The Beach! Really?!! [Event]

"The beach! Really?!!"

It's not every time a movie starts off with someone stating its title, at the risk of sounding very banal... but if this was a movie, this was exactly how it started. Goethe stared around at the droves of people milling about, then at the beautiful, inviting sea, then his eyes narrowed into a frown, which he pointed acutely at his friend. "This is at best a distraction, and absolutely not what I had in mind."

Bayne nodded. "Yes. What you had in mind was poring over old books about madness and gods that induced madness, and hiding in dark corners of musty old rooms. With the way you're going, you'll be the one responsible for having some screws loose, not some otherworldly entity interested in turning you into a fruitcake."

"Why do I have this niggling feeling that Arnie will take your side in this?"

"How astute of you, Goethe," Arnoba's voice replied in his thoughts. "Baynard is right, no matter how you look at it. You need a bit of a distraction, and fresh air will do you good..."

"Could have picked a mountain," Goethe grumbled.

"... as will human company, which I'm afraid mountains are quite lacking in."

Goethe groaned, then muttered something incomprehensible.

And so it was, some minutes later, that a pouting Goethe stood barefoot on the sands, arms crossed over his chest, clad in a beige beach shirt and navy blue board shorts. For a while, he just stood there and did nothing, and it seemed he was going to remain that way all day. He glanced over at his companions.

"Aren't you guys a little overdressed for a beach?"

"Nonsense. Shouldn't you be having some fun instead, you old grouch?"

Goethe scoffed. "Like any of this stuff interests me."

"He's just saying that because he knows he can't do any of these activities around, without embarrassing himself in front of the ladies," Baynard whispered conspiratorially to Arnoba.

"What?! There's nothing to them."

"Bet you can't do that limbo dance, then," Bayne suggested, gesturing towards the stick held up by two poles, which people struggled to pass beneath.

Goethe grunted imperiously. "This will be too easy."

It was funny watching him join the queue of limbo dancers... funny, because he maintained the pout, and kept his hands folded, even when he passed below the stick. With each round that passed, contestants fell out, and the stick came lower, until Goethe was left with a large, tanned fellow who was surprisingly agile for his size. By this time, the stick was almost as low as their knees.

"Nah, this is impossible," the man said.

Goethe did not offer any words. Instead, still with the comical pout on his face, he marched towards the stick, then bent backwards just as he reached it, and scuttled beneath it with his back almost completely parallel to the ground. The spectators cheered and clapped, and the large man, after considering the stick some more, shook his head and offered Goethe his congratulations with a grin.

"Great! An ornament..." Goethe noted dryly, as a lei was placed around his neck. "You get four of these, I hear there's a nice price awaiting you," the organizer of the limbo answered.

Goethe shrugged. "Eh. Let's get four, then." He was certain beyond a doubt that the prize would not be a demon-killing sword, but since he had just three to go, he might as well see it to the end.

Being on the beach was a bittersweet experience for Suzhen. While the beach was a great place to unwind, she could not help coming here and remembering her ordeal on Crescent Island. While she had managed to escape the ordeal alive, and her amazing vitality and physical regeneration would take care of whatever physical trauma she had undergone, Suzhen had not been mentally unscathed, thanks to having to relive the most painful moments of her past, and the dark mage's harassments, but hey, she was still alive. And being alive meant more opportunities to learn, to grow, and to correct past mistakes. In any event, she was not willing to allow that ugly experience to give her a phobia for beaches, and so she had returned to a beach, although honestly, she could not bring herself to return to Crescent Island. Not yet.

Suzhen's major reason for coming to the beach was simply to watch the festivities going on there, perhaps take part in the ones she found interesting. Meeting one or two people who would make wholesome company was also a very cogent hope, so she steeled herself mentally decided for the umpteenth time that it was very unlikely for that same dark mage to find her on the beach again, and set off. But for Suzhen, deliberateness was key. She decided to spend her holiday in Cedar; it had very strong government presence and protection, and even though she knew Medeia was strong, probably stronger than anyone else she had met so far, Suzhen was sure that the dark angel would not want to stress herself out by looking for trouble in a place crawling with Rune Knights.

