Island in the Sun (closed to Ray)

[Rayleigh]

The young woman blinked down at the hat and sunglasses that Vincent shoved toward her. The sunglasses, she was familiar with, as she had worn them before. But this particular pair was unnecessarily large, their black, plastic rims jutting far above and below the actual confines of her eyes. The floppy straw hat was even less practical, and she turned it over in her hands a few times before leveling a frank look at her companion. "These are goofy as hell, Vince," she informed him.

The man could not keep the grin from blossoming across his face. "Sure," he agreed easily, "but they are all the rage right now. It's what everyone is wearing."

Ray's expression twisted with mild disgust, her brow furrowing, her lips pursing. "I've never cared too much about what everyone else was wearing." She clutched the hat and sunglasses in one hand, and used the other to steady herself against the rail.

Obviously. But he bit the comment back, knowing better than to risk offending Rayleigh. She had a temper that was as wild and untamed as the ocean they crossed, and more than likely just as deadly. But the topic had been breached, and he knew that he would have no better opportunity than this to give her one more request.

"You look great," he began clumsily, attempting to smooth her over before taking the plunge.

It did not work. The mechanic's piercing jade eyes narrowed. "But?" she prompted, her tone skeptical.

"But," Vincent echoed, "I don't think those clothes are really going to help you fit in either."

Every line of the mousy woman's body grew rigid. The scholar winced. And there it is, he groaned inwardly. The temper.

"What's wrong with what I'm wearing?" Now she made no effort to hide the authoritative edge in her voice. For the moment, all thought of sea sickness was lost; she released the railing, and used her free hand to jab a finger against his sturdy chest.

His hands rose helplessly, but Vincent knew he could not back down. "Look around you," he urged gently, his cool voice working to quell some of her fire. When she finally paused to do so, tearing her gaze away from the taller man, she realized that he was right. Nearly every person who roamed the deck was in what Ray considered some state of undress. They wore pants that hardly hung to the knee, and tops that covered even less than the pants. One woman who lounged a short distance away wore what appeared to be a bedazzled lingerie set. It glimmered a blinding gold beneath the bright sunlight, and attracted Ray's attention straight to the woman's-

"Not that," Rayleigh stated, with staggering finality.

Vincent followed his partner's gaze, his jaw going a little slack at the sight. He glanced away quickly, agreeing, "no. Not that."

"Not something even close to that."

He dutifully shook his head. "Not even close."

Though she still eyed him, that seemed to relax Ray somewhat. "Fine," she conceded after a moment's hesitation. "But I pick it out. And you buy."

"I would expect nothing less." The small smile returned as Vincent turned back to look across the water's glass surface. The first hazy edges of the island's silhouette were appearing on the horizon. This was going to be fun.

[Cards of Fate]

“Let us find our hotel.”

The humor of his statement was lost on his companion as she took his arm and they began to walk down the busy plaza. There was only one hotel, and you could see it from almost any point in the island. The building was large even by earthen standards. The near palatial quality of the massive sprawling hotel was staggering even from a distance. The whole “hotel” was roughly the size of Beinost, possibly larger. In the center a massive spire jutted into the sky, decked out in more gold than most countries could claim to have in their treasury. The compound was walled in by massive, beautifully crafted stucco walls that must have towered somewhere around thirty feet tall, while the main tower itself must have stood somewhere along a whopping seven hundred feet tall. The whole thing was equal parts beautiful, obnoxious, and expensive.

“Vince…” Ray muttered staring at the tower. “Is that…”

“Yup.” Vince replied grinning slightly.

“How much money did you-“

“Not a penny.” Vince replied grinning. “Apparently the owner of the resort had a son fighting in the Red Forest reclamation. Apparently he was in a unit I saved from a troll, and he came home singing the praise of the Podeslayer. So as thanks I was invited to spend a week here, which worked out perfectly because the next day I had a vision we would find an artifact here.” The scholar chuckled slightly as the mechanic gawked at the massive tower, only keeping along with him because she was literally attached at his arm. The whole experience had him on cloud nine, it seemed like he was messing things up with Rayleigh more often than not. If he wasn’t almost getting her killed, or pissing her off, he was causing undue emotional stress.

Sometimes he wondered if she’d be better off without him…

But he was greedy. She was one of his closest friends. She’d been one of his first friends on this strange world, aside from the Seraphim Ioder and the merchant Joseph. Yet for some reason he seemed to crave spending time with her. He wanted to impress her, even if it meant going to extremes. Given everything they’d gone through, he wanted nothing more than to make her happy. Yet as they walked through the crowded streets filled with happy people, her arm around his, he couldn’t help but feel…conflicted. He’d been honest about having to lie about her being his wife in order to get her here. But because of that here he was, walking arm in arm with her, like they were a newlywed couple. The sun was high in the sky, bathing everything in its warm glow as the two made their way to the hotel. Everything was perfect, he was perfectly content with her being right by his side.

But a lie is a lie, and it would eventually catch up to him.

Shaking his head, the scholar looked up at the sky, using his free hand to shield his eyes. “Because of how huge that tower is, I have no earthly idea how far away we are…” he muttered shaking his head. “Are you hungry? We could stop to get some food and replace some of whatever you lost over the side of the boat…?”

[Cards of Fate]

Vince paused for a moment as Ray spoke, chewing on his lower lips slightly as he drifted off into thought for a moment. “That’s kinda sad to think about isn’t it?” He asked cocking his head to the side slightly. A waitress walked by and set down two menu’s for them, carefully handwritten in gorgeous calligraphy, covered in some strange magic preservative…

Oh.

It took a moment for Vince to realize that each page of the delicately leather-bound tome had been simply “laminated” in some strange sort of wax, leaving a smooth clear film over them. He spent a moment idly tracing his fingers over the text, appreciating the subtle craftsmanship of something that seemed so commonplace back on earth. “What does?” Ray asked, lost in thought as she peered over the perfect text.

“That you’ve never been somewhere this alive.” Vincent mused as he flipped the page and glanced over each entrée. “Doesn’t that speak volumes to the condition of our homelands? I can’t imagine Raiaera being this way either.” He paused and glanced down at a particular order. Shredded chicken seasoned and served on a…tortilla. The scholar sucked in a surprised breath.

Tacos were apparently a local cuisine to this world.

“But I’m digressing.” He snapped his menu shut and looked up to the mechanic, smiling warmly as he did so. “It’s our honeymoon, no need to get all existential on you…dear.” He shot her a wink as his smile erupted into more of a playful grin. His eyes shot to another, smaller menu that neither of them had noticed before. He carefully scooped it up and began flipping through the beautiful cream colored pages. From first glance it was obviously a drink menu, filled will all sorts of fruity beverages and cocktails that would be a staple at a resort like this back on earth. He eyed the list of coconut and mango flavored drinks with slight amusement before setting it down. It was a tad too early to start drinking just yet, and he had a whole week to unwind.

“Have you decided what you want yet? I’m kinda eyeing the shredded chicken tacos to see how they stand up to what I make back at home.” He asked glancing around. He was suddenly aware of the sheer amount of couples that seemed to be in this venue, gathered around the bar, pressed against each other in some sort of way. His sapphire eyes darted from one couple playing footsie, to another holding hands, to another outright snogging just on the other side of the patio. The soft rhythm of some strange sort of band tucked away out of sight seemed to fill the air with an upbeat but festive sound. Vince took the atmosphere in for a moment, then another realization struck him.

That’s a fucking mariachi band…