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 Posted: Mon Jun 01, 2015 7:14 pm
Cesc gave a parting smile to the carney and continued their float, grinning over at Zurine.
"Okay," he said, considering. "What about Persnickety? Or Chauncey? Bernard? Hubert? Broderick?"
He sent Zurine a simpering smile and said in his best faux-British accent: "I'm Melvin. Simply ghastly to be out in this weather, isn't it?"
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Posted: Mon Jun 01, 2015 7:15 pm
Zuri couldn't help it -- she simply exploded in giggles. "Oh, Melvin," she said, airily, pretending to clutch at her pearls with one dainty beringed hand. "Absolutely dreadful to be a duck in the sunshine! What with all those twittery birds and warmth..." She couldn't help laughing, looking at the toy. "That's a perfect name!"
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Posted: Mon Jun 01, 2015 7:17 pm
Cesc laughed brightly, the corners of his eyes crinkling. "You don't know what you've done! Now Melvin's going to be judging your choices all the time!"
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Posted: Mon Jun 01, 2015 7:19 pm
"Well, join the club, Melvin," Zuri said with soft, slightly unladylike snort as she stuck her tongue out at the duck. "I make wonderful choices, so there."
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Posted: Mon Jun 01, 2015 7:20 pm
"That's right, Melvin," said Cesc, looking down at the duck keychain with a slightly warning look. "Don't test her too hard."
The row of game booths continued, with people shooting and laughing and cursing at their luck. Cesc paused as they neared one, absolutely bursting with stuffed animals -- so much so that the game attendant, a girl with a half-shaved head that looked like she was in her young teens, seemed to be practically choked by them behind the counter. Giant octopuses, manatees and frogs mixed with smaller toucans, moose, cats, and giraffes for ultimate fluffiness.
The game itself was a row of plates and a couple of somewhat-greasy looking baseballs. Break and win!
"Well, hello..." said the stag.
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Posted: Mon Jun 01, 2015 7:23 pm
Zuri had followed, somewhat occupied with her new trinket, but when she heard him speak, she looked up -- and her eyes popped open wide with delight. "Those are amazing toys," she squeaked, pulling up short behind him. "Those are bigger than I am...!" Her eyes roamed over the mounds of lovely fluffy fur, more than a little covetous.
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Posted: Mon Jun 01, 2015 7:24 pm
"They really are," laughed Cesc, looking over the options. "Look at that manatee -- or the sugar glider! That is enormous."
He grinned over at her, a glint suddenly entering his eye. "... do you want one?"
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Posted: Mon Jun 01, 2015 7:25 pm
She looked up at him, and delight glittered in her eyes as she put her palms together in a beseeching motion, squeaking. "I do! That sugar glider is... almost cuter than Melvin...!" Zurine was normally not a squeaky type of person, but she rather thought the situation warranted it.
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Posted: Mon Jun 01, 2015 7:25 pm
Cesc lit in a laugh as he listened. He did rather like the idea of Zurine hefting that giant sugar glider, he couldn't lie. It would look like they were old friends in a hug, really, with the size of it.
He looked at the rules. He would have to break every one of those greasy plates with that slime-covered ball in order to get it. It would probably take him more than one try, if he was honest. If he could get it at ALL.
Well, he did love baseball... and he was a lot stronger than he used to be.
"Alright, I'll give it a shot. But don't fall in love too fast, alright? No promises." He approached the booth and put down six dollars on the counter. The teen behind the counter slid him the balls with a look of utter boredom, then went back to picking her nails.
"... almost don't want to touch these..." murmured Cesc, picking up the first ball. It slid in his fingers and he rolled it between his forefinger and thumb, scrubbing the grime more into it, feeling the tooth of the fabric.
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Posted: Mon Jun 01, 2015 7:28 pm
She watched him with excitement and rapt attention, feeling her heart fluttering a bit with excitement. Sure, she wanted the toy, but her mind had quite suddenly decided that watching Cesc get it was a large part of the prize. And she had no doubt at all about it, either; her belief in him was absolute. Perhaps they weren't dating anymore. Whatever they were, it wasn't boyfriend and girlfriend -- Zuri let the little pang slide through her without comment; it stung less that way -- but he was still something steady and strong, who could do anything. She grinned up at him. "It's all in fun, so no, no pressure," Zuri murmured softly.
