Well, the important thing is I laughed on the inside! [ Also not true... he did visibly smile after all. Please don't stop trying to be funny, girlfriend..... f-friend-girl.
Also she's absolutely right about them needing to move on already, so he takes the lead as they reach the place. Follow the leader! ]
The room is a large circular viewing area, where a thick, chest-high barricade does its best to keep the average aquarium goer separate from the penguins. Their habitat is filled with ice water and snow, and a reef for them to play on. There's an employee in there with them, doling out small fish. Most of the penguins are patient; one is squawking with frustration, attacking the unmoved employee's shoe with his beak.
Pyrrha, who actually has never seen them in person before, looks delighted. ]
They're -- [ quite precious, she had been about to say, but ends up shyly reconsidering. What if her formal word choices intimidated him? WHY HAD SHE NEVER CONSIDERED THAT BEFORE ]
--CUTIELICIOUS! [ Yeah, she really shouldn't have let him finish that. ]
Pyrrha, look! That one's nibbling on the man's foot, hahaha! [ He points to the thing they're looking at already. ] Hey-- feed him already!! Oh, man, and-- WHAT?! Look at that one!
[ He points somewhere else, nudging Pyrrha by the shoulder to look once more. What are they looking at? It's this. ]
I-Is it dancing? Pyrrha, it's dancing-- like, like we did! Like-- I-I mean, we, like... a-all of us. Together! [ As a team! Not as a "we're together" thing. ... But also kind of yes?
Holy shit though, they found something cuter than Zwei. Look at it go... ]
[ As the crowd of happy penguin-viewers gets more and more crowded, Pyrrha is forced to sidle up against him to remain able to see the various things he's pointing out. The undisciplined penguin has not yet been fed, despite Jaune's shout, and -- holy dust, that is a
dancing
penguin. ]
He's very coordinated.
[ Like, more than he feasibly ought to be given the distribution of his weight. ]
That must be his aura at work.
[ Pyrrha doesn't actually know if the penguin is male, she's just being gender normative. ]
Aura...? [ He wasn't aware that there's a correlation between Aura and coordination, but that's why Pyrrha's the expert. ]
...Is that why you and I are so coordinated in battle?
[ He asks as he realizes that they're practically glued together and tries his best not to indicate that... his heart might be racing a little. It's not the first time that they've been in such close proximity, but with the way things have been developing and all the romance they've witnessed today... ]
[ Well, she had been just kidding, to a degree. Not even she knows everything about aura, and particularly not how it works in animals. Pyrrha's not thinking about that right now, however. At some point, they had progressed past their usual habit of remaining shoulder to shoulder, forced to squeeze tight as the crowd around them grew more cumbersome. It's only when she turns her head to look at him that Pyrrha is made aware of it, perhaps disquieted by the proximity. ]
... no, [ she answers, her voice soft, ] I don't think so.
[ It could be, of course. But Pyrrha is sporting both a healthy sense of skepticism and a much more plain desire that something so fluid and comfortable not be the result of a quirk of existence. ]
I think that's just ... us.
[ For example, her heart had picked up its tempo the exact moment Jaune's had. ]
[ Not-so-coincidentally, he was hoping the same thing, so her response only makes him smile to himself. He even welcomes the sudden fast pace of his heartbeat, that small rush of adrenaline... it's no surprise why a day like this is celebrated. ]
[ Damn it, he knows he can tell her anything, and yet it's still so... so difficult. Not because she's on an unattainable pedestal, but because the last girl taught him that he needs to unlearn everything he ever knew about pursuing romance. He wants to say the things he wants to say to her, someday, if not today.
And when he does, he'll make sure it's perfect. ]
--I-I'm not really afraid of penguins! Yeah. I.. I was just kidding earlier.
[ It's hard to miss that note in her tone, the struggle to hide disappointment. At least, for most people, it could be hard to miss. With Jaune, who knows. While he's content with "it'll be perfect, when," she's left wondering why he had pursued Weiss with such unapologetic abandon, never hesitating, while with Pyrrha herself, he's just ... not. Like a dozen times before, or a hundred, she's immediately struck with the notion that it's her, she's too tall, too bulky, she can't sing, her jokes suck, etc. Later, she'll untangle it, telling herself again that if anyone of those things are a turnoff for him, she's better off the way things are now.
Maybe there really isn't an "us". That's something else Pyrrha finds herself thinking, as her smile grows wooden, the product of effort instead of a natural occurrence.
