nysalogs | Slow me down

[Talk of the winter carnival has been impossible to avoid for the past couple of days. Lance is, of course, curious to check out the party, but honestly he hates going to these sorts of things alone which is why he asked Allura to accompany him. Though he knew which answer he'd prefer, he wasn't really sure that'd be the answer he'd get. Or maybe he's just learned to set his expectations low to avoid feeling disappointed when friends don't want to hang out.

Either way, all of that goes straight out the window when Allura agrees and despite knowing better about feeling this way, he's so giddy that there's a tiny smile on his lips the entire journey over from Wyver to the carnival site. Once they arrive, his eyes grow wide with surprise.]

Oh man, they really went for it! They even have a ferris wheel and everything! Haven't seen one of those in a while!

[He laughs, face bright as he turns to Allura.]

Ever been on one of those before?

[Since she's arrived, there have been no shortage of celebrations throughout both Olympia and Wyver, and often plenty of ways to get into trouble at them. But when Lance brings up the winter festival, she readily agrees. Despite everything that's happened, she's still curious about the land that was now their home-away-from-home and eager to see what the festivities have to offer. And if it's with Lance, they can both watch out for each other, in case anything strange goes on.

So, dressed in a warm winter coat and leggings, her hair is left long, and the big curls bounce from side to side when she shakes her head at his question,]

I have not! [Canting her head to the side, she frowns up at the lit-up contraption.] It seems awfully slow to count as a ride...

[Heights aren't quite as thrilling when you're used to flying around in space lions.]

Heh, well it's definitely not a rollercoaster or anything speedy. There are a lot of slower rides at amusement parks, too! Like carousels and some water rides. Ferris wheels are meant to be more relaxing so you can enjoy the view rather than being an adrenaline rush.

[He's nodding sagely at this, like he's an expert on this subject. He'll uh.. just leave out the whole romantic aspect of ferris wheels because that's not what's going on here. Even so, there's a bit of a sheepish smile as he continues.]

Do you ... uh... wanna try it together?

[Being grounded for so long, she often missed the opportunities that flying the Blue Lion afforded her for casual sightseeing, so something like that appealed to her more than the more thrill-seeking rides. Her eyes light up,]

I have always wanted to see this area from a better vantage point.

[She catches Lance by the sleeve, tugging him in it's direction, but before they can make it to the end of the line, the siren song of a street-side vendor catches her attention.]

Step right up, step right up, pop a balloon and win a prize!

[Hanging on the sides are a number of colorful plush creatures, but Allura's eyes immediately hone in on the large, adorable blue cat hanging left of center.]

Lance...!

[As she grabs his sleeve, the sheepish smile turns into a brighter one. She doesn't need to tell him twice to get moving. The carnival games catch his eye too, though he doesn't stop until Allura explicitly points one of the prizes out. He can't help but laugh a little when he sees the blue cat.

She's not asking him to, but....]

Already on it, Allura!

[It's a straightforward shooting game where you shoot down moving targets. Piece of cake for the resident sharpshooter and all. He approaches the stall with some swagger in his step. His confidece is so obvious that even the owner of the stall seems to find this vaguely amusing.]

Ah! Going to win a prize for your girlfriend, young man?

[Cue Lance almost tripping over his feet.]

She's not my -- [He looks over his shoulder to see whether or not she heard that. He's hoping not, but just in case, he drops his voice several decibels and sighs.] -- I just wanna play the game please.

[She did hear it, but when Lance looks back she's very carefully looking in a different direction, putting on like she's very interested in the lights on the Ferris Wheel, tugging on a strand of hair uncomfortably.

It's not until Lance is back bantering with the stall's proprietor that she turns around again, approaching Lance's side to watch him work. When she'd called his attention earlier, she didn't really intend on implying he do anything for her but

that cat is very cute.

The stall owner produces three darts, setting them on the table.]

Oh, those are much different from your bayard, Lance. Do you think you will be able to do it?

[As he's going to assume this must mean Allura didn't hear that, he's going to breathe out a sigh of relief and shakes off that momentary panic over... what? Nothing of course. Nothing to be flustered about at all, and that's good because he needs to be on his A-game to win this prize for her.

He's picking up those darts. grinning more naturally again when she approaches.]

You're looking at a real pro, Allura. As long as I've got you cheering me on, I could hit those targets with my eyes closed.

[...please don't take him up on this.]

[Allura huffs out a laugh, hidden behind her hand, ]

I think it would be more wise to keep your eyes open.

[ Lucky for him she is not the type to call his bluff. Unluckily for him, the carnie slides on over to encouraging her to get a closer look at the plush she’d been eyeballing- Pretty cute, huh? Go ahead and pick it up! It’ll be all yours once sharpshooter over here pops a balloons.

You know, no pressure, Lance.]

