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A couple hours -- we're takin' the scenic route. The course takes us up the river and around to Tunn.

[ Shouting, and the sounds of preparations as the boat made ready to leave. Majima made his way over toward the prow. He slipped his sunglasses on as they reached the front and leaned up against the metal railing. ]

This is your first time on a boat, right? Wait, ya don't have a problem with motion sickness, do ya? They do kind of rock back and forth.

[ Gosh, he kept forgetting Tim was a space alien. But surely if he was good with space travel, he'd be fine on the water? ]

Edited 2019-06-07 05:39 (UTC)

[Tim leaned against the railing, watching as much as he could of the castaway procedure. It was different from what people would do to prepare for docking or sending off a ship in a hangar bay; there was a lot more, like, rope involved. Presumably an anchor?]

I think I'll be okay. [This couldn't be worse than space, right?] I was fine in low gravity, for the most part. The movement part wasn't the problem, I mean, it was more the, uh, height? I'm not good with heights.

[More like he was fucking terrified of heights, but that's fine. They were on a boat, not a plane or something.]

I guess we're gonna find out, anyway. God, I sure hope I don't get motion sickness, or else it's gonna be a shitty few hours.

[ There was one guy on deck yelling at the sailors. Something about sea dogs? He had a captain's uniform; maybe he was really into roleplay. ]

Really? How the hell'd you manage it when ya had to take off and land?

[ And if Tim was afraid of heights, was he also afraid of the depths? Hmm. Probably not, probably it was fine. The boat cast off from shore, cutting its way through the waves. The breeze off the lake was cool -- a nice change from the heat of approaching summer as it blew at the ends of the loose ponytail in which Majima had tied his hair.

Some of the passengers were sitting down, heading inside the glass-fronted cabin for snacks or drinks, but he seemed satisfied to stay outside and check out the gulls for now. They were screeching as they floated lazily above the water. ]

Edited 2019-06-08 01:22 (UTC)

Poorly.

[Tim was really not very good with heights, which really made the jump pads on Elpis a trial in and of themselves. He just... he had a really hard time, okay.]

[He was okay with being out on the deck of the boat, at least. It wasn't too high up off of the water, and he had his feet on a solid deck. It was manageable, especially if he looked at the horizon or the birds instead of straight down. It was never good to look straight down.]

I just tried not to look out the windows or bother anybody with my panic attacks, it was fine.

[It was not fine.]

[ Wow, Tim, that was actually

concerning.........

Majima reached over and touched the back of Tim's head. If The Hat hadn't been on there, he might have ruffled Tim's hair. As it was, he just sort of ruffled the goofy ribbon. ]

If it gets bad, lemme know, alright? Don't think we're due for any cliffs today, but I'll keep it in mind.

[ "Arrrr!" said the ship captain, in the distance. "If ye be thirsty, there's hot chocolate in the cabin!" ]

[Look, Majima, there was very little about Tim or his coping habits that were healthy. He was just USDA-grade A prime beef marinaded lightly in continual anxiety, it was fine. Builds character or whatever.]

Yeah, I will. [He smiled, in that kind of rueful, self-conscious way.] You'd probably be able to tell, anyway. It's not like my panic attacks are super subtle.

[Technically, he'd managed to overcome his crippling fear of heights enough to rocket his dumb ass a couple stories into the air on Elpis, so he ought to be able to manage a cliff? But still, it wouldn't be his idea of a good time.]

I wonder if it's going to be crowded? You aren't the only person I've heard of who was thinking about taking a trip to the beach.

Yeah? I know at least two monsters who were talkin' about taking it.

[ One who had thought it was a great opportunity for nude sunbathing, even, but maybe he wouldn't mention that just now. What were the chances they'd end up going at the same time?

A seabird -- an osprey, maybe? -- dove towards the water, hauling up with it a wriggling fish. Majima had never seen the like before, though of course he knew about sea hawks. There just weren't a lot of them in Tokyo.

He leaned his hands on the rail and craned forward to get a better look. ]

We're still on the off-season, so hopefully not. I ain't exactly supposed to flash my ink in front of random civilians.

[ Sure, no one was around to call him on it out here, but that didn't change the underlying principle. ]

[Tim turned his head to follow where Majima was looking, and he'd never really seen a bird submerge itself so much and still manage to haul its ass out of the water again, along with the added weight of a whole fish. Kind of impressive? He'd been a little worried that it wouldn't make it, but well. It knew what it was doing.]

That's kind of a shame? I mean, it's really beautiful.

