As the snow melts to steam, a boy in pale disappears beneath waves of heat and fogs the air with his every soft exhalation. Briar, who had been a very hard-working boy lately, took his first chance afforded to simply evaporate into this tide of relaxation. Self-care was a kindness best offered as much as any he gave to others; it was something he was still learning, surely, but a spot of leisure at no one's expense wasn't something he could turn down. Mages were allowed this - a-and he was a mage now! Really, truly!

Every movement, every ripple, came with a sigh and the creak of little arms that snaked through the air, twining with the licks of steam that curled along them & dissipated before they reached a pianist's fingers. He wiggled his arms, swaying like a mesmer through the mist. He'd crest the water, kicking his feet to disturb its relative silence, and spin through the wake with a giggle shyly leaving its surface.

He didn't grow up poor by any means, and his parents had always made a point to take care of his every little want and whimsy, but he had never wanted for much and his whimsy was too sheltered in nature. This was his first in something he could only describe as lavish.

The hot springs washed down slight shoulders and took all of his nerves - all his considerations - with the rivulet down his nape. His hair matted across his cheeks and framed perfectly the pleasant little smile he had to give. Oh, gee. A boy could get used to this. Ehe.

[ 287 ]

A shift of seasons extended an invitation to soak in spring's embrace a little early to celebrate a newly formed alliance with Fairy Tail and while Vesper was a recent addition to the guild, he couldn't quite resist the temptation. A new experience in his blossoming independence and a way to pop those anxious little bubbles that cling to his heart. Sure, it was probably a little unearned at this point in his adventure, but he wasn't going to let this gift go to waste. Just another perk of being a hero~ Hehe.

Despite his bravado, he did wait until it appeared that the hot springs were vacant, slipping in under the cover of night with stealthy little tamps. He was a little bashful of being seen bare and vulnerable, exposed to the hot and cold alike in this little oasis. He dips his toes in the water and impulsively retreats away from the stark difference in temperature, which only highlights the chill reverberating through his body. The second attempt goes much better, descending into the shallow depths of the spring and waddling over to a nice corner to settle in. The stress almost immediately washes away,  shrouded in mist and cupping a palm full of water that slowly slips between the cracks of his fingers and his shoulders sink beneath the rippling blue..

Vesper closes his eyes, with a euphoric expression as he loses himself in this steamy wonderland. Well, until he hears a little splash and giggle coming from nearby. His eyes bolt open like a frightened cat with a curiosity just as intense as he lurks over to investigate. Oh no... His heart sinks when he sees a petite figure with long, flowing hair, splishing and splashing. He sits there for a moment, heat-fried brain parsing through every possibility before he lands on the one that makes the most sense. Did I accidentally go into the girl's bath? Do I just hide until she leaves? What do I do!? The solution, of course, was to get the hell out of there as soon as possible before he gets caught and thrown in prison or whatever they do to bad dogs in Blue Pegasus!

[376]

An unaware specter within the luridless bounds of steam -- just the shape of a boy, of a vision, spiraling through the lap of fog and adding its own to every mellow spring. His voice is a sigh - too light, too airy not to disperse with the rising heat - and his form is only a ripple on the water's surface. The gentlest pale ruddies like a rose with each lick of warmth that pervades his smooth ceramic, offering cracks that displace shy giggles.

He's none the wiser to a presence in the bath, nor would he be offended by them invading his pool; this was communal, after all, and it was only natural for boys to be around boys. He didn't have the tools nor need to dissect that further: why, he was wholly unbothered by the thought of a girl sharing his wake in either case. He wasn't a greedy critter and his self conscienism came more from the attention of his person than any shyness about others -- now, he had never been met with a scenario that'd cause him to question differently, but he was still learning.

People were just people, and Briar was just Briar.

"Haven't you noticed that I'm a star ... ~?" - came his soft tones, cracking at the high pitch from this previously discussed pubescence. Now, there were benefits to being alone. "I'm coming into view as the world is tur~ning~" His song is drowned by bubbles, his face running through a wave as he spins along then giggles. His arms lift, throwing wide to rain and drip with their wash, and his voice carries a touch more. "Haven't you noticed I made it this far ~"

I love being a mage. "Now everyone can see me burning ~ eeehe... eheheh. Hee. Gosh ..."

