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| Life at the Outpost |
| (2013-10-18 - Now) |
| No description. |
| Avira | Coordinates were shared! True to Avira's word, they lead to a spot in the Dalamascan desert-specifically, it leads to a cave. Does it connect to the caverns that are said to sprawl deep beneath Ivalice? Probably. But Mercade won't have to venture far within the depths to find the likes of Avira and her precious cargo. Within, some tents have been set up. Outside the cave, if Mercade were astute, he'd find traces of where a firepit had been. Right now it has been mostly covered up by sand. A blanket has been spread out on the sand within view of the entrance. If he sneaks in, he'll find Avira seated on it, reading a book. The water crystal is at her elbow, lying on its side. |
| Mercade Alexander | Mercade has been worried about Avira for some time. She gave him some information on how to find the travelling warrior woman, and he comes to the cave on Watson. His gaze sweeps over the firepit area and he frowns for a moment, thinking, before he heads to the cave. He doesn't believe that this could possibly be a trap, approaching openly and dismounting at the cave mouth, leading the Chocobo in by the reins. "Come on, Watson. Everything will be fine." He says to the bird as it demurs for a moment. He then turns to Avira, grinning. "Hey! Avira!" He says, jogging towards her. "It's been way too long." He says, flopping onto the blanket next to her, making sure to not sit on the Crystal. That would be painful. |
| Avira | Up to this point there doesn't seem to be many footprints in the sand either. It's as if Avira is painfully aware of the nastiness that carrying around the water crystal could attract! Within the cave, the sand continues to coat the floor. It seems this way for pretty far down, way into the darkness that Mercade can't see past. Hearing the warking of Watson, Avira quickly puts her book down and shifts. It looks like she's about to get up only to abort this plan when Mercade joins her on the blanket. Instead, it turns into a pounce and a hug. "Mercade! Yes, it sure feels that way!" When she releases him, she alters her position again so she's somewhat leaning against him. "Was it you that carried me to safety out of Manhattan the other week...?" |
| Mercade Alexander | Marcade laughs as Avira pouncehugs him, and he snugs her back warmly. Not because of the desert, mind you! He laughs, and leans back against her in what has become the norm between them, always seeming to support one another. When she mentions the battle in Manhattan, Mercade frowns for a moment. "I wish I could, Avira, but..." He pauses. "With what happened, I wasn't rendered unconscious myself. I'm pretty sure it was Deidra, Maira, Alma, and the others who recovered us." He shrugs for a moment, but looks over his shoulder. "Are you all right? You went through a lot back then." |
| Avira | Desert or no, Avira would happily take this affection, especially given all that she's been through lately. The mutal leaning is met with Avira resting her head on his shoulder. Her grin doesn't fade when Mercade admits that it wasn't he who brought her out of Manhattan. "I, uh, well..." she lowers her head, "I think I'm alright. I don't feel any dark curses inside me. But I could be wrong. I'm not a wizard. It's probably a good idea for me to...avoid Manhattan for a while. In case I'm still poisonous to it." Mercade can tell she's pretty upset about that last part. |
| Mercade Alexander | Mercade thinks for a moment as she leans her head on his shoulder. "I'll find a way to help you out and make sure. I don't know why they keep doing this to..." He pauses. No, he knows /exactly/ why they keep doing these things to them. "... Never mind. It doesn't matter. We're going to stick together and everything will work out. Just like we always do. They don't stand a chance with all of us working together. And then we'll find out if you're going to be all right, and then you'll be able to go home." Mercade shakes his head. "You're an amazing and good person, Avira. It's not you, it's Maleficent." He shifts a bit, turning around and putting his hands on the back of her shoulders. A minute later, he's trying to give her a neck rub. She probably needs it with all the stress she's been under lately. "She'll get hers soon enough." |
| Avira | Avira goes quiet at that just as Mercade trails off, as if they both come to the same realization at the exact moment. Yes. They both know why they keep doing stuff like this to them. Inwardly, she can't help but feel a small swell of pride over that reason. Mercade can see this reflected in a small smile upon her scarred face. "Yeah, you're right." Avira lifts a hand to place on one of his knees, "We'll do this together. They can't beat us like that and we'll prove it however many times it takes." Mercade can feel the tightness in her shoulders as he moves to rub her shoulders. He's pretty spot-on. With all that has happened lately, well.. "I hope you're the one to give it to her." Avira says intensely, only to stop suddenly, "Errr...that sounded less um...suggestive...in my mind...you know what I mean." Outside the cave the sun starts to set. |
