Reunion in Hargeon. And Free Stuff.

"Huh?" Aliarey's thoughts of false courage were broken when Diana spoke, bringing her back to the real world. At first, Diana's words had confused her but her brain soon pieced the words together in proper order. "Oh yeah, yeah. I'm fine. Just finnneee," she replied, trying her best to put on a grin and get back to acting like herself. It wasn't a lie. She was perfectly fine in body and mind. It was just that ocean that was the problem. How selfish of it to be such a scary thing when she was just out there trying to have a bit of fun. "It's just uh... different being out here. Gotta get used to the whole no land thing, you know?" Surely that was a convincing explanation. It did little to ease her troubled mind that was just how it was going to be. She wasn't turning around. There were limits to her cowardice and she sure wasn't going to be one then. Not with Diana right there.

"Come on, we've done enough to make sure these things are working fine. Let's go further out and pick up some speed." It would further doom her situation but it was best to move things along before Diana asked too many questions. Aliarey hated lying and there was only so much she could say before the truth ended up coming out. Besides, maybe going at a faster speed and handling the vehicle would distract her enough that she wouldn't even recognize being horrified until she stopped.

(Word Count: 256
Aliarey Total: 6976)

"Very well then. I will let it go at that." Diana replied to Aliarey's answer to her question concerning her friend's well-being. If the other blonde said she was OK then she was OK. Diana was not going to press the issue and decided to let things lie, instead focusing on the adventure that they were going on. As she briefly wondered what they would see once their excursion began in earnest she heard her friend's command.

"Very well. I will begin accelerating." Diana replied to Aliarey's command before slowly increasing the throttle and feeling the jetski gradually pick up speed. When she was first learning how to work the jetski the green-eyed blonde had learned that when she needed to adjust her course small adjustments to steering worked a lot better than sudden and dramatic adjustments. Now she was able to maneuver it without a problem... in a straight line, that was. Diana had not tried maneuvering it through a turn yet, but that was what the open ocean was for. Once she was out in the open water it would be a lot easier to learn how to maneuver in turns since there was little risk of hitting a boat, another jetski, or a swimmer.

As far as she knew the only potential problems would be a result of her jetski malfunctioning or Aliarey accidentally mirroring Diana's maneuvers and their jetskis colliding. She doubted any of that would happen, though. Everything should be smooth sailing, so to speak.

[Post Word Count: 250]
[Diana's Word Count: 4,952]

What a relief. Diana had not asked anything further. Aliarey could continue keeping her little secret for a while longer. Maybe forever if she could always keep up her fake brave face. Although next time she would definitely avoid any ocean-related vacations unless said ocean was frozen over. Eh, actually maybe not even the frozen-over because that could just break. Just avoiding oceans entirely was the best bet. Well, whatever future vacations there were would have to just be thought about then. Right then Aliarey had to be a big girl and try to get through the jetski activity as calmly as possible. Much like Diana, she too accelerated the vehicle. Thus far it did little to distract her from the fear inside her but getting used to the controls and steering while leaning properly through the turns was a start.

After a while on the jetskis the two guildless mages had made their way back to the shore. Not the jetski rental place but on a random spot on the sandy beach. The two of them were so far out that Aliarey could not possibly think about turning back around and taking the vehicles all the way back. She needed land. Now. It was fun in a way and nothing out of the ordinary had happened at all. No ocean monsters attacking, no getting stranded out in the middle of nowhere with no hope of rescue, no accidental drowning, and as a bonus she didn't even lose it and start freaking out. Control had been maintained! What a success story she was. Not that she cared by the time she saw land and was once again in its safety.

"Land!" Aliarey shouted the moment she hopped off her jetski and could feel the sand under her feet. "I have missed you so much!" She wasn't about to kiss it or grab an armful of sand and hug it, but damn was she just so happy to still be there and not... out there. Still, her nerves had been through a lot that day and with just that one activity. Relaxation was needed before taking on another huge challenge. A lot of it.

