[IC] The Adventurer(Jones Sparrow and WhiteLily)

[Jones Sparrow]

Ben woke up to the smell of rolls baking. It was a fantastic smell, and he felt like he could only get this from this island. He opened his eyes, sitting up and stretching. He was fully rested. His eyes full of curiosity and adventure yet again, his hair still messy. He climbed out of bed and walked toward the window, opening the shutters to take in the smell of the baked goods, the beach air, and the garden below. He went to his suitcase, picking out an outfit. The voice of Aria still rang in his ears, he picked out a dark blue v-neck, beige shorts, and some comfortable sneakers again. He walked out of his room, whistling the tune from last night's songs. He stepped downstairs, and walked towards the kitchen to see what exactly the smell was. He smiled wide when he saw Aria was behind it. "Goodmorning, Miss Aria." Ben said with a smile, looking around at the progress she made. "Do you need help?" He asked.

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Aria had always been awful at baking, and she was embarrassed when Ben came in, she knew she was coated in flour. Luckily for the festival she had worn a white sundress but the heat in the kitchen was causing her hair to curl slightly, some locks springing loose of the blue ribbon holding her hair back. Looking up with a frustrated look on her face, Aria wiped her forehead with the back of her hand but only left a smear of flour there. She was covered up to her elbows in the white powder even as she set a tray off to the side to be put in the oven, before Aria could say anything though, Rosa walked in.
"Mr. Chase, I need you to fold these napkins," She said, setting a stack down on the table in front of some baskets to carry the rolls.
"Tonight is the festival and everyone is expecting these rolls to be there!" Rosa said walking out of the kitchen to prepare something else. Aria rolled her eyes as she kneaded more dough,
"You don't have to fold them, Rosa always thinks the world will end if her rolls aren't accompanied by napkins."
"

[Jones Sparrow]

Ben knew she was having trouble, and probably guessed that she was stressed because of Rosa most likely. He jumped a bit when he heard Rosa's voice yell at him, then nodded. He laughed a bit as she hurried out, taking the napkins and started to fold them. "its no problem." Ben said, looking up at her, thinking she looked pretty cute. "So what exactly is this festival tonight?" He asked, continuing to fold the napkins.

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"The Moon Festival." Aria said as she pulled a tray from the oven and immediately put two more in before turning to put dough on an empty tray,
"Our ancestors were banished from the mainland for not accepting the common religion, they worshiped a sun god and moon goddess. They came here, and by chance realized it is shaped as a crescent moon. Believing it to be the moon goddess taking care of her people they settled here and every since then there has been a festival to commemorate the day of arrival." Aria took a breath and started into the next bit of explaining as she dumped the first load of rolls into a basket to allow time for the pan to cool before putting more dough on it,
"Unmatched men wear blue; for blue moons, and unmatched women wear white; for the full moon, but they have a blue ribbon." Motioning to her's, Aria continued,
"During the evening, the men try to get the ribbon from the girl they like, by asking or performing something for her. The girl can either accept or refuse... It is how many couples are formed here. When the man gets the ribbon from the girl, he ties it around his wrist and wears it to tell the others that he is taken. Then, at midnight, if the couple are serious about their relationship, they go to the beach and kiss under the moon." She shrugged and ;looked at Ben with a one sided smile,
"At the end of the night the village gathers in the square and dances until they can't anymore. Mama calls it dumb, but it is how she and Papa began their relationship." Her smile turned into a smirk,
"No man has ever gotten my ribbon."

[Jones Sparrow]

Ben was fascinated with what Aria said. He loved hearing the history, and the culture... and when she told him about the process of the ribbon, he smiled a bit. He couldn't help but think about having her ribbon on his wrist, and those soft lips...He knew there had to be some sort of competition out there for her. She was utterly amazing... When she told him about how no one had ever gotten her ribbon, he raised an eyebrow. "Oh? No one that interesting enough for you, Miss Aria?" He asked with a smile, getting back to folding the napkins, quicker now because he could hear the sound of Rosa's yelling coming closer.

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She raised an eyebrow at him then looked back down and the rolls,
"The men here want a quiet, meek girl. Someone who wants to be a housewife, tame... I'm not tame." Aria quieted down as Rosa rushed into the room,
"Rolls! I need rolls!" She grabbed the basket and breathed a little easier,
"You two are making good work. Clean up and you can go off about your day." Aria smiled and immediately covered the leftover dough and set the final tray in the oven. As Rosa left, Ari had a sudden idea. Taking a handful of flour in her hand, the young woman ran around the counter and flicked the powder into Ben's face,
"Surprise!" She laughed and skipped backwards,

[Jones Sparrow]

Ben looked at her, and was about to say something until Rosa came back in. He gave a smiled and started to finish folding the napkins. As soon as he did, he turned to a face full of flour. Coughing and spitting he gave a laugh, wiping as much as he could. "You think that's funny?" he asked with a laugh, picking up a bit of his own, he flicked some at her as well, laughing. "It is pretty funny!" Ben went behind the counter to take cover. "Now before you decide to take revenge... didn't you say something about the cliffs last night?" He asked with a grin, hoping he wouldn't get another face full of flour.

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She yelped and caught the flour in her already powdered face, but before she retaliated she picked up the empty roll tray as a shield. Peeking over the pan, Aria nodded,
"There are two reasons people go there. Romance, and to cliff dive." She lowered the pan for a moment,
"There are caves and a shipwreck when the tide is low. When it is high tide, the boys cliff dive and you can swim around in the caverns." Smiling brightly Aria got excited again,
"And sometimes there are dolphins! They go into the cavern and play with the swimmers."

