Community [Feb 25 Event] Marius Roswell x Aiko

[lanzandpine]

Mystical Hot Springs Retreat​

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Marius Roswell

Titles: Mundane Human, Isekai, Born for This
Languages: "Common"
Abilities Used:
Mentions:
Skyswimsky

No matter how much Marius expected the change in the scene, it still felt weird and sudden. Once again, he was transported to the stage. It was grand, luxurious, but even though he was surrounded by other participants, it felt uncharacteristically gloomy. His eyes immediately darted to his hand. It was, of course, empty, yet Marius couldn't help but feel some kind of lingering, subtle sensation of the flower he was holding. It felt delicately brittle in his fingers, as brittle as his previous partner, as brittle as these mirages.

He felt his gaze shift, and he looked for the Maid, his actions practically springing into motion by themselves. Yet he couldn't find her. He wondered, for but a moment, whether it was her stature or his surprise at fault. Marius' gaze shifted towards the mysterious host, and he didn't know if he should feel uncomfortable with how much they were reveling in these dates. A red patch creeped up his cheeks as he imagined being watched - not that he was going to do anything shady or too out of line - and felt a shiver.
He looked at the name of his next partner. Marius couldn't help but imagine who could greet him, where they could greet him. The uneasiness he felt before was, once again, replaced by a strange sensation of excitement. As curious and as weird this whole event was, it was, in the end, fairly exciting, albeit concerning. Maybe this "speed dating" was, in fact, a kind of thing that he liked? No, surely not. He would rather spend more than an hour with someone he is interested in, not being thrown around illusions. Yet even in this bit of a game, there was a joy and interest to be found.

Marius thought that he could possibly never ever get used to the feeling of suddenly changing sensations, the world warping before him strangely, yet not extremely disturbingly, the scene before him seemingly melting into itself. And at the end of it all, he would always find himself in a new mirage, a new experience.

The air here, a small corner of the world surrounded by the mountains, was damp, something that Marius didn't expect at first. A lazy mist covered the place, but light seemed to break through it, illuminating the environment. It was muted and subtle, yet the warm air and the gentle ambience made it only enchanting.
Marius took an uneasy step forward. He was greeted by pools of steaming water, lightly shimmering in the light of the surrounding crystals. He wiped the slowly forming beads of sweat off of his forehead as he felt the water almost calling to him. Perhaps it was his tired body falling to the charms of the spring, perhaps it was the enchanting nature of the light.

He felt his cheeks and ears redden, and he wasn't sure whether it was because of the warm air or not. What kind of mirage was this? Was he supposed to spend the hour here, in the spring, with a partner that he doesn't even know? Marius let out a perplexed sigh, rubbing his neck. The possible awkwardness aside, he really wouldn't mind having this place all to himself.
He thought that maybe the partner would be thinking the same, and wondered if sharing such a space would, instead, bring them closer. Yet he shook his head, throwing the thoughts away. He hasn't even greeted his partner yet. Assumptions would only serve to become obstacles before them, wouldn't they?

As much as Marius wanted to get into the alluring waters of the secluded spring, he decided to wait, sitting down on the ground. He felt small beads of sweat form on his face and neck. Marius felt himself lower his guard before the sight of the steaming water and the glimmering lights. A creeping feeling of relaxation caught him, and he let out an almost blissful, if tired sigh. The steam alone was enough to make him lose himself in the ambience and pleasingly warm air. Eventually, he forgot about the date at hand, and began to think about what to eat after this.

 

[Skyswimsky]

Aiko

< Human > | < Mundane >

lanzandpine

Time was truly a strange concept. Something about an hour feeling like seconds, and sometimes more like an eternity. Regardless, these all were hours spend without her arch-nemesis. Valuable time that made Aiko think of stuff besides 'Aimi could use the source of a hot spring to create a turbine for energy creation' or 'she would seduce some people to do to her bidding'. No. This time, the neon-yellow-glowing heroine had other thoughts. Precious memories, akin to a theoretical and broken encyclopedia of useless tropes.

"Hmmm..." She hummed silently, noticing how the date(?) she ended up with had not noticed her yet! Which was good, as introductions were a key to anyone's heart. And this time, Aiko would water bomb it.

As time continued to pass, and Marius surrendered himself to the soothing embrace of the spring's hot fumes, he could suddenly feel an impact. A tackle that carried both him and the smaller figurine right into one of the many holes filled with warm and hot water! Splaaaaaassshhhh

Blubb Blubb Blubb

"Pfuuwaah!" Somehow, nobody drowned. Somehow, the water wasn't too deep. Somehow, nobody got hurt (too much)! Yet absolutely, as intended, Aiko ended up atop Marius. Like two classmates bouncing into each other and gravity working all the way into just a singular direction. Only instead of a school hall it was a warm body of water.

