Beach-side Beginnings

Magna smiled as she rubbed the lotion into his skin. She'd even avoided messing up his tail which was very considerate. He didn't mind people touching his tail at all. It didn't bother him in the slightest. In fact as she went below the tail he moved it to lightly brush the back of his head. Her hand had traced over some of his scars lingering on some of them. "I can explain some of the marks on my back if you want." he said genuininely willing to discuss them. Perhaps information on the perils he had faced would interest her and make her more interested in him? However, it seemed that her interest was more on the sand castle building contest and she was convinced that she was going to beat him.

"We will see." Magna said with a grin as he curled into a ball and then sprung up landing on his hand before flipping back onto his feet. With his tail to give balance and his toned body he was a lot more capable of acrobatic feats. As she revealed a few of her companions Magna pressed a hand to his side where a knife resided and nodded. "Its great to meet you all. Let me introduce you to someone as well." He flicked the knife towards the sand in the distance and it began to glow. As it hit the sand there was a bright flash of light and when it faded a tall iron clad figure stood there. "This is my buddy Aegis, he's been with me as long as I can remember." The knight bowed going down onto one knee.

"It is an honour to meet a friend of Magna." However, with those words there was another bright flash of light and the knife was in Magna's hand again and Aegis was gone. He seemed as surprised by this then anyone and stared at the knife quizically.

"Seems Aegis isn't in the mood to hang out." he said and then glanced about and saw a large expanse of sand. Using a bottle of water which he conjured out of nowhere he surrounded the expanse and then divided it into two. ]"You can build up to the line, anything you want, but not on the lines or over them. We can both use whatever magic we want to build our castles, but we can't damage the other's castle." He explained. It was a good idea to set some boundaries for a competition. However, as she said it was a good idea to have a prize of sorts.

"How about this. Whoever loses has to grant one, realistic, wish of the user no matter how embarassing. However, we'll agree on the wishes beforehand. So if you win what would be your wish?"

As intrigued by the scars as she was, they could wait in the face of competition – and perhaps a story for another date, or at least later. Judging by the way he got to his feet Shade felt it safe to assume he was just as excited as she over the little competition. Again he seemed adamant about showing her up a little by introducing a very interesting friend, and she briefly considered showing off how cool her friends could be when the knight returned to his knifely form, stunning the girl. She hadn’t even gotten a simple “hello” out, though she enjoyed his courteous nature all the same.

Curious eyes watched as he outlined an area for their competition, limiting their work space to a set area and laying out some perhaps good rules. ’Oh well, it’s not like I know where Ghost Cat is anyhow. Such a fickle thing,’ she thought with a shrug. It’d been just a tiny idea, though it wouldn’t be a true win unless she properly outclassed him anyhow. With those rules set and the wishes now up for debate she decided to get one thing out of the way before it became a problem.

The little blue wolf with its golden horn jumped as her attention immediately shot before it, ”First things first: Gaspard! Your job is perhaps the most important one now: you must guard CM. If anyone’s likely to interfere in this competition it’s him so I’m trusting you on this: I don’t want to lose on a technicality!” She loved the silly little moose, she really did, but if anybody here could be most likely to “accidentally wreak havoc” then it was his adorably bumbling butt. It was his charm really, but she didn’t want to upset him by banishing him either, sure that the wolf could keep him corralled under the table or on the towel and watch from a safe distance. Besides he’d be less likely to panic about doing a good job from there.

With that matter dealt with the short mage considered her wish as she watched them trot off. Something realistic…it was hard to decide with various options running through her head. Some of the possibilities came off merely as challenges such as creating a tasty dish shaped like one of her little friends or perhaps forcing him to design and sew one for her to see if he could work fabric with half the skill he sported with food, but that involved a bit of delayed gratification too. They’d already agreed to meet again if not more beyond that so forcing Magna to go with her somewhere just sounded silly and unnecessary. Finally she settled on something that could be done here and now instead of later, ”If I win…then you either have to run to that palm tree and back while carrying CM and yelling “I love this moose!” out loud or feed me dessert! If you don’t have dessert planned already then it’ll be the moose run for sure!” She’d briefly considered forcing him to give her a piggyback ride so they could buy ice cream at one of the shacks before realizing he might have a dessert course planned already.

An interesting choice of wish. "Of course I have a dessert planned, its a rather special one I don't bring out very often." he said with a smile and then thought about what might be a good wish for him to ask of her if he won. They already had arranged later dates and later travel. They'd also kissed so asking for a kiss was out of the question. It was tricky. There was one thing he wanted, but it was to soon to ask for that. He wanted her to come with him back to Black Rose. But that would mean potentially tearing away from her home and making a commitment she might not be ready to make. Black Rose ace's had certain things bonding them to the guild and certain rules they must obey when it came to true romantic partners. Well, if they were married anyway. He didn't know what to wish for so he decided to go for something simple. "If I win then you have to be my sous chef in the next cooking contest I enter. That means training with me beforehand."

That was the wish he decided. It would allow them to spend more time together and bond over something he enjoyed together. Besides, he felt that she might have some talent in cooking to some extent hidden away inside. Perhaps it would be like Izayuki in that she would just have insight. She certainly had creativity. Her animal companions, stuffed though they might be, were going to be useful in helping her. Many hands made light work and that thought made him grin.

He focused and the two extra faces and four extra arms returned. He looked a lot more fearsome in this form, but he was also swift in beginning to sculpt the sand using conjured up bottles of water to harden the sand in various areas. First he made a large round base to work on that was formed by digging a large moat around the area with a small bit of sand left behind to act as a bridge. He nodded and then began to build the castle. In his mind's eye he had an idea. One that would be beautiful and sure to impress. Then he paused. "Did we agree on castles? Or just constructs of sand?"

’I knew it! …I wonder what it is,’ the thought drifted away though with more important stakes at hand as she awaited his terms in their little contest. When he finally delivered his end of the bargain though she blinked twice as it registered: while Shade might not know what she’d been expecting it certainly hadn’t been that. ’He’d trust me with something like that?’ Well…it’s not like she’d actually tried cooking before, the notion never occurring before when other people did it so well already. It tickled her however in ways she couldn’t quite describe nor fully understand. While Shade didn’t plan on losing it might not be as bad as she initially imagined. ”Very well, then the terms are decided!”

