The Volleyball game was awkward, but it was over now. All Su could do was hope herdate went better. This wasn’t the type of thing she did too often, especially not with women like Chloe. But that really couldn’t be helped. Going on a date with Chloe was better than telling her that the truth. That the date was an attempt to capture/kill Penny that she no longer had the desire to go through with. But Su believed she could enjoy their time together. She had to.
”So, you wanted to get something to drink?” Su walked beside Chloe when she spoke.
”You mentioned sobering up, if you’d rather do something else, I’m okay with that.”“Hmm, I do normally drink tea...” Chloe replied, lightly tapping her chin with a finger.
“I swear the only reason I got drunk was because someone spiked my drink.” She chuckled.
“But hey, if you wanna get another drink, why not. Might as well after that loss.”People were getting their drinks spiked? Su would need to be more careful. But those thoughts faded as the bar came into view. There was quite a bit of room at the bar itself, and a few tables with chairs under the shade of tropical umbrellas. She walked over to the counter and ordered something. She had no idea what it was, but it looked colorful and had a slice of pineapple on the edge of the glass. Hopefully it would be a little fruity. The drink was presented to Su, which she took in her hands.
“Hmm...I'll take one of those.” Chloe pointed to a light blue colored drink with a lime perched on the edge of the glass.
“I think it's called a mermaid something or other.” She smiled, taking the glass.
“Almost as pretty as me, wouldn't you say?” She chuckled, taking a light sip from the drink and taking a seat at the bar.
Su took a seat beside Chloe
”You’re certainly easy to look at.” She raised her glass before taking a sip of her own drink.
“Sorry about disappearing at the graveyard, by the way. Beacon found me and all I had was a name and a pretty face to go on, so finding you was a tad bit difficult.”Su coughed into her hand.
”It’s okay. I also left a bit earlier than I had anticipated. The whole pirate ship and…” She trailed off.
”Well, that doesn’t feel as important now.” She turned to look at Chloe.
”What sort of things do you do for fun? Aside from picking up girls, that is.” She forced a smile.
“Hmm, truthfully? Just sit around.” Chloe sighed.
“My patron doesn't give me a whole lot of free time, but...Hm, I suppose I do like reading. I am a fan of the good kind of horror movies, too. Not the bad gory kind, mind you. Those are trash.” She held a hand to her chin.
“...used to play a lot of video games with my old roommate.” She took a sip of the drink.
“What about you, huh? What's a girl like you do for fun?””I’m usually brushing up on my talents. I use to do a lot of drawing, calligraphy, played a few instruments, danced, played chess, cards, but I haven’t really had a lot of time to dedicate to that recently.” She smiled.
”I’m in the same predicament as you, as I’m usually kept busy helping my Patron.” She paused.
”I’m also running a Hotel as a front for his lair, so I essentially have two jobs.” Su pushed her drink to the side so that she could lean on the counter.
”Reading is something I try to make time for though. I binge a detective novel from time to time, but I’ve recently been reading a book about the Choson Dynasty in Korea.” She folded her hands under her chin.
”Horror movies are good too. I tend to watch those with other people though.”“Eeeeh, mystery novels?” Chloe grinned.
“I used to read a lot of those, too. Might be a bit cliché, but the lovecraft sort of novels are my favorite sorts...though I guess that's because of my love of horror stuff, too.” She scooted her seat a bit closer to Su.
“Maybe we should watch a horror movie together sometime.” She took another sip of her drink.
Su didn’t shy away from Chloe.
”I wouldn’t mind that.”“Hotel though, huh? That's some pretty mundane work. You ever get bored?””The paperwork is a little tedious. But that’s usually done over the night shift, and it beats sitting at the counter with nothing to do.The hardest part of the job is needing to have a flexible schedule, since I can’t hire enough people to run the place entirely without me. But I can’t say it’s all boring.” When she reached for her glass, her other hand slid across the back of Chloe’s seat.
”You meet a lot of interesting people. Hear a lot of interesting stories. And they don’t stick around long enough to become mundane. After a few nights, they’re usually off to their next destination. My employees don’t have the same allure our guests have, but they’re good people. I’ve also been renovating the place, and it’s neat to see the old hotel transform into something more spectacular.” She lifted her glass to her lips, but didn’t drink. Su turned to Chloe again.
”Do you have any coworkers? Or is your patron content with just having you?”“Aaah, my patron refuses to hire anyone else.” Chloe sighed, sipping her drink.
“The stuffy old dragon is comically paranoid about humans and other people. Thinks they're nothing but food or playthings.” She leaned back a bit, not mentioning the Mint. Best not too for now, after all.
“I do have some girls I'm personally employing, but for the most part I'm all by my lonesome.””You serve a dragon too huh? What is he like? She?” Su sipped from her glass.
It wasn’t long before they emptied their glasses.
”Oh.” Su examined her cup. She wasn’t sure how long she had been here, but it probably wasn’t a good idea to have more than one of those. Especially if Chloe was still recovering from a hangover.
”That was a nice treat, even if it was a bit early in the day for something like that.” Su chuckled.
”We should do something else.” She placed a hand on her chin.
”I haven’t looked at my cabin yet, but there might be a TV in there. It’s a long shot, but we could see if there’s any scary movies on. Would you be up for that?”“Hmm, sure why not.” Chloe replied. She should probably go see about meeting up with Penny again to ask if she got that totally adorable photo, but...hm, maybe a movie with Su wouldn't be terrible. Getting her to let her guard down around her was still a good idea, even if she still wasn't sure she was going through with this whole Mint thing.