Turning her head away, she rests her arms against the top of the encirclement and watches the penguins. ]
[ You - but, as answers go, that's too honest and too withering, no matter how true it is. There's the depth of her feelings for him, and her (perhaps incorrect) belief that no one can hurt her in quite the same way he can.
For more mundane fears, irrational phobias... no, not so much. Another way in which she's "lucky".
There is one thing, though. Pyrrha's tone is clear and a bit somber as she explains, ]
When I was young, I didn't exactly have the same control over my semblance as I do now. One time, I was upset about something, and -- [ ... ] I frightened my mother.
[ That had been enough to make her realise something was wrong. ]
Nothing bad has ever happened, but only because I never allowed it. If that changed...
[ He understands what she means, to an extent, having seen how formidable she is when she is in control. It's a daunting thought...
With the crowd still forcing them to be glued to each other, he tries to shift so he can face her instead of the penguins, but someone from behind only makes him press up further against her. Augh!! ]
I-- sorry. --you... you don't have to worry about that with us.
[ ?!? ]
W-What I mean is... you'll never frighten Ren, Nora... me... especially not me.
[ It could be reassuring, what he says, but -- Pyrrha has to force herself to read between the lines to find the reassurance in it. Jaune, who claims he'll never be frightened of her despite the fact that this, this change, it really ought to be scary for both of them. Jaune, who starts to say things and then stops, whereas when it came to Weiss, he had never been quiet.
He's the same person who is now, finally, complimenting her intelligence and showing interest in her fears, her perspective, her existence.
Truthfully, part of Pyrrha would like to be past all these things, this song and dance.
That has little to do with what he's saying now, however. She wills herself to focus, even as Jaune is further pressed up against her by the crowd.
[ Stop comparing yourself to Weiss, you idiot! ...is what he could say, if both of them actually talked about these things.
But the chance to focus on the rapport they have is shelved in lieu of changing the scenery, and Jaune complies with a sigh. Maybe going someplace else will be good! Maybe he can recover from his own awkward failure.
[ She can't help it! Part of her struggles to accept the fact that Jaune had so easily turned off that part of his heart. To her, it seems unlikely, if not downright improbable.
When Jaune gives her an opening, though, Pyrrha takes it. ]
We could go see the sharks.
[ she wants to see the sharks!! ]
... or --
[ Trailing off, she reconsiders the second suggestion before she even gets the words out. ]
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
no subject
Really? Fly away? You didn't go with "can't let this opportunity slide"?
[ Penguins... slide... get it. ]
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[ Pyrrha seems genuinely bashful under his comedic scrutiny. ]
... I suppose, in hindsight, that would have been best.
[ She can't sing, she's too tall, and he doesn't even like her jokes. :( ]
no subject
Well, the important thing is I laughed on the inside! [ Also not true... he did visibly smile after all. Please don't stop trying to be funny, girlfriend..... f-friend-girl.
Also she's absolutely right about them needing to move on already, so he takes the lead as they reach the place. Follow the leader! ]
no subject
The room is a large circular viewing area, where a thick, chest-high barricade does its best to keep the average aquarium goer separate from the penguins. Their habitat is filled with ice water and snow, and a reef for them to play on. There's an employee in there with them, doling out small fish. Most of the penguins are patient; one is squawking with frustration, attacking the unmoved employee's shoe with his beak.
Pyrrha, who actually has never seen them in person before, looks delighted. ]
They're -- [ quite precious, she had been about to say, but ends up shyly reconsidering. What if her formal word choices intimidated him? WHY HAD SHE NEVER CONSIDERED THAT BEFORE ]
no subject
Pyrrha, look! That one's nibbling on the man's foot, hahaha! [ He points to the thing they're looking at already. ] Hey-- feed him already!! Oh, man, and-- WHAT?! Look at that one!
[ He points somewhere else, nudging Pyrrha by the shoulder to look once more. What are they looking at? It's this. ]
I-Is it dancing? Pyrrha, it's dancing-- like, like we did! Like-- I-I mean, we, like... a-all of us. Together! [ As a team! Not as a "we're together" thing. ... But also kind of yes?
Holy shit though, they found something cuter than Zwei. Look at it go... ]
no subject
dancing
penguin. ]
He's very coordinated.
[ Like, more than he feasibly ought to be given the distribution of his weight. ]
That must be his aura at work.
[ Pyrrha doesn't actually know if the penguin is male, she's just being gender normative. ]
no subject
...Is that why you and I are so coordinated in battle?
