Forums » Fantasy Roleplay » Corath Beach (Permanently Closed)

Tyrelle and Saoirse slid into the booth, Saoirse sandwiched between Tyrelle and Abelle. Despite a lower light level in the bar, Saoirse didn't remove her sunglasses. Her head was still sore, and she didn't want to make her migraine worse.

"Ready for me to adjust it?" Tyrelle asked. Saoirse nodded. "Lift up your hair."

Saoirse spun in the booth, doing as she was told and wincing at the soreness that's now spread to her shoulders. The recovery process was long after the port was installed. Warmth spread from Tyrelle's fingers as she gently pressed certain areas on her neck, looking for the edges of the bandage covering the port. At the corners of the bandage, Tyrelle found the release buttons. The edges pulsed a soft blue as the cell bonding process to Saoirse's skin was terminated, and where once was smooth skin, a three inch by two inch strip of flesh colored mesh lifted into Tyrelle's hand.

"Hold onto this." Tyrelle handed Saoirse her bandage. It took some finagling, Saoirse had thick hair and struggled a bit to hold it all in one hand. A few curls escaped, tickling her cheek. "Good thing those glasses don't have blue light."

Tyrelle reached up to the right side of Saoirse's Wayfarers. Pressing a small release button on the back, a small wired USB connection dropped into Tyrelle's palm. While normal for the girls, the port was not a common feature. An inch in diameter, the nerve connection port was placed in the high middle of Saoirse's neck. When her mesh bandage was removed, the port's outer covering lifted a centimeter from the surface of her skin. Tyrelle plugged in the USB port.

Suddenly, Saoirse's Wayfarers lit up with a soft light. "Can you see on your screen what's loose?" Tyrelle asked.

"Yeah. Circuit A164B. Must've gotten knocked loose somehow. Looks like wire 4 too." Saoirse sounded strained.

"I'll help reset your spine and rub out your shoulders tonight too. At least you didn't have to have a personal massage therapist."

"Yours was given to you from work. Couldn't have been that bad."

"True," Tyrelle said, reaching up to the other side of her sunglasses. One more release button and a set of tweezers dropped into her hand. Carefully, she dug into the port. "You're gonna have to make sure I got the right one."

"Left side circuit board. Pinch it, push it back in." After a moment, Saoirse jumped a bit. "Got it. Right side, next wire back." Another pause, and Saoirse relaxed. "I think you fixed it." She handed Tyrelle the bandage back. Tyrelle unplugged the glasses and reapplied the bandage. Once the bandage was back on, it looked like Saoirse didn't have a port at all.

She took off her Wayfarers and reattached the tweezers and USB port. "Much better. That hurt."

Saoirse sighed, flexing her shoulders and neck after her readjustment. Glancing over at Vee, she noticed the taffy. "Did your little friends find something along the boardwalk?" she asked with a smile. "That taffy looks good. Been years since we had taffy, huh Tyrelle?"

Tyrelle nodded. "I'm more a fudge girl, meself. Taffy is lighter though, yeah?"

"I think so." Saoirse turned to Abelle. "What's good here? What do you like to get?"

Oscar had not come to expect being spoiled in this way by Tique. He'd held her in reverence since he'd first laid eyes on her, entirely enchanted by nearly every part of her being. Somehow, that enthusiasm hadn't diminished much. That he should he a mermaid as a good friend remained some wondrous kind of fantasy. He rode on her with the utmost gratitude, eyes wandering from her only because that had been the reason she'd given him the ride in the first place. Truly indulging in the way he felt about her would require more privacy than the beach afforded them, even if they were presently unseen by others.

This left him able to do little more than show those subtle gestures of fondness, gazing down at her in a way she had to know had been hard won. Eye contact wasn't something he gave just anyone, but he engaged eagerly with Tique, letting himself fall into her gaze until circumstances shook him free of the trance. "I don't know if I could grow my hair long enough to cover them!" Oscar protested playfully, supposing he'd just have to wear a kind of ribbon or something. There was a guy in a band he knew who did that; it reminded him of a priest's collar, in a way, though it was black, and he supposed it held some other significance. His hair, of course, was bountiful already, and had grown to a point to brush the back of his long neck, even though it primarily grew out rather than down.

