Tidefall in early summer smelled different. Winter made the academy smell like wet wool, old stone and soup. Summer brought salt, sunscreen, hot timber and the faint sharp scent of eucalyptus from inland wind. By ten in the morning, every first-year had been reminded twice to fill a water bottle. By eleven, Harper had lost hers.

"It was here."

Ava looked around the courtyard.

"Where?"

"Somewhere."

"Outstanding."

Jasper pointed to the wall. Harper's pink-marked bottle sat in full view beside the handball square.

"Found it."

"You did not find it."

"I identified its position."

"That is finding."

The last fortnight of year felt unlike the rest. Formal lessons shortened. Assessment was mostly finished. Teachers moved practical work into mornings and used the hottest part of afternoons for indoor projects. Windows stood open. Uniform rules loosened around jumpers and jackets. The dining hall replaced heavy puddings with fruit, cold custard and ice blocks that disappeared faster than any magical object Jasper had seen. One Thursday the entire first-year cohort went to Tidefall's sheltered beach. Not the cliffs. Not the lower harbour. A crescent of sand east of the academy protected by rock arms and supervised by enough staff to make Harper complain there were "more adults than ocean." Swimming was optional. Jasper chose ankle-deep water. Harper chose everywhere. Nobody believed him. Jasper ended up batting. He was terrible. Then at Jasper.

Ava chose a towel in the shade for the first twenty minutes, then admitted the water looked good and went in up to her knees. Mia organized beach cricket with a piece of driftwood. Theo claimed driftwood was traditional equipment. Soren bowled a soft rubber ball that Jasper somehow sent directly backward. It landed beside Professor Ashcroft's chair. Ashcroft looked at the ball.

"An innovative direction."

"Sorry."

"I did not say effective."

Harper took over and immediately hit the ball into shallow water. Theo ran after it. A small wave pushed the ball back before he reached it. Everyone stopped. Jasper felt Water. Barely. A cool flicker. Harper looked at him.

"Did it do that?"

Jasper looked at the ball rolling in foam.

"Could've been a wave."

Ava smiled.

"Correct answer."

Theo picked it up.

"Thank you, suspiciously convenient wave."

The game continued. That mattered. Months ago, a strange wave would have ended the afternoon. Now uncertainty could exist without swallowing everything around it. After cricket, Harper convinced Jasper to go deeper.

"Waist height."

"No."

"Knees."

"Already there."

"Slightly more knees."

"That is not anatomy."

She walked backward through the water.

"Come on."

Jasper followed until the water reached halfway up his thighs. That was enough. Harper did not tease him. She had learned that too. They stood facing open water. The beach was protected. Teachers nearby. Other children laughing. Nothing like the cliff. Nothing like the storm. Jasper felt the Sea beneath ordinary waves. Large enough that calling it "beneath" seemed silly. It was not physically a creature hiding under the beach. Whatever Water was, its awareness moved through a scale Jasper did not understand. He could feel it without seeing a body. That had taken him most of the year to accept. Harper splashed him. Jasper stared at her.

"Why?"

"You looked philosophical."

He splashed back. Harper responded as though war had been formally declared. Five minutes later Ava entered the conflict while insisting she had not. Mia joined because neutrality had become impossible. Soren stayed on shore and supplied commentary. By lunch Jasper's hair was full of salt. His sandwich contained sand. He had laughed enough that his face hurt. The Sea had done nothing interesting. Perfect. That afternoon clouds built inland and a dry wind swept over the beach. Staff packed everyone early because summer weather could turn quickly. No ancient warning. Just a forecast and adults paying attention. On the walk back, Harper carried two towels, her own shoes and somehow Ava's hat.

"Why do you have that?" Ava asked.

Harper looked down.

"I don't know."

Jasper laughed. Tidefall rose ahead, pale stone bright in the late sun. For the first time, Jasper thought of it not as the place he had arrived at. Home was too simple a word. But it was somewhere he knew how to return to.