The Heart of the Astral Line
By: Nightelfcrawler & Amai
Author's note: We're insane
Chapter Five: Origins
The docks were crowded today... prime time for him to lean back and watch the merchants, deciding what his next move would be... he himself was dressed as a fine merchant, wealthy and aristocratic... of course for those who knew the rough style of his hair, it was obvious he wasn't one. Yet, blending in was a specialty of Yuan Remington's. Before him stood a slightly baggy dressed young boy, his short hair pulled up in a hat messily and his short legs dirty as he looked up at a large ship, ornate and beautiful, almost hungrily. The child knew what must be done, just how was the question, how would he get it out of here without a crew? Remi had seen needy children before, everywhere honestly, but it didn't help make his anger about the poverty situation overrun him. Though he hadn't much, he pulled out a few coins, and slipped them in the boy's shirt as he walked by, with a small wink.
The kid blinked, frowning at the coins as he pulled himself up. "Hey! What's this!" Crap, 'he' had used the feminine version of the language, rather then the male which had been taught to a young boy even in poverty. In three words, he had revealed herself as a she.
Remi paused slightly, glancing back over his shoulder. Well well.... wasn't this amusing... but it wasn't uncommon, honestly. He did turn, however, and leaned against a crate, peering down at 'him'. "A few coins to buy you dinner."
She frowned, looking uncommonly annoyed for a street waif who needed a scrap of food. "I don't need your money, soon I'll have everything I need and a bag of chips...as soon as..." She stared at the ship hungrily again.
"Oh?" He asked peering up at the ship. "That's a mighty fine one.... planning to sneak aboard might not be a smart idea, kid."
"I'm not planning to sneak aboard, I'm planning to commander it." She pointed it out haughtily.
He blinked, then smiled. He didn't laugh, because in his experience, laughing in someone's face was just a slap to them. "I see. And pray tell how do you plan to do that all by yourself?"
She opened her mouth and looked a bit annoyed, before looking back at the ship. "I don't know, but I'll figure it out..." She looked over at his odd smile, "You don't believe I can?"
"Well you must admit, the odds of taking down a fully manned flagship, especially one outfitted with the best equipment, is slim for just one...'boy', who has no weapons."
She cocked her head to the side, realizing that she had been caught and under-minded at the same time. "I'll make you a deal, if I can steal the ship..." She pointed at his firm chest, "You'll be my first mate."
He raised an eyebrow. "Me? You don't even know if you can trust me." He grinned however. What an interesting kid....
She walked around him, taking measure of his build. "I think that me and you could run that alone for a while until I found a crew." Her blue eyes peered up at him, strangely guarded for such a young child. "Of course, and you look like someone who would keep their word." She held out a pinky, looking serious despite the cuteness of it all. "You take the deal or do you want to put in your own terms?"
He blinked down at her, then finally chuckled. "Well I have no wish to get my head separated from my body for grand theft, but...if you manage to figure out a way to commandeer that ship safely, then sure.... I'll be your mate." He linked pinkies with her.
She smiled brightly, "I'm holding you to that!" She looked around the port, before pointing at a tall ridge on the horizon. "Meet me there at 10, and I'll show you how one 'boy' can take that ship."
With a laugh and a chuckle, he tipped his hat to 'him' and slipped off into the crowd, though he didn't go far.... he kept his eyes on the youth with some curiosity.
The girl looked down at her hand full of coins, scrapping her half bare feet on the cold cement before something seemed to click, and she went off running, disappearing into the crowd for no more than 10 minutes before she came back, now with as many kids as he had given her coins. As the sun set, the gorgeous ship began to unload, full of happy intoxicated soldiers. On the command, the group of kids bum-rushed the captain, as it normally happened on such planets, for a few extra coins to watch the ship and keep wannabe thieves away. Finally, the captain gave in, gave a short guffaw, and chucked the tallest boy the controls, and a small bag. The kids came back to the smaller one, who, happily, let them keep the money, in exchange for the controls, and easily snuck aboard.