Despite Tique's warnings, Oscar spoke passionately to Lothan, settling down when the serpent began weaving his tale. He listened attentively, one hand in the water and its brother resting against Tique's scales, occasionally toying with one or another inattentively. He could tell by the creature's tone that he intended to go on for some time, and so, he did not interrupt, waiting for the story to reach its conclusion. . .or, at least, wherever Lothan was satisfied leaving it. His mouth hung open as he heard about first the market for scales, then the ridiculous idea that his belly was full of treasure, enough to make him scoff a bitter laugh.

"That's a really wild reason to go after something!" he wound up saying, a mild form of what might be his true feelings, considering there were children on the beach. "I can't. . ." Tique interrupted before he could commiserate further, bringing another giggle out of him. "Oh, seeing the corals sounds fun!" He frowned, though; he'd need his glasses off to go underwater, but hadn't brought anything to keep them in. If people came to this area to see Lothan, then they might be able to recognize them as a magical object, so he wouldn't want to keep them with his sandals, which were comparatively worthless. He reached up and removed them, carefully folding the arms as he asked, "Lothan, could you watch over these for me? They're very special." He looked hopefully up at the serpent, eyes less focused than before.

Abelle is not the sort of person to stare at others. For the most part, unless they have something to do with surfing, she doesn't actually pay too much attention to anyone in her path. Not trying to do it, but realizing she was, the beach bum stared at Saoirse and Tyrelle while they fiddled around with her neck. That was kind of odd, but highly intriguing. Her gaze stayed on the pair for quite a while, leaning her elbow on the table, chin on her closed fist, a lazy and content smile on her face. This was nice and relaxing, in a weird sort of way. Nevermind the glances the booth was getting for all the weirdness piled into it.

"Hmm? Oh, uh, let's see.. for drinks, I always recommend the Bahama's, it's fruity, blue, comes with pieces of fruit in it, and a tiny umbrella. Sometimes if he's feeling nice, Mike'll spear a piece of fruit with a plastic sword. If I ask nicely enough, he could do that for drinks."

Tapping her nails against the wooden table, thinking about it, she can hear tiny tinkling noises in the back of her head. The little sounds were tones of magic itching to get out, but she pushed them back as deeply into the recesses of her mind as she could. "Food wise, I love the onion rings here. Of course the burgers are amazing, and when you're in the mood, the cook makes really good desserts. Not just ice cream, he does those waffle things with the ice cream in them, covered in sauces he makes right here. When Mike loses a bet he tries to pay me off with those ice cream waffle things."

After laughing quietly with the thought of Mike buying her off for the first time with the ice cream. It was quite a comical time. Clearing her throat and raising a brow, she asks the pair of ladies, "Sooooo.. what's all that..?" Abelle hadn't seen all of it, but she was close enough to catch some of what was going on.

Saoirse's eyes widened. "Everything sounds amazing! Maybe we should get a couple of different things to try. We haven't had good American food since we moved. Everything is so expensive in Italy."

"We live near the center of Milan," Tyrelle explained, shrugging. Between food on the ship and food Earth-side, everything was always better back home. She tucked a braid behind her ear, the movement making a silver twist carved into a Celtic knot catch the light between her auburn locks.

Saoirse blushed and looked down at Abelle's question.

After a glance at her best friend, Tyrelle answered. "We're part of the medical advancement groups in Italy. What you saw was an adjustment of our nerve connection ports, which link directly with all functions of the brain. Hers was newly implanted about a month ago and is still healing, hence why things got knocked loose. The bandage over it is an older piece of tech with new features. They bio-engineered the cell bonding process into strips of mesh bandages to better seal wounds. These ones help protect the ports and keep them clean. We're given rings that sync to our energy fields too. Mine is teal, hers is lavender." She showed Abelle her silver and teal ring. Stemming from the ring was a strip of silver winding its way through the palm of her hand, following the pattern of muscle all the way up her arm.

