highfiving | (no subject)

(no subject)

[if there was one thing Elympions were really adept at, it was creating highly technological constructions and living the "high life" so to speak. after the schism dropped, this only increased due to the access to additional, if currently expensive, resources. and with Rieze Maxia also being rich with resources and willing to increase the economy, coordinating to create a fun place where both citizens could enjoy was easier than expected. had a few bumps along the way, of course, including whether the location would adversely affect the neighboring towns, but after several months of planning and clearing out the monsters, a large portion of the Kijara Seafalls had been converted to something like a water park resort. using the natural formations already existing, including the many waterfalls, the company in charge of this endeavor managed to recreate the setting to include natural made water slides and of course the many variety of natural and artificial pools—casual ones to just sit and relax, larger ones to just swim around, wave pools, and even a section for some heated ones.

technology wise, it's a combination of spirit artes, spyrix, and spyrites. the use of spyrix had been as minimal as possible, but their world isn't quite there with replacing it with spyrite. however, it has been designed so that the conversion would be seamless, and it helps that the park is indeed mostly naturally made.

so during the following summer of their last adventure, Alvin had received two tickets to its opening. a gift for being a Svent. although he isn't really "part of the family" anymore, he can't exactly say he didn't like the few perks that come his way. free gifts definitely were one of them. now the problem is...would he actually go? If so, who would he ask? or should he just give them both away? but even with those questions, he was already thinking, "Leia would probably kill to have these." and well, that made his decision for him.

and so invite her he did and here they are at the Kijara Seafalls Resort. the opening ceremony had been a "splashing" hit and the place is packed with a variety of people from esteemed invited guests to those who managed to purchase tickets to every day families who won the lottery prize. and a lot of kids. a lot of kids.

and like everyone else, he's dressed in casual swimming shorts, sandals, sunglasses, and a loose unbuttoned shirt.]

Well the lines are going to be insane, I can tell you that much. So what should we try out first?

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ that gets a little laugh out of her as she takes a long sip of her own drink. she can imagine it, sort of— a bunch of girls trying to teach little alvin and balan how to cook, and failing miserably in the process. ]

So, the girl who taught Balan has to be the one that won the bet, right?

[ since he was older, she can't imagine alvin being a better cook. ]

[he gives her a wink.]

You called it. To my chagrin, my four year old self just couldn't compete with an eight year when it came to making as something simple as pancakes. But I didn't care too much—it was pretty fun, really, and the girl was nice.

[and deliberately pausing as he takes another sip of his drink.]

[ she's munching on something off of the platter of appetizers when he pauses, so give her a second to chew, and— there we go. ]

So, what happened next? There's supposed to be some kind of moral to this story, right?

A bit, yeah.

[he leans back a bit.]

Well as you can imagine, the girl who won made the lunch and gave it to him. Next day, he was found dead in his apartment—food poisoning, the police said. Since it was her food that was found with the poison, the girl was arrested as a suspect and sentenced to life in prison.

Seriously?!

[ her eyes go wide and she has to set her drink down to keep from spilling it. ]

Why would she do something like that?

That's the thing. [and now he leans forward, crossing his arms over the table.] She didn't do it.

[ this... is sounding less and less like the lighthearted kind of story she was hoping for. ]

Huh? Then who did?

The other girl who lost.

I thought you said she was nice!

She was! Very sweet. But apparently she was also a pretty sore loser.

[he's been saying this story rather easily and casually, though, and there is a slight grin playing on his lips.]

There's no way someone would get that mad about losing.

[ and she sees that grin... ]

Are you sure that's really how it happened?

[and there's a light chuckle.]

Okay, no. Though, a story like that did happen. [he looks a bit more neutral/serious about that so he's more likely to be telling the truth. he then drums his fingers against the edge of the table before he tells the real version.]

So the other girl did win, and she did give the food. Now, I was just a little kid and I wasn't really paying attention to other people's love lives. But I do remember meeting the girl who had tried to teach me and lost again. It was about a month later. I asked her if she ever saw her friend, and she just smiled and shook her head. She told me her friend and the guy were happily dating. But she also said she hadn't seen them since that little competition.

She never told me why, but Balan did. You know how the older ladies like to gossip. He caught on that after that, things had been rocky and the two best friends drifted apart. [he reaches over and grabs his glass, tilting it his way a bit to swirl the liquid inside.] I still remember seeing her sitting on that swing set alone. Back then, I didn't really get it, but even then I knew that betting just wasn't worth it. Not unless you were willing to risk everything.