[ 318 | 605 ]

There's a moment of clarity, as transient as it was, where the boy thought it wise to slip out under cover of the thick mist that conceals his shadowed figure and he did indeed move to do so. His eyes were ever fixed on the little creature he was assumedly trespassing on as he slowly waded through the still waters. He was content to let it be, to enjoy this splendor in peace. The sound of Vesper's pounding heart was deafeningly loud and the sweat dripping from his body was only partially a result of the humid vapors. The dread of being caught overtaking all other senses while his body tenses and freezes, as if to fulfill prophecy in preparation for the siren's song that would lead him to ruin.

A change of direction with little steps hither, toward the captivating falsetto that was hypnotizing him into making the absolute worst decision. Vesper was too curious, ears perking up, dying to see just who was capable of making such adorably, squeaky sounds. The singing itself was so full of passion, so brazen in their presumed to be empty concert hall. The petite silhouette was moving with the waves they created, soft giggles after every lyric that emphasized their radiance. Vesper was hypnotized. He had to sneak a peek.

All his fears are overwritten by this almost primal desire. Vesper slips through the fog, inching ever closer to sparkling treasure he has his sights on. His jaw hangs open, awestruck by the revelation of just who had enthralled him. They had met once before in passing. Oh my god, it was Briar this whole time!? Well, at least I won't be executed for peeping on the girls... His heartbeat is too damn loud - a cacophony of discordant notes that tarnish the purity of Briar's cabaret performance. Vesper needs to say something, while he has the chance, but he can't take his eyes off the half-elf's pretty porcelain now that it's in full view, Vesper standing proudly now in full-view should he be noticed.

[359 | 736]

"Now everyone can see me burning ~" Briar continues to muse, swaddled in the warmth of steam and water that ripples from his frame but never leaves it. He floats onto his back, lifting a leg into the air as if to embody a primadonna in her bath and whisk his feet through the haze that clings to every porcelain inch. He can't help this carefree nature. He can barely even combat the urge to not twine his arm through the blue-white locks that fan around him on the spring's surface, lifting a bundle of wet ends with his knuckles to toy his fingers for freedom and the nip of the air's temperaments.

"Now everyone can see me ..," he sighs, rotating which leg lifts above the other and going kilter to splash unceremoniously into the heat with a yip and resounding laughter that rumbles off his lips like an avalanche of skittish butterflies. He shakes, paddling through the spring to right himself from his sideways splay and escape from the reddening pressure, continuing to giggle. "Burning, huh ... ehee. Goodness ... oh geez. Hahaha. Okay, Bri, old boy. That's good ... that was good. Ahehee." He shakes his head, grinning cheeky with flushed cheeks, and scatters his unburdened hair with whips like a wet dog's.

Ah, but, his vision focuses. It cuts through the steam, blinking at a shape that solidifies within it, and his next sound is a harmonic "eep!" and a spiraling backwards that only further serves to displace him and splash everywhere once again. "Golly!" He squeaks, panting from the sudden surprise and the crack in his far-too-comfortable privacy and scrambles from his arms on stone to stand taller (?) in the water. He points, dripping, his blush deeper and eyes wide. Still, lips of innocence that speak words only of thus. "You!"

"Uhm ... u-uwehh ... I, I don't actually know your name, yet, pally. 'm real sorry." He mumbles, the brief shock giving way to bashful nerves.

[ 379 | 984 ]

Chaos within the haze from a startled rabbit flailing in this secluded little paradise. Vesper knows he probably should have said something, at some point surely, but it felt almost like sacrilege to interrupt a performance so impassioned. The little bunny, naturally startled, stumbles and splashes down into the shallow pool and it would be comedic if not for the circumstances. He even falls cute, letting out a squeaky sound you'd hear if you'd squeeze a rubber toy and a little "Golly!" for good measure. He was like some kind of fairy tale critter, far too precious for the real world. It was a thought Vesper had from their first brief encounter and its only further solidified. "Oh no, I'm sorry!" Vesper blurts out, moving to assist the smaller boy up, before he thinks better of it. It's doubtful he'd appreciate a skulking wolf pawing at him.