“I could use a good scare.”Su slid off of her seat and guided Chloe towards the cabins. They weren’t very far away, so no words were exchanged on their brief trek to Su’s room. The layout was similar to the hotel rooms in the golden trove. A window on the north side of the room shed light onto a large king-sized bed, with two night stands on either side. There were a lot more tropical accents however. The walls were a deep blue with sea shells, starfish, and sand dollars adhered all over them. The lamp shades on each nightstand looked like palm trees, and the quilt on the bed was covered in underwater designs.
”It looks like a kid’s room.” Su shrugged.
”And I don’t see a television either.” “Well, we'll just have to make our own fun then.” Chloe said in response.
“Board games? Maybe...some–”Su didn’t have very high expectations going into this date, but she was starting to enjoy Chloe’s company .Su would never admit it out loud, but she liked Chloe. She was intelligent, charming, and had a lot in common with Su. More than that, it had been a long time since Su had gotten the chance to go out with anyone. Chloe was willing to buy drinks, so naturally it was up to Su to make sure the rest of this date progressed without any problems. But there was no way she could make a television pop out of thin air. She had to think. No! She had to
know what to do in this particular instance. Fear. Cthulhu. Chloe, Date, Those words flashed through Su’s mind before she made her move. As soon as Chloe was in the room, she shut the door behind her. A gust of wind blew the drapes closed just as Su flicked off the lights. The once cheerful room was now illuminated by just a single sliver of light. The wall was teaming with miss sharpened shadows, and the swinging drapes seemed to give them life.
”Chloe, do you like tentacles?”“ huh?” Chloe turned to Su as asked a rather odd question.
“Tentacle-yaaaah?!” A shout of surprise more than anything. Chloe felt something wrap around her waist, a second was wrapped firmly around her neck. She tried moving an arm, only to find it just as bound. Well...this was quite the odd situation she found herself in.
”Eeeeh, I didn’t take you for the type to be into this.” Chloe smirked.
“Ah wait...ahem, sorry - ” Chloe cleared her throat.
“Waaah!~ Not the tentacles! unhand me this instant foul beast noooo~~”The tentacles coiled and whipped around in the air before retracting with a sigh.
”It’s just not the same.” Su flipped on a light before clapping her hands together.
”I don’t really think I should continue with that. It could get really weird. You’re not really damsel material anyway.” “Tsk, no fun.” Chloe pouted a bit as she was released.
“I could be a damsel just for you, if you want...you know, as long as you get to be the damsel later~” She chuckled, flashing Su a rather suggestive smirk.
Su placed her hands on her hips and raised an eyebrow. She decided it would be best to change the topic before she got roped into something
Mariette did best she’d rather not repeat.
”Something I was debating on doing was trying out a Keijo match. It’s not quite the same thing as watching horror movies, but I’d love it if you wanted to try that with me.”“Keijo, huh? I'm definitely participating.” Well, it'd be boring to let things end so easily...ah, wait a minute.
“...wanna have a practice match?”Su lifted a hand to her chin.
”Well…” She looked out the window.
”It would probably benefit us both to… learn each other’s moves if we were to play on the same side.” Su approached the smaller girl.
”I think practicing is a sound idea.” She took Chloe’s hand in her own… and ran out the door.
”I’m a little unfamiliar with the rules, but I think the arena is the only place we could reasonably practice it.”“Heh. I'm all for learning your moves.” Chloe grinned.
“Lead the way then, my beautiful friend. Ever play Keijo before?””No, this would be.” She rolled her eyes with a smile.
”My first time.”
The Arena for Keijo was a lot simpler than Su thought it would be. It was just a round platform that was maybe ten or fifteen feet across. The set up was similar to a sumo wrestlers ring, except the out area was a giant body of water. There were grandstands for spectators to watch from, and some people had actually stopped by to watch. But Su didn’t recognize any of the spectators. She put them out of her mind before looking at Chloe.
The rules were simple enough to remember. You can only contact your opponent with your chest and rear, with momentary contact from your hips being permitted. That, and magic could not be used to directly attack your opponent. “Enhancements” were allowed however. Su felt a bit miffed, being that her strongest tool was useless in the current situation. She wasn’t a physically capable magical girl, which the rules seemed to be made in favor of. Unless you happened to be blessed with reinforcement magic. But that wasn’t Su’s opponent. Chloe had the same disadvantage in that she seemed to be a magical opponent. But looks could be deceiving. Regardless, Su put winning out of her mind. This wasn’t a battle of great importance. It was just casual sparring, or to be more accurate, an excuse for two people to smash their assets against each other. She was sure Chloe would enjoy this. Su inhaled deeply.
”Ready?” Su broke into a sprint. She might not have been physically strong, but she did have some manner of natural swiftness. She didn’t have a game plan, just to use her height to her advantage and hope her chest collided with Chloe’s face. She probably wouldn’t just stand there and take it though, or would she?
“Yep, totally ready for this totally wholesome game of friendly sparring.”Chloe was wholly prepared for Su's attack...she had one advantage she wasn't sure that Su had. A very simple, basic advantage. Crystalline wings sprouted behind Chloe's back, and just as Su would have impacted her she shot herself into the air. Making a quick loop, she bolted for Su, only to turn her body at the last second so her butt would slam into the other girl.
Su slowed her charge once Chloe hopped into the air. In hindsight, it was probably something she should have seen coming. Su had just enough time to face Chloe before her butt slammed into her chest. She was able to brace for it, but the attack caused Su to stumble backwards towards the edge of the arena, with her heels hanging over the water. She let out a panicked gasp as she attempted to shift her weight forward, but her center of gravity had been pushed too far back to recover. At least, not without the use of Magic. The wind kicked up under Su and propelled her into the air. She hurdled for a bit over the water before stopping.