[Jones Sparrow]

Ben laughed, smiling at her excited face. It sounded great, and adventurous. And it was clear she wanted more adventure. "Sounds awesome!" Ben said with a smile, walking for the door. "I can't wait to get there!" he was about to leave the room when he stopped, and turned around. "And for the record... I would very much rather have an adventurous, and exciting girl, than a tame, calm one..." he said with a smile. it was true. He couldn't imagine making a woman become someone she wasn't.

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Aria blushed as she hurried after Ben. She could imagine them together, traveling and being free and happy, but for Aria that would mean leaving the safety and love of her home. Drawing up next to Ben, Aria glanced at him before speaking in an off handed way, trying not to seem too interested,
"So, is there a girl on the island you may ask for her ribbon? I'm sure you saw a few yesterday at the beach... Or I could introduce you to a few." Looking ahead at the winding road leading to the cliffs, Aria shrugged non-nonchalantly,
"All the single girls here would gladly be the sweetheart of a man like you."

[Jones Sparrow]

Ben hesitated for a few seconds, but then shrugged. "There is this one girl who I saw the instant I got off the boat yesterday... She looks like an angel... Her soft body kissed by the sun, a smile that could melt stone, and piercing eyes that could knock the strongest man down to his knees... But the best thing about her is the way she pouts when she has to do chores. And the way she hesitates to do something daring, but her eyes shows just how bad she wants to try. The way she loves this island is more than any love could go past... And she has that wild, carefree, untamed spirit that drives me crazy..." He trailed off, his heart racing as he talked. He felt like he spoke too much from the heart. "I only hope she accepts my offering at the festival... Time will tell I suppose." He looked over at her, and gave a small smile, then looking at the windy road, excited not only for cliff diving, but also to be with Aria again.

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"She would be crazy not to," Angel said, blushing even more. After what felt like eternity to Aria, her heart was pounding so hard she was sure Ben could hear it, the cliffs came into view. Aria took Ben's hand again and towed him to the edge, pointing to the far end of the island that was visible.
"See how it arcs? A bird's eye view would reveal the crescent shape of the island. We are at the northern most point," Pointing down to the waves beneath them, Aria smiled before giving a little wiggle,
"High tide, best time to jump!"

[Jones Sparrow]

The view was amazing. Just like the rest of this island. He looked at the arc, seeing seagulls fly around, and looking down at the blue waters. He held on to her hand tighter, looking at her, then down at the cliff, his eyes full of excitement. He quickly pulled off his blue shirt, not wanting it to get wet. He tossed it aside, and looked at her. "You ready?" Ben stepped back a bit, getting ready to run. "One... two... THREE!!" He held on to her hand as they jumped off yet again. This was a larger cliff, so a longer fall time. He let out a laugh, and managed to see Aria's face as she was falling. They came into contact with the water, slicing through it. It was still an insane rush. He loved the feeling. And the feeling of Aria's hand in his.

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She had quickly pulled off the dress and gladly went with Ben over the edge of the cliff. They broke the surface of the water and Aria felt like she was on some high. Coming back up, Aria cheered and laughed, treading the deep water.
"Come on!" She said, swimming further out and away from the rocks. Once they were clear they could climb onto a series of rocks leading to the caves. Climbing up ahead of Ben, Aria looked back at him,
"Careful, there are sharp shells here, don't cut anything."

[Jones Sparrow]

Ben gladly followed her, doing a freestyle form towards the cliffs. He climbed onto the rocks. He nodded at her words, carefully planning his steps. As they walked into the caves he couldn't help but think of her words. About romance, and that blue ribbon of hers. He wanted very badly to have it. "This island is full of secrets." He said, stepping over a large rock, trying to get closer to Aria. "Have you even been down in here before?" Ben asked.

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"Once," She said, slowing for Ben. Her feet were more used to the hard rocks, though these ones were uncomfortable even for her. After a moment though the rocks ended and gave way to soft sand,
"When I was younger. I walked here during low tide and didn't realize what time it was. The tide began rising and I was sure I would drown." She pointed to a cave that was half underwater with the tide,
"There, the water came up and I was able to touch the ceiling of the cave." Aria laughed and shook her head,
"I was so scared, but I was able to swim out. Since then I haven't come back until now." She smiled at him,
"Want to see the inside?"

[Jones Sparrow]

Ben listened to her story, not really knowing what to say at that moment, but was somewhat glad she told him it. It was just something to show that she somewhat trusted him. He gave a smile and nod. "Absolutely." Ben said, eager to see what secrets it had to hide. So far these were the best days of his life, and had a feeling that they were going to get better. He made his way back in to the water, towards the cave, and gently taking Aria's hand again. It made him feel happier with her hand in his.

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Aria loved the feeling of her hand in Ben's. She felt safe and wanted and trusted. Taking Ben down into the cavern, the rocks stretched above them, light reflected off the water and made the rocks light up blue and white. Their footsteps echoed off the walls and Aria took them to a small cove where they could sit and look into a crystal clear tide pool. Settling down on the rock, Aria stayed close to Ben,
"I feel like it's almost like a cathedral in here. Like there is something holy here..." She said, her voice low and quiet.

[Jones Sparrow]

Ben was awed by the view of the cavern. It was all incredibly beautiful. He knew he said that a lot here, but its true. Beautiful beaches, beautiful waterfalls, and a beautiful girl. He sat down next to her, taking in the sight, nodding at the sound of her voice echo through the cavern. "its incredible... Such a peaceful place..." He said quietly. "I wish everyone could see such beauty..." Ben looked over at Aria, meaning a bit more than the caver, then looking back at the water.

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Aria allowed her head to rest on Ben's shoulder as the water made her relax.
"Will you tell me now about where you have been?" She asked, taking Ben's hand in both of hers and tracing patterns on his palm,
"Though you may make me jealous."