"Hello User!" With damp clothes and gravity defying hair, Aiko began speaking. "I am Aiko. It stands for An Intrusive Koncept Overcame me." With no intention of getting up so far. "Who are you?" He wasn't drowning, was he?

 

[lanzandpine]

Marius Roswell

Titles: Mundane Human, Isekai, Born for This
Languages: "Common"
Abilities Used:
Mentions:
Skyswimsky

Yes, sandwiches could be good. Or perhaps pasta, with a coffee. Some kind of light meal. Marius sat still, his breathing relaxed, his pose defenseless. He was, somehow, lost in thought, his gaze falling over the springs, taking in the shimmering light coming from the crystals. Truly, this was quite the relaxing spot.

His relaxation, however, had to come to an end one way or the other. Marius himself knew this quite well. He was, after all, on a date. But he could never have predicted the impact that sent him all the way into one of the springs. A surprised scream escaped him, muted quickly by the steaming water. The taste of the minerals overflowed in his mouth as he flapped about for a moment, hurriedly struggling to get out of this predicament. Strangely enough, the water in this particular spring was quite shallow; Marius could very easily roll over onto his back, sticking out his face out of the water. He took a deep breath, his eyes closed tightly. He tried to process what was going on, for a moment, when he felt a strange weight atop him. Was this some kind of ambush? Is that why the whole event was so sudden? He wasn't much of a fighter, but he had to be ready to protect himself. With this thought in mind, he pried his eyes open, ready to tackle the assailant in response.

His eyes were met with a face, most of the features of which he could not see at all. As the person greeted Marius, he felt his thoughts come to a halt, not quite sure what to think about the current situation. He felt a blush come over him, and for a moment, he was wondering whether it was because of this predicament or because of the hot, steaming spring water.
"I-I am Marius...?" His answer came out with a prolonged, confused hum. Ideally, he should have rebuked this person for having tackled him, but her nonchalant introduction and lack of hostility threw him into a bit of a perplexed state.

Oh, she must be the date, he thought. This was, certainly, quite the opening.

"Err, if you'd be so kind as to, well..." Marius said, looking over his partner. Aiko, she called herself. He must be a head or so taller than her, but he couldn't tell at all from this angle. Besides, that shouldn't be the focus of his thoughts. Why would someone ever tackle their date at the introduction stage? In a way, this made him quite curious about what kind of person she was.
She called him 'User'. Was she a robot, then? Marius wasn't the most prepared for this interaction.

 

[Skyswimsky]

Aiko

< Human > | < Mundane >

lanzandpine

It was hard to read what Aiko was thinking, as she slowly rose up from her date below, offering a hand in support. "Okay Marius, I got it...!" Taking a step, turning around and slowly walking deeper into the body of water they occupied.

"It's a date we're having this time, yes? Holding hands? Kisses? Cuddles? Getting to know each other super-duper well? All within an hour? That calls for speed, doesn't it? ....! ...Fufufu." Grinning from one ear to the next, she felt herself a genius.

Turning around all proudly, the young pseudo-AI declared. "I've read a thing or two about SPEED DATING." Waist deep into the water now, she started undressing. "Three out of ten experts allegedly assure that these are some questions to gauge someone's character PERFECTLY!" Nodding in self-affirmation, the young woman proceeded to ask three questions.

"One: A rich person eats a mystery pizza from a mystery-offer-pizza shop. He has a pineapple allergy. The pineapple pizza kills him. What do you do?" What an odd question. "Two: You are on a date with your date and there's one half-full glass of sparkly water, and one half-empty. What do you do?" Finally without clothing, Aiko now lowered herself into the welcoming, warm, spring water. "And three: You enter a bakery. The only option is a cake labeled as 'Do Not Eat' and a loaf called 'Maybe Poisonous'. What do you do?" Was everything Aiko was thinking about food related?

"Feel free to answer however you like! Or don't, and just enjoy this hot spring comfiness!" Very, very satisfied looking, she stretched a little.

 

[lanzandpine]

Marius Roswell

Titles: Mundane Human, Isekai, Born for This
Languages: "Common"
Abilities Used:
Mentions:
Skyswimsky

Aiko seemed to think and move at a speed completely unknown to Marius, as he, if out of confusion alone, accepted her hand, his clothes sticking to his wide back. This was, perhaps, the first character of this kind that he managed to encounter. It was intriguing, if strange. What would this hour allow them to do?

