4. Rainy Day

Honeycomb was notorious for liking the water, despite being a fire-inclined Imperial. During the summer, he often buried himself in the sand, using his fire powers and determination alone to keep him warm while he was able to watch the waves. He loved the way the sand got everywhere, itching the places under his scales where his own fingers could never reach. He spent a good deal of time at Pugfish Point, notably with his free range fyreroo pecking at the grassy shelves above the sand. His general motto was that everyday was a good day to go to the beach. He may not be a nauctical, born with the grace of being able to swim, but he certainly enjoyed watching any aquatic creature, be it kitsu or pugfish, enjoying the water. 

He only ever got in the water ankle deep, despite his height of six feet tall. He loved the beach, loved the sand, but the knowledge that he was large and heavy made him nervous. Nautical kitsu seemed built to float, but he... he had yet to conquer his fear of sinking to the bottom or being reassured that someone of his size COULD float to begin with. Swimming seemed better suited for smaller creatures and Honeycomb was certainly not among the smaller populace. 

So, through the seasons, he stayed cozy in the sand. Now that summer was over, however, the sand was proving to becoming much colder requiring a larger supply of fire to keep himself warm inside the sand oven he would make for himself. However, it wasn't until the autumn rain began that his job became even trickier. Initially he was cross with the water falling from the sky, for keeping warm was so much trickier and any fire he created in his hands had to be protected in some manner, lest it get put out from the stormy clouds above. However, as rain became more regular with the fall season, Honeycomb stopped trying to keep warm in his usual ways and he stopped trying to dig himself into a sand hole, too. 

He'd never gotten into the ocean, not really, due to his fear of sinking, but rain was a form of water too and rain rarely caused any need for the same panic as the wide, expansive ocean did. He could let himself be washed of the sand that he usually enjoyed (though even when he returned home to dry off, he would still find some kernels of sand in nooks and crannies under his scales, ha!) The rain was cool, chilly even and soon enough Honeycomb was relishing the feeling of the rain as much as he had enjoyed the sand in summer. Every day that rain would come, he would leave his home and go walk in it. His fyreroos would stay in their coop - their feathers grew heavy under the rain, but against Honeycomb's scales, it dripped off easily. He wasn't waterproof by any means, his hair and tail still grew damp in the rain, but he was quickly coming to the conclusion that he enjoyed the feeling of getting wet. 

Would his new love of rainy days ever translate into Honeycomb learning how to swim? Probably not. But feeling the gentle drops pattering against his skull, around his shoulders and along his tail was enough of a watery encounter that he could have asked for.