So she was once again on a beach, dressed in a bikini the color of her hair, wandering about idly and watching people engage themselves in various activities. Following her nose, the Dongxian scholar soon arrived at a well-bedecked table, loaded with all sorts of food. Well, she could start with this. Selecting a plate, the Dongxian took her pick of the available food on offer, and walked off humming to herself as she happily stuffed her face. Some apparently random guy dropped a garland of flowers round her neck; apparently it was for involving herself in one of the events on the beach. Suzhen shrugged, thanked the man with a smile, and kept walking. Then she saw a familiar face.

"Goethe!" she called out happily, walking over to him. "It's so good to see you again. I didn't think you'd be one for events like this, but who knows." She paused, looking at Goethe's companions. "Hello, Arnoba," she said cheerily, "and who is this?" The scholar was looking at Baynard now. She would not call him a rabbit, because even though he looked lagomorphic, she was sure he was not a rabbit, at least not in the strict sense of the word, and calling him a rabbit would look ignorant on her part. Rabbits did not wear clothes, after all. "You're so cute. Nice to meet you." She also refrained from touching the strange creature; he might not like it. Then the green-eyed Dongxian turned once more to Goethe. "How are you? I mean, really, how are you?" She was sure he knew what she was talking about, as she had known his struggles against some strange eldritch creature that had been living inside him.


WC: 566
Total WC: 1147

He heard someone call his name, and he turned. Immediately, his scowl evaporated into a warm, genuine smile. There were few people who could have such an influence on his temperament, but currently, Bai Suzhen was at the top of that least. Arnoba and Baynard... well, those two were more like his shadow or a second self, and in their bid to make him more social, often got him into “trouble” (in his opinion). Suzhen was another matter entirely. It seemed he was getting fond of her, and not because she was pretty (okay, that was actually part of it), but because she had proven herself a true friend, and she hadn’t even known him too well, then. Her gesture of kindness to him on Amber Island was something he would not forget, and he felt indebted to return the favor however he could. Baynard looked at the approaching young woman, and was starting to say something, then he looked up at Goethe and stopped. ”Wonders, they say, will never end. Arnie, did you see how quickly his mood changed. Oh, now I get it!”

Goethe did his best to ignore Bayne, but he was sure that his friend would still make an attempt at embarrassing him while the situation presented itself. A thought suddenly came to him, and a feeling of great sadness gripped his heart, a feeling of impending loss, but his smile did not falter as he forced it down. He felt like hugging her, but being the cool, calm and collected person that he was, he restrained himself. ”Suzhen. This is indeed a pleasant surprise. You’re right; I wouldn’t be here if I could help it. It’s much the same case as the Val event I was forced to attend by a certain someone...” He gave Arnoba a sidelong glance, who replied him with an innocent stare. She turned to Suzhen as the Scholar hailed her. ”Greetings, Bai Suzhen. Your presence is very pleasing to us,” she answered telepathically. For her to speak to Suzhen that way meant that she had accepted her as a friend. But Baynard? No, he was not going to let Goethe introduce him in some wishy-washy manner, when he was being addressed by a beauty such as the Dongxian before him. ”Watch the master and learn,”, he whispered as he stepped forward before Goethe could ruin his moment, and bowed gracefully.

”Baynard Fiddler, artificer and technological tinkerer, at your service, your delightsomeness.”

Goethe’s mouth dropped open. Even the stoic Arnoba’s eyes widened in surprise. Their shock was not borne of Baynard making a fool of himself; quite on the contrary, he managed to pull off the bow and flowery words with a certain panache. They were just taken aback by his unexpected reaction to Suzhen. Naturally, they had expected him to act aloof and indifferent, especially since Suzhen had called him “cute” (he tended to act standoffish around people that treated him like a pet) but like Baynard himself had said, “wonders will never end.”

