HereComesTheSnow

Heroes of Beacon - the Next Chapter

@Silvan Haven@Crimmy@Write@Plank Sinatra

I had to admire how she always looked you straight in the eye. Whether there was anything that she had to say or not, Gratia Mindaro would always meet you head-on. It was just how she did things.

If I could be half as straightforward, I'd probably be sitting pretty compared to the state I was in right now. Fortune favors the bold, but unfortunately I'm not half as bold a guy as you'd like me to be.

If she weren't as talkative as a brick wall in the event that she didn't specifically have something to say, I might end up asking her to coach me on being more direct. But, unfortunately for me, Gratia Mindaro was not a woman who would suffer idle chatter easily. At least, not for most of us.

Maybe every so often you could catch her on a good day, and she'd let you kill some of her idle time with errant thoughts. Like in a line for an airship.

Or on the balcony of a cruise ship.

If it was directness I wanted, there was nobody better to train it on than the most direct person I knew.

Have I mentioned that I'm not bright yet today? In case you weren't aware...

"What have you been listening to?" I asked, eyes momentarily flicking to the headphones around her neck.

Keep not answering questions, the way things are shaping up, I'll have all night to think up new ones.

Heroes of Beacon - the Next Chapter

@Silvan Haven@Crimmy@Write@Plank Sinatra

Being on the shoreline, it seemed a landward breeze was essentially a regular occurrence. I had half a mind to try and see if there was a regular interval to it, but figured that would just defeat the purpose of me coming out here in the first place. Any sort of math would get my brain to start turning it's gears, I mean. It'd be much easier to idle until I got tired of my hair getting toyed with and my face light sprayed with saltiness.

As much as I would have appreciated looking up at a starry expanse, us being at port had an answer for that too. A port town being a port town, and one that had luxury liners coming in and out of the docks, you could take a bet on it staying bright well, well into the bank. Straight to the vault, no thermite necessary.

I guessed we'd have to be more out at sea, and away from civilization if we wanted something picturesque. Right now, all I could pick out were the brighter ones that had the staying power to survive in the glow of the city behind us, and any errant airships coming in for a landing.

Well, at least it was relatively quiet. Just the soft tones of jazz drifting down the ship, the waves coming onto shore, the quiet footsteps of someone walking out behind me, and the wind hitting my face. It was kind of soothing, like a soft metronome—

Wait, one of those didn't fit at all!

I turned to face the newcomer, wondering which of us had been the first to arrive after me.

And I suppose that I should have guessed it. Two of them I'd already accounted for as being engaged in something else.

That left the odd one out, in her simple t-shirt and jeans that managed to leave a pretty big impression in their own right, despite being basic in the extreme.

She really did always wear the jacket and turtleneck, didn't she? It's kind of a shame.

Gratia looks good in casual stuff.

"Hey." I raised a hand in greeting with a small smile. "Can't sleep either?"

Heroes of Beacon - the Next Chapter

okay seriously it is not that hard

Heroes of Beacon - the Next Chapter

i'm replacing sleeping at night with napping after class whattup

Heroes of Beacon - the Next Chapter

<Snipped quote by Write>

I feel like we're in some sort of bizarro world where the team of misfits that failed the entrance exam are the best adjusted. We must be, because that's the only explanation I've got.

@Krayzikk

The berenstainverse luke already has a steady girlfriend

Heroes of Beacon - the Next Chapter

beacon is not known for its psychiatric evaluations

Heroes of Beacon - the Next Chapter

@Silvan Haven@Crimmy@Write@Plank Sinatra

To the dorms? Did I miss something, were we not getting on the ship?

Heh.

Of course, I kid. Even an idiot wouldn't fail that hard at finding her meaning.

Even as Bianca took off, I took my steps up the boarding ramp and onto the ship myself, at a much more leisurely canter than "literally flying". Even the excitement of a paid-for trip pales in comparison to a properly long day. So, sorry, Miss Nuit. I hope you're fine with me not quite matching your boundless energy.

I'm too experienced at going slow.

With Bianca's departure, I could feel our little group beginning to fragment and split off in our own respective explorations of the ship. I suppose I should be grateful for the natural splintering like that.

After all, I wouldn't want to just wander off if we were all sticking together. If they thought they'd lost me, that'd lead to a really embarrassing search this late at night...

If I had to guess, I was gonna leave Beryl behind once I got past this pool. I wouldn't blame her, either, knowing how much she loves to swim. A pool this big... yeah, she was probably over the moon right now. It was like the ship had picked up its own chunk of ocean to bring along wherever it went. Absolutely huge.

