Candy-Bright
| Candy-Bright | |
|---|---|
"Man, shrimp is fucking good." | |
| Players | Oakland It's /nearly/ a beach episode. Javi takes a break from studying, Maya shows off her lake treasures and struggles with names, Darwin gets dunked, Fiametta treats everyone to tacos. |
Can the space on the side of a body of water that isn't the ocean //really// be called a beach? Just kidding, it's a beach, it's fine. Lake Michigan is big. Not //ocean// big, but people in the Midwest probably have to take what they can get. Anyway. The point is that Javi has let Darwin know that he would be here. And now, here he is, sitting on a stretched out blanket with a six pack of beer holding down one of the corners. He's flipping through his flash cards that he definitely still has, because he's almost halfway through his class and they probably have a midterm coming up at some point. Eventually it will be over, one way or the other, and he can stop telling people about it, but that day is not today. "Look at you. So diligent," Darwin praises. He walks up, dressed lighter for once, in sandals, a collapsible chair slung over his shoulder. No swimming trunks though, he's not /that/ adventurous. "Does your head hurt yet? You're gonna' be chanting bone names in your sleep." He unfurls his chair beside Javi's blanket and collapses into it with a pleased sigh. "...Quick, name all the muscles in the foot!" he teases. Javi looks up from his cards when he hears the familiar voice, and he's already grinning even before he actually sees Darwin. "Only all the fucking time," he admits with a snort. "Almost don't even care whether I pass or not now, long as I can be done." //Almost//, but surely not quite. He gathers up the cards and pulls out a rubber band to wrap around them, sticking the stack into the pocket of his jacket and plants his hand behind him on the blanket to prop himself up. Darwin's question may have been a joke, but it seems he's going to answer. "Tibilias posterior," he begins, slowly but surely, "tibilias anterior, tibilias peroneal...extensors, flexors." And he looks quite proud of himself afterward, it must be noted. "I know what you mean. The buildup being worst than the damn task. Like job interviews, ugh," Darwin mutters. His brows lift when Javi /actually/ starts naming muscles. "You're gonna' ace this thing," he decides. "But... even if you don't, don't stress over it. Just keep trying. Everything worth a damn usually requires a little pain. /Usually/." It's late afternoon, sun sweeping closer to the vast lake, and Javi and Darwin are out on the sand. Javi's sitting on a blanket with a sixpack holding it down, and Darwin is nearby on a collapsible canvas chair. "Exactly," Javi agrees, but even the slight nervousness about it can't override the immediate gratification of getting the question right, especially in the wake of Darwin's assurance. "Thanks, man. But yeah, you're right. It'll be okay whatever happens." He reaches for the beers, ripping open the cardboard to grab one and pop the top off with a nearby bottle opener he's also brought, before he offers it to the other man. "Oh, talked to Gareth a little today," he continues. "He's a good dude, I like him." There's a cooler a little ways thataway, away from Javi and Darwin that has been pretty empty this whole time. Maybe an hour or two? No one's been minding it, honestly. Possibly because it's a cheap looking thing and sounds fairly hollow when hit, so potentially not worth stealing anything. But now there's a figure emerging from the water that's heading right for the cooler, humming something vague and looking pretty distracted - Javi will recognize Maya, in battered old cargo shorts that reach to her knees and a halter-style swim top, no shoes. For someone who's been in the water a while, she looks slightly grimier than one might expect-- little silt and sand clinging to her, sticking to her hair. Maybe brushing away the gunk in her hair, or the thoughtful hums, is why she only really notices the other two when she's nearly at her cooler. And looks startled. "Oh, shit. Hey Javi!" She says, grinning and waving. And then her eyes settle on Darwin, before she looks back at Javi, "Is this the not ex?" MAYA YOU DON'T JUST ASK THESE THINGS. Darwin readily reaches for the offered bottle. "Thanks! Oh yeah?" He tips his head, fond. "Good, I'm glad. Taking things well I think. I /think/. All of his punny jokes are probably some... coping mechanism. Though he was always that way, now that I think about it." He pauses to take a long drink, and as Maya calls out and waves, he shifts slightly in his chair to look over. He's mid-swallow when Maya asks her question, and ends up choking on his beer. Javi grabs one for himself, too, and once he opens it he shoves it into the sand just