Ah, but now the spotlight is placed on the dog who was just as dumbfounded and just as startled. The tiniest finger being pointed directly at him and so he returns the gesture, pointing at himself and then back at Briar?. Eh? Vesper giggles and settles back into the water, flushed red cheeks in embarrassment realizing he'd been putting on a show of his own. "Your name is Briar, right? You did kinda run off in a hurry before I could tell you. Tied me up and ran through like a whirlwind." He sticks his tongue out and shouts ever so slightly, his voice resounding through the open air as he slowly wades closer. It seemed best to try and close distance than to stare awkwardly from across the spring. "My name is Vesper by the way~" He settles against an outcrop, head rested on rocks as he tilted his head to look at the boy, eyes closed with a tranquil smile. "I was hoping we would meet again. Properly this time... But I do wonder if this is what you would call a proper meeting. Heheh.."

[357 | 1093]

Vesper's reaction draws a blank from the startled Briar, mumbling off into silence and blinking between the other boy, himself, back again when his proclamation was returned. "M-me?" He let himself get confused as the moment settles, wobbling in the clearing heat. His hand wavers, going limp at the tip of his finger, dripping steam and water both, sort of like --

He squeaks again, retracting his hands to plop against either side of his face and squish his cheeks together with a sheepish titter and a slow descent back into the pool along with Vesper's own. "Goodness," he giggles, rubbing his face around shyly before he frees it with one last pap. "Oh, gee, I did go and do that, did'n I? Gosh, I'm real sorry. I was just ... uhm ... I was real excited. I can get sorta distracted when I get worked up, I can. Uwaa. You were a big help, a-and I know I haven't paid you back yet, but! --" His eyes roamed away, shy, then around the space over Vesper's head, away again, and then roamed down to meet the other. "'m still grateful."

"How long have you ... been there?" He mumbles, quickly losing the nerve he had built and fluttering his eyelashes away again. Teases a finger against the side of his cheek as his guildmate introduces himself and floats closer. "Did you, uhm, hear much ... V-Vesper?" His mouth went squiggly much like his blush made his eyes, sighing out in sequestered exhalations like the puffing of a train. "Well! I'm still happy to meet you the - uhm - proper way, Vesper! You can call me Bri, if you'd liken. I'm sorry our introduction took so long!"

He clasped his hands together, lighting up again as he managed to look truly on the other boy without the frazzility of the situation. "Awh, it don't matter if it's a little silly, I don't think. Fitting, abouts." His tongue pokes from between his teeth, lips a lighter shade than his expression, and yet neither hold a flicker to the little sparkle in his eyes. "Are you here for the guild trip, too, Vesper? Have you gotten to try much? The spring's pretty nice --" remembers himself, the circumstances of their meeting, and clears his throat with a small crack on the side, "so I ... h-hope you've been enjoyin' it, too."


[ 445 | 1429 ]

Vesper buries his face in his arm, sprawling out against the stony  surface, concealing his smirk and muffling a little giggle. Briar was too earnest - too pure. He clears his throat and rises, rubbing away at his eyes to make sure this misty memory wasn't in fact an illusory daydream. A cordial bow, almost princely, that casts fleeing droplets trailing from his sloppy, dowsed hair. "You owe me absolutely nothing, Bri~ It was my pleasure to help someone so excitable. I was already watching you practice anyways. You don't owe me anyth-" He pauses, and leans in, tapping at his cheek as his lips part with toothy grin. "Actually~ I know what you can do to pay me back! Call me, Ves! Friends should use nicknames, right~?"

Ves was trying to keep it together, but he found that his eyes had a habit of lingering to places they shouldn't. He was trying his best to be pleasant - normal, and let this budding encounter blossom naturally into a friendship. His first friendship. It was a foreign feeling. To want for more. Briar was cute, pretty even, and Vesper wanted to simply stare for as long as he could. To remain in this fantastical haze for as long as possible. "Uhmmm. What if I said I heard everything? You have a really pretty voice! It kind of drew me in before I realized. Hehe~" Slender fingers reach up to twiddle his damp fringe, with eyes fixed on the little bunny to see which color it turns, with a cheeky blep of his tongue. "Maybe I can give you some of my baked goodies to make up for the eavesdropping? A payment and apology wrapped up in a nice little bow?"