Suzhen asked after Goethe’s welfare, and as he looked into her green eyes, he could see the concern deep within. Again, he felt it, the way one felt when one had lost something dear to them. But he had not lost anything precious. Not yet. Maybe this was a portent of the future? He held her gaze and smiled softly.

”Well, I’m alive, and that’s a good thing. The Ambassador did something, and I felt my connection to the eldritch being severed. So, I’m good.” He was telling the truth, and he was lying. Back at Amber Island, when the guild master of the Dies Irae had helped him, Goethe had felt like the Great Old One that slumbered within him was cut off. However, in its place grew a more sinister foreboding, like another even more malicious being had set its sights on him. But he couldn’t tell Suzhen that. It would ruin her mood, and that would make him feel horrible. Once again, he was at a precipice, and he knew what he had to do. And it was then that he understood the sense of loss.

”You’re looking well and good,” he suddenly said, switching the topic away from himself to her. ”Yes. He means that he thinks your outfit is not only hot, but...” Baynard suddenly raised an eyebrow, and vanished in a flash, a split second before telekinetically elevated sand cascaded on his previous position. ”Silly rabbit,” Goethe muttered. Then he rubbed the back of his head and chuckled nervously. ”Eh, ignore what that rabbit was saying...” Goethe called him that just to get back at him.

”Who’re you calling ‘rabbit’, you scrawny little brat? Come over here... or are you afraid I’ll disgrace you in front of all the pretty girls?” a voice hollered at him from over a distance. Goethe spun on his heel, spotting Baynard standing on a large heap of sand, a defiant grin on his face. ”Oh, you want to get it on, do you?” Goethe retorted, rising to the challenge. He wasn’t really annoyed; it was customary for Baynard and himself to be rowdy like that, every once in a while.

He stormed up to Baynard and crossed his arms over his chest, his expression an amusing glare. ”Bring it, rabbit face!” ”Oh, I intend to,” came the reply, in an air that Goethe belatedly realized as Bayne’s “I-got-you-now” tone. Then Baynard vanished into thin air, just as an announcement came from the side:

”And that’s it, people. We have our final contestant in the back-breaking, hair-raising, nerve-wracking Sand Castle Contest!” Goethe realized that a small crowd had come to watch, and were cheering for all they were worth.

”Ah?”

The anchorman turned to a rather confused Goethe. ”You want to do this alone, kid? Or you want to call for back up?”

Goethe was still flustered. ”Whaa-?”

The anchorman grinned. ”That your final answer, boy?”

Yes, the scheming “rabbit” had one-upped him once again.

Rolling for both Suzhen and Goethe's sand castle team effort.

The member 'Fraag' has done the following action : Dice Rolls

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'Normal Dice' :

Suzhen smiled in response to Arnoba's greeting, and then turned her attention to the rabbit-like creature who stepped forward, her smile intensifying, though with some degree of amusement. "How smooth. Pleased to make your acquaintance, silk-tongued Fiddler. I am Bai Suzhen, linguist and scholar of the arcane, the ancient and the adventitious." Perhaps what was more amusing than the lagomorphic creature's address of herself was the looks of surprise on both Goethe's and Arnoba's faces. And then Goethe had replied her question about his well-being. He looked more at peace, though there still seemed to be some sort of aura of sorrow behind his warm smile. Suzhen couldn't say whether the weight that still seemed to be hanging over him was due to the memories of his past, or something else entirely. Not having the proper knowledge to make sufficiently accurate deductions, Suzhen did not even bother to guess an answer to the uncertainty she had considered. Speedy assumption was not encouraged, if there were other options available.