off the blanket, wiggling it back and forth a little bit until it's deep enough that it will stand up by itself. "Yeah," he confirms. "It's a lot for sure, but yeah, think he is too." He might have said something else, too -- about that, or any number of other things -- but before he can, he spots Maya coming toward them. "Hey, Mayita!" he calls back, lifting a hand to wave broadly back at her. And then //he// hears the question. His fate might have been the same as Darwin's, had he been drinking it yet; as it is, he just lets out a strangled laugh, about equal parts incredulous and amused. "Nah," he replies once he's managed to compose himself, cutting a look to Darwin just to make sure he's not going to require assistance. But surely he's fine! "It's not. Not that you're not a good-looking guy," he says quickly. You're welcome, Darwin. "Darwin, Maya. Maya, Darwin." Maya smirks, heading towards the duo instead of her cooler, and holding out a hand towards Darwin, "Hey man. Nice to meet you. Like he said, I'm Maya. You cool?" She wonders, before her attention turns back to Javi and she shrugs, "Hey, I don't know your type, man. It could him!" She defends her query! Though she's grinning when she defends herself, "Anyway, I gotta towel off and get rid of these rocks before my pants fall off." She says with a laugh, hands going to said pockets as she heads to her cooler, opening it and... there's a towel inside? Well, that would make for a light cooler. And once she's wearing it like a cape, she starts filling the cooler with what's in her pockets....rocks. Rocks and sea glass and other little strange things. Darwin is fine! He swallows, clears his throat and straightens up, back to smiling, mostly from Javi's compliment. "I'm good," he assures, taking Maya's hand to shake briefly. And then he proceeds to watch with a deeply puzzled look as Maya moves off to fill her cooler from her pockets. He looks between her, Javi, and the lake, then back again, before taking another sip. "Javi's type is more buttoned up. God, I can't even remember my ex's face, it's been so long." He twists again, looking over to Maya. "Find any treasure?" Javi, too, is interested in What Maya is doing with the rocks, but he doesn't ask -- though he'll certainly listen to her answer to Darwin's question. He does say, "You know that guy who was there when you ran into us at that concert in the park? Him." He reaches for his bottle now, adding, "But we literally only been out one time so it's not, like, a //thing// thing." Still, he sounds at least moderately optimistic about it, even if also grounded in reality. "You want a beer?" he asks once he's taken a sip, and he gestures with his to the rest of the six pack, wiggling it enticingly. Maya pauses in emptying her pockets, tilting her head back as she thinks, "...the one with the-- redhead? Huh. Okay. At least we'll probably never fight over anybody." She muses, fishing out a flashlight from her largest pocket and ALSO putting it in the cooler. At the questions-- and offer of beer-- she grins, "Seriously? Awesome. Yeah." Maya says, standing up and easily picking up her cooler -- and revealing there's a little indent beneath the cooler, from which she pulls out a sand-soaked backpack. Everything goes to drop near Javi and Darwin, between the chair and the towel, forming a little triangle. "I did find some cool color stuff. A couple of bottles. Some pretty cool fossil-rocks. I've got these plastic-glass bowl things and I figured it'd look fancy or something to fill 'em with cool stuff." She looks through her finds in the cooler, finally pulling out a somewhat heart-shaped piece of frosted yellowish glass, that looks rather like sugar-frosted toffee. "Pretty, right?" Darwin looks /far/ too amused at Maya's implied disfavor. He chuckles into the lip of his bottle. "They're siblings, aren't they? Razi and Fiametta? I don't know the details." He turns his chair in the sand to look over Maya's tiny treasures. "Oooh, sea glass. Nice find. You snorkel?" he asks, looking around for a mask. Maya's remark makes Javi laugh -- he certainly doesn't look offended by her opinion of his choice, nor does it seem to make him rethink it. "Glad we're gonna stay friends instead of do a whole bitter rival thing," he says as he opens up one more beer and passes it along to her as she puts down the rest of her things. "They're family, yeah," he replies with a nod after Darwin's clarification, but he leaves it at that. Perhaps it's because he's distracted by the glass, since he definitely //is//. "Oh man," he agrees, "that's pretty. Who knew there was that kinda stuff in there?" He looks up speculatively toward the water, though he doesn't make any attempt to go in. Well, he's not really dressed for it. "Free dive. I'm pretty good