Yuan watched quite fascinated, as he unbuttoned the coat he wore, to slip the used clothing into the bag on his back, transforming into a humble mercenary soldier as he watched the on-going scene from out of sight.... very interesting..... She WAS resourceful. He shook his head and finally slipped off to get a good meal before meeting her.
The young girl fumbled with the controls, cursing up a storm in the limited language she knew, backing the boat up slowly, scraping against the dock as it groaned and turned. "Argh! How am I..." THUNK the entire dock shook, as she took a chunk out of a port. "SHIT!!"
In the restaurant, a certain blonde man glanced outside, as dust from the chandeliers shook down raining upon everyone's heads. Outside, a few soldiers and guards began to run around shouting in alarm.
She ran across the ship, snagging a rope and pulling the sails full in reverse, shoving back in a speed that nearly made her fall over, but served its purpose, the ship heading too far out of reach of the soldiers that tried to catch it. Finally, an hour after the meeting time, the tired, worn-out girl bounced the ship into the ridge.
Remi didn't mind, since he'd kept an eye on her progress, and had been strolling along, munching a drumstick, and as she bumped into the ridge, he leaned over, peering down at the deck, and offered one out to her. "Dinner?"
She looked up at him, huffing and puffing a bit as she chucked him a rope to pull the ship to a secure place. "Thanks." She snagged the stick, looking completely drained, her hat askew and her short hair sticking up in very odd ways, and ate the drumstick almost ravenously.
Remi jumped off the edge of the cliff and landed on deck beside her looking around at the ship and scratching his head a bit. "Well... I must say, you're a very impressive little pirate..." He flashed a grin at her. "I honestly didn't think you'd pull it off.... you've impressed me."
She gnawed on the bone, obviously not having anything to eat for a very long time by the way she cleaned the meat off of every inch, before waving it at him. "Told you I could." Her eyes glittered wildly at the prospect. "Well then first mate..." She stood up, dusting off her disheveled robes.
He peered at her curiously. He HAD thought of the idea of simply taking the ship for himself... but honestly after seeing her work so hard, he couldn't do it. Besides, having his own ship wasn't really very much fun unless you had a good crew.... and if he was first mate, he could ensure they got a good crew. He grinned and tossed the rest of the bag of chicken into her hands. "Aye Captain, set your course and I'll see us there."
Her eyes glittered fondly, catching the bag and pulling out another piece and devouring it, licking her lips cutely as she smiled at him. "Great! I was afraid you'd back out!"
He laughed a bit, leaning forward on his seat on the rail watching her wolf the food down. "Well luckily I'm a pretty easy going guy.... Others might have backed out or double-crossed you. I'm not that type."
She fished into her moth-eaten pocket, pulling out two glittering gold earrings, and looking at him deviously. "Before that..." She advanced on him, munching on chicken as she moved.
He glanced over at the earrings, raising an eyebrow shortly at her. "Eh?"
She lifted them. "My father was the best pirate in the galaxy, these were his until he died. Dread Pirate Christopher, and as my first mate," She pulled out a pin from her pocket. "You get them."
He blinked a bit at that, taken by surprise, as he knelt down beside her. "You're Christopher's daughter?" His appraisal of her just went up several notches.
She gave him a more guarded look, before nodding, licking her fingers lightly. "What about it?"
He pulled out something out of his belt, a bottle of strong liquor and pulled a small swatch of cloth out, dabbing it and holding it out to her. "I knew him.... back when I was a kid."
She took it, rubbing at her cheek strongly before cleaning her hands, blue eyes curious. "When he was still a pirate? You don't look THAT old."
He winked a bit. "As I said, I was a kid.... one of his deck hands actually." He took the cloth and dabbed more on, and took the pin from her, rubbing both sides on it to clean it, then did the same with the piercing segment on the earrings, and folded the cloth back up.
