It was so weird the day after the dragon attack, with everyone continuing back to whatever plans they'd had before. It was as if nothing had happened, although she could suppose there wasn't much to dwell on. There was a strange worry to her that was still clinging, but she was sure if she got back into the swing of things along with everyone else, she'd be good as new in no time. Just, well, a bit more aware of her surroundings. Considering everything, that was probably a good thing.

When Chirp had received the message from Aleister, she'd snapped right out of her thoughts and come running, assuming there'd have been some kind of sea monster or gigantic crab until about halfway when she realized that he probably would have told her up front. But by that point, she'd already replied to tell him she was on her way, so it'd be strange to ask for any kind of clarification now.

When she arrived, she didn't see Aleister at first, having to shield her eyes against the sun to see what could be him off in the distance. Huh, he was so far away. Glancing around to make sure she didn't really see anyone - or anything - else, she shrugged it off and walked towards him, her steps uneven in the sand. The moment she caught sight of the picnic layout, her eyes lit up. "What?" She asked, a laugh eating her words. Something so sweet had been the last thing she'd expected.


ooc } please forgive how lazy I am

"I don't believe it," She said, "This is so nice of you." It was incredible, and no one had ever really done this kind of thing for her back home. Obviously, it must have been the work uniform and lack of sleep bringing her down. It was just a shame she hadn't dressed for the occasion, although being her own armorsmith meant her armor was cute enough for the moment. Again, she didn't trust anyone else to dye her stuff the right shade of pink.

"It looks amazing, Aleister ." She corrected, beaming at him as he took her hand and led her to the picnic. When he let go of her hand, she smoothed out her dress out of nervous habit before sitting down, looking over at the ocean and then down at the food. She didn't want to admit that she'd never seen the ocean in person before, how she had always looked forward to it, and that now she never might. It seemed too soon for that sort of thing, no matter how sweet the man was being.

"I'd love to." She laughed again when he brought the subject around to her tease. Well, she had been hoping for a second date, so maybe she shouldn't be so surprised. "Oh, that?" She asked, before shrugging. "Where I come from, when you start shit-talking - especially over a sport - we call it a chirp. That's all." Her eyes lit with a bit of mischief. "I mean, I do really like birds, but that's not where I got it from."

Chirp didn't mind that Aleister hadn't caught the reference. Sure, she'd been surprised the first couple of times it had happened since it hadn't even occurred to her that what she'd been so used to might have been regional slang, but she'd quickly gotten used to it. "You're not the first, don't worry." She said with a bright enough smile, glancing over at the waves hitting the shore a ways down at the shoreline before Aleister began to move.

She wasn't sure what she had expected, but the food looked good in that home comfort kind of way, and she relaxed - not that she'd had her guard up before. There was just something about it that softened her features, and she didn't hesitate before reaching for a chip and smiling at him. "This is really nice. Thanks so much." It was such a drastic change from yesterday.

At the sound of her potential nickname, she giggled, turning her face to the side a bit as she watched him, putting the back of her hand to her mouth as she finished chewing. "That's really cute." She finally said after she swallowed. "I mean it, it's sweet. I like it." She paused, watching him closely. "Can I ask you a question?" She finally asked, before plowing on ahead. "You don't have to answer if you don't want, but I'm wondering if there's any reason you picked the ocean?" She blinked, as if realizing that her words might offend and actually shying away from it in a clumsy way. "Not that I don't love it, just wondering if it's like- significant?" It'd be fine if it wasn't, really. The girl just realized she didn't know as much about Aleister as maybe she should, given how nice he was being to her.

Chirp smiled at the way Aleister talked. He seemed nervous in a way, but it was cute. She was used to guys in the real world set out to put her in her place, disarmed a bit by the lack thereof. She knew how to deal with people being mean, but sweet talking and soft touch was unfamiliar territory. "Oh, uh, Illinois." She said quickly, a blush rising to her cheeks. She'd gone and promised over and over not to give out her real info, but Aleister didn't seem like a stranger and honestly, it didn't really seem to matter now. "How about you?"

His explanation on his choice of ocean made her soften a bit. "Yeah, I feel the same way." She confirmed, reaching for a slice of watermelon this time. He seemed receptive to her questions, so she thought some. "Do you have someone waiting on you back home?" It had probably been a clumsy way to put it, but she actually wasn't sure how to phrase it. It was correct to call it the real world, out there, but what happened in the game seemed real enough to her if a person could die from it.

Chirp didn't think for a moment that Aleister was lying to her. She was usually a bit more street smart, a bit harder around the edges, but this was nice. for now, for a little while, she could be soft in his palm. there wasn't any harm in needing that for herself in all of this, in him probably needing the same reprieve from the constant fighting and needing to be on guard. he talked about his family back home, his cat, and her heart ached.

"I ... had friends, I guess. not sure if they'd just thought i was fun to hang out with or would actually check up on me, though. I'd just moved out on my own, so -" she paused, unsure if it was right to dump onto Aleister about such little details that hardly seemed to matter now. it was better to be honest, she decided. "I wasn't talking to my parents, so the rest of my family wasn't talking to me. not sure if any of that's gone and changed out there or .." it was weird to admit, not knowing what his reaction would be or how he'd feel about it. in an oddly vulnerable moment, she rubbed the arm she was leaning against with her free arm, before reaching to a watermelon to distract herself. it was weird to think that maybe no one would have noticed her gone. but then, if no one had she wouldn't still be here, right? here she was, left wondering who it would be. "um," she said, trying hard to think of something to change the subject. "so no one you knew played the game with you or nothing?" she asked, not quite looking up at him just yet.

Chirp didn't like being pitied, but even as her cheeks flushed she leaned into the embrace. "i'm not made of glass or anything." She protested softly, but she rested her head against his shoulder regardless. When he offered to come and find her, she smiled and glanced up at him. "when we get out, I'd like that a lot, slugger." she said. she didn't believe for a moment that she was going to die here. For a moment, the scare from yesterday had knocked that right out of her, but she was starting to recover back to her old self.

A frown found her face when Aleister answered her question, though, and she leaned more against him and reached up to touch his chest. "I'm sorry." was there anything else she could even say? she would never have brought it up if it had occurred to her, but the fact was that it hadn't. so many had just disappeared, and she'd known there were people outside that were mourning them, but to have someone inside grieve them hadn't been something she'd run into yet.

the drink looked nice, she'd decided, so she reached out to open a can herself, propped up against him. the can opened with a sound and feeling that was strangely satisfying.

It was true, she decided; it was nice to be held even if it wasn't something she necessarily needed. She let herself continue to lean against the man, less interested in the food than the company now. The sunset was beautiful, and even as it would be over soon. Even as the beach air started to chill, Aleister was warm. there was comfort in having a future after all of this; honestly, she hadn't been as sure before, and that had always been a much bigger worry than any monster in the game.

Chirp hadn't expected the kiss, but the question had at least given her a heads up that something was coming. Still, her eyes widened for a split second and then it was over. Chirp tilted her head to the side, a smile quirking on her lips as her ponytail slid against her shoulder. the woman weighed her options, as though there were all that many. making up her mind, she lifted a hand to push Aleister's soda can down before making her move. if left uninterrupted, chirp would lean in to try to return the kiss, closing any further distance between them. it just made sense to her to test the waters a little bit further.