at holding my breath." Maya clarifies for Darwin, and it's true there are no marks-- though if you look at her face carefully, there are signs she had goggles on. "Check it, there's some like, blue china stuff-- it's a little dirty but." She picks out a shard, rounded and with just the center still showing the classic blue-ink-on-white porcelain piece. "Andthis rock is just really cool. Check out the stripes, man." This about a mostly spherical rock, full of thin layers. "It feels pretty great to touch." Also inside the cooler is what looks like glass melted onto and around some rocks, smoothed down, and what was definitely just the neck of a brown bottle, and other interesting stones "It's pretty common in the lake. Less stuff now actually, because people use less glass and stuff." "I've always wanted a hot rival," Darwin says, wistful, swinging his bottle in an idle circle. "Someone that makes you push yourself to be better, just because you wanna' be better than /them/." He looks over Maya's various finds, reaching out to poke at the spherical rock. "Hey, if you find a nice pair of shades with polarized lenses down there, hit me up." Javi turns to regard Darwin speculatively at the admission, his head tilting to one side, before he grins again, the sort of grin that's so wide threatens to split his face in half (though luckily does not). "Sounds like the kinda thing that starts off with being rivals," he remarks, "and ends up in the hottest hate fuck of your life." He takes another pull from his beer, then digs the bottle down into the sand again and reaches for the colorful pile, running a finger absently over one of those candy-bright rocks. Maya finally grabs that beer Javi left out for her, opening it up...and then pointing at Javi's words after Darwin speaks so wistfully, "Pretty much /exactly/ that. Or at least, that's kind of what I vaguely remembered happening in high school. But," Maya shrugs, sipping her beer, "Maybe special circumstances." Maya settles for leaning next to the cooler and using the towel as a blanket, sipping her beer, "If you find one you like, feel free to grab it, man." She tells Javi, before looking at Darwin and grinning, "The lenses would probably be ruined by the time I got 'em. But I'll keep you in mind, Marvin." Darwin is left /dwelling/ on Javi's words, long enough that color lift to his cheeks. Maya makes this worse. He stares out towards the setting sun, contemplative, caught up in his own thoughts until he spots the blazing brightness of Javi's wide smile. When he makes some unknowable connection, his eyes narrow on Javi. Hey. HEY. "It's... it's Darwin," Darwin corrects, working his way back up to smile. "And that's fine. Should probably just buy some. Ever find any bones?" Look, Javi can't help the way his face is. And actually, it's not just his face -- when Darwin turns that narrow-eyed look on him, the expression suddenly can't be contained just to his face, but radiates outward from his entire being. He gestures toward Maya in agreement, nodding sagely, taken altogether it doesn't manage to look anything other than //extremely// pleased with himself. However, at least he doesn't say anything else about it. Sure, maybe he might as well have, but he doesn't actually do it. "Really?" he says to Maya instead, and he shifts forward, peering more closely at the choices. After several seconds' consideration, he selects one, a piece of reddish glass smoothed down. "Thanks. I know exactly where this is gonna go." "Darwin. Darwin. Sorry man." And Maya actually throws Darwin a sort of sheepish expression, though it quickly fades at his next question, "I mean, probably?" Maya says, thinking about it. "It's kind of hard to tell in the water what's a stick and what was somebody's KFC bucket leftovers. If you mean like a body, there probably wouldn't be any this close to the shore." Maya's so very reasonable and practical about that. "I want to save up for a boat, but between classes, busking, and looking for a job, pretty stuck close to the shore for now. But I'm serious, yeah. Take a piece. I was just having fun and checking stuff out. You can take a rock as an apology for getting your name wrong." She tells Darwin, grinning. Before looking from Darwin to Javi, "Rivals are fun, though, as long as you actually don't like. Hate each other. A little competition can be fun, if you keep it fun." "S'fine," Darwin assures, but then takes a second look at the treasures. Hmm. After a beat of hesitation, he plucks some green sea glass. "Could make a pendant out of this," he muses. "Ooh, like a fishing boat? That'd be fun. Motor out towards the center and just lie in the sun all day." He smirks. "I don't really hate anyone. Not personally, anyway." Darwin probably use some waterlogged Ray-Bans about now