[SE] cruise control

Aurelia

So never fear to feel good
when everything's wrong

In spite of it all, Aurelia drifts along the sands in an attempt at finding some kind of therapy in the ocean waves. They've inspired her before, when she'd felt this kind of darkness, though of course she had good company then - and maybe she owes it to that. With that in mind, she craves the memory of the Hale Ka'aila, back when things were less chaotic and more... innocent, in a way. There's warmth here still, she finds, with the sun beating down on her scarred skin. At least the ocean salt is a cool reprieve, as it sprays around her from both sides.

Perhaps a rare sight to behold, Aurelia is wearing something very light. A loose white blouse that billows in the breeze, though not so loosely that it provides no cover; a skirt flows out around her ankles. Maybe she's even less recognizable for this, let alone her change in appearance; maybe she wants to be unknown to onlookers. Just another face on the beach, for today at the least.

It's along the sandbar that she sees a familiar figure, not too familiar though. There's a drunken memory to this face, as she draws nearer, but she remembers him upon being able to better see the details of his face, the distinct color and style of his hair. It's... Locke?

With a speculative smirk, she calls down the lengths of sand between them, still working her way towards him, "Hey! Locke! Where the hell have you been!?" It's not harsh, like an accusation, but bubbly with amusement. "Where's my spar!?" She grins, awaiting an explanation, wondering if he even remembers their conversation from LongNight.

and find some beauty there
'cause all we ever are is brave

LOCKE

Look, sometimes you just gotta run down the beach and pretend like maybe there's a hot babe or two watching you okay. It's not like he has much else to do. Maeve's days are filled with taking care of the Halenani and her nights are spent with him when she feels fit. So he dicks around on the beach like good ole times. He's sorting some stuff out mentally so he doesn't entirely feel the need to do more than that. Not yet anyway.

But then he hears someone calling his name. Weird. He tilts his head as he half jogs towards the woman. Something about her is familiar but something else is off. "Aurelia?" It's the spar that tips him off and his face screws up in confusion. The features are there but wrong some how? He licks his lips slowly, confusion about her looks and what happened at the Slagveld flooding his brain for a moment.

"Where have I been? You're the one that fucked off on a boat for gods know how long. I guess I did go to Stormbreak for a bit but.. Tch." He kind of shrugs, it's in the past now. "You're spar is at the Slagveld, if you want it. If it's open.." He gives her a crooked grin, content to leave that there. "Or it's right here. After you help me."

Sorry Aurelia, you're being pulled into his insanity.

let me go on
like i blister in the sun

Aurelia

So never fear to feel good
when everything's wrong

Her bare feet falter in the sand, awaiting Locke's arrival since he seems keen to meet her halfway. A lighter smile than she expects herself capable of comes to fruition. "Yep, it's me," she states simply, tilting her head a bit as well, "I know I look different. It's hard to explain... just one of those things, y'know?" Except maybe he doesn't really, but maybe as a Natural of Caido he's aware that strange things do happen all the time. It's a fact Aurelia's grown starkly aware of.

A bright laugh starts up in her chest and bumbles out at his very good, very logical defense. "Well, I guess that's true, isn't it?" She chuckles, receding her mock offense and demand. At the mention of Stormbreak, her interest piques, but he seems to have some sort of goal in mind. And Aurelia? She's glad to break away from more serious conversations, to stow the questions away for later.

So, with a shrug of her shoulders and a splay of her hands as if to say 'well?', she looks at him quite eagerly. "Sure, anything for a spar," she says easily, "but whether or not I can help depends... What do you need?" There's a curiouser furrow of her brow, wondering what it could possibly be that he needs her help for.

and find some beauty there
'cause all we ever are is brave

LOCKE

One of those things. Sure. Alright. He gets it maybe. Gods, giant chickens, changing faces, it's another Tuesday as far as he's concerned. And honestly she might have always looked like this. He was pretty drunk last time they met and it's been a few months since then.

"Very true." He acquiesces as he stops in front of her, crooked grin plastered on his face. He clicks his tongue at her response, grin shaping into a pout. "I've been practicing my sexy run but there's no one around to tell me if it's actually sexy. I'd ask Mae but she's busy." He's not sure if the other woman knows about their involvement but he doesn't really care. He's pretty sure Aurelia's never been interested in him. Which is fine. He can't fuck 'em all.

"So you watch me, tell me what you think, and then I'll beat the shit out of you. I mean spar with you." Some part of him wants to ask about the other night but he's over gods and drama.

let me go on
like i blister in the sun

Aurelia

So never fear to feel good
when everything's wrong

Her sharpened look of interest relents into something confused, bewildered, and - shortly - amused. She cups her hand over her mouth to try and block the huge grin that spreads across it, though she's unable to help the laugh.

