Seventeen
- Skies of Arcadia, Vyse/Aika, Lawrence, Pow
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"Pow!"

Aika whipped the stick sidearm out over Crescent Island's little lake. She lost sight of it in the darkness but Pow didn't, splashing into the lake and throwing water everywhere. A moment later he brought it back, both it and he dripping wet, and laid the stick at Aika's feet.

Aika grinned and picked it up again. Behind her the tavern was roaring with activity, the lanterns making it smoky and overheated, but out here it was cool and quiet and the breeze had picked up. A few more minutes of this and she'd be ready to dive back into the noise of the tavern, go find Vyse again. Maybe there'd be a brawl later. Aika liked tavern brawls, as long as her side won. 'Her side' usually being herself and Vyse against all comers.

"Pow!" said Pow at her feet, reminding her of what she was doing out here.

"Fetch!" Aika cried, and whipped the stick out again, harder this time. A gust of wind caught it and flung it high on an arc, carrying it over the lake and up to where the flag was planted, and there was a faint thud of impact followed by a clearly carrying and grumpy "Ow."

Aika clapped both hands to her mouth. "Uh oh." Pow hard on her heels she raced up along the curving trail to the flag. "Uh. Sorry! I wasn't aiming for you... I didn't even know you were here!" she finished brightly.

Lawrence eyed her sourly from under the fall of his bangs, holding out the stick. After a moment Aika took it, and flashed Lawrence a grin that was only mildly embarrassed before whipping the stick out into the night, watching it arc lazily through empty space until, finally, it dropped beneath the clouds and was lost to sight. "So what are you doing out here?" she asked, leaning against the chest-high rock wall next to Lawrence and squinting outwards, trying to figure out what he'd been looking at.

"Nothing." Lawrence didn't look at her, just continued to stare out at the empty sky.

Aika, piqued, reached over and thumped his shoulder with the back of her hand. "Well, if you're not doing anything, why don't you come down to the tavern and have a drink with the rest of us? Gotta be lonely out here, right? C'mon!"

He glanced at her again, eyes glittering under the messy fall of his hair, and didn't say anything for a long time. Finally, just when Aika had screwed up her mouth to say something snappish, Lawrence said, "...is that an offer?"

"Is what an offer?" Aika blinked.

"That." Lawrence finally turned to face her, leaning casually against the rock wall and crossing his arms over his chest. "Are you asking me to come have a drink... with you?"

"Well, not if you're going to respond like that." Aika snorted and crossed her own arms, scowling. "Besides, it wasn't like that anyway." Her chin lifted defiantly. "I've already got someone."

"Heh." Lawrence looked away, back over the island and at the rectangles of lantern light that shone out of the bar windows. The dim whoop of sound carried out to them both, crested with a clear and helpless laugh that could only be Vyse's. "Guess you do." He paused, considered her for a moment, then turned back to the wall. "No thanks. I'm not much for company."

At their feet, Pow whined uncertainly.