[D3EA] Date with a Dragon (CLOSED)

[Usagi Rei]

As Yakumo rose, so did Rei, smoothing out his clothing with his hands. "Too true." He agreed, grimacing. "But I've come to accept it. People are going to make mistakes, and other people have to clean them up. It's how things are, and I just have to do the best I can." A shrug, a hint of a sigh.

He jerked a thumb back towards the interior. "Did you want me to grab the fruit? Or we could both go." Rei gave her a playful smirk. "Gotta say, I wouldn't mind watching you walk up those stairs again."

Back at the shishi-odoshi, Airi was following the tube as it lifted up again. Her sinuous neck bent, letting her nearly stick her face into it. "She'll be fine." Rei assured her.

[Susumu Yakumo]

Yakumo looked at him with a raised eyebrow before cracking a grin. "Pervert. Just for that, you will be the one going up the stairs first."

Besides, Airi might enjoy exploring the locked balcony on her own since there seemed to be plenty of interest for her there. And who knew, maybe she'd be stuck by the shishi-odoshi still when they came back.

[Usagi Rei]

For a moment, Rei looked at her, his expression innocent. But really, he could only hold that for a moment. "As you wish, Yakumo-san. Besides, turnabout does seem like fair play." As they walked back into the suite, they could hear the clunk of the shishi-odoshi tipping over, followed by a hisssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss...

With the tray retrieved, it was time to head back out. While Rei might not have had quite the intriguing walk that Yakumo did, Hare didn't skip leg day, and it showed. He cast a quick smile back over his shoulder as they reached the top.

Stepping outside, they would see Airi circling around the shishi-odoshi now, no longer in competition with the water spout side. Instead, she was sticking her little face up by where the water was coming out. Hearing the two samurai return, Airi turned to face them with a little curious hop.

[Susumu Yakumo]

Cheeky rabbit, Yakumo thought with a smirk as she followed behind Rei, though she had to look back to see Airi's antics as she heard the hiss.

And walking back up, yes, this was a very nice view. Maybe people invented stairs for just this reason... to have a perfectly legitimate reason to oggle other people's assets. When Rei cast a glance in her direction, she made a show of pretending to be looking the other way - even adding in an innocent whistle.

"Hey, Airi-chan~," she cooed as the drake hopped over to them. The tray of fruit had some variety there, with the more common things like apples, oranges, grapes, and strawberry. And some more interesting things too like kiwi, papaya, mango, and dragonfruit. Truly the hotel would provide anything requested by its guests.

"Which ones does she like?" she asked Rei, wondering what to give to Airi first.

[Usagi Rei]

Given the way Rei's lips curled up at her whistle, it was possible that he was onto her.

"She likes small things." Rei said, holding the tray a little higher. Airi was craning her neck, nose twitching, trying to see what was on the plate. Her wings flapped a bit, but she didn't begin to fly. "Grapes would be perfect. She'll also eat strawberries. I haven't tried kiwi." He shrugged casually.

Smiling, he held the tray towards Yakumo, offering her its contents. "She'll take it out of your hand. Or she'll catch it! She's very good at that." Rei grinned.

[Susumu Yakumo]

"Well, we can start with something she likes," she said as she picked up a red grape from the tray. Had Yakumo been a pet-person, she might've wondered about how grapes were safe for little drakes, but not cats or dogs... but she knew oh so very little about what pets could eat and not eat.

"Wait, are you saying she'll fly up to me if I hold out food?" Yakumo asked, finally realising what he might've meant with 'take it out of your hand'.

[Usagi Rei]

"Once she gets a whiff of it. You'll have to show it to her first." Rei said. "Then hold it between thumb and finger, or flat on top of your palm.

Wincing, he shifted the tray a little farther from Airi, who was giving little experimental hops, flapping her wings enough to hover a bit. "If she realizes what I've got here soon, she may just go for this." He said. "She's a clever little spine drake. Aren't you?" He cast a quick look down at Airi with a fond smile.