Yikes, that's pretty rough.

[ it's a good lesson, too, even if it's a little heavy. she takes a sip of her drink, and then takes something from the plate of appetizers as she contemplates his story. ]

I can't imagine ever letting a guy come between me and a friend, though. That's not worth it, whether it's a bet or not.

[ and she's almost talking from experience— jude never came between her and milla, after all. ]

[he smiles a little at that as he takes some of the appetizers.]

Yeah, you're too good for that—and that's not a bad thing.

[though while he's trying to pick out the appetizers... ...]

Hold on, how many of these did you eat already?

[ she's got another one in her hand— some sort of savory rieze maxian finger food— when he asks that. ]

Only a couple! Why?

[ did she really go through them that quickly? ]

There just seems a lot less than there were before. [and since he has been story telling, he hadn't really had a chance to take any.

or maybe he's just teasing her.]

[ if he's teasing, she falls for it. she smiles sheepishly at him, and then holds out what she has. ]

Do you want this one?

[ let's just say it's the rieze maxian equivalent of a mozzarella stick or something. i don't know. ]

[he looks at it for a moment and is about to answer when something catches his eye and his demeanor changes just slightly.]

Well since you're being generous.

[and he's just going to lean over and take a bite out of it, cutting through the cheese so it's a clean bite and a stringy mess.

and of course when he does that, the waitress has their main meals ready and is looking with such delight. did he know that was coming? probably, given the half smirk he's giving Leia as he chews.]

[ she's a little surprised when he takes it like that, but what really gets her is the timing of it all. she ends up staring up at the waitress for a moment before leaning over the table and pressing what's left of the stick to his lips.

... which certainly doesn't help how happy the waitress looks, but. that's okay. ]

Come on, you have to eat the rest of it, too!

[ because she's not going to eat it, that's for sure. ]

[he's silently laughing.]

So demanding, but that's what makes you so cute.

[he probably shouldn't tease her so badly, but he takes the stick between his teeth and pulls back a bit so it's out of her hands and into his. he then looks at the waitress.]

These are really good by the way.

[and oh how happy she is as she sets their food down. if they need anything else, they just need to let her know but otherwise they should enjoy their meal~ ~~kyaaa~~]

[ that comment definitely earns him a swift kick under the table, but dinner is otherwise (mostly) uneventful, even if the waitress does seem to pop by to see if their drinks need to be refilled a little more than necessary...

of course, that isn't always a bad thing— especially not when they're finished eating and she pops by just in time to collect their plates and bring by dessert. which is... probably a little bigger than the picture made it seem, even! and once she tells them that she'll bring by the check when they're finished and that she's so very happy to have been their server, she takes her leave yet again. ]

She seems pretty happy about all of this, huh?

[ just. a casual observation as she pokes at the edge of the dessert with her spoon. she's going to be nice this time and wait for him before she starts digging in. ]

[he actually jerks forward a little bit at the kick—oh come on, really? but it's all good. it was worth the entertainment.

and now they have this...really big dessert. really big. he's starting to question their decision making skills on this one, but it also looks pretty good. taking his spoon, he hovers over the cake before choosing a spot and taking a hearty portion of cake and ice cream.]

Seems that way, huh?

[though he does kind of grin over the table before taking that bite. ...shit this is good.]

Well, yeah! I've never seen someone look so happy about being at work before.

[ which is probably a slight exaggeration, but still. once he takes his spoonful, she follows suit, and— ]

This is totally awesome!

[ it comes out a little muffled because she's speaking around her spoon, but the sentiment is still there and all thoughts of their waitress are out the window. ]

[he is fairly certain it's less about working here and more about them, but he just laughs because of her outburst.]

Careful not to spill it. Wouldn't want to waste it.

But it is good. I don't think I've ever tasted anything like it before. Just enough rich sweetness and smooth flavor to not make me feel like I'm making cavities.

C'mon, it'll be fine!

[ she would never be that careless with something this good, okay. so, she takes another big bite for emphasis. ]

I wonder if you can get stuff like this back in Elympios. [ because, if not, she's going to have to come back soon. or steal the recipe for herself. maybe both. ] I've never had anything like it before either, but I dunno if I can live without it now.