[You go through hours upon hours of probably a lot of pain to get some really beautiful artwork on you, and then have to keep it under a shirt all the time.]

Did you bring sunscreen, at least? I've heard that sun exposure can be really bad for tattoos. Makes 'em fade or something.

[Tim didn't have to worry about that too much-- or, well, technically he should, he has the stupid blue cuff thing that Jack had gotten on his wrist, but he doesn't even like it. Let it fade, it was ugly anyway.]

[ Majima dug a bottle out of his bag, and showed Tim the label. Eyyy. ]

Ya heard right. I got the colors just how I want 'em, too. It's why I'm still dressed.

[ A pause. ]

You know what I mean.

[ He gave Tim a smile, briefly turning from the water to look at the man. ]

Anyway, thanks.

[ And then he turned back to watching the hawk ascend with its catch. ]

I don't think it's a shame, though. It's a message and a reminder, all in one. Wouldn't be much point in either if I showed it off every chance I got.

Really? That's the only reason?

[He couldn't just let that one slide by, Majima set himself up for it.]

[Tim made sort of a thoughtful noise at the tattoo comment-- there was a lot about Majima's tattoos that he probably didn't get, a lot of, like cultural significance? So if it was important to him to not show them off, well, than that was his prerogative. And it wasn't like Tim was going to go over and rip off his shirt to show the world his sick ink, either.]

[He could probably be persuaded to rip off his shirt for other reasons, though.]

Well, if you do decide to take your shirt off, I'll sunscreen your back for you. So you don't miss a spot.

[Not at all so that he could get his hands on his hot boyfriend in a way that wasn't weird in public. Just two guys being dudes.]

And you should really know that I could've totally made a hot dog pun, but I'm not going to because I'm a good person.

[Well. That was debatable, but still.]

[ That smile turned into a grin real quick. ]

[ Come all this way to just sit on the shore under some goofy umbrella? Nope. He'd promised swimsuit, and Tim was going to get swimsuit.

And he could rip off any shirts he wanted, as far as Majima was concerned. For now, though, he was content to lean in and kiss Tim, careful of the horns now that they were on a rocking ship instead on solid ground. Afterwards, he'd move past to speak a few choice words in the man's ear. ]

Trust me, you're gonna get your chance.

[ It was clear skies as they came out of Lake Dala and into the northern island area, past the expansive Lager Woods. There was Brasa in the distance, with its single volcano, Fura with its forests. And at the very end of their trip was Tunn, of course, with blue-green waters and white sand beaches. ]

Did I tell ya I've been explorin' out past Bavan? Not a whole lot, but I was kinda curious.

Edited 2019-06-11 17:59 (UTC)

[Tim had to push the brim of his hat out of the way so that it wouldn't poke Majima when he kissed him, and be a little more careful because he wasn't as stable on hooves on a rocking deck as he would've been with real feet. Wet ship decks were not made with ungulates in mind.]

[The trip up to the islands was actually pretty beautiful; it was kind of a slower way of traveling than he was used to, but there were definitely cases to be made for taking the scenic route. And having Majima around to talk to was enough of a distraction that he didn't think about the height of the boat off of the water. The rocking motion, at least, was only annoying for making him have to shift his weight to keep balanced, because of that aforementioned hoof problem and the additional complication of being so goddamn top-heavy. Motion sickness thankfully didn't rear its ugly head, probably because his inner ear had been through low- and zero-gravity, so it would take some serious bouncing around to throw him.]

[And, hey, good time to talk about Majima's adventures.]

No, you haven't. Were you going out as, y'know, a wolf? It seems like it'd be faster that way.

[And also more distracting? Majima seemed to get very distracted by belly rubs and thrown objects when he was wolfy, which was... adorable, to be honest. The cutest apex predator.]

Yeah. I even got a backpack that fits when I'm furry.

[ Imagine wolf Majima with little saddlebags. Imagine it. ]

There's a kelpie named Fran who likes to wander around the peninsula, so sometimes I'll go with 'em. Last place we went to was Castle Lager. Y'know, out past Lager Woods? I thought it was gonna be abandoned, but it turns out a bunch of dogs live there.

Little nervous around strangers, but they didn't give us any trouble.

[ Well... what chance would a dog have against a werewolf, really, but they'd been friendly enough when Majima had invited them to play. ]

You do realize that sounds super cute, right?

[The idea of Majima with little doggie saddlebags was absolutely adorable and something that Tim needed to see at some point. What did he keep in there? Did he have a little packed lunch? Did he collect things while he was wandering around?]