Again the extra limbs resurfaced, startling the girl for a moment before determination replaced the shock, designs starting to flit through her mind of what to design and then what would actually be realistically possible with sand and water. She adamantly refused to be intimidated, snapping her fingers and summoning another duet: Desa and Haigha. While she wouldn’t trust the rabbit twins with construction their oversized ears and general pudgy shaped bodies would retain more water than the other’s she’d called upon. Quickly they toddled off towards the ocean, a few giggles escaping in their glee over a fun sounding contest.

As Zero and Macha set off for a personal mission Shade set about creating a base pile with the lioness and…well at times she really wasn’t sure what Kumei was. Considering towers and the height of the outer wall the mental image faded a bit as she looked up, ”Huh? Erm…well I guess it doesn’t really matter if you have your heart set on something else. I mostly just wanted to build a castle.” She recalled the various images from storybooks of old, wanting to recreate parts of them, though into a personal masterpiece. ’Though trying for balconies might be tricky…but it’d be lame to play it safe! I wonder if they’ll be able to find some sand crab shells lying around for people…’

When the twins returned they appeared engorged with water, using their bodies as little more than sponges after romping around in waves. She outright emptied Desa’s payload to create a stock of wet sand, the silly white rabbit laughing like a child on a ride before wobbling back towards the water to refill. Haigha stood there with the stitched smile in place, trying not to giggle too much less she accidentally shudder water out, but the sheer novelty of the situation entertained her to no end as Shade, Kumei, and Celty took turns using her stash of water to solidify their walls and growing towers. The shape was coming along quite nicely she decided, carefully crafting a cone top to her tower and moved on to helping Celty with the wall, leaving Kumei to do a slight roofing design with his more pointy claw-like fingers.

"Let's keep it as castles. Easier to judge them if they are similar" he said with a nod. He did have some other ideas of what he could make out of sand, but he would keep those for later. Atop his circle of sand he began to make a large pile of sand. He stared at it for a moment an image forming in his mind. If this has been chocolate or something like that he could of sculpted it much more easily. He considered the best way to sculpt the sand. He decided that solid sand was perhaps a bit more chocolate like and so doused the pile of sand liberally in water. Once that was done rather than trying to use sand in buckets or something like that he decided to sculpt the sand directly. Tools appears in each of his hands and he began to mold the sand slowly, removing bits of sand, adding bits of sand. Slowly it was beginning to take shape. His aim was to build a magical castle he had seen once in a lacrima movie when he was a kid. A young boy with a scar shaped like a lightning bolt had gone there. He'd even seen a sand castle of it once on his journeys. He didn't think he'd be able to pull off the level of details that person had, he wasn't an earth mage after all, but he was sure he could get something somehow.

His focus was absolute and as such his eyes turned to red and became much more monkey like. His movements became swifter and more precise. It was slowly coming to meet his vision, but it still wasn't quite there. Perhaps getting to the level he had seen was impossible. He nodded and changed his vision going for a simpler design. It would still be quite good of that he was certain, but whether it would compare to hers was another matter. She had a full team of people. Even more hands to help and they were separate and thus could do more work at once in separate areas.

Then again with so many people and all of them separate it was possible that they wouldn't work together so well and thus more mistakes were likely to happen. Lots of ideas all clashing. Rather than many hands made like work it was more too many cooks spoiled the broth. It was kind of funny thinking about it. "So do you have any preferences for desserts?" Magna asked curiously. It would be good to see if his idea for dessert was suitable. Didn't want to find out she hated overly sweet foods or something like that. He wasn't trying to distract her, but he also didn't want for them to be too much in silence. It might get a little comfortable.

Spoiler:

Things were coming along nicely, Shade stepping back for a moment to admire the vision before returning to more detailed work. It was unfortunate but while Celty’s chunky paws helped with the base form she unfortunately couldn’t help with finer details like Kumei. Things subsequently slowed until the cavalry arrived, toting various little dead sand crabs and a long line of seaweed. ’Hmm…it’d be neat to fashion some plant life…but perhaps too time consuming for now,’ she decided. Touching the substance only furthered the idea, the long weed unfortunately fresh and unpleasantly slimy as a result. With more, thin hands at her disposal the windows and doorways started to form to her liking, little archways carved into the sides. A stick eventually became her ally as they worked solely on detail work.

”Well ice cream sounds really nice right now,” she answered, voice light with her split attention, ”though if you have something else planned I look forward to it. Dessert’s my favorite part of any meal.” She held quite the fondness for the sweeter foods, the crumpets and little treats her favorite part of any tea time – though one might question her sugar levels given the addition of milk and honey to her cups. Sometimes it seemed more like tea-and-honey flavored milk more than tea. Normal people might question why the chocolate hadn’t been dessert itself, but it simply wasn’t the girl’s style to question more delicious treats.

Finally it reached the point where all she had left was to place the little “citizens” in their new abode. A pair of guards stood before the main gateway to her mini civilization as other crabian people milled about, more guardsmen patrolling the higher walkways to spy anything in the distance. While they might have a peace treaty with Magna’s kingdom currently that didn’t mean they couldn’t turn on them at a moment’s notice! Ooooor some other sand castle kingdom might attack and try to steal her allies away. Her people did get some delicious benefits from their peace treaty.

Placing the final pair down she stared at the scene, unsure if they were star-crossed lovers speaking to one another as one sat atop a balcony and the other below it, or if the one on the ground might be serenading the other. Overall pleased with her creation she chimed out, ”Done!” Peering over she deflated a tiny bit, enjoying the openness of design to his mountainous kingdom compared to her more close-knit, militaristic stronghold. ”This might be a close call,” she muttered before something caught her attention: the damsel upon the balcony started falling as the thing gave way.

”No! Urf...should’ve used a curve instead….hey…wait! The people are actually moving!” Even the guards were leaving their posts to wander off and her eyes flew towards the dark, fox stuffed animal and the white feline, ”Guys they were supposed to be dead! Augh the citizens are destroying their town when it was supposed to be invaders!” She watched with a bit of dismay as they scuttled about, bridges now giving way beneath shuffling bodies and chunks of wall shook loose. While she appreciated some of the aesthetic as if a little battle-worn the girl preferred the more pristine version. Palm met face gently with a sigh as one of the towers gave up on life as a couple crabs seemed intent on walking up it for whatever little inane reason their tiny brains created. ”Well…I do really like your’s…the detail on the waterfall alone is amazing…I suppose your people were simply meant to last longer than mine: I concede defeat.”