to endure the radiance of Javi's smug smile. "Javi, quick, name all the bones in the human hand!" Javi pulls the hand with the glass back, rubbing it between his fingers absently instead of putting it directly away. "Oh damn, like a //boat// boat?" he says a little after Darwin, straightening up and looking out at the water again with interest, then back to Maya again. "That'd be fucking cool." As for the question of rivals, he can't help but assure Maya: "Yeah, he don't hate nobody. It's definitely fun." He tilts his head toward Darwin for emphasis. As if she was actually worried about it. Well, maybe she is! But his tone is a little pointed as he turns the expression back on the other man -- just in time for the question. There's a moment to process, before he starts rattling them off. While they're definitely correct, the list does distract him from whatever else he was directing at Darwin. At least, for the moment. "Yeah, a boat to live in would be pretty expensive. And you'd still have to find some place in winter, it gets really cold on the water, I heard." Maya gives a wry grin, "But yeah, something like a fishing boat for now. Just to get out in the water and relax sometimes, you know?" She brightens, "Plus somebody taught me how to fish recently. Probably not my thing all the time, but seems like a fun sometimes thing." She sips her beer, blinking at Darwin's sudden query... and then her jaw slowly drops as Javi starts listing off bones. She waits till he's done, before she touches the side of her face, "Seriously? That many? I thought it was just the skull and the jaw bone. And the tiny little bone in your hear." Darwin stares down at the sea glass in his palm, seemingly spooked by something. Spooked enough that he has to give his head a little shake to clear his thoughts. He... aggressively finishes off his beer. It's not /too/ surprising this time that Javi responds, rattling off the names. Not that he can actually confirm any of them. BONE IS BONE. Bone is tasty. "Nice," Darwin grins, offering a little round of applause. "Okay, no more studying for the weekend. No more flashcards till Monday." By the time he's finished, Javi is looking a little pleased with himself again, though this time not in any particularly pointed way. Just...yes, pleased. "There's a lot," he confirms, shifting again to slide the piece of glass into his pocket so he can prop himself up with that hand again and reach for his beer. "But, you know. There's two hundred and six, so they all gotta be somewhere, right?" He doesn't argue with the 'no more studying,' though. Instead, he lifts his bottle in a toast, before he finishes that off, too. "Who taught you how to fish?" he asks of Maya, but something seems to be nagging at him, and he glances briefly to Darwin again with a very different expression. Thoughtful -- maybe a //little// concerned. Ultimately, though, he lets whatever it is pass and focuses on his question instead. "Oh, uh--" Maya blinks, shaking her head a bit in realization at Javi's question, "...yeah, I uh, didn't get his name, huh? Some guy, though. Really nice. Even cleaned it for me and let me take his cooler so I could take the fish home." A shrug, "I'll ask his name next time I see him around, I guess." As if it's really that simple. Somebody is apparently fairly casual in their socialization! "Good you're getting all that studying done. I keep having to take breaks or listen to lessons instead of reading them." Maya grumbles, and takes an extra long sip of beer. When Javi looks over at Darwin, so does Maya, mostly out of curiosity. She manages to miss the look of concern, since now Darwin's applauding! So cheerful, such grins. "Wait, shit, did I interrupt a study session or something? Didn't mean to." "He's done," Darwin declares, pushing up from his chair and kicking of his sandals to stretch and pace through the sand. "Love fish. Love /flounder/, mmm. Hate crabs though. Shrimp. Friggin' water insects." He pauses, looking back to Maya. "You at the university? What are you studying?" "Oh, cool." Javi doesn't seem to think it's //that// weird that Maya would assume she'll see whoever it was again -- but Chicago does seem to be awfully small sometimes. "That was nice of him." He shakes his head quickly, though, when she asks whether she interrupted. "Nah," he continues, "you didn't. I mean, basically always studying right now or else I'mma fail out. Got a test next week and it takes me forever to memorize shit." But he does agree with Darwin when the man declares him done. "Man, shrimp is fucking good," he adds, though quietly and aside so as to let Maya answer the question. You whisper "Shrimp is fuckin' nasty." to Javi. "Community college, not one of the big ones." Maya responds, setting her beer down and now using her