Private The Sun and the Sea

[Valery Noble]

Dorumaa

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Outfit: Outfit
Appearance: Link
Weapons: None
Tag: Aldric Laurent

That look he gave her when she stole his bacon — she knew it meant war. Her attack had been the second challenge for his food within 2 days' time, and she knew he was going to get her back for it. But until then, she was going to enjoy her little moment of revenge as much as she could, and waggled her eyebrows at him to make sure he knew that as well. "Yum~" she added as the cherry on top, before turning back to her own food.

"We'll be fiiiine," she then assured him with a smirk, "Only I get to snack on you," she winked and after looking at him a moment longer, she decided to add something a little more serious as well. "I don't plan to actually go after Leviathans, and I'm pretty sure they're extinct too. Just messing around, babe." It was probably a good thing she mentioned it because she was the type to actually go after huge monsters.

"Some diving sounds fun, though. I brought rebreathers so we can breathe underwater for very long. But if you somehow run out of air, I can sustain myself without one through the Force and supply you with more air~" Again, she waggled her eyebrows, and this time she walked over to sit closer to him.

"You ready to get going?"

 

[Aldric Laurent]

“Only I get to snack on you,”

Aldric just laughed, scooping up a bite full of eggs. It was, in fact, a good thing she mentioned they were extinct, because right up until then he genuinely believed that Valery was intent on hunting some ancient giant monsters. Still he teased, “Yeah, you say that now. But who knows what’s really down there.” Probably nothing bad.

Probably.

“Really though, diving sounds fun. I bet they’ve got some very pretty reefs and the like around here.” He scooped a few more big bites into his mouth, trying to hurry so they had plenty of time, “Just about,” Aldric said, swallowing a mouthful. “Good stuff. Let’s get to it then, hm?”

Valery Noble​

 

[Valery Noble]

Dorumaa

​

Outfit: Outfit
Appearance: Link
Weapons: None
Tag: Aldric Laurent

She couldn't stop smiling when she got him to laugh at her joke, which wasn't really a joke... Valery then stuffed her face with the rest of her food and watched him closely for a moment. He felt relieved when she assured him that she wasn't actually wanting to drag him along for a Leviathan hint, which briefly made her wonder if she was too dangerous in general?

The last thing she'd ever want was for him to get hurt because of her.

"I'm sure there can be scary things down there, but we should be fine as long as we don't go too far out. We're also together..." She smiled sheepishly, as those thoughts from before lingered a moment longer. But she was quick to set them aside again and collected their emptied plates with a smile.

"Glad you liked it, and yeah...it'll be beautiful. I have a camera for underwater pictures and even your sunglasses could work. Maybe it'll be nice to hang up some vacation photos back at home." A rosy color filled her cheeks and with that in mind, she went to grab together all the gear they needed for their dive.

She then waited at the door in her new bikini to take his hand again, and readied herself for a short but fun little walk back to the beach with him to start a new day of fun and adventure.

 

[Aldric Laurent]

"That works for me," Aldric said, needing little more than her assurance to dive in head-first. Valery has his trust all the way, and even if something went wrong, they would be able to get out of it.

Her other suggestion made him blink, then smile, "Not a bad idea…" Despite the seemingly off-hand response, his tone was very sincere. Chronicling memories together. Hopefully just the first of many.

While Valery took their plates aside, he went to go help grab some of the gear, carrying it out the door so they could get started on their walk, "You ever gone diving before?" Aldric most certainly had not.

Valery Noble​

 

[Valery Noble]

"Mhmm, I'll need to test it first though," she teased after retrieving her little camera and waving it around a little. Valery then held it up and shot him a playful grin. "Smile for me~" she sang before taking a picture of him. Looking down at the result, she grinned, seemingly quite happy.

"Keeping that one with me." No matter where she went, she wanted a picture of him with her. Something to help her get through hard times.

Together, they then cleaned up what remained of their breakfast, grabbed their gear and began to walk towards the ocean. "I've even fought underwater before," Valery said with a nod and, of course, a smirk. "But that was in full diving gear - a wetsuit, special equipment for underwater breathing and all that."

Soon enough, they arrived at the beach and luckily, the ocean seemed calm enough for a safe dive. They had no boat to first get further away though, so they'd have to get deep the hard way. "Alright, test your rebreather and follow me~" she said before she began to move into the water.

 

[Aldric Laurent]

Without missing a beat, Aldric smiled a big, beaming smile as Valery aimed the camera at him. It was perhaps a bit dumb, but endearingly genuine, "How's it look?" He asked, trying to get a peek before she tucked it away.