Spoiler:

In all honesty, if her castle had not fallen apart as it had then she would of won. She had gone into much more detail on things like figures than he had. Though she had used crabs instead of actual sand sculptures. He'd been planning to make some, but found the sand a bit too fiddly for his taste. However, even in its battle worn state it was still quite authentic and he decided to give her a different kind of gift. "I think in truth if it hadn't of been for your mishap with the crabs you would of won so how about we call it a tie and we both get our wish?" he suggested hoping that would make her happy. Then he walked over to her castle and with a slight smile on his face coated the entire thing, making sure her and her animals were out of the way, in flame. The flames were quickly doused and when they were what was left was not a sand castle, but a glass castle. He did the same to his own.  "If you like them then i'll carry them back to somewhere for you. That way you have a souverneir of our first date." he said with a smile hoping she would like what he did. However, whether she liked it or not he had an idea for her castle. Something that would be impossible if it was made of sand. On top of that due to the size of the castle it was much easier to make it as the dessert was quite sizeable.

Her castle was quite suited to something he had in mind so he instructed her to close her eyes and whether she did or not he began to prepare a dish using her castle as the bowl. When he told her to open her eyes what was seen was a giant parfait with seven different colours of ice cream and seven different fruits, matching those ice creams, around it. The sauce that covered it sparkled seven different colours. A true rainbow of colours.  "I present to you your desert. The Rainbow Parfait." he said and then looked at it realising how big it was as the two extra faces and four extra arms faded. It was taller than him. He ran a hand through his hair and performed a nervous chuckle. "Its more of a sharing dessert if i'm honest, not sure if your friends can eat but i'm sure they'd like it if they can."

He was honestly quite pleased with the result and the speed to which he'd been able to craft it. IT was the first time he'd made it since gaining his extra limbs. In fact, last  time he made this was before he even got his tail. Five extra limbs really did help. He hoped she would like it. She said she liked ice cream and he got the idea that she had a sweet tooth and in all honesty he knew of nothing sweeter than the rainbow fruit. It was very, very sugary and to be honest quite fattening, but considering they both travelled a lot he was sure they would burn off any excess fat.

The coup de grace to the design though was that he had made each of the seven balls of ice cream into the shape of one of her stuffed animals. Unfortunately, there were eight of them and only seven colours. As such he'd shaped the large amatano cherry on top into the shape of the final one, CM. He hoped she'd appreciate the effort and know that he was much better sculpting with food than sand.

Ah, a tie: not the complete satisfaction of winning, but not the entire sadness of losing either. She could accept that, curious what learning from him would be like even if she’d never attempted cooking before. If little else it was an excuse to see him further and spend time with him, though he seemed just as eager to find reasons and ways. Smiling she nodded at the idea, glad that at least she hadn’t completely failed even if her sand castle came with authentic battle damage now instead of living in its glorious golden era. Then, much to her surprise Magna opted to immortalize their castles with a bit of flame work, the little plush people of her’s making sure to scuttle further away lest their fuzzy bodies get accidentally singed. Given the fact she’d carefully and lovingly crafted those forms for them herself, she wouldn’t have been pleased with their lack of caution.

A souvenir though? She almost asked for his instead, but didn’t want to laden him with her’s in turn so she kept quiet on the matter. Luckily her room also didn’t sport a lot of junk like some of the other’s she’d peaked into back at the guild hall, not owning a lot of personal things, or at least things that couldn’t rest in her true home instead.

Closing her eyes, the white-haired girl wasn’t disappointed when she opened them to a mound of not only ice cream, but ice cream shaped in the funny and adorable forms of her friends. ’Even the cheery is shaped like CM! How did he do that?!’ She marveled at it, walking around the impossible dessert, her very castle used as the dish to house the pile of frozen plush sculptures. Even those silly, cute curved smiles of the twins and a hashed set of X for eyes on Kumei: his level of detail astounded her.

It’d almost be a crime to eat this.

It’d be a worse crime to let it go to waste.

”Well…I already have to wash them so I suppose it’s okay if they help a little. I mean it wouldn’t be entirely fair to eat this in front of them.” Though Shade never really fed them, not in a traditional method at any rate since the denizens weren’t fully, honestly alive either. They didn’t need it for sustenance like Magna or a lot of the other beach attendees did. ’Well…not that I fully do either…’ Shade couldn’t determine where she fully sat on the “alive-dead” spectrum, not really wanting to know. When in “Paradise” she pretended to eat, but it wasn’t real food either. Yet when in the mortal plane she gained something of an appetite so a part of her liked to think she was still alive since she sported other, similar traits to the living.

Briefly she considered releasing one of her little friends from their stuffed bodies into their real form to help consume this confection, the girl not wanting to waste any of it. Another part of her thought about calling for Amarylis as well, though she supposed a dragon on the beach might cause a bit of a disturbance. ’Well I guess they’ll just have to stuff whatever they can into their bodies for now and maybe there’s a way to take the leftovers home?’ Considering he could craft fantastic foods and even turn their castles into glass sculptures she hoped he might have some way to let it keep until she could get it to a freezer.

Gathered around it as they were, the little stuffed bunch waited as Shade turned and smiled expectantly at Magna, ”Well, best not to let the sun melt it. I believe my wish involved you feeding me dessert?” She wouldn’t force him to do the bit involving CM, especially when he went through the trouble of turning the beloved moose into the cherry-on-top. Shade’s tails swayed side to side slowly, clearly anticipating the act, though ultimately she just liked being close to him

He smiled at her saying that her victory, even in the state of a tie, involved her being fed the dessert by him. He had no issues with that as he too just wanted to be close to her. He really had fallen for her. It wasn't quite love at first sight as he hadn't just looked at her and instantly fell. No, over the course of their day together, their actions together, their conversation together he had gradually fallen for her and now he wanted to stay close to her. He glanced at the large pile of ice cream and then conjured up a pair of stools next to the castle bowl and urged her to sit down on one. Once she was sat he leaped into the air using his monkey like agility and using a spoon which came out of nowhere shovelled a bit of each colour and each fruit into a small bowl that had formed in his other hand. He landed next to her and then sat down on his own stool and turned to her with a smile on his face as he lifted the first bit of ice cream, the red from near the top, towards her lips. Strangely, the idea of her lips being coated in red was appealing. Ah, how he wanted to kiss those lips again.

