After fighting through all manner of aquatic creatures the day before, it was actually a little cathartic to chow down on the seafood spread that Kanzuki's staff had prepared. Was that weird? Yeah, it was probably weird, but it tasted so good that the Ace Cadet didn't care in the slightest. Prawns, fish, clams, and more all spiced and broiled and
delicious. The hunter didn't eat quite as voraciously as usual given their present company - it wouldn't do to get his invitation revoked after all - but the amount of food he managed to consume was still impressive. Between himself, Link, and Bowser, the cooks and caterers really had their work cut out for them, and they still had to feed the rest of the Seekers and any stragglers too.
No matter how good the food was though, the Cadet didn't plan to spend the entire day parked in front of the grill. He wandered into the shade with a skewer in hand, looking out over the beach as he finished the last of his lunch. It was a far cry from dark and foreboding sands. Even the ocean looked peaceful, with small gentle waves rolling up onto shore. The Cadet was happy to just soak in the sea breeze and the general positive atmosphere, but only for a little while. If he was going to relax and enjoy the day it would be a lot better with friendly company close by. He had someone in mind, and he made his way over to the shady spot she'd dragged her beach chair out of.
"Hey," he greeted Nadia with a smile as he approached. Though seeing how content she currently looked made him ask,
"Not bothering you am I?"Nadia visibly brightened up at his approach, her ears high but relaxed. “Not at all!” she grinned. “In fact, I was kinda hopin’ ya might wander my way.” As he seated himself she shifted in her beach chair so that she could recline comfortably while partially facing him, her finned tail beneath the chair’s arm. She wanted to start talking to him straightaway, but all of a sudden she found herself having a hard time coming up with what to say. A million things raced through her mind, like a school of fish beneath the sea, yet no matter how she grasped at them each slipped right through her fingers. Did she want to praise the food, or would that be too mundane? Congratulating him on their efforts from yesterday might come across as dwelling on a stressful past.
Why am I having so much trouble all of a sudden, anyway? she wondered. Normally the fast-talking feline never lacked the gift of gab, but as it turned out, being anything but jokey, perky, and distant didn’t come quite so easily. She ended up taking a long sip of her mojito to stall for time. Hopefully a little rum would help her loosen up, relax, and just be herself. If only she could find an icebreaker, everything else would surely follow...
Some movement along the beach caught her eye, and she spotted a man walking along the shore. He was squat, with a bushy white beard, but so incredibly broad and brawny that Nadia had to do a double-take, and with his speedo only scant few inches of him were left to the imagination. “Holy cow,” Nadia breathed, her eyebrows as high as they could go, as she motioned at the
dwarf for Ace to see. He turned to look at the specimen of masculinity, letting out an amused
Wow, as he settled back into the beach chair.
“My dude is
yolked! You think he has trouble wipin’ his ass by himself?” Nadia giggled. “And with that swimwear, if he so much as dives in the water too hard, everything’ll be out to ‘sea’!”
Her grin subsided somewhat as she shrugged, turning the conversation inward. “‘Course, I can’t exactly complain when it comes to clothes, what with my usual outfit and all. Most gals would wear more ‘round town and less to the beach, but here I am.” She flipped her hair like a diva for comedic effect, then gave a chuckle. “Still, I’m actually kinda diggin’ my new outfit. Whaddya think, Ace? Like it?” As she gave a little pose she returned his wink from earlier, giving him a good look at her new clothes.
"Well the eye patch is pretty cool," he said, tapping the side of his own face that mirrored where Nadia's accessory sat. It made him think of a kind of sealed power waiting to be unleashed for some reason. It was a look he definitely appreciated - at least currently, with that spirit's effect on his personality. Speaking of spirits, the Cadet took in Nadia's complete new look, from the new clothes to the flowing hair and the swirling marks on her skin. The changes were pretty, he'd thought so yesterday but it was especially true today in the sunlight. Ah, but the thought occurred to him that it’d probably be weird if he said anything about her body, even if it was good things. She'd asked about the outfit after all.
"I do like it, it looks good," he offered easily, smiling all the wider at her gesture.
