In the pet store, Tavras yelled at the employee, “What do you mean, you don’t take returns?”

The poor employee shrunk back against the wall lined with fish tanks. The fish swarmed around him menacingly, especially laughable for the group of neon tetras. Tavras certainly had a sense of humor to control the fish for that little touch.

Even so, Val did not want to let this go on. All she could think about was when she had worked customer service for her summer job. Retail must be the worst job to work on the Summit where anyone and everyone might have a god complex.

Gingerly, she held out a hand to Tavras and batted her eyes at the gentleman. “Please, could you make an exception to your policy, just this once. We only just bought them the other day but can’t take care of them anymore.”

“You have to sell them yourself or find a friend to take care of them. Once you buy the fish, you’re on your own, I’m sorry to say.”

“We don’t have time to find them new homes!” Tavras bellowed. “I am not flushing them down that fish torture device. They need to live long and happy, fishy lives.”

“We are not even asking for the money to be returned,” Val clarified, “just the fish. You get free money for selling no fish, essentially.”

The employee turned that piece of logic over in his head. “Yeah, I suppose that we can take free returns.”

“Thank you,” Val said, offering a smile to Tavras.

Given how much money he had piled into a random account, he would not need the money later.

A relieved sigh huffed from his lips, and he smiled contently at Val. “Yeah, thank you.”

They helped the employee put the fish back in their respective tanks and the beta fish into their individual containers. Tavras lingered by each one before they went to buy additional supplies, all for Foofy. Slightly sullen, he did not say anything until they left the store.

Out in the bright sunlight, Tavras regained his good cheer and laughed. “I thought that I would have to threaten the guy. I will hit the Summit with a tsunami, just to flood this here store if you do not accept these fish!”

Val laughed along with him. “Yeah, I didn’t want you giving him a hard time. They took the fish back, so that’s great!”

“Now, we just have to get to our fish. Tropical waters, here we come!” Tavras stayed in his chipper mood, all throughout the journey back through the woods towards the coast.

The trek felt longer than the first time around, probably because Val was not as excited to be leaving the Summit of Ascension as she had been when they had arrived.

Once the coast came into view, Tavras ran for the waves and jumped over the nearest one which broke across the beach. He went splashing into the surf until he could comfortably swim, roll over on his back, and float there. “Val, I’m so happy that we’re getting out of here. You don’t even know.”

Though she wished that they did not have to leave, at least it was nice to see Tavras happy again. The simple determination to abandon the Summit had made his mood flip right around.

“I can see how happy you are,” she said, grinning wide. Val derived second-hand happiness from him, at least until she had to approach the water herself.

Dipping just the topmost part of her shoe in, the water soaked through her socks. “Ugh, this is way too cold!”

“The water isn’t even its coldest,” Tavras jeered. “That happens in spring!”

Still, Val missed the warmer water and air of autumn. “The air is freezing.”

“Get out of the air then.”

Val looked sidelong to Foofy. “Get out of the air he says. What are we—fish?”

Unable to understand her words, Foofy just stared at her and refused to follow her to the water.

“Are you a dog fish? No, of course you’re not. You’re a good boy!”

“Come on, Val!” Tavras flipped over from where he floated on his back and jumped up to wave his arms. “You just have to swim over. I will dry you off once you make it to the serpent!”

Upon his announcement, a serpent let its head breach from the water. Its scales and fins dazzled in the sunlight while its massive fins could produce rainbows at the right angles with their sheer fiber. The golden eyes flashed to Val, all the while the serpent skulked down to rest across the surface of the water.

She glared back, not having missed sea serpents one bit.

“I’m coming,” Val snapped. “Could you just carry Foofy over the water? I can suffer the cold but not the Dobie.”

He stood firmly on the beach, a straight stance with his doggy jacket making his deep chest more pronounced.

“All right, fine.” Tavras swam to shore and clambered across the beach, dripping wet. He made no move to dry himself off, which made Foofy shy away at his approach.

A safe distance away, Foofy watched Tavras closely for his next move.

“What? Are you scared of a few drops of water?” Tavras held out his dripping arms and walked closer to Foofy in a silly gait.

Slowly, his ears drifted downwards, and a slight growl came from Foofy.

“Stop harassing him,” Val ordered.

With a laugh right in her face, Tavras flicked water off his fingers in Foofy’s direction.