But it wasn't much longer before they were up and off to the beach. The admission that she had not only dove before, but fought while diving, made him smirk, "Feels like the sort of thing I should've done by now, being a secret agent and all. Not sure if I'm supposed to have that on a bucket list, or be glad I haven't had to." Real life was usually a bit more stressful than the holo-flicks. Perhaps it would be best not to jinx it now.

Stopping at the shoreline, Aldric affixed his rebreather, nodding before dunking himself into the ocean for a field test. He breathed a few times, spared from inhaling any salt water. He then followed Valery further out, until the sandbanks were too deep to tread by foot. He sank under the waves, finding that the blue waters were beautifully clear, with sunlight breaking through and scattering across the ocean floor.

Valery Noble​

 

[Valery Noble]

Dorumaa

​

Outfit: Outfit
Appearance: Link
Weapons: None
Tag: Aldric Laurent

"It looks hot~" she hummed with a smirk before she briefly showed him the picture. The smile was perhaps a little silly but if she was out there fighting in depressing wars, seeing him with a big, slightly goofy smile would definitely brighten up her day. Right now, it had already helped make the start of this day just a little better.

Soon after, they reached the beach and began to prepare for their dive into ocean depths, but not without some messing around first. "It's very different and not very ideal. Even hits that don't cause too much harm can end up killing you if your equipment is damaged. Moving around is also much slower, so it's easy to underestimate a threat on accident."

But this should be a pretty safe dive if he hadn't just jinxed for them.

After going into the depths below, Valery turned on the integrated comms of her rebreather and spun around a little when they were deep enough, "It's so beautiful here!" she exclaimed, clearly happy that they had gone underwater. Her hair was nicely flowing along the waves, she was swimming around and smiling brightly. Earlier, she wanted him to pick what he wanted to do, but he had without a doubt made her happy with his choice.

"Want to go look down at the ocean floor? Maybe we can see some neat animals," Valery said after swimming around him until she ended up in front and took his hands.

 

[Aldric Laurent]

Aldric peered at the photo and snorted, "Hot, eh?" He didn't necessarily agree, but then again, people usually didn't find pictures of themselves to be as appealing as others did. Valery seemed to enjoy it, and that worked for him.

"Yeah, that's more or less what I figured." Aldric muttered. Underwater fighting was a logistical nightmare. "I'll just be glad I haven't had to bother with it. Peaceful diving sounds much nicer."

They dove down into the water, swimming around as they got their bearings. Given her reaction, it seemed Aldric had made the right choice. He tried to say something, forgetting to turn on his comms at first, "Let's do it. I'm sure there's a lot more to see down there." He took her hand, and began swimming down towards the ocean floor. As they got closer, the vibrant colors of various corals and anemones revealed themselves. A few small fish flitted between them, scales shimmering against rays of light. "How's that for ya?" One of them swam near Aldric's face and he looked eagerly between it and Valery for a reaction.

Valery Noble​

 

[Valery Noble]

Dorumaa

​

Outfit: Outfit
Appearance: Link
Weapons: None
Tag: Aldric Laurent

"Mhmm, you always are." At least, he definitely was to her, and she didn't mind telling him that at all. Especially not after expressing their love for each other, and what happened last night. A lot of it was still constantly on her mind, but the diving at least offered a distraction.

Not that she needed or wanted one, but it was still fun.

"I can always fight you underwater if you want to know what it's like~" she teased but that dangerous sparkle in her eyes probably made it clear that she'd actually do it if he challenged her. They had fought alongside each other more times than she could count, but fighting each other or training together was a bit rarer. Perhaps it could be a fun bonding experience as well.

The two then went down deep, until they entered sight of the ocean floor and its beautiful corals. Colorful fish were all around them, some even swimming between them, and while she held onto his hand, Valery quickly reached for her camera to take a picture of them both with some of the fish on it as well. "This is amazing, I love it so much..." she smiled lovingly at him for a moment, but her eyes shifted forward again when she noticed the fish scattering a little.

They picked up their swimming pace and left Valery and Aldric alone, surrounded by just the beauty of the ocean. "Just in case, I'm not sensing any leviathans," she joked with a dumb grin.

 

[Aldric Laurent]

Aldric just gave her another dumb grin, before they headed off.

Valery's offer for an underwater fight earned a chuckle, "Save it for a real spar." Might be a fun opportunity. They never had many chances to actually take each other on in a match like that.