"They try to keep it as subtle as possible, hoping the negative side effects won't become too apparent, if there are any. So far, I haven't experienced any side effects other than the occasional migraine." Saoirse said, Tyrelle nodding in agreement. "They don't allow anyone over the age of 27 to begin the process. By that time, it's too dangerous for adaptability."

Saoirse kept her gaze from the group, nervous about their reactions. Tyrelle never seemed bothered. Then again, as the Captain of the most successful spaceship in the fleet, she wasn't nervous about much of anything.

He would follow them, he introduced himself as Mac. When Z had asked who he was. But, started to get lost in thought about what she had said about vomiting on the beach. There was a few times he shifted his coffin on his back. Mostly to get out of others way. Every now and then song lyrics would escape him. It was almost as if, while moving around, his mind worked like a radio being switched to a new station. As if someone was finding a song they wanted to find something they wanted to listen too. The two songs that seemed to be caught would be something about a wanderer, and the other wishing others were a california girl. Blinking once Vee's Vae had came back from doing something, whatever it was to get the taffy. He quickly looked about, and saw a man saying something about a payment. Yet baffled about what had happened.

Mac had stopped and poundered a bit. Before going to the man selling taffy and paying him the amount owed. Giving an apology for the tiny ones that had taken the taffy, and not knowing better. The man had been baffled once again. This time by the strange man, he left the impression of being a vampire fanboy. Or something odd like that.

Getting back to the group, they had found a booth, having missed some of the events but getting back when the local they all were following had started to talk about food. Having set his coffin down. With it on the floor and standing up it looked more like it had been made for him. It would be the perfect fit, for him to just, step into the coffin. Before doing anything else, he would let the other two get into the booth. He listened a bit as one of the girls explained some medical advancement things. His curiosity got the better of him, "Why did you two get the advancements?" He blushed a bit at realizing what he had just asked. "N-not that you have to answer that. If it is personal." He nervously chuckled and rubbed the back of his head. Taking the hand that was keeping the coffin upright. Jumping up a bit when the coffin had fallen down. Giving a startled yelp at the sudden noise. "My bad, my bad." He had repeated, moving to pick it up. "I am sorry if that startled anyone. It it has done any damage to the floor I will pay and help in fixing it."

"Not floor," Vee responded, though picking it up from the floor and eating it wouldn't be something to gross out a species who ate bugs after all. The held the taffy by one end with their thumb and forefingers in the air to their side, and simply let it dangle there a moment, watching Z as they did. After a moment of showing the dangling candy, they reached up with their other hand and took the taffy, using their now only free hand to grab Z by the arm and pull her gently into Mike's following their group.

Vee found their way to the table, sitting next to the girls and placing the taffy on the table. They hadn't yet figured out what you were supposed to do with it, they certainly didnt think something so dangerously pink was intended to eat. Back on their home planet, brightly pink things were often poisonous, so they figured this was some strange feeling toy.

Picking it up with both hands the began to bend it down into a 'U' shape when the girl next to them spoke of their friends bringing them taffy. Vee looked at them a moment, only nodding excitedly and fluttering their vae wings in response before going back to working over the new found toy of theirs, namely the taffy.

They bent and twisted the taffy around, considering it carefully as they did. It took a couple of minutes but eventually the snapped the soft candy into two, and fluttered a couple of vae wings in response to their victory.

It was then two pairs of wings buzzed and the owning vae flew out of their pods, landing kn the table. They walked over in between Vee's arms and watched the taffy as they set once piece aside, and began twisting the other piece around until it too snapped in half.

Setting one of those pieces down, Vee then pressed their thumb into the middle of the last piece of taffy they held, making a large indent in the center. The molded the sides up on three of the sides next to the indent, making one side higher than the other two. Finally they set the piece down in front of them....a chair is what they had made.

