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Firialia?

[ She thinks, anyway. She should be more excited about holidays here, but she hasn't learned enough about it to be in the mood. ]

It's not until towards the end of the month though.

That's it.

[ Thank you. ]

That's true too... [ He shrugs. ] Beats me, then. [ Nom. The crepes aren't overtly huge. Savory, but not huge. So he's already about halfway through his. ]

How's your crepe?

It's good. I don't usually eat savoury crepes, so this is nice.

[ And it's heavy, even if it's small! She's gonna be full for a good twenty minutes before she gets hungry again. ]

I wonder what's good for dinner, though...

[ ALSJALF DID SHE JUST CHANGE THE TOPIC BECAUSE SHE'S THINKING ABOUT FOOD ]

Doubt I would have had one of these back home, so...thanks.

[ He doesn't say that with any somber intent. Edge didn't really have many fanciful places and the world was rebuilding. Chances were it'd have been someone else or the kids who asked him about crepes sometime. So, he's glad Weiss introduced them to him! He takes another bite. Just as he's mid-chew and about to swallow, he blinks over at her while she ponders her next course. ]

Mmf? [ Swallow. ] Already?

[ Help her, Cloud!! ...maybe the pork buns she was thinking of before. He strokes his chin in thought before finally, ]

You weren't kidding about Cordis stuff... [ ... on second thought, he probably wouldn't like it. He needs his Chroma for fighting and training! ] Still feeling bread?

[ Weiss lets out a groan before taking a bite off her crepe. Should she say more about the Cordis stuff? Ugh... Maybe, so she decides to explain herself once she's swallowed her food. ]

I do want bread. And I want to eat as much as I can, because I don't intend to go around asking people for Chroma.

[ Those people who post to various social media sites for booty calls... Ugh. . . that's definitely not her, even if the Cordis moon makes her more courageous and flirty and overall nicer. ]

[ Cloud's nearly done with his. Turns out while he didn't have the same innate need for food or Chroma like Weiss did during this cycle, he still had an appetite not worth underestimating. His brow furrows again... So her body burns through food, and without food her body burns through Chroma. That's what Cloud was getting from what she just said. He knew the basics of it all, but seeing it for himself was another story altogether.

He goes quiet after an acknowledging hum, finishing what's left of his Teriyaki Chicken crepe; fortunately they're just in time to pass a waste bin on the street. Wherever they're venturing to next, he knows the area well enough to know there's plenty of places to hit up. Restaurants that are starting their dinner services, other convenient street food stands.

In his silence, Cloud has time to think about her cycle some more. And it hits him. If she got hungry soon and then had to wait for her food... Was this why the Cordis stocked up? So that they could just continuously burn through their supplies without waiting? Then, her Chroma... ]

Well until dinner -- [ To anyone else, this would look like some smooth attempt to hold the girl's hand. But this is Cloud, so. He doesn't think about what it looks like as far as helping her was concerned. ] -- might as well balance things out.

[ By holding her hand as they continue walking. At least with Cloud, he feels like nothing's amiss. Just giving her Chroma until she can have her fill for dinner.

If he's gonna be paying, he might as well get a partial refund out of it. ]

[ Her cheeks turn as pink as the ham, and she looks down at their joined hands, then back up at him. ]

You've got a lot of nerve...

[ Jeez, Cloud. If you're going to hold her hand, at least ask permission first??? Especially in public! Lunatia might be the city where people don't care about stuff like that, but Weiss still cares because she's not exactly the most affectionate person on earth. . . but today just so happens to be a day during the Cordis cycle. That means she is pretty affectionate, despite her cold words.

... And she returns the gesture by entwining their fingers together. Her attention is focused on the path they're walking on now, but she's still talking to him. ]

If you intend to give me Chroma, at least give me more than that.

What?

[ He really was just thinking about the Chroma balance. But all it takes is a look at Weiss' face to realize that...oh. ...boundary overstepped? Good intentions be damned? Cloud's own face turns a deep shade of red too. Had the otherwise acerbic swordsman only just met her, or only just arrived on this planet, he wouldn't have done this so casually. Chances were, it would have simply been a repeat of their first encounter revised. ]

Oh. I didn't— I was just...

[ Cloud may have pulled a smooth move. But his words? Not so much. There's still a touch of shyness now that he was aware of why she'd be embarrassed. Theeen she pulls a fast one on him and laces their fingers together. That certainly earns a boost, made stronger whenever the blond would gently squeeze her hand in his.

...he's not gonna go swinging their arms or anything though. For now however, the two of them seem to blend into the crowd quite nicely. Groups minding their own business, another Prismal couple with one leaning against the others' shoulder, a couple with two children, hand in hand. And here, a former SOLDIER and a Huntress. ]

Best I can do while walking anyway, [ he answers with a chancing glance her way before focusing on the street ahead. ]

[ Gross... don't swing their arms, Cloud?? You're not in kindergarten. ]

This is the best anyone can do while walking.

