lucetilogs | New Feather Party, Summer Edition!

Entry tags:

New Feather Party, Summer Edition!

Who: Everyone!
What: New Feather Beach Party!
When: June 18th, 1:00 until...whenever!
Where: The Beach
Summary: Funtime Ocean/Beach Shenannigans!
Rating: G-PG

It's been a lot of hard work, but the New Feather Party is set up and ready to go! A make-shift canopy has been set up, underneath which are a few small tables covered with various foods, some made by Welcome Center staff(though people are encouraged to bring dishes of their own to share!) along with some small ice-filled coolers full of various drinks. There are also a few beach balls, some buckets full of water balloons and some small water pistols (All Pilouette could find were the basic kind; no pumps here!) scattered about for for a bit of fun in the hot weather.

((OOC: There are subthreads, but feel free to post your own top level comments as well!))

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[She supposes she shouldn't be shocked. Gai is so smart, he was probably reading her like a book at this point. He probably knows exactly what she's afraid of. This wasn't his first time, Elizabeth had figured that out long ago. This exact scenario had probably happened to him before, maybe.]

[But it was Elizabeth's first, and the look on Gai's face nearly breaks her heart. Throwing herself forward, she wraps her arms around Gai's back and buries her face in his neck.]

It is what I want! I want it to be you, because you know every part of me, everything I'm afraid might happen during it. You're not... going to hurt me, I want my first time to be with you.

I didn't know we were there yet, I thought... I didn't think anything, I only was thinking about seeing you again, not what we would be doing or when or why. I didn't realize you were already... thinking about me like that.

If I had, I would have already warned you that my body isn't perfect. [There, she said it.] And I'm not shaped like that woman in the bikini and I don't know if I'd just be disappointing or not. I may have made fun of those novels Gai, but there were a few where I thought to myself that I would never be that bold or that enticing. I'm just a plain girl with a deadly power, I'm not... [She shakes her head into Gai's shoulder and clings to him tightly.] I'm not experienced like you are.

[Instinctively, he brings his arms up to enfold her in a tight hug when she flings herself against him. Her words just confirm his suspicions, though he hadn't been expecting her to be worried about whether she was attractive enough for his standards. That's one thing he'd thought he'd already (accidentally) made quite clear.]

I don't care about your body and whether it's perfect or not. I don't care whether you look like those women in the bikinis, or even whether you're wearing one or wearing this. You felt it the other day-- just how much I wanted you, exactly the way you are. I'd never even seen you undressed. I still haven't, and I still can't think about anything else but how much I want to be with you like that.

You don't need to be like those books, and I'd give up my experience if it meant my first time could be with you.

[Not... what it had been. He just hugs her more tightly, bringing a hand up to stroke her hair.]

[When Elizabeth thinks back, she realizes that Gai couldn't have answered any other way. If he cared about her shape and her more conservative pace, he would have found someone else. He isn't the sort of person to waste time, it seems to her. So he saw something in Elizabeth that kept bringing him back. Something Elizabeth had thought she didn't have. But the fact that he wants to see her, wants to be with her 'like that' no matter what she looks like says to Elizabeth that there was something true in between no-education and the things she'd read in Luceti. Something that wasn't purely evil or purely physical, but an expression of deep affection and trust. It wasn't just about her body, was it?]

[This time, it wasn't about her body and what it could do.]

[She tries to stay quiet and not upset Gai, but she's crying silently over his shoulder. She cares for him, she trusts him.]

I have... [She cleared her throat, trying to rein in her voice from wavering.] I've thought of what I want it to be like. My first time. [She closes her eyes, trying to paint the scene.] I want to be in an evening dress, one that slides off of me, and makes me feel like a beautiful woman. Instead of a girl in a-- [She sniffs and tries to laugh.] --wet bathing suit that she has to peel off.

[She thinks for a moment, then tucks her nose against Gai's neck.] ...tomorrow night?

[Gai has certainly been with his fair share of women-- gorgeous, glamorous women, ones who looked like the women in the bikinis here. Women with big breasts and narrow waists and shapely hips who would look right at home in a movie or on the cover of some magazine. But in the end, that's all they were: pretty bodies, nothing more. They'd never meant anything to him. It was all either just to have a little bit of fun and let off some steam, or to secure funding or supplies for Funeral Parlor. A means to an end. That's all it had ever been.

But this... his desire to make her feel good doesn't stem from his ego, but from a genuine wish that she be happy and enjoy herself. He wants to give her this because she deserves something special, and more than anything, he wants to be the one to make her happy. Maybe this is what caring about someone is.

Maybe that's also why, when he realizes that she's crying, he'd do anything to get her to smile again.]

And a fancy dinner first. A real date, without any dancing on tables or drunken singing.

[He smiles and moves to nuzzle against her hair.]

I'll wear a suit to go with your dress.

[He drops a soft kiss on her temple.]

But I would be just as happy if you were still wearing this instead of some evening dress.

I wouldn't. [Elizabeth gives a short, wet laugh while she leans into Gai's kiss.] I'm cold, and the way this is sticking to me doesn't make me feel attractive at all. [She pulls back and repositions herself with her forehead to Gai's. There's a tear on her cheek, but other than that she seems to have had her moment.]

I've been a girl in a tower, looked after and watched, my whole life. I want to be beautiful and poised and independent. Not just for you, for me as well.

[Maybe she was completely overthinking this, turning it into something that was bigger than it actually was. But it felt important to her, it felt like a transitional moment. A real date, and then a night where she let Gai in closer than anyone had ever been before. No one warning her to be careful, or trying to tell her what she should think or do. Just her, in clothes that were neither provided for her nor belonged to her "mother". Another change, another shift in how she viewed herself. She wanted to be ready for it.]