”If that’s how you want to play it…” The desire to win returned swiftly to Su. She would have been fine with something more casual, but she was competitive by nature. If Chloe wanted to play hard right out of the gate, Su could deliver. She flew over Chloe’s head so that both of their backs were turned towards each other. Then in one swift motion, she opened her dread wings and summoned a great gale of wind to blow her back into Chloe. Naturally she looked over her shoulder and lead the attack with her rear.
“Aha, almost thought you were gonna let me win easily there.” Chloe grinned, only having seconds to consider her next option. Well...might as well stand her ground here. Digging in her feet on the platform, Chloe planted her feet firmly into the ground, sticking out her butt to meet Su's head on.
When their butts collided, Su was reminded of some martial arts advice she stumbled upon a long time ago. The advice was to strike hard targets with soft weapons and soft targets with penetrating weapons. Punching someone in the face was great, but the solid structure of the forehead was likely to break the fine bones in your hand. You’d be better off using a palm strike or a hammer fist against such a sturdy target. A derriere was an ineffective weapon against another derriere for the opposite reason. Because both targets were soft, they just bounced off of each other. That wasn’t to say they didn’t both experience some discomfort. Chloe’s torso rocked forward, but she was able to extend her arms before colliding with the ground. Su’s momentum was reversed, which caused her to throw back her limbs as her body was launched away from Chloe. She eventually stumbled to a stop. That was the problem with Keijo. Buttocks and breasts were both soft weapons, and needed to be aimed at hard targets. The
right type of hard targets that wouldn’t painfully disturb inner tissue. Neither of the combatants had access to hard weapons, as they were both so well endowed. Magic was the key to victory in this fight, The black tendrils that made up her wings were as flat as ribbons. Su had an idea.
She slid her wings under her bathing suit. It made her outfit look a little more exotic, but Chloe might discover the intent behind Su’s actions with her next attack. She hopped towards chloe and thrust her hips backwards. With the aid of her dread wings, her buttocks would be a lot firmer than last time.
“Ahahaha, oh my how lewd.” Chloe grinned, watching Su put her wings in her bathing suit. She didn't quite understand why she had done that, but Chloe wasn't one to take chances. Obviously she had something planned, so she'd need to do something herself. Her wings weren't flexible enough to do whatever she had just done.
Flapping her wings, Chloe shot herself forward. Instead of countering using her butt, she instead aimed for Su's head with her boobs.
Su didn’t have much time to react. She had hoped to catch her off guard, but it appeared she had underestimated Chloe’s reaction time. With the two of them flying towards each other full speed, there wasn’t time to form a plan B. Su looked away just as Chloe’s breasts smacked against the back of her head.
”Gah!” The attack rocked Su’s head forward. Much like she had expected, her skull was a hard target, and was an effective area to hit with your chest. She could feel her brain rattle around in her skull. But also, she could feel Chloe. Her mounds pressed against her head and shoulders, their warmth radiating into her body. It was a pleasant feeling. Su could feel her eyes flutter as she prepared to take a nap on Chloe’s chest. She was such a wonderfully soft pillow. Before blacking completely out, Su became aware that she was drifting unconscious. Her eyes shot open, now fully aware of her surroundings. She had to salvage the situation, she had to win! Su’s swimsuit modification gave her another ability beyond firming up parts of her body. Chloe had draped her body over Su’s back. This allowed her to clamp her butt around the frills on Chloe’s waist.
”Gotcha!” Su floated into the air and spun. If she managed to get going fast enough, she’d release Chloe and throw her into the water. Provided she could hold onto her swimsuit long enough.
“Weh?!” She hadn't been prepared to be grabbed like that. What an odd strategy, but there wasn't much Chloe could do besides struggle against the grip...and unfortunately Su was just a bit stronger than her. Just barely, since she wasn't using her gloves. Su spun her, and the moment she was released she launched towards the water, and she couldn't stop herself.
With a loud splash, Chloe slammed into the water, taking a few moments to float back up to the surface.
“Ugh, this is not the fun definition of a girl making me 'wet'.” Chloe grumbled, knocking some water out of her ears. Did she just...lose? She lost, didn't she. Ugh. She ground her teeth together. That was an unpleasant feeling.
Su was not faring much better. Apparently, it was not a wise idea to take a shot in the back of the head and immediately start spinning in circles. Her inner ear was all screwed up and she found that she was unable to stay stationary in the air. Su wasn’t the first to fall into the pool, but she did fall in regardless. She made no sudden movements and just floated on the surface of the water while she waited for her head to clear. She didn’t attempt to prop her torso up, and just coasted along the surface of the water. She looked towards Chloe when she heard her speak. Had Su won? She wanted to win, but it felt strange beating Chloe at a game like this. Given the nature of her victory, she’d almost have been happier with a loss. The fact that she had taken this game so seriously was, honestly, strange. The fact that she had even taken part in it was odd. And Chloe didn’t sound especially thrilled about the outcome either. Once Su was confident she could float vertically without upsetting her stomach, she did so.
”Um.” Su rubbed the back of her neck.
”I um, yea.” She looked away from Chloe.
”Sorry, I got kind of competitive back there. Though to be fair, you almost knocked me out. If you had thrown your butt at me instead of your chest, that probably would have done it.” She looked back at Chloe and blushed.