She pushes it down, or makes a larger effort to anyway. "I'm sorry- I'm sorry-" she shakes her head, feeling tears start to form in her eyes from the laughter. How was this exactly what she needed and somehow... the last thing she'd ever expect?

"Sure- yeah- whatever!" She waves him off, nodding, letting go of the tease because... Gods, this is ridiculous and hilarious.

Once she's more fully recovered, she straightens up and puts her most serious expression forward. There's still a smile there, but now it's more determined... if a bit shaky. "Alright. I'm going to be as unbiased as possible, y'know, because that's what the people deserve; a.. fair assessment. So you better give it your all!" She warns him, arching a brow against the cool breeze as it shifts the curls in her hair.

"Let's see it, then. Your sexiest run!" And she steps aside, motioning towards the expanse, ready to observe and take mental notes.

and find some beauty there
'cause all we ever are is brave

LOCKE

He returns her grin because it's all very silly but fuck being serious for a moment. "Okay. You better tell me the truth too! Don't worry about my feelings. I'm doing this for the betterment of mankind!" Because Locke sexy running down the beach is exactly what mankind needs, right? Totally.

He starts by doing a big stretch, getting his muscles all loose before he starts to run down the beach. The wind tousles his sun bleached hair, sweat making his tanned skin all glinty and sun reflective. Aww yeah. He makes a point of winking at her as he runs past her, making a point of poking his chest out more. It probably looks incredibly silly but he's trying! He really is!

let me go on
like i blister in the sun

Aurelia

So never fear to feel good
when everything's wrong

Locke warns her that she has to tell the truth and she meets it with a determined expression. The seriousness within it is forced, at first, but eventually it takes precedence. "I'll judge you as harshly as I can!" She declares, an eager edge to her tone. She's kind of excited to see this, actually.

So he begins, and she tips her brows up in speculation already. Everything is taken into consideration; the way he tries to relax himself before he starts, how his golden-brown hair ripples in the wind, and the colors of his skin as the sun kisses it. Her teeth come down over her bottom lip. It's seeming as if he's got this in the bag! A truly convincing display of everything he's got to offer, and she has to admit... it's pretty hot. Do her eyes wander? Well, leave it to the imagination.

Then he winks across at her and puffs out his chest, and she recoils dubiously. It's in this moment, this crucial moment of judgement, that his foot finds a rock. He eats total, unequivocal shit. It's spectacular, in all the wrong ways.

Aurelia can't help but to break out into a fit of laughter, hand going down to reach around her stomach. "Loocke! Nooo! It was going so perfectly!" She calls over to him, though she can't help that her words are jumbled up by her cackling.

She joins him down in the sand, kneeling beside him to block out the sun and peer down at his face. Her hand reaches down to prod his cheek playfully. "You okay, hot stuff?"

and find some beauty there
'cause all we ever are is brave

LOCKE

It was going so well! And then it suddenly wasn't! The sand is suddenly approaching very quickly and bam! He's on the ground. He doesn't even look at her as he rolls onto his back with a groan. He lays almost spread eagle in the warm sand, turning to glare at her as she laughs at him. His expression falters for a moment but he doesn't comment on it. He does turn his head just slightly as she pokes his cheek, snapping at her finger.

"Perfectly fine." If not a little embarrassed but he's used to that by now. Someone has to make a fool of themselves. Everyone is so serious all of the time. He lays there for a second longer before sitting up. They're face to face now and he lingers for a moment, holding her gaze before he stands up to dust the sand off of himself.

"Besides the end, what'd you think?" He's genuinely curious.

let me go on
like i blister in the sun

Aurelia

So never fear to feel good
when everything's wrong

His jaws open to snap playfully at her finger and she pulls her hand away quickly, but he does manage to bump her hand with his nose. She lets out a surprised little "hey!" in response, but doesn't poke him again... for now.

She smiles warmly at him as he says he's fine, though, and for a moment they just seem to... sit there, in the sand... looking at each other. It feels tense somehow. So she sticks out her tongue at him to cut through that momentary intensity, unsure of what that actally was. Then, he's getting up, and she remains in the sand, wondering what they were doing again.

Oh, right. Getting up and brushing off her skirt, which has picked up a bit of sand, she clears her throat a little. When she looks back up at him, she  makes a show of thinking about his question. Her fingers come up to cup her chin thoughtfully and her face scrunches, as her eyes cast up and away.