"Can't really say I'm an expert on other-worldly fashion, but I think blue is definitely your color."Come to think of it, the 'usual outfit' she'd brought up also had a splash of blue in the form of her crop top. It suited her. Actually now that she’d mentioned it, that outfit
had been pretty revealing… Of course he’d noticed before, but he hadn’t really thought too hard about it. Right now though, after growing to like Nadia in more ways than one, it would be hard not to think about. The Cadet brought his thoughts back to her current ensemble again instead, the juxtaposition she’d pointed out between her beach outfit and her normal clothes rather cute.
Even a simple complement left Nadia practically beaming. “Aw, thanks! Glad to hear my spur–of-the-moment ensemble worked out.” Remembering just what she’d gone through to procure them, she shook her head with a laugh. “I actually sent my copycat to get them, carrying my head around so I could see. I was in such a daze last night, I threw away my old clothes without even thinkin’. It’s a wonder I didn’t conk out in the shower after all... all that.” She sighed, realizing she’d accidentally retreaded old territory. The next moment, however, she shook it off with a smile and a curious look at Ace. “Now, I’m no fashionista myself, but I gotta say you picked out some real interestin’ duds for the beach. I mean, with that armor in the sun you’re gonna fry up like an egg! No way you’re the shy type, right? With all the crazy stuff I’ve seen you pull, I bet under all that you’re ripped enough to give ol’ speedo over there a run for his money.”
As she chatted Nadia couldn’t help but fret that she was speaking too intimately. Of course she was interested in this guy, but maybe she was being too obvious? Her ears perked up as an idea came to mind. “Oh hey, if you’re worried we might get attacked or somethin’, maybe ya oughta have a drink yourself. Here!” The feral offered the monster hunter her second beverage, still in pristine condition while she worked at its partner. “It’s a mojito. These bad boys are full of sugar, lime, and mint, plus a li’l rum. Perfect for relaxin’ on the beach!”
"Wouldn't it be just our luck if something did attack us?" he chuckled, taking the offered drink. He raised the glass to his lips, pleasantly surprised at it's refreshing sweetness. He considered everything Nadia had said, picturing her head and clone's shopping adventure through Limsa. He would have liked to see that. As for the rest of it… he could have been reading into her words too much, just hearing something in her tone that he wanted to hear, but maybe she was just a little bit interested in him, like he was in her? Or maybe he was totally off the mark, as was his usual luck with women. Probably the latter, but it was alright, he was having fun chatting with her either way. After another sip he grinned and spoke.
"Alright so I'm not quite as jacked as that guy, 'cause like, come on." He looked over again at the dwarf, whose steps were slowly taking him farther down the shore away from the pair.
"Buuuuut yeah, you could say I work out." He wiggled his eyebrows playfully at Nadia following the understatement.
"And as for the armor, I guess it was dumb of me huh? I was kinda in the same boat as you. I didn't throw my clothes out, I just don't have anything else besides my armor." He guessed things would have been way too convenient for them if Galeem had seen fit to give everyone all of their stuff when the worlds got mashed together. Plus while traipsing from one adventure to the next, the Cadet hadn't even thought about picking up some casual clothes. He wished he had now, for moments like this when they all needed a break.
"You'll have to help me pick out a ‘mew’ outfit," he suggested.
"But in the mean time, you're right. Between the sun and the sand... ugh." He laughed at himself and shook his head.
"I've only got my underclothes but hey, it's the beach, right? One sec."It took a heroic effort to keep Nadia’s eyes from bugging out.
He leaned over and sat the mojito snuggly in the sand and then stood up, moving a few feet away. It could have been the most technical strip Ms. Fortune had seen. There were belts and harnesses to be undone, clamps released and metal plates shifting against each other. Once free of the armor and the shipgirl rigging, The Cadet sat the chest piece upright in the sand and positioned the rest around it as a silent, headless, mock sentinel.
"That'll make anything think twice about ruining a good time," he joked, returning to his spot beside Nadia. The
underclothes he wore consisted of a pair of shorts, a top that wrapped around his back and covered his upper arms and pecs but not much else, and matching gloves and boots that he promptly discarded by the beach chair. Before he sat down again he performed a classic flex with both of his arms raised.