He continued to feed her dessert, swapping from one flavour to another as he did so and then decided to speak. "So, do you want to take both castles home or just one?" he asked curiously. He could carry both of them most likely as he doubted even combined they weighed anywhere near 1000 times his own weight. "Also if we can't finish the dessert together today then i'll put it back into my pocket dimension and we can finish it off next time. It keeps things fresh and at the right temperature, though I have no idea why or how. Magic I guess"

He watched with a slightly entertained smile as the stuffed animals stuffed themselves with something other than cotton or wool or feathers (or whatever was inside them). No instead they were liberally coating themselves in ice cream. It was strange to see plushies eating, but it was not the weirdest thing he'd seen so it didn't bother him. In fact, he enjoyed the sight. He loved it when people enjoyed his food.

Happily she sat down, smiling in wait as he would dutifully feed her as promised – and sometime later she’d begin cooking lessons. Mildly she wondered how he planned to feed her from this mound before he leaped into the air and swiftly gathered bits here and there from the mountainous dessert, receiving a small round of applause from Shade as he not only managed to create an equally delicious (and more manageable) form, but also stuck his landing. Each dish he prepared seemed to come with some unique performance though in all fairness the sheer artistic level of sculpture on this one exceeded masterpiece in the girl’s mind, yet presenting a lovely, smaller form left her giddy with various flavors of excitement that she could only name a few, the rest still a mystery. The only truth that made perfect sense even if the full spectrum of why eluded her was that she enjoyed Magna’s mere presence. Something about him lit up the world and made it more…interesting to interact with rather than spectate as she often did.

Shifting just a little to further face the golden eyed man she daintily ate the ice cream, making sure to let it sit in her mouth for the flavor to truly settle on her taste buds.

After that first bite she sent a mental command to the plush figures currently trying to eat a series of caves into the massive structure not to gorge themselves too much as she definitely wanted leftovers for later. A hum of bliss escaped as she savored it, eyes opening as she looked at Magna, waiting as he scooped yet another color and bit of fruit for her to try. Even better than taking some home – where she ran the risk of some food thief raiding her prize – she immediately nodded, swallowing the previous flavor, ”Ooh, yes! Perfect! Then nobody can steal it on purpose or accident!” She wouldn’t outright admit to being greedy on that front, but damned if the girl didn’t want to share! Her denizens were one thing as they’d helped her secure a solid tie with their help today and they did do a fair share of work for her, but everyone else would simply have to deal!

And, well it probably ensured they didn’t bring her wrath down upon them unwittingly. How silly it might sound to start an inner guild war or dispute over ice cream, but not unlikely for her.

Taking another offered bite her eyes slid back towards the castles, reconsidering her earlier decision already. It was a bit strange for her as normally the girl would go for what she wanted without much care to another, but for some reason she couldn’t help thinking twice where her monkey-tailed date was concerned. ”Mmm…well…I mostly just want your’s…” she finally admitted, ”I’m still a bit annoyed at the sand crab mishap with mine.” A small blush tinged her cheeks as she stared at the massive mound of dessert slightly deflating as it suffered a minor cave-in. Why was it so hard suddenly to admit she just wanted a memento of this day and him? Sure they’d see each other again, but in the meantime she’d be able to simply look over at the castle and remember today with a great fondness. She figured if she ended up with both of the castles though then her mind could simply craft odd little stories and scenarios as it so often did.

Another idea struck however before he could scoop another spoonful, her hands reaching out for both bowl and instrument. It was pure whim that spurred her on, ”Here, your turn! I’ll feed you! It's only fair that you have some as well!”

Inside one of the giant scoops of ice cream Gaspard stopped, a bit surprised by the desire of their mistress. So used to her selfishness, the sudden wish to try and mimic his kindness astounded the guardian, only Celty catching on as well as the others continued to blissfully consume chunks of the cold treat until they could stuff their bellies no more.

It seemed she wanted his. Perhaps because it was less damaged or perhaps she wanted it because it was a souvenir for something he had made. "Ok then, i'll take your one. That way we both have something to remember the other by." he said with a smile. He'd rather just take her home, but that was probably not an option yet. It would be a while before they were ready to introduce each other to other people in their lives. Or maybe not. He wasn't an expert on these things. He raised an eyebrow though as she wanted the bowl so she could feed him. He didn't mind of course. He just hadn't expected it. He handed over the bowl and spoon, but as he did so he leaned in and kissed her on the cheek. It seemed the right thing to do and he just really wanted to kiss her again. Especially as her lips probably now tasted of his ice cream and of all the things he'd made today these were probably the best. Certainly the most intricate except perhaps the chocolate.

In truth, she had earned even more of his respect and admiration then earlier. Not because she enjoyed his dish, but because she had let every mouthful melt on her tongue and truly savoured the taste. So few nowadays truly appreciated their food and instead wanted to scoff it down as swiftly as possible. He looked over at the ice cream pile which had now become an intricate honeycomb or mine as the animals slowly ate their way through it focusing mostly on their own flavours. Or at least the flavours in the shape of their head.

"I've really enjoyed today." he said between mouthfuls of ice cream. He wished it would never end. Still eventually it would end, but hopefully their relationship would not end. He wanted to see her again and again. He wondered if he should bring something other than food to their next date.

Pleased over his quick acquiescence of both castle and ice cream, a tiny gasp escaped as she felt his lips press against her lips. A light dust of pink tinged her pale skin, though still no match for the vibrancy of one of the ice cream sculptures – or what remained of it. It’d been as if he used a spot of electric magic or other as a jolt had shot through her, sparking the ensuing blush. Unable to stare at him for a few seconds she concentrated on the ice cream in the bowl, trying to decide which to feed him first. Sure the man undoubtedly knew how they tasted or else Shade would be surprised to learn he hadn’t tested it on himself first, but she wanted to share some of her favorites with him since he’d been patient enough to do so for her.

