lunaecalamitas | the beach episode (dated before the east mission)

the beach episode (dated before the east mission)

There's a small slice of sandy beach between mountains and wasteland, where the South meets Central, only an inlet of ocean between them, and that is where Bruno has decided to set up camp.

Literally.

He only had a simple tent and supplies for two initially. Tatara had asked if he could join him on his little trip out and how could he say no? Unfortunately for him, Tatara may have decided to invite everyone else, too, so, welcome, everyone, to the beach episode and a chance to relax after a potentially rough week in the City of Rain.

The sand is warm and fine, the water isn't too chilly, and scrubby little palm trees and plant life dot the dunes. Sea birds are the most active wildlife out here, not counting whatever fish can be found dwelling in the depths of the inlet between South and Central or further out into the ocean. It's comfortable enough... unless you hate sand, that is! You don't hate sand, right?

Since Tatara's arrival, more than Bruno's humble setup can be found.

- There's food fit for a picnic and enough bottles of wine for the evening.

- In the evening, a (non-deadly) bonfire will be built and there'll be pillows to sit on for those who don't want to sit directly on the sand.

- A few colorful rough wool blankets laid out under umbrellas meant to provide shade.

- There's still only one sad-looking tent... However! Bruno's gone ahead and enchanted it so that, when one pushes the cloth flap aside and enters, they'll find a much more comfortable setup inside.

And, of course, anything the other wizards have decided to bring! Bruno wasn't expecting a party but now that it's here, he sure can't tell them not to have fun however they want.

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Just sayin' that you don't gotta keep stayin' on the beach. 'Sides, this ain't that deep.

[ Is Phil also one of those overly cautious types, he wonders... ]

Yes, but even so, you should also never turn your back on the ocean.

[Things you learn growing up on an island!!

But he seems to be enjoying himself, so that's something?]

I learned that one the hard way after getting rolled over by a wave. As embarrassing as it is to admit, my friend had to rescue me because he thought I was drowning...

Haha, he sounds like a good friend! [ To jump to action so quickly. ] What's it like growin' up near the sea?

Well, it's--

[It is then that Phil's phenomenal luck manages to kick in. He is, in fact, taking a few more steps out into the water! Unfortunately, said steps lead to him putting his foot down right on a very unhappy crab, which then proceeds to do what crabs do and give him a warning pinch before scuttling out of the way.

The fact that it doesn't even hurt that much is irrelevant, because he's jumping and immediately losing his balance in the process. He's beauty, he's grace, he's about to fall right on his face (thank goodness for the water???)...]

[ Thank goodness for the water???

Day immediately tries to move to catch Phil, wondering what on earth just happened, but he is 1) not actually used to moving through seawater and sand, and 2) also just stepped on a crab, holy shit. He's startled enough that he stumbles and oh, there he goes into the water too. ]

—Shit!

[It was probably the same crab, RIP that crab in particular...

... and also RIP Phil because he fully expected to wind up in the water and NOT also half-sprawled on top of Day in the water thanks to Day's only-semi-successful attempt at Phil Rescue.

At least it sort of worked? So much for not going for a swim, though.]

[ Day supposes it could be worse. He could actually be drowning, for starters, so luckily this is not enough water to drown in. His hair and clothes are wet and he is learning quickly that saltwater is, indeed, salty, but like. It could be a lot worse than having another man sort of sprawled on top of him in the water too. In fact that's probably the least bad thing going on right now.

Day is trying to sit up with a cough. ]

You alright?

Edited 2024-05-28 07:45 (UTC)

["Alright" is a very strong word to be using to describe Phil's current condition. He's conscious and alive and uninjured and most assuredly not drowning, which are the parts that matter the most, but he also seems to be undergoing some sort of critical software error and has just frozen in place as a result, face bright red.

It looks like he now may need saving in a very different way that doesn't involve any sort of direct physical contact.

~~RIP Phil, we knew ye well~~]

............

[ ...Well, okay, Day kind of understands they're both in a somewhat awkward position where they are in the water right now, and that is probably why Phil looks like he can't remember how to function. It is also probably impossible for him to move without also having to grab Phil at some point.

(Don't bully don't bully don't bully—)

Day immediately fails Step 1 since he's reaching over to where Phil's wet hair is probably in the way of his face and moves to try tucking it behind Phil's ear with a small laugh. ]

Well, guess I can this is the first time I've ended up in the water.

[That definitely gets Phil to do... something. And that "something" comes in the form of a sound that is not unlike a squeak, trying to duck his head to move away from that hand because Phil really and truly just does not parse how to handle physical contact, so therefore the best solution is to try to remove oneself from the offending situation.

... which would probably be less of a problem if it didn't mean he ends up overbalancing and just sort of toppling over sideways into the water, but. The "moving Phil" part has been achieved, in a certain sense of the word.]

[ This is one part adorable, another part absolute comedy, and one part kind of sad damn. Day takes this opportunity to sit up and try to stand. ]

Sorry, didn't mean to make you make fall in a second time. [ He'll hold his hand out for Phil to take, so he can pull Phil up. ]

[Phil may still be a study in scarlet, but at least he has enough common sense to reach out and take that hand if only so that he doesn't meet a very undignified end by drowning in approximately one foot of water.

He is also very pointedly avoiding Day's gaze.]

I-it's all right... it was mostly my own fault...