He looked back to Yakumo, clearing his throat, cheeks the slightest bit red, trying to judge how doting on his pet affected his cool handsome guy affectation.

[Susumu Yakumo]

It was kind of fascinating to watch Airi flap her little wings and hovering. Still, she could spend a snicker at Rei doting on his pet.

"Right, right," she tried following Rei's direction, holding the grape between her thumb and finger in the air. "Airi~. Here girl." Yakumo had seen people whistle for their pets, so she tried to give the little creature a few encouraging whistle noises.

[Usagi Rei]

The grape and the singsong voice attracted Airi's attention almost instantly. Her golden eyes grew wider, strange pupils tracking the movement of the fruit. "Get ready." Rei's measured voice was low, standing beside her as he was. Airi crouched low...

It began with a leap. Powerful dragon legs flexed, propelling the little creature into the air as her wings beat, high enough to reach Yakumo's hand. Her jaws reached out, very precisely snatching the grape from between her fingers; so far as Yakumo could tell, even her gloves were entirely untouched. Then, she twisted in midair, her wings flapping, and she swooped away gracefully.

Landing atop the shishi-odoshi spot with a pleased (presumably) hiss, Airi tossed her head back, devouring her prize. "Well done." Rei murmured.

[Susumu Yakumo]

Yakumo yelped a bit as a drake was suddenly flying at her, and she brought up her other hand to shield her face... which kind of made her grimace a bit sheepishly out of embarrassment over it all since Airi was only interested in the grape and not Yakumo's face.

She chuckled as she recovered. "Wow... that's something alright. Please tell me you had it like that too in the start with her..."

[Usagi Rei]

As much as their talk about being a bodyguard was at least half flirting, well, Rei was actually a yojimbo. As Yakumo yelped, Rei stepped forward. His hand came up, coming to rest on her back, just behind her shoulder, a mixture of comforting and guiding. The fruit tray was nearly a casualty as everyone controlled their reactions.

Over on the spout, Airi looked over at the two of them, staring. After a moment, she hissed.

"It's okay." Rei said, his voice soft, his hand warm and strong. "Sorry, I should have warned you. She is fast. And yeah, the first time she did it to me, I checked to make sure I had all my fingers." Smiling, he finally let his hand fall away, rubbing his fingers together.

[Susumu Yakumo]

At the mention of fingers, Yakumo did a quick count of her own... and was relieved nothing was missing. Not even a snag on the glove. She heaved a sigh of relief. "Goodnes... I..." she chuckled again, feeling awkward about the whole thing.

Spider Singer Savagely Struck by Soaring Serpent would've been a ridiculous headline anyway, she thought to use humor to play down her initial scare.

"Sorry." Then she noticed his hand on her, and her lips formed into a more sincere smile and much less embarrassed. "Thank you. She really is fast. I guess she has to be if her species would eat bugs?"

[Usagi Rei]

"Exactly." Rei said. "If you toss something for her, she'll catch it out of the air. If she feels like it." He chuckled. "Sometimes she doesn't, and then we'd just be splattering the floor of your balcony with fruit. Still, if you'd like to try... it's safe, I promise." His hand gave one more gentle brush.

He tilted his head, regarding her. "Or would you like to sit down a moment? Have some fruit? Airi can't eat all of this." His smile grew, just a little, his eyes warm, watching her face. "Which fruit is your favorite, Yakumo-san? It's partially here for your enjoyment, after all. Indulge yourself." There was definitely a playful undercurrent in his measured tones.

Meanwhile, Airi seemed to be using the advantage of her high ground to investigate the shishi-odoshi from above, neck stretching down to watch it.

[Susumu Yakumo]

"Well it's not like I have to clean it up," she said with a short laugh. Spoken like someone who was not at all responsible for things like chores and was used to people doing that kind of work for her!

She did give him a nod though, and indicated a low bench on the balcony that they could sit down on. "Thank you. We can share it, if you like?" A glance was given back to Airi. "I do want to try tossing her something in mid-air, see if she catch it."

