Laser Light Show

"What's on the beach?"

"Nothing really, we're going inside the beach," Burdock said, making his voice rise and fall like it was a grand dramatic reveal. Cherry remained unimpressed but followed the large carnivore down the sand dunes nonetheless. His longer legs navigated the deep sand easier than she could and by the time they had slid to the base of the cliff base on the beach she was already exhausted.

"Can we stop here?" she whined, overheated and tired.

"Little bit more, it'll be better to rest when we get there," the Carno insisted, making Cherry groan and drag her feet through the sand. To her surprise, Burdock was guiding her into a large cave that sat like a mouth in the dull brown sandstone. The change in temperature was instant and relieving, a cool stone floor greeted Cherry's aching body and made her want to lie flat out on her stomach. Burdock hummed happily as they entered too, not having feathers to protect his skin from the summer sun. 

"Ah-HAH, my friends!" a voice boomed from the darkness, ricocheting off the cramped walls and making Cherry's ears ring.

"Byul! Good to see you, my friend," Burdock greeted. The two larger dinosaurs looked down expectantly at Cherry.

"Ugh, yeah good to see you, big guy, I see you never managed to turn that ol' volume down, huh?" she griped, rubbing at the side of her head. Byul chuckled and rested a claw on top of her back.

"Apolgies, Cherry, I'm simply too excited to share my find," he admitted bashfully.

"Yeah, this 'find', Burdock wouldn't tell me what it is,"" the raptor said, cutting a stern look at the Carno.

"Did he not? Hmmm, I suppose keeping it a surprise would give it a certain impact," the Sucho mused, leaning down so he could scratch his chin in contemplation. "Very well!" he said at full volume, making the raptor wince again, "I shall keep this secret and let you see it with your own eyes!"

"Joyous day," Cherry drawled. She gestured for the large piscivore to lead on and he did so gladly, pushing a swathe of seaweed aside for the others to pass through like a curtain. Burdock went first, partially from excitement and partially to continue holding up the sizable growth of plants to avoid Cherry being sideswiped by it. The pale raptor shuffled through in a hurry, not wanting to delay the boys despite their irritating tangents. She was about to call back to Byul that she had made it and he could drop the curtain when her voice was stolen from her throat by the sight that lay before her.

A circular chamber had been hollowed out of this cave system from years of falling and rising tides. Should almost imagine the whirlpool at high tide that would have chipped away to make this perfect theatre. In its centre, large red and pink crystals jutted from the ground like mountain peaks, gleaming in the minimal sunlight that still pried its way into the caves. Her feet moved without input, walking around the crystal spire and seeing even more colours as she did. Orange, yellow, green, blue and purple, it was like walking around a solid rainbow. For some reason an image of a piebald tabby raptor flashed in her mind and she felt heat rise to her face even in the cool of the cave.

"Isn't it beautiful?" Byul asked, his tone quiet for once, like he was showing reverence to the natural wonder in front of them.

"It is," Burdock agreed, settling down to stare peacefully into the depths of the crystals.

"How did you find this?" Cherry asked, still fixated on the dancing colours within the reflective rocks.

"During high tide, I swam here in search of fish caught amongst the rocks and found this beauty instead," Byul hummed, fluffing his crest feathers proudly. He had every right to be proud, Cherry thought, it was quite the sight. She couldn't remember the last time she had seen a place like this. The red lake perhaps? But even that carried an eerie sadness to it, only hospitable to the flocks of wading flamingos that stood in its centre. This felt equally isolated, but in a peaceful way, not in a burial ground way.

"I could stay here forever," Burdock hummed contentedly, his long legs tucked under him as he watched the lights on the wall change as the sun crept across the sky.

"Mind yourself," Byul warned, "I may be able to take the high tide but you two certainly can't, and I won't be able to carry you back, you big lump." Burdock grinned back at the Sucho, his gleeful Carno smile full of sharp white teeth that caught the crystal's light, looking brighter than ever. Cherry smiled to herself and curled up again, looking up to watch the lights march across the ceiling as the cool stone soothed the ache in her head and neck. Her pain never left her entirely but at times like this, taking in natural wonders with close friends, it felt farther away, somehow.

Byul kept one eye on the tunnels, one eye on the way the sun was tracked across the cave walls. He had seen this plenty of times before, even seeing the crystals sparkle underwater. He could take the watch this time, for the sake of his friends and to let both Cherry and Burdock find their peace in the colours.