"Hmm... aside from the rock looking better than you, it was.. just okay!" She finally decides, relaxing and smirking back at him mischievously. She wonders if he'll accept that, part of her hopes he doesn't.

and find some beauty there
'cause all we ever are is brave

LOCKE

It's the sun, right? Making things weird? Yeah. Probably. He returns her tongue sticky outy as he watches her stand back up. He should've helped but maybe touching is the best idea right now. She dusts herself off and he tilts his head, watching her think. She's being very cute and he's not sure what to think of it. But some good ol fucking around never hurt anyone. Right?

And then she answers and his eyes narrow. "Just okay? Just. Okay." He says it flatly as he takes a step back. "Look at me! I'm no like Frey or anything but fuck, I work hard for this body. Just okay, my ass. Did you even see my ass? Its great." He's not really all that offended but maybe he wants her to look at him, he's curious. He's not sure how far he should push all of this but he wants to. Something about being denied the first time makes it all the more fun now.

"Fuckin.. Just okay.." He mutters, running a hand through his hair as if it will do anything. Actually, he's kind of unsure what to do right now, confused where the line is.

I'ma do the things that I wanna do

I ain't got a thing to prove to you

Aurelia

So never fear to feel good
when everything's wrong

She can't see how a bit of fuckin' around would hurt in the moment. Locke's a pretty easygoing guy. At least, what she's seen of him. She thinks she's usually caught him at good times, though, so it's a bit hard to tell who he actually is. But that only makes her more curious, anyway.

His eyes narrow and she gives him a self-assured little smile, pretending to be unfazed by his narrowing eyes even though it makes her want to giggle. Her brow raises very high at the question of if she'd seen his ass. "Turn around so I can get a better look then!" She retorts boldly, stepping forward to prod his shoulder and coax him into turning away from her.

No matter what he does, her hand will dart out to give him a solid slap in the arse. Not like a friendly pat, either; a real SMACK! That'll be sure to leave a red mark. Cackling victoriously, she steps back, ready to try and flee retaliation should he seek it. Already her hands are going up to the air in a display of preemptive surrender. "Okayy! Fine! You looked hot!" The judgement is flushed out from between cheeks that turn a shade pinker at saying it out loud.

and find some beauty there
'cause all we ever are is brave

LOCKE

He does as he's told, turning around so she can look at his ass. He even gives her a little wink over his shoulder and a little wiggle. And then she slaps him, no, smacks his ass. The noise he makes is something between a yelp and a moan. If his face wasn't red before, it is now. He spins on his heel, already advancing as she backs away from him. Oh, this is how it is? Alright 'Relia, he can play this game if you want.

He makes a grab for her wrists when she holds them up, pulling her closer to him. His heart is racing as he leans down to look at her more properly. Hazel meets green and there's a wild look to his expression. "Aww, finally willing to admit it?" There's a little sing song quality to his voice even if its laced with something like anger. He's not mad but there's this feeling in the pit of his stomach he can't quite explain.

Again, he snaps his teeth in her face before letting her go. Should she turn her back on him, he returns the smack because of course he does.

I'ma do the things that I wanna do

I ain't got a thing to prove to you

Aurelia

So never fear to feel good
when everything's wrong

When he goes to grab her wrists, it's almost expected. She doesn't struggle against his grip, unfazed... until he pulls her in close. The gesture catches her off guard, surprised by that unreadably wild look in his eye. And not knowing what to do in this suddenly close proximity of theirs. She can't tell if he's actually irritated, or if he's just playing around - until he snaps his teeth at her again. Then, she knows.

And it leaves her with a weird feeling in her own gut, a smaller smile pulling at one corner of her lips. After a moment, she returns the gesture, jutting her chin out and snapping her teeth together at him too.

Then she turns away, intending to start walking back towards the beach, maybe invite him along for a drink or some food or something. But he smacks her back, right on the ass. At first, her mouth opens into a small 'o' shape, but it's soon replaced by a determined grin. "Oh yeah?"

Without warning, she turns on him and full-on bum rushes him. Her intent is to push him out into the water, not caring if she gets dragged down with him so long as it means she can dunk his head under.

and find some beauty there
'cause all we ever are is brave

LOCKE

She gives him the chance and he takes it, grinning with delight at the solid sound it makes. Then she turns and he's pretty sure he's about to die but she's tackling him into the water instead of committing homicide. He's already made an ass of himself once today, might as well do it again. Except he's not really trying this time. She really does catch him off balance and he falls back into the water. He makes a grab for her with the intent of pulling her down with him.

He pushes himself up onto his elbows, glaring at her from wherever she is. "Is this the spar you promised me? I mean if you wanna do it in water, we can do it in water. Never really was against a little wet clothes wrestling. Better naked but clothed is fun too." Maybe she'll take him up on the naked at some point. It'd be fun.

I'ma do the things that I wanna do

I ain't got a thing to prove to you