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Posted: Mon Jun 01, 2015 7:29 pm
"O...kay," said Cesc, half distracted. He rolled his shoulder a few times, squeezing it with the opposite hand, loosening up. He felt vaguely ridiculous, although out of the corner of his eye he could see that the booth attendant wasn't even watching him. Nobody was, really -- all the other carnival-goers were absorbed in their own games and in their own doings -- except Zurine.
He still wanted to look good in front of her.
In fact, he hated, hated the idea of not looking good in front of her. Even though she'd seen him when he was low, depressed, upset, mean and stupid before. Even though they'd shared plenty of other embarrassments in the past. He still wanted to do his best for her, to be his best self for her.
Rhedefre threw the first ball, two-finger fastball. He heard the cling and crack of the first plate, the top of it sliding right off. He grabbed the next greasy ball, trying not to pay attention to how he looked or how she looked at him, and tossed the second, smashing the next plate.
Smash, smash, smash -- eight solid pitches in a row, not all TOTALLY on target, but all hard enough to crush their marks.
Now the booth attendant was watching.
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Posted: Mon Jun 01, 2015 7:30 pm
For Zurine, it was not a surprise, though her visible glee grew more and more obvious with each plate that gave up the ghost. Her smile widened -- a little bit smug, as smug as if she'd done it herself, though she certainly hadn't. And watching him filled her with some undefinable emotion -- of all the delicate, lovely things he could do and make, this too seemed just as natural. She laced her fingers behind her back, trying not to be too distracting and to hold back the excited wriggles.
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Posted: Mon Jun 01, 2015 7:32 pm
In all honesty, Cesc was as stunned as the booth attendant at his victory. He was satisfied, sheepish, a touch bewildered -- this was a feat he never would have been able to achieve when he was a Frei. No matter how accurate he tried to train himself to be with a baseball, his completely pedestrian strength at Frei always frustrated him when speed or power was an issue.
Now, though, although the ball was slimy and his grip felt off, he managed to get by. He threw hard enough, fast enough, that it was okay.
It also reminded him how much he loved baseball, and how many doors were open to him now with it that he'd never considered. It gave him a strange sense of masculine pride, too, that he was able to do this for fair maiden.
He turned around to her, his smile blossoming when he saw her reaction, a warmth settling over his cheeks. Should he hug Zurine? Was that allowed?
He did anyway, holding his grimy hand out at a safe distance so that it didn't get her.
"Well," Rhedefre laughed. "Give the lady a stuffed animal of her choosing. And, ah -- perhaps a sanitizer for me?"
The booth attendant, still stunned, shoved forward an industrial-sized bottle of Purel. "That's... yeah, that wasn't bad," she said. She turned toward Zurine. "Okay, uh, what'll it be?"
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Posted: Mon Jun 01, 2015 7:33 pm
The hug all by itself was a wonderful prize, and her heart thumped quick as she hugged him back, her dainty arms tight around him to try and hide the flustered brightness of her own cheeks from that shocked happy look on his face, that smile. "I knew you could do it," she said with confident delight as she reluctantly let go so he could get to the hand sanitizer, her chilly feathers fluffed up with pride and happiness as she turned to face the booth, peering keenly into the depths.
She didn't even have to think about it very hard. "I'd like that sugar glider there," Zurine said, pointing daintily at the fluffy critter in question, its enormous plastic eyes bright. "If you don't mind, of course!"
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Posted: Mon Jun 01, 2015 7:34 pm
Cesc laughed as Zurine made her selection, impressed that she didn't go for the marine life. For him, there were plenty of special moments at the aquarium, under blue lights, watching the soft smooth underwater motions of the manatees and fish all around.
But maybe they were moving away from that.
He smiled. It was alright. Whatever they became from here, it would be better than what they had been. They were growing up, they were learning how to be better -- better friends, better people -- and it was nice.
And anyway. She looked cute with that giant sugar glider's fur smooshed up against her face.
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