Down in the ocean, Aldric admired the rainbow of sea life surrounding them, getting close to one of the fish before it quickly swam off. He moved to examine the reef below, smirking back at Val, "This close to shore? I would certainly hope not."

Further off in the waters, there was a shifting shadow. Aldric froze, carefully assessing it for a few moments, "Hey, you see that?" Whatever it was, it was big. He turned his head cautiously to the side, but soon found himself admiring the creature as it came closer. It was a Gorskin; A large, plated sea turtle, swimming peacefully past them. "Check that out."

Valery Noble​

 

[Valery Noble]

"A real spar, hm? Alright, it's a date~" she chuckled as they continued to swim together. Without the Force or any weapons, he'd definitely have an advantage over her, but that only made it even more fun to her. She'd have to fight smart and use some tricks, rather rely on her usual unnatural speed and strength.

As her grin would likely show, she was already looking forward to it.

But while things underwater started simple and playful, the fish they had been admiring suddenly swam away as if some kind of monster approached them. Much like Aldric, Valery spotted the shadow but she felt no danger, and only a peaceful presence. It made it easy to stay calm but she said nothing, and watched to see how Aldric would react.

"Not scared of turtles, are we?" She grinned and swam up behind him to wrap her arms around his waist for a second. But when the turtle got closer, she let go and carefully approached it to check it out. She reached for it with her hand to pat it and...

Snap

"Ow!" Valery hissed after it bit her fingers. There was a tiny bit of blood that entered the water but nothing serious, so she slooowly turned her head to Aldric, preparing herself for another shit-eating grin.

 

[Aldric Laurent]

So the sparring date would be a reality after all. If nothing else, it would certainly be different from their usual time together. He was weirdly looking forward to it, just to see how it would go. Valery's competitive spirit was already shining through, and he was happy to meet her halfway.

As the shadow approached them, Aldric was too focused to notice Valery's lack of concern, and when the turtle appeared in full, he just grinned, "Psh. Nah." It came closer to the two of them, and she reached out to touch it. The turtle snapped at her, and despite the initial surprise, he saw she wasn't too hurt. Aldric just grinned, "I don't think he likes you, though."

Perhaps daringly, Aldric reached out now, but made sure just to glide a hand across the shell as it passed them by, "He's a big fella. Never seen one like that before." It was a peaceful scene. The turtle was both bigger and older than either of them, but was gentle and serene. Except for when it bit Valery, but it couldn't really take too much of the blame for that. "Makes you wonder what else it out there."

Valery Noble​

 

[Valery Noble]

Dorumaa

​

Outfit: Outfit
Appearance: Link
Weapons: None
Tag: Aldric Laurent

"I don't think he likes you, though."

"Really? What makes you think that?" she scowled and rubbed her fingers for a moment while her glare shifted away from the turtle and to Aldric for just a brief moment. His grin made sure it lingered a few seconds longer, but a memory resurfaced that got her to suddenly chuckle. "Maybe it's not too strange, actually. An old friend of mine had a pet turtle she took care of, and it really didn't like me either."

"So whatever it is about me that makes turtles angry, it's probably best we don't get one as a pet." Not that they lived together yet, but it was probably for the best that neither of them got pets or made big decisions alone anymore. Their relationship was growing too fast, and into something far too big for that now.

Valery then continued to swim while Aldric took a moment to inspect the attacker, and she'd just nod, "A lot of the aquatic life on this planet is really big. But most of it seems friendly... somewhat." She grumbled a little but suddenly looked up, as something caught her eyes near the surface. A bright, red light was flashing and after going up, she noticed it was a warning buoy of some kind.

"Hmm, I vaguely remember something about people going missing on the oceans, but I think that was just fishers who went out too far. We should be fine underwater, I think."

 

[Aldric Laurent]

"Agreed," Aldric chuckled. The implications of what she said made him grin. They didn't live together yet, but perhaps now it was only a matter of time. "Can't imagine what it is about you they distrust so much."

They swam around a bit more, when the red light of a buoy suddenly stole their attention. Aldric watched it a bit cautiously, "Really?" He asked, more skeptical of that answer than Valery was. Still, he was going to trust her. Why ruin their vacation time if it wasn't necessary? He swam a little further down beckoning her to follow. "Get a picture of me by this reef, eh?"

Valery Noble​

 

[Valery Noble]

Dorumaa

​

Outfit: Outfit
Appearance: Link
Weapons: None
Tag: Aldric Laurent

"Can't imagine what it is about you they distrust so much."