Yeah, ten or so laps a day would more than do for me.

After what felt more like a long walk on a sandless beach than a deck, I entered the doors to find a bar and lounge type area. It actually wasn't too dissimilar from this fancy hotel I'd had the luxury of staying in once...

Amazing. If it weren't for the gentle sway of the ground beneath me and the tiny adjustments of my weight distribution I was having to make to correct for them, I'd have forgotten that I was still on a ship. This was outright opulent compared to what I was used to, and drove home a distinct absurdity, to me, about how I got here.

Here, take these tickets from pretty girls you don't know and bring pretty girls you barely know along.

Pff. Whoever wrote a trashy romance novel like this from the guy's perspective? You've got it all wrong, author-san. This stuff only sells if there's the possibility of an anime adaptation.

...I-I'm not gonna get adapted, right? Please, whatever you do, don't give us to DEEN! I'll beg!

A familiar tune from the piano lulled me and my tired, loony mind out of my pseudo-meta-commentary, and my eyes searched for the source to find...

My eyebrows ticked up a notch.

Hoooooooooh.

Already chatting up the cute waiters, Bianca?

A wry grin spread across my face.

She really had bounced back from that all-but-broken state quickly, hadn't she? Already buzzing all over the place and socializing like it was second nature to her. Being a pretty girl, it probably was all along...

I yawned, bringing a hand to my mouth as I hung out there by a random column. It wasn't healthy of me to assume, of course, but I could say with a fair degree of certainty that it was even less healthy to assume she was overly conscientious like me. I can't expect everyone to need to work at that social stuff like I've been.

At least I've made a lot of progress. I can almost pass for a normal guy now!

Ha ha ha ha ha.

It seemed like she was having a lot of fun. Meanwhile, I was over here, in my tired state, making tired statements and being generally negative in my own head, more than I needed to be.

I always was a little bit grumpy if I needed more sleep, I supposed. That must have been it. Really, forget almost passing— I am a normal guy. Normal guys don't have to be lives of the party or butterflies or what have you.

"Haaaaaaaaaaah..."

Yeah, if I was yawning this much, I definitely needed to hit the sack. Bianca could have her fun and flirt with whoever she pleased without me sucking the life out of the room like a vampire.

I turned away.

I took one step forward. Two.

I looked over my shoulder.

...Something about that guy felt funny. Was it his body language? His posture? Did something seem false, or just not correct? Like he was putting on an air?

Something was up with him. What was it?

I stopped in front of the door, watching him twirl a strand of his gradient hair...

He surprised himself. I couldn't hear the words at either distance, but I could read how he stood well enough. The blink, jolt, then release...

...Duuuuuuh.

I was definitely tired and grouchy. I walked calmly out the door after that, hoping my transgression woiuld be forgiven by those watching over us. He wasn't being awkwardly fake.

Just awkwardly awkward. The poor guy was just catching himself in an unfamiliar spot.

I know exactly where that comes from, especially when talking to cute girls. He had probably just forgotten he was still on the job for the moment when they started chatting, that was all. Distracted by the cute, staff guy? I hear you. I'm sorry for not reading it right at first, if you can forgive a dense, un-clever boy.

Seriously, that was something else. As if I was still on edge from the mission...

Or a jealous guy...

Yiiikes.

That wasn't me, but I sure had acted like it in my head. That was a worryingly valid comparison to make. In fact, I'd even go so far as to say I wouldn't have been able to tell the difference at first. Very bad, veeeery bad!

I had just met Bianca. Despite helping her in her time of need, I barely knew the girl. Yeah, she was pretty, but every girl I know's pretty. And I know for a fact that they could all do way better than an average joe like me. She's no different from them.

There was nothing to be jealous over, seriously. I promise I wasn't, no matter how much it may seem like a damning, entirely too fervent denial when I say it like this. I know where I stand, I just want to make sure everyone's on the same page.

And maybe, my brain will get tired of rambling incoherently, if I keep doing it like that! Yeah, that'll work!

Ugh. Save me from my head, oh merciful God. Just rabbit punch me out of this labyrinthine thought process. I don't even know where I'm going with it anymore.

Before I knew it, I was at my room, key in hand. Time to sleep out the zaniness. All this melatonin or tryptophan or whatever was building up, had been taking me weird places that I had no reason to be in.

I flopped unceremoniously onto the bed.

