Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, Saturday Afternoon

[not_every_mage]

Anders had planned to go to the hotel first when he and Nathan got to town, but when the portal deposited them within sight of the ocean being inside seemed decidedly beside the point. He hesitated on the sidewalk and turned to his companion.

"Are you going to be disappointed if I want to swim before we do anything else?"

[OOC: For the guy with him, please. NFB due to distance.]

Comments

[not_every_mage]

"Probably not," Anders admitted, splashing Nathan anyhow. "But I'm good at other things."

[halfbad.livejournal.com]

"That might be your only saving grace," he teased, smiling slightly. "Best to accept it now."

[not_every_mage]

"I'm truly ashamed of myself," Anders nodded solemnly -- or as solemnly as he could when he was trying to dodge the wave cresting up to his chin, anyhow. "Wait, so being devastatingly handsome doesn't count as a saving grace?"

[halfbad.livejournal.com]

"Devastatingly handsome?" he repeated, laughing. "You sound like a really terrible movie."

[not_every_mage]

"I was going for 'bad Orlesian romance,' but that's about the same thing," Anders said, splashing more water at Nathan. "Anyhow, you didn't deny it."

[halfbad.livejournal.com]

"I don't know what bad Orlesian romance is," Nathan reminded him, still snickering. "And no, I didn't deny it. You're not bad to look at."

Of course not.

[not_every_mage]

"They're pretentious and stab each other and like to wear masks," Anders said helpfully. "And from what I can tell they put gilt on everything. They write good trashy novels, though. Lots of kissing and swordfights"

[halfbad.livejournal.com]

"You read these novels?" Nathan asked, amused.

[not_every_mage]

"I read about anything back when I was in the Circe," Anders shrugged. "Romances were a lot better than the Divine Whoever's thirty-volume memoirs or First Enchanter So-and-So's reflections on the school of entropy."

[halfbad.livejournal.com]

Nathan snickered again, ducking down to his shoulders and cooling off his skin. "Got a favorite?"

[not_every_mage]

Anders sighed. "The elven rogue fell in love with the nobleman, and neither family liked it," he said, and leaned back to wet his ponytail again. "It was very dramatic. I cried buckets when the elf seemed to die. Am I going to regret telling you this?"

To be fair, he knew he would tease Nathan plenty were the situation reversed.

[halfbad.livejournal.com]

"Why would you regret it?" he wondered, shaking his head. "I can't read, Anders. I was just curious is all."

[not_every_mage]

"You were acting like you were going to tease me about it," Anders said, sounding mildly confused. "Do you want me to dig up one to read to you? I'm sure there's something like it on the island. Cassandra would know."

Because of Faaaaace.

[halfbad.livejournal.com]

"I didn't picture you as the type to read romance novels but I read books that are for five year olds," he reminded Anders, shaking his head. "Nothing for me to tease."

[not_every_mage]

"I could ask whether you had a favorite," Anders remarked thoughtfully. He was letting the waves push him slowly toward the shore. "The one about the bunny,or the one about the puppy."

[halfbad.livejournal.com]

"Dinosaurs," he said, nodding. "Those are my favorite. They're pretty awesome to read about."

[not_every_mage]

"I don't know anything about those," Anders admitted. "Either we didn't have them or we got them all mixed up with dragons."

[halfbad.livejournal.com]

"They were big and ferocious," Nathan told him, blowing some bubbles in the water for a second. "Lots of teeth, lots of spikes. Probably couldn't talk like these books say they could but still. Interesting."

[not_every_mage]

"Big animals always are," Anders said. "And those are extinct now, aren't they? That makes them even better. They can't eat you that way."

He drew up his legs as he spoke, seeing if he could float in the water.

[halfbad.livejournal.com]

"Extinct, yeah." He'd been able to glean that much from what he'd read. He pushed his wet hair out of his eyes. "But, who knows if that really counts on the island? Things are weird there."

[not_every_mage]

"So you think we might get home and find the preserve full of dinosaurs?" Anders asked. "Well, I guess they could keep the alots company."

[halfbad.livejournal.com]

"No, I don't think they'll be there when we get home but I wouldn't be surprised if something like that showed up at some point," he explained. "Just randomly. Just because that place is weird."

[not_every_mage]

"But it'd be funny if they showed up right after you mentioned it," Anders shrugged, squinting back toward the beach. "Are you hungry, or do you want to swim a little longer?"

Which meant he was hungry.

[halfbad.livejournal.com]

"Sounds like you're hungry." He knew your game, Anders. "Getting splashed gives you an appetite? I could eat."

[not_every_mage]

It was a terribly sneaky game.

"I am," Anders said, already bobbing back toward the sand. "I guess it's hte salt air. Besides, I think I saw someone with ice cream when we were coming in, and now I want ice cream. And maybe a hamburger or something to go with it."