escordvi | closed 🌠⚡ it's far too easy to miss the beauty in the simple things

That trick is a little harder.

[She rolls around inside the bubble instead, showing off this new skill.]

Was it really that cute? Felt more clumsy to me, and I don't wanna upset this vendor if I can help it.

I thought the clumsiness was part of the charm, but it would be better if you didn't knock over things...

What about just through the water?

[Although even this was pretty cute he thought.]

Like this?

[She tumbles along the bottom of the bubble, pushing it with her whole body. It does take quite a bit of effort, but...]

Oh, I think I got it! A little easier than trying to roll across a table, that's for sure!

[Wheeee! And oops, she rolls a little too hard and yanks on the string, right as they come up to said vendor stall—]

[There's just a small, quiet, warm huff of air that ghosts over her as he smirks.]

You will.

[After all, this is her birthday and this is her gift, isn't it? Perhaps not one he fully planned, but one that's come to be all the same. So it's only right that she receives it thoroughly.

And thoroughly she will. It's not long after that that the flowers are crumpled with their clothes. Some time is taken to try and savor the moment, for each to fully see and take in each other's newly exposed selves with the moonlight basking each of them, revere and commit everything to memory. that same view only hastens that drive, that need. A need made more raw and at times rough and hasty as they are both new and inexperienced, knowledge only from what they've seen, read, heard, or imagined. Each touch, each kiss is a brand new exploration, test, and experiment, with Eustace the bolder of the two. Instincts carry them both, and his own makes him both gentle and aggressive at once.

Gentle because he doesn't want her to hurt and only feel that pleasure and joy of this experience, yet aggressive because of a more carnal desire to see the full extent of that pleasure delivered by him especially. Is that some kind of selfish pride? Perhaps, but it's something even he can feel and want. That is why every step and touch will be at first careful, seeing what seems to elicit the most response. But once he learns it...then he is merciless to draw out more of it. Why even once his fingers slick and he's had a taste of her sweetness he continues to rub and stroke until she's at her most tender. And if she wants to do the same, to try and experiment, he'll encourage her and let her do as she pleases.

Until, at last, they experience sexual pleasure at its peak. Again things are tentative, awkward even, at first. The extra care in trying to hurt her as little as possible, to give her the time to adjust, while also having to deal with his own feelings and urges. All of them new and a bit overwhelming. At least it's not a full moon.........or he wouldn't have dared to try. Of course he's still uncertain about a few things, but—well he'll figure it out and prepare himself if the worst case happened. But once they settle in and get going, it all becomes a blur from there. Her voice, her cries, her breaths, the pounding of her heart, those are all he hears and sees. Again that newness, that rawness, and being under the stars together...

It's perfect.

Much better compared to if they had lost themselves back at the Naughtilust.

How long they are out there, they don't know. But it will be a long time before they are willing to let go of each other, longer still before they gather their clothes to return to camp hand in hand, skin still warm and flushed, little smiles never leaving...]

[He's just going to quiet laugh as he watches her, finding her very adorable before he has to try and stop her—

"What's this? Who's the bastard keeping a seabunny as a pet!?"

...Well. This is a great start.]

[Any cute moment that they could have had dies the moment that she hears that voice, and she whips around in its direction to puff defensively.]

Not a pet. And it would be nice if one person around here would bother asking what's going on before making assumptions!

[Listen! One can get a little short-fused and grumpy when they are the size of a pinky finger and stuck having to travel inside a bubble balloon!]

[Before the old whale can say anything more, Eustace releases a small exhale and gently put his hand beneath Tifa's bubble.]

We're here to buy some ingredients for a potion that would help change her back.

[However, that might not have helped, either, as the whale's small eyes narrow.

"Oh? Did ye get caught in the trap then? Tch, then serves you right! Already showing your true colors, trying to trick me, are ye!?"]

[Okay, maybe that was the wrong call on both of their parts, but she's tired of people accusing her boyfriend of keeping her as a pet!?

So, she takes a deep breath and gives the whale her most imploring, pleading look. Not that she can see any of it, but she tries to make herself look extra cute. Whether it's working or not, she'll have to find out.]

Sorry about that... I didn't know...

[No, you know what? She shouldn't have jumped to so many conclusions, but she's going to find her thread of patience, short and frayed now as it is, and try again.]

Anyway. Um. We made it through the maze, if that's what you're talking about, but I think I was sold a faulty potion by the sirens? Or... maybe I had a reaction to it? I don't know, but...