"That's not sarcasm I hear in your voice, is it?" she teased before making the hand gesture of blowing him a kiss. It was always a little fun to mess with him, but when she spotted the warning buoy, she knew it was time to at least be a little serious. This vacation was supposed to be without incidents or them getting into trouble. So even if something seemed really exciting, she was going to opt for the safe route.

"We'll just stay close, and we should be fine," she said, clearly not entirely sure about her own thoughts. "I'll take a picture of you, then you take one of me and we can head back up?" she asked while she followed him all the way back down. "Maybe we can head into town, do some shopping and sightseeing, then we just relax." Right now, it was probably obvious she really wanted to minimize risks.

One biting turtle was enough excitement and danger for a day.

Valery then waited for him to pose by the reef, leveled her camera, and shot several pictures of him that left her staring for a moment. He's so... she drew in a sharp breath to pull her out of those thoughts, and moved over to make a spicy little pose herself. If he wanted a picture of her to keep around, she'd give him something sexy~

"Like this, babe?"

 

[Aldric Laurent]

Aldric chuckled slyly, as if he really were being sarcastic, but then added more genuinely, "No really. What's there not to love?" He winked, playing up a bit of shameless sappyness.

"Gladly," He said, striking up a few poses, "It'll be a good time wherever." Once his pictures were done, he switched places with her, aiming the camera. She posed, and he blinked, forgetting to take the picture for just a moment. "Y-yeah… like that…" Aldri finally said, shaking himself out of his stupor. He felt like a teenager crushing hard, which amused him. But he also loved the feeling.

"Lookin' good, babe," He said as he handed back the camera, "Let's start making our way back, huh?"

Valery Noble​

 

[Valery Noble]

Dorumaa

​

Outfit: Outfit
Appearance: Link
Weapons: None
Tag: Aldric Laurent

She knew he wasn't really being sarcastic, but for him to double down on the compliment wasn't something she expected either. A faint blush covered her cheeks as a result, but it likely went unnoticed with their dive down towards the reef for pictures. There, he struck a few poses that really pushed heat through her body, but she could do that in return.

"Mhmm, it'll be fun," she smirked as she got ready to pose.

The few she chose left him quiet for a moment, and she wondered if he actually took the pictures. Only when he complimented her again, did she finally relax back out of the pose. "Thanks, and yeah, let's head back. I'll send you all these pictures and put them on a holo-disk. You'll always have them with you~" She paused right in front of him and took off her rebreather, which she didn't really need in the first place.

She closed the distance and did her best to press an underwater kiss against his cheek, "I don't think they'll have it here but uh, I was thinking about getting a new ship to get around soon. Maybe something we should shop for together...?" she tested after putting on the rebreather again. It wouldn't be something to really live in, but she was definitely hinting at going in that direction a little with this.

Another step

 

[Aldric Laurent]

The blush was unnoticed, but it was certainly the reaction Aldric was hoping for. They posed up, exchanged photos, and just like that, were ready to head back. "That's what I like to hear," He smirked, the expression then turning a bit curious as Valery took off her rebreather. She leaned in to kiss him, and now it was his turn to blush. "I'd do the same, but," He gestured vaguely at himself. Underwater kisses were romantic. Potentially drowning, less so.

"...Sure. Sounds like fun." Buying a ship wasn't something usually associated with fun, but the implications behind it certainly were. They were looking into purchases, into life decisions, together. It was a sign that their relationship was growing ever closer.

He was in all the way.

"Let's head up shall we?" Aldric began to slowly swim back towards the surface, taking Valery's hand.

Valery Noble​

 

[Valery Noble]

Dorumaa

​

Outfit: Outfit
Appearance: Link
Weapons: None
Tag: Aldric Laurent

"That's fine, you just owe me one when we get back to the beach," she teased after picking up on his blushing. While it looked cute to her, the feeling that went alongside it through the Force was even better. It sent a warm shiver through her body that made her even more excited to head back up.

But what really made a difference was him accepting the offer to buy a ship together. Not a fighter or some other combat-focused ship like the ones she usually flies, but something for long journeys they could even live in if they needed or wanted to. She technically had such a ship with the Bastion, but she had other plans for it.

"Yeah, let's go up, dry off and grab some lunch. Then we'll see where the rest of the day takes us." Maybe some more sports on the beach, maybe some sightseeing or exploration of the forests. But no matter what it would be, she knew it'd be an amazing time because she was with him.

That's all that mattered.