[ Totally not considering clinging onto his arm or anything. Or walking with his arm around her. This isn't the best anyone can do, Weiss... ]

Is it?

[ 'Cause there's that couple cuddling each other from earlier. He stops when they reach the crosswalk, and now they're left standing there hand in hand, waiting for the walk sign to light up. ]

Yes, if you still want to look like a respectable human being.

[ Because she certainly does. She's not clingy!!! Not... Not in public, anyway. . . ]

[ Freshly arrived Cloud may not have caught onto what she meant. Currently? ]

Yeah, that sounds about right.

[ He's just glad to balance out her Chroma. That and he's getting some back in the process. Win win win situation. ~~(The 3rd win was holding her hand but shhh . . .)~~ At this time, he starts to peer around at the local businesses. If he was honest, he was finding learning how a Cordis went about their cycle to be interesting.

One would think that being exposed to Weiss' pheromones would get him more flustered, but instead he seems really calm. Turns out accepting being close to a Cordis was making his response to her scent more subdued. Who knew that not resisting or acting up about it would make this all easier? ]

Let's see...

[ Cloud may be checking out the vicinity, but Weiss tugs on Cloud's hand to cross the street and walk a couple of blocks more. ]

The bakery's just this way. Their floss buns come out at noon and another batch comes out in ten minutes.

[ She really wants the fresh bread!! It's embarrassing how much she talks about food during Cordis. . . ]

[ Cloud doesn't fumble, but the little tug catches him by surprised as she momentarily takes the lead. Rather than place an emphasis on her Cordis urges (not in the traditional sense anyway), there is a thought that crosses his mind. She usually stocks up at home for both her cycle and the triple moon periods... ]

You know, if you're ever running short down the road... You can call me.

[ CLOUD. ]

Wouldn't be the first time I did a food run.

[ Oh. Talking about his delivery service. Right. ]

Edited 2019-12-10 00:43 (UTC)

[ Weiss almost doubletakes at what Cloud says, but he follows up and sort of saves the whole conversation. Good on him. Them??? ]

For free?

[ Totally milking what she can get... ]

[ Save for the emergency upon having his Aura unlocked, the thought hadn't occurred to him to call her up for moonlacing reasons. He doesn't need to; while it wasn't something he'd easily admit with words, he wasn't here for the sole purpose of staving her Cordis downsides. ]

Free? Well, um, it's business and...

[ Weiss don't look at him expectedly like that. His voice feels trapped, his lip stiffening. Stop that.

Geez, Cloud. It's not like you so boldly started holding her hand or anything. This should be easy. But there he goes, blushing and habitually running his hand through the back of his hair. ]

Okay. [ Sucker. ]

Pffft— [ That gets Weiss to laugh, momentarily stopping in her tracks and letting go or Cloud's hand so she can cover her mouth. ]

I was joking! I'm— [ God, this is funny. He's cute??? He's being cute. ]

I'm not gonna take all your money, Cloud.

[ Okay, she's stopped laughing now. ]

Hey, what's so funny—

[ Aaand there she goes, breaking out into a fit of giggles. Her sudden burst of laughter that she tries to cover up jostles him from his attempt at being terse. That's only going to make the color rising to his face even more vibrant.

Did he just get duped?! She does have verbal evidence that he consented to giving her free service. Even if he's frowning, the little noise of protest in his throat sounds halfhearted at best. When she stops laughing, he places a hand on his hip, staring down at her with a raised brow. The kind of look that basically screams,

"What am I gonna do with you?" It lasts for all of a couple seconds before he's shaking his head, his expression softening again. Wouldn't be the first time he was teased after all. ]

I'll consider a discount.

[ And by discount, he means...probably not charging her from time to time unless she insists. ]

[ Once Weiss is calm— okay, no, she's still laughing a little, she takes Cloud's hand again and continues walking as if their short break never happened. She'd found the handholding awkward at the beginning, but it looks like she doesn't even care anymore.

If it were someone else, Ruby, for example, she'd totally care more. ]

I accept gifts in the form of snacks during Cordis. [ Ah, she's so cheeky, and she definitely looks it when she looks at him. ] We could always just go out like this, though.

It's nice being with someone.

[ With... him??? ]

[ It's almost natural at this point. Even if he'd impulsively taken her hand as an offset to her depleting Chroma to start, Cloud's become just as comfortable as Weiss was about it all. Seems like he's stumbled across another ice breaker around, well. Her. The joke is on thin ice as is. ]

Is that right.

[ He's definitely noticed that cheeky look on her face, enough that it garners a touch of a smirk from the blond. Up to the point where she suggested just doing this more. For some reason that's enough to get his bright blue gaze to broaden a little, blinking at her a couple times before his gaze drifts to her hand in his.

