Surfin' Safari

[Makai Dashiell]

Let's go surfin' now / Everybody's learning how / Come on and safari with me​

​

​

​

When Makai had invited [member="Aster Rose Baelor"] to Dac, he had forgotten for a moment that he hadn't talked much about his life at the Iron Empire Gala. They had touched on other subjects - education, hobbies, a few planets in the Iron Empire realm. When he had mentioned surfing as a hobby the teenage girl seemed to be interested. When he offered to teach her, his mouth opened to invite her to his boyhood home without thinking. Makai hadn't told her he was the heir to a salvage empire. Hadn't bothered telling her his home home was on a private island chain, surrounded by an expanse of sun and sea. No turning back now.


Warmth beat down on his bare skin, standing only in rainbow polkadot trunks. Normally he would be a little impatient but after spending seven months on an icy hellhole it was nice to not be shivering. A perk of being home on leave for a bit. If he planned right there would be time to surprise [member="Myra Elspeth"] and spend a few days with her. Makai had figured she had spent enough time chasing him, it was only fair he come to the Farm this time.


Surf boards waited on the white sandy beach, small circles of wax sitting on top of each board. He was going to go ahead and do the prep work but it seemed like an important step for a beginner. Makai would follow the same steps when he taught Ellie, the same steps from when his Ma had taught him as a youngster.

 

[Aster Rose Baelor]

Parasol in hand and sunscreen slathered on thick, Aster, escorted by Rourke made her way onto the beach.

For the rare trip away from the territory of the Iron Empire for fun rather than any official purpose, the teenager had her platinum blonde hair temporarily dyed chocolate brown and wore a pair of emerald green contact lenses. It was nice to be someone other than herself even if only for a short while.

"Ah!" she let out a surprised cry when the heels of her sandals sank into the sand. It had been forever since she had last visited a beach.

Carefully pulling each heel out of the sand, Aster focused her weight into the balls of her feet as she walked in an attempt to not have the heels of her sandals sink into the sand again as she made her way towards [member="Makai Dashiell"].

"Hello," she greeted him, her gaze fixed elsewhere. It felt rather... odd to see a member of the opposite gender without a shirt on. Embarrassed, Aster blushed and shot a glance at Rourke. Being around him usually alleviated the difficulties she faced when speaking to members of the opposite gender but right now, he was only making it worse.

 

[Makai Dashiell]

Head turned at the exclamation of surprise. It appeared [member="Aster Rose Baelor"] was sinking into the white sand on the shore. Closer inspection showed it was her choice of footwear seemed to be the problem. Makai had personally never seen anyone wear heels on the beach, most tended to go barefoot as he was currently. He struggled to keep the amusement off his face for now - they weren't terribly close.


The half-Galan watched her face flush, confused. Gaze glanced down at this rainbow dotted shorts just in case. Nothing seemed to be amiss with himself or their surroundings. There was nothing he could do but give a mental shrug and stride out to meet her. He hadn't expected her bodyguard to come along. The Sirene Islands were located in a safe area, most islands along this stretch of ocean were privately owned by the rich and or famous.


"Hey, ready to get out in the open sea?"


Crossing he space, he reached a hand out to what he assumed as a bodyguard....or maybe it was her boyfriend? Perhaps he read the two wrong during the Gala. Overprotective boyfriend would make an incredible amount of sense.


"Makai Dashiell, I don't think we had a chance to get to know one another at the Gala."

 

[Aster Rose Baelor]

He face still red, Aster sheepishly nodded in reply to [member="Makai Dashiell"] words. To her, who had to be Miss prim and proper in the public eye, it felt rather scandalous to look at Makai in his current state of undress.

"No, we hadn't," Rourke smiled, holding back his laughter. It was too amusing seeing his charge in her current state of distress. "I'm Felix Rourke, bodyguard to the princess." He smiled and shook Makai's extended hand. Though he was the princess' boyfriend of sorts, he showed no signs of jealousy. It would be best if we ended things soon, he often found himself thinking. If she had to choose between me and her position, I would lose every time, he thought. And he was right.

"Is the lesson going to start soon?" Rourke grinned cheekily and unbuttoned his shirt causing Aster's face to become even redder.

Unable to look at either of the two men, Aster turned her gaze to her shoes. "I-I should take my shoes off," she muttered and walked towards a piece of driftwood.

"nerf herder," she muttered under her breath, her fringe concealing a soft smile as she removed her sandals and returned to the pair.

 

[Makai Dashiell]

[member="Aster Rose Baelor"]



"Pleasure to meet you Felix." Gaze flipped back to the blonde haired girl. It seemed his idea of a governors daughter was close to the mark. Instead it was revealed she was a Princess. Over the entire Iron Empire or a planetary government? Didn't matter to him. "Is she like this all time? If so you may want to ask for a bump in your pay grade."


There was a grin directed towards both of them, clearly teasing. Yet silently he was becoming more and more thankful for [member="Myra Elspeth"] .The girl wasn't exactly the 'outdoor' type but she never turned down an adventure. Surfing, sailing, camping, fishing,snorkeling through reefs. Short jaunts through the 'verse. There wasn't much she ever complained about when they were out together. After seeing the stark contrast between Ellie and his new acquaintance Aster he made a mental note to send Ellie some 'thank you' flowers once they made it back up to the house.


