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Picnic
Aug 9, 2008 0:15:01 GMT -5
Post by Jules on Aug 9, 2008 0:15:01 GMT -5
Sometimes a girl just needed to get away from it all. Friends, parties, and even shopping. She'd used to really enjoy going on picnics when she'd been younger and today Marie had been hoping to connect with her inner child.
But just because she was out here didn't mean she had to look like no one was going to see her. Fashion was hardly ever practical, and Marie proved no exception to this. She looked like a 50s housewife that had just stepped off the catwalk. Her white hair was down up in an impossible sculpture, although it was only half as high as it usually was (the big hair look only worked with some outfits).
Marie looked like she was posing for a photo shoot, her delicious looking picnic spread on the typical red-white patterned blanket. In fact, it was a bit of a mystery how she'd managed to trek here (for there was no sign of ulterior modes of transportation) in heels that looked like a mix between art, space-age material and practically impossible to actually take a step in.
The french fashionista was enjoying a smoked meat sandwich (with no one around, no need to pretend that water crest was anything but tasteless) when everything started going down hill. She'd set up next to a beachy part of the glade and had forgotten to take into account the tide.
She could see her precious basket that had cost her an arm and a leg and that she loved dearly (like she loved all her accessories and clothing) floating slowly away from her. After a moment of thought (but only a moment or she wouldn't have done it) she kicked off her heels and waded into the water. Soon she had to swim, but a moment after she caught hold of the expensive basket and attempted to swim back.
But even if these where places people dreamed of, nature took it's course and the food in the water had soon attracted some hideous cross breed between sharks, eels and turtles. Which had her scrambling up on a large rock protruding from the water, watching them devour her basket and then look up at her expectantly.
"GO AWAY!" She cried, waving her arms frantically. "I'm no good to 'eet." She said, pinching her arm to demonstrate the lack of fat to grab. "Zee? Just skin and bones!"
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Picnic
Aug 9, 2008 0:44:08 GMT -5
Post by Miss Jack on Aug 9, 2008 0:44:08 GMT -5
A day of relaxation seemed to be an impossibility, lately. All this family stuff and bonding and Nellie, especially Nellie, made it hard to remember that he preferred his own company first and foremost.
Two seconds, two wonderfully bliss-filled seconds, after he'd closed his eyes, sprawled out in a hammock, he heard the scream. At first, he decided to ignore it, but then he hesitated because the voice was one, female, and two, had a recognizable accent.
He sighed laboriously and flipped himself to his feet. Adorned in only a pair of black baggy shorts and a sleep mask, which he shoved onto his forehead, he walked the short distance to the mini-beach. He studied the scene for about two seconds before his shoulders started quivering with laughter. The scene was simply too priceless to hold it in.
He'd orginally left his chest bare because even though he disliked the sun, the heat felt good on his naturally warm skin. But now, standing in the open, away from the shade of his hammock, he began to bristle with discomfort. His amusement would have to be pushed aside for a later time. "Need help?" he called casually.
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Picnic
Aug 9, 2008 0:55:12 GMT -5
Post by Jules on Aug 9, 2008 0:55:12 GMT -5
Marie turned from her frantic argument with the creatures about her edibility to see who had called out. The was the Prince in nothing but shorts, laughing? Marie scowled and shook her head. Embarrassing enough that she was caught out like this, but she wasn't going to do the whole damsel in distress thing. Even after the fish-things suddenly remembered they could jump.
"Merde." She muttered, pulling her hand away from the edge of the rock just in time. "Non!" She called back to him. "I am having planned for zis!" Even though Marie had done no such thing.
What could he do anyways? She'd just wait until they got tired and went off somewhere else. "I vant to be 'ere on zis rock. I, euuh, find it very peaceful." She wasn't quite sure if she had lied so blatantly in her entire life.
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Picnic
Aug 9, 2008 0:59:44 GMT -5
Post by Miss Jack on Aug 9, 2008 0:59:44 GMT -5
"Oh, okay," he said in falsely cheerful voice. Inwardly, he rolled his eyes.
He plopped down in the sand with the pretense of working on his tan. Maybe he'd get lucky and she'd get eaten. Then he would get to go back to his hammock without getting wet.
"I'll be around.... on the off-chance you need anything."
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Picnic
Aug 9, 2008 1:09:04 GMT -5
Post by Jules on Aug 9, 2008 1:09:04 GMT -5
Marie held out for a surprisingly long time (about the time it takes for a girl to notice that grappling the rock was ruining her dress). Gloomy, she looked over at Alexander still resting on the beach, and although she couldn't see his face, there was a lot of money she'd be willing to bet saying there was a smirk on it.
"What can you even do?" She finally conceded since the fish-creatures had not. Apparent they liked french food. "Zey'll just eat you if you come swimming." Marie's eyes widened and she gave a surprisingly wicked grin. "Oh come swimming!" That way he could distract them while she scuttled back to shore. Perfect!
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Picnic
Aug 9, 2008 1:29:39 GMT -5
Post by Miss Jack on Aug 9, 2008 1:29:39 GMT -5
Alexander laughed, enjoying their mutual distaste for each other. He would go swimming, but he wouldn't get eaten.