towel to help scrub away some of the grime on her. It doesn't super help, but maybe that just means she needs to get back into the water. "Music. I like music, got convinced I should try to really learn about it. I started playing music late," She reaches up, scratching behind her neck, before she closes her cooler and readjusts her backpack so it's right in front of it. "So I dunno as much about it as somebody who grew up with it. But shrimp is pretty delicious. Crawfish are cute, too. Fish are pretty cute in general, but kind of in a...dumb way? Fish are pretty dumb. Pretty tasty though, for sure." She looks at Darwin pacing, then at Javi sitting, pondering, "You guys wanna go play something if you're done studying?" Darwin looks SLIGHTLY betrayed that everyone else seems to like gross sea bugs. He makes a face as Maya lists them. "Oooh, you should talk to Paige, met her last night. Real artsy gal, real nice, is the deejay down at the S&S club." He tilts his head. "Play something? Frisbee?" The sun nears the horizon of the lake, and out on the sand are familiar faces: Javi, Darwin, Maya, beside or atop a blanket, chair and cooler. Javi cuts a look to Darwin at the suggestion of playing //frisbee//, and he looks kind of charmed by it, honestly, his expression pulling into a wide smile again -- not quite the same quality as before, but certainly genuine. However: "Sure," he says with a nod, turning back to Maya. "I'm down to play something. Like what?" A beat, before he admits a little apologetically, "Don't got a frisbee." He straightens up to look around speculatively, then adds, "Not too many places to hide out here." So maybe hide and seek is out, too. But he is not deterred! "There are some kids over there who had a bunch of frisbees and beach balls. They were doing some kind of video thing," Maya says, pointing off thataway. "Could always go ask if we could grab one to play with." She gets up, removing the towel to give it a firm shake....and then just tosses it on top of the cooler and backpack. Organized, efficient, that's Maya. "And if they don't there's always a volleyball near the nets they put up. Or I'll just beat you both at racing for the water, but that's not really fun since we know how it turns out." Her grin is /almost/ a smirk, but not quite. Fiametta strolls along the pathway to the beach from the parking lot, frowning briefly down at her phone as she does so, before she tucks it into her everpresent large black tote bag with a little bit of a huff. She seems dressed for something beachy, flipflops, a loose and flowy translucent peasant top lazily tucked into short denim cutoffs, coppery chair held back from her face with a headband. Still, it's hard to be scowly for too long when the sun's light is making those beautiful colors on the water's surface. And another light catches her eye. There's a little surprise, but all of those faces are indeed familiar, and she waves a little, when she catches someone's eye. Darwin flashes an innocent smile at Javi. All of Maya's options appeal, however, and he glances towards the nets, then the lake. He twitches a little at the /challenge/, like he might bolt for the shore at any second. "Hmm," he hums unhelpfully. "Oh hey, it's Fi. Hey Fi!" he shouts. "Over here!" "Girl, please," Javi replies with a snort, though it's certainly an amused one. "I been running my whole damn life." It's not //really// a return challenge -- at least, he doesn't immediately jet off toward the edge of the lake, either, but that might also be because Darwin's called out a familiar name. He turns his head to look, and breaks into a grin again as he lifts a hand in another broad wave. "Hey!" he calls after, and then, for good measure, stands up. Just in case someone should say 'go' and he's not ready. "You wanna play something with us?" There seems to be the remains of a 6-pack available on the blanket, too, though no one's drunk. Maya turns as everyone else does - she's in baggy cargo shorts and a halter swim top, and everything about her pretty much declares she's been mucking about the muckier parts of the lake. She grins, raising a hand to wave towards Fiametta- while also leaning towards Javier to ask, sotto voice, "Wasn't her name Gianetta?" Regardless of the answer, she calls out, "We're thinking of asking the kids to lend us a frisbee or a beach ball or something. Or go hit the volleyball nets." Fiametta flip flops her way over, the grumpies dissipating into nothingness by the time she's closing in enough to speak comfortably. Her eyes are drawn to the beer, and then the cooler, plus the blanket and chair. "Looks like you got something nice going here," she observes. "Play something?" she repeats, stormy blue eyes widening just a touch. She looks again at the blanket, but then back