Bayne and Goethe bickering was amusing, and the rabbit-like creature ended up landing Goethe in some humorous trouble. And then Bayne vanished, leaving the white haired young man to face the terror of the sand castle building contest. Suzhen had never built a sand castle before, but she was also not the sort of person to stand back and watch a friend in a position of distress, even if the distress was humorous and nothing at all serious. "I'll be his back-up," she announced in answer to the announcer's question to Goethe. "I believe that's his final answer," the Dongxian announced in a tone that made her sound much more confident than she really felt. Aside, she whispered to Goethe, "I hate competitions. I've never been lucky, so it's very probable that my involvement in this affair may not end well for you. You'll have to forgive me if things go wrong." And then the announcer whipped the crowd into a screaming frenzy, and the sand castle building competition was on.

Whatever bad luck Suzhen had complained about having seemed eager to express itself, as the surf apparently decided to become a lot more diligent with the patch Suzhen and Goethe had been assigned to, on which they were to build their castle. By the third incursion of the sea, Suzhen just decided to focus on building something that would stand. But even she, with her lack of sand castle building knowledge, knew that what they had constructed was not very delightful to behold. "I don't know whether this is a burial cairn or some other such thing," she said, straightening up and looking at the structure with no little degree of embarrassment, "but on the flip side, no one can say there's no tactical advantage for soldiers taking their stand on top of it. And that's what castles are primarily for, right? Defensive tactical advantage." The announcer didn't look convinced.

"Heavens, please let me die..." the Dongxian muttered, burying her face in her hands.


WC: 504
PWC: 1070
TWC: 2651

Goethe gave Suzhen a relieved smile as she chose to help him in constructing the sand castle. She didn't seem very sure of her luck, but Goethe was nonplussed. "Have no fear. It can't be that difficult, can it? Besides, I'm a bit of a tinkerer myself. While sculpting and engineering are not the same discipline, they do involve construction. This should be a breeze," he ended confidently.

It was not.

At first, everything was going swimmingly, and between Goethe and Suzhen, the castle began to take shape. Being the perfectionist that he was, Goethe chipped and scrapped gently at the sand, watching Suzhen's progress every now and then. He did not have to bother much about her progress, because she was doing a very good job of building her side. Goethe grinned to himself. They were winning this.

Then the sea came. A wave showed up without warning, and in a moment, it had washed away the base of the edifice they had so painstakingly constructed. With a gasp of horror, Goethe watched as the castle collapsed and crumbled down to a shapeless lump.

"Ugh! Let's start again. There's still time."

The second attempt at rebuilding the sand castle was not as successful as the first, because the sabotaging surf returned, and washed away what they had managed to begin. "Is this thing rigged or what?" Goethe muttered, as for the third time, they began to build again.

Perhaps it was rigged, because the sea came back and strove against them, and by the time the announcer brought the competition to an end, what they had to show for their efforts was a let down. It was more or less a conical lump, with two shallow ridges that ran haphazardly along a side. Goethe stared at the disappointment, then chuckled. This was such a waste of his time. Suzhen tried to explain whatever it was they had built to the announcer, but it was obvious he thought of the whole thing as a sandy failure.

"have you ever seen something like this before?" Goethe asked the announcer.

"Nope. Can't say that I have."

"Great. So you can consider this to be abstract art."

"Oh yeah? Well, if it's art, it should have a name."

"It does. 'A Tribute to the Sea'."

The man chuckled as he put a lei around Goethe's neck, then also around Suzhen's, who was still comically hiding her face. "Seeing as the sea is large and grand, this might be a bit underwhelming, don't you think?"

"Yeah well, we were planning on a thirty foot structure," Goethe answered, as he steered Suzhen away from the fiasco she couldn't bring herself to look at. "However, the sea, humble soul that she is, would have none of our idol worship."

The man laughed and shook his head, then went along to congratulate the other contestants.

"Whew! At least that wasn't an exam or something."

