Oh mai... This is new...

(We could put that off for a bit, once Laura is on her feet. ouo' I really wanna do this now. Because reasons. And Greyson can be a derp.)

(Umm, okay. XD Sure, why not?)

(Okay. ^^' Should we wait for Sil, though?)

(*shrug* She said she can't RP right now.)

(Oh.... Well, I'm not home anyway and on data, so it doesn't bother me at the moment.)

(Mmkay. What're you doing? o3o?)

(I'm at my grandparents' house for lunch. :p And I also learned that dandelion roots and leaves are good for reducing cancer. And yes, Italians eat them in salads after cleaning them and stuff. They're actually really good. o3o' )

(Sil can't come back for hours... You still wanna wait or start now, and she can join in later? I still have Maruel with her too, and I can wait as long as necessary for that.)

(Hmmm.... We could start now, and she can join in later maybe. I don't think she would mind much-- just as long as they don't go back to the Safekeep before she comes back. XD)

(Mmkay. XD Should I start?)

(That would be awesome. owo" And we're timeskipping a bit?)

(Yeaup, because a bunch of wounded people probably wouldn't go swimming, but they would if they were feeling better and needed cheered up. XD I'll throw a few people in here, but more can go, like Scotty and Stone and stuff. eue)

It was around lunchtime at Safekeep, and quite a few people had gone down to the cafeteria to get lunch-- it was a lot more fun to have lunch there and socialize, since most of the time people had their breakfasts and dinners at home with their families or roommates. Several of the teens and young adults were sitting together, enjoying one another's company and talking.

There was Laura, who had recovered a lot since becoming so badly injured during the battle. Still, she was supposed to limit her physical activity, and had trouble even just walking long distances. She had access to a wheelchair, under Ruth's rather stern direction, and that was what she was sitting in at the moment as she and her friends sat around the table. Of course, Roy was next to her, and Celeste at her other side. Beside Roy was his sister, and next to her EJ, with Tina next to him. Aaron was there, too, because Laura had invited him. She saved his ass during that fight a while ago, so he owed her at least the courtesy to accept... not that he seemed particularly thrilled. Well, that was about to change.

Nani and Greyson had been absent during their lunch, but they suddenly showed up, both looking quite proud of themselves. The ocelot practically ran over to the table when she saw everyone, hugging Aaron from behind as she told everyone, "Hey, guys! Greyson and I came up with the best idea ever while walking down here!"

Greyson was fortunately healing quite well, with some fur and tiny, soft, baby scales growing on the wounded patches on his back. He had gone to the infirmary for Nani to check on him, and on their way to lunch afterwards, they had a grand idea for the group to relax. The pangolin hybrid grinned widely, "Yeah, we had the best idea! The weather's been so warm out, we thought we could all go swimming together! What do you guys say, huh? It'll be fun!"

Nani gazed at everyone with big, shiny eyes, silently pleading for them to agree. She still had her arms looped around Aaron as he sat at the table, openly affectionate towards him even in front of everyone else.

(Okay. owo) 

From across the table, the Brodeur siblings were kind of eyeing Aaron, who was kind of ignoring them. Neither of them really knew that Laura had invited the panther until it was too late-- they didn't say much about it, though. It was nice, though, just being able to socialize, even for a little bit, as everyone was recovering from the battle. Roy didn't sound like cotton had been shoved up his nose, which was good, and he showed no signs of a slight concussion. Rachel and Tina's minor wounds were mostly healed, while Aaron's pulled shoulder was out of a sling now and mostly moveable, but still a little sore. 

The bat siblings and Tina looked up when Greyson and Nani came running over-- Aaron hadn't noticed them until it was too late, and blushed a little as the ocelot hugged him from behind like that. He wasn't easily embarrassed, sure, but it was awkward with her being openly affectionate in front of everyone. 

"Sweemmeeng?" Roy asked, his ears twitching a little as he watched the two rather ditzy people, "Well....maybe...." It couldn't really benefit everyone, as Laura would probably have a hard time swimming, or she wouldn't go at all, but they could give it a shot. And to be honest, he was a little self conscious, especially next to someone like Greyson or Aaron, so he was honestly a little hesitant. 

"Oh come on!" Rachel thumped her brother's shoulder, and was careful to not actually hit the bonniest part of it, "Eet'll be fun! We could all use a break.... And I 'ope all of you know 'ow to sweem, too." She was also aware that Laura probably couldn't swim, too, but she didn't think the marten minded all that much. 

"You don't have to worry about that, for the most part." Tina spoke up, honestly kind of excited about this idea. She loved to swim-- she was an otter for Aurora's sake! She was built for the water.