I guess it's not that surprising that they're nervous. It took ages for the strays around Bavan to stop running away from me.

[Tim felt kind of bad for the poor dogs, since they didn't have anybody to look after them-- the same kind of way that he felt bad for the stray cats and left food out.]

I wonder if they know the difference between you and, y'know, a wolf-wolf? Or if they'd recognize you when you're not on four legs.

[Did werewolves smell different or something from wolf-wolves? Maybe another were would know, Tim didn't get any exceptional smelling abilities from the cowboy package.]

[ Normally, this might be where Majima would protest -- insist he wasn't cute, for starters. Only Tim loved cute things, and maybe it wasn't... entirely terrible, having that starry-eyed look directed at him.

It was pretty nice, actually. ]

Maybe you ought to come with me sometime and see for yourself.

[ He absolutely had a little packed lunch. Sometimes he'd pick up odds and ends, like a smooth rock or something, shh. ]

They'd probably pick up on it pretty fast, if I stuck around. A pup might not know what a werewolf is, but he's still got his eyes and nose.

[ Majima leaned up against the rail, into the wind. ]

That's one of the only things I missed when we were in Felfri. At first, it was pretty strange, but now it feels like I'm missin' something when I can't smell.

You're an animal-type monster, too, right? Ya got any extra senses?

[ It occurred to Majima that he really didn't know all that much about minotaurs. They hung out in mazes, and they were really unhappy with trespassers...? ]

Edited 2019-06-13 04:06 (UTC)

I got a few things. I can see in the dark better now, which is really useful? And I can hear a lot better, but loud noises are a lot more annoying, too. Especially the high-pitched stuff?

[God, it was like jabbing a knitting needle in his ear. Sometimes, Jack would be working in his garage lab and he'd do something that would make an awful screeching sound, something with the metal that he'd be working with, and the sound of it would make Tim want to crawl out of his own skin.]

I don't know if it really counts as a sense, but I don't get lost anymore, either? Even in confusing places like Djävulenstad. It's just kind of like... I dunno.

[It was hard to explain because it was more of a feeling than a thing. Being a monster was weird.]

I just always know where things are and where I am. In cities and towns and stuff, anyway, I'm not sure if it works as well if I'm in the middle of nowhere.

Ya still have trouble walkin' on hooves?

[ Majima reached out and took Tim's hand, exploring the thickened nails. He'd been fortunate in that his own feet weren't much changed in structure, at least not in 'human' form, but Tim seemed to be managing fine? Maybe the practice fighting sessions helped with that a little; he'd like to think it challenged the man's balance. ]

I guess if we ever get lost, you'll have to lead the way.

I pretty much got wolf senses; that came part of the package. It's also kinda nice to get the extra jump height, but... it's kinda strange. Sometimes I'll just get the urge to tear-ass around for a while. It's really hard not to.

I'm mostly used to it, I think. It still kind of sucks if I have to walk on anything really slick, though.

[Hooves weren't super great for traction on, like, ice, or even something more mundane like the inside of a porcelain tub. Showers, man. Always use a bath mat, the bruises sucked.]

[And if Majima had thought that Tim looked starry-eyed when he'd talked about his saddlebags, that was nothing compared to the look he got when he talked about his brief bursts of energy.]

You get zoomies?

[That was the fucking cutest thing that Tim had ever heard and it was written all over his face.]

Do you just, like, have to go out for a walk? Or a run? Do you take yourself to the park?

Wh... huh? What the hell're zoomies?

[ Majima had sort of just assumed it was a werewolf-specific thing; in the evenings was when he had the most energy, and it wasn't like he was immune to bursts of activity when human.

Was this a Thing, though? From Tim's excitement, it seemed like a Thing.

It was kind of embarrassing, though... ]

Hey, I can control myself, okay? Usually I head outdoors and make a dash for it and roll around in the grass, and so on.

[ And stole tennis balls. And knocked things over. And sometimes, rolled on his back and swam around like an idiot with his paws. ]

You don't... have anythin' like that?

[The idea of Majima in his big, fluffy wolf form, dashing out the door to go roll around in the grass was still super adorable. Tim had seen him when he was rolling around like a happy boy before, he knew what the swimming paws were like.]

I mean, zoomies are pretty much just what you said? I think dogs mostly get them, but cats sometimes do, too.

[Jay Catsby would sometimes get them in the evening, running around like a floofy maniac for a bit before calming down. It was cute, unless he started going after ankles.]