[ He asks as he realizes that they're practically glued together and tries his best not to indicate that... his heart might be racing a little. It's not the first time that they've been in such close proximity, but with the way things have been developing and all the romance they've witnessed today... ]
no subject
... no, [ she answers, her voice soft, ] I don't think so.
[ It could be, of course. But Pyrrha is sporting both a healthy sense of skepticism and a much more plain desire that something so fluid and comfortable not be the result of a quirk of existence. ]
I think that's just ... us.
[ For example, her heart had picked up its tempo the exact moment Jaune's had. ]
no subject
... Yeah, I think you're right.
[ Not-so-coincidentally, he was hoping the same thing, so her response only makes him smile to himself. He even welcomes the sudden fast pace of his heartbeat, that small rush of adrenaline... it's no surprise why a day like this is celebrated. ]
Can I... tell you something, Pyrrha?
no subject
You can tell me anything.
no subject
[ Damn it, he knows he can tell her anything, and yet it's still so... so difficult. Not because she's on an unattainable pedestal, but because the last girl taught him that he needs to unlearn everything he ever knew about pursuing romance. He wants to say the things he wants to say to her, someday, if not today.
And when he does, he'll make sure it's perfect. ]
--I-I'm not really afraid of penguins! Yeah. I.. I was just kidding earlier.
no subject
[ Well, what did she expect, really? ]
Oh.
[ It's hard to miss that note in her tone, the struggle to hide disappointment. At least, for most people, it could be hard to miss. With Jaune, who knows. While he's content with "it'll be perfect, when," she's left wondering why he had pursued Weiss with such unapologetic abandon, never hesitating, while with Pyrrha herself, he's just ... not. Like a dozen times before, or a hundred, she's immediately struck with the notion that it's her, she's too tall, too bulky, she can't sing, her jokes suck, etc. Later, she'll untangle it, telling herself again that if anyone of those things are a turnoff for him, she's better off the way things are now.
Maybe there really isn't an "us". That's something else Pyrrha finds herself thinking, as her smile grows wooden, the product of effort instead of a natural occurrence.
Turning her head away, she rests her arms against the top of the encirclement and watches the penguins. ]
... that's good. They are pretty harmless.
no subject
Well, even then, there's no reason to hold back, and yet... ]
Y-Yeah, well... I... wish I was this brave about other harmless things. Kinda pathetic, really.
[ Though, speaking of fears, it occurs to him that he never asked her something. ]
...Are you scared of anything, Pyrrha?
no subject
For more mundane fears, irrational phobias... no, not so much. Another way in which she's "lucky".
There is one thing, though. Pyrrha's tone is clear and a bit somber as she explains, ]
When I was young, I didn't exactly have the same control over my semblance as I do now. One time, I was upset about something, and -- [ ... ] I frightened my mother.
[ That had been enough to make her realise something was wrong. ]
Nothing bad has ever happened, but only because I never allowed it. If that changed...
[ :) ]
no subject
[ He understands what she means, to an extent, having seen how formidable she is when she is in control. It's a daunting thought...
With the crowd still forcing them to be glued to each other, he tries to shift so he can face her instead of the penguins, but someone from behind only makes him press up further against her. Augh!! ]
I-- sorry. --you... you don't have to worry about that with us.
[ ?!? ]
W-What I mean is... you'll never frighten Ren, Nora... me... especially not me.
no subject
He's the same person who is now, finally, complimenting her intelligence and showing interest in her fears, her perspective, her existence.
Truthfully, part of Pyrrha would like to be past all these things, this song and dance.
That has little to do with what he's saying now, however. She wills herself to focus, even as Jaune is further pressed up against her by the crowd.
A smile, or something like it. ]
... perhaps we should move to another floor.
[ Y U P ]
no subject
But the chance to focus on the rapport they have is shelved in lieu of changing the scenery, and Jaune complies with a sigh. Maybe going someplace else will be good! Maybe he can recover from his own awkward failure.
C'mon, Arc, keep it together. ]
Right! I... where do you think we should go?
no subject
When Jaune gives her an opening, though, Pyrrha takes it. ]
We could go see the sharks.
[ she wants to see the sharks!! ]
... or --
[ Trailing off, she reconsiders the second suggestion before she even gets the words out. ]
no subject
[ No, please finish that!! Whatever it is, it can't be scarier than being up close with a shark, he thinks. ]
no subject
Lunch?
[ Having her emotions toyed with works up an appetite, apparently!! ]