finalflight | PSL; [YOU MAY BURY MY BODY]

[ He just smirks. Of course. ]

I've been told it's a talent of mine.

[ Sucking the fun out of things. ]

[This man...]

That's not talent, that's called a deficiency. [ :)

Well, fine. She tosses the water gun into the pool and it hits with a little splash, bobbing up and down on the surface.]

Fine. I'll get you with it someday. But come on, get in the pool for just a few minutes, and then I'll leave you alone. And you can read to your heart's content. I promise.

Tomayto, tomahto.

[ Bland. But still, he lowers his book just a bit, eying her flatly. ]

You really aren't going to let this go, are you?

[A little brightly:]

Nope!

[ Oh my god. A sigh. ]

Fine. I know when to choose my battles.

[ And this is stupid. So, he sets his book and sunglasses aside to slide into the pool. He absolutely is keeping an eye on Makima. ]

[Wow, zero trust! Makima won't be reaching for her water gun anytime soon, alas, especially since it is slowly drifting over to the shallow end of the pool, while she remains standing near its middle.]

Perfect. See, that's not so hard.

[And with that, she sets her hat aside near her feet, then hops into the pool. As delicately as she can, yes, but she still splashes a little -- and on cue, as though they were waiting for her to go first, two of the larger dogs stand up, bark, and then jump into the pool, too. They break the surface moments later, utterly happy, and swim from one end to the next.

They don't splash Warren, at least. They don't even dive in close to him. Except for the little chihuahua, who hops in near the man, but is far too small to create much of a cannonball splash.

Makima pops up from beneath the water, red bangs clinging to the side of her face.]

The water feels nice! Not too cold, not too warm.

[ Warren’s not going to kick up a fuss over a little splashing, and it sure doesn’t escape his notice that the dogs take special care not to get in his way. It’s a little eerie how well-behaved they are, though he supposes he’ll get used to it. Just as he’ll get used to everything else.

He pauses, treading water as Makima resurfaces. ]

That is usually the point of a swimming pool.

[ No Fun Allowed. ]

[Why are you this way, Warren. You can seek power and still have fun while doing it.]

The point of a swimming pool is for fun, exercise, or relaxation.

[Anyway, she's swimming closer now, stopping just short of where Warren's treading water.]

I hope you're not going to be like this when we take the dogs for a walk.

[ He does have fun on occasion. Most people wouldn’t like his idea of fun, but that’s neither here nor there. She’ll get to see him loosen up eventually probably. ]

And just how are you expecting me to act, instead?

[Eventually probably.

She treads water, easing herself in a half-circle around him.]

Like it’s not some kind of punishment, ideally.

[My, look at these tattoos.]

You’ll break a girl’s heart, otherwise.

[ He rolls his eyes. He's not that bad, okay? (He is.)

After a moment, he angles his head to watch her. Ah, he has a pretty good idea about what she's looking at. ]

If you have questions, you might as well ask them.

[ Not gonna remark on the dog walking thing, apparently. ]

[You can’t avoid government assigned dog-walking fun forever.

If Warren allows it, Makima reaches out with a finger, just to gently press at one of the dark marks on his back, now that she’s swam behind him.]

I thought I’d spy proof of our contract somewhere, that’s all. But I see I’m getting more than I bargained for, visually.

[This is not actually a complaint— I mean what.]

Oh, if that’s what you’re looking for, it’s under the water.

[ Scandalous? No, not really.

He eases himself through the water until he can stand, stepping into the shallow end of the pool enough so she can see it, the dark silhouette of that chess piece emblazoned on his skin. The powers that be probably think they’re funny, or something, for picking that out. ]

The rest is magic. Shortcuts, so to speak, so I don’t have to physically cast.

[Not scandalous? How disappointing.

Except not really. The chess piece is just as compelling, if not more so, than whatever might be below the waistline. (no it's not, don't lie to yourself girl--) Makima eases forward just enough to find herself at the shallow section of the pool, too, following so she can get a better look. And again, the pad of her pointer finger traces down to that new marking.]

The powers that be must have a sense of humor. A chess piece... I like it.

[A horse's head. The knight. But also, what better symbol for control, other than a piece to be moved around on the board?]

Magic tattoos, though. That's clever. Do all wizards have something similar?

[ Scandal will just have to wait for now. Warren stays where he is, arm half-raised as she draws her finger over his skin. He’s not blind, and not so inhuman that he doesn’t realize how insanely hot Makima is, but he’s also a cautious sort. New as this arrangement is, better not to bring anything complicated into the mix just yet.

So, he lets her do as she pleases with a clinical sort of distance, before he finally brings his arm back down. Oh yes, he thought she might like it. ]

Usually only wizards who might find themselves in a fight.

And you definitely qualify, don't you.

[Oh, how many people has he faced-off against like he did against her? How many did not walk away from it? What a thought.

Makima drops her hand, finally, but she also does not remove herself from his personal space just yet.]

So what do these tattoos do... What are the spells that are worthy of a "shortcut"?

[ Though he makes no remark about her staying close, he's watching her, but then he's always watching her. This new unknown in his life for the foreseeable future. He'd be a fool not to observe. ]

You've already seen most of them. Care to take a guess?

Hmm.

[She affects at thinking, tapping at her chin.]

Well... How about your magically-appearing gun?

That's one of them, yes. I can access the pocket of space by casting normally as well, but it's terribly convenient to have it literally on-hand.

[ Well, the tattoo itself is on his back. Semantics. ]

Anything else?

Yes, very convenient. You did shoot me.

[She didn't forget!

Makima makes another "hmm", slightly exaggerated, as though she can't run their fight like a play-by-play in her head.]

What about your biggest inconvenience to me? Your little ["little", it was not] shield?

[ He lifts a shoulder as if to say "it happens". There's still something kind of funny about whipping out a gun in the middle of a magical battle. Most people aren't prepared for that at all. ]

Yes. The shield is a staple. That you managed to break it at all is rather impressive, by the way.

[She pretends to preen at the compliment, though maybe it's only half-pretending. There is some satisfaction in knowing that, not even at full power, she did manage to poke a hole through his defenses.]

Not without some effort. But it's nice to know exactly where my limitations are now, so I should thank you anyway. I guess I won't be blasting my opponents into space anymore... not for a while, anyway.

Into space?

[ It's impossible to tell whether or not she's exaggerating. Given what she's told him her powers are supposed to do, he wouldn't doubt if she had sent people through the stratosphere. ]

[Yeah, no, she actually did that.]

Mm-hm. Some Devils are a lot more stubborn than the rest. Well. He was a special case. But that's...

[She splashes him, just a little.]

...a story for another time!

[ The more I learn about CSM the less I understand.

Anyway, Warren lifts an arm to keep the water out of his face, but when he lowers it, the look he's giving her is one of distinct curiosity. ]

Does he, whoever he is, also have something to do with the way you ended up here?

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