The Princess turned a dark shade of red once Felix removed his shirt. Eyebrow raised but she had turned to remove the 'sandals' muttering as she did so.


"Yeah, we'll start once Aster is ready. Looks like she needs a moment. You'll be taking the white one with the weird trim on the right there. Wax is laid out, key is to go crazy and lay it on thick. I've already laid down the base coats, this is just to help maintain grip. Might want to put a little on the edges since you're new to this as well, where the hands grip towards the top."

 

[Aster Rose Baelor]

Rourke chuckled at [member="Makai Dashiell"]'s comment. "Fortunately, she's not always like this," he smiled recalling the precious few private moments he shared with the Princess then moved towards the surfboard he had been assigned and began to wax it.

Sandals in hand, Aster returned still unable to look up at either men. It was too embarrassing and more than she could bear. "I-I'm ready," she muttered as she twisted her long hair into a bun and secured it in place with a small handful of bobby-pins then removed her beach cover-up to reveal her swimwear.

Not fond of bikinis or anything that made her feel like she was wearing nothing more than her undergarments, her swimsuit was a modest one that looked more like a short dress than swimwear. Even though she had disguised herself dyeing her platinum blonde hair a light brown and concealed her light blue eyes with emerald green contact lenses, she was hesitant to go too far out of her comfort zone.

"Pri- ah- Aster, please take this board," Rourke gestured at the board he had finished waxing only a moment ago. He was too accustomed to looking after her.

"Thank you..." Aster mumbled, still unable to lift her head up.

 

[Makai Dashiell]

"If you ask me the entire part of the lesson is letting the Princess do every process. Like learning to ride a creature. Come on, its easier than you think."



Scaled hand motioned to [member="Aster Rose Baelor"] ,looking completely embarrassed and flushed about something. Makai hadn't expected a second person so the only other board left was his own - a blue one covered in octopus art.It sat waiting for its coat of wax near Rourke's. Makai went and dropped to his knees beside the board, leaving the wax in place.


"I'm not going to bite. Scout's honor."


A thought occurred to him.


"Both of you can swim I hope."

 

[Aster Rose Baelor]

Rourke sighed, he knew [member="Makai Dashiell"] was right.

"Let me know if you need any help."

"O-okay," Aster replied with a shy smile. Knowing that Rourke had thought of her was enough to set her heart a flutter. I love you, she wanted to tell him but couldn't.

Slowly calming down, Aster moved to the board that Makai had assigned her and took surfboard wax in her hand then began to glide it over the surfboard.

"Both of you can swim I hope."

"Of course," Rourke replied.

"A little..." Aster trailed off. She hadn't many opportunities to swim back home, when her parents were still alive and had only been taught how to tread water and freestyle in case of emergencies but she wasn't sure how she'd fare out of the safety of a pool. "Maybe I should wear some floaties just in case..." She added after a little thought and finished waxing her surfboard.

 

[Makai Dashiell]

Bare shoulder came to nudge against [member="Aster Rose Baelor"] as she waxed the board. He playfully pointed out a few flaws in the wax application, silently messing with the girl. When he had asked if both knew how to swim he expected a 'yes' especially since the Princess had agreed to come to Dac and grab a few lessons. A small wrench into his plans but he had life vests hanging around.


"Just because I know how to do CPR doesn't mean I feel like practicing my skills."


Makai stood up and brushed sand off his knees.


"Let me run back up and grab you a vest. Some of these waves will pull you under quick. Floaties will probably fall off in the surf. I'll be back in a second. You two have fun amongst yourselves."


The teenage half-Galan set off at a jog back to the stairs to the main house, deciding it was better to take the five minutes to grab a vest than have a Princess half-drown in his care.

 

[Aster Rose Baelor]

Surprised, Aster dropped the wax when [member="Makai Dashiell"] nudged her. "Excuse me," she muttered, blushing and bent down to pick up the block of wax and began to fix the flaws Makai had pointed out. Too accustomed to playing the role of a princess, it seemed Aster had become a bit of a prude without realizing it.

As Makai left, Aster shot Rourke an worried look. The boy's last sentence bothered her.

"Do you think he suspects?" she whispered and bit her bottom lip.

"Maybe, but he could also be joking."

"You know what will happen if anyone suspects..." Aster's voice whispered, trembling.

"I know," Rourke frowned. "We should use this time to find out what he thinks of us."

"Okay."

 

[Makai Dashiell]

Thinking about [member="Aster Rose Baelor"] and Rourke was the last thing on his mind at this moment. Having been on a frozen tundra for too long it was all about soaking up the sun and surfing for the teenage half-Galan. The only real thought about the pair was why Aster would bring along a security guard - she must be used to be waited on quite often or must be paranoid of kidnappings.


Rummaging around in outdoor storage he found two lifevests - the sleek, non bulky types that were typically used in watersports - and started the journey back. Makai looked down at his scale-speckled arm and frowned slightly, deciding his time spent bundled up left him too pale. He'd have to try to correct that over the next week or so.


The trip didn't take him long , perhaps ten minutes or so and he was returning, handing the larger of the two vests two Rourke just in case he felt he needed one. To Makai the swells looked decent but it could surprise and inexperienced person. Smaller vest went to Aster.


"No one has cold feet yet, right?"