"You guys were actually spectacular," Baynard said, as he and Arnoba came to join them. "I'm sure," the white haired youth replied dryly. "We may as well look for something else to do," he said to Suzhen. "Left to myself, I'd just stand here, and wait till evening, but I don't dare let Baynard make any more choices on my behalf. He's got a vendetta against me today."

While covering her face, Suzhen was aware of the announcer placing a flower garland around her neck. Well, perhaps this was some sort of consolation prize. She remained in that position even as Goether and the man discussed about the name of the failure of a sand castle the two mages had managed to set up, and could not help but burst into laughter when Goethe explained why the sea had not been so pleased to allow them build a monument to it. The announcer eventually walked off, himself highly amused as well. "You know, many people would probably take you for a grumpy fellow much of the time," the Dongxian said, after she had been successful at placing her bout of laughter under control. "You should allow your funny side to show more often."

If anything, Goethe was right in being relieved that it wasn't an exam. Suzhen shared his sentiments, though she still voiced her thanks to Baynard when he commended them for their efforts. As far as efforts had gone, they had done a great deal. But the sad fact of life was that sometimes effort was not equal to results. Still, unless the rabbit-like creature was being sarcastic, he had seemed to acknowledge the efforts that the two mages had put into wrestling with the sand, and Suzhen was grateful for that. While her white-haired friend was fine with just standing still until sunset, the Dongxian was more intent on doing something more productive, in the sense of making herself feel better after the sea embarrassing them like that. Scanning the beach, she eventually saw people who seemed to be engaged in a competition which involved throwing things. "Let's see what they're doing over there," she said to Goethe and his companions, before heading towards the spectacle. As she drew closer, she noticed people were throwing horseshoes at pegs. Then someone stepped up, said something about horseshoes and hand propelled bombs that made absolutely no sense to the scholar, and before she knew it, she was with five horseshoes in hand, looking confused.

"The rules are simple," said the young woman who had given her the horseshoes. "You just try to get the horseshoes to snag those pegs over there. But you'll have to move closer if you want to do it more easily."

"You mean, like this?" Suzhen asked, throwing one of the horseshoes which sailed through the air to land square over the furthest peg from her. A loud applause went up, and the hander-of-the-horseshoes placed another garland on her shoulders, a look of admiration and awe on her face. Suzhen turned to grin at Goethe, but a fellow with a weird-looking flat structure in his hands stepped up and said in botched Fiorean, "Your movement super. You must be ninja."

"I thought ninja were a Midian thing..." Suzhen began, but the man had already thrust the strange flat thing into her hands, as a bystander said, "hey, it must be amazing seeing a ninja surf. Ninja-lady, you've got to try the surfing competition too. I'm sure ninjas are very good at anything they do."

"But I'm not...." And just like that, Suzhen found herself at the surf's edge, surfing board in hand, looking out at the sea which she was sure did not mean her well.


WC: 554
PWC: 1624
TWC: 3760

Rolling for the surfing, even though the sea has already proven to be against us... Heaven save us from the sea!

Edit: A thousand and one pardons; I can be such a klutz at times. Forgot I was on my alternate account... but the sea did favor us finally.

The member 'Digit' has done the following action : Dice Rolls

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'Normal Dice' :

OOC:

Suzhen seemed to enjoy Goethe's humor, and he appreciated that. She did note though, that he could let that side of him out more often. Yeah, maybe he would consider cheering up a little more when he was outside, after he had cleared certain burdens off his chest. It wasn't that Goethe was actually a grouch; he just didn't really like to show much emotion when surrounded by people he barely knew. And his "stoic" face always seemed to somehow imbibe a frown.

Tagging along with Suzhen, he soon found himself looking at people throwing horseshoes. He smiled slyly. This was easy; even if it wasn't and he was feeling like a cheat, he could always manipulate the projectiles with his Spirit Arms. He stood beside Suzhen and watched her as she accurately slung the first horseshoe onto the peg. Picking one of the horseshoes that she had returned to the young woman, he tossed it casually onto the same peg that his Dongxian friend had thrown her horseshoe. He tried not to smile, so that he wouldn't look smug.