And I want to see you in a suit. [She grinned.] Something dark and slim...

[He can't help but laugh too, out of happiness and relief along with the amusement.]

Actually, I find it quite attractive.

[But then he softens, leaning his forehead against hers for a moment before tilting his head just enough to kiss away that tear. That sentiment is something he too can understand: it had been why he had discarded the name "Triton" to become "Gai," because that was something he had chosen rather than something that was chosen for him.

A sign that he was no longer a tool, but a person. A person with desires and goals of his own. Someone who had thrown away his weak self to become stronger.

This is a transitional moment for both of them, whether Elizabeth realizes it or not. A beginning to a life where Gai no longer needs to be a soldier and a leader every waking moment, a life where he can just be a man and she can just be a woman and maybe, just maybe, the two of them can be happy together.

A new start.]

Not too dark. Black might be a little too depressing for the occasion.

[Elizabeth closes her eyes as Gai kisses her cheek, feeling another little flutter rise in her chest. He was so romantic, but so real at the same time. It would have felt too good to be true if she and Gai hadn't had their share of difficult conversations. But he was one of the most real things she'd ever had in her life, romanticism included.]

Oh... I suppose men can wear what they like to dinner in 2039, can't they? [She laughs a little and opens her eyes again.] I've never been this happy to be here.

Neither have I... and I've never been this scared in my life, either.

[It's possibly the most brutally honest admission he's ever made to anyone. Everyone back in his world knew him as the fearless leader of Funeral Parlor, the man who could stare down dozens of missiles being fired right at him only to have them bounce off a shield a mere foot from his face without even blinking. In his world, people were scared of him.

No one ever stopped to think that he might be afraid too.]

Scared? [Elizabeth's eyebrows pull together. She'd never imagined that Gai would be the one to be scared. He'd probably done this dozens of times, and he already walked around half naked without pause. What could he be afraid of?]

Why?

Because I've never loved anyone before.

[Though he's been trying to deny it to himself, trying to rationalize it and come up with some other logical explanation for the strange way he feels, in the end his heart knows what it is. He's never loved anyone, never BEEN loved, or even shown any genuine affection outside of those few months he spent with the Oumas.

It's something he has no experience with, and that's what frightens him.]

[Elizabeth's experiences with love are, admittedly, a little skewed. In the past she was more likely to hear 'love' in conjunction with God and the Prophet and sinners... but that wasn't what this was. This was the sort of love between people, that felt more real than a sermon and a reassurance.]

[She nods a little against Gai's forehead] Neither have I. But I like it.

I think I like it too.

[And he gathers her close again, burying his face in her still-damp hair and just breathing in her scent, feeling the way she fits just so into his arms. He'll take being scared and uncertain if it means that he can have this and everything that goes along with it.]

[Elizabeth fits herself against Gai, also thinking about how easily she fits there. Her arms around his back, head tucked against Gai's neck, she doesn't feel as cold anymore.]

[After a moment, she smiles and places a kiss on Gai's neck.] Come on, you promised I could splash you.

Guess it was too much to hope that you'd forget about that.

[He teases, but she can splash him all he wants. There will be no objections on his end. Besides, after what he pulled, a bit of splashing is the least he deserves.]

I never forget anything. [She grins and stands up, holding out her hands for Gai's.] You can pick me up and drop me in the water. I'm on alert now. [Elizabeth winks.]

[Gai takes her hands and climbs to his feet, his own grin matching hers.

Of course, this just means that the very first thing he's going to do is bend down and try to scoop her up into his arms. If he's going to get soaked, then so is she!]

[And she's half-expecting this, but Elizabeth still cries out in delight at being picked up and carried down the beach.] Right to the point, I see.

I thought I'd level the playing field a bit.

[He's wading out into the water now, stopping only when the waves brush against his thighs-- just the perfect height for her to reach down and splash him if she wants.]

How is this leveling the playing field? [Elizabeth crosses her arms and cocks an eyebrow, waiting until Gai stops. Then she looks over the "side", and puts both of her hands on Gai's chest and rolls out of his arms into the water.]

[And the next moment she's standing and bringing as much water as her arms can up in Gai's direction.]

[... in retrospect, he probably should've seen that coming. But even if he had... well, he still would've let her do it, because now he's laughing and splashing right back, not even caring that he's getting soaked and his hair is falling into his eyes.

He's having fun. Real, genuine fun.]

You know-- [Elizabeth hurls another hand of water at Gai.] Until I can pick you up and drop you, there won't ever be an even playing field!

Then you'll just have to find some other way to get back at me instead.

[He draws his arm back, then sends a small wave of water in her direction]

And you're more than welcome to try things out.

[Elizabeth screams again and turns away, but she gets the whole wave. Of course, the girl is trying to outrun Gai in a wet wool dress. She bites her lip, clearly taking Gai's challenge.]

[She takes a run at Gai and jumps in an attempt to latch onto Gai's chest, wondering if she can overbalance him with enough momentum.]

[Maybe if she weighed more and if Gai wasn't solid muscle, she might have a chance. As it is, he just holds out his arms to catch her as she launches herself at him, moving with her momentum to swing her around in a circle while he holds her.

Except he may be laughing a little harder than he'd meant to, which may contribute to him overbalancing and... over he goes, backwards into the water with her atop him.]

[Well, yes, she should have expected that. And now he's swinging her around like it's nothing and she's laughing right along with him. Until they go over, and then she's surprised all over again as she hits the water after Gai.]

[While they're in the water, Elizabeth attempts to bump noses with Gai before she lets go and surfaces.] I was last in, that counts!

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