"I could go for a drink," Aliarey said to Diana before turning to glance her way. "How about you?" Aliarey wasn't one to normally drink. It was kind of dangerous to get drunk when it was her. There was no telling just how much damage she could cause without her brain properly working. As long as it was just a couple and not enough to get drunk she would be fine though, and that was her intent. She wasn't all too sure if Diana was the type to drink but surely there was something non-alcoholic she could get.

(Word Count: 461
Aliarey Total: 7437)

Once she had learned how to handle the jetski Diana had had quite a bit of fun on the jetski excursion with her friend. Now they were back on shore and their jetskis parked on the sand a short distance away... Diana was standing close to Aliarey, who had proposed an interesting idea for their next activity, one that she never thought she would hear the blue-eyed blonde propose.

Aliarey wanted a drink.

Diana had to think over how to phrase her response for a moment. There was no way in Ishgar that she was going to drink alcohol, not after all the misery it had brought to her thanks to two parents who were alcoholics. However, she was not going to prevent Aliarey from partaking if that was what she really wanted to do. Once she had come up with the proper phrasing for her response Diana made eye contact with her friend.

"I do not drink alcohol. However, should you want to drink some I would be glad to accompany you. Perhaps the place we go will be kind enough to offer me something without alcohol." Diana laid out her response to her friend's question. She hoped that Aliarey would not be offended by her refusal to drink alcohol, but that was a personal rule Diana was not inclined to break, even for her longtime friend. If she were lucky the place would serve drinks that did not contain alcohol, but if they did not she would still hang around with her friend while the latter had the drink she was after.

[Post Word Count: 264]
[Diana's Word Count: 5,216]

Honestly, Aliarey did not mind Diana's refusal. It really wasn't one anyway. Technically she was up for a drink, just not the alcolohic variety. On the priority list of judging that was way at the bottom. She didn't care. People had their likes and dislikes. Some things could be weird for sure but liking and doing by force wasn't her game. Poking Diana about why she didn't drink alcohol also didn't cross her mind. It was left with the simple assumption that she just didn't like it and nothing more.

"Oh, definitely. There's bound to be a ton of places around here that have plenty of alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks," Aliarey said to assure her friend that there existed a place that suit would both their tastes. True she didn't exactly know the places around the area or their menus but it just made sense. Even if most just had one or the other there just had to be one that had both. If she was proven wrong well... they could just go to two places. That was more of a pain in the butt but easily doable. "I don't normally drink either but it's a uh... special occasion I guess? Might as well try something new and daring."

Leaning into the hand upon her hip, she took a moment to stare at the jetskis. "Now just what are we going to do about these?" How annoying. If they just left them there unattended someone was bound to just take off with them. Setting up her turrets to guard them was a bit too lethal. Unfortunately. Maybe a lacbot? Ugh but if she told them to act if anyone tried to take the vehicles they'd be just as damaging as her turrets. Why did she not have a bot or tool that just put people into a magically created cage or something?! Maybe they'd fit in her weapon/closet storage? She had never attempted to stuff vehicles in there before. Well, whatever. It was a plan as good as any at that moment. Hopefully she could get them out in one piece later. Walking up to each jetski, Aliarey put her hand on it and used her magic to link to her invisible closet. One by one each jetski slowly disappeared as it was transported there. It had worked. Good. Because plan B was to summon her cherry-shaped house right onto the beach and stick them in there.

Aliarey clapped her hands afterward as if she had done some hard work. "That's done. Now to get those drinks!" And so the blonde went running across the sand to rejoin civilization and find that wondrous place that would have what they were both looking for. Considering they weren't exactly far from either civilization or its businesses it didn't take but a couple of minutes to reach point B from point A. The very first place she saw from afar was the one she picked. It was in the typical style anyone could expect from a small business on the beach but that wasn't really the part the young mage cared about. She hopped on the first stool she had reached once she got to the bar counter. Before ordering anything she took a glance at the menu while waiting for Diana.

"Awesome. They got both kinds of drinks! And food too!" Though the latter was plainly obvious. If the smells of different foods weren't a giveaway that they served it then the people around eating should have.

