the beach episode (dated before the east mission)

[fallingsand]

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.

Comments

[troublereduction]

[ 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.

[mirristry]

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...]

[troublereduction]

[ 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.) ]

[mirristry]

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.]

[troublereduction]

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. ]

[mirristry]

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.]

[troublereduction]

[ (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?

[mirristry]

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?]

[troublereduction]

[ 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?

[mirristry]

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.]

[troublereduction]

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. ]

[mirristry]

Hahaha... guilty as charged, I suppose.

[Phil knows better than to even try to pretend he leaves his room that often when Day lives right there on the same floor.]

I've never been very good with people, so books have always just made for easier companions. Although I suppose that only serves to contribute to the "not being very good with people" in the end...

[troublereduction]

[ Day knocks on Phil's door at least once a day by now, of course he knows how little Phil goes out.

...And he knows Phil might have been joking a little, but he can't help but ask, also lightly, ]

You ever get lonely sometimes?

[mirristry]

[... ah. Phil can't say he's surprised by the question - it is a natural segue from their current discussion topic, after all - yet at the same time there's a reason he doesn't tend to think much about that.]

It's hard to be lonely when you're always surrounded by people.

[It's a lie. For all that he appreciates the Salvation Front and what they do to help him, he can't claim to be close to any of them save for Marcus and Rowen. Kratos, Zelos, Sync, Mithos... they're all business relationships, nothing more.]

[troublereduction]

[ Day watches Phil reaction carefully, and for a while he's quiet, trying to pick his words carefully. He finally settles on this: ]

You and I both know that ain't true.

[ Speaking from experience. ]

[mirristry]

[Yeah, Phil really should have known Day would see straight through that. After all, isn't that why he visits so often in the first place?

He finds he doesn't even need to think about his response.]

... I'm not lonely here, though.

[And that? That is in fact the truth.]

1/2

[troublereduction]

[ The implications of what Phil just said are not lost on Day; he's not a member of the Division of Serenity for nothing, even if he's still a little green. And...

...

Oh, Joyous Day, ████, you are a godsdamn disaster. How many times are you going to set yourself up for disappointment here? ]

[troublereduction]

[ But, whatever. That's not important right now. It doesn't change the fact that what Phil says it's sincere, and it's more pertinent to respond to that. So he manages to smile, genuinely. ]

Then I'm glad. ...I think the manor's been the least lonely I've felt in a while, too.

[ And this is also an honest answer: he lived with people before this, and he cares about them too, but he couldn't tell them anything about what he really did without changing their comfortable arrangement. Here at least, it didn't seem to really matter. ]

[mirristry]

[In a way, it's still strange to Phil to realize that the concern and care shown to him here has nothing to do with his status as Biqe-- that he hasn't even heard that word for weeks. He finds that as proud as he is of his title, he actually likes not hearing it for a change.

Because that means that all of the visits and conversations are meant for him, not the Biqe of Sellund.]

You're welcome to stop by more often if you'd like, you know. As you said, it isn't great for me to stay cooped up all alone in my room.

[Phil may have added the "all alone" part. Surely Day won't notice?

Also, he's pretty sure his cheeks are turning a bit pink right now and he's pretty sure that for once, he doesn't care.]

[troublereduction]

[ That...is surprisingly bold of Phil, what the hell? Bold enough that Day is thinking that Phil definitely must not mean it that way because there is no damn way he'd be able to say it otherwise. Which, at least he knows to temper his expectations. For gods' sakes, what is he, 17? ]

If you're offerin', then it'd be a shame if I don't take you up on it.

...Would you mind if I practice music there, sometimes?

[mirristry]

[Phil may be just a tiny bit excited that someone actually enjoys spending time around him and may not even realize quite how forward his invitation sounded, RIP Day. His logic is that if they both enjoy it, then why not have more of it?]

I wouldn't mind at all.

[He already loves hearing the music coming from Day's room, so getting to hear it up close? That's a win-win situation.]

As long as you don't mind if I sometimes read a bit while you do.

[His love affair with books will never end...]

[troublereduction]

[ RIP Day indeed. ]

Heh, I don't mind. Surprised you haven't run out of books to read yet.

[mirristry]

[For some reason that makes Phil turn a little bit more pink? Huh.]

... w-well, there are still quite a number I have yet to get to...

[smash cut to Ithaqua giving him one of the smutty ones that he skipped over at Truth or Dare later--]

[troublereduction]

[ ...Is Phil blushing?

Day just immediately connects the dots and the urge to bully is back. ]

Oh? Like what?

[mirristry]

N-nothing interesting! That's why I've been leaving them for last...

[The shade of red he is now turning tells another story.]