Erika coughed, took a gasping breath in, coughed again, then retched. Seawater spilled from her mouth onto the sand, foaming around her mouth. She could feel the wet, gritty sand pressing into her body as she y there. Erika clenched her fists, her head was pounding and she felt so weak. She tried to open her eyes, but sand caked them and tears welled in her eyes as she tried to blink them clear. Erika took another gasping breath, her throat sore from vomiting and she coughed once more. She could feel the cuts on her skin from the rocks she'd impacted underwater burning as the salt water and sand irritated her wounds. What happened?, she thought. How did I get here?

  Finally, Erika blinked her eyes open. The first thing she saw was a neatly manicured foot with sparkly blue nail polish on the toes, her own vomit puddling around it. "Are you okay?" Yuki bent down, kneeling next to Erika, gently brushing Erika's hair to the side. "Take it easy there, you swallowed a lot of water."

  Erika coughed once more, a wheezing cough, and rolled over onto her back. She winced as the cuts covering her body dragged through the sand, but she was alive. Erika stared up at the sky - the moon was high overhead, shining brightly upon the two of them. Yuki appeared to be naked and soaking wet as she knelt next to Erika. Erika sat up suddenly, her head spinning from the effort, as her eyes widened at the site of the nude kitsune. She was even more gorgeous than Erika had imagined, and she appeared to have multiple injuries across her body that gently dripped blood down to the sand at her feet.

  "You saved me," Erika began. "You jumped in after me?" Erika's hungry gaze started to roam across Yuki's body. The kitsune, uncomfortable by the gaze, quickly stood and snapped her fingers. She was immediately cd in a nun's habit, the dark cloth running all the way down to her ankles, though her wet hair still dripped and the sand at her feet was crimson. Erika pouted, "Really?"

  "I found you on the beach," Yuki said, refusing to meet Erika's gaze. "Foxes don't swim. I never said I saved you."

  "Uh, I'm pretty sure foxes do swim - although maybe not that deep. And how'd you get all wet if you don't swim?" Erika countered, curious why Yuki was being defensive about this. Maybe she was upset that I saw her naked?

  "Nonsense. I was wandering along the beach collecting seashells and found a vagrant girl, washed up and half-drowned. I turned her over and it was you. An unexpected wave spshed my hair. I did not jump in the water." Yuki turned away from Erika, raising her chin and daring Erika to dispute her version of events. The kitsune was being incredibly obstinate, refusing to admit that she dove in and helped Erika, even at the cost of her own health. Why was she so damn frustrating?

  "Seashells? Really? Can I see them? And what about your wounds?"

  "I, uhm, dropped them when I found you. I don't have them anymore. What wounds?"

  "Yuki, it looked like you were injured - and they looked fresh. I've seen enough combat since the world went crazy to know what sshing wounds look like. How did you get hurt? What happened to you?"

  "You're delirious from the salt water. I am quite uninjured. Whatever your addled mind might have seen was just that - your imagination."

  Erika groaned in frustration. "Fine, whatever. Help me to my feet please. I have sand in every crack of my body and I really don't want it there anymore." Yuki turned back, extending a hand to the witch, and helped Erika to her feet. Erika intentionally let her knees waver, tumbling forward into Yuki. The two women toppled, Yuki falling backward, Erika nding on top of the kitsune who shrieked with pain as Erika fell on her.

  "Oh goddess, I'm so sorry," Erika said, instantly feeling remorse for her actions. She scrambled off Yuki, trying to feel for injuries. "Are you okay?" Yuki scowled, pain wracking her face as she tried to sit up. The nun's habit flickered and vanished, the illusion magic failing between the sand and the injury. The nude kitsune now sat unhappily in the sand, injuries visible. A gaping wound dragged from Yuki's shoulder down between her breasts almost to her hip bone, sand now thoroughly covering the grumpy woman. Other sshing marks covered Yuki's legs and arms, though none quite as bad as the chest wound.

  "That was intentional, you bitch," she hissed at Erika. The witch blushed, gncing at her feet. She felt like a complete idiot. "And no, I am not okay. Does this look like okay? I don't suppose you have any healing spells?"

  "I'm so, so sorry, I just wanted to prove you wrong since you were insisting you were fine," Erika blushed, shame and regret cascading through her body in equal parts. "I don't, not really. I mean, I kind of do, but it's not one we can do here. It's ... "

  "Inappropriate and involves tentacles?" Yuki asked sarcastically, spitting sand from her mouth as she rubbed a hand against her face.

  "I mean, yea. That's kind of my thing," Erika said defensively. She helped Yuki to her feet and the two women stood, Erika gncing around at her surroundings. They were still somewhere out on one of the barrier isnds, probably still Santa Rosa Isnd, but only sand and water stretched in all directions. "I have one other option we can try, but I'll warn you that it's gonna be a little out there."

  "More out there than receiving a sending from my god to go rescue you from a siren that you stupidly decided to jump into the ocean and go swimming with? More out there than watching a tentacle monster serve you alcohol on a beach chair?" Yuki's voice rose in anger, her scolding tone carrying across the beach as her eyes fshed with fury.

  "Ah, maybe?" Erika said with a questioning tone. "Depends." She sighed. "Okay, let's find a nice ft pce where I can do this summoning, then we can rinse off with fresh water, set up the teepee, and see if she can help you."

  "Teepee?" Yuki asked, confused. "She?"

  "Long story," Erika said as the two women set off down the beach. They could spot a wide, open area about a half mile away that Erika thought would work perfectly for her needs. "Well, maybe not that long of a story, to be honest. I dunno. But I'll wait until we see if she can help you before I decide if I'm telling you the story."

  Yuki scowled, gring at the witch's bare back as the two women walked down the beach. Erika could just feel the sexy kitsune's eyes burning a hole in her back. What was her fucking problem anyway? Damn prude, she thought. But I hope Fawn can help her anyway.

  WhimsicalLantern