(Word Count: 585
Aliarey Total: 8022)

Diana was glad that her friend did not press her on her refusal to partake of alcohol. She did not bring the subject up and listened as her friend told her that there was bound to be a variety of options that would please both blondes. At the top of Diana's list sat coffee, but she would also drink soda, water or tea in that order. Once she had listened to that she watched Aliarey somehow make the jetskis disappear, presumably for safekeeping. That was a good idea because Diana certainly did not want to have to pay for a missing jetski because she was fairly certain the cost might be ramped up much higher than it actually was because the employee would get mad that he would actually have to do his job instead of goofing around and pretending to take orders from an inflatable dolphin.

Once the jetskis had gone to wherever it was and they were presumably safe Diana watched her friend sprint off towards the town, leaving her behind like she had done so many times in the past. The green-eyed blonde simply began following in Aliarey's footsteps, which were easy to follow since they formed a convenient trail on the sand. In a few minutes she would be reunited with her friend and they would move on to the next phase of their day.

After a few minutes of walking on the beach Diana managed to rejoin Aliarey, who was sitting on a stool at a counter and was perusing the menu. Diana walked to Aliarey's right and stopped before addressing the blue-eyed blonde.

"Hello, Aliarey." Diana calmly greeted her friend. The green-eyed blonde then took a glance at the menu to see if there was anything that jumped out at her. She noticed that drinks that had alcohol and drinks that did not were available, something that pleased Diana because she would not have to break her personal rule. There was a decent variety of non-alcoholic drinks such as sodas of several different flavors and brands, a few types of tea like black tea and green tea, and even iced coffee for some reason. Since there was no regular coffee available she would go with a soda, specifically Strawberry Slam. Diana had a bit of a sweet tooth when it came to soda and Strawberry Slam fit the bill.

After choosing her drink Diana turned her attention towards the food part of the menu. She was not sure what she wanted to eat because she had not given it much thought. However, the menu listed quite a few choices and that got her to thinking about them. The trouble would be choosing the meal option that was the most appealing.

[Post Word Count: 456]
[Diana's Word Count: 5,672]

"Well look who finally caught up!" Aliarey jokingly teased her friend, who finally made her way there. Whenever she ran Diana walked. It was normal. So normal that she just realized she had never seen Diana run at anytime anywhere. At least not that she could remember. Huh. Well, that didn't matter. That curious thought could just go away and come back later. Getting a drink and maybe some food was much more important than the imagery of Diana taking the time to smell some roses she found along the way.

Back to reading the menu, Aliarey scanned the food options. She had already done that with the drinks and had an idea of what she wanted from there. Food though? That was tricky. The place didn't have everything in the world but it did have a lot of options. Burgers, hot dogs, BBQ, snack items like fries, tropical fruits, the list went on. Eating something too heavy would not be the greatest idea in the world, but then again she could just try limiting herself and make sure to just not eat the entire meal right then. Taking an unfinished meal home was a thing, after all.

"Hmmmm," Aliarey lifted up the menu closer to her face to scrutinize it some more. "I think..." She set it down but it was clear by the expression on her face that she was still indecisive. "Hmmmm. Maybe I'll get a burger. And that fruity-looking Hargeon Sunset drink." Curiously, she turned her gaze onto Diana. "What are you going to get?" It had to be asked. Maybe she was getting something better and would sway her own decision in that direction.

(Word Count: 279
Aliarey Total: 8301)

"Thankfully it did not take very long to catch up with you. It also helped that the destination was fairly obvious." Diana replied to her friend's joke.

After that Diana glanced at the menu again and was still having trouble deciding what she wanted. She could choose from a wide variety of items, but the one that jumped out at her was a hamburger. That simple staple was the most appealing option to her, but she wanted to make sure that was what she wanted before she committed. After a few seconds more she glanced at the menu one last time and found nothing that was so compelling that she would change her selection.

When she had made her choice Diana looked at Aliarey.

"I too would like a hamburger. As far as the drink goes I would like a Strawberry Slam soda." Diana told her friend her order. Diana really could not think of anything else she wanted to eat and she was not going to waste time trying to come up with an alternative, especially when her friend was ready to order. Besides, it was not like she ate hamburgers all the time, so she was technically getting something different when she intended to order one. She was pretty sure that neither Aliarey nor anyone else would have any problems with the green-eyed blonde's choices.