She blinked at that, before blushing when she realized why he had given her the alcohol, before taking the pin and snagging his earlobe, biting her tongue a bit as she aimed. "Ah? What's your name? He might have told us about you."
"Yuan." He replied, bracing himself a little as he bent his head down for her with a smile. "Yuan Remington."
SHUNK "Remington?" The pin was pulled out quickly to be replaced with the earring, ignoring the blood that leaked out of the hole. "Naa, you helped save the ship that one time when it was taken over by the fleet, right?" Her eyes dazzled, like she had heard the story hundreds of times.
He shrugged a little, with a dashing smile. "Everyone helped, to be honest." He dabbed his newly pierced ear with the cloth, and the bleeding quickly stopped.
She smiled, aiming for the second time on the same lobe, waiting till his finger was free to pierce it, just a bit farther away, and replace it with the earring. "Anyway..." She looked over his shoulder where a bunch of guards and soldiers were aiming their guns at them. "We should probably be going."
He dabbed his ear lightly again, and glanced up with nonchalance. "Most likely." He stood up smoothly, and cracked his back. "Ever flown a ship before, Captain?"
"A two person one, but I can get the hang of it if I tried." She fixed her hat, and stepped briskly up to the wheel, gripping it in the style her father had had, nonchalant and strong at the same time. "Ready the sails first mate!" She called, smiling brightly at being able to say that.
He grinned and lunged up, grabbing a hold of the ropes. "Right." He stepped over to the sails, and began to untie them all, swinging about freely. He was a bit out of practice, and had never actually done ALL the work solo, so it was fun. Even as the soldiers began firing, they were moving back away before he undid the main mast sail.
"Say, not that you need to know, since I expect you to call me Captain," She called, grinning merrily as she turned the ship around, feeling the pull of astral rushing through the sails and tearing them forward into the stark atmosphere, "The name's Rosette, Rosette Christopher." She winked, "Lets have a merry piracy." And soon, Joshua would be hers again...
- - - - - - - - - - -
"Wow." Chrno commented with a smile. "That sounds like a great start of a story."
"Naah, It was a really long time ago.." Rosette rubbed the back of her head, blushing slightly as she looked up at her then and still now first mate. "It was... almost nine years... wow. I can't believe I've been doing this for so long."
"We certainly have had quite the amount of fun." Remi grinned in response, flicking one of the earrings lightly.
She nodded and met the grin, reaching up to rub the earring sweetly. "Fun and a shit load of trouble." She winked back at Chrno, "And now you're in on our mess. Prepared?"
"Ah..." He rubbed the back of his head, brushing an ear lightly with a flush, pulling some hair down over it, concerned someone might care. "I guess... I'm still not sure what I've gotten myself into..."
Rosette just laughed, releasing the gold trinket and stepping ahead of the two guys, smiling like the world could care, getting a bit of attention from some men at her odd appearance, before blinking and pointing at the exclusive suites of the arena. "Come! This way!"
Remi whistled low, peering at the suites and the people dressed in fancy outfits, and other suits walking by into the area. "Are you SURE this is where the key goes? It doesn't seem to fit our friend here..." He patted Chrno lightly on the shoulder grinning down at him.
She looked down at the tag, before walking up to the gate. Her outfit didn't cause THAT much attention, boarders were known for their odd tastes, and normally half the galaxy based their styles off of their favorite player. She scanned the area, watching as the door ahead of them swung open, and she pointed cutely inside. "Yep. Pretty sure."
Remi shook his head, impressed, and shoved Chrno ahead of him playfully. "Well then, let's see what we have here."
The three of them wandered inside, Rosette getting momentarily distracted by one of her favorite boarders, who promptly gave her his phone number and grinned dashingly at the girl, as she was tugged off by both the boys, before the man's hand could reach his attempted goal of her tush.
Remi steered her away from the various guys, glancing about, then paused seeing the wall of trophies on the display front and center. The famous International Wall of Sky Boarding Fame. "Ah, we can look there later." He quickly steered her away. If she stood there she'd be drooling for hours. "Now where's the locker?"