His nails dug into the sand in a scampering dart. Gouges of pawprints were left for the great length that Foofy now decided was necessary between himself and Tavras.

“I think that even Foofy is excited for the change in scenery. He’s acting goofy.”

“No, you’re acting goofy,” Val said with a scowl.

“All right, I’ll get my act together.” Tavras shook himself like a dog while drying himself off with his power. The water hung frozen in the air all around him until he sent it splishing back into the ocean. “How’s that?”

“Oh my gods, Tavras.” Her eyes rolled.

“That’s me! I’m one of those gods.” He pointed up at his chin while smiling broadly. “Come on, Foofy. I’m all dry now. Let’s beat Val to our other friend over there!” Tavras took a single step towards Foofy.

A devious idea flashed to Val’s mind. “Foofy, get away!”

As an obedient divine beast should respond, he bolted and zoomed across the sand away from Tavras at once.

“Hey, get back here! No fair, Val.”

“You said that you wanted to race, let’s race! You have to catch Foofy before you can even start. I’ll see you at the serpent!” Val took off in a sprint back to the water. A hop and a skip sent her sailing over the first wave and splashing into the surf below.

“Gah! It’s so cold!” she screeched from joy. With this head start, she intended to beat Tavras at his own game. “Get away, Foofy! Get away!”

That Dobie ran like crazy across the beach, disappearing from sight entirely.

For a few feet, Tavras jogged across the land. “Oh no, wait up!” With a sly glance back to Val, he also ran back to the water. Rather than heading to the sea serpent, he had to follow Foofy.

From the corner of his eyes, he appeared to watch the pawprints in the sand. In a run, he blasted off along the surface of the water in an attempt to keep up with that divine dog.

Val swam as fast as she could. Her head ducked into the water and turned outward to the cold air for breath. Her muscles wanted to shiver more than propel herself forward, but command them she did.

The sea serpent lurked ahead of her. Just as she had her eyes on her goal, its eyes watched her menacingly while it awaited her in the shallowest water that it could. As Tavras’s acclaimed friend, the sea serpent would maintain its peace treaty with Val, right?

Though passing concern flitted through her, she had no reason to preoccupy herself with being alone with the sea serpent for long. What she needed to worry about was winning this race.

As she drew nearer to the sea serpent, exhausted from the rapid swim, a ferocious uproar of water sounded from behind her.

“No,” Val sputtered into the waves. She tried to lurch forward in the water and reach out to the sea serpent’s nose with both hands. That was how close she was!

A spray of water drenched her already soaked body and clashed up against the sea serpent’s nose.

The serpent reared its head out of Val’s reach, opened its jaws, and gave a gentle chirp—not the usual angry shrieks those things emitted. When the sea serpent lowered its head back down, Tavras crouched atop its snout with Foofy at the very tip of its nose.

“Why hello there, Val. It looks like Foofy and I beat you.”

“That’s because Foofy is the real winner,” she said with a twisted note of pride. “He has always been better than me in everything, obviously. Next time when it’s me and Foofy on the same team, we’re going to beat you!”

“Nah,” Tavras said, “but that was a lot of fun! Thanks for the race.”

Her heart gave a pang, remembering why she had liked him so much. They had random, pure fun together like this. The good times that they shared had been her favorite part about this crusty, old god.

Val rubbed her fingers over her eyes, stinging from the salt water. Sniffing, she pretended that a cough had been lodged in her throat by the effort that she had exerted. “Well, you said that we are off to tropical waters, right?”

“Yes, ma’am. We are on a journey to the Bibashie Reef!”

“It will be nice being somewhere warm, won’t it Foofy?”

The Dobie shivered in place, likely from the droplets of water and the harsh wind that had blown onto Foofy during Tavras’s mad dash.

“Oh, most definitely. The tropics are my favorite place all year round. I refuse to spend winters in either hemisphere. Why would I do that when I can just travel to another part of the ocean like this?”

“Tavras,” Val said, having been staring between him and Foofy the entire time that he rambled. “You need to dry Foofy off again.”

“Oh, right. I forget that all the time. It’s not like my good friend here ever needs to be dried off!” While Tavras patted the sea seprent’s head to swim onward, he lifted the water from them all.

Next, the sea serpent dove beneath the water so that he had to form the bubble of air around them. Val, Tavras, and Foofy were on their way to someplace warm where she could resume her training in luxury.