Opting for the same red one first, she held it out and smiled as he took the offered bite. She’d rather enjoyed the fruity flavor and how it blossomed on her tongue, not subtle and yet without drowning her taste buds into a numb state of pleasure that she couldn’t enjoy the others. After he seemed satisfied with it she offered a spoonful of what she surmised to be some form of vanilla, its soft flavor delicious and yet a little soothing after the stronger red one yet working in harmony – something the girl enjoyed more recalling the stripes swirling about his tail. The third one she’d gotten a little over zealous with, filling the spoon too much and she watched as a little dribbled free. Lightly and yet before he could swing his tongue out to catch it Shade caught it with the spoon, bringing it and the rest of the bite to her mouth with a little hum of pleasure.

Eventually one-by-one the little plush figures tumbled out of the mound of frozen delight, the thing deflated and yet plenty left. If one opened up any of the stuffed guardians they wouldn’t find a lick of ice cream inside though there was sufficient amounts soaking the outside. They’d certainly take a tumble or few in a washing machine back home to cure them of potential stains, but one could doubt that they’d enjoyed their fill as they lay flopped against the sand in what could only be determined as a “food coma.”

”Same,” she murmured, a little sad at knowing it’d come to an end sooner or later. ’I suppose that will make seeing him again all the sweeter?’ Even if the thought held merit it still tasted a little bitter at the moment. ”I guess it’s true that ‘all good things must come to an end.’ But…” she tilted her head off to the side, frowning in thought before her attention returned to Magna, smiling softly, ”without an end there can’t be a new beginning either. If today doesn’t end then we can’t enjoy the cliffs or the spa town, or any other place or times that will happen.”

"Yeah all good things come to an end, but hopefully this relationship won't come to an end anytime soon." he said with a smile and then looked over at the small stuffed animals coated in ice cream. They'd managed to get through a substantial amount, much more than their size would make you think possible. He was honestly surprised they weren't exploding. "I really want to see you again and again."

The bowl of ice cream that he had gathered was pretty much empty now and the ice cream that was in the castle was slowly beginning to melt now. The structural integrity had been severely weakened by the animals and the suns rays. With a snap of his fingers it vanished leaving an almost perfectly clean glass castle. His gaze swept over to the sun which was beginning to set turning the sky a beautiful mix of pinks, red and oranges.

"Beautiful." he said as his gaze returning to her. He didn't say which he thought was beautiful, her, the sunset or both. He'd leave that up to her own imagination. Not everything had to be revealed straight away. He stared into her eyes and his smile broadened. "Should we start heading home then? We can arrange plans for next time on the way"

A grin lit up her face, ”Sounds like an easy enough wish to grant!” Her eyes also turned to the remnants of the once fantastic dessert, the form having lost its original luster between devouring and the sun’s rudeness. ’Oh well, it was nice while it lasted…and at least there are still leftovers.’ It tickled her all the same that he’d molded them into the heads of her little friends who continued to lay about until she snapped her fingers and they all disappeared. ’I guess I’ll just have to find Ghost Cat or Amarylis if I want company on the way home.’

Time really flew by, the single word catching her attention and causing the girl’s head to whip around. How long had it been since she’d seen a proper sunset? Though she couldn’t recall one at the beach, the gradients alone leaving her a little breathless as the rippling waters sparkled like a field of gems. Had they always been filled with such an array of colors? ”Yes, it is,” she answered, not catching the other meaning as her attention remained riveted on the sight.

Standing up the girl stretched, shivering after as a chilly wind flittered by. ’I’ll have to change before going back too. Maybe I’ll just let Amarylis choose the clothes for me.’ The unique denizen would insist on escorting her home, having left her to the date purely on Shade’s wish. Looking about their little spot she furrowed her brow as most of the items, if not basically all but the chocolates, were his. ”Umm…is there anything you need help with?” Though she supposed he could merely snap it away as he had the ice cream, but she couldn’t be sure. ”And I suppose we still need to flip a coin and see which one to do first. Though I’ve never been to a spa, much less a town based on it so perhaps that one?” Until that time she’d have to do some research about places to go to, though at least if they ventured outside of Fiore she’d already acquired a passport. Who knew people could be so picky if you didn’t have a little book with your picture in it?

He snapped his fingers with a smile and all except the large castles dissapeared. However, rather than just making things dissapear a pair of intricate gauntlets had appeared on his hands. He looked at her for a moment and then with one hand lifted the castle above his head and then lifted the other one. The balancing would be the tricky bit, but the weight would not be an issue. These were his Black Velvet gauntlets and they allowed him to lift approximately 1000 times his own weight. They'd been very useful on multiple seperate occasions already and he'd only had them a few weeks.

"I'm all good in terms of help." he said with a smile. He wondered if this feat of strength would impress her or not. Sure it was the gauntlets and not him taking most of the weight, but it still looked impressive. Especially as he had to balance them and they weren't exactly perfectly balanced in terms of shape or design, especially hers due to the battle damage. Still, as one who excelled in the culinary arts he also did a good job as a waiter and as such balancing things was entirely within his skillset.

"The spa town sounds good to me." he said glad she had picked because if they'd flipped a coin then one or both of them might have been dissapointed. The cliffs would be nice of course, but the spa town had other merits. In his head a few dirty thoughts ran through, a new sensation in truth, as he imagined her at the spa. "I've not been there myself though i've heard its fantastic. Hot springs, massages, mud baths. The works really. I wonder what the food's like." Sure he wanted to go there for the spa and the potential to see Shade in various states of undress, but whenever he went to a place he would always try the food so that he could try to discern how they were cooked and add to his repertoire.

"If we head back to town i'll get you a coach ticket to take you home." he said with a smile. He wasn't exactly short on cash at the moment. "Unless of course home is nearby in which case we could walk." he kind of hoped this was the case as he'd like to spend more time with her. Even though they'd see eachother soon.

’Oh, I guess not.’ Cleanup was just as easy for him if not more so as everything vanished aside for the castles. Before she could raise any questions about them however the man picked them up as if they were little more than pillows or books. Outside of finding the sweet spot for carrying them she marveled at how easy that’d been, almost missing the gauntlets entirely. ’Oh, probably good to have something to use for a grip. Hmm…’

Broken from her marveling, the spa place sounded more and more fantastic and interesting. She couldn’t recall having a mud bath before – she remembered being told not to play in the mud before though – and she held vague recollections of how nice a massage could be when she permitted someone to touch her at all. She supposed after such treatments the meals would have to be spectacular, ”Good I imagine, perhaps a sort of feast after all that?” After all how else would one top off such self-pampering? Maybe they even had clothes one could wear after, imagining changing back into one’s regular ones a bit unsatisfying after that. No, one had to relax…”It’d probably be an overnight trip though. Would be a waste to spend so much time relaxing the body and spirit only to go back home…hopefully they have some nice inns.”