She looked at the tag again, before leading them into... God forbid... the Champions' Lounge, where lockers spanned only short spots amongst the God-like comfort of the room. She picked out the one that matched symbols, looking at Chrno nervously. "Ok." Chrno was just staring around, oblivious to the look, admiring the fine furnishings like a kid in a candy store. A couple of people lounging there just gave them odd looks.
The locker itself was one of those automated ones, where you stepped in the room, entered the key, and the locker was brought to you, kind of like a safety deposit box. The lockers themselves ranged from tiny, to very large, enough to fit a whole aerocar in them....
As she walked up, the automated system activated...
"Please enter your key and identification." Came a neutral female voice from the wall.
She hesitantly fit the key in, biting her lip as she heard the shuffle of the system, and then nervously looked at Chrno. "Umm... Chrno?"
He blinked cutely, pointing at his nose. "Eh?"
"What do I say, your name or...Rosette Christopher, by send of Chrno." She finally made out, looking at the machine nervously.
The machine just blinked its lights at her. "Please enter identification."
"Perhaps..." Remi started to suggest.
"Crap…" She muttered.
The first mate grabbed Chrno's hand and stuck it on the wall.
A bright red light scanned over the boy's palm quickly, and a loud BEEP sounded.
"Identification confirmed."
With a click ad whirr, the wall shimmered, and a large door stood there in front of them, the lounge around them misting out to give them privacy.
She blinked down at the startled boy, gaping a bit before reaching for the door. "My God what do you have in..." The door opened, "Here...?" She trailed off quickly.
Inside was very... very... crowded.
There were stacks of boxes containing paperwork, photos, and other odd paraphernalia, items spilling out of them all over, from guns, to chains, to odd mechanical objects. There was a rack of clothing, covered in fine dust, set to the side since it'd been there a very long while, and even a spare cot and mini fridge.
However, the thing in the center wall was what drew the most attention. It was a sleek black and purple board, laying on a table, shining like new, a faint glow about it in a purple haze... as well as a full RACK of trophies. And that was all that was immediately visible. The locker was stuffed from head to toe, not allowing much movement at all.
Rosette's jaw dropped, and she fell flat on her bottom with a small scream. "Oh… My…God…!" Chrno, Chrno, Chrno, why hadn't she thought of it before! Chrno Truth! Second to none in the Boarding universe! Few could catch him, none ever defeated him. And the sailboard... his own... My God...!
"Ah!" Chrno knelt down beside her, eyes wide with concern. "Rosette, what's wrong?!"
"Well, well, well...." Remi mused, staring around with a curious expression. "Isn't this a surprise."
She looked up at the boy, her eyes tracing his features that now seemed so completely familiar. When she was a kid, she had had his poster up on her wall, for crying out loud. She had imagined many times what would happen if she ever were to meet him.
In 0.00084 seconds, she went from stark pale to bright pink, her heart catching. Oh my god!
She had tried to teach HIM to astral surf...
He just blinked down at her, oblivious and worried, putting a hand to her forehead as she went from pale to red. "Maybe she's sick...?"
"I don't think that's what's wrong." Remi chuckled, walking over and fingering the thick rows of gold medals dangling carelessly on a hook, dusty.
She gave the boy a tiny squeak before she tackled him completely over into a pile of clothing, goggles going flying as she hugged him.
"Wahh!!!!" He went flying backwards, and found himself quickly buried in leather, and her hair as they ended up knocking the whole rack of clothing down. "R... Rosette...!?" His startled question was cut short as her mouth met his, warm, soft, and sweet-tasting, tainted with excitement and adoration, her arms going about his neck warmly, her braids tickling his cheek and one of his old shirts rumpled over her head. His eyes went wide abruptly, as her soft lips touched his, and for a moment he was frozen in complete stunned confusion. She was... kissing... His first kiss.... so soft... so sweet... brain not working... heart beating ..... wow..... And slowly he relaxed a bit, his eyes slipping closed, as an almost euphoric rush flooded through him, and his arms came up hesitantly to touch the sides of her arms.