”J-just because it’s harder, mind you! I mean your chest is firm too but-” Su sighed.
”This was kind of a disappointment, wasn’t it?”“Heh, what’s the matter?” Chloe teased.
“Disappointment? Well I don’t like losing, but you can’t win all the time. Some losses are to be expected. Next time I’ll get ya.” She moved next to Su, giving her a friendly bump with her hips. This caused Su to blush before looking back at Chloe.
“But other than that...well, I had fun. Stuff like this is much better than fighting, isn’t it? If magical girls like us could bond over silly games instead of fighting all the time, I’d much prefer that.””You’re not wrong.” Su swam with Chloe to the edge of the arena.
”This isn’t exactly what I think of when it comes to dates. But it was exciting.” Once they climbed out of the water, Su glanced around to make sure no one was looking at them. She felt so conflicted. Ever since she arrived on this island holding herself together had been a struggle.
”I like you Chloe. I didn’t think I’d enjoy being around you as much as I did.” She hugged herself.
”But let’s make this the last time, alright?” She kissed Chloe on the cheek.
”Besides, you like Penny right? That’s who you should be spending your time with.” Su half broke into a run as she moved away from Chloe.
“...haaaa.” Chloe exhaled as Su ran away from her. Well, she wasn’t wrong. Penny was her one and only, but there was certainly room for others. Besides, lately she wasn’t so sure. Yes, Penny was...well, the things she’d do to that girl given the chance need not be mentioned. But lately...with her getting chummy with beacon.
Maybe Veronica was correct.
“Tsk, tsk, there I go thinking something needless again.” Stretching, Chloe leisurely left the Keijo arena, bolting off to find Penny.
"La la la la..."Regina was walking around with a bucket in one hand and a small trowl in the other. She had been to the beach a small number of times, but only to swim or build sand castles. Both of which were more fun to do with other people Regina didn’t really feel comfortable asking anyone from Beacon to come play with her, and she didn’t want to impose on anyone else either. For now, she would find something else to do. Maybe if they had some time to themselves, they would warm up to the idea of including her in more things.
"La la la la!"But just because she was alone didn’t mean she couldn’t enjoy herself. “Treasure hunting” was something you could do by yourself, and you could show or even share your findings with everyone else later. Her bucket was filling up, and she had plenty more stored away in her hammerspace. But this bucket was special. She had quite a haul of seashells, and was just looking for things that were more special in nature. She stopped singing when the shadow of an incoming wave covered her.
The wave of which, was carrying a surfer on it.
The water on this side of the beach was perfect for surfing. Big waves, a nice breeze, and a lot of other people didn't seem to be out here. The wave started easy enough, and Rina quickly rode the wave to the top, catching plenty of speed as she zoomed down the wave – almost too much speed. Normally waves don't reach all the way to the shore unless there was bad weather, but this monster of a wave quickly became something more than she could handle.
The surfboard wobbled under her feet, the crest of the wave started crashing in from both sides.
“Ah shit-!”She tried to angle the board to ride straight down the wave, but it was too fast. Rina shouted as her board was yanked out from under her feet by the fast moving water, seconds before the wave hit the shore and the beaches sole other occupant.
There was a loud crash as both girls were momentarily underwater, but it didn’t take long for all of that water to flow back into the ocean. Regina was hugging her bucket, which was now filled to the brim with water. She was drenched, but otherwise okay. She couldn’t speak for the girl who had washed ashore however.
"Oh no!" Regina exclaimed before running up to her. When she flipped the person over, she noticed that she looked familiar. But there was no time for her panicked brain to figure out who it was. She knew the first thing she had to do was make sure her airways were clear. Regina inhaled deeply before leaning in to perform mouth to mouth *resuscitation.
*It is worth noting that studies show mouth to mouth resuscitation is less effective than straight chest-compressions. However, it is still recommended to do on small children, as their breathing often stops before their heart does.Just as Regina went to provide the breath of life, Rina regained consciousness. Not realizing someone was standing over her, she lifted her head up at just the right angle...and caused her to lock lips with Regina. It took her a full three seconds to realize what was happening.
“What the hell!?” Quickly pulling herself back from the other girl, face a mild shade of red. Regina also pulled back.
“For the love of - ” God dammnit what was with everyone being so touchy on the goddamn beach?! Wait, there was probably a perfectly logical explanation for this, right?
Regina blinked a few times. Aside from pulling back, Regina made no movements. She remained kneeling in the sand with her arms at her sides.
"Your airway isn’t blocked, that’s good." She said at last.
"Wait, I didn’t notice you in that outfit. You’re…" She fret her brow.
"That…Swarcher." Regina smiled, albeit nervously.
"So um, do you remember me?" She took her fingers and poked them together.
“Swarcher?...” Right, okay, she was just making sure she didn't drown or something lame like that.
“Uhhh...I don't think we've...met?” Rina frowned, glancing at the other girl. Something about her seemed familiar, but...she was fairly certain she didn't know her. She seemed awfully nervous though, so maybe she should just go along with it?
...wait a minute, that scar...didn't she see an interview with this girl?
“...the monster girl from the graveyard?” She asked slowly. She didn't seem hostile, or like she was planning on causing trouble. In fact, didn't she hear something about her and beacon...?
Regina nodded.
"Yea!" She leaned towards Rina.
"I forgot about that actually. I mean, my um, transformation. Almost everyone knows who I am from the PI’s article about the white coin." She lifted a hand to her mouth and ran it across her lips before examining it.