Like hell she’d be camping after all that.

Her expression darkened a bit as a spot of sadness took over, ”Unfortunately it’ll be a coach ticket as Terra Ignis is a bit of a ways from here. I’m not sure what inns are along the way either…” Hesitating she finally admitted in a small yet audible voice, ”I…hate camping.” Shade didn’t want to force him to carry the castles that far either, not entirely sure how long of a journey that’d be. ”Where do you live? If it’s closer we could walk there instead and I could simply catch a coach from there?”

A blush came to his face as she mentioned overnight accommodation at an inn. Would they be sharing a room? Or would they have to get seperate rooms? They were young after all. Well, visibly they were. He had no idea of her true age yet. Still an overnight trip with her could be interesting. That would give them more time for relaxing and for sampling all Hosenka had to offer. "How about we make a weekend of it? Go there friday evening, leave monday morning." he suggested as an idea. That way they would have plenty of time together to grow closer and enjoy all there was to offer. Besides, he was pretty sure they did package deals for weekends so it could end up working out really well for them.

She mentioned that it would have to a coach trip as her home was rather far away. Terra Ignis. He'd been around that area once before, but not gone there himself. The coach trip there would take a while. Still, it was closer than his home on Lavantir and he told her so. "Unless you have a spell that can let us walk on water walking to my place is impossible. I live over on Silvermoon Island in the Lavantir port city." he said and wondered if this would reveal his allegiance to the now legal guild known as Black Rose. Then again, now he thought about it, she said she was from Terra Ignis. That was the home of the mage guild Infinity Hydra. Was she apart of that guild? That he was not sure of. It was definitely more of a possibility. Generally, mages belonged to guilds and if you were in that guild's town you were more than likely to be a part of that guild. He wasn't sure what Black Rose's viewpoint on Infinity Hydra was. However, in all honesty he didn't care. Though a thought did come to his mind. As an ace he couldn't leave Black Rose, his body had been changed and a covenant struck. So if there relationship did blossom into something more serious when they were a bit older than....she'd have to come to Black Rose. He was pretty sure that was how the pact worked. He'd have to double check with Kakuma.

"I've not been to Terra Ignis before, been around the area, but not actually into the town. Want some company for the journey?" he said again making another suggestion. He was in no rush to return to Black Rose right now. So he could take a leisurely journey from Terra Ignis to the nearest port and then catch a ride back to Lavantir. "That way, if you do have to camp, at least the food will be half decent."

A weekend sounded lovely, the girl happily agreeing to that idea. Nobody would miss her for that stretch of time, well, she didn’t think they’d miss her even if she went off for a week on a job. So far she’d only made acquaintances with the staff there, the very same that’d prodded her into joining this little blind date thing so perhaps she’d upgrade them to friends. Casual friends, but friends nevertheless. With a weekend though they wouldn’t have to fear cramming everything into a single day, able to take in not only the sights and experiences, but test out more food than a single meal or two could offer. ’Probably a bit of research for him too.’ It was cute in a way, though not like Magna seemed the type to hide it having brought it up himself, but if they ate some yummy food so he could find new recipes or ideas then so be it!

Unfortunately neither of them lived nearby, though at least he could still potentially see her to her door before toddling off home. ”No…I mean, Celty can fly…but if it’s too far we’d probably end up taking a dip.” Perhaps it’d be something to work on though, recalling various fliers she’d created but swimmers…’I suppose a good leviathan or some cute shark wouldn’t be remiss…oh!’ In the distance where the sand met granite she could see a certain black fox, its red mane making it more visible in the ensuing twilight. Draped across its back sat a white jacket for the girl. Eyes drifting back up to the castles however she nixed the idea of asking Amarylis to shift into her draconic form and fly them, unsure she could be bothered with the added weight.

Really it was a toss-up between seeing him home safe and cutting their time together shorter.

”Mmmm…we could simply share a coach back to Terra Ignis? It’ll be a bit late getting back, but then you won’t have to carry the castles the entire time. I’m not sure how you’re making it look so easy, but I imagine after a while your arms might tire out: better to relax.” That way they could even catch a nap in something more comfortable than the dirt, the girl scrunching her nose at the mere notion. She might like to play in nature and the like, but forced to slumber on cold, hard ground? Nope.

Grabbing the coat from the odd fox she slipped her arms through and pulled it closed, happy with the increased warmth. A thought occurred however as she cocked her head to the side, ”Lavantir…and the rose mark on your side…does that mean you’re a part of Black Rose?” Would explain the flower motif – especially the roses. At first she’d merely thought it a tattoo during their competition in the sand, but thinking back it made more sense now.

"Yeah that doesn't really seem like a good idea. Swimming whilst carrying these castles would probably be tricky." he said with a grin. In fact, it would probably be impossible. Even though he could carry the weight that didn't mean he would be able to support that weight whilst swimming. His arms could take the strain, but whether his legs could in the water was another matter. He didn't want to drown because of castles, but he also didn't want to throw them away. "A coach journey to Terra Ignis sounds good to me. I'll probably crash at an inn there and head out the next day, unless of course you want to give me a tour."

He froze slightly as she mentioned the guild. It was a natural assumption to make. As easy as putting two and two together. He was a mage, he was from lavantir and he had a rose mark on his side. He also had a dryad mark on his body, but that wasn't as important. THose three clues together pretty much screamed out Black Rose. "Yeah i'm one of the aces at Black Rose. Though i've been a resident at the guild hall since before it was a guild hall." he said and wondered if that was too much. Would she know of the guild hall's history as a base for a mafia group? It wasn't common knowledge, but then again they were becoming more famous now so perhaps their history would be a bit more well known. "How about you? You're a mage from Terra Ignis. Does that make you Infinity Hydra?" Again it wasn't a great mental leap to think of that. She was a mage from the city where Infinity Hydra was based and thus was most likely a member of that guild or a guildless member. It was good they were finding out more about each other. He just hoped that this wouldn't change things. He was enjoying the way things were now.