Dear me... she was a bit energetic wasn't she....? Watching off to the side, Remi chuckled for a moment before walking over, tossing a few articles of clothing aside. "Don't mob him Rosette, remember he's not the..." He drew short as he lifted the shirt off her head and blinked, somewhat flatly at the scene.
She pulled back, coming somewhat out of her fan girl daze, squeaking a bit in surprise at her own boldness, and hopped to her feet, blushing like a nun in a whore house. "Ah! Sorry!!"
Remi helped her up, his face a bit cool. The boy had been there what, 2 days and she was all over him already... well he couldn't blame her, he WAS her idol... or his older self anyway… funny how completely different he was.
Chrno's eyes were quite dazed, and as Rosette scrambled back, he lightly touched his lips, with an awed expression. He didn't seem to notice that Remi was staring at him. To him, everything tingled from his head to his toes.
The blushing Captain gave him a slightly apologetic look, scratching behind her ear as she tucked back a braid, sheepish and embarrassed. "I acted before I thought, Yuan. Sowwy."
"Um." He just commented dryly, then glanced around. "Well... what do you plan to do with all of this." He waved a hand around.
She sighed, her pirate instincts wanting to hoard it all up for herself, but the first thing she headed for was, of course, the board, her eyes glistening.
"I'd be careful...." Yuan warned lightly, booted feet slowly pacing behind her.
"Be careful of what?" She pressed a hand to the board.
zzaaaaap!
"That." Remi said lightly, rubbing his head with a wry smile.
She found herself suddenly quite crispy, and let out a puff of smoke for breath before she fell over flat in a cloud of smoke.
"Ah." He knelt down helping her back up. "It looked obviously like it was rigged on auto warding... why didn't you think?"
She coughed, leaning against him as she stood with a small whine. "Geeze..." She pouted, rubbing the dust from her eyes. "Fine then, Chrno, you have a shot."
The dazed demon blinked, and stepped up, staring at the board curiously, then reached forward and grabbed the handle. The purple glow flashed once, then dimmed a bit and he pulled it free of it's holder.
Rosette practically glowed in excitement, the large board being taller than even Remi, not to mention the sail wasn't even hooked up, but stored in special hidden compartments set into the board itself. "I want to try it out!"
Remi picked up a couple strange things that looked like odd wing attachments, as well as boxes of other loose paraphernalia that seemed to be associated with the sailboard. "Hmm."
Chrno blinked a bit, and held it out to her, since he had no idea if it was his or not. "Here."
She took the board, gasping at its weight as she nearly toppled over, before panting a bit to get it to stand upwards again. "Wah! I want to ride it! Chrno, this is yours, do you remember how to set it up?" She peered at the pieces inset into the wall. "There's so many different things..."
He blinked. "Mine?" He stared at it with wide eyes. "But.... it's so huge... and..." He rubbed his head oddly. "How could it be mine...? I've never seen it before."
Remi held up the wing attachments, peering at them curiously before turning and holding them up to the boy's back. "Hm... seems like he hasn't 'grown into' these yet."
Rosette blinked, reaching over to touch them. "Huh? A lot like my dragon fly wings?" She patted the contraption she wore almost constantly, before smiling back at Chrno.
"Hmm, I doubt it." Remi said with a fond smile, turning them over to show they were hollow inside. "More likely a kind of armor addition to wear over existing wings."
"Come on, let's set it up. I'm sure the computer has a manual."
Chrno blinked, looking confused. "Um sure."
"Computer?"
"Computer active."
"Computer, directions on putting together The Tempus." She ordered, her voice a bit more excited a the mere mention of the board's proper name.
"Assembly already complete."
"Oh that's helpful." Remi commented dryly.
"EH?!? Computer, directions on turning ON The Tempus?" Rosette snorted in frustration.
"Tempus responds only to owner."