"I think it's a good idea..." Laura replied, though she would probably just be sunning herself or wading in the water, since she was supposed to be taking it easy. She smiled up at Roy, "Rachel's right, it'll be fun, and give us all a chance to do something together like normal teenagers do." She turned and signed to Celeste, so she would know what's going on.

EJ was reluctant as well, but didn't say anything when Rachel got all excited about it. Instead he just smiled a little and said, "Yeah, maybe it'll be fun..."

"Of course it'll be fun!" Nani insisted, then added, "And if you guys don't have bathing suits, you can get some from the clothing inventory. I just got mine on the way here." She looked down at Aaron, leaning her head against his and pleading, "You'll come too, right? It'll be fun."

"Alright, alright.... Maybe I'll finally be mudane for once...." Roy replied to Laura, smirking a little, before turning his attention back to when EJ spoke. He noticed the cat looking a little reluctant-- did he not know how to swim? Roy wasn't all to sure, to be honest. The bat wasn't really good at swimming either, but he could. 

Rachel noticed this as well, and turned to look at EJ, "Are you sure you're okay wiz zis?" The bat wanted EJ to come, but if he didn't want to, she respected that. 

Tina and Roy nodded a bit to Nani's mention of them not having bathing suits-- neither of them had any, so it was a relief there were extras from the clothing inventory. 

Aaron looked up at Nani when she rested against his head, his face a little red as he replied, "....fine." He wasn't too keen on the idea, but it might be a good distraction.... If Nani in a bathingsuit in general wasn't enough.

(Oh gawd, Aaron... XD)

"Y-yeah, it's okay," EJ assured her, not wanting to be the one who ruined the fun. Besides, he could always just chill out in the sunshine if he didn't actually want to swim, so it wasn't that big of a deal. The truth was, he hadn't forgotten the time he almost drowned several months ago, so he was very cautious about the idea of swimming. The memory of being dragged underwater and feeling the cold liquid fill his lungs was enough to make him plenty wary. Still, the little guy smiled up at Rachel and joked, "Though I don't have a swimsuit, so I'll need to get one, I guess."

Nani beamed when Aaron agreed, "Thank you! It'll be fun, I promise!" She straightened up, asking, "Anyone who needs a bathing suit should come with me, and I'll show you where I got mine."

(XD 

Aaron: e//u//e" )

Still not completely won over that EJ was alright with this (she breifly remembered the time he nearly drowned, and tried to ignore it), she was just glad he wanted to tag along anyway, "To be 'onest, I don't 'ave one, ezair.... I 'aven't gone sweemmeeng een a long time...." She didn't have a pool growing up, so she didn't go often to begin with before she ran away from home. 

Somewhat relieved when Nani let go of his head, Aaron tried to will himself to stop blushing in front of everyone. He had to stand up anyway, as he didn't have one, either. Tina and Roy followed suit, with EJ and Rachel close behind.

Nani cheerfully led the others to the clothing stash, and used the little cardboard directory sign to remember where the swimming clothes were kept. Then she showed them the boxes of clothes, stacked on shelves, "Here we go! There's plenty to choose from, but... EJ, you might wanna look in the small or extra-small size boxes..."

EJ's face reddened a little, "Yeah, I know, I know..." He looked up at Roy, "You're lucky you're tall, but you're still as skinny as I am." He went to look for something that would fit him, feeling like an awkward preteen despite the fact that he had recently turned seventeen.

Nani excitedly pulled the bathing suit she had chosen out of her pocket, "This is mine! I'm so excited to wear it, it's so pretty! I think light green looks good on me, right?" Of course, she had chosen a little bikini, not noticing how most males would react to her wearing it. Though not as curvy as Sasha, Nani was far from flat.

Celeste had come along, pushing Laura's wheelchair for her. She smiled as Nani talked, since she had no idea what the ocelot said. Laura looked uncomfortable at the idea of anyone wearing a little swimsuit, musing, "Well... I guess I should look..."

(Oh Nani..... XD

Aaron: e//u//e)

Roy let out a bit of a snort at Nani's comment about the swimsuit size, and really couldn't help but smirk a little at the much smaller cat as he spoke to him, "You can say zat, buht eet's steell annoyeeng." As much as being tall kind of helped, it didn't help that a bunch of his stuff was baggy because of how skinny he was, like how EJ said. The bat then went to find boxes in his size, not that he really cared much about the colour. 

Tina wasn't really paying much attention to Nani as she was speaking-- the otter was just looking for a decent one piece that didn't show a lot of cleavage. However, she looked up when Nani showed off her little green bikini, and couldn't help but feel awkward. Good God.... Never in a million years would she wear that. Ever. 