One of the vae walked over and sat down in the taffy, and Vee and the other vae giggled to themselves as it did.

"Oh so tired!" the little creature sighed out, throwing one arm up, back of its hand on their forehead, and the other beyond the 'armrest' of the 'chair'. After several moments, it pulled one of its legs up and set it on the armrest and its body slumped off to the opposite side in a very lazy looking position.

Vee picked up the other smallest piece of taffy while the vae was making itself comfortable, and using its fingers and thumbs, crushed it into an almost diamond shaped 'ball' of crumpled up taffy, then held their hand out and dropped it next to the other vae. The vae reached down and picked up the taffy ball, moving to a position opposite of the seated vae.

The raised both hands above their head, heaving the taffy ball up. Pulling back slightly and then stepping forward, the vae hurled the ball of taffy as hard as it could at the seated vae, who visually appeared to be unaware of this action. "Hyahhh!" it shouted as it did.

The taffy ball slammed into the seated vaes chest, sending the entire taffy chair backwards and spilling the vae out skirt over shirt onto the table. The poor thing just lay there on its face, having overturned backwards. The other vae giggled intensely, and Vee broke into an almost maniacal laughter.

"Taffy fun!" they said, looking to the general group at the table. They reached out to grab the large piece of taffy, thinking up the next game they would play with it.

Z watched and listened to the whole group, taking everything in. She was very surprised and amazed at the mechanical parts of Saoirse and Tyrelle's skill with them.

So...we have me, a zombie. A cute plant girl... Z still mistakenly thought Vee was a SHE and not a THEY. ...a cyborg, a cyborg technician, and one beach girl? She thought, turning to look at Mac, frowning. Oh, and him. Why doe she make me uneasy? It probably had something to do with his coffin, or his interest in her. She was still feeling rather self conscious.

She mostly watched Vee, confused at why she hadn't eaten the taffy yet. "Vee, why you no..." She watched in surprise, as Vee molded and remolded the taffy, then letting their Vae do more work with it, making a chair, and a ball, and all that.

"That normal?" She asks, pointing at the Vae. "Little yous being silly like that? Why play with snack like that? It for eating, not toy." Suffice enough to say, Z still knew nothing about Vee. Aside from being a plant with....little mini versions....assisting them.

It was kind of odd, honestly, for the beach bum to be around this many unique people. It should be unsettling, and in a way it was, because of her own personal views of the unnatural or supernatural. Rubbing her thumb and forefinger together, she can almost feel the sparks of magic itching to escape, but once more she pushes them back down, forcing them from her thoughts. Abelle hated magic, her own the most, and it was somehow also the reason she was kinder to those where were odd, was the word she used. It wasn't really the same word her mother used when the woman was still a child, growing up, but it was at least polite.

Realizing that the coffin carrying man had followed them, she can already hear Mike shouting at them from behind the bar in the back of her mind. "Dangit Abelle what kind of freaks did you bring to the bar this time, did that one bring a coffin, did it break the floor?! Why do you insist on hanging out with the oddest sorts, are you even going to pay for your food this time? You have quite the tab here, young lady!" The image she has of Mike is pretty much the same as it's always been, a grumpy old man who mostly yelled at her for being a "kid" in his eyes.

What Abelle didn't realize was that Mike was glowering at them and it was pretty obvious he was thinking "What a weird looking group, I hope that bum pays for things this time." His stare was specifically on the coffin and how it fell on the floor. After bristling for a few moments he does finally speak, in a rough and slightly gravelly sounding voice, "That does not belong in here." He jabs a finger in the direction of the coffin, his eyes narrowed and looking like he should be chewing on the end of a cigarette, but instead there's just a toothpick in his mouth.

The sigh of the vae having fun with the taffy causes the bum to laugh, covering her mouth after a moment and clearing her throat. Those things were hilarious and honestly, she'd love to give them more taffy to see what they'll do with it.