at the others, a little confused when there's nothing board related or card related. "What're you playing?" But then Maya is supplying the answer. "Oh sure," she agrees. "I guess if worse comes to worse, could play tag or race or something." She squints a little, thinking. Darwin is now staring longingly at the collection of frisbees in the sand off in the distance. Perfectly normal, healthy relationship with frisbees. He waits, looking between Fiametta, Maya, and finally Javi-- then darts for the lakeshore with a spray of sand. "Fiametta," Javi murmurs back to Maya, helpfully and without judgement at the slight mistake. "She's good with Fi, though." He straightens up once she arrives, gesturing a little vaguely as if to punctuate the game suggestions. He doesn't seem to have a preference of which, but he's certainly happy when Fiametta acquiesces. He starts to say something else -- but then Darwin's taking off, and there's a moment of surprise before he laughs incredulously, even as he's pushing off to follow. "You cheating-ass motherfucker!" he exclaims as he runs, though it doesn't sound outraged, just amused. Maya instinctively takes a step...or four... the *second* she sees Darwin running, no hesitation. But she forces herself to stop when she notices Javi's shout and starting to run, looking back to see if Fiametta is ALSO running. Because they can't all just abandon Fiametta to watch their stuff! That's rude! Of course, if Fiametta is also running, the race is definitely on. But otherwise, Maya lingers, waiting for the other. Fiametta blinks once, then twice, when Darwin takes off. And then for another heartbeat or two, she's processing, at least until Javi laughs and then takes off too. She looks at Maya, and shrugs a little. For some reason, she doesn't seem the least bit surprised. She flashes a grin at Maya, as if to say lets go get 'em, and then she's starting to run too, tossing her bag on the beach blanket. Darwin fully expects Fiametta to join! He doesn't quite look back to check, not until the lake water splashes over his heels. He wins-- barely. BARELY. But that doesn't stop him from being insufferable. "Woo! Hah!" he shouts at Javi, shuffling around in the shallows. "See, this is what happens when you eat shrimp," he says with a tragic head shake. Yes, it might have been very predictable that while Javi is pretty aware of others and their needs in normal times, he would react to //this// situation in exactly this way. He actually is fast. Quite fast, in fact. He might have won, or at least been very close, had Darwin not had a second or two head start, but as it is he still makes a respectable showing. And he won't take his loss lying down, either, because while he's still grinning, he takes the opportunity of coming in a little behind Darwin to just run right into the other man with clear intent to knock him fully into the water. Because that's what he gets for cheating. Maya, being the one who doesn't know Fiametta in this instance, does look surprised when the other just shrugs and takes off running. She can't help but let out a laugh, before following them all into the water - last? Absolutely. But she splashes into the water with a grin - and keeps going, until it's waist-deep and she can dive into the waist-high water to wet her hair and possibly clear some of the muck that's dried on her. And maybe she might also be waiting to see if Javi manages to trip up Darwin, so she can drag him deeper into the depths. Fiametta is willing to go into the water a little past her knees, but the fiery haired woman goes no further than that. Neither does she seem much inclined to try to divert Javi from his mission. She does, however, swipe at the water's service to send a splash Darwin's way--or the way that he should maaaaybe be falling. Or it might get both Javi and Darwin! But she does watch the other elemental with interest, especially when she's briefly submerged further out, perhaps deducing her intention and grinning approvingly. "Such a sh-- agh!" Darwin yelps as Javi barrels into him and knocks him clear off his feet, right into the shallows. He thrashes helplessly, and when he finally manages to resurface, Maya is hauling him back down into the depths. Then he resurfaces for a /second/ time, and he reaches for Fiametta, mirth clear on his face but still quite under siege. "Fi, help m--" AND FI SPLASHES HIS FACE. "Et tu," he gurgles, attempting to loop an arm around Javi's thigh as to prevent more dunking. "Okay-okay-okay /sorry/ for cheating!" Javi may not see Maya's intent quite as quickly as Fiametta does, but when he actually manages to knock Darwin into the water he punches his fists above his head with a triumphant yell. Of course, then he's getting splashed by Fi, which surprises him enough to turn