prompt
When your kin was young, they had one particular trinket that caused them great joy -- either one day, or over a period of long time. What was this object? Why was it special? How did they come across it?
He remembered clearly the day he was given the pretty pink shell. He'd been young, they'd been young, and Deeper, even then was proficient at swimming and diving, and Shallow had proven why he was named as he was as his forays into anything past a certain depth had ended up with him nearly drowning more than once. He just sank like a rock. So in the shallows he stayed, even when the others his age played in water that was deeper than he could safely go. Deeper was the only one who was willing to split their time between the cooler depths and the not as cool shallow waters so he wasn't on his own. This day was no different, the others were playing in the deeper water, swimming and laughing and staying cool while he sat almost forlornly watching everyone else playing just far enough out of his reach.
He'd found a pretty pink shell just at the edge of the safe area and he decided he would get it - could - get it, and so he eased closer, at first carefully dragging his hoof along the ground to drag it closer but it didn't work, and instead stirred up dirt clouding the water. Patiently he let it settle down again and tried another time. Again and again, though a few attempts seemed to push it further away.
Finally he got as close as he dared and dipped his head under the water, trying to pick it up that way and instead inhaling water through his nose and mouth causing him to come up spluttering and without the shell that was instead now firmly in the deeper area causing him to fall back on his haunches close to tears.
All he wanted was that pretty shell!
After a few minutes he dragged himself from the water a last look thrown at the shell before he made his way back to dry land and merely curled up in a patch of sunlight to dry up. He didn't want to be out in the water anymore now.
It wasn't too long though before a shadow was blocking his light, and he raised his head glumly, to ask them to move when he saw Deeper Waters standing there, something held in his teeth. "I 'fought you might like dis" before he was laying the mystery object down by Shallow. Now that the sun wasn't making it impossible to see he glanced down curiously and let out a surprised noise. "The pink shell!" how absolutely delighted he was!
"I was trying to get it earlier, and couldn't... it went too deep." His best friend merely smiled at him, and he jumped to his hooves twinning his neck around the acha's with a gleeful "You're the best Deeper! I'll treasure it forever!" and he still had it to this day. He kept it in a safe little spot in the spot they called home, a wonderful memory from their days as colts.
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