His optimism is way too infectious. Patient zero for all the rainbows and sunshine in the world. Is he contagious? Ves almost hopes so. How did he possibly become like this, or was he just simply born this way? It piles on the shame of his own actions. Peeping and eavesdropping is so beneath him! A disgrace to his family, his guild and himself. But, even if its wrong... Even so! It can't be a sin to desire this warmth. "Mm! I'm pretty new to the guild, so I feel a bit guilty for taking it easy already... But, I think it was worth it, now. The hot spring has been wonderful.... and I feel a little less lonely." He trails off to a little mumble, dipping his face beneath the water while little bubbles percolate to the surface. Too hot...

A burst of energy and a little roar that erupts into laughter. "How about you, Bri? Are you having fun?" Vesper tilts his head, a quizzical look for such a vague question, but he wanted to know. He had to know. Did Briar find life just as fulfilling and enjoyable as he did?

[482 | 1575]

"You know," he starts, quiet and gentle, his tone soft enough to join the layers of steam and float up, up, so close to dissipating. It rises, as does the steady beat of his heart. A little breath. A shy smile, bringing his arms in to hug himself beneath the ripples on the water's surface. His giggles rang bashful, tittering off his lips between little slumps and lifts of his shoulders -- as if he couldn't quite get comfortable, but didn't feel unpleasantly. A cat, ready and knowing to be pet, but contesting the feeling out of an inability to fully process it.

Briar would always remain friendly, eager - earnest - but the close comforts were a pillowcase around his feathers. He hadn't had many chances to share these quiet spaces. It wasn't discomforting - but it was new, and he was caught. Caught up in it, even. "You know, Ves," the little wobble in his voice threatened a crack, but it came without stutter. Something sure, true. Shy but determined.

His fingers played at the angle of his shoulder, curling in for a firmer grip on the flushed pale until it could find the tan beneath. There was an innocence to the way he looked back at the other - sheepish, amazed - and the turn of his lips spelled pleasant. "You're really cute like that." He smiles, and it widens, and it brightens, and the fog is melted away by a light shone through it. It splits between them, Briar laughing under his breath at the various refractions of Vesper. "I-I mean ta' say, you're real funny, too. I'd love to be friends, Ves! That'd mean a lot, it would, and you wouldn't hafta feel lonely here again." A little shine in his eyes, sparkling, and a warm curl of his fingers into the side of his cheek while watching Vesper. He understood.

"'n then you'll be sworn to secrecy, won't you? Guildmates and best friends ~ forever! ~" It could almost be a threat in a voice not his own. He swayed to the sound of his playful tenor, poking his tongue between his teeth and blinking shape to the stars in his eyes to the chatter of Vesper's own. "Mm! I'm having lots of fun. I got to play with Miss Yu abouts earlier, and she was real good to me, and I got ta' cook for the first time and that was real fun, too ... and you're here, so I get to make up some for our first meetin', even if it meant ... well, embarassin' myself a little." His finger scratched at his cheek, chittering out his chagrin. "I guess that's a lot of 'real fun', huh? Then I must be havin' a really good time!"

He brings his hands in to clap, scattering droplets and leaning in a short way for the minute gap between him and Ves. Steam curls off his slightness, his every breath an exhalation in its atmosphere. "That means it's my job to make sure you have fun, too, huh~? Is there anythin' you wanted to do in Hosenka before we head back to Hargeon, Ves? I take bein' friends real seriously, I'll have you know! Briar Càidh, m-mage of famed Blue Pegasus, is at your service, pally!"

[ 552 | 1981 ]

More than words. Saccharine candy that makes his teeth ache and face tint into the fullest shade of red. Like being overwhelmed by frostbite after eating too much ice cream. Ves had always had a craving for sweets and found comfort in their sugary splendor and never once has he felt this sensation. Like every part of his body was numb - overwhelmed by such gentle purity. He flails, a tumultuous little wave in the honeyed waters as he wraps his hands around his face to conceal his candy apple face. "Cute? Me?" His words are muffled, peeking out from behind his paws. He's been called that before, but it felt strangely unfamiliar this time. Then what does that make you? He tries to shake it off. The bashful fidgeting beneath the sea, frantically tapping against the rocky borders, longing to sate his sweet tooth.

