as promised [closed]

Theris hadn't expected to be invited to the beach. He hadn't actually expected to be invited anywhere.

Since he had an inn room, he considered, for a moment, if there was anything he owned that couldn't get wet. His medication was in a tightly-sealed bottle, but if there was even the slightest chance of losing it in the ocean... Theris moved the container to an interior pocket of his coat, just in case. Securing his scarf more tightly around his neck, he grabbed his hat and went - completely overdressed - to the beach.

Theris stopped at the edge of the sand to take his shoes and socks off. He rolled his socks into a ball, crammed one into each shoe, and picked them up. Fayt was easy enough to spot, fortunately. Carrying one shoe in each hand, Theris made his way over.

"...good morning."

She got up early for the beach, because, after all, there was nothing better than activities on the beach. Holly scrambled around the inn, helping Fayt when he needed it and curiously watching when he invited people along. She had yet to see the Princess, who she had heard about from her brother, or her... err, servants? She wasn't sure. The idea of having someone doing her bidding sounded horrible in her mind. But, of course, she wasn't raised with that lifestyle...

Holly put on her swimsuit before catching what Fayt was yelling down the hall. Ah, no, her life was with her brother and friend at the inn, carrying ice cream so they had something to eat. Holly picked up the bowl, resting it against her stomach.

"Cold! Cold cold cold!" Stupid idea! The longer she held it, the colder it got. But she was already running down to the shore where Fayt was setting up. "Cold! Here! You take it!" She shoved the bowl into Fayt's arms and started rubbing her stomach to get warmth back. It didn't take too long with the warm spring sun shining down on them. A quick shake of the head and a slap to her brother's arm was given. Once that was done, she gave a smile and wave to Theris, "Morning, Theris. Lovely day for the beach, huh?"

Princess: I know you were looking for things to do, so you and yours are welcome to join us at the beach if you wish. We'll have food and I'm teaching my sister how to surf. I can teach you too, if you want. It's up to you. Make sure your dashing knight leaves his shining armor behind, though, because the sand will get stuck in the joints. --Fayt Devanti

No. Oh no, no, no. Somewhere a misunderstanding happened that was just impossible and needed to be corrected immediately. That is the only reason - the only reason! - she hurriedly went through her belongings to find something that would be considered appropriate for the beach. None were near enough to the palace in Heim for her to go often and the water was most likely too cold to go swimming during this time of year anyway. Didn't people wait until summer for such things? Living so close to the ocean might be different. She didn't know enough about the temperatures in Ilusia yet to tell.

Her outfit took a long time to piece together due to the feeling of being overly picky. Pink and red flowers for her hair, sunglasses in case her eyes decided the sun was too bright today, floral earrings that dangled, a colorful spaghetti strap dress that became semi-transparent around her knees, a shawl to keep her arms covered a bit, and white sandals that slipped on and off easily in case she wanted to walk barefoot. The last touch was a seashell necklace to accent everything. Adell and Xara were informed about the outing before she set on preparing herself. If they decided to come, splendid. If not, she had no intentions on pressing the issue. It would be there loss.

Not that she was looking forward to a day at the beach, no. It just sounded like a good way to pass the day, that's all. So was staring at a book. This just happened to catch her interest because of the invitation. Oooh...!

An issue dawned on her once she was close enough to the beach to see that other people were already gathered. How was she supposed to announce herself? Standing around until someone noticed her would be awkward. Resisting the sudden urge to fidget, she stood a little straighter and held her arms behind her back. "Hi."

...did she just say 'hi'? Really? Yes, returning to her room and never leaving it sounded like a good idea.

The bowl of ice cream being shoved into his hands was something Fayt had begun preparing for the moment he heard Holly's voice declaring that the bowl was, in fact, cold. Laughing, he managed to catch it without spilling any of it, setting it down in some ice that he'd brought for this very purpose. "You're such a dork," he said with an affectionate sort of teasing in his voice. "Next time? Let's try not holding a bowl full of ice cream against a naked stomach." He shook his head, stripping off his own shirt - he had the forethought to bring his clothes and just wore his swimming trunks under his pants - and tossing it down near the blanket.