"Well? Think I should go ask that guy for some pointers?"Having done her best not to just stare shamelessly at Ace as he removed his armor, a feat made none the easier by the intricacy and length of the process, Nadia did her best to ignore the furious swishing back and forth of her tail and the sudden rush of blood to her cheeks. After trying and failing to keep her eyes on Ace’s face until she averted her eyes altogether as she replied. “Heheh, heh, well,” she just about stammered, tugging at her collar as she looked off into the middle distance. “I certainly ‘cat’ complain.” In fact, she couldn’t seem to form any coherent thought at all, which frustrated her to no end.
Calm down, you blithering idiot she told herself, but goodness, was this guy
purrfect! He was just the right amount of brawny, neither an overblown caricature like the dwarf nor stuffed with show muscle like a bodybuilder, but the natural product of incredible effort and diet. Fusion with the lovely Jamaica might have made him a little smaller, but it also did wonders for his complexion, pushing him way over the line between well-built dude’ and ‘certified looker’. Plus, with Ace on Nadia’s radar for his genial, pun-loving, and heroic nature first and foremost, this new revelation came as icing on top rather than a superficial infatuation.
Man, did I luck out or what!?Of course, that left just one issue. How in the world could she get her interest across to him without being weird? Wait,
should she be thinking about that right now? Even though they’d already been through thick and thin together, they’d been in one another’s company for only a day and a half or so. Even in Nadia’s profound inexperience, she knew that wasn’t much. Her first order of business ought to be getting to know Ace better. And for that, normal conversation would probably work a whole lot better than any schemes she might conceivably cook up.
The feral took an extra-long drink from her mojito, which helped her calm down. “Y’know, seein’ you outta your armor reminded me I forget to grab sunblock. Guess neither of us get beach vacations often, huh? I mean, I lived right on the seaside back in Little Innsmouth, but even if there were any beaches, the water wasn’t exactly clean, y’know? Still, it was a wonderful place, lemme tell ya. Fulla color, everythin’ all connected, all the balconies and chimneys branchin’ off like coral. And at night when the tide’s high, the light from all the neon signs and jellyfish lanterns would reflect on the canals. Ah, nothin’ better than an evenin’ stroll ‘long the walkways, just smellin’ what’s cookin’ in all the li’l restaurants and listenin’ to the waves.” Unable to suppress a wistful sigh, she glanced back in the direction of Limsa Lominscuttle Town. “Still, this place is way cool, too. A whole city on the water insteada just a district, and a helluva lot less rotten than New Meridian, heh. Really makes me wish I didn’t get stuck in the damn Dead Zone for who knows how long.”
The Ace Cadet took his seat once more, not
entirely shameless as there was a strip of red on his face that ran from cheek to cheek after his display, that definitely did not come from a sunburn (not yet anyway). He scooped up the mojito that had been waiting for him and crossed one of his ankles over the other.
Plenty of sun, plenty of sand, but not much beach, he agreed silently in regards to the comment about vacations. Nadia went on to talk about where she lived before all of this, and the Cadet listened intently. He did his best to picture the scene that Ms. Fortune was painting for him, taking bits and pieces from places that had been wholly unfamiliar to him a week ago and putting them together in the best approximation of Little Innsmouth that he could think of. The nostalgic way she talked about it brightened the place up in his mind's eye. Briefly he wondered if he sounded like that whenever he brought up Dundorma and Val Habar while in Astera, or if that feeling was strictly reserved for the people he knew there. He recalled Nadia's story about the gang that was her family, and figured that might be part of her feelings about the place too. It was endearing.
"That's really nice," he told her.
"Not the Dead Zone part, obviously. Everything you told us about it at the Mizzenmast was awful." The Cadet also didn't want to dwell on unpleasant topics, so he moved on.
"Maybe we can find a little piece of it somewhere out in the world, you never know with this place." He would definitely enjoy a tour with her.
"I like Limsa too, it's lively," he added,
"and it kind of feels familiar. It's not exactly the same, it's a lot bigger for one, but it's similar to the cities I'm used to." Beside's the Guild Hall, and when the land would spawn an actual chunk of his world, the town he'd ended up in was more on the podunk side. Maybe closer to Kokoto or Pokke, villages he wasn't well acquainted with. The Cadet glanced over at his conversation partner.
"Plus, it's got this whole out-sanding shoreline." Perfect for that beach vacation they finally got to take!