to see even as he tries to duck away -- and between that, and Darwin's grab, he's knocked enough off-balance that he actually goes over and into the water, too, letting out a surprised yelp. Of course, part of that could be because he's also now laughing, even as he tries to right himself again. "That's what you //get//!" he yells -- or he attempts to, anyway. He may be laughing too hard to get it out all the way. Maya, grinning, is an equal opportunity menace. As Darwin grabs for Javi and probably both fall into the water again, Maya waits until both are trying to right themselves. And then she grins and her leg goes forward and tries to trip /both/ of them up, back onto the water, and splash at them both again! It's a very effective kick, somehow managing to sweep at both their legs, crazy how that happens in the midst of all the splashing going on! But anyway, Maya doesn't stick around for vengeance - she's aiming for the shore, trying to escape the consequences of her own actions - or at least going to hide behind Fiametta with a grin. "You two all right?" She has the nerve to ask, after doing all that-- and barely repressing her laughter. The flame haired young woman laughs delightedly, almost breathlessly, as she watches Maya's extremely well timed leg sweep, pausing in her splashing long enough to clap a little too. And moving behind her is a good move--the dancer naturally falls into a protective stance, dark blue eyes gleaming still with delight, and just a little predatory fire. Anchored by the cool water and lakebed under her toes, however, she can suppress the later a little more easily. "I think at least Darwin's pretty happy now," she decides, grinning over her shoulder at Maya. "I don't deserve this!" Darwin bemoans, his tee soaked to his skin. He's about to whine some more when Maya gets a double kill streak and makes his knee buckle, sending him toppling back into the water. By the time he gets back to the surface /again/, he's /prickly/. "God, feel like there's a crab up my ass. These aren't trunks!" He abandons Javi to his watery grave, advancing on Maya, only for Fiametta to block the way. Casually, he slicks back his matted hair. "So what brings you to the beach, Fi?" he asks, nonchalant. "Whoa!" And down Javi goes again with the leg sweep, falling ass first into the water. He's fine -- he's still laughing when he comes up again, shaking his head and running his hand back quickly over //his// hair as if that's going to do anything for it in its current state. It really doesn't, since he's soaking wet. So much for all the time he's likely spent on it to get it into that perfectly coiled riot he usually has it in. "What'd //I// do?!" he exclaims, throwing his hands out wide at his sides as he regards Maya and Fiametta both, but he's grinning too hard to sell any outrage. He's a lot less prickly about it than Darwin, that's for sure, even if he's equally not dressed for the dunking. Thankfully, it's still warm in the evenings. "Obviously 'cause she can read your damn mind, man," he remarks in response to Darwin as he starts out of the water, the laughter fading a little bit, but only because he's been doing it for a while now. "Gonna think twice next time, I bet." Maya smirks from her place behind Fiametta, being the sole one apparently NOT worried about her hair. Fiametta, will notice Maya's hair is flowing quite smoothly instead of dripping water- a bonus to being in her element is apparently great hair. "Fi's right. You seemed so excited to get to the water, I just wanted to make sure you got to have fun in it, Winner." Maya teases, laughing as she does. Her gaze goes to Javi as she grins and steps out from behind Fi, hands going into her pockets. "You, I just figured you needed to have a little excitement in your life, Javs. Gotta distract you from all the skull-bones somehow, right?" Maya, in all her glory of Manipulation 1, is probably not fooling anyone. She clearly just thought it'd be fun to get them both thoroughly soaked. "You going commando or something? How's a crab got time to crawl up in there so quick?" Ever the pragmaterian, Fi points this out to Darwin without a scrap of shame--either on her part, or directed at him. She looks him over. "You got any spare stuff? I've got a couple of small towels in my bag, but they're more like hand towels, I guess. Won't help the clothing, though." She shrugs at his question. "Hey, it's still a little while yet before sundown's over," she says. "So I got some time to kill before I'm on." Maaybe that's why she didn't go further into the water. "I went to the pier last night, thought I'd do something different this time. And I heard the tacos are good." She nods to Maya's words. "Hey, not a bad consolation prize." "Pfffffft," is what Darwin says to