Ganbare, Bianca-san. Tell me how it goes in the morning.

Yelnats here is done digging himself into holes.

---

And after all that, I can't sleep?!

What the hell, man?! I just spent hours looking forward to a nice rest, and I'm squirming under the sheets because I can't turn my brain off?! I feel stupid! I feel cheated!

I've been building up to a good night's sleep so much, and it's taken from me by what?

The boat rocking?

I don't even know...

"Maybe more fresh air would help."

...It was better than nothing.

Out on the balcony, I at least had stars instead of a dark, empty room to look at.

Heroes of Beacon - the Next Chapter

@Silvan Haven@Crimmy@Write@Plank Sinatra

"Aye aye, captain."

I CAN'T HEAR YOU!

Aye aye, captain!

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOH

In fourty minutes of idle chatter, I'd let the white noise of the road under the wheels lull me into a half-asleep state, only talking minimally where I'd normally have been easily as awake as anyone else in this car.

Thankfully, though, all that was left was just some walking. In terms of keeping forward motion going, grinding against a massive block in my way, I was a veteran. Even if the block was my own body, wanting to just chill out more.

"That's a big boat."

Have I ever told you that I'm especially wise when I'm exhausted? Really, look it up. I'm a regular Aristotle after a mission.

"Really excited, aren't you?"

Still, you've gotta smile at that rebound of hers.

Heroes of Beacon - the Next Chapter

@Silvan Haven@Crimmy@Write@Plank Sinatra

Welcome back to Mother Base, Boss!

"Not too long, no." I managed to respond, picking my head up off my left shoulder with a herculean effort to meet our final tripfellow's impassive, cool gaze. "We pretty much just got in ourselves."

And speaking of Gratia being behind all of us, which I had good reason to remember the cause of—

"Sorry, about earlier." I said, even going far enough to incline my head in supplication. "Leaving you behind like that was unfair of me."

I couldn't incline my head too hard, though, because as much as I would have liked to show my apology through body language, I had to respect Beryl's personal space.

A full bow would be out of the question. First off, I was sitting, and second off, she was, again, right there next to me. Faceplanting straight into her thighs is something that nothing worth the risk/reward ratio could happen afterwards.

Even thinking about it makes me feel like I've done terribly wrong, even though it was purely from a hypothetical standpoint!

Beryl is pure! I understand, seriously!

I really do get it, okay?!

I am a man of discipline.

D i s c i p l i n e.

Heroes of Beacon - the Next Chapter

@Silvan Haven@Write

Just as I had settled into my waiting position of "hands on my knees and gulping in air to recharge from the deadest of sprints", I looked up at the sound of rapid footfalls approaching me. In came Beryl, all exuberance and excitement as she greeted me with an ear-to-ear grin and an eager wave.

All in all, it was pretty damn cute. I couldn't help but raise myself back up and wave in response, smiling as well and tossing out a quick, "Hey."

I might be making a bit of a selfish assumption here, but something told me that she was more than happy to not go to the pool tonight if it meant a shot at going out at sea.

Even better, being a luxury cruise, I was willing to put all of my earnings from the hellish mission that I'd just finished on it having a pool onboard, possibly even more extravagant than the one we had here.

Two swimming opportunities for the price of one, Beryl! Aren't you glad I succumbed to peer pressure under a deadline?

...

There was more than a few things wrong with that thought.

Before I could inevitably voice something from that train of logic and shove my foot squarely into my mouth, however, I was saved by Bianca returning from further ahead and beckoning us to get our stuff in the trunk of the town car while we waited for Gratia to arrive.

I really did need to apologize to her once we were all in for the ride. Leaving the stony Mistralian in the dust like that was a mean move on its own, even without having my using of Vega Venetia as a scapegoat to do so on top of it.

The mental wearout from Brewing Storm must have been even worse than I had thought, if I was being this careless and crass to people who hadn't done any real wrong to me. I knew it was a selfish demand, but all I asked was that my poor body, or rather, poor brain put up with just a few more minutes of being up, active and moving.

Once we were in the car, I could relax again for a while.

And given that Bianca was more than happy to quite literally lift the backpack off my shoulders, assumedly with some sort of telekinetic semblance, I wouldn't even have to do much hard work about it.

Gratefully, I opened the driver's side door and slid, or more accurately slumped into the cushy leather of the seat.

Much better than a gunship's, as far as vehicles I'd sat in went.

"Got here fast." I noted idly, in reference to the cab.