A promise! A vow? His eyes sparkle like a guiding beacon in the fog and his body can't help but bounce towards the boy, splashing tiny droplets all around. "Really!? I'd really like to be friends with you Bri. Oh and don't worry I'd never tell~" A playful wink and a wiggle of his body to get closer. He motions towards his lips with pinched fingers, imitating the pull of a zipper and then lingers there, with a hum and tilt of his head, before opening it ever so slightly. "I'd really love to listen to you sing again though~ If that's something you'd wanna do for your best friend." His voice trails off a bit realizing how embarrassing of a request it might be, but even so, he just flashes a smile, so earnest and pure - doting and yearning.

Ves' hands swirl under the surface, creating little whirlpools. He can't help it. He has to do something - anything with his hands while he listens to the boy abuzz with such whimsical elation. "Ahhh, I've had the pleasure of meeting Miss Yu as well. And Miss Alisa! I've kind of just been busy with guild work otherwise, but it's been really fulfilling~ ...This might be the most fun I've had, now that I think about." Briar was too cute for his own good. He had no obligation to more than this, nor did he have any reason to be so friendly to a curious mutt that honestly intruded on him. Vesper just wanted to cling to his sweet benevolence, more than anything else since joining Blue Pegasus. His mind was a blur, as obscured as this humid spring with feelings he couldn't understand right now.

"Absolutely! I take being friends seriously, too!" He burst out from the water again, eyes filled with twinkling stars to wish upon as he tightens his fists and clutches them so  greedily to his chest. "Uhmm.. I wanna do everything with you! Err.. There's a lot of activities that we can do on the trip! You know, like hiking? And there's a lot of fun little party games we can do!" His entire body was vibrating, with the phantom image of a dog's tail wagging from just behind.

[517 | 2092}

Briar brought a hand to his lips, a splay of his fingers pulling back on the strawberry vine as if it could keep the words still. Was he muffling himself or hiding behind the slight of this bony canopy? A flower beneath its own leaves. He covered his mouth in either case. Froze like this, the widen to his eyes almost imperceptible. What was this sensation? Vesper seemed to deflate -- no, that wasn't right. He melts. Is this what happens to something so sweet in the rising heat? Was it happening to him, too? He felt it tug on his heart strings, a strum for another beat at a higher pitch.

He thought the beat of it might spill out of him at this rate, sluggish and warm in his chest. "Oh," is what he comes to form in response to Vesper's embarrassment, his reply coming weak through the layers of heat under his skin. Like it was battling its way out, only to reach its end as the smolders of embers still alight in his eyes. "I-I could do that," he mumbles, muzzled still from the hand grasping his words, then drops it with a bashful look up his right as the steam settles back down on them. "I-If you, uhm, really wanted, Ves. I ... I'm not much of a singer, 'm not, really, but I love to entertain ...!" His voice was practically a squeak - nervous, passionate - but still it persisted, and his hands found themselves clasped together again. He laughed off the pink of his skin, airy for much needed oxygen in the space they shared. "I like ... the way people smile at me, when I do. ... I like it when people smile. Ehe ...,"

"I perform sometimes d-down in Marigold, back home, y-y'know if you - uhm - if you ever wanted to come by, I'd jus' work extra hard for you! No pressure, though!!" He made sure to hop a little for the punctuation of his invitation, lifted from the waves he made in his excitement and standing bowed. "B-but if my - best friend! W, wanted me to sing for him, well, by golly, I'd do my best...!!" Why did he feel so shy again? Ah, how nervewracking. Someone wanted to hear him. That felt so nice.

A few seconds of panting before he can lift his head again, meeting Vesper's eyes with determined violet through the wisps of mist that lift from his shaking little frame and the silly, beaming grin he had given way to. His face burned. His cheeks hurt. It felt so nice. "We can do that, too! Oh, boy ... oh boy! I'll -- I'll make this a great trip for you, Ves! Leave it to me! You can rely on me!"

"Let's have so much fun! That's what friends are for, right, Ves?" His smile grew only wider, and his eyes were forced shut over the overwhelming light that popped like fireworks within them. How pleasant. How warm.

How sweet.

[ 511 | 2492 ]