"I should say my physical transformation is something I forgot about. I feel a lot more content being this way. The monster girl and boy in the graveyard, they weren’t very happy people." She ran her fingers together before sitting up a bit straighter.
"It’s fine to think this is all really weird. I haven’t gotten use to it myself." She placed her hands on her knees.
"So um." Regina folded her hands together.
"Am I interrupting anything? I don’t mean to hold you up, I just wanted to make sure you weren’t drowning."“Nah, not interrupting anything.” Rina sat up properly, putting her arms behind her and resting on her hands.
“Just trying to catch some waves, saw how well that went, heh. Think I'm gonna take a bit of a breather.” She chuckled.
“Thanks, I guess...and uh, dunno about weird.” She replied somewhat uncertainly.
“I've seen weirder stuff when I was a human, and a lot of weirder stuff since I've become a magical girl.” She chuckled, sitting up and resting an arm on her knee.
"Well that’s good to know!" Regina smiled, but the corners of her lips were quivering.
...well this was getting awkward. What to talk about? She wasn't a conversation master to start with and now here she was talking with some former monster girl that she tried to kill.
“...uh, so how have you been?”"That’s a hard question to answer." Regina looked around cautiously. Once she was sure there wasn’t anyone watching, she turned back to Rina.
"I was two very angry monster kids a bit ago, and now I’m me again." She blinked.
"A magical version of me, but you get it. Anyway, as you can imagine, most of the girls in Beacon don’t like me very much. I don’t blame them, but at the same time I kind of think it’s a little unfair?" With a huff she folded her arms.
"When you’re a monster, you aren’t really in control of your own mind. I mean like, there are really, really strong impulses that you just can’t ignore." Her shoulders became a bit more square as she continued to talk.
"Like if I were to make fun of the fact that you wiped out, you might get a little annoyed, right? You might get really annoyed, but I don’t think you’d haul off and slug anyone unless they were really trying to agitate you. It’s just some harmless teasing." She pointed at herself.
"If I was still a monster girl, you would not be able to get away with saying something like that. My brain would start telling me stuff like ‘if you don’t stand up for yourself now, you’ll forever be a weakling!’ or it’ll just keep repeating itself in my head, being made worse and worse every time until I get physically mad. But see no one in Beacon is a monster girl, so they don’t get it. I mean, there’s Penny, but that’s like, something else entirely. " She stroked her chin.
"Where was I? Yea, I just, I don’t know. I realize I almost ended the world, and I know how stupid ‘monster brain made me do it’ sounds, but you still shouldn’t just be outwardly hostile to someone like that. I’m going to need to live with the fact that I did that for the rest of my life. Beacon kind of has a reputation for coming across as all high and mighty anyway, they could stand to be a bit more humble in those kind of situations, you know?" Regina didn’t stay quiet long enough for Rina to respond.
"Other than that, I think they treat me well enough. Nobody's killed me yet, and my new parents are sooooo much better than my old ones. They’re the best part about joining Beacon." Regina leaned over sideways and propped up her head with her elbow.
"How about you? Are you doing alright on the friend front?"There was so much information here that Rina wasn't all to sure how to respond to start with. She agreed about a lot of things she was saying though. She was certainly no stranger to killing a monster girl or dark magical girl. She's done it before, but only when she was left with no other option, or when she had chosen mercy once and she got screwed by it.
“Woah woah, could you slow down there for a minute?” Rina chuckled.
“I mean, I guess It's good you think I'm easy to talk too but jeez that was a lot.” She flashed Regina a grin before shaking her head.
“Uhh, it's been going well enough I suppose. I'm not really a people person, but I got a few. Kimble, Amaryllis, Mika...guess I could count Alicia and Penny in there. I spend most of my time working, though, so don't really have a whole lotta time for friend making.” She scratched her head lightly.
“...which is why I kinda want this vacation thing to be over. I'm not good at the whole relaxing thing.”Regina raised an eyebrow.
"You prefer it when there’s fighting?" She looked baffled, but then she smiled again.
"Oh I get it, you’re the thrill seeking sort! That’s why you were riding on a giant wave!" Regina stood up.
"Well, I don’t think it’s possible to be ‘bad’ at relaxing. But I think what most people find relaxing might not work for you. Maybe relaxing is the wrong word, but what you do as a recreational activity might not be laying on the beach or collecting things." She placed her hands on her hips.
"You sound like the type of person who might prefer the arena! Shooting people with water guns or, uh, that ‘kie-joe’ thing might be more your speed."“Yeah, that’s not happening;” Rina replied with a wave of her hands.
“I am not doing Keijo. Not for all the gold coins in the universe.” Rina harrumphed. Well, maybe if Mika or Kimble was participating, she might be more inclined.
“...maybe some other arena games though, sure, but I'd be fine just like...surfing or jet skiing by myself.”Regina nodded.
"Yea, I get that. I mean I don’t really want to be alone, but I do understand the whole introvert-extrovert thing. Some people like being alone. I mean I don’t think anyone wants to be alone forever, the same way nobody always wants someone to be around. That’s just how people are, you know?" She fell back onto her knees in the sand.
"But sometimes I have to wonder if that’s just conditioning from being around the wrong people too long. Not to bring up beacon again, but some of them are downright jerks! Like, a few of them spray painted indecent words on our house." She looked away.
"I mean I don’t know it was them but it almost has to be. Like I don’t see anyone other then a group of beacon girls tagging a home with things like ‘monster whore.’ I mean to be fair my last costume was kinda slutty, but it was still a bikini top! It’s not like I was walking around in lingerie or anything like that." She cleared her throat.