A curious glance at Saoirse and Tyrelle while they talk makes her just as curious as it did for the coffin bearing person. A small noise escapes her as Abelle realizes something. "Huh, that's fascinating, I'd only have a year left to do that if I wanted to. What ah.. ...what does it all do, though? I'm sorry if I sound dumb, I'm just a beach bum, so if it doesn't involve surfing, I don't really know much about it." Well, surfing and burgers.

Saoirse was quiet.

Tyrelle took a moment to think, and after a glance at Saoirse, explained. "Maybe I should start with explaining what I do for work..." She looked at Mac and Abelle. "I'm Captain Anvindr of the Starship Artemis, the first ship to start the colonies on Mars."

"Dr. Remigio is spearheading the medical advancement project," Saoirse said softly. "Her philosophy, and many others agree, is that if we are to need Mars in the future, we want to eradicate basic physical diseases and lack of strength."

Tyrelle nodded, picking up Saoirse's glasses. Pressing a button on the front right side of the Wayfarers, a holographic display of the schematic for the nerve ports sprung to life, and Tyrelle placed the glasses in the center of the table so all who were interested could see. The schematic was on slow rotation. "The nerve port is inserted into the back of the subject's neck, connecting itself to the spinal cord and the brain. It controls chemical balance, energy usage, and other things. They're still experimenting." Reaching up to rotate the schematic vertically, the cover-up she wore slid back on her arm, revealing more of her silver implant that followed the muscle patterns. "I'm a year into the project, and am the most 'modified' human that currently exists. Saoirse just started her process."

"Basically, they want to create a better Earth without human disease and physical incapabilities." Saoirse played with her silver ring.

Letting out a low whistle, Abelle looks at the fancy glasses while she listens to Tyrelle talk. She nods at Saoirse when she does finally say something, a small smile tugging at her mouth. "Huh, fancy that... So we're already up to traveling in space and trying to make that a normal thing..."

It wasn't something Abelle was surprised about, honestly. She just preferred to keep her head down by the water. The call of the ocean was strong, something that was so unshakable, she ended up leaving home just to live life as a bum on the beach, making jewelry and entering surfing contests just to make meager ends meet. Not that it was the most difficult to do, but it sure did feel like a lot some days.

Thinking about her little sham of a house, one that should easily blow over in a hurricane or typhoon (but luckily hadn't), Abelle remembers her small bookcase crammed full of deep sea research books and how, every now and again, she'd join a scientist friend on an expedition as a guest. The deepest parts of the sea were what really called to her, and while she knew the local sea serpent as an acquaintance, she didn't really have the best feeling around him. He made her... uneasy, was the best way to put it, mildly off-putting.

Snapping right back into reality when Vinnie wandered over to the group, his gaze trying so hard to be normal when he realizes the table is full of Abelle's new acquaintances. His expression is actually really hard to read as he tries to be neutral, but he too seems to hear the whisper of whatever Mike is probably saying. They all hang around the bar too much if the little voice in their heads is just Mike grumbling.

"Uh... Can I... ...Get you all anything to eat?" Please be normal orders, please be normal orders, he thinks. While his gaze stays on Abelle, what with it being familiar territory and all, he does hazard several glances at Saoirse and Tyrelle, fleetingly appreciative that there seem to be at least two more 'regular' people there. The green ladies and the one with the coffin, however, have him feeling a mite skittish.

Vee stopped and looked to Z, their laughter slowing as they listened. The grounded vae stood up and both of them turned to look at Z also.

"Just play, have fun," Vee said with a smile. The vae walked over and each took a side of the taffy chair as Vee set the piece of taffy in their hand to the side. They dropped their head to the table, chin down and opened their mouth. The two vae at this point had lifted the taffy chair and walked it over to Vee, and once arrived at their face, heaved it into their mouth.

The two vae stood there watching as Vee lifted their head, chewing only twice before an estranged look took their face.

"Pwuuahh" Vee shot the taffy out of their mouth like a canon, blasting the same unfortunate vae to the ground with the force of the expulsion. It wasn't intentional this time, Vee simply reacted too quickly. The taffy bounced off the vae and rolled into the middle of the table. The standing vae reached over and took the grounded ones arms, and yanked them back to a standing position. Once there they shook their head before looking back up to Vee.