It was strange and a thought came to his head. Was she now his girlfriend? They'd been on a date and agreed on more. One of which was a romantic getaway. What if their relationship blossomed further than that? If in a few years or so they wanted to get married he'd have to pull her away from her guild. Or at least make her a guardian dryad of Lavantir. That didn't mean joining Black Rose, but it did tie one to the island. Would she want that? He'd have to wait for the right moment to mention it. There was no guarantee their relationship would get even half as far though in his heart he hoped it would go that far and further though the thought of being married was still strange and alien to him.

Excellent! They could even do breakfast and perhaps dawdle before he left. Surely he’d want a bit of taste of the local cuisine there since she knew it held great influences from Midi, the spherical rice formations now a little more familiar when she thought about it. She hadn’t tried them yet, having still more or less settled into the place and trying a variety of other plates offered. ’I’ll have to try more, I’m sure there’s other flavors out there.’ Vaguely she thought about offering to treat him to the hotel room since it’d been her idea before nixing it: she’d just wait until they were there so it’d be harder to deny. Just the thought of trying to surprise him made her a little giddy now.

Shade didn’t catch as the question startled him, too busy fixing part of Amarylis’ bangs and humming a little tune under her breath. ”Oh, an Ace? Congratulations! I think we have those too, though I haven’t met any of them yet…” she tilted her head a bit and shrugged, ”I wouldn’t say ‘from’ there exactly, but I did join the guild there. Hmm unless your guild allegiance makes you ‘from’ somewhere? In which case I guess that’s correct.” One look from Amarylis was all she needed to not make the slip, almost mentioning it’d merely been the closest place upon her return to “this world.

Too much travel between the two left her exhausted however so she required some place to sleep. ”It at least solved my housing issue!” she chirped, ”But unless they’re enemies with each other then it shouldn’t matter if we continue to see each other…and even if they are then I don’t care! If they throw a huge stink about it I don’t think the mark’s that hard to remove.” She’d much rather choose him at this juncture if it came down to it since she lacked any ties anyways, but it was neither a thing to worry about here and now unless they really were enemies. If they were though she doubted he’d accept the offer to ride there without some hesitation at least.

”More importantly however I’d like to introduce you to Amarylis!” she motioned towards the beast that’d brought the jacket for her, ”She’s the closest to a mother figure I’ve ever had! Well at least the best one.” They stood together like a perfect contradiction: Shade blissfully happy while Amarylis regarded him with veiled suspicion. Crimson eyes stared intently at him, sizing the fellow up – though flickering with a slight curiosity to the structures he bore – before letting some of the intensity vanish. Any decisions remained a mystery however as she stayed silent, merely nodding her head at the man before turning towards town to walk ahead of them. The reaction – or lack thereof – hardly fazed the girl as she reassured Magna, ”Don’t worry, it takes her time to warm up to others. I think you’ll do better than most others…I think Gaspard’s got the record currently.”

He froze as she basically said that she would choose him over her guild. Did that mean she was new to the guild and hadn't made many bonds? Or was she just that fickle that she'd go with the person she was enjoying at the time? What did that mean for their future relationship? Still, he was pretty sure the guild's weren't enemies, but he wasn't sure how guilds felt about relationships with someone in another guild. He was pretty sure Kakuma wouldn't care, but he wondered how the rest of the guild would react. Then again it was probably more the dryads that he had to worry about. Or at least the pacts he had made with them. Things were certainly tricky that was for certain. Oh well, they'd deal with it when the time comes.

"Well, I don't want to be the one to drag you from your guild, but Black Rose is always open to new members unless you resemble the ice goddess Yukiona...in which case Izayuki might attack you." he said with a slight smile. He remembered that day and not with that much fondness, but now that he looked back on it some points of it were a bit humorous. "But you don't, or at least you don't look like the person that Iza-chan attacked for looking like Yukiona...so I think you're good there."

"Its nice to meet you Amarylis. I hope we get on and don't worry I won't hurt Shade. Sorry for not including you in the ice cream. Next time for definite." he said with a smile and a nod. So she had more of these animal friends. He wondered how many she had. So far he'd seen about nine and he was sure there were more.

Eventually the two of them reached a coach station and whilst holding the castles Magna negotiated a price to get the two of them to Terra Ignis. It was a little expensive, mostly due to the extra cargo, but affordable. He placed the castles atop the coach and strapped them down tightly. "Hopefully she warms up to me and I hope Aegis warms up to you. Who knows, one day he might have to guard you based on his oath." He didn't explain that the oath meant he had to guard the members of the Victus family, of which Magna was the last, and that for him to have to guard her she would have to be married to him.

’Hmm…? Joining Black Rose…’ As flippant as she’d been about the removal of the tattoo the girl did ponder if it really was that easy. ’Well they might be a rowdy bunch, but I don’t think they’d really throw a fit over someone they don’t even know. I guess I’ll just ask the bartender fellow.’ She felt a little bad not remembering his name since this whole venture had been at his suggestion, and hoped a tiny bit that the man might not be reprimanded for potentially causing one of their mages to leave. ’Well it doesn’t have to be immediate either…oh dear.’ Odd fluttering whisked through her stomach from a bout of nervousness at the thought of joining Magna’s guild. ’Strange…’ She ignored it for now, not fully sure why she might care about the opinions of other strangers, more unconsciously worried about what those important to the man might think.

The girl could at least relax a little knowing she didn’t resemble this “Yukiona” goddess.

Surely not being attacked meant something, right? It wasn’t a complete rejection at any rate. As Magna went to haggle prices Shade continued to fret about these faceless people and why their opinions might even matter to her. At least she did right up until Amarylis nipped her hand, jolting the girl from her spiraling thoughts as they stood away from the line to avoid confusion. ”You’re fretting unusually much over the future for once, much less other’s opinions,” the tone might’ve sounded mocking if one didn’t know her, though she only received a pout from the white haired girl, ”It’s merely a change of scenery for us, one that can be changed just as easily as all the others, though I suppose it might be good for you to stay put once in a while.” Low chuckles rumbled in her chest as the intensity of the pout only increased.