[Tifa's ears tap tap tap together.]

We came from Sandra's apothecary, if that helps at all.

[The whale taps her fin against the table, eyes still narrowed. "So ye made it through the maze, did ye? And still, ye got yerselves caught in this right mess? And what exactly do ye have Sandra doin'?"]

Edited 2025-06-02 20:39 (UTC)

[Eustace just maintains an even countenance.]

To help change her back. She was able to confirm that it was magic from the potion, nothing else.

[The whale still looks at them suspiciously.

"Fine, show me the list. And know it won't come cheap."

Well. It's progress? As he hands out the list and the whale looks at it all, she tuts again after noticing they got help from the other mermaid.

"Soft hearted lot they are, should learn from their cousins... You wait right there and don't THINK about touchin' any of my wares!"

With a grumble that whale looks to see what she has.

Meanwhile, Eustace will put some respectable distance back and hold Tifa close to him.]

...Worse than I expected.

[It's a good thing that she can't see Tifa's face, or the way she is shooting this whale a glare for her horrible customer service. She lowers her voice in turn as she's brought back closer to Eustace so that she can whisper to him.]

Don't know why, but I was expecting someone a lot nicer with a name like that.

[A glance over to make sure that she is out of earshot. She's willing to let a lot slide, but rude people trying to sell her things is not one of them.]

A wonder anyone is brave enough to come around and buy her stuff...

[Maybe she is just a little impatient. After all, how many times have they been through this? How many times have they been overcome by an urge to touch and explore one another, to experiment and discover new things about one another and about themselves that they never knew? Her imagination had wondered and often drifted, sure, but it was nothing compared to having him here now, the heat of his skin under her hands and pressing over her like this, his sturdy presence, even when everything else seems so uncertain and, admittedly, a little scary.

Even if she knows that she has nothing to fear with him, she is still nervous. Terrified. Scared that she will mess this all up or make a fool of herself. Scared that she won't know what to do and will hurt him. She has only read things, heard things, but never been so close to anyone like this before. She is so familiar with him now but it's all still so new that she is intent on taking her time, even if in the end, each kiss and touch and sound grows more desperate the longer they tease.

His ministrations set her body alight, every nerve on fire as his mouth and his hands move over her. He makes her arch up out of the flowers and sink back down, her gasps and soft moans turning into cries only for him to hear as he grows bolder and draws it out more and more, almost like he is testing to see how long before she finally breaks. And just when she feels like she might teeter over that edge, the stars blinking brightly behind her eyelids, he pulls her back to reality, grounds her, even as her mind grows fuzzy and her body weak with a want so strong that makes her fingers dig into his back and his arms, and coaxing soft, pleading mewls and sobs out of her, begging for more.

How he's managed to unravel her and so quickly, she doesn't know, but when it's her turn to do the same to him, she intends to give him as much attention, as much reverence as he had given her, with her lips, her tongue, her hands—hell, her entire body as they travel wherever they can reach, pressing soft kisses in between shy nibbles. She is not quite so bold as he is, everything that she does tentative yet somehow deliberate at the same time. And as she tastes him, slowly runs her tongue over his length before taking him between her lips, she hopes to draw out her name in his voice the same way that he did to her. To make him see the same stars just out of reach before she pulls away and draws him back down, too.

If only because she wants to do it together.

Of course, everything is clumsy, every touch beyond that laced with a nervousness to it. But she is so sure of what it is she wants that she doesn't even question it. Awkward as it is, and through the little slipups and mistakes that they make, Tifa doesn't want to stall it any longer. He takes care not to hurt her, but even with the pain, she has never felt anything quite like it before as he finally presses into her. To feel so connected with him—she had before, the first time they touched and the first time they kissed, but this... There aren't quite any words to describe how that feels.

Well, maybe one.

Love.

It feels like love.

And everything that happens in between, she both remembers and doesn't by the time they crash back down to the earth together, that high so vivid and extraordinary that all she feels, all she can recall, is the sound of his voice saying her name in her ear, and the way she cried his out to the stars, and that blinding ecstasy that comes with it.

It leaves her breathless, shattered, yet so unbelievably content after that she cannot even think to move from the flowers quite yet. With her heart still beating, her breaths still rushing out of her, she tangles herself up in him and mutters sweet nothings against his lips as they share soft kisses and hold one another as if it were their last night together. It's so perfect that she wishes that they never have to leave...