"Not food, toy!" Vee said looking at Z, and grabbed at the largest piece of taffy once again. They pulled it in and began molding into....something, the curious looking vae simply watching in anticipation.

Z watched as Vee tried the Taffy, and started laughing once she spat it out. "Is too candy! But is very sweet. No like sugar Vee?" She chuckles.

She then turns to look at Tyrelle for a moment. "You from space? You alien? See any one like me? I mean, dead but not dead?" She asks, still wondering at her origins.

She once again eyes Mac wearily, not wanting to be rude, but really not liking that coffin or his earlier questions.

After all this, she looked up at the waiter Vinnie once he comes up, eyeing him up and down with a grin. Without thinking, she blurts out..."BURGER! ZOMBIE WANT BURGER!" She smiles, her half-face on full display now!

The sight of Vee being so silly was pretty funny, and Abelle let out soft chuckles as she watched the poor plant creatures get the brunt of the main plant person's projectile. "Wow, that's... oh dear. Don't make too much of a mess, these poor servers have a lot to do when we all leave." Leaving sticky taffy residue everywhere would surely prove to be the fastest way for Abelle to get yelled at.

Vinnie stared at Z, recoiling slightly and holding up his small pad of paper up, his pen as added protection. "W-woah dudette, okay. Burger. H-how d'ya want it cooked?" He was wondering if she'd say rare, honestly, because he'd seen plenty of zombie flicks and was concerned that he might be on the menu soon! Heart pounding, he nervously peered over at Z again, and asked in a nervous way, "And what do you want on it, too? Cheese, onion, lettuce, tomato.. onion rings.." Hopefully listing things would make it easier for Z to pick from.

Chiming in, not to annoy Vinnie, but to try and help him, Abelle gently tells Z, "They have an amazing house sauce, you get it with the onion ring monstrosity. I'd recommend that if you want something filling and delicious. Cheese too, of course." Of course.

Vinnie wasn't sure if he was grateful or not towards the beach bum. On the one hand, she seemed much more calm around the people with her, but on the other... ...She brought them here in the first place!

Letting Oscar use Tique like a flotation device was kind of funny, honestly, because she could just turn him away from Lothan at any time she wished. She didn't, and instead just kept lazily moving back and forth, allowing the ocean to pull her back, and then maneuvering her tail to go towards the beach once more, constantly staying in the same three foot space. It gave her plenty of time to look up at him as well, which caused her to smile lightly at him and reward him with a fond look of her own. She was aware he was considered awkward, for a human, and that eye contact was not his forte, but she appreciated that he wanted to look at her. ..Well, appreciated and expected it. She was a mermaid, after all, and that often warranted many long stares. The only difference was she did not gaze at another human as fondly as she did for this particular one.

"You could try to wet your hair until it covers them," she sweetly says in response to his answer about gills. Trying to imagine him with waving wet hair that hung down more than it stuck out was almost comical to her. So amusing that she even cracks a smile, enough to show her teeth!

There's almost regret in her expression when he responds to the sea serpent, and Tique has to bite her tongue to not ruin the fun he's having. She just smiles up at Oscar in a way that can be mistaken for affectionate, but possibly the sort of affection one has for simple creatures, like pets.

Off in the distance, forty or fifty meters out at sea, there is a subtle 'thwack' on the water as Lothan's tail raises out of the water a few meters and drops back down, making a loud slapping noise that grows a fainter the further out it goes. The overly toothy grin he offers Oscar is one of positively beaming qualities and he chuckles deeply, blowing a fond breath out of his slit nostrils. "When humans were just learning about the water, they saw my kind before they understood anything. Add into it their inability to go deeply into the ocean, lack of ability to see under the water's surface, and then sharks..." Sharks are only the common thing that ate humans. Lothan could speak of others, but he felt the little human probably got the idea.