"Somebody is being a showoff..." Baynard observed.

"Come now, with the embarrassment we got at the sand castle site, surely I should be allowed a moment of glory or two, no?"

A slight surprise on his face, he watched the man with the surfboard as he sent Suzhen on her next... labor. Before he could even react, the man had done the exact same thing to him.

"You too ninja. Good."

"Yeah, I don't ninja nothing," Goethe replied with a small laugh, as he  accepted the surfboard and joined Suzhen. At least, she might feel a little more confident doing this, if a friendly face was also there. Turning to look at the bystander who had such a high regard for ninjas, he said, in a matter-of-fact voice: "Not really. For one, ninjas are very poor at catching flaming, speeding projectiles with their faces, otherwise they'd all be extinct. I'm probably a ninja, so I know."

The bystander gave Goethe a mildly suspicious look, though he was obviously amused with the young man's response. "You don't look it," he said with a chuckle.

"I know, right? But how better to hide in plain sight than this?" So saying, he turned to Suzhen. "You look like you've never done this before. It's surfing. Not too tough, if you have coordination and balance on your side. Basically, you swim out to sea, and ride the waves back to shore. If you can't swim, you'd best not bother; the sea will attempt to throw you off, and given our experience today..."

He shrugged, then threw the board into the water and flopped onto it. "Just follow my lead, and you should be fine. And stay calm at all times. It helps. Once you catch the wave, the rest is much easier." And thus he paddled out to ride the tide. He caught up to the other contestants, and when everyone was lined up, the signal was given to begin. Goethe began paddling again, but he didn't have to wait for so long, as a massive breaker came up behind him and caused no little chaos among the surfers. Goethe, for his part, waited for the right moment, and then stood up on his surfboard as the wave bore him forward.

The wave began to break, and Goethe positioned himself inside it, carrying out a tube ride. It surged its way to the sandy beach bearing him as he rode its face calmly. At some point, the wave broke over his head, dousing him profusely, but that did nothing to throw him off his board. As he approached the shore, Goethe straightened up and raised a closed fist in the air, his face the epitome of serenity. This was a nice win for him, and fortunately, the sea had behaved itself.

"Looks like the sea has given us an official apology," Goethe said to Suzhen, with a grin, as he received his fourth lei for the day. "And four leis have been accumulated. I heard there was a prize attached."

After receiving his prize, Goethe spent the rest of the day accompanying Suzhen and sampling the various delicacies this beach party had to offer. As the sun began to set, he decided that it was time to call it a day.

"Well, today was fun, Suzhen. We should hang out together more often..." His words trailed off. With the way his life was going, he was not sure of the future anymore, and since the meeting on Amber Island, he had found out that dying would not release any evil upon Earthland. Still, he still felt a powerful connection to the eldritch being, and he had intended to sever it somehow, in the immediate future. That was most likely why Arnie and Baynard had taken him out to unwind. The next days would be dark, dangerous and unpredictable.

He suddenly pulled Suzhen into a hug. That was rather audacious of him, and might be viewed as impertinent. And for a person like himself, such an act was rather out of character. Still, having looked back at his life, Bai Suzhen was the closest friend he had ever had. He held on for about three seconds, then let go. "Sorry," he said sheepishly. Actually, if she slapped him, he wouldn't blame her, just hugging her like that without warning. But this was his way of saying goodbye, in case he never saw her again. And he couldn't bring himself to tell her the mission he was going on. She would insist on helping him, and he would endanger her life. The last time he had almost done so, he had felt stupid and selfish for even thinking about it.

No. He would do this on his own. He would not bring her into harm's way this time.

"I'm just glad I met you, Suzhen. You've been a really good friend."

He stepped back and smiled. "Let's do this some other time, or go on missions and stuff. See you around, Scholar."