Javi. "Hey, you're gonna' be a great EMT. First responder on the scene." His gaze sharpens on Maya, eyes narrowed but still smiling. Fiametta earns a look that's hard to place. His lips twist, and he briefly tugs his soaked waistband out to fish something out from around his hip. A broken sand dollar. "...I'm just gonna' go wring out my shirt," he decides, flicking the sand dollar away. "Meet you at that taco stand?" Ted arrives from Oakland. "Mayita, I got so much excitement in my life I'm like a fucking one man circus." But she wasn't wrong -- Javi does seem to have had fun. He shakes his head quickly, water droplets flinging this way and that to catch the last of the fading light. He takes a moment to pat himself down, too, squeezing the bottom of his t-shirt, though he doesn't take it off, for whatever reason. Maybe he doesn't mind being wet. He just flashes a thumbs up to Darwin before he starts toward Fiametta with a grin and the clear intention to give her a hug. Mostly because he wants to, but also because she's really the only one who didn't get //particularly// wet. "I'm down for tacos, though." Maya, of course, is failing miserably at not cracking up at Fiametta's pragmatic response to Darwin's Dilemma. But then Javi's talking, and Maya shrugs, "But the lake's /good/ excitement." She says reasonably-- or, well, she says as if it's reasonable. Is it actually? Is it?? She does put a hand on her stomach, "...Tacos definitely couldn't hurt." She muses, following the others to the shore. Fiametta narrows her eyes as Darwin manages to dig a /sand dollar/ out of there. Stormy blue eyes are definitely /suspicious/. It would be a little weird to think that Darwin carries weird stuff in his pockets just to win an argument, but clearly this is not out of the realm of possibilities. She studies Darwin for a moment longer, and then Javi, before something seems to flutter around in her brain. "Oh, that's right," she says, softly, almost to herself. "You need some time to wring out too?" she asks Javi. I'm not gonna look," she explains, as if it's important to her to reassure both Darwin and Javi that their modesty would be respected. The hug seems to catch her a little off guard, but she doesn't shy away from it. She doesn't seem to mind the sudden influx of lake-soaked fabric against her either, at least not when it's wrapping up a Javi. "My treat?" she inquires, of the tacos. "Winners probably shouldn't have to pay, and I distracted Maya, so." She turns to head to the shore, her arm around Javi while he still wants a hug. The four young folks are down in the water, and three out of the four look soaked to the skin, from head to toe. "Did someone say tacos?" Announces Ted, who turns up to the group about now. He does have the best timing, after all. He manages to look less like a cowboy today, in a pair of jeans and a linen shirt, but he is wearing his gunbelt and well-loved hat. "Truck or diner?" Darwin smiles brightly in the face of Fiametta's suspicion. "I'm not stripping down here in front of the crabs and everyone. I'll catch up," he assures, and stalks off through the sand, offering Ted a quick up-nod as he passes. Javi snorts at Maya's rejoinder, but he doesn't argue, and eventually he concedes, "Okay, fair." He's definitely going to hug Fi for several seconds, though it isn't going to get her as soaked as the rest of them are, obviously. Still, it's long enough that he's still doing it when Ted appears. So, she can probably feel the way he goes a little tense when //he// takes in the new arrival's appearance. Specifically, the gun belt. His grin fades pretty quickly when he sees it, and he lets go of Fi and steps a little away. "Hey." He lifts a hand to him, cutting a glance to Fi and shaking his head. "I'm good. It's not that cold." Apparently he's just going to stay wet for the moment.
"Think I seen you in the building," he finally says. "Right? Over there." He nods vaguely in the direction of the Bright Willow Apartments, though considering they're not //right// there, it may not be as clear as he assumes it is. However, when Fiametta nudges him he does look over to her, and //that// makes him smile. It's small, but it's there, and he moves quickly to collect the blanket and the remains of the six pack on it, plus any empty bottles so he can leave the place as clean as he'd found it. "Javi," he finally offers.
"Not too long. Six months or so? It's more of a... hub, I guess. I wander a fair bit with work. Only been back on this side for a year or two," He follows along, cooler in hand, as they all move towards their next destination, but he does his best to stand further abreast from the pair of discomfort - so he can be easily seen and heard without being *right there*.
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