Beach Hopping a Change of Scenery (OPEN)

Well then. That was certainly a remarkable adventure for Brad and his new friends. An Airship journey to the floating Luminas City was something the friendly young Bearmon thought he'd never experience, but he had. He had seen one of his new friends get a crest and have it validated too. And as a reward for his sticking by them in their time of need, Brad had received holy rings for his future evolution to Grizzmon.

Of course, Brad kept them carefully stored away in a backpack he wore on his back. Under this bag, he wore a neat red T-shirt, as well as a cap on his head with holes for his ears; blue belts to support his paws, and a belt across his chest that he wore diagonally.

Perhaps in his journey to the South for a nice vacation, the decision to keep on not bothering to wear pants was a bad idea, particularly where sand was involved? The fur on his feet, legs and lower belly was soon irritably full of the mineral grains by the beach. And it seemed as he walked, even if he tried to swim in the sea to wash it out, it would soon return. Well, the Bearmon sighed as he pondered in thought, maybe it wasn't so bad. Who knows? If he was lucky he might catch a nice fish during his swimming?

Soon on his walk, Brad noticed another digimon up ahead. A rookie level beast digimon, like him. A Leormon in fact, resting under the shade of a tree. Well then! It would be just rude for Brad to walk by without saying hello, so that's exactly what he would do.

Brad approached with a casual expression. "Hello!" he said, waving a paw. "Sorry, was I interrupting something?" he asked, realizing he might have woken him and that might not have been appreciated.

Brad hesitated for a moment as the Leormon sprung to his feet, suddenly startled by his approach. He hoped the worst wouldn't happen, but, it seemed that it wouldn't. Brad's face relaxed with relief as he was acknowledged by the other rookie level.

"Ah, that's good to hear" Brad said, glad he wasn't interrupting anything important. But the next statement made him somewhat startled. "Oh gosh... you encountered a hostile Guardromon?" he asked, curiously. "Wow, that must have been quite an event. I'm a little curious now, did you manage to escape by yourself?".

Brad was wondering if the Leormon was able to naturally evolve to his Champion form. If not, he wondered how such an escape was possible. The Leormon didn't seem to be badly injured after all. And he introduced himself as Leon.

"I see. Hello, Leon. My name's Brad" he answered. "And yes, I understand the conundrum with the sand in these parts. It can be quite irritating" he scratched some grains from out of the white fur on his belly as a sort of emphasis.

Brad was pleased to see that this Leormon seemed to be friendly. He hoped perhaps that they might be able to chat for a bit. Brad needed to find some friends after all, being an independent digimon could get lonely sometimes. After he made a little roar, he asked Brad why he was here too.

"Well, I admit I like the idea of a little vacation myself" Brad said. "I just got back from Luminas City up in the sky" he paused, then supposed he might just ask to be polite. "Would it be alright if I sat down to talk for a bit?" he asked, thinking the spot under the shade would be a comfortable spot to rest and chat.

"Oh gosh, you armor digivolved?" Brad asked, thrilled that this digimon had managed to get through such an event with such a splendid miracle. "That's amazing! Do you still have the digimental?" he asked, eager to see what one looked like. The Bearmon had only heard of them in legends, he had never seen one in person. "Just out of curiosity of course".

Leon then asked what he had planned for today. "Well, I thought after the events in the holy city I might simply relax and see where fate takes me" Brad answered. "That seems to be how it is for us digimon, yes? Simply going with the flow seems to be the simplest option".

The Leormon then suggested that they go fishing together. "Oh gosh, I'd love to help with that!" Brad said, quickly changing his demeanor from wanting to sit down and rest to swim in the sea and catch some delicious fish.

Brad took off his red T-shirt, thinking it would be best to swim without it getting wet. After all, with the sea water, it was hard enough getting his fur dry, let alone the shirt. He faced the sea with enthusiasm. "Okay, I'm ready when you are" he said, and charged toward the water, ready to hunt down anything delicious that was in the water below.

