leetle | IC INBOX

[ The grass and the ground in general are a welcome change of pace, and Caleb sits down hard next to her before letting himself fall backward, staring up at the mostly cloudless sky. ]

I'm glad you liked it. [ He tilts his head toward her with a small, careful smile. ] It wasn't so bad this time, thanks to you.

[ His hair is definitely a mess, though. He pushes a few flyaways out of his eyes as he considers whether he should ask Jester about how her week has been, about why it seemed like she needed to get out today so badly. But this should be an escape from those things, shouldn't it? Fun without the complications--as much as possible, anyway. If she needs a sounding board, she'll say something. ]

All you needed was a good safety harness!

[Her tail bops him across the shin, and Jes turns her head to look over at Caleb, grinning and happy.]

Don't worry, I won't make you go again.

[She waits until her breath is regular again and her heart has stopped pounding, and then pulls herself up to her feet. She bends down and offers Caleb a hand getting up.]

C'mon, let's at least look at the food.

[ He's about to say that he would go again if she asked, but by the gods, he's being given and out, and he'll take it. He clasps Jester's hand with his and lets her tug him back to his feet. ]

Ja, okay. I can probably stomach looking at it.

[ A little grin and a gentle, playful jab of his elbow into her arm, and then they're walking side by side to the row of food stands, each with a colorful striped awning and glossy signage depicting the specific kind of friend and/or candy coated treat they sell. ]

Pick out whatever you like. I have plenty of credits that I never use.

Great! I keep seeing the words corn and dog in the same sentence and I'm very intrigued.

[What ensues is a montage of Jester dragging Caleb around to every food stall she can see; she emerges from this with a funnel cake, a corndog, a basket of fries covered in cheese, two deep-fried Oreos on a stick, a large cup of lemonade and of course a bag of cotton candy. They find a picnic table in the shade and Jester spreads out her haul, surveying it all greedily as she decides what to try first.]

The way they make this cotton candy is so weird. Are you sure it isn't magic?

[ Over the course of the montage Caleb's queasiness gradually subsides to the point where he actually considers sampling a few of the foods Jester collects. The cotton candy he's had, but the rest is bound to be a new and...interesting experience. ]

You know, actually, I can't be sure.

[ He's just going to take a long sip through the straw of that cup of lemonade, and only make a little bit of a face. He expected sour, but it's very sweet. But he's mostly joking when he asks, ]

Does it taste magical?

[Eagerly, Jester rips open the bag and rips off a hunk of cotton candy roughly twice the size of her mouth, and then pops the pink-and-blue fluff into her tongue. Immediately, her eyes go wide at the rush of pure sugar; she sighs happily as the candy melts on her tongue and crunches a little between her molars. Once she swallows, Jester sighs happily.]

It does, it's heavenly.

[And washed down with a sip of lemonade out of a plastic, dick-shaped cup? Unbeatable!

As much as she could eat that whole bag of sugar fluff right now, there are other, more tantalizing smells wafting under her nose, so she moves on.]

Thank you again, Caleb, [she says almost shyly as she plucks a fry that's dripping with cheese sauce out of the basket.] I'm having such a good day!

[ Now that his stomach has settled, Caleb is discovering as he samples it that most of this food is actually delicious. Anything would taste good fried and covered in melted cheese, probably. ]

So am I. [ The curly fries are pretty great too, he discovers as he shoves several into his mouth. ] I think we both needed a day out.

[ A distraction. ]

But you are welcome, Jester. Always. And we haven't even seen the rest of the rides yet.

[Jester takes a bite of the corndog, smacking her lips at how tangy the mustard dip is. Oh, that's pretty good. She's a fan.]

What ride should we go on next? Something a little gentler, maybe?

[ He's going to steal a little of that mustard dip for his fries. Thanks, Jester! ]

My stomach would appreciate that. Maybe the boat one, or the ferris wheel?

I figured!

[She hums thoughtfully, glancing around them as she nibbles on the edge of a deep-fried cookie. Oh no, that's fucking genius. She wants to eat five.]

Is the ferris wheel that big round one?

Ja, that's the one. It can't beat the view from the back of an eagle, but it should be nice anyway.

[ He leans back to look up at it, towering nearly as tall as the highest point on the roller coaster. Still, they'd flown much higher earlier. But the gondolas are painted warm pastel colors, and it seems just tame enough to give them time to relax before the move on to whatever's next. ]

[Jester surveys the rest of the food they haven't finished off, and then makes the executive decision to shove the remaining cotton candy, Oreo and half a corndog into her backpack, wrapped up in napkins.

Approaching the Ferris wheel, she stares up at the sheer height of it, a little awed by such a tall structure standing alone all by itself.]

If I had a wizard's tower, I'd want it to look like this. [She seems to consider the fact that the gondola near the top has been hanging there for a hot second.]

What if we get stranded at the top?

If you really wanted, I could put this in the tower.