Knowing that Tique wanted to spend some time away from him and with her little human was highly amusing, and the sea serpent's eyes crinkle up a bit at the corners. A promise of teasings to come later, no doubt... "Well you two run along and have fun... I am searching for a pink sparkling shell necklace, one of those little curving things with the ripples and rivulets that make up the thing.." Whatever he was thinking of, Lothan couldn't think of the right name, but he looked like he knew what he was talking about...

Peeking at the glasses, the serpent lowers his head so that they can be placed just behind a small shelf-like section of his nose, where the main part that had his nostrils was, all smooth and glassy looking, before it turned into the scales. "They will be safe with me, I assure you, little human."

As soon as Oscar had pawned off his glasses to Lothan, Tique shifted a little, lowering into the water until her companion could float a bit. She turns herself over so that she's on her stomach and he's resting on the small of her back. "Now that that's done... Come on, I know where the humans go to get gear. You can pay them with something I have on me."

With that she was off, cutting through the ocean just past the drop off, where very few of the beach dwellers were. Tique did not move so fast that it was amazing, letting Oscar take in the view as they went. She moved her tail back and forth in a rather quick way, pushing them through the water at what she might consider a 'slow' pace, but most humans probably referred to it as 'power walking' or 'trundling'. It might seem like an odd sight, like maybe the human was riding on a dolphin's back, but anyone that told a life guard would soon learn that no, no, that wasn't a dolphin, it was another beach guest... The spiny dark teal fins were a dead giveaway, and like the sea serpent, a known 'visitor' of the beach. The main thing was, none of the life guards could handle talking to the mermaid for anything, so trying to tell her she couldn't do something was pointless!

Vee stared back at Z a moment considering her question.

"No, you alien," they said, "Never see another."

Vee turned away, placing their head down towards the table and beginning to mold the taffy into....something else. It was Z yelling burger that got Vee's attention. Certainly a burger had to be better than taffy right? I mean it couldn't be worse.

"Burger! Burger!" Vee said, raising their head up to look at Vinny. "Burger, Burger!" the two vae shouted turning around to view Vinny as well.

The vae took flight, flying up to Vinny's face. "Cow, Moo, Cow, Moo!" they shouted playfully, buzzing about the unfortunate servers face, "Cow, Moo, Cow, Moo!"

Vee simply openly laughed watching the vae harrass the poor man.

Z blinked at Vee in confusion. "Am not alien! Am from here, earth! Am zombie. You not from earth? You alien! And wasn't talking to you, plant lady, was talking to cyborg lady!"She nods.

Thinking on her order, and paying attention to Abelle, she smiles. "Everything. Zombie want it all. Meat, cheese, bacon, lettuce, tomato, hottest of hot sauce. Oh, and make meat medium rare!" She even started licking her lips, mouth watering a bit. Seeing as how half her face was gone though....she proceeded to drool down her neck and onto her swimsuit!

Abelle has never felt worse for one of the servers at Mike's. Sure large families with children might come in, but how often did what may or may not be space babes, zombies, and plant people stop by for a burger? Resting her chin on her hand, she just watches the loud green people and fills one cheek with air, slowly deflating it as she tries to figure out how to get them to calm down. They weren't at the point it was becoming bothersome to other guests, she hoped, but it was kind of ridiculous in the best of ways.

"Alright, alright you two... Calm down before you terrify Vinnie from serving us at all! Talk one at a time and tell him your order..."

Vinnie, meanwhile, was writing down everything that Z had said she wanted. The hottest of hot sauce was interesting and he'd have to ask the cook if they made something like that. Almost nervously he asked, the timidness evident in his stunningly brightly colored eyes, "A-and to drink?"

The vae in his face were just as alarming as the zombie ordering a reasonable meal, which lead to him accidentally brushing a hand at them, not to swat or smack, but to make sure they kept a sensible distance from his personal space. He wasn't paid well enough for this and a meaningful look at the beach bum who brought them all there was pretty easy to read: Abelle owed him. Big time.

