A/N: It's not just a baked good, surprisingly enough.
Disclaimer: If only I could make a career, but no.
"What's the matter, Risa?"
Sucking in a breath, Risa looked over her shoulder at her approaching twin. Riku had left Niwa-kun behind to work on the sandcastle by himself, using a stick to manage detail work on the towers they had built together.
Risa heaved a sigh and uncrossed her arms to stick her hands into the pockets of her beach dress. "Oh, nothing."
"As if. You haven't gone into the water once yet, and you've been staring out at the ocean for half an hour by yourself."
"It hasn't been that long," Risa said with a roll of her eyes. "It probably just feels that long to you since you and Niwa-kun are arguing."
"We're not arguing. We're just perfectionists with different opinions," Riku sniffed, but, undistracted, kicked her sandy foot against Risa's ankle as soon as she stood beside her. "So what's the matter?"
"Nothing!" Risa snapped back, shuffling away from the abuse, but she withdrew her hands from her pockets so she could fold her arms over her chest again as she looked up at the sky. The seagulls wheeled about overhead, the sunlight gleaming on their black and white wings, the distant white clouds like waves frozen in place behind them.
"I just..." she murmured, then shook her head and looked down at the foaming waves as they rolled endlessly against the sand. "It sounds so sad. The birds."
Riku looked overhead, squinting, then squinted still harder at her sister. "I... guess they do?"
"They're crying," Risa said, glancing up in time to watch one of the gulls swoop down towards the water, then veer away to the shoreline. "That's all I hear. They can fly anywhere but they're stuck here, looking for what they need, but..."
"They're just looking for people to feed them fries, Risa," Riku interjected wryly.
"Yeah, I know," Risa said, then spun around and strode off towards Niwa-kun. "Show me your sandcastle."
When she slipped her hands back into her pockets, she closed her fingers around the white feather that had fallen at her feet not long before. She glided her thumb across the familiar silkiness of the vane as she listened to the echoing cries of the birds.