"Not that I have a problem with sexy costumes. I mean, I don’t really think it matters too much. It’s not like any of us get to pick what we look like. I mean, why do we even have to wear costumes at all? If our patrons can make a bikini protect as well as the strongest metal, it would be a lot more viable to just look like our normal versions. People don’t remember all that magical stuff after they see it anyway. Did I mention I like your costume? Anything that accentuates the legs is a big thumbs up in my book." She giggled.
"I’d show you my costume, but the bikini curse we’re all under prevents me from doing that. Oh and speaking of showing, I’ve got to show you all the cool treasure I’ve picked up." Regina slid the bucket towards Rina, only for it to tip over in transit.
"Oops! Forgot it was full of water." She giggled again, but her nervousness was more apparent. The treasures that Regina had found were not conventional. There was a rubber boot with some coral growing out of it, a gnarled piece of steel, a glass bottle, A pair of pliers, and a six pack of soda that was missing five of its cans. Regina cracked it open, but there was no fizzle.
"Weird, it isn’t expired. It’s a little warm though." Regina placed her hands on her lap.
"Well, how are you feeling? Think you can stand up?"Rina stared at Regina for a few long seconds before giving a defeated sigh and shaking her head. She really needed to talk less. It was difficult to keep up with just...all of that nervous rambling.
“Jeez...” This girl really did need a 'friend' didn't she? Well, whatever. Looking after people was just part of the same job as protecting them and putting down threats.
“Yeah, yeah, I'm fine, just some wounded pride.” Rina stood up, brushing some sand off her shorts. Rina picked up the gnarled piece of steel that Regina had found, mulling over a rather silly idea. Wait no, it wasn't silly. She could still nail this and be cool about it.
“Look, uh,” She turned the piece of metal over in her hands. It wasn't very big, but she could probably do something with it.
“I'm glad you're doing better. Honestly, I don't get to see girls like you saved often. Most choose...well,” She glanced to the side.
“...they don't give me a choice.” The piece of steel seemed to twist and bend as Rina held it before forming into the shape of a small dagger. It still maintained the general look of the gnarled piece of steel, but it was definitely a blade. Definitely. Her phone number incidentally happened to be etched into the blade.
“And uh, if beacon or anyone else gives you trouble, just like uh, give me a call or somethin'.” She handed the hilt of the newly made dagger to Regina, looking in the exact opposite direction of the other girl. A small hole had been left in the pommel, perhaps so one might be able to carry it around on a string or some sort? Maybe like a necklace, or a belt loop.
oh god why was she doing this this was embarrassing.
Regina looked at the knife, then back at Rina, then back at the knife again.
"Oh! I thought that was a model number! I thought that was kind of weird to put on there." She closed her eyes.
"Cool. Thank you." With a sigh, her phone appeared in her hand. She slid the knife on a ring that held all of her phone charms. The gnarled knife looked a little out of place between a beckoning cat and sailor moon.
"I complain about beacon, but they are the reason why I’m not a monster right now. The ones I complain about are the minority." She flashed Rina a smile.
"It was fun to vent though. I promise I’ll do less complaining next time." She shoved the rest of her treasure back into the bucket before standing up.
"I can call you when I’m not in trouble too, right?"“Whatever you want.” Rina replied with a dismissive shrug.
“I'm pretty busy most of the time but I could probably talk some.” Reaching around her waist, Rina made a motion to grab her jacket, which should have been tied around it...only to find nothing. Blinking in surprise, Rina looked down with a bewildered expression. She was...wearing nothing but that skimpy bikini top and shorts.
“Uh...” The magical girl quickly looked around the beach, finding nothing but sand and waves.
“...you uh, haven't seen my jacket have you?” It should come back if lost, right? That's how these swimsuits worked, right?
& Katarina
Though it had been fun jetskiing around, the wild winds and rough waters had proven their point by the time Amaryllis came back: she definitely needed to get a different swimsuit. What sort of hell was a bikini anyways, when it felt as if her censored bits could pop out at any moment? She could trust her normal outfit to stay on because it was magical, but this…
Ugh, definitely too embarrassing. The moment she got back to the main resort island, the ponytailed waif immediately set off for the Beach Boutique, praying that, if nothing else, she could find herself a jacket that actually had a zipper.
When the door of the boutique slid open, the air of an air-conditioned proper shop at the beach came through, the walls wooden and loads of beach things being prepared in the shop. In the middle was all the prices for arriving without getting wet, all manners of imaginable non-magic items available that was basically just to pick up. However, there were no non-magic clothes for sale. Because here, swimsuits are magic. There were, however, swimsuits prepared among the other magical items outlying the sides of the shops, with descriptions what they were. Most swimsuits were labelled “Quick Change”.
‘Welcome to Brittany’s Bewitched Beach Boutique! How may I be of service~?’ Brittany called excitedly when Amaryllis entered her shop.
Oh no, it was a pushy sales rep! That was Amaryllis’s greatest weakness! Her Sword already had no pockets, but the girl definitely had no willpower to
refuse the pitch of another, so she guessed that her money’s just going to vaporize now. Resigned to her fate, Amaryllis held her jacket together tightly, before asking,
“Mm, would you happen to sell any...normal clothes here, Brittany? Like a jacket with zippers?”Her name
was Brittany, right? No name tag or anything, but she had to be the owner here, yeah?
‘Oh, of course not!’ Brittany replied happily.
‘The whole idea is that everyone’s equally forced to wear swimsuits, so that nobody gets to feel left out! … Or so I figure, anyway!’ As in, she hadn’t actually been told.