| Mercade Alexander | Mercade just smiles as well. With all that she's gone through, Mercade is happy that he's helping to play a part in her dealing with it. As he continues to knead her shoulders, he chuckles. "It's all right. Ten thousand year old evil fairy queens aren't my type." He grins, and then reaches around to tap her on the nose with a grin. "There's someone else I'm much more interested in spending time around right now." |
| Avira | "Definitely, definitely not your type." Avira agrees with a giggle, then an inwardly shudders at the thought of Maleficent and Garland. They're definitely something. Maybe even the anti-Mercade and Anti-Avira. He'll feel her shoulders start to untense and relax against his hands. There's a slight jolt as he sneaks a hand around to tap her nose, followed by a small squeak. At that point, she turns around so she's sitting on her knees in front of him. There's a coy smile on her face as she leans forward into him. "Oh~ And who would that beeee?" she teases. |
| Mercade Alexander | Mercade hasn't ever thought of some kind of Anti-Avira or Anti-Mercade. She turns around to look at him, and he folds his arms, tipping his head slightly. "Well, how about I tell you about her?" Mercade replies. He folds his hands in his lap as he begins to talk, then. His expression is very straight, though Avira can tell the edges of his mouth threaten to quirk up into a smile. "This woman is very strong and independant. She has a rugged beauty about her. She knows the wilderness as well as the streets of her own home. She's well traveled, having seen many sights and experienced many things. She laughs at my stupid jokes, and enjoys New York style pizza." He pauses for a moment, continuing to keep his face as neutral as possible as he resumes. "She's a natural leader and is very modest. She has a generous heart and is always willing to support those around her in need, sometimes at the risk of even hurting herself. But that doesn't stop her from being a great fighter against those people who would hurt those she wants to protect." He then reaches up, brushing a bit of Avira's hair aside. "She also has the most beautiful hair and eyes I have ever seen." Finally, he lets himself smile a little. "Perhaps you've heard of her." |
| Avira | As he talks, Avira leans forward, her palms pressing against the blanket that they're both seated upon. Her head leans in, those brown eyes of hers locking upon Mercade's blues. "Go on." she says, gazing in to his poker face. Her head tilts downwards so her own mouth-and perhaps potential smile-is slightly hidden from him. She studies him, threatening to giggle every time his mouth almost does that smile, listening to his sweet words. Hair that is not bound up in the braid woven behind her hangs down, touching her cheeks until Mercade's hand sweeps the right side aside. Her right hand lifs to place it over top of Mercade's. "She sounds very wonderful. She must be if she has an incredible guy like you~" Avira giggles, "Furthermore-" She takes action. Avira leans forward and plants a kiss against Mercade's lips. |
| Mercade Alexander | Avira catches his hand, and for a moment, he seems slightly surprised... But then the kiss comes, and Mercade simply embraces her, letting it go on for some time. Eventually, Mercade pulls back, putting his forehead up against hers as he recovers his breath. Casually, he comments, "You know, I left a few supplies back in Watson's saddle. How about I go get them?" He glances around, and comments casually, "It's getting a little dark in here, you know? And isn't it getting to about dinner time? I've got something to help with that..." |
| Avira | She keeps leaning in against him, her own arms wrapping around him. Pleased, she certainly isn't the one to break it off and finds herself surprised how out of breath she is when they do. Her cheeks flush red as she realizes this. "Yes." she breathes, letting her eyes meet his as the lean against each other forehead to forehead. "You should go get them." She looks excited, especially at the prospect of some dinner. That on top of Mercade being here? FANTASTIC. The sun is definitely setting. From the cave, as Mercade steps out he can see the sunset lighting up the sky in a very spectacular manner. |
| Mercade Alexander | Mercade steps outside, and he looks out at the sunset, struck for a moment at the vivid hues splashing across the sky as it sets. He smiles at it, watching for a couple minutes silently, before he turns to Watson. "You be a good buy, all right?" He says, petting the chocobo's beak, and then going to the saddlebags. He withdraws a couple wrapped packages from them, one of them laying out some gysahl greens for the chocobo to forage on, as he moves the chocobo's staking to some nearby water. A few minutes later, he comes back in with a couple checkered parcels, and he smiles as he sets them down on the sandy floor, opening them up. Within, there is a steaming Italian-style feast, kept wrapped in separate parcels for hot and cold. Breadsticks, salad, and a large pizza are laid out, as well as a small cake and a bottle of wine. Mercade also produces some candles, which he sets up around the cave and lights up, giving the desert hideaway a dim, warm light as he approaches Avira again. "Would milady care to join me for dinner?" Mercade asks, holding out his hand. |
