Hmm? [ She looks up from her beer glass. Oh. ] Eh... It's true that things were rough up until pretty recently, but... they're slowly getting better now. That's the only reason I was able to step away and come here, anyway.
[ . . . ]
I'd just helped one of the students lay his sister to rest after everything before I came here. That's why I said that.
[ It really is wild, how different all of their worlds are - and yet not so different, in some cases. To Shoko, this has more or less felt like taking a vacation abroad, but others have had bigger adjustments to make. ]
Mmh. That makes it even more remarkable that you and the others made the effort to come here and are still working hard, doesn't it?
There are a bunch of different ways! You can go for a walk and look at the water, you can wade in the water and look for seashells, you can swim, you can play beach volleyball, you can make a sandcastle--
[ It's been a long time since he's ridden any kind of pack animal, so the refreshed is welcome, and even then, horses are a little more lively than the beasts of burden that they kept in the deserts. He offers the horse a pat on the neck before guiding it with the reins to stop next to Nico. ]
Not exactly. When I was small, we'd ride animals like this to move place to place, but not for pleasure. It's a pastime on some planets, but none I've spent much time on, I'm afraid.
[ He rarely has time to do things just for pleasure, anyway. It's better this way — now Nico can lend him a hand if he has trouble, uwu. ]
You, on the other hand, seem to know what you're doing.
I have mentioned before... it was expected of the nobility to be well-rounded. Though, it has been a long time since I have been around a fully flesh and blood horse. Most of ours were cyborgs.
[ He gives his horse a little pat. ]
Most animals can sense that we are predators. These ones are quite brave.
[ Wao, a chef-curated picnic...like many of the dates he's had here, a quaint little picnic is far outside the norm for him, but he leans into it easily, dressed in something more relaxed but still plenty stylish. Flipping open the lid of their picnic basket, Aventurine starts to unpack their goodies, which of course starts with a bottle of wine and two glasses. ]
Ah, they knew their audience well, didn't they? Quite the departure from our last outing, to say the least.
[ Oh, he sure believes they remember him...hey guys, he's here to wreck the House again. Maybe he should let Poppy take the lead, though...that'd be entertaining, for certain. ]
So, how about you call the shots today? Choose the game that speaks to you the most, and I'll tag along, your humble and beautiful arm candy.
Page 9 of 58