Kiraatwood Winning Entry

“You’ve done it again.”
Blessed glared at me with those red, beady eyes. For a Daydream Inarbu, she could look pretty frightening when she wanted to.
I just shook my head. “No, we can’t be lost. I’ve been to this beach like, a million times.”
“You have not! You can’t even swim, so why would you go to the beach? Just admit it; you have no idea where we’re going. ”
She was right, of course; we were lost, but I couldn’t show her that satisfaction. I was General, the biggest, scariest Terror Aetra around, and I definitely wasn’t going to get scared over some misdirection.
We were headed for Bamboo Beach…it is the best beach in Mistica, after all! I must’ve took a wrong turn somewhere, because now we were lost with nothing but rocks, sand dunes, and the blistering sun.
Blessed looked at me with pleading eyes, “Look, maybe if we head back where we came-“
“Look! Out there!” I scrambled forward, rushing past Blessed and leaving swirls of dust behind me. She paused, slightly disoriented, but decided to tag along.
“There’s nothing here! You’re probably just seeing a mirage or something…”
“No, look! There are bushes. Bushes everywhere! I bet passed them is the beach.” I answered without slacking my pace.
All the sudden, Blessed skidded to a stop. “Wait, General! I hear waves…crashing against rocks. And it sounds way too close!”
I turned back slightly, “Wha-“
And that’s when I fell off the cliff and into the water below.
I started panicking; I never had bothered learning how to swim (terribly embarrassing for an Aetra, I know). Flailing around, I struggled to stay above water, shouting for help.
Blessed rolled her eyes. “Great Pandora…” She flew down towards the water, fluttering above where I was before clutching me and bringing me ashore.
“You alright?” she asked.
I was shivering and still in shock, but otherwise fine. “Yeah. Thanks for…saving me.”
She just giggled and gestured to our surroundings. “Thanks for finding the beach.”