| Avira | In the meantime, Avira has moved the water crystal to the corner of the blanket on the ground. Not in the way but definitely not out of sight. Couldn't be too sure that something wouldn't sneak out of the cave and snatch up the crystal if it was left in a tent. She's also unbuckled the breastplate she usually wears and set it aside, revealing the leather-looking sleeveless shirt typically beneath that. Additionally, thanks to that earlier comment of his, she's taken the braid out of her hair. It has a wavy quality to it thanks to braiding and natural shape. "Wow." Avira sounds thoroughly impressed and...something else. Charmed, perhaps, by Mercade's setup? "Why yes, Sir Mercade Alexander." She places her hand in his in an overexaggerated action. "I would." |
| Mercade Alexander | Mercade pulls off his hat with his free hand and tosses it to the side, letting it land neatly on an outcropping of rock as they head to the dinner. He lets Avira sit first, then takes off his coat and sets it aside, much like Avira has with her armor. He looks over to her and grins. "It's going to be a wonderful evening." He says, picking up he wine glass and getting out a swiss army knife to open the bottle. "Have anything you like. It's just us, and we don't have to compete with Will tonight." He laughs. |
| Avira | SWEET HAT TOSS! Avira sits down, letting her legs curl beneath her, though she doesn't sit on her calves and ankles since that actually kind of hurts for prolonged periods of time. She smiles back at him and takes up a wine glass of her own in one hand. It's empty, of course, as Mercade works to open the bottle. Her other hand snatches up a piece of that pizza. "Yes, just us." And hopefully Angantyr will still be out for some time, as he is wont to do when the two of them have travelled or been on missions together. In fact, Angantyr is probably off picking a fight with someone /right now/. She isn't so daring to mention anyone else as Mercade does Will. Namedropping Will is already tempting fate. |
| Mercade Alexander | Mercade has no idea that anyone else was even here. He hasn't seen any of Ang's stuff around. Maybe he didn't notice. Mercade pours Avira some wine first, allowing her to drink. Mercade starts with some salad and breadsticks, moving on to pizza afterwards. The food is from a fine Italian place that Mercade hit on the way to the location, so it's all fresh. "So what are your plans tonight, Avira?" Mercade asks. |
| Avira | There's definitely other people with her, besides Angantyr-though just not here right now. They were told Mercade was coming and she'd be well taken care of in that case. Ever since the Seith incident in Cosmo Canyon, the huntress has endeavored to not travel alone. Once she's taken a few bites of pizza, she sips the wine. She looks approvingly at the pizza. "It's really good." she comments, nudging Mercade towards the pizza impatiently to get him to have some too. Not that he hasn't already eaten at the place he's bought from before. "Tonight? I was mostly going to stay here and relax while I can. I don't think we're going to be able to stay here for very long." She pauses, then looks at him slyly, "Why, what are /your/ plans for tonight?" |
| Mercade Alexander | He's getting to it! Mercade polishes off the appetizer and arches an eyebrow at the nudged pizza. He nods, picking up some pizza in one hand and wine in the other. He munches for a bit, seemingly contemplating what Avira asked him. "Well... Would you like some company tonight?" He asks, smiling. |
| Avira | Avira apparently had decided to jump the gun entirely and go right for the pizza. Only now does she try a breadstick and then the salad. She'll eat a bit more of the salad but she pretty clearly likes that pizza. All of this goes down while Mercade is busily thinking. "Hell yes." she quickly blurts out, completely without shame. "I most certainly would! Stay with us, it won't be any trouble at all!" |
| Mercade Alexander | Well, he didn't think it would, but he wanted to ask anyway. "Thanks, I appreciate it." Mercade replies. He glances over to the book Avira was reading while waiting for him, and then back to her. He snaffles another slice of pizza, and he gestures with it towards Avira. "I want to be with you. I mean, well..." He pauses, then shakes his head. "Actually... That's about it, to be honest." |
| Avira | "There's definitely nothing stopping that tonight." Avira points out. Yes. Tonight. No guarentee of what'll happen later this week. "Beyond that..." Avira looked a little sunsure. She doesn't know how deep space resource guys handled getting back resources such as oil. |
| Mercade Alexander | "Well, then as for tonight, that's the plan. We'll take the rest as it comes, just like always." Mercade holds up the wineglass, arching an eyebrow at her over the glass with a smile. "Eat, drink, and be merry, right?" |