[Post Word Count: 228]
[Diana's Word Count: 5,900]

Aliarey could only laugh at Diana's reply to her joke. The words were true and yet somehow funny at the same time. Only Diana seemed to have that amazing talent of using her seemingly emotionless state to make her laugh. It was probably because the creepy factor was mostly eliminated due to their friendship but that was just a detail no one cared to think about. At least not her.

"That sounds good. Great minds think alike!" Besides the cherry flavor obviously being superior to the strawberry version Aliarey was thrilled that they had come to nearly the same decision on their meal. Just one more reason to explain why they were just the perfect team. Aliarey put down the menu and slid it away before looking around for the waiter. She saw one way over on the other side of the bar. "Hey! We're ready over here!" She shouted while raising her arm above herself and waving it to further draw attention. The waiter had replied by saying he'd be right over in a moment. Satisfied, Aliarey brought her arm down and went back to relaxing.

True to his word the waiter came right on over, allowing the two blondes to order whatever it was they wanted from the menu. For Aliarey it was just a plain hamburger with ketchup and mustard, some fries on the side, and of course the drink she had been wanting so badly. Maybe she'd also order a shake or smoothie later too. She was still deciding that part for her sweet tooth even as their food came out hot and ready to be eaten. Aliarey had to give them credit for being fast, but she guessed you had to be when working on a busy beach that got a countless number of visits from people all over Fiore and beyond.

Not wanting to wait a second longer, Aliarey picked up her large burger and bit into it. Soft, juicy, and absolutely delicious. Not bad for a random beach restaurant. Not bad at all. "This is pretty good!" Aliarey said between chews. After a swallow, she took a fry and bit into that. Those were also very pleasing. "Damn, I may need to come here again before the week is over."

(Word Count: 377
Aliarey Total: 8678)

Diana had ordered a plain hamburger with fries and a Strawberry Slam soda because she did not require a fancy hamburger with everything on it. Sometimes the simplest things were the best and she was quite satisfied with a simple meal. It did not take very long for Diana to receive what she had ordered and when she did she took a careful bite into the hamburger.

It was exactly as Diana wanted it... plain with nothing but meat and bread.

Pleased with how her meal had turned out, the green-eyed blonde continued to eat it while taking the occasional sip of Strawberry Slam soda. The taste of hamburger and strawberry was not the best taste combination... perhaps she should have ordered a Cherry Charge soda instead, but she would live with her beverage selection. After a few more bites the taste became more tolerable and Diana kept eating while listening to her friend talk about the possibility of a second visit to this particular place.

Diana was not particularly surprised by that possibility. Time and time again Aliarey had demonstrated a fondness for food and today she was staying true to that, which was fine with Diana. The green-eyed blonde was the introvert while Aliarey had enough personality to make up for her friend's passive behavior. One would think that such a drastic difference would lead to conflict, but somehow the two blondes were friends despite the difference in their personalities.

"If you do come back before the week is out, I will accompany you." Diana stated. The second time around Diana would order a plain hamburger but would get a Cherry Charge soda instead of a Strawberry Slam. She would also order a plain hamburger to go so that she could carry one home to eat.

[Post Word Count: 298]
[Diana's Word Count: 6,198]

"That's a set plan then!" It was only the first day of their vacation and they had already found a place to revisit before it was all over. Who knew just how many more there would be? It wouldn't surprise Aliarey one bit if on the very last day she planned to redo the entire vacation by revisiting multiple places. Except for the jet skiing. She was done with that and fortunately had already begun to forget about how nerve-wracking it was for her. Now her mind was filled with ideas of what they would do next after eating. Maybe sit for a bit for more relaxation as their food settled in their stomachs. After that though maybe some games? Contests? Join one of those beach parties? There were so many things to suggest but whatever was not done that day could always be done the next. It was going to be one awesome week for both of them. Aliarey just knew it.

(Word Count: 163
Aliarey Total: 8841)