Her remark about the date made Marius blush. Yes, perhaps she wasn't quite wrong, and yes, as much as Marius did not want to admit this (at least, not out loud), Aiko looked cute. But she was still but a stranger, and not even two hours would be quite enough for Marius to take the step, feeling it far too risky, far too intimate for the both of them. Of course, he felt that she wasn't taking this seriously at all, which put him at a slight ease. After all, what kind of romantic date starts off with a tackle? Maybe every date should.

He listened to her ramble, surprisingly quite attentively, but had to stop as he saw her undressing. She was covered by the water, something which Marius was quite thankful for, but he still immediately threw his head in the other direction, trying not to catch any unneeded glances. The steam and mist were, on their own, enough to make this scene of shamelessness and debauchery not too vivid, but he felt it an obligation to turn away. "I am right here, you know? I'm sure there's a changing room around somewhere..." Marius mumbled. Hopefully, he thought, his words could be heard by his date. Most likely, however, she did not; perhaps she simply chose to ignore his pleading. Truly, a good-natured, meek creature, this man.

He listened to the questions, somewhat reluctantly taking his clothes off as well, unable to handle the feeling of wet cloth sticking to his back for much longer. Besides, it'd be much better to be in the hot spring with the date, rather than leaving her all on her lonesome, wouldn't it?
"Why are all they related to food?" Marius thought to himself, squeezing the spring water from his trousers and shirt, laying them to dry on the ground. Was she hungry? He wondered if he could find something to eat for the both of them. Marius refused to question how these were supposed to be a good judge of character, he had already come to terms with his partner.
"Well..." Marius began, stepping into the spring as well, making sure to avoid glancing at Aiko - although he swore that she was pretty much all hidden in the water, save for her head - and entered the steaming water himself, hoping that nothing unnecessary was seen by his partner. A delighted sigh escaped him before he spoke again. "I don't know how this man is related to me. I'd do nothing. Or organize the funeral, depending." For whatever reason, he seemed to answer honestly and seriously. "I'd give the date the half-full glass and take the half-empty for myself. Let them have all the joy." He mumbled something about the hot water, the steam, and a spider lily, but then continued. "I'd find another bakery."

Marius immediately switched his mind to something else, looking up at the sky. The atmosphere was delectably serene, comforting, and the only thing that didn't quite fit in was Aiko and her energy. For a moment, he wondered whether she was cute despite her strangeness or because of it.

 

[Skyswimsky]

Aiko

< Human > | < Mundane >

lanzandpine

"That's.... pretty tame." Aiko responded, tilting her head as she pondered about Marius's answers. With pretty much more hair showing than skin it was really hard to tell how Aiko ultimately took his answers. "As for me, I'd take the dead guy's money. I'd combine the contents of both glasses to go for an indirect kiss! Aaannnd I'd buy the do-not-eat cake so that I can remove the label and eat it! All within JUSTICE, of course." She nodded rather happily about her own answers.

"Say..." Aiko then went on, slowly making her way over towards her 'date' under the guise of the warm water, maybe even crawling on all four considering how shallow(or deep?) the spring truly was. "You're more of a quiet one, right? How do you think we should spend our time? Anything you are curious about?" The two of them being naked didn't seem to phase the pseudo-AI at all.

 

[lanzandpine]

Marius Roswell

Titles: Mundane Human, Isekai, Born for This
Languages: "Common"
Abilities Used:
Mentions:
Skyswimsky

Marius didn't know whether he should feel offended at her remark regarding his answers, and whether he should humor her in her own interpretations of the questions, but a chuckle did escape his lips as he looked up at the dazzling sky. The shimmering lights seemed to calm Marius down, and for a moment he could have even forgotten all about Aiko's tackle, and the fact that there is a date, and anything at all.

But as fate would have it, Marius wasn't allowed such respite. As Aiko called out, he looked at her, only to jump and splash around in surprise as she began creeping closer and closer to the defenseless young man. "W-Well, I don't know, I don't think that I'm that, err," Marius stumbled over his words as he threw very brief side glances at the approaching date. "We can talk about anything, really!" He unconsciously seemed to take very light steps back, away from his partner.

"S-Say," - he began, not sure whether the beads of sweat on his face and the burning feeling in his cheeks was because of the workings of the spring water or because of his date's actions - "Aren't we getting a little too close, too fast? O-Or, err... You know..." He felt guilty about a small part of himself that was deeply steeped in interest over this chain of events.