Chapter Text
The sun’s rays graciously warmed the sand and palm trees of a crisp, clear beach. The waves gently lapped at the shoreline, with the ocean as sapphire and blue as the sky. Anyone would get lost within the serenity of the landscape…
“Yow!” Unless of course, you were a four year old kitten, who leapt right into the arms of his grandfather, who chuckled as he hugged him. On his shoulder, a green parrot squawked in surprise.
“Kwazii, sweetie,” called a younger, light ginger female, who rushed to the grandfather’s side. “Careful! You could bowl your granddad and Pete over.”
“I’m fine, Goldenflower,” Calico Jack assured, ruffling the fur on Kwazii’s head, with Pete squawking and nodding. “How’s me favorite grandson?”
“I’m your only grandson,” laughed the young kitten, as he purred and rubbed his head into his chest. “Hi, grandmum!” Kwazii waved at the female elderly brownish coloured cat in a blue dress.
“Aww, hello, darling,” Nutmeg bent over and kissed Kwazii’s forehead, then hugged the light ginger female. “And hello, Golden.”
“Hello, mum, hello, dad,” she smiled. “And hello, Pete,” she added, offering him a walnut. Pete gratefully took it in his claw and began pecking into it.
“Are we going on a treasure hunt today?” asked Kwazii.
“Rawk, treasure hunt! Treasure hunt!” Squawked Pete, fluttering his wings eagerly.
Chuckling, Calico Jack set Kwazii down, and pulled a map out of his pocket. “Aye, me hearty. Tis hidden somewhere on this very beach.”
Kwazii looked at the map. The lines were squiggly, but he could still make out the palms and marks of sand and the shoreline. “How will we know where it is, granddad?” he asked.
“Why, see that mark in the middle of the map?” asked Calico Jack.
“An X?”
“Aye, matey!” he smiled. “The X marks the spot where the treasure is buried.”
Kwazii’s tail flicked toward the sand, and he practically started to skip down the beach, pulling Calico Jack along so hard, Pete fluttered off his shoulder. “Let’s go, everyone! The map says it’s up the edge of the beach!”
“Alright, alright,” Calico Jack laughed, as they started to trek across the sand crunching under their paws. “Pete, keep us on course!”
“On course!” he squawked, as he flew above his owners, “Keep on course!”
“Wait for us!” called Nutmeg, as she and Goldenflower ran down the beach.
* * *
Kwazii looked again at the map, and shells dotted the beach. But in a very unusual way. “Oh…, look!” he cried to his grandparents and mum. “They’re in a pattern, just like the map’s dots! White, pink, blue! White, pink, blue! Was it made by… by a mermaid?”
Nutmeg chuckled. “Well, whoever left those shells probably wants us to follow them.”
“Okay!” Kwazii beamed. “Hold on, mermaid! I’m going to find that treasure!” He charged up the sand. “Oh, they are pretty! I wonder if the mermaid has any shells I can make into a collection?”
“Ah, kids,” laughed Goldenflower, as she and her parents trailed after Kwazii. “Such a wild imagination.”
“You never know, Golden,” said Nutmeg. “There could be a mermaid out there somewhere.”
“I’ve never seen one on me travels,” Calico Jack admitted. “But then again, I never really went diving.”
“They are all myths,” Goldenflower sighed. “But Kwazii’s so young. I’m sure he’ll grow out of it.”
* * *
After following the dotted shells, the family came to a mark in the sand. “Arr, X marks the spot!” cried Kwazii.
“Ah, well done for discovering the path and following it,” smiled Calico Jack, hugging his grandson tightly. “Come on, everyone,” he said, passing shovels around. “Let’s dig it up!”
The four cats each began to dig at the spot, checking behind them so no creatures got hit by loose sand. “I wonder what the treasure is?” asked Kwazii. “Ooh, I bet it’s full of gems and gold!”
“We’ll soon find out, sweetie,” smiled Nutmeg.
Eventually, the chest was uncovered, and inside a side hatch, was a key. “Kwazii, would you do the honours?” asked Calico Jack.
“Okay, granddad!” he smiled, gently picking up the key and unlocking the chest. Inside was… some photos and toys? “Huh… who would put those in here? Where’s the treasure?”
“Oh, Kwazii,” chuckled Calico Jack. “Treasure isn’t always gold or jewels. It’s just something you keep close to your heart. It can be… anything. Take a closer look.”
The little kitten did so, as his mother bent down to look into the chest. One such photo he picked up was of a dark ginger tom, a brownish queen, looking proudly at a new born light golden kitten. “Oh… is that… me?”
“Why, so it is,” cooed Nutmeg. “I remember this. Kwazii, look, it’s your mum as a baby, and your granddad and I when we were new parents.”
“Wait… what?” Kwazii looked in surprise. “You were a kitten too, mum?”
Goldenflower, Nutmeg and Calico Jack laughed. “Aye, Kwazii,” said Calico Jack. “Every animal starts out as a young lad or lass.”
“And these, Kwazii, were some of my toys growing up,” said Goldenflower, holding up a toy boat, a plush macaw (not dissimilar to Pete), and a ball of yarn.
“Shiver me whiskers,” trailed Kwazii, as Goldenflower passed them into his possession. “All for me?”
“Yes, sweetheart!” beamed Goldenflower. “These treasures are yours to protect, and play with.”
Kwazii giggled with delight, hugging the toy macaw. “I’ll call you… Pelly! You can ride on me shoulder, like Pete does with granddad!” Gleefully, he placed the toy there, where she perched perfectly, then he started to ‘sail’ the boat across the sand with the ball of yarn. “Come on, Pelly! We have more land to explore! Yow!”
Calico Jack, Nutmeg and Goldenflower all watched the young kitten play, with their eyes sparkling. No doubt Kwazii would have a great future ahead…