Beached

[vile_queen]

Characters: Uchiha Obito (live_memory), Carmen Sandiego (vile_queen)
When: Tuesday or Wednesday? During the day
Where: On the beach
Rating: G
Summary: Carmen learns there's more to beaches than stealing them. Even if stealing them is fun.

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[vile_queen]

She cound not entirely blame the Animus for her desire to attend to Obito. Carmen knew such things had begun long before being placed into a family with him. But as she had decided it was not something she could or wanted to end, she would learn. She smiled when he assured her that he was fine. "I am certain you have, in your occupation. However, you were on a mission and expecting such things to happen. So your body was prepared."

Satisfied, though, that he was fine, she relaxed for the most part. The location was open. Carmen's instincts as a thief vied with her desire to see what having fun on the beach was all about.

"Good. I believe that is the purpose of the towels? Since once they are set on the sand they seem most inefficient for drying. One would not desire to become mud-covered."

At his obvious glee, Carmen decided to stop with the normal self-control. She laughed. "It is quite a respite indeed. And provided one does not swim too deeply, the water is relatively secure."

In answer Carmen picked up a bright purple shovel. "Yes. If that is what one does with such materials, we shall." She selected the neon-green bucket. "Where do we begin?"

[live_memory]

Carmen laughed! Though it wasn't really the first occasion she'd shown amusement, genuine happiness at the same time was a first, and Obito's grin widened and he brightened considerably; scrambling to his feet in an effort to stand.

"Yeah! Come on!" The young Uchiha's arm flailed and pointed exaggeratedly at the water. "First we need some water, and shovels, and sticks, seashells....we're gonna make the best castle EVER, watch!"

Because at heart, Obito was still a kid, still enjoyed the same activities, and something about being forced into such a serious lifestyle made him far more eager to just settle down and play-- which no one else seemed to understand as the general population featured mainly adults or people who otherwise took themselves too seriously. But Carmen wasn't just humoring him like most people would, and was actually joining in the general fun-ness the beach provided, and it didn't matter if they made the worst sand castle ever, he was going to enjoy himself and Carmen's company.

"Race you!" He declared in a voice that clearly didn't care if she walked instead, and with a cheeky grin, Obito set off towards the water.

[vile_queen]

Seeing him brighten further was surprising. How could anyone be so easily made happy? And so fully? There was no deception to it. Carmen did not understand, but she welcomed it.

She got up as well, following Obito. The sandals were discarded on the towel, they would likely be in the way. "Water, sticks, seashells, what else? Shovels have already been procured. And of course we would aim for a superior castle. There is no point in trying to make a lesser one."

Carmen never before had a chance to play, to understand it, beyond her week as a child. There was no one else around, and even if there had been, she did not care, right now. She could let herself just be. And she could learn about building sand structures. It was strange how time with Obito made her view the world from a different angle.

"Race me? You stand no chance." She wasn't a small child, she was full-grown. And competitive. Carmen set off at a full dash, knowing that unless he had some special abilities when it came to running, she could beat him. There was no hiding the smile on her face.

[live_memory]

Obito very nearly fell over again when Carmen passed him?? No way! He was an Uchiha! Short, but built for speed and agility! Any other time he may have felt the small bit of frustration, but as it was, seeing her happy kept any negativity at bay, and he waved again as he ran the rest of the way over.

"Where...did you learn to run like that??" He asked, chest heaving from the exertion. Obito glanced up. "You must've been training since like, ever, to be that fast!" And she was older than him- by however much. He didn't actually know her age now that he thought about it, really. Still, she had quite a few years on him, so it wasn't that surprising.

With a smile, Obito stood. "You'll have to show me later sometime, but for now!" He bent down and haphazardly scooped up a mix of wet sand and water, "I'll show you my amazing skills at building sand castles!"

[vile_queen]

She caught her breath, beaming at his surprise. "Being the greatest thief in the world gains me nothing if I cannot run once the theft is completed." Carmen stretched and laughed. "I have been training for most of my life. It is simply that I am full-grown in this race against you, as opposed to being a child the time before."

Reaching over, Carmen rested a hand on his upper back. "I am sure that with training you will gain speed. You have an excellent base to build upon already." Carmen resisted the urge to compliment him farther, surprised that there was more she could say. Instead, she moved her hand in a small circle upon his back before he bent over.

"I shall." It was a quiet promise. She would enjoy training him. Kneeling, heedless of getting muck on the wrap, Carmen mirrored what Obito was doing. "This is what we need to start with?" It seemed a weak thing, but she would bow to his superior knowledge in this area.

[live_memory]

"Yeah, I guess!" Obito nodded, and hopped away once his bucket was full of water and wet sand, waving to Carmen in turn. "Come on! We wanna be close- ish to the water so we don't have to go far a lot, but far enough away that the rising tide doesn't wash away our castle!"

At what he judged to an alright medium for both water-drawing and safe sand castle distance, he plopped down carelessly in the sand and swept dirt from his shorts. Out plopped a heaping wet pile of sand onto the dry ground and Obito stared at it reverently- much like it was the beginnings of the most beautiful castle ever.

The Uchiha's hand came down and patted it, then shoved it to the side and squished it between both palms. He regarded it with glee and smacked his wet hands together as he moved to collect some dry sand to mix with the wet stuff.

"Wanna make a little ditch in front while I build the wall?" He questioned with a grin, "Just in case water gets up here, it wont flood right away, and we can usually build the ditch deeper and wider anyway if we have to. The wall will help the water if it gets in there so it won't leak to the castle and ruin the foundation, and we'll have time to rebuild it if it crumbles and stuff." Spouting nonsense that made a vague sort of sense, it was clear Obito had built a few castles before.

[vile_queen]

She nodded, following him. His explanation seemed sound. "We need the supply of wet sand for the building, and do not want to rush back and forth. I can see it becoming taxing after a time. And we shall not allow the waves to steal what we create."

Joining him, Carmen set her bucket beside him and watched, intrigued. "There is a specific consistency you are going for in the building?" Of course there was. Dry sand could only be sculpted so far, logically, and wet would ooze too far. It would be unstable.

"Indeed. A moat would be most logical. Most castles possessed one, for defense. And this would also serve as a defensive measure." Shifting her position, she began digging parallel to the waves. Then she paused and eyed it, turning it instead into a shallowing, tapering V-shape. They were not fighting attackers, they were fighting water which would flow away. "A castle is mobile if need be, but logically sand would be more fragile."