The pun made Nadia smile as she mulled over what Ace said about Little Innsmouth. While he meant his words as assurance, and of course she wanted to see the place again, she couldn’t help but wonder if such a thing would be for the best. “Maybe, but... I don’t know if I really want that.” She shifted herself in her seat again, uncrossing her legs to cross again them the other way around. “This world is all mixed and matched and jumbled together, right? If we did find Little Innsmouth, it could be a totally different place from the one I know and love. All the spots and friends I miss, Yu-Wan and Minette... who’s to say whether or not they’re still there, or haphazardly replaced by other stuff, from other worlds? It’d be... I dunno, uncanny. I don’t think I could be happy with that. With the dysphoria.”
Nadia gave a long and wistful sigh, her eyes shut, then looked out into the vast blue sky. “When this is all over, I wanna go back to my
real home, just how I remember it. It’s not perfect or anything, but it’s where I belong.” Unable to stand the rather angsty tension any longer, she gave a short laugh, mostly at herself. “Heheh, well. ‘Til then, I guess I’ll see what all this patchwork world has to offer. Sure it’s a little crazier than what I’m used to, but I was gettin’ into fights all the time anyhow, and it sure ain’t all bad.” She wiggled her eyebrows at Ace before laying her elbow on the arm of her beach chair, and resting her head in her hand. “So, you missin’ anyone, too? Stand-up guy like you’s gotta have tons of chums back home. Maybe even... a lady friend?”
While she explained her thoughts on potentially running into a mishmash version of Little Innsmouth, the Cadet nodded.
"Hm, I get that." He hadn't considered things that way before, but he supposed he could understand the feeling, even if he didn't share it. The hunter himself had just been relieved and grateful to see any chunk of his home world so far. As Nadia's reminiscences started to take a turn for the melancholy all he could think was,
Good going, Ace Idiot. He almost apologized for suggesting the idea, so he was grateful when Ms. Fortune steered them forward. He had chuckled at her playful insinuation then taken another sip of the mojito as she went on, though the last question she asked almost made him choke on his drink. After a poorly disguised cough he looked back at her.
"Not... exactly," he said, scratching the back of his head awkwardly. He wished he did have a certain sweetheart to leave behind, as that would mean going back to her once everything was over. There was certainly no lack of trying on his part, but things had never panned out the way he wanted them to with his heartfelt crush on the Guildmarm, even after reuniting in Lumbridge. Sure, he could tell Nadia about his one-sided feelings but that didn't seem like the right move. Setting the interest he had in her aside, the Cadet didn't want things to potentially get weird between them. So he went in a different direction with his reply, pushing a grin into place.
"Despite my amazing hunting prowess and winning personality, I didn't have anyone like that. It's tough competition back where I'm from," he said, playing things up for Nadia's amusement. Not that what he said was necessarily untrue, as around the larger gathering hubs one was always able to find at least five or six Geralts around, the rugged and handsome types. The Ace Cadet took another drink and settled back with one arm tucked behind his head.
"Actually before this all happened, I was already away from home and my team for weeks. On a research commission. Sure you get to know everyone you're working with, make friends, but once it's over everyone goes their separate ways." The exodus of hunters headed back to the Old World after the mess with the Elder Crossing was resolved had left the base feeling lonely for days afterward, even if part of the commission remained.
"We were just about to move even farther out, but then..." he gestured vaguely at the second sun in the sky with glass in hand as he concluded.
‘Not exactly’ wasn’t ‘no’, but Nadia wasn’t going to read too much into it. Ace’s past was his business, and what to share about it was his choice to make. The feral simply took his reply as a relief. When the monster hunter described the events leading up to his world’s sudden end, she offered a sympathetic nod. “Mhm. Galeem, more like... ga-lame.” Totally unrepentant about her bad joke, she leaned back in her seat and drained the last of her beverage. With the sun’s heat really starting to sink in now, the cool drink felt that much nicer, and she kept the ice-filled cup in her hand. She’d hoped that Ace might have more to say about his friends, or responded to her reminiscence about her home in kind, but he wasn’t exactly the voluble type. Not a problem, of course, when Nadia Fortune could run her mouth a mile a minute when she felt like it.