Brad watched the digimental with an expression of awe on his face. "That's wonderful!" he exclaimed. Immediately it made the Bearmon wonder if there was a digimental somewhere in the world waiting for him?

Going with the flow of things may one day lead him to such a digimental? It was indeed a possibility. But what crest would await him? That he was unsure of. Brad wasn't terribly sure what virtue he could possibly have that was good enough for a digimental.

Ah well, there would be enough thinking about that while he was fishing. Brad stood waist deep in the water, careful not to make any movement. He knew it was rather silly to attempt swimming after fish as they could easily outspeed him. However, he just had to keep a careful eye in the water, looking toward small growths of sea grass where the fish would ultimately be congregating.

Then Brad saw it. A digital fish was poking its head out from under the water. With a near lightning movement, Brad lunged down, slashing at it with his claws. And he was met with success! Netting himself a decently sized fish.

"Got one!" he cheered as Leon asked how he was faring. Then he saw that Leon had caught multiple. "Wow, you're really good at this!" he said.

Brad chuckled a little as Leon said that quantity and quality seemed to match each other in the end. "Heh, looks like that might just be true" he said, noticing that his fish seemed to be much bigger than the catches Leon had made. Ah well. The Bearmon was never really one for competition, especially amongst those he counted as friends.

He followed Leon out of the water, shaking the wetness out of his fur. Even if it was just the fur below the waistline that was wet, he'd prefer to be dry as quick as possible.

Then Leon suggested that they eat their catches. "Ah that's a great idea" Brad said, eagerly. "Hmm. Shall we eat them raw or should we cook them, do you think?" he asked. "I admit I might not be very good at outdoor craft, but I should be able to get a fire started somehow if you like". While it would of course take longer, perhaps cooking the fish would yield a better taste for them?

Brad had to admit that he was really enjoying his time with Leon. He had met few other fellow independent digimon that he had really bonded with. The closest so far had been Pipmon and Cion, but it seemed that he had so much more in common with Leon than other digimon he had met so far.

Brad pondered what to do in this case. "Hmm. Well, we could always attempt it. I hear there's quite often driftwood on the beach, that may suffice as fuel to get a fire to cook them, at least for a little while?" The other option was also good. "Ooh, yes, if you can use fire attacks in your armor form, that may also work well" he said, licking his lips, then chuckled a little.

"Sorry, just ever since I tried fish cooked with salt I just find raw fish a little on the bland side, if I may say so" he admitted.

Then, Brad's ears twitch as he heard a twig break. The Bear digimon didn't duck down like Leon did, but still looked alert. Apparently they weren't alone. And Brad was slightly worried that whoever it was wasn't identifying themselves.

"Alright" Brad said as Leon said to watch his back. If it was an ambush, it could be a distraction. Brad looked down the beach, keeping his eyes peeled where Leon's weren't.

The intruder turned out to be a Kiwimon. And when questioned by Leon, he said that he was simply going to take their food.

"That's not nice" Brad said, frowning. "You could simply ask, you know. We worked hard to get this food". Brad would have offered to share, but this Kiwimon seemed intent to steal their hard earned catch.

Brad didn't really think the Kiwimon would attack, so when he did, it all came as a surprise to the Bearmon. He yelped, temporarily too shocked to move, so he was surprised and thankful when Leon pushed him out of the way.

He stood back up and watched with awe as Leon armor digivolved to Firamon. Amazing. Brad didn't know exactly what digimon he'd become, but this would certainly be helpful. He felt much more confident of their chances when he saw his battle partner.

"I can support you if you need help, Leon!" Brad called. He ordinarily didn't like combat much. But really, a digimon had to fight in self-defence sometimes. He stood prepared, ready to help his new friend send this rude ruffian packing.

Knowing that he should help his friend out, Brad's paw glowed yellow. Reluctantly, but determined, he leapt forward and gave a cry of "Rail Smash!" sending a wave of golden energy rushing through the sand toward Kiwimon. An earth elemental attack. If it struck Kiwimon, it would send a burst of energy upward when it reached him. Brad didn't aim to destroy, just to send him away.