‘Although, if you’re unhappy with your current swimsuit, then we have the Quick Change swimsuits over here!’ she said, jumping over to the swimsuit section.
‘When you put them on, they’ll change your current swimsuit to a new one, that’ll take inspiration from what you’re thinking you want it to become! It may take some liberties, but you could get a one-piece that covers your stomach if you’re so shy~ Maybe~ Keh-heh~ Two bronze coins!’ Brittany told.
‘Oh, or alternatively you just buy the Magic Scuba Diver Set and just, like, wear it on land. You’re gonna look pretty silly, though~’ Brittany said, smiling.
“Aha…” went Amaryllis, not all that pleased with this arrangement. This was definitely some sort of scam, wasn’t it? Put everyone in scandalous swimwear so that they’d be compelled to purchase these ‘Quick Change’ swimsuits, for a ‘small’ price of two bronze coins. But of course, those small bits pile up, until this Brittany girl was swimming in money. How shrewd. How cruel. Swallowing, she asked, hoping for a different tactic,
“Um...do you maybe have...beach towels then?”‘Sure. Middle shelf, left side, for free since you got here without getting wet,’ Brittany told, pointing out the location.
‘Don't hide your figure too much, though. It's one to die for~! I have unfortunately not found any “Quick Change” for body-type, keh-heh!’ Brittany giggled, clapping her exceedingly young, flat chest twice with a grin.
The door to the boutique slid open once more, a draft of cool air meeting Rina's face after an hour or so of surfing out in the hot sun. After the fifth time getting a mouthful of seawater and losing her jacket a few times leaving her with just this string bikini, the option of finding something else was getting more and more appealing.
So, she walked in just in time to hear someone...hitting on someone? Maybe this was a bad idea, until she saw the poor soul who was being hit on.
“Yo, Amaryllis!” Rina gave a small wave as she walked over to the other girl.
“This twerp bothering ya?”Oh, thank god they had beach towels. Amaryllis let out a relieved sigh, before immediately jumping up again when Rina called out from behind her.
“No no no,” she said, waving frantically,
“Brittany’s just trying to sc- I mean, tell me where everything is. Thought I’d get, like, something more modest, y’know, but all the swimsuits cost magical money and they don’t sell jackets here…”She paused, tilting her head slightly.
“What happened to your own, Rina?”‘Keh-heh! I’m a twerp, huh?’`Brittany smiled as she repeated.
‘Welcome to Brittany’s Bewitched Beach Boutique! I’ll be right here~!’ she then told to Rina, then let them have their conversation.
“Lost it in uh, a surfing accident.” Rina shrugged nonchalantly.
“Apparently whatever jackass gave it to me decided to make it the kind that doesn't come back.” She folded her arms with an irritable huff.
“Heard you could get others here, so I wanted to check it out before anything else.”“Ah, uh...sorry to hear that,” Amaryllis replied, recalling her own...interesting experiences in the open seas.
“They don’t sell them though, unless you buy this ‘Quick Change’ swimsuit thing...so maybe it’s Dan and Brittany’s plan to get more money or something…only two bronze though?”“Two bronze? Really?” Well she supposed it wasn't too expensive, but she wasn't exactly swimming in coins. She didn't really need a new swimsuit that badly, but on the other hand....
“You...gonna buy one?”“Beach towels are free, so…” Amaryllis looked at the cheery Brittany, feeling a bit bad about robbing her of magical coin business. She leaned in and whispered.
“...thought I’d just sew something up myself, Rina.”“Uh, you think you can do that?” Rina asked incredulously.
“Would ya mind making one for me then? Just another jacket will do I guess.” She didn't feel particularly bad about not paying for whatever it was Brittany was selling herself. If Amaryllis could make one, she wasn't about to waste money on something.
Amaryllis blinked, a bit uncertain now at Rina’s awe.
“Oh, no, it’s not like, super fancy or anything like that. Just like, y’know, a poncho or something, but, like, if you’re fine with it, I could teach you too?”“Well if I don't have to pay for a anything...” Rina rubbed the back of her head.
“...but wouldn't that even be just as embarrassing as not wearing one?” She had to ask aloud. Rina wasn't a fan of bikini's, but she wasn't quite certain she would wear something so...uh, obviously meant you were on the 'uncool' side of things.
“Huh? You don’t like ponchos?”Rina simply stared at Amaryllis. This girl...she couldn't say much when it came to social interactions herself, but this was just...
“...Okay, you're buying a new swimsuit. Actually, I’ll buy it for you.”“Eh? But, like, why?” Like, was it really that bad? It couldn’t be, right? Ponchos were like cloaks, and everyone looked good in those while
also keeping most of their body hidden.
“Really, it’s fine, Rina. Seriously.”“What, do you want to look like the kid with a serious germaphobia problem and overprotective mother? Because that's what you'll look like.” Rina folded her arms before frowning slightly.
“I don't like this whole bikini top thing either, but really, a Poncho is kinda...lame, and I'd honestly be kind of embarrassed to be friends with the nerd who wore a Poncho to a beach.”....Was she being too harsh?
Amaryllis’s face fell, a flash of hurt fell as she almost seemed to shrink into herself, just a little bit.
“O-ok,” the girl said,
“I guess we can get, uh, quick change suits then…”Not seeming to realize she was completely embarrassed, quickly moved on.
“Great, so uh, how do these things work anyways?” Rina walked over to the suits, still a bit unsure about what swimsuit she'd even look good in.
