[EVENT: BEACH TIME!]

[thenotsostraightman]

[Normally, one might count walking into a standard classroom only to find a bright, sunny beach instead to be a very pleasant surprise. But as Tadakuni stood there; blankly trying to wrap his head around what just happened- Only one question plagued his mind enough to dwarf all other concerns.]

.......

WHY AM I IN SCHOOL TRUNKS AGAIN!?

((OOC: Welcome to the Beach Room! Once inside, everyone who enters will suddenly appear dressed in swimwear of some kind. Unfortunately, those who try to leave will find an invisible barrier blocking them from exiting the room for at least 3 hours. So have fun, take a swim, play some volleyball, enjoy the cheesy beach-party music, or find some other activity to occupy your time! Emergency suntan lotion will of course be instantly available for all you beach-goers to avoid a nasty sunburn!)) 

Comments

[holydemon]

[Nero is taking this sudden change in attire considerably worse than most. As soon as he realizes he can't get back out of the room he quickly grabs the nearest towel and slings it over his bare shoulders, gripping it closed with his human hand. All he hops to do is at least try and cover his mutated Devil Bringer from plain view.

He can be found pacing angrily near the door and decidedly not enjoying the beach activities!]

[itisntmyfault]

Nero!

[Having just appeared in the room a few minutes prior herself, Pyrrha immediately jiggle-bounce-boings runs toward her self-proclaimed "friend" once she recognizes him from afar. Quite apparent now is the fact that, beneath her usual layers of clothing lies a rather 'developed' body despite her youthful face. She takes after mommy after all] Oh, Nero...!

Isn't this awful!? [She laments; momentarily unthinking in regards to her own state of undress as she comes to a stop before him.]

Do you know what happened to our clothes...?

[holydemon]

[Oh great, it's his self-proclaimed "friend". Nero turns his head to see her coming his way, and immediately looks away again as he sees what she's wearing.

Now...they didn't have stuff like that in Fortuna. He clears his throat and nods at her.]

Awful, yeah...but no, I have no idea...

[He'd like to get some clothes himself, and not just to hide his Devil Bringer. He was practically in his underwear! Pyrrha on the other hand, was in her underwear. At least he thought that's what it was. FORTUNA WAS A VERY SHELTERED TOWN OKAY.]

[itisntmyfault]

[She continues] What would be the purpose of doing this..? It's terrible! I've tried leaving but I-... [Pyrrha looks down, momentarily distracted, as her eyes fall upon Nero's body before quickly snapping back upwards. You'll have to excuse her; she... hasn't exactly been exposed to many half-naked men in her lifetime. Embarrassed as she's reminded of her own state of undress, Pyrrha raises her arms up to cover her chest.] U-um...

-but I... can't. [There's a brief pause; the girl's face now entirely pink. She's unable to help the fact that her eyes fall upon the man once more- but this time, they're looking at the arm which he has covered in a towel.]

[She furrows her brow.] Oh... your arm....

[holydemon]

Don't remind me. [Nero simply grumbles out, making sure to keep his eyes off Pyrrha. He finds himself glancing over now and then, but otherwise sticks to looking elsewhere.

If she was so uncomfortable, he couldn't just...leave her like that, no matter how much he felt he loathed her.]

Come on, let's...get you a towel.

[He hops off the edge of the boardwalk and down to the beach below, momentarily forgetting that she might not be able to make the same leap.]

[itisntmyfault]

[Pyrrha blinks; looking over at Nero at that. He's... he's helping her?]

[She's unable to stop herself from feeling a small flutter of... hope, in her chest. What does this mean..? Could he not despise her so much after all?]

O-okay... [These questions continue to swirl in the young woman's mind as she walks over to the edge of the boardwalk; blinking as she looks down to where the man landed. ...Well, she sees no reason why she couldn't make the leap. And so, Pyrrha braces herself before hopping down from the edge herself-]

[itisntmyfault]

Aah! [-But doesn't quite stick the landing, and ends up eating sand.]

[holydemon]

[Nero flinches when he hears the sound of Pyrrha crashing into the sand. He quickly turns heel to see the damage, but she doesn't seem to be all that hurt.

Then again, considering she's a demon...he's not too surprised. It even leaves a bad taste in his mouth; an unpleasant reminder.]

You okay? Come on. [Nero turns again, refusing to show too much sympathy as he beelines for the nearest towel.]

[itisntmyfault]

[Pyrrha lifts her face from the sand with a gasp; coughing and sputtering for a moment as she tries to remove the bit of sand from her mouth.]

[A small whimper of a response.] I- I'm okay... [But her chest... O-ow...]

[Thoroughly embarrassed, Pyrrha lifts herself up; now cradling her chest a bit after wiping a bit of sand from her skin. Looking over to see that Nero had already ventured a good distance ahead, Pyrrha has to jog a bit in order to catch up.]