But they can't stay there forever, and she has no idea, nor does she care, how long they are there before they finally find it within themselves to get up, gather their clothes, and head back to the camp, holding one another close even still, the silence that hangs between them comfortable as she remains wrapped up in his warmth until they get back.

Even then, she won't be so keen to let go of him as they start a fire outside of their tent and curl up inside of it, pillows and blankets piled up around and over them to keep them warm for the rest of the night. And as she lies beside him, she cannot help but stare, her lids heavy with not tiredness but affection and contentment, as she brushes the tip of her finger over his cheek.]

Best birthday ever, I think.

She did warn us that she was more hostile towards outsiders, and wasn't wrong about that.

[And as if to answer Tifa's question, the moment a whalefolk shows up to pick up an item, the old granny is all kind smiles and chatting them like old friends.]

[There's a warm smile at that as his arm is firmly wrapped around her. Throughout it all, thoughts of the significance of this night come and go, but he doesn't mind them. He's still too content and just...happy he was able to find someone to share that kind of joy, that moment with.]

I'm glad... And it won't be the last.

[Tifa narrows her gaze.]

It's not as if we didn't make it through that maze, or we aren't trying to help... I get that they're wary to outsiders, but no need to be rude about it.

[Her fingers pause for a moment on his face but then continue.]

Took us long enough though, huh?

[A soft laugh, a little joke to help lighten the air a little, and to shake off that thought that had suddenly drifted into her mind. But she still feels the need to clarify—]

It was perfect.

Would you feel friendly if most of your species was hunted down by people who lived on the surface?

[Honestly, he can't blame them, or that old whale at all. So as much as he'd like to side with Tifa...]

Considering her age, too... Wouldn't be surprised if she experienced something personal herself.

[He notices the pause, and he has an idea of what she's thinking about, but he won't make any note of it either. Instead he just leans into her touch and continue to smile.]

Well...glad I didn't disappoint at least.

[A light, playful smile.]

[She sighs, a little defeated.]

Well, no. But I still wouldn't be rude to anyone. It's not like we did anything, so making other people pay the price for someone else's misdeeds seems a little unfair, doesn't it?

[The brands that they were all given and had to suffer through for that first month are a perfect example of that, but...]

It's something that they can control.

[A low hum.]

Maybe so. But as they say, once bitten, twice shy.

[It might be because he can understand that sense of distrust. The hurt and pain that carries over, how it raises one's bars even against those who are wholly innocent. Is it right? No.]

Not that it's an excuse, but we're in their territory and they don't know who to trust. Even with the trial of the maze, there's enough prejudice to cloud their reasoning. At least she's helping and looking for the items.

[It's taking longer, in part because other whalefolk stop by for one reason or another. Some to give her some gifts, others for trade. Although it would be better if she focused on their tasks, she does immediately return to searching through her goods once the sudden business is over—even if it's with a scowl on her face and occasional glances at them.]

[Her cheeks grow warmer and redder at that.]

No. You definitely didn't disappoint at all. Not with any of this.

[She closes her eyes.]

I almost don't even wanna leave...

I get that, but two wrongs also don't make a right.

[Yes, they are in her territory, but some people might be less inclined to help the whalefolk if they were met with the same attitude.

She doesn't argue the point much further, though.]

I just don't see any point in being hostile from either side. Most of us are just here to help, and the people who are aren't the ones who did anything wrong. We should all at least be trying to make nice for Elah's sake...

She could also be just old and cranky.

[A light smile as he lifts her higher.]

Like a certain little bunny.

Well we can stay for a another night or two.

[He leans in now, lips lightly brushing over her head as he's about to wish her happy birthday...

When he suddenly remembers and pulls back.]

Shit, I almost forgot. I had something else for you.

[And sitting up now!!!]

[She is about to chase after his lips with her own when he suddenly sits up, and she stares at him, surprised, her lips half puckered and ready for it.]

Something else?

[She is more just sleepily confused than anything right now, already missing him in his spot beside her.]

On top of all you've already done today?

Yeah...

[He feels a little sheepish, but he reaches over to his bag to pull out something from one of the inside pockets (so that it would be well hidden from her!) before holding it out to her. It's simply wrapped and the size of a book.]

I could have waited until tomorrow, but it's your birthday gift, so...

closed 🌠⚡ it's far too easy to miss the beauty in the simple things

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