67 - Beach

“Matcha! Matcha! Over here!”

How long has it been since Matcha heard Ika’s voice? Let’s see...according to where the sun is located, close to an hour. It’s rare for them to not be chatting away about something they read whenever they meet up.

Today was different though, one that was out of Matcha’s comfort zone. His parents planned a trip to the beach and asked Matcha to bring a few friends along if he’d like. Yay! He gets to spend time with his friends! But come on! Why in the world are they doing this in the middle of the summer? Beach is perfect for this time of year— no it’s not! The sun is the worst in July and he hates the feeling of sand in his paws. His father expressed similar thoughts, it’s clear from his mannerisms when they stepped into view of the beach (the squinting, ears falling flat, tail twitch, it’s so obvious…), but he calmed down after the umbrella was set up. Now he slept while his Mother closeby and talking with Stella.

Then Matcha, to his surprise, was exploring the shore and digging in the sand with his friends Ika and Peppermint. Ika calls for him again, and he rushes over to the aquatic spacecat. “H-Hey!” He purrs. “Found something?”

“Yes, look at this…” Ika drops a clear bottle in front of their paws. It’s rather small with no branding around it and chipped on the bottom. Matcha lowers himself and pokes it with his nose— cold to the touch despite the heat. “Did you find this in the water?”

Ika quivers her whiskers. “No, which is weird. It was super far from the current and yet feels damp. Couldn't be from the humidity either…maybe someone walked past it and their fur was wet? So then some droplets fell on—”

“I think this came from a Sodacat.”

“What the huh?!”

Matcha picks up the bottle with a paw and lifts it above his head. New traits he noticed while observing, it’s pretty small with a few red stains residing at the bottom, closest to the broken bit. “Ah…it looks like it.” He holds it towards Ika. “I didn't think they could come up on beaches here!”

Ika blinks. “Explain?”

“Poppy told me all about it.” Bits of confidence run through his fur before explanation. Matcha loves sharing anything he learns with Ika and company. It makes the experience worthwhile, seeing the sparkle in his friend’s eyes was always a pleasure. “Sodacats come from a special beach on their planet. The shore is filled with empty bottles around this size. Sodacats would dip their tail or paw in there, enough to fill up the bottle, and bring it to the water.”

“Oh! Yes!” Ika claps his paws together. “It’s the same beach where you can find guppy eggs! Then a few times in the year, usually once a month, there would be a lot more bottles and eggs. And during the month of february, there’s slightly bigger bottles where more than two cats can dip their soda in. However…”

“The bottles and eggs are only from that beach,” Matcha finishes.

“And it’s impossible to bring said bottles and eggs out of those beaches!” Ika adds in.

The two young cats stare at one another dumbfounded for a solid minute. There’s several predictions, reasonable and crazy, going through their minds and they were both too excited and startled to come up with a definitive answer. In the middle of their staredown, Peppermint pads up to the two with a bucket filled with seashells in her jaws.

“Hi you two! I found—”

“We made a discovery!” The two shout in unison. The green-furred Spacecat yelps and releases the grip on her bucket.

“D-Damnit!” Hundreds of seashells of various sizes and colours decorate the beige sand, pretty in sight— least to Matcha— and an annoyance to Peppermint. “My shells….”

“Pepper! Pepper!” Ika prods the other with a paw several times while pointing at the empty bottle with his muzzle. “We found a special bottle that can only be found on Sodaplanets!”

Peppermint was ready to reply until Matcha ended up speaking over her. Whoops. “There’s no way for it to survive in this atmosphere! Our water is different from theirs! Does that mean Sodacats can come from this planet too?”

“Um…”

“Or a spacecat can place their dust in the bottle?!”

“The thing is…”

“Oh my goodness! Is it possible! Ooooh, I need to tell Lura this!”

“You two…”
“I have to tell Momma!”

“H-Hey!” Peppermint stomps both paws into the sand and suspends the two’s rambling. “Good…now.” She takes a deep breath. “I-I don't think it’s one of those bottles…”

“What makes you think that?” Ika asks.

“Those bottles cannot break, it’s impossible.” Peppermint points to the small crack at the bottom. “It could just be from the kiosk and made to look similar. I wouldn't be surprised, did you see the smoothies they have with whipped cream shaped like the essences in the sky?”

Peppermint does have a point. Matcha has only seen the special bottles once while visiting Poppy. Sure other species from across the galaxy have been adapting to one another very well, it would take years, centuries even, for special materials such as this to develop properly in new grounds. Maybe? There’s a few aspects here that changed pretty quickly such as the weather.

He didn't want to give it up just yet. Peppermint brings in a clear argument, he won’t argue, they are at a beach and unfortunately some have a habit to litter, but this bottle felt special to him in the moment. It’s something that his friend found and wanted to share with him. It was pleasant and needed acknowledgement that the beach wasn't so bad. If he was here in the winter, with less visitors…ooh, that would be perfect.

“...It looks nice though,” Peppermint notes. “If you end up keeping it, you could patch it up and fill it with flowers.”

Oh! That sounds like a fun idea! He could place a few of his daisies in here, Peppermint can have her Orchids, and Ika…well….

“Let’s put a worm in there!” Ika chimes in. Ah, they read his mind. “There’s a few off the beach if you wanna get some.”

“Love to!” Peppermint shakes her pelt. “I just need to let my parents know I’ll be off shore. And…er…” she flicks her long ear. “Help me pick up the seashells, please? I’ll join ya once I talk to them.”

Matcha watches his friend trek deeper into the beach with giddiness tickling his paws. Hours ago he wanted nothing to do with this place, now he hopes he never leaves.