“I feel ya though, it’s tough where I’m from, too, but not for the same reasons, I don’t think. New Meridian’s a huge city, always hustlin’ and bustlin’, everyone movin’ a mile a minute while lookin’ out for number one. And who can blame ‘em, really? Durin’ and after the Grand War, the whole Canopy Kingdom boomed like crazy, but crammin’ so many different people under one umbrella ain’t without its downsides. Sure, it looks great, but on the other side of all the glitz and glam it’s crowded, dirty, and even cutthroat. Crime is ridiculous, the damn Medici Mafia worst of all, and the crooked cops sure don’t give a crap. And as if all that wasn’t enough, everyone gets to live in fear of a new Skullgirl appear’. Disparity, discrimination, despair... if you’re not upper class, it can be tough just gettin’ by day to day, let alone meetin’ people. ‘Specially when you’re someone... well, like me.”
Nadia gave Ace a grin. “Now, I know you’re askin’ yourself, who in the world wouldn’t like Miss Fortune? She’s just so smart and lovable and talented, not to mention humble! Well, things ain’t exactly sunshine and rainbows. Where I’m from, most people don’t like Ferals a whole lot, even if we got it better than the poor Dagonians. And once in a while you run into someone who likes ‘em
too much, obsessin’ over their real-life catgirls and crap. Treatin’ us like animals, no matter which side of the spectrum they’re on.” She sighed, running her fingers along her scars. “There’s also my whole separation thing. I could hide it, I guess, but that’d mean tryin’ to build relationships on a lie, and there’s no way that turns out well, right? But when people see how I am, they’re liable to think I have a parasite, which is taboo, or worse, that I’m connected to the Skullgirls somehow. Even aside from that, though, it’s just sort of... gross, you know? I mean, it’s body horror, plain and simple. No matter how you slice it, I’m just not...normal. Can’t really blame people for not wantin’ any of that.”
After a brief pause, staring down at the sand as she realized she might have loosened her tongue a little too much, she continued. “Plus... well, I dunno why I’m telli-nya any of this. I guess I just wanna come clean, or maybe it just feels good to get it off my chest. But remember what I said about it bein’ tough gettin’ by? Well, the last piece of the puzzle is that I’m... well, a cat burglar. Surprise, surprise.” Shrugging as if to say
what can you do, she put on a wry smile. “Me and the Fishbone gang. We’d steal from the rich out in the city, usually the Medicis, and spread it around the poor folk of Little Innsmouth. Keepin’ some for ourselves, of course. Not that a li’l charity makes it right.” A dry, almost despondent chuckle escaped her, before she turned back to Ace with an apologetic look. “Sorry for spillin’ my guts like this, even if it’s just figuratively for once. All things considered, I’m surprised a great guy like you’d give a trash fire like me the time of day.” With that Nadia fell silent, knowing that she’d gotten carried away and fearing that her reality check might scare Ace off. But if she was going to have any chance with him, she knew he would have to confront this, and that meant the end, better sooner than later.
The hunter was surprised to hear all of that about Nadia's home. He'd heard her talk about her backstory before, and so he knew it didn't have a happy ending, but this was despair inducing. It didn't get any better when she brought it back to focus on herself and her own experiences. And yet her personality was normally so vibrant! Making the best of a bad situation. He sympathized with her, and couldn't help but let out and incredulous half-chuckle at the joke she'd thrown in, but the last thing she said had a frown forming on his face.
"Hey..." The Cadet sat up so that he could turn to fully face his friend.
"Don't say that, you're great too! And you don't have to apologize."After laying it all bare like that the feral, understandably, seemed a bit down. Nervous even. They couldn't have that. The Cadet jumped right into encouraging her.
"You go through all of that and still get back out there, and still even love your city? That's ameow- amazing. "Plus anyone would be stupid not to see you're beautiful, insides included!" There was a beat of silence after his words when he realized how weird that probably sounded, even given the context of their conversation.
"I mean like, inside and out. Aaagh..."He pushed a hand through his hair. Hopefully that didn't come off as strange as he worried it did. He didn't want to take his words back because they were the truth, and besides he hated to see a girl disparage herself. The way Ms. Fortune could separate her body was shocking, yes, but it just took some getting used to.