"Don't get in the water," he warned, before diving into the waves. He swam below surface, and the fish/shark/turtle things broke into a small frenzy as he neared. Several shifted their attack target, but upon getting too close to the new invader, the water was too hot. Hot enough to cook any kind of well-tasting fish.
His lungs burned with want of oxygen, but Alexander used the differences in temperature to create some rough currents of boiling hot seawater. He surfaced, half coughing, in time to watch them scamper away. He bobbed for a minute, thinking. "I'm not sure...." He tried to pull the heat back from the water, and for the most part succeeded, but it was still pretty warm.
"Here." He extended a dripping hand. "I'll take the picnic basket. And watch it, the water's kind of toasty."
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Picnic
Aug 9, 2008 1:56:28 GMT -5
Post by Jules on Aug 9, 2008 1:56:28 GMT -5
Marie watched with her perfected look of Haughty Disinterest, even though it was a very neat little trick. But when she dipped her bare foot into the water after handing him the basket, she drew it out immediately and shook her head.
"Eet feels like someone pissed in ze watair." She complained. There was no way she was swimming in pee-water. "Did you let your bladdair go?" Marie grinned down at him and kept all extremities well away from the now-gross water.
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Picnic
Aug 9, 2008 12:03:01 GMT -5
Post by Miss Jack on Aug 9, 2008 12:03:01 GMT -5
He ground his teeth together in a clear attempt to reign in his temper. "Yeah," he said sarcastically, "and such is the unbelievable size of my bladder that it effected the entire oasis pond. Look, Frou-Frou, you can wait for the water to cool, but by then the shark things might have changed their mind, and since I'm taking the food..." He stroked back a few lengths, to be sure he was out of her reaching distance. "You'll have a long time to sit there, waiting, nothing to eat." He finished his little speech with a charming grin and a casual salute before he back pedaled to the shore.
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Picnic
Aug 9, 2008 13:49:10 GMT -5
Post by Jules on Aug 9, 2008 13:49:10 GMT -5
Marie stayed there, glowering for a while, but she didn't want him engulfing her picnic. So slowly she slid into the grossly warm water, thankfully she didn't have to worry about her makeup as she waded back to shore. Although this dress was probably going to need some help. She pulled her soaking wet picnic blanket farther away from the water and flopped onto the sand. Which she immediately regretted considering how wet she was.
Marie could feel the sand clinging to her skin. She didn't bother to check what Alex had done with her basket---she had her suspicions. "Don't drink ze champagne."
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Picnic
Aug 9, 2008 16:13:37 GMT -5
Post by Miss Jack on Aug 9, 2008 16:13:37 GMT -5
He crouched next to her soggy form and poked her experimentally. He grinned as she told him not to drink any champagne. "Too late, cupcake," he said. "So..." His eyes swept her form one more time. "Nothing damaged? Still alive?"
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Picnic
Aug 9, 2008 22:04:40 GMT -5
Post by Jules on Aug 9, 2008 22:04:40 GMT -5
Marie turned to glare at him. "That champagne waz not cheap! I doubt you could appreciate the quality, and it was zupposed to be for me." She sat up and started brushing the sand off her arms and legs (and neck, and hair and shoulders and the parts of her back that she could reach).
"Zis was zupposed to be a peaceful picnic." She moaned, this time to no one in paticular. "Zides, it'd 'ave probably been funnair for you if I 'ad gotten eaten."
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Picnic
Aug 9, 2008 22:09:45 GMT -5
Post by Miss Jack on Aug 9, 2008 22:09:45 GMT -5
"True," he said, brushing off her glare as easily as if she'd smiled at him. "But on the off-chance I'd feel guilty about not helping, I put forth some minimal effort." He smirked; loose, relaxed, almost tired. She was more likeable when she wasn't so put together. "Don't worry, I didn't drink it all. Only alcohol has any prayer of melting some of that ice off."
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Picnic
Aug 9, 2008 22:39:21 GMT -5
Post by Jules on Aug 9, 2008 22:39:21 GMT -5
Marie huffed and held her hand out for the bottle expectantly. "Whatevair is left is mine, couchon." Not that intending to drink an entire bottle of sparkly yourself wasn't a little bit piglety. But she hardly ate in front of her friends and so this had been her chance.
"Ice?" She asked and gave him a raised eyebrow look. "I 'ave no ice." What was he going on about? A moment later it hit her and she almost growled. "I am not ze one with ze attitude problem."
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Picnic
Aug 9, 2008 22:54:06 GMT -5
Post by Miss Jack on Aug 9, 2008 22:54:06 GMT -5
He laughed outright, holding up his hands. "Whoa. The beach got a little colder, I think."
He leaned back, reaching behind him to produce the champagne bottle, still 3/4 the way full, dangling it tauntingly in front of her.
"Aren't you?" he asked. Now he was enjoying himself to much to leave.
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Picnic
Aug 9, 2008 23:02:14 GMT -5
Post by Jules on Aug 9, 2008 23:02:14 GMT -5
There was no way she was going to play the game of trying to grab the bottle from him, but he was infuriating and the only way she wasn't going to chuck her head at him was if she had a bit of drink in her. She made an enthusiastic grab for the bottle.
"Give me." Marie didn't seem to realize how childish she sounded at that moment. "What else did you eat, euh? Or did you go straight for ze booze?"
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