[But, god, Tim was just delighted about all of this. Majima, the guy who was usually all serious, running around and rolling in the grass during a rush of hyperactivity. Adorable.]

It's not really a cow thing, so... nope, can't say I really do. Maybe other weres get it? Or maybe just other werewolves.

[The only other weres that he knew personally was a were-bear and a were-raccoon, and god, he hoped that bears didn't get zoomies. That sounded like a bad time.]

Ya really love animals, huh?

[ He'd never really seen himself as any kind of monster, really, animal or otherwise. But hey, if Tim loved canine antics (and Majima sure was getting that vibe), then maybe that was one more tick in favor of werewolves. Majima didn't mind looking cute if it brought a smile to the guy's face like the one he was sporting now. And he had to admit the belly rubs were fantastic.

So what if it was a little undignified? He was going to be part wolf for the forseeable future; maybe he ought to just enjoy it. Right? ]

...by the way, how's your throwin' arm?

[ It was as he was asking this question as they pulled into sight of Tunn, and the sleepy-looking dock. A few vessels were moored there, and it looked like there were some stands for snacks and beach gear so on, but for the most part? Things seemed pretty quiet. There was a long stretch of sandy beach, and some tree cover that looked right for a good snooze. ]

Hell yeah! That's perfect.

[ Look at all that sand and water and there were frisbees??? Tim was going to love it everything was Fine ]

Yeah, I like the ones that are cute and haven't tried to eat me.

[All animals were not created equal in the realms of Tim's affections, okay. Cats and dogs? Wonderful, they were all good boys who only deserved the very best in life. Skags? Awful. Stalkers? Invisible bastards. Torks? Horrible little scorpion spider assholes.]

[There were probably people out there who loved all animals, both the cute and the horrifying, but Tim wasn't one of them. If it would look at him and think he was dinner, nope. No, thank you.]

[The approaching island, however, looked idyllic-- blue water and sandy beaches and not a whole lot of people hanging around. Tourist season must not have been in full swing yet, which was really to their benefit.]

Wow, it looks like something out of a magazine.

[One of those, like, vacation magazines that showed you all of the nice places that you could never afford to visit.]

I've got a pretty good arm. [He'd had a lot of practice, but mostly with grenades. Whatever, though, same skill, right?] What'd you bring for me to throw?

...I'm gonna have to get Soeki somethin' nice.

[ Maybe one day, Majima would find out what the hell a skag was, and why it might be curried. But for now, as they headed in toward the dock, Majima produced a bright blue frisbee from his bag for Tim's inspection. ]

They still got these in the future, right?

[ Although for all he knew, maybe frisbees from the future shot lasers or some shit. All the more reason to enjoy it here, instead, where maybe he could persuade Tim to throw shirtless. God, that'd be living the dream.

A little jolt as they tied the boat and lowered a ramp onto the side of the ship for people to use to disembark. Majima slid an arm around Tim's shoulders and headed toward it, though he fairly quickly switched to leading Tim by the hand. Easier, probably? ]

[In all honesty, there probably was a frisbee that shot lasers somewhere in the future. It probably existed because why the fuck not, it's there so might as well put some fucking lasers on it and make it explode for good measure.]

[The super space future is weird, Majima.]

[But you know what? He was from the future, he might as well make the most of it. Tim looked at Majima, his face the absolute picture of innocent confusion. He was but a simple space man, Majima, he didn't know about your strange antiquities of yesteryear.]

No, I don't think I've ever seen one of these before.

[Tim took the frisbee from Majima so that he could examine it like he'd never seen one in his whole entire life, really. If he could pull this shit off, someone nominate him for a fucking space Oscar-- he'll start his acting career right now, that would be it. Fuck being a body double, he'd go to monster Hollywood. Mollywood?]

What am I supposed to do with it?

[ Could it be? Was it feasible that Tim really didn't know what a frisbee was?

...maybe. After all, the guy didn't know how to swim, and frisbees were kind of an oldschool piece of recreational equipment. Perhaps it was the equivalent of inviting Tim to play with a hoop and stick. Maybe in the future everyone liked to play awkward hologram lacrosse in goofy padded suits, Majima didn't know.

As he stepped off the boat and onto the wooden planks of the dock (which made a pleasing creak underfoot), Majima considered his options. ]

Okay, the first thing to remember: ya can't play frisbee fully clothed. Shirts off, or ya might as well not bother.

[ House rules!! ]

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