"OhmygoshOhmygosh!" Amethyst whispered frantically under her breath, searching hysterically for her toddler. They had only just been sitting on the sunny beach, Amethyst basking in the heat while Steven tried eating sand. She had turned away for only a moment-a seagull had tried snatching some of her hair for a nest and when she turned around Steven had been gone.
She raced along the shore, skidding and searching desperately for little handprints and footprints in the sand. She was about to panic and just head back to the house-someone must've stolen him (the kid was freakin' adorable and all Pearl talked about recently was kidnappings) when she saw a brief flash of pink. She paused, zeroing in on the familiar color and all the color drained from her face.
There, bobbing up and down in the calm ocean, was Steven. He was floating and flailing wildly. She could just barely hear him over the crash of the waves whimpering, "Ame! Ame!"
Amethyst's form exploded in a flash of purple light and she streaked across the waves. She snatched Steven from the ocean's clutches with newly formed talons and rocketed back toward the shoreline. She shifted her wings into arms and embraced Steven as they fell onto the shore and skidded across the gritty sand.
"Steven? Steven? Are you alright?" Amethyst asked, her chest constricting as Steven gurgled a top her chest. He stuck his head up a little and spit up a slew of salty water all over her. She patted his back, encouraging him to spew more of the water from his system. He gave on last almighty burp before relaxing against her shoulder with a sigh.
"Y-you alright there bud?" Amethyst asked, sitting up and holding him in front of her and checking for any weird signs. No blue skin, he was breathing, he was focused and a line of drool devoid of any important human fluids was trailing down his chin.
"Ame. Ame. Ame." Steven chanted, rubbing his cheek against the part of her arm he could reach. Amethyst braced him against her chest and hugged him as hard as she could.
"I'm so sorry, bud." Amethyst whispered, feeling hot tears burn her eyes as Steven gripped her arms, his little nails digging into her skin.
She should've been paying more attention. Despite still not being able to walk, Steven could still efficiently get into lots of trouble. She had been hoping that eating sand and chasing after tiny crabs would be enough to entertain him while she relaxed. Steven hadn't even shown much interest in the ocean, the first time they had shown it to him he had cried when the water hit his toes. Ever since that day, whenever any of them took him to the beach, he avoided the salty foam like it was the plague. Perhaps today the tide had risen or Steven had seen a pretty seashell gleaming in the spray and couldn't resist. Whatever the reason, she knew she wouldn't be leaving him unsupervised near the ocean until he was tons older.
Steven let out a wet cough and Amethyst thumped gently at his back.
"Maybe we should go see Greg." Amethyst stood up quickly, hurrying towards the carwash. "And not tell Pearl."
A/N: My freaking goodness, almost 200 hundred people have pressed favorite! Thank you so much for the supportive reviews, your words of encouragement, and prompts. It means a lot to hear what you all think. Sorry this is a little short, it was supposed to be just one big ol' story but the second part is going to take such a long time to finish and edit that I just decided to release the first part...first.
Once again, thanks for all the favorites, follows and reviews!