XXII.

[hellshaped]

[Kate]
[dictated!] Hi! I was wondering if you wanted to go to the beach with me today?

[A pause.]

Oh, it's Hellboy.
[/filter]

[Molotov]
[dictated!] Hi Molotov! It's Hellboy. I'm meeting a friend at the beach if you want to come with.
[/filter]

[After waiting for a very long time for a response (like, two minutes -- a small eternity for a child, you see), Hellboy gets impatient and decides to go in the Four Seasons Room himself.

If you happen to be in there for the beach today, you might see a small red child with horns and a tail just walking around with his mouth hanging open. AMAZING...]

Comments

[molotov]

[Molotov goes to Hellboy's room in her flat when he filters to her. She doesn't even think he has a tiny swimsuit! But... he's not there.

Beach? What the hell... oh.

So she goes and changes, then heads to the Four Seasons Room.]

[hellshaped]

[Hellboy is there already, scampering around in the sand. He is staying away from the water because B| he can't swim...]

[molotov]

[Molotov just walks up all sassy, wearing the most conservative swimsuit she owns. Also heels. On the sand.

But she has a bucket and shovel for him to play with! And tiny, baby Hellboy sized swim trunks, in case he would like to splash in the waves.]

You should have waited for me.

[hellshaped]

It's not like I can drown in the sand or anything. Kate told me not to go too far in the water, so I'm okay ...

[But look at that, a bucket!!] Oh, do you want to make sand castles?

[molotov]

Well, you never know.

[Molotov presents him with the bucket, then spreads an enormous towel on the sand before sitting down.]

I thought it might be fun.

[hellshaped]

Sure! Have you ever made one before?

[He trots over to the blanket, trying to knock the sand off his hooves the best he can before he sits down too.]

[molotov]

Not really. I did not go to the beach when I was young, when most people make sandcastles.

[hellshaped]

I never went to the beach, either. They don't have them in New Mexico.

[molotov]

Ah, you are from New Mexico?

[hellshaped]

Kind of! The professor told me he found me in England, but we live in New Mexico.

[molotov]

Oh, so you are technically European! Like me.

[hellshaped]

Oh -- I guess so! I never thought of it that way. I mean, I don't remember anything about England ...

[molotov]

English by birth is still handy. It lets you go many places that just an American citizenship would not.

Hellboy

[gevurah]

Hey, Hellboy.

And sure, I wouldn't mind.

Kate

[hellshaped]

Great! I'm ... kind of there already, so I guess I will meet you there.

[Patience is not his strong suit]

Hellboy

[gevurah]

Give me twenty? I need to find my swimwear.

Kate

[hellshaped]

Sure! That's fine.

[Lord help him when he sees a 21st century swimsuit.]

[gevurah]

[ She's not sure if Hellboy brought anything to the beach or if he's simply running around gaping at everything that catches his eyes. So, she enters the room with a bag in hand and a shirt and sweatpants, but her own swim wear is underneath. DON'T WORRY HELLBOY, YOU'RE TOO YOUNG FOR NOSEBLEEDS YET...

Though there is a scar on her sternum. :( She doesn't know if he'll remember or not, but it's easy to shrug it off anyway. ]

Liking the room so far?

[hellshaped]

[THAT'S A LOT OF EXPOSED SKIN, HE'S FROM THE 40s....... but no, no babby nosebleeds. Incidentally he's just running around like an idiot -- she told him not to go in the water, after all.

When Kate strolls up, he beams at her, waving a seashell in his hand.] It's really neat! I didn't know it was like a real beach, there's shells everywhere.

[gevurah]

[ SO MUCH... PALENESS... she can use a tan. ]

You'd almost never guess it was magic if it wasn't for being in a room.

[hellshaped]

[Can Hellboy even tan? Does he just turn a darker red? Brighter? Important questions.]

It's really good magic, then. [He turns the shell over in his hand a few times, looking at it, then drops it back to the sand.] Do you know what kind of magic does all this? Is it fairies?

[gevurah]

[ Did he say good magic? How jaded must he have become at a later age... She's getting more and more curious. Hellboy, you're so mysterious.

She starts to pull off her T-shirt. ]

We don't know exactly. Just that its source is somewhere inside the castle.

[hellshaped]

[Get all the info you can right now, Kate! He will go back to being mysterious soon.

Hellboy is too young to be shy about women disrobing, so he just taps at his chin thoughtfully.]

Inside the castle? Boy, I wonder if I can find it ... I've been exploring a lot, but I don't think I've been everywhere yet.

[gevurah]

[ She's dropped down to her swim wear, so she folds her clothes and puts them on a... chair or something nearby. ]

What else have you seen?

[ She'd almost forgotten how much energy kids can have. And he's a demon so... ]

[hellshaped]

[All the energy all the time!!]

Oh, I saw the library, and there's a neat garden outside ... and I've been up all the towers, but there's a big statue in one of them, so I couldn't get through.