“Oh, uh…”‘The “Quick Change” swimsuits are magical artifacts that change your current magical swimsuit! Their current appearance is temporary, as they’ll transform into something new when you put them on! They’ll draw inspiration from what the one who puts them on wants them to look, though they may take certain liberties with the details! Oh, and of course, what it transforms into will always be a swimsuit of some kind~! The swimsuit you’re currently wearing will vanish, or, like, its magic will be transferred to the new one that the Quick Change swimsuit became, or something like that. So, yeah, you can’t browse these on their looks like normal clothes, if you want one simply buy it and see what happens when you put it on! It only costs two bronze coins~!’ Brittany was quick to explain, smiling widely.
“Here ya go, twerp.” Rina tossed four bronze coins towards Brittany.
“Alright, lets see.” Now what swimsuit would she want? She didn't have a solid idea if she were to be honest, just a vague idea of what she didn't like.
“You got some idea, Amaryllis?”Brittany happily caught the bronze coins and put them into her register, which ate the coins and then promptly prompted out a piece of magical paper reading “2 Quick Change: 4 bronze - Katarina Nekrasova”, which Brittany then handed over to Rina. No notice of how the register knew her name.
‘Thank you for shopping with us~!’There was a part of Amaryllis that didn’t like other people spending money on her. After some thought, she said,
“Probably a, mm, one piece? With a large jacket. That has a zipper.”Rina narrowed her eyes at Brittany. Yea, this was kind of fishy still, but oh well. Not much to do about it now. She grabbed two of the quick chance swimsuits, handing one to Amaryllis.
“One piece...large jacket.” Rina nodded lightly. Hm, she wanted something a bit more sporty herself, maybe.
“Well, alright, lets go try it on.”Amaryllis nodded, receiving it graciously before inspecting the strange artifact carefully. Right, it
would be nice to get a jacket. Maybe some pants too. If they could go super far, maybe she could get a furry jacket as well? Something nice and fluffy and comfy. Everything was fair play as long as she had a swimsuit underneath, right? Yeah, that sounded good. Maybe just like, a whole set of clothing like what she usually wore, with the swimsuit just working as a bikini…
And just like that, her swimsuit exploded, reformed, and…
“Oh no.”“That's-!” Rina watched as the swimsuit did as its name implied. Amaryllis' swimsuit went from something mildly acceptable to...well, actually it didn't look that bad. In fact, it looked pretty similar to hers.
“...not actually half bad, huh.” She replied with a curious humph.
Amaryllis shot Rina a questioning look, before her hands raised upwards, brushing the fluffy ears on top. Ah. That...made sense. So the Hunter was an animal person, huh.
“So, uh, are you going to…”Those were cat ears! She resisted the urge to pet the other girl on the head, quickly clearing her throat and returning to the matter at hand.
“...Aha, guess I did say I was gonna get a new one.” Rina frowned slightly. Well, might as well get this over with. Something sporty. Probably a one piece. Something easy to move in that didn’t quite show as muxh skin. Putting on the swimsuit herself, Rina's suit shimmered like Amaryllis, deconstructing before forming to her body. Her previous swimsuit disappeared, and finally, when it was done.
“Ah....what the hell?”Gone were Rina’s bikini bra and shorts combo, and replacing it was a competitive swimsuit with a relatively open back. Though it was hard to perform the calculus as to which costume had been more shameful, and which one covered more skin in the end, Amaryllis basically thought…
“This, uh...suits you?” She tilted her head to the side slightly.
“Like, it’s pretty sleek, and that works well with you, so...yeah.”“Suits me? Isn't this more revealing than the other thing?!” She shouted. Well, it was kinda her own damn fault she guessed. She did want a one piece, but this was...well, careful what you wished for and all that she supposed.
“Ugh, well...thanks I guess. Not going to be doing that again, not even if its free.”“Maybe it’s just, like, y’know...creative license or something,” Amaryllis suggested, tilting her head towards Brittany’s direction.
“Designs being more revealing than imagined? Or, well, more scandalous? Cause, um, without your jacket, the bikini doesn’t cover like, more than your one-piece.”There was a pause, and then the girl managed a grin.
“You wanna take me up on my parka-sewing offer then, Rina?”“Hah, I'll pass.” Rina gave a dismissive chuckle.
“At least I'm gonna look sporty with this. Got any plans after this?”“Plans?” Amaryllis blinked, before recalling why she had gone looking for a new swimsuit to begin with.
“Oh, yeah, uh, someone like, basically invited me to play Kaijo with them, so, yeah...thought I’d get some better fitting swimwear before I went and all…”“...Yea, I'll pass on that.” Rina replied curtly.
“Well, I'ma go hit the waves. Good luck with uh...Keijo.” Her eyes, were once again, drawn to the top of Amaryllis' head.
“...cat ears, though?”Amaryllis blushed.
“R-really don’t know how that happened. I just, like, thought something like a furry jacket would be nice...not like, a furry jacket, but, y’know what? Have fun with the waves!”Excellent topic change, really.
“I'll try not to lose my swimsuit this time.” She flashed Amaryllis a grin, quickly making an exit. Yep. Cat ears made almost everyone adorable.
Once Rina left, Amaryllis turned back to Brittany, waving to get the shopkeeper’s attention.
“So, uh,” she began,
“How much do beach towels cost?”‘Nothin~!’ Brittany said, smiling widely.
‘They’re part of the package you get for free for arriving to the main island without getting wet!’ Brittany then turned and waved after Amaryllis, who was making an exit.
‘Thank you for shopping with us! I hope to see you again, either here or in my proper store in Penrose!’ Yupp, that was that.
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