"Damn it!" She placed a warm hand on Chrno's shoulder, locking eyes with him. "Chrno, could you?"
He blinked but took it back, holding it up easily as a feather despite it's weight, and turned it over curiously, then pushed the button on the back. The whole thing pulsed once, then snapped outwards in his hands in one smooth motion. "Whoa!"
She nearly tackled him again once the board ignited, before withholding herself and snagging his hand. "Come on, come on!!" She was nearly frantic with excitement. "I want to try it out!"
He blinked. "Eh... eh?! Wait... I'm not so sure..."
"Oh come on." Remi pulled out the whole box labeled 'board crap' in a messy scrawled hand, and slung it into his bag.
Rather then head out, the key allowed them access to the 'practice' arena. Rosette promptly activated it once they were back in the entry module, and the whole scene changed. God, just looking down at it caused her to tremble in excitement. There was no ground in sight except for what they were standing on, full of clouds and ocean of astral, shimmering green. "Whoa!"
Chrno gasped, staring down with wide eyes as things rapidly happened around him, and he gulped a bit. "Wah... how'd we...?"
She looked back at him. "I told you, this planet is almost all Astral sea." She ran a hand down the board. "The arena is nearly all set on the ocean, for the best astral absorption. Now come on!" Her eyes flickered to Remi, "Um, you don't mind?"
"No, go ahead... I'll paw through this." He opened the box and began to rummage.
To that, Rosette eagerly tackled Chrno from behind. "Go on! Turn it on!"
He blinked, staring down at the Astral sea, and then up at her. "Are you... sure?" He eyed the smooth board, which sails were a rippling rainbow, not the usual gold.
She nodded, her eyes glittering. "I need you on with me, or else it won't work!" She touched the board, running a hand down the smooth side. "You have no idea how long I've dreamt of riding this thing... The Tempus..." Her eyes locked with his, showing a childish excitement that was completely out of character for a pirate captain. "Please! I'll pay you back!"
He blinked cutely at her. "Is it famous?"
She stood up, looking up at him with a bright smile. "Uh, yeah! Very Famous! So are you! You just... don't remember!" She put a hand on his arm, peering at the skin. Odd, no tattoo...
He looked cutely confused. "Oh. Am I?" He blinked but stepped on, grabbing hold of the bar, and felt the hum of the power in the device thrum through him. Wow... oh yeah... this was a powerful board.
She slipped in under him, seeming to have forgotten all about the sweet kiss that they had shared, nonplussed by the extreme closeness of her form to his as she realized that she wasn't going to have control of the board. "Hey... Could I?" She nudged his foot with her own.
He blinked but nodded, and slipped his foot aside, and settled himself close, her hair tickling his nose and making him want to sneeze....wow.... like lavender. She smiled up at him, taking part of the controls and leaning backwards, against him and off the edge, where they fell in a spin before the sail came out and caught them, tearing upwards at a speed unmatched by other sailboards. He gasped a bit, but felt the whole thing vibrating beneath him, and soon fell into the 'groove'... though his motions were obviously still novice, the skill was there hiding.
She was enjoying herself too much to even think about anything else, laughing and hollering as they spun, twisted, raced, dove, and skimmed over the ocean and rocketed through the clouds. If Chrno had remembered how he was, he might have been impressed, but at the moment, her euphoria was so much that she didn't care. "Want to try and control it, Chrno?"
"Uh..."He hesitated, breath stolen by the speed, but unable to really break free of the excitement that spun through her. "Sure!" She laughed, moving her feet so that her legs were pressed firmly on the inside of his, so that they were supported lest he loose control and pulled his hands over hers on the controls, letting him take charge as she looked at the nearest cloud bank. "Show me what you got!"
He grit his teeth, but was smiling widely, and ripped forward putting on the speed, and as they neared the cloud bank, he just let reflexes take over, and spun up, skimming the top, then dove down plunging through it, and did a twist mid-way ending up spiraling through it and bursting out in a flash, as the speed burst forward more, rocketing out, making his eyes tear as the wind pounded.
