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

So it's okay if I go back to their place—

Are you really going to go back on what you said earlier?

[ about not picking up girls. ]

I'm just joking—joking.

I dunno if I believe that. You've been talking about running off an awful lot today for someone who's just joking.

[ but she elbows him playfully, so she's probably joking around at this point, too.

and when they get to the suite, she's quick to go to her room. it's been a long and exciting day, so she's kind of looking forward to settling down. she doesn't bother taking another shower, but she does take her time as she goes through the routine of getting ready for bed.

she's just about finished when she hears the door open and close— probably signaling that he's back from the gym— and as she brushes her hair back and adjusts the strap on her night shirt, her hand brushes a particular spot on her shoulder that brings earlier, when he helped her put on sunscreen, to the front of her mind. she didn't push the subject then because it hadn't been a good time to talk about anything important, but she knows it's something they'll have to talk about eventually. they're on good terms again, definitely, but they're apparently still not past that particular problem and she doesn't really like that. she wants things to be good between them.

she crosses the room and peeks her head out of her door and into the main room. now is probably a decent time to try to talk about things, she figures, so— ]

Hey, are you back?

[what he's a guy. and a former (okay no still kind of) flirty playboy. that and it's always kind of amusing to see her reactions.]

You never know—I could be serious. [but he just grins and lightly elbows her back.

after putting the cake in the fridge and changing, he does end up going to gym, though it was more out of curiosity than an actual workout. as he thought, the amenities were excellent and he kind of his wished his local gym had some of the equipment it had. but he only spends about half an hour there before walking around, investigating the place a bit. he doesn't go too far, idly thinking that Leia would probably want to see it, too, as well as not wanting to be gone for too long. but he does run into a few familiar faces and faces who would like to be familiar with him, all of whom he kept conversations brief and escaped as quickly as possible.

when he finally gets back, he heads to the mini fridge to get some water and had just flopped unceremoniously onto the couch to turn on the TV when he hears Leia's voice. glancing back, he waves his hand with the remote.]

Yeah, just now.

[and taking a sip of water as he continues to flip through channels before settling on the news. he keeps the volume low, though, in case she was heading to bed.]

Place is pretty big, actually. We should check it out more tomorrow before heading out. [a small laugh.] Kind of makes me want to spend another night.

Oh, yeah? [ pushing herself away from the door and moving to take a seat on the couch. she glances toward the TV briefly, and then over at him. ]

I wouldn't mind checking it out, but don't blame me if you end up going broke from renting out a room like this.

[ because even if she's teasing, this place can't be cheap— it's way too nice for that. ]

And that is why I am eternally grateful for the fact that this entirely free. Might as well make the most of it, right?

Wait, they're not gonna charge you even if you stay for an extra night?

[ is that what it's like to be from a well-known family? ]

Sort of. Balan actually got a pair of tickets as well, and since this isn't exactly his thing... [mischievous grin.] If we so wanted to, we could use it. I even have permission.

You really thought of everything, huh?

[ that gets a laugh out of her as she draws her legs up onto the couch. ]

But, I bet I could get away with calling in a sick day if I really wanted to, you know.

[ clearly she is a Responsible Adult™. ]

[hah.]

I know I should be saying that you shouldn't skip work, but hey, this could give you more material for an article you could write up, right?

[he is the worst.]

Let's see... I could write about how awesome this place is, and I guess I'd probably call it something like, Living the High Life with Ace Reporter Leia Rolando.

[ she grins. ]

I'll see if I can get ahold of my editor and ask what he thinks. How does that sound?

So more of a celebrity piece? Interesting.

Yeah, why not? I've never done anything like that before, so it might be fun!

[ not all of her articles have to be serious. probably. ]

Do you think he'll go for it?

If you spin it right and drop a few names, I think so. I can even help with that last part—saw a few while I was out there.

What you have to be careful, though, is not make it some kind of tabloid, gossip piece. I don't think your editor is really one for those kind of articles.

Yeah, I have a feeling he'd really get on my case if I tried to give him something like that.

[ and her smile turns a little sheepish— she doesn't want to get scolded, so she'll probably be taking his advice to heart. she might even bounce ideas off of him when she sits down to actually write the article. but, she didn't come out here for career counseling, either, so after a moment of idly watching the TV, she turns to him again. ]

This isn't really related to any of that stuff, but there was something else I wanted to talk to you about while we're here.

Oh?

[he had turned his attention to the TV, so he just tilts his head toward her direction to indicate that he's listening.]

It's about earlier.

[ which. doesn't really make her intent much clearer, she realizes, so she continues tentatively. ]

You know, when you were helping me with the sunscreen? You got kind of weird on me for a minute there.

[ not to mention the awkward little hiccup they had when he (sort of) brought up their fight. ]

[and now she has his full attention.]

...What about it?

[he remains calm and casual, but even as she mentions it he can't help but recall what had made him hesitate to begin with.]

Well, I kind of have this feeling that it had something to do with all of that stuff that happened before. [ they don't talk about this much, really, so she has to take a moment to think about how to approach this. the thing is, thinking things over has never been a strength of hers, so— ] Back in Hamil.

[really there's no good way around it, and he already had a feeling this was what she was trying to bring up.]

Well, you're right. [a small pause.] Does it ever bother you?

[and of course "it" could refer to a lot of things.]

No way.

[ she takes that to mean the confrontation that happened between the two of them, so she's pretty firm about her answer, and it's the truth, too. she even gives a quick shake of her head. ]

I mean... you were a real jerk back then, but things are a lot different now, right?

Hah. [he can't help the dry laugh.] Calling me a "jerk" for that time is an understatement. I was pretty messed up.

[was. so he does acknowledge that things are different now, but...

he's still leaning away from her, his chin resting against his propped up hand.]

But even if things are different now—[he glances at her.]—it's only been, what, almost two years? I'm pretty sure anyone else wouldn't be sitting next to me right now if that had happened to them.

Edited (HTMLLLLL) 2014-12-16 23:37 (UTC)

Maybe you're right about that.

[ because he really did mess up. she's forgiven him for it and she really is over it, but she's not blind to that fact. if it had been anyone else in their group... well, she's not so sure she'd blame them if they didn't want to be his friend. ]

But I'm not anyone else, and I forgave you a long time ago.

[ because, like he said, it's been almost two years. ]

I know, but... [a small sigh before he turns off the TV and looks at her.

he knows that they've mostly brushed over this since it's a topic neither of them really like or would want to talk about. but since she brought it up, he can only assume she does want to talk about it. pull it out from under the rug they swept it under.

so he'll open up a bit. might as well do it now rather than drag it out, which is something he probably would have tried to do in the past. but perhaps a part of him does want to talk it over. to not have these "What if" questions dangling in the back of his mind.]

Leia, I shot you and had tried to kill you even before that. Hell, I might have killed Jude if you hadn't intervened. [he had hesitated back then, and it's actually very possible he might not have gone through with it then either. yet at the same time, he also could have. the line had been very, very thin back then.] There's no way you can't have any resentment or fear because of that.

[more specifically, toward him.

he's grateful, very grateful that she had it in her to not only forgive, but to also be able to stick by him like this as one of his most dearest friends—perhaps even as his best friend. a type of person he only had once before and had also ruined spectacularly. he's trying hard not to make that same mistake, but he always did before. sometimes he wonders if he won't happen again, if unwittingly.]