"It's nice being with someone." ]

Yeah. [ He smiles again, sharing a moment's glance to the huntress at his side before his focus is on what's ahead of them. ] I don't mind this.

[ Not one bit. ]

Oh, there is! I can't believe there's a line already.

[ Her pull on Cloud's hand becomes a little more forceful as her strides get longer. The bakery isn't all that big, but their breads are delicious and fresh and Weiss has their schedules memorised.

The line isn't all that long, but the breads are limited, especially the floss buns, which Weiss seriously has a craving for right now. Hopefully she'll be able to get some before it runs out. ]

Huh?

[ Cloud is quick to match Weiss' longer strides as they approach the bakery in question. While it wasn't like the line was out the door, the moment they get inside, they're pretty much at the back of the bakery waiting. Being the taller one of the two, he stands up on his tippy toes for a couple seconds to gauge how many people were ahead of them. ]

Must be the dinner rush.

[ Well. Not that people tend to go here for straight-up dinner. But he imagines lots of locals are heading home by now after work and grabbing some bread along the way. The only thing the two of them can do, honestly, is wait. Which means that the limited supply of floss buns that the Cordis-blessed girl sought may not be there by the time it's their turn to order. He can see batches of them behind the glass up at the front, with some customers ahead of them selecting them as they're a rather popular pick. Uh oh. Did they dilly-dally too long? Who knew that the 5 to 10 minutes Weiss spent waiting for Cloud back at the FroYo place could have been the game changer?

It's not like they can cut ahead or ask the people ahead of them not to order the floss buns. Cloud may be quiet at times, but he was far from socially inept; common sense and couth went a long ways. Still does nothing for the fact that at the rate they're flying off the racks, Weiss would have to do without her craving... That is, until it's the middle-aged Prismal woman's turn just ahead of them. They hum and haw at the various options, trailing their finger over the last two floss buns Weiss is after...and then moving to other options.

"It all looks so good... What to grab, what to grab...?" ]

The Cheese, Spinach & Feta Pullapart's pretty good. [ Suddenly, the woman peers to her side to find the spiky-haired young man tapping the glass over where the aforementioned treat is. She taps her lower lip in thought. "Ohh... You've had it?" ]

Yeah! [ No he hasn't. ] It's one of my favourites.

[ It isn't. ]

[ "Well in that case...!" She happily orders the baked good Cloud "recommends". He sounded like he knew what he was talking about so, she's satisfied with her purchase!

There's two floss buns left. It's Weiss' turn. Victory. ]

Edited 2019-12-12 09:03 (UTC)

[ Victory, indeed! Weiss watched with a poker face, secretly rejoicing that the floss buns remain untouched once the lady gets to the counter. And once it's her turn, she's all smiles as the orders the two remaining floss buns. She even includes a cinnamon raisin pretzel in her purchase, something to give to Cloud as a thank you gift.

While the cashier is assembling the breads, they're asked to wait to the side so the next person can order. Weiss looks around, an idea popping into her head, and flaps a hand to beckon Cloud to lean down. He's not much taller, but he needs to lean down all the same so Weiss can tell him what's on her mind. ]

I didn't take you for the type to pull something like that.

... Thanks. [ She's quick and sneaky, and the smooch she plants on Cloud's cheek is all totally Cordis' doing. :) ]

[ When she orders the cinnamon raisin pretzel, he doesn't know it's going to be as thanks for him, assuming she was getting it as an extra bit for herself. Considering how much she burnt through during the cycle, it was safe to assume! When she flaps a hand to have him lean down, he's expecting her to say something under her breath about how he pulled a fast one on that lady.

And when he leans down, Cloud's mostly on the mark. Was it that surprising? Maybe so, depending on how he presented himself to someone. ]

Well, spending time in the slums will teach you a thing or two.

[ That's when Weiss' sneak smooch attack is put into effect. It's one thing having to handle the subtle draw of her pheromones during Cordis, but having her catch him with his guard down? It's a miracle he only faintly blushes and makes a soft strained noise in the back of his throat. Uh uh uhhh~ No making a scene, former SOLDIER. ]

A-Ah... Yeah. [ He nods back before straightening upright and fixing his open collar which didn't even require fixing anyways. Was it warm in here? It's warm in here. ] No sweat.

[ Weiss turns away after that, and she's unable to resist the smug look on her face once her back is facing him. The cashier calls her attention though, because they've done preparing her food. The two floss buns were placed in one bag, while the pretzel was separated. ]

Here.

[ She's not even sure if Cloud is into cinnamon or raisin or pretzels or... well, all of those at once. It's delicious, though, so it's another thing she's keen on sharing with him. ]

That's your share.

[ The share of the bread he paid for???? ]

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