"What I mean is, you're awesome. We've only known each other a couple days and you're already one of the most Radalos people I know."He had yet to address her profession confession, and it would be a few moments more until he did. Realistically he thought he probably should have a problem with it given his own background, but he didn't - and he very much doubted anyone else in their group would either. He knew there was a difference between malicious thievery and turning to crime to stay alive.
"...you know, in the Old World I was a Guild Knight," he began.
"The Knights do all kinds of stuff besides hunt monsters. We're basically peace keepers, so our job included tracking down people that broke the law. Punishing them too sometimes, but thankfully I never did much of that part myself." He met her gaze, his eyes showing a hint of amusement at the irony of their situations. She seemed on edge, but hopefully Nadia could see the humor in it too.
"So I've seen my share of criminals. Mean, totally corrupt, no remorse...
But you don't seem like them at all. You were helping people then, right? And you're here trying to save the world now!" The Ace Cadet smiled at her, warm and reassuring.
"You're a good person."After letting the cat out the bag Nadia braced herself for the worst, but to her surprise -and soon after, delight- Ace wasted no time setting her worries to rest. He washed the doubts and fear with an inundation of praise, using terms like
great and
awesome and even
beautiful. The goofy way he phrased his appreciation brought a laugh out of her, making its delivery all the sweeter. A surge of emotion struck the feral, a little embarrassment mixed with relief and, above all, gratitude. Sure, she’d pretty much forced him into a position where he had to say something nice about her, but this was no mere front on his part. The man could genuinely look past not just her unnatural bodily condition, but her past as a criminal despite once being something of a lawman, and come out on the other side to tell the girl that even if she didn’t believe it herself, she was a good person. She wasn’t so soft-hearted that Ace’s kindness would make her burst into tears, but she couldn’t stop her eyes from watering just a little, either. In her heart Nadia could now conclude that the Ace Cadet absolutely liked her too, and even if that put some butterflies in the feral’s stomach, she couldn’t be happier.
In her somewhat tipsy giddiness Nadia wanted to tackle Ace and hug him like her life depended on it, rubbing up on him like, well, a cat, but she managed to keep herself under control. Instead she reached over and squeezed his shoulder with her hand, hoping that her touch helped to convey the thankfulness her words alone really couldn’t. “Thanks, man. Really.” she told him. “If my world were full of people like you, it’d be a much better place.” After taking a deep breath of the fresh seaside air, she sat up, planted her feet in the sand, and put on her best smile. “Anyway! That’s more than enough of me sittin’ around, bellyachin’ over purr-sonal stuff. I’m ready to tire myself out again. Maybe see if I can whip up a game of volleyball, or we could just go in the water.” She leaned forward, her elbows on her knees. “Whatcha think, Mr. Ace Cadet?”
Seeing the effect his words had on Nadia brought the Cadet a great deal of joy. She could have easily brushed him off, but instead she took them to heart. She deserved to feel good about herself, so he was more than happy to bring up all of her good points. He thought about going on, but paused as she thanked him and reached out. Despite the heat of the sun, her touch felt pleasant and warm.
"Aw, c'cmon." He ducked his head a little to hide the pink that was starting to bloom on his cheeks. He didn't think he was some shining beacon of goodness. After all, how many times had his dumb antics almost gotten people killed? It was only a scant few years ago that the ace hunter was inconsiderate. But since then he'd been trying to grow, become someone that others could rely on, especially to lift their spirits. If such a great girl thought so highly of him, then maybe he'd succeeded.
"Well if you need a pick-me-up, you know who to come to," he offered with a grin as Nadia moved on. She had some ideas for activities, and he considered them while finishing off his own mojito, tipping his head back until the glass was empty. Between playing a game and swimming, the former was his preference. Though unfamiliar with it, he could pretty much guess what was involved with "volley" and "ball."
"We can play first, cool off later?" he suggested. The Cadet got to his feet and extended his hand for her to take.
"Shell we?"After tossing her hair in a faux-dignified manner, Nadia accepted his hand with a gracious smile. “But of course!”
Once on her feet, Nadia went off with an irrepressible pep in her step and Ace right behind, both eager to see who among the vacationing Seekers might fancy an impromptu volleyball game.
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