There was more he could share with Lothan, maybe, talk about how he'd used a golden kind of dragon scale to make guitar picks, but as fascinated as he was by the huge serpent, Tique really had his heart. Not only seeing her again, but able to sit so intimately with her, had his heart swelling and soul singing. Even he could hardly put words to why it was he saw and felt so much in her but, as with so many other things, he'd decided to simply throw himself into the experience. It was better for everyone that way. He very much doubted that Antique would tolerate him questioning what it was that made her so great, what elevated her in his regard so quickly. He was a human, and she was something so much more than that; thus, it was self-explanatory. Right?

Riding on her as he was, his gaze was occasionally cast out into the distance, the sea spreading out until he couldn't imagine other shores. It was a funny sense of eternity that water could give, and in the daylight, it didn't seem horrible. Sunlight danced across the water as merrily as any playing pod of dolphins. Saltwater couldn't directly nourish humanity, but what thrived within it had since time immemorial. Not only that, it had gifts; the sight of coral, sure, but sea sponges, and perhaps pearls, to say nothing of rumored ancient civilizations and the riches of sunken ships. As many things did, it set his imagination alight.

But Lothan drew his gaze often, for he was new, and new things were most fascinating of all. He'd dreamed about the world's vast saltwater bodies since he was a child. Considering the viciousness of fighting against obscenely ridiculous poachers was a much more specific fixture, and something that launched through his mind with a soundtrack already forming, swelling an entire orchestra. Judging from how Tique was treating it, though, if Oscar did compose anything with Lothan in mind, sharing it with him would probably be discouraged.

"No, I can't do that! It'd be a wreck when it dries!" As though he wasn't going to do just that when he went under the water to look at the corals! He realized this afterward and giggled. "You'll have to help me set it right again." That meant rinsing it clean of salt water, then taking the time to make sure it was absolutely saturated with the fresh water, which took a hell of a long time with hair like his. Then, a good scalp massage with fists full of cleansing conditioner, rinsing it all out - practically as lengthy as wetting his hair in the first place!- followed by generous amounts of coconut oil run through. He'd never had anyone else do it for him, so it was a pleasing enough thought, if mostly a joke. If he was her pet, then washing his hair would make sense, right?


With some reluctance, he set the glasses on Lothan's nose, hoping he'd appreciate how important they were - and that they were still his. He'd grown so attached to them that he no longer brought a spare pair with him, and he was much too near-sighted to function out in the world without any glasses at all. He had an urge to tell him not to give them away to anyone who happened to find what he was looking for, but decided against that; it might be insulting to suggest that had crossed his mind at all! "OK, thank you! I'll see you!"

Just after that, Oscar was gently kicking his feet as Tique adjusted position, then letting her come up under him as she saw fit, since he figured she'd know better where he should sit than he would. He lay his hands on her shoulders, looking around, here and there. The sights were less impressive without his glasses, everything rendered to animate blurs and winks of light. Glasses had a way of disappearing onto the face when worn enough, so he'd nearly forgotten how poor his vision was. To lose so much detail disappointed him, but he knew he couldn't keep them on in the water.

"I'm still worried I won't know how to use any of it," he admitted, a pout weighing his mouth and voice both. "I guess if I'm bad at all of it, I can just ride like this for a while. It's already like a dream." His voice grew airy and distant with those thoughts, his uncertain frown quickly replaced with a serene smile.

"Sorry, little lady, I haven't seen any zombies in space. Hell, you two green ones are the first of your kind that I've ever seen. My crew mates would get a kick out of both of you, especially Vee," Tyrelle responded. She placed her chin on her hands, looking up at Vinnie.

"I'll take a cheese burger, medium rare, with lettuce, tomato, mayo and pickles."

"Same, but get me some of that pepper jack cheese instead. Love a little spicy," Saoirse told him with a sly smile. Tyrelle nudged her in the ribs and Saoirse laughed as she turned to her. "What?"

"Don't forget about Luca back home, missy," Tyrelle teased.

Saoirse blushed. "Yeah, yeah, you ruin all my fun."