[Furrowing her brow, she mutters.] S-sorry...

[holydemon]

[By the time Pyrrha catches up, Nero's already stopped in front of a lone towel. He picks it up, handing it back to Pyrrha without so much as turning to face her.]

Here, you can cover up now. [Despite how harsh his gestures and general presence came off, his voice was far from it.]

[itisntmyfault]

[Shyly reaching out, Pyrrha accepts the towel with a small nod; wrapping it around her torso.]

Okay... I'm finished.

[Now that she's covered up and feeling a bit more comfortable, the kindness of Nero's gesture begins to sink in. Looking at him with an earnest expression, she speaks;] Nero... I....

[A pause.] ...I really, truly appreciate this. Thank you...

[holydemon]

[Nero finally turns around, although he's still doing a poor job of making direct eye contact with her.]

Don't mention it. No, seriously--don't even mention it.

[He walks a few feet to their left, finding a beach chair and sitting down in it. He crosses his arm and scowls as he speaks.]

Now we've just got to wait for that barrier to go down.

[itisntmyfault]

Um, okay...

[Pyrrha, of course, follows right along; and mirrors his action as she grabs a beach chair to sit directly next to him.] Oh...

[Is that how it works? Just waiting it out? Hm.] Then... in that case...

...Do you want to do something..? [Looking over at him.] -To pass the time while we wait, I mean?

[holydemon]

[Nero lets out an irritated sigh as Pyrrha just follows him, even down to the chair.]

Actually, I was kind of hoping you'd leave me alone after I helped you.

[itisntmyfault]

[Pyrrha furrows her brow. So much for making progress...] ...Well... seeing as I'm not going to do that...

Would you like to talk, at least?

[She tries to initiate conversation;] You never told me what your home town was like. It's... "Fortuna", right?

[holydemon]

[...Stubborn. Why was she so stubborn? It wouldn't be nearly as bad if she were somebody he could just blow off and insult, but she wasn't.

Look at her!]

Not really, but you're not going to give me much of a choice, are you?

[He huffs, seemingly resigning himself to this abysmal fate of "small talk".]

But to answer you question, it's boring, and yes it's "Fortuna". [Mocking emphasis on the Fortuna.]

[itisntmyfault]

[She wasn't always this way. In fact, Nero is the only person she could see herself being so stubborn with right now. The truth is that Nero himself is partially to blame, really. Ever since he told her that she "gives up easy", Pyrrha has resolved to try and fix that.]

[Ignoring his mocking tone.] Boring?

[Pyrrha cants her head to the side.] You don't like it..?

Then... why don't you leave?

[holydemon]

You wouldn't understand. [Nero looks away, pulling the towel tighter around himself.]

[Losing his snarky tone, he smirks.] Besides, I kind of like my job.

[itisntmyfault]

...No, I... probably wouldn't.

[At his following words, Pyrrha furrows her brow; feeling slightly anxious as he mentions his 'job'.] ...You mean... killing demons.

[holydemon]

[Nero replies knowingly, still wearing that smug look on his face. There's a slight crease in his brow though, as if something is bothering him.]

That's right. I kill demons.

[itisntmyfault]

[Hesitantly.] ...And it... never bothered you at all?

[holydemon]

[Nero looks down, curling the fingers on his Devil Bringer.]

I didn't always have this arm.

[itisntmyfault]

So... you hadn't always known either?

[Pyrrha looks out across the beach; reflecting back to her time before arriving in the Campus.] I always thought that I... was just a normal human. I still feel like I'm normal, kind of... But...

Looking back now, I suppose... there were signs. [She fidgets with her fingers a bit.] I just... I never wanted to give it much thought. And I certainly never wanted to be this... thing. I just want to live like everyone else....

[She pauses for a moment, before looking back over to Nero.] I have to admit that part of me... envies you. -You and your boring town.

[holydemon]

[Nero lets out a sigh as she speaks; he wasn't really sure what to say to any of that.]

Yeah, well, that makes two of us. [Again, he can be seen wringing his hand at his side.]

At least you turn back to normal. My arm's stuck like this. It's just one big flashing arrow that screams "look at this freak"!

[itisntmyfault]

"Normal"? [Pyrrha frowns slightly, before looking over to her own arm.] ....Not for long.

[She stares down at the palm of her hand.] I can... feel it. Changing...

Every time I blank out like that... And every time I-- [Every time I kill someone. The girl cuts herself off before finishing that sentence.] ...Every time... something really bad happens...

I can feel a pain in my arm. Like... a throbbing heat. It's getting worse, too. [Furrowing her brow in worry.] I'm.... I'm scared.

If it keeps happening... If I lose control again, I... [Looking over at Nero.]

...I don't think... there will be any turning back to "normal".