Reaching forward, he greeted Wynter by way of attempting to hit the underside of the ball he was holding to send it up into the air before the tentative greeting caught his attention. Turning his gaze to Lycoris, he raised a hand, smiling. "Morning. Glad to see you got my note." So Theris knew her and addressed her by first name? Well, he had already proved he could be casual around the Royal Brat without her starting in on him, and the guard dog wasn't around, so...

Turning to Holly and Wynter, he said, "Guys, this is Lycoris. You know, the guest at the inn." Looking back at Lycoris, he said, "Princess, this is Wynter and Holly." Was his form of address blatantly disrespectful? Yes, and he was fully aware of it, but his tone was nothing but friendly and he would have been surprised if she picked up on that, anyway. "So that's a yes to me teaching you how to surf too, then?"

The ball in Wynter's hands didn't stay there for long. The ball slipped from his grip when Fayt had hit the underside of it, causing it to fly up. Thankfully his hands moved quick enough to grab a hold of it before it fell and avoided a potential disaster had it fallen onto the picnic blanket. Or worse, and into the ice cream.

His eyes traveled slowly to the princess as she made herself known, though a more boisterous entrance was what he had expected. His lips purses into a thin line as he look her in, regarding her as Holly greeted her formally. He definitely knew who she was. How could he not? When news of her impending arrival had reached their inn, his father had ranted nonstop about the evils of Heim and those who ruled it. He had been raised on those stories as well. His father had firmly stated the only reason he agreed was because the inn could use the money to care for its regular guests, otherwise he would not have thought of entertaining Heim royalty. There hadn't been a need to stir up any more trouble with the other nation for Ilusia, not again.

"Likewise." Well, it was a start. Still, he knew what he had been taught about the nation and that wasn't going to change anytime soon. Not when she had yet to prove any of what he had heard wrong, anyway. For now, thankfully, he could focus on much better things, like his friends and spending the day on the beach.

"And please, before you try haggling off other people's money, perhaps you should offer some of your own." Focusing back on Holly, his amusement returned. The ball in his hands was rotated and tossed up once and caught. "Don't worry about your clothes, Theris, you can just roll up your pant legs and sleeves. You should be just fine that way. Anyway, what should we do first?"

"Oh... thank you." Was it that simple? He hadn't seen any tailors just yet, but maybe he hadn't been looking hard enough. To Wynter, "That's a good idea."

He began to pile up his things on one corner of the blanket: scarf on the bottom, hat in the middle, and then coat on top, so it wouldn't blow away. He rolled the bottoms of his slacks up to his knees and then hesitated, looking at his gloved hands and covered arms.

It can't be helped. He'd have to take his gloves off sooner or later. Still, he turned his back to the others when he did, crouching down to tuck the gloves safely into his exterior coat pockets before rolling up his sleeves.

When he turned back, he looked a little uncertain. Both of his hands and lower arms were crisscrossed with old, pale scars. Without the coat, hat, and scarf to hide behind, he looked even more unhealthily thin than before. "Do... you three all know how to swim?" he asked, biting his lip.

Holly shook Lycoris's hand, but not before noticing her notion at staying on the beach. Well, it was possible that she hadn't even been in the ocean, just in a boat. Or maybe she magically flew over the ocean to Ilusia, as she would need something quite that magnificent to be worthy of traveling-- No. That was bad. Holly shook her head and let go to turn her attention to the others on the beach.

"Swimming is extremely fun! We'd be happy to teac-- Hey!" Holly laughed, struggling at first with being picked up. Any resistance found for the sudden action was immediately disposed of when she was dunked into the water. She instantly popped back up and jumped on brother to push him under the surface. "Alright, giant! You messed with the wrong midget!"

Swimming a few paces away, Holly focused on the water around Fayt, using her magic to cool the water to just above freezing temperatures. She would have performed any other of her spells, but she didn't want to overdo it yet and get tired before any of the fun had started. Letting Fayt chill out was the best option first.