[ He raises and eyebrow as he looks down at her, along with a half smile. It would take some maneuvering, but but it's his own personal pocket dimension. He can make it do anything he (or his friends) want. ]

If we get stuck, I have a few more polymorphs left. Or Feather Fall. We'll get down one way or another.

Really?

[Her voice gets high and squeaky, excited, and then immediately drops down a few octaves.]

I'd rather have the teacups, actually.

[They're approaching the platform now, a robot ushering people into gondolas.]

I could just climb down, too. Hey, you. [She points at her eyes, and then the robot's glossy, blank ones.] Don't let us get stuck up there, okay?

That's pushing your luck, Lavorre.

[ As the threatened robot beeps and bloops in a way that honestly seems sort of ominous, Caleb snorts under his breath. ]

Maybe you could climb down. Me, not so much.

[ Nevertheless, they're ushered into the next gondola that swings down level with the loading station, and they hop on quickly before it starts lifting off again, the door closing and lock sliding into place behind them. It's roomier inside than Caleb had expected, with two benches along either side and enough room for legs in between. They could even stand up if they really wanted to. ]

[Jester smiles to herself at the way Caleb says her name like that. All serious and stuff, but he's all bark. In return, she sticks her tongue out at him.]

Just watch, there'll be teacups in there the next time you make it.

[She hops into the gondola without further complaint and immediately sits up on her knees so she can peer over the side of it as they're carried steadily upward.]

I guess if you can't fly this must be pretty amazing, [she muses, bent almost halfway over the side of the gondola, causing it to tilt heavily to one side.]

[ Cute. And honestly, she's right. He's a softie at heart, so much that he wouldn't be able to resist the chance to see her delighted grin when he pulls out a whole imitation teacup ride the next time he throws up the tower.

Whenever that will be. He hasn't had access to that particular spell since he got here.

As the gondola shifts with Jester's curious gawking, Caleb leans back harder into his seat in an attempt to even it out a little. Rather than urging her to sit down, though, he just pulls a feather from his component pouch, holding it ready in his hand. Just in case. ]

It does seem a little mundane after our flight earlier, doesn't it?

[ They complete a full rotation without incident. The view from the top is still nice, even if it isn't eagle-height. On the second time around, though, they wind to a stop right at that highest point. ]

Ah. It seems the robot didn't take your advice after all, Jester.

Just a little. But it's not bad, either.

[Jester hums happily to herself as the wheel takes a full trip around, but when she feels the mechanisms grind to a halt the second time they reach the top, she gasps and leans down a little further to try and see the operator down below.]

That piece of shit! [She unleashes a string of Infernal down at the bot, but sadly he's a little out of range for her vicious mockery. Unsatisfied, Jester turns around finally and slumps down in her seat.]

Well...while we're here... [She eyes Caleb across the gondola.] Do you have any secrets?

[ Caleb isn't particularly worried about their predicament--they have ways of getting down, after all--but Jester's irritation is honestly pretty fucking adorable, and more than a little amusing to witness.

Until she decides to use the situation to her advantage, of course, and turns on him. ]

Do I--

[ The noise he makes is halfway between a cough and a scoff, and his cheeks redden a little almost immediately. ]

Everyone has at least a few, though I've shared my big ones with you and the rest of the Nein already. What do you want to know?

[Jester looks like the cat who got the cream as she watches Caleb fluster, a self-satisfied little smile creeping across her face. Thinking, she taps her chin for a moment.]

Okay, here's an easy one. Out of the whole Mighty Nein, who do you think...has the best butt?

Jester, [ he sighs, playfully exasperated, ] you know that you have the best butt. That is an objective fact, not a secret.

[ If he's blunt and impersonal and silly about it, she can't tease him! Right? ]

Oh. [Jester thinks about it for a second, realizes he's right, and then laughs hard enough that it bounces their gondola a little bit.]

I guess that's true. I think Veth is definitely a close second, though!

It's the tail. Gives you an unfair advantage.

[ WHEW. That was a close one. It's really nice to make her laugh though, even as he mostly feels relieved for having successfully dodged the implications of that answer. ]

My turn. [ When the questions aren't, you know, endangering a long-held personal secret, Caleb has no qualms about playing these games. ] Regardless of who you personally would kiss, who do you think is probably the best at it?

Probably! [Said tail whips around a little by their ankles, clearly pleased with itself.

His question has her hmmming and leaning her elbows over her knees thoughtfully. But it doesn't take her too long.]

Beau, I bet. She's had the most practice, so I bet she's really good at it.

[She glances at Caleb as she says this, zeroing in on his lips, her brow furrowing a little. Like she's trying to decide what kissing him would be like. Her brain is so weird!]

[ Entirely oblivious to Jester's curious thoughts, Caleb's nose wrinkles as he's unwittingly forced to consider Beau's kissing ability. Even when she'd lived here on the island, they'd generally avoided sharing too much information. That mutual sibling I really don't want to know, as long as you're happy. ]

Objectively, you are probably correct.

[ And that's all he'll say on that. ]

IC INBOX | @erku

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