"Hmmm..." Yakumo's lips pursed as she thought, then picked up a slice of kiwi. "I am partial to kiwis, but I do like berries as well. What about you? A man who likes the classics, like apples?"

[Usagi Rei]

Rei was all to happy to sit. Partially to enjoy a moment with a beautiful idol, and partially because he felt silly having a conversation while carrying a tray of fruit. He joined her on the bench, setting the tray partway between them.

He smirked at her, picking up a piece of apple. "Is that your read of me? A man who likes the classics... I could do worse than that." He picked up a slice of apple, bringing it to his lips to bite off a piece. Chewed carefully and swallowed. "I do like apples, but they're not my favorite."

Reaching down, he plucked a single grape, offering it to her. "Would you like to do the honors? Just call her name and toss it in a big arc. If you'd like to."

Airi's attention continued to be diverted by the shishi-odoshi.

[Susumu Yakumo]

She chuckled, eyeing him with a playful smirk. "Now I am curious as to what your favorite is... so unfair that you won't tell me, as I told you mine." Her tone was teasing, a bit flirty even, and she punctuated the sentence with a little pout.

Yakumo did pick up the offer grape though, perhaps touching his hand a bit more than what was needed to snatch it from Rei.

[Usagi Rei]

"Remember, call her name, then a big arc." Rei was pleased to let his fingers dance against hers for a moment. Her gloved fingers... it did seem a little strange. For a moment, confusion flashed in his pale eyes.

But, well, a beautiful idol was giving him a flirty pout. That drew his eyes more than any oddity about her gloves. "Oh, that lip." He said, smirking playfully. "How can I say no to that?" He leaned a little bit closer... then reached down, picking up a slice of mango. "They really do have excellent mango here. It's my favorite. You should try it, Yakumo-san."

Perhaps in a show of dominance, Airi jumped from the spout onto the shishi-odoshi, her talons gripping it near the middle. Slowly, she rocked from one side to the other as it slowly filled.

[Susumu Yakumo]

Noticing Rei's confusion, Yakumo decidedly ignored it. He was hardly the first to give her that look, and she knew he wouldn't be the last... she was uncomfortably used to it.

"Was mango a recent favorite, or something you liked since before coming to World of Dreams?" she asked as she readied the grape. Not being much of an athlete, she was figuring out how to throw it in a big arc well.

Again she made the encouraging whistle sounds. "Airi~! Grape. Here, grape!" she called sweetly, making a show of the grape between her fingers to get Airi to focus on it. And then it was thrown in a... well, somewhat medium-big arc?

[Usagi Rei]

"A recent favorite." Rei said, smiling and shaking his head. "Hare ships don't have a lot of fresh fruits. I also didn't have a favorite drink, either. Rei of three years ago was a very different person than Rei of today." He sighed, eyes briefly going distance, his expression a little strange.

Popping the mango into his mouth, Rei turned to watch. Airi was alerted by the whistle, her head wobbling. Golden eyes went wide as she spotted the grape, and she went into a crouch, spreading her wings.

The grape went aloft. Surprisingly silently, Airi leaped into the air, spreading her wings, her little body moving into a glide. She seemed to calculate the arc with unerring precision, gliding under its path. Then, as soon as it was within reach, she snapped out with her whiplike neck, snatching it from the air.

"Hah! Very nice!" Grinning, Rei gave a little cheer, seemingly directed at both Airi and Yakumo. Slightly different sentiments.

[Susumu Yakumo]

Seeing the serpentine creature in action again, this time Yakumo could more appriciate the aerial acrobatics on display, and Airi elicited a small applause from the Spider diva. "Goodness! She's so fast and agile!"

Looking back to Rei, she exclaimed with some glee, "she's such a skilled little darling, isn't she? How long have you had her? How did you even get to have such a wonderful pet?" Airi was so much cooler than dogs or cats. "Or... hmmm... is that another thing that is different between Rei-Three-Years-Ago, and Rei-Today? A favorite drink, smooth talker, and a cute pet to rope in all the girls?"