Aaron was honestly a bit surprised at her picking, not that he cared much. Trying not to blush, the panther went to find his size as well. 

"Eet looks nice on you, Nani." Rachel was trying to be nice about that, and it did look good on the ocelot, but the whole 'bikini' thing was throwing her off. As much as Rachel was sort of flat, she was more self conscious about her bottom half.

(And remember guys, shoe size doesn't matter. eue 

Roy: >///o" 

Hurhurhur..... eue )

Celeste helped the other girls look, as she already had a swim suit. She and Shay had gone out the other day for some fun, because he was bummed out over something (maybe the fact that she was spending so much time with Ronnie). She knew she would have to help Laura put on hers if she got one, but didn't really mind-- rather, she focused in finding something Laura wouldn't hate. Her sister was incredibly modest at times.

"I think you'd look great in pink, Rachel. A nice like pink. Or maybe yellow or white!" Nani suggested, trying to be helpful.

EJ was fine with the first swim shorts he found that would fit him okay, and went to stand with Roy as they waited. He asked, "Are you any good at swimming? You'll have to take your prosthetic off, of course... It's waterproof when it comes to protecting the wiring, but it could rust if you get it wet too often."

Blushing a little at the advice, Rachel admitted, "Peenk eesn't really my colour...." She wasn't the biggest fan if the colour, but yellow seemed nice, "Zank you, anyway." She went off to find a two piece-- it was more of a bandeau on the top with straps, and shorts on the bottom. 

After finding a swimsuit for himself, Roy glanced down at EJ as they waited, "To be 'onest, not really... I mean, I've 'ad lessons before, buht I deedn't get very far, and I deedn't 'ave a pool groweeng up. And I was goeeng to take my weeng off, Ezhay. Don't worry." The bat didn't want to wreck the wing if he couldn't help it, since it took a long time for EJ to build it.

EJ chuckled a little, "Yeah, I know... Just had to be sure." He watched the girls as they picked at their options, then looked up at Roy again after a moment, "You don't think it's stupid that I'm scared of water, do you? I'm not good at swimming..." Roy would know, since he was the one who performed CPR when EJ nearly drowned. He sheepishly fiddled with a strand of his fluffy hair, "I still wanna go, don't get me wrong, but... If I freak out in the water I could shock everyone by accident... Water is highly conductive and all... So uh, just... If I end up freaking out, can you make sure I get out of the water before I hurt anyone?" Of course he would look to Roy, who was like his older brother. He adored and looked up to him, and it was clear in the way he looked at him, "B-but I might not. It might be fun."

(For the sake of cute Roy-J moments. ;u; I wanna do more with those two, because their brotherly relationship is fudging adorable. <3)

(YES PLEASE! <3 *dies* And this is why we need to get EJ pure water so he doesn't shock anyone by accident. XD)

"Ezhay, you're talkeeng to ze guy who's afraid of scissors and needles... You're good." Roy's fears were a lot more pitiful than EJ's, but the cat's were a lot worse because the water could indeed kill him if he drowned. Of course, he knew from the CPR he performed back in Flare's old camp with Tina frisking the hell out and crying after pulling him out of the water, "Of course I'll make sure you don't shock anyone.... Zhust don't shock me eef I pull out out of ze watair, alright?" He didn't admit that he didn't know water was conductive-- science was one of his more weaker subjects, next to math, "Don't worry about eet, alright? I got you covaired."

(Just hugsssss... <333)

"I'll try... Thanks..." EJ was relieved that he could just tell Roy these things, instead of everybody having to know. He looked up at the bat again, just looking at him... He really missed just hanging out with him, instead of worrying over some life or death situation. He suddenly told him, "I love you, Roy." Because he did. In a very brotherly way, which he would understand. The cat grinned, "It's great to see you doing a little better... You seem happier. It's because of Laura, right?"

Said marten was finally deciding on a one-piece bathing suit, wanting to cover her pale-furred belly. Thoroughly embarrassed, she awkwardly sat in her wheelchair, a faint blush on her face.

(Asjnefjhdfndwjhdwjne *dies* <3) 

Smiling a little at the smaller cat, Roy said as he looked down, "You're welcome." The bat honestly felt a little awkward after that, as EJ was just staring at him, and Roy twitched his ears. H didn't know why EJ was kind of looking at him like that, but EJ suddenly speaking again brought him from his thoughts. Blushing a little (it took him a second to get the context rather than something else), the bat went sheepish as EJ mentioned Laura, "You could say zat, yeah.... And probably being more mundane in monzs.... Eet's finally getteeng to me, I guess. Not zat I'm complaineeng much."