Rosette's breath was completely taken away, her heart pounding a mile a minute as they went flying about, her eyes closed and just enjoying the vertigo, before watching as the sun got dizzily closer until they just dropped back down under gravity, only coming out of the plunge when they grazed water, spraying the liquid astral onto them, refilling their energy.
He shivered a little as the liquid splashed onto him, and gave a small gasp. It was like drinking soda filled with 2x the carbonation... everything in him just SURGED... For a brief moment, his eyes flashed, and a wide grin splashed over his face, as he whipped up, going into a full-on spinning dive that seemed unrecoverable.
Her heart stuck in her throat, and suddenly, as she watched the water get closer, her own inexperience took over and she yelped a bit, stiffening and bracing for impact, unbalancing them both.
He felt the imbalance, and instead of letting her do it, he used it to his advantage, and twisted in the direction, flipping completely over, and the sales touching the water lightly, as they soared parallel, bare inches above it.
She squeaked, forcing her eyes open as she stared at the ocean beneath her and at their reflections before lifting them to his own eyes with amazement. Dear god, he was good.
His eyes were glowing with an inner light, and he grinned down at her, a firm bit of confidence there... and leaned forward and kissed her warmly, as he spun the sails down, getting them both wet from spray as they spun and rocketed back up, still kissing.
Her eyes widened, as his warm mouth pressed to her own, stealing her breath and her rational in an instant. The Astral glistening as it sprayed them, giving them the boost of energy that only sparked the kiss more, electricity rushing through the both of them wildly as they blotted out the sun, not as intent on the sailing anymore than at the feeling of the contact between them.
However, his reflexes still seemed to be in control, as they suddenly spiraled up towards the sun, then came to a sudden halt, as he pulled back, the glow from his eyes slowly fading, as his breath caught in his lungs, panting a bit, looking downright amazed.
She wobbled a bit on the board as they stopped, floating above the ocean just by a few feet, her breath short, and her lips pink from the kiss, her eyes speaking volumes of what she thought. Wow. His eyes were dancing with excitement, and he almost looked like an eager young boy. "Did you see that...?"
She laughed, just tackling him completely off the board and into the ocean, completely happy as the thick liquid splashed about them as they went under. He yelped and went straight in with her, the board hovering in place, as the astral energy surged around them, and he got a good mouthful of it, which only made his whole body jolt more with he raw energy. When they surfaced, the bubbling raw energy made Rosette just nearly drown in a giggle fest. "Ah ha! That was great!"
He burst up, gasping, a bright glow surrounding him and filling his being. He felt so good! Like he could do anything. He grinned right back at her and just laughed brightly.
She blushed at him, before smiling and looking up at the board, trying to jump up enough to reach it, only failing badly and going back under. "Ack! Ahaha!"
He laughed and wrapped his arms around her. "Careful!" He looked up, and then felt a burst of energy. He somehow knew what to do... with a surge of golden energy, they rose up out of the sea towards the board, floating in mid-air with no sign of support
She squeaked, amazed and panicked for a moment, throwing her arms about his neck so that they were inches apart. "How are you!?"
"I have no idea!" He replied, laughing, grabbing onto the board as they reached it, the glow dimming a bit but still surrounding him like a nimbus. She snagged onto the rail, gripping it tightly as she peered up at him, blushing. Why had he... She looked back down at the board, moving her feet so that she could brace herself again, before looking up at him with a sweet smile. "Um, can I?"
He just beamed at her, still glowing lightly and grabbed on happily with a giggle. "Sure! Go ahead." She laughed, amazed by his happy demeanor. For a demon, he sure was a sweetheart, and she took the controls, now awfully aware of how close they were, before swinging The Tempus about and hurtled up to the stars.
He just hung on, enjoying the ride, feeling such a rush of excitement unlike anything he'd ever felt before... he didn't care why, just being close t her... his cheeks darkened color at the thought.