Arnoba and Baynard said their goodbyes, and the three of them walked off. Goethe, using his Eyes of the Claviger to observe Suzhen, even though his back was turned, waited for her to turn to go her way. As soon as she broke eye contact with him, Goethe gestured to Baynard, who brought out a letter, and teleported it. The letter would appear in the air directly in front of Suzhen, but not too close to give her a fright, and flutter to the ground, unless she picked it before then. She would notice that it had been addressed to her.

If she opened it, she would read a goodbye message from Goethe.

Goethe, Baynard and Arnoba immediately warped out of Cedar Island and directly into the X-Dimension, once Suzhen saw the letter. He couldn't bring himself to tell her that she might never see him again to her face. He knew she would be very displeased with him for doing this, but it was best this way.

After all, it was only the living who could be displeased.

Rolling for the Surfing Competition. Suzhen is never lucky....

The member 'Fraag' has done the following action : Dice Rolls

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'Normal Dice' :

Suzhen gave the bystander an annoyed look when he said he didn't think Goethe looked like a ninja. "Wait, how does he not look like a ninja, and I do? I'm not even Midian," she protested. As Goethe turned to explain the mechanics of surfing, the Dongxian's heart sank. "You just mentioned that with coordination and balance on my side, it should be a breeze. And while I'm confident of my swimming skills, all what you've said so far seems to sound like this: 'if you can swim, and have good balance, great, but the sea is the deciding factor', in which case I begin to fear for my success, despite my possessing the other desirable attributes. I don't think the sea likes me, or at least, this stretch of ocean seems to be very badly disposed towards me."

Taking Goethe's instruction to follow his lead, Suzhen lay flat on her own surfing board, and paddled after him to join the rest of the competitors who were waiting for the coming tide. And it came. Suzhen did not know whether she had done anything wrongly, or the sea really did hate her as she had said, but as soon as the Dongxian stood up on her surfboard, just as Goethe had done, another surfer who had not managed to successfully pop up on his board flailed out, his foot catching the edge of Suzhen's own board and pitching her off the board and into the water. The Dongxian wanted to shriek in frustration, but there was no point in engaging in such untoward behavior. She sighed and slowly swam back to shore, looking miserable. At her friend's statement about the sea giving an apology, she shook her head. "I'm quite sure the sea had absolutely no intentions of apologizing to me," she replied, wringing water out of her long hair. "At any rate, I'm sure I want nothing to do with the sea for a month or so." She was a bit surprised to receive the garland that was placed on her neck, but she said nothing to that effect, as Goethe seemed to have knowledge that having four leis meant a reward.

The rest of the day was much more acceptable, Suzhen attributing it to the fact that she did not come within ten meters distance of the sea for the remainder of the day. Eventually, evening came, and Goethe suggested that they hang out more often, to which Suzhen heartily agreed. She froze when he pulled her into a hug, but then reciprocated the gesture, though she reached out and flicked his nose with her index finger when he apologized. "You're such a stiff," she replied with a small laugh. The statement about her being a good friend was a bit strange; it almost sounded like he was saying goodbye in the sense of 'it will be rather long before we see again'. She was about asking the white haired man what he meant, but then he talked about them hanging out again, and Suzhen dismissed it as Goethe just being awkward. She said her goodbyes with a smile, and then turned and began walking away, when a letter seemed to materialize out of thin air in front of her. Deftly catching it, the scholar was surprised to see that it was addressed to her. From Goethe. And when she read it, she knew her hunch when he had mentioned her good friendship was correct. This was a very unequivocal goodbye, the type that seemed to read, 'we shall never see again'.

The contents left Suzhen looking round with a sad and worried expression on her face, though the ones for whom she sought were nowhere to be found.


WC: 621
PWC: 2245
TWC: 5577

Leis Collected: Tropical Feast, Sand castle Contest, Horseshoe Throwing, and Surfing Competition.