This entire situation intrigued Amarylis as much as it worried her, canine head turning to catch the boy’s return and ceasing any further noise. There’d been visits past where people intrigued the girl, but the ancient denizen hadn’t seen her become so enamored like this. It’d been a little disconcerting to feel the shifts back in the other realm that’d forced her to come and see the cause only to find a person. ’Well, not the first time things have changed because of someone…but…’ No, in all her time the beast refused to consider hoping. Their’s wasn’t a place of hope after all, or hadn’t been in quite some time.

As they readied for their journey to Terra Ignis Shade pondered what the oath might be, her and Amarylis entering as he finished finagling with the castles. An entire bench went to the fox beast as she settled in rather than bother with the floor – not keen on being kicked if she could help it – as Shade left ample room for Magna. He seemed to keep the oath to himself so she decided not to prod him about it as other questions burned at her. Once he was comfortable and the carriage started moving she finally let them loose, ”What’s Black Rose like? Would they be upset with me if I came from another guild? Are they all part animal too? What’s Lavantir like?” In her excitement any thoughts about personal space flew out the window as she’d lean into him, eyes bright with curiosity.

"Its kinda hard to describe." he said quite happy as she leaned in close to him. Out of instinct he wrapped one arm around her in a hug pulling her in a bit closer. "I think its probably better for you to wait and see what they are like if you come visit or to stay...that way you can form your own opinions." He felt that was the appropriate answer. In truth he probably could of described Black Rose and Lavantir better than most. He was good at describing things as he often had to describe the dishes he served. Her other questions on the other hand he could answer quite easily as could anyone from Black Rose or anyone who had been closely involved in it. "Though as for your other questions I'd say they won't mind you coming from another guild, pretty sure we've had people from other guilds join before. As for animals, all of the aces are part animal...for us it was part of becoming an ace. Though I think one of them might actually be part plant now I think about it. The guildmaster is part wolf and we have a few others who are part animal or even just completely animal though disguised as humans or part humans."

"How about Infinity Hydra and Terra Ignis? What are they like? Anything interesting about the other members?" he asked deciding to turn the questions back on her. She seemed the curious type, but he was also that sort of person. He was quite the experimental type too though that mostly involved food. Some of which resulted in terrible dishes, but what could you do? Nobody was perfect though striving for perfection or at least excellence was key to improving in any skill. "What's the food like? Any regional specialities I should try?"

A small pout formed as he seemingly teased her about keeping his mouth shut, though the girl offered him the benefit of the doubt: maybe he couldn’t formulate it into words? Well, it wasn’t so bad coming from him at least so she’d let it past and simply let her imagination fathom up possibilities. The only trick would be staying away from being attacked, but as long as she didn’t look like anyone from someone’s bad memories then it’d be fine. With the arm around her however Shade felt freer to lean against him, withholding a slight sigh at his warmth.

”So they weren’t all born with them?!” That tidbit surprised her as she pondered the notion. Sure the white haired mage often hid her appendages, but that didn’t just cease their existence entirely and she remained conscious of them. ”I imagine that must take some getting used to…and I can’t even imagine becoming part plant…that must have a different set of oddities attached.” Briefly she wondered what that must be like, curious to meet the person and inquire if given the opportunity. The rest sounded far more normal to her, though she supposed if Magna was an ace he must’ve been born without the monkey appendages. She almost asked to make sure, but his questions distracted her.

”Have you ever been to a country called “Midi?” If so…I believe it’s a lot like that, though I haven’t personally been, but that’s what they told me. I think I might’ve seen the oni…giri you called it? I think I’ve seen it in passing, though I hadn’t yet tried it. It really does have some lovely architecture. As for Infinity Hydra…” she paused, lips pursing as the girl tried to best describe it, ”from what little I’ve seen they’re a lively bunch. It can get a bit rowdy…but I haven’t talked to too many there. Mostly the staff for food and things.” Wincing, Shade’s ears drooped a bit as her voice lowered, ”Sorry, I must sound like a bore…I really haven’t been there long so I can’t speak about more than the scenery. It really is quite a sight though, although admittedly I was a bit stumped on some of their customs and the like such as the paper doors…but even those have a certain elegance to them. I really like the lanterns the most!” A smile found its way back onto her face as she recalled the various caricatures and artistic, symbolic writing adorning a lot of them, as well as the variety of colors.

Without any particular knowledge she sighed though before brightening yet again, ”Though…I guess that means breakfast can be a little adventure? I know there are places I simply haven’t gone yet.” Then perhaps they could wander about town before she had to bid him adieu.

"Yeah its a bit strange at first though some get less changes than others. Pretty sure one person just got the eyes or claws." he said with a shrug and then decided to brag just a tiny bit. Though he wondered if it was bragging to tell the truth? "For me gaining the tail wasn't as big a deal because i'm so used to using my arms and I just thought of it as a third arm. It was honestly weirder the first time I gained the extra arms like you saw earlier." He was certain someone was plant. It was certainly an odd thought. He'd have to enquire about them. He wondered also if they were now purely a carnivore as surely eating other plants would be cannabilism? Could they even eat anymore? Or did they photosynethesis?

Had he been to Midi? Yes, he had. It was where a lot of his cuisine ideas came from such as the onigiri, don and ramen had come from. It had probably influenced his cooking style more than any other place. He had no idea that Terra Ignis was so heavily influenced by Midi. If he'd of known he probably would of visited a lot sooner. He was honestly not tempted to stay a few days there. "I think most guild's get a bit rowdy at points. I know when I visited Fairy Tail the first thing I saw was people being thrown out a window." he paused and then decided to elaborate on what he knew of Midi. "I think Midi is probably one of my favourite places to visit. Its influenced a lot of my dishes and given me tons of new techniques, recipes and ingredients to experiment with. I might just have to prolong my stay in Terra Ignis a bit, see how different it is." He was curious as to whether it was just an influence or if it was more of a copy. Even if it was a copy its own terrain and the thoughts and feelings of the people there would cause subtle changes, especially to food. It was definitely something he wanted to explore.

"Providing I don't leave too late we could probably do breakfast, lunch and dinner or maybe just go on a tasting spree." he said suggesting that they spend even more time together before parting. He did wonder where he would spend the night though. Then again if it was similar to Midi the hotels and inns should be pretty good and he had plenty of jewels so he should be ok.