Finally, after the breath-stealing ride was being pulled to an end by the sudden realization of the time, Rosette smoothly landed the board, breathing heavily, onto the ramp near Remington, beaming brightly. "Wow!"
Remi just sat, smiling watching them. From that distance, all he had seen was flashes of light, and the occasional moment when their acceleration peaked and then caught again, other than that, he had not seen what had passed between them. "Did you have fun?"
Chrno jumped off lightly, a faint glow still pulsing about him, since they were both drenched in Astral, and as he did, the board seemed to realize it's owner's wish, and snapped back into it's portable form.
She laughed a bit and shook, sparking the liquid Astral into the air, the substance seeming to brighten everything about her, the shine of her hair, to the glitter in her eyes, and the gold of her skin. "Fun? Hah! Fun can't even START to tell about it!" She pushed her bangs off one eye, smiling brightly like the sun.
Remi just chuckled shaking his head a little and eyeing a few of the devices that he'd pulled out of the box. He'd been able to classify most of them... one of which would be handy. "Well, with this..." He held up a small device that looked like a small comm link. "We can come back to his locker any time, wherever we are. It seems to pull the subspace to the user... so we won't have to make the trip back here all the time."
She plopped down next to him, peering at the things. "Great!" The Astral dripped off of her hair and onto his arm, "Anything else of value?" She picked up something that looked like a portable nose clipper.
"No idea what that is..." He coughed with embarassment. "But I think these..." He held up the strange items that looked like wings. "Attach to something. Probably his own wings... several other doohickeys' here that seem to have some kind of function... No idea who designed all this, it's very unique."
She looked up at Chrno, smiling warmly, her eyes glittering. "Unique alright."
He blinked cutely, rubbing the back of his head a bit. "Eh, wait... are these all mine?"
"Not too bright though...." She grinned, standing up to look at him, pulling on one of his ears. "Say, do you think he could shift? After all, he's DRENCHED in Astral!"
Yuan blinked a little. "He could try... but I think that's part of the seal. Most demons can hide their appearances... he doesn't seem able to at the moment."
"Huh?" Chrno blinked down at her cutely, tilting his head in the direction his ear was being yanked. "E... eh?" She wrinkled her nose, before sighing, fingering the fluff softly. "Come on, Let's go and get the stuff." She tugged on his hand, smiling to Remington. "We're behind already."
He nodded and slid the rest of the things back in his bag and stood up. "Right... we have a couple hours. If you two want to 'explore'... I can see about getting some of the, ahem, supplies." His blue eyes glittered knowingly.
She laughed, patting him on the arm sweetly. "Right. We'll find something to do, right Chrno?"
He nodded eagerly, eyes dancing with excitement. "Right!!!"
Remi chuckled, but handed Chrno the bag. "Here, kid. Carry that, since it's all yours." He then opened the door out and stepped outside, and handed Rosette the key again. "Um." Chrno took it, but it didn't seem heavy to him at all, and he slid the board in, and shouldered the bag with the strap over his back. She pocketed it, smiling as they walked into the common room again, grabbing some attention by how soaked they were, some whispers coming around from the other boarders who recognized The Tempus. Chrno was oblivious, though, and just glanced at the wall with all the trophies and peered at it, eyes going a bit wide and a small 'urk' coming from him as he saw his own name on basically a whole five rows...
Rosette smiled, looking excited. "Yeah! You were a REALLY big star!" She looked up at him, eyes gleaming. "You were my favorite of all times. You inspired me so much..."
He blinked at her, eyes widening. "I was? Really? But...." he rubbed his nose a bit. "I still don't understand all this..." He sneezed a bit, the astral around him shaking off in small droplets, as the glow was slowly fading as the stuff dried and was absorbed. "I don't really think it was ME..."
She frowned a that, scratching behind her ear. "Well, it WAS you, but then again..." She shrugged, leading him past the rack and out towards the door. "Ah, it's confusing."
He turned following her, shaking his head a bit. "I guess... But I guess this beats what I was used to..."