Nah, I shouldn't have tried that. [ Phil knows what he means. ] Didn't think it'd, well...

[ ...He doesn't try to finish the sentence, since it occurs to him that would involve voicing out what he was trying to do and right now, it feels like it'd be even awkwarder. ]

C'mon, we should get out of the water. [ And he'll still be holding Phil's hand as he leads them both out, if Phil lets him. ]

[... oh. Phil is too stunned by this to pull away even if he wanted to, so instead he just allows himself to be led out of the water without as much as a sound of protest.

He really shouldn't be thinking about how Day's hand is warm despite the slight chill of the water, and he absolutely shouldn't be thinking that a part of him would like to actually hold that hand in return instead of just letting it be held.

Did he hit his head when he fell? Maybe that's it.]

[ Day, for his part, doesn't seem to be expecting his hand to be either held or let go of, settling for the fact that Phil hasn't tried to shake him off or anything. Once they're some distance away from the water, he finally lets go of Phil's hand so he can summon a couple of towels, probably yoinked from the tent (sorry, Bruno).

He hands one over to Phil. ]

Here.

Thank you.

[It's not going to do all that much to dry him off, though it will at least help get the worst of the water out of his hair.

The overall soggy cat impression remains, however.]

Maybe staying on the beach would have been a better idea after all.

[Especially because now his hoodie is soaked and it's cold...]

[ The soggy cat impression is mildly cute if you ask Day, but he does kind of worry given what he knows about Phil's constitution (that is, it's poor). ]

I dunno, I think it might've been a lil' borin'. [ Despite the fact they've both ended up soaked, Day doesn't seem to particularly regret it. ] And we can always use magic to help dry off.

[ ...Speaking of which, he should find a good spot to go do that. Day starts to walk away to find somewhere a little further off, where hopefully people won't walk in on him while he's trying to dry off. And while he's walking, he starts to peel off his wet shirt and pull it over his head. It's fine, he's just going to be shirtless? He needs to take it off so he can wring out the water and dry himself off properly, anyway.

(Phil can probably see the mark they all got when they arrived in this world is on Day's lower back, if he's ever wondered where it was.) ]

There's something to be said for boring at times.

[At that, Phil can't help but smile just a little.

That sounds just like something he would say...

Suddenly, even getting absolutely drenched doesn't seem that bad when the company is this pleasant. After a moment of hesitation, Phil pulls his own hoodie off with the intent of spreading it out on the ground to let it dry for a while (it should be fine as long as he stays in the shade so he doesn't get sunburnt)...

... only to catch sight of Day doing the exact same thing. (Oh, so that's where his brand is, Phil finds himself thinking, only to be mortified that he was staring enough at Day's lower back to even notice that it was there.)

Right. Spreading his hoodie out. He's going to do that and just not look over there at all. He is very much not looking at the abs or the brand or...

... help.]

Maybe. [ Is all Day has to say to that. Right, because "boring" is just another way of saying "peaceful". Certainly preferable to living through interesting times.

Day pulls the towel over his head to try drying his hair off first, and he leaves it there while he wrings out his shirt, water hitting the sand. Eventually, he does feel Phil staring at him, and... on the one hand, the instinct to bully is back. On the other hand, it's...flattering, actually? Day knows he's good-looking, but having Phil stare is kind of...

...

Oh. Well, time to distract himself from that thought. ]

Y'know, I don't mind you lookin'. [ It's a little sly of him to say this, admittedly. ]

I-I wasn't looking!

[Then, realizing that it's kind of hard to deny that much when he's staring straight at Day, he's quick to add:]

... on purpose!

[And to illustrate this, he proceeds to be very focused on straightening out his hoodie on the sand (oh god is Day looking at him, he very much hopes not because there's no reason to look at him when he's so pale and scrawny in comparison...!). It hasn't even occurred to him that putting a damp hoodie down to dry on the sand is going to result in a sand-covered hoodie, but it's not as though his brain is exactly firing on all cylinders at the moment. Let him live, he's trying his best.]

[ (So, bad news, Phil: Day has been looking and that may also have played a part in whatever it was he realized earlier.)

Phil's reaction gets a laugh out of Day, low, amused, and pleased. It really shouldn't be so easy to bully someone 12 years his senior, and yet, ]

Right, right. Y'know, putting wet clothes on sand is just gonna get sand stuck to them?

I'll shake it off once it's dry...

[But that's really the best comeback he can muster and it sort of fails on that front. He may be huffing just the tiniest bit as he plops down on the sand next to his hoodie-- surely a little tiny bit of sun isn't going to hurt him.]

... are you going to come sit down?

[It's a surprisingly bold invitation coming from him, yet he figures that it's casual enough under the circumstances. They're both wet, they both need to wait for their clothes to dry, so why not just relax and talk for a while?]

[ Oh? Wasn't expecting that from Phil, of all people. But Day smiles and nods, before sitting down next to Phil. The towel's still draped over his head. ]

Sure. Havin' fun so far?

Yes... I think I am.

[And he actually means it, too.]

To be quite honest, I wasn't sure whether I wanted to come along for this at all, but... I can't say I regret it. Even if I did end up getting both of us soaked.

[But there may be a smile playing about his lips as he says this.]

Heh, that's good. Ain't great for you to always stay cooped up in your room. [ So having fun outside is good for Phil's enrichment. ]

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