediately got up to tail them. Since my amazing rectangular castle failed to entertain anyone, I followed them.
“You girls wanna swim?” I asked.
That got them riled up. They nodded enthusiastically.
Rorik looked worried. “Do they know how?”
“Nope.”
My mate raised a thick brow at me. “Saffron.”
“Butyoudo,” I pointed out, grinning. “If you shift, they can ride on your back.”
“What if they fall?”
“They won’t. I’ll come with you, too.” I turned around to call out to my twin. “Yo, Aurum! The girls are going for a swim with their uncles!”
Aurum was still entranced by Mylo’s high score or whatever, but he flashed a supportive thumbs up.
“Green light. Let’s go!”
Without wasting a second, I jumped into the air, shifted into dragon form and cannonballed into the water. The huge splash soaked Rorik and the girls, who squealed with laughter.
Rorik shook the water from his short hair, then grinned before assuming his polar bear form. The sun bounced off his yellowish-white fur, and the water droplets made him glisten. He lowered his head so Desiree and Kiara easily clambered on.
“Hold on tight, okay?” he said. They nodded eagerly and sank their claws into his dense fur. “Here we go.”
His powerful chest broached the water, and his large paws scooped it efficiently as paddles. For such a huge beast, he moved with speed and grace.
My dragon feet still touched the sandy underwater floor, so I walked in slow-mo beside Rorik as he swam to make sure the girls didn’t topple over. But he was worried for nothing. Desiree and Kiara listened to their favorite uncle and didn’t move an inch as he gave them a joy ride.
“I’ll never get used to this warm water,” Rorik remarked.
Although our tropical sea was a far cry from the frigid tundra waters he was used to, I was glad he still had a place to swim. He clearly loved doing it—especially with a pair of giddy masked weasels clinging to his back.
“Try it at night,” I suggested. “Once the sun’s gone, it’ll freeze your balls off.”
He snorted. “Have you ever swam in the arctic? Your balls will be the least of your concerns. But they’ll be the first to go in about fifteen minutes.”
I shuddered in horror. “Geez, no thanks. Guess I won’t be having a dip at any family reunions.”