[Lance watches this little exchange with a soft smile. It's hard not to feel endeared by how pleased Allura seems, even harder not to think how gorgeous she is when she's relaxed and having fun. The happy daydream doesn't really last long though because there is indeed "no pressure" on him. That pressure is so nonexistent, in fact, that he's gonna keep up this charade of unwavering confidence.]

Well if you insist.... [Thank god you're insisting, Allura.] Know what you're gonna name it yet?

[The first dart feels curiously heavy in his hand, and there's something stupid and funny about it. How is this managing to feel about the same level of nerve wracking as going up against a Robeast again? Lance has to laugh at himself a little for that.

He makes a really stupid point of sizing up the balloons, like he's trying to calculate an optimal trajectory for the dart before throwing the first one as hard as he can in a straight path. Does it work?

Ooooh what a shame. Come on, kid. Don't let your friend down.]

Hey, I'm just getting warmed up!

[Maybe. Probably.]

[Don't worry, Allura always has your back, even when she doesn't know she has your back.]

A name? [She didn't think about that. Hm.] I have not decided yet.

[Maybe Blaytz? Or Blue? Or.... she's not very good at being creative.

She watches as the first dart fails and, well she's never watched Lance throw darts before, but something looked off about the whole thing, like it fell too quickly for being the normal weight of a dart. Weird.]

You can do it! Just pretend you're facing down a Robeast!

[Ok, ok. So on the one hand, Allura is actually cheering him on and his heart just about doubles in size. On the other hand, even she's bringing up Robeasts now and it's kind of hilarious how much they're apparently hiveminding, but also? Wow, thanks for the added pressure there, Allura.]

One popped Robeast coming right up!

[He says, then hesitates because that first attempt really should have gone better? These games always tend to be slightly rigged in some way, of course, but hrmm how to compensate for it?

Pidge and Hunk would be math-ing this out, Keith would... god knows what.Be busy arguing with the owner??? Great sources of inspiration their friends are.

He'll aim higher on the board this time, maybe catch a balloon on a downward trajectory. There is such an intense look of concentration on his face that's utterly disproportionate to the task at hand.]

Take this!

[He lets the dart fly, and this time, it hits the board. Alas no popped balloon though. At least there's some improvement.]

[The second dart looks so much like it's going for the gold that she can't help the disappointed noise when it bounces right off of the wooden board behind it.

She leans in, giving him a (slightly worried) smile, holding Blue that much tighter,]

What is the human saying, third time is the winner?

[Oh NO. Lance hears that disappointed sound like it's thunder. He glances briefly in her direction, looking a little stern. Really, he's starting to get irritated as a matter of personal pride. Rigged or not, he's the sharpshooter of their team and he's got a reputation to live up to, damn it.]

No, the phrase is "third time's the charm."

[...Just don't ask him why the phrase is that because he's got no clue there.]

And there's about to be a heckuva lot of charming around here, so get ready.

[The problem, he's decided, is that he's overthinking the hell out of this. There's nothing getting in between this dart and a popped balloon. It's fate, it's destiny, the stars have aligned to make it so, etc. Give him a second to wind his arm up, draw it back and let dart #3 fly.

By some miracle, and we really mean miracle because rng sure wasn't on his side for this, this one pops a balloon with, nice and clean. For a moment, even Lance seems surprised by this.]

[The balloon pops, and it’s the sound of victory.]

You did it!

[Allura’s face brightens and, maybe she was expecting the worst, because she’s so excited by the unexpected victory that she crossing the short space between them and catches Lance up in a full body hug, enough to pick him up off of the ground. Meanwhile the proprietor seems to deflate, and there’s a halfhearted sort of congratulatory spiel as he slouches against the back counter of the booth.

Setting him back on the ground, she turns to pick up the blue lion, looking deep in it’s button eyes,]

I will need to think of a name for him.

[It should have occurred to him to be offended by how surprised Allura seems by this, but the truth is that he's equally as surprised as she is, and the grin that splits his face in two when she throws her arms around him is one of pure delight. But it isn't until she lifts him up bodily that he laughs, light and carefree.]

Woah!

[His arms wrap around her shoulders, clinging a little while his feet are in the air. Gosh, this is like every dumb little daydream about getting swept off his feet by the universe's most amazing princess coming true.... and it takes him another moment before realizing his feet are back in contact with the ground and that he should probably let go.]

Any name you'd pick out would be perfect, Allura. [Just be glad he's still too dazed to make that super obvious 'purrrrfect'pun....

He steps back, still smiling, still giddy as all hell, a faint blush dusting his cheeks.]

... man I wish I knew sooner that something like this would make you this happy.

Edited 2019-01-10 23:26 (UTC)

[Her eyes are on the plush doll, face in deep concentration over the name, and largely missing the heat in Lance’s face when they break from the hug. A name…

The last bit seems to pull her out of it, and she looks up, a sheepish smile tugging at her lips.] I have never had a prize won for me at a festival before. Well, I have never been to a festival like this before at all.

[Most of the ones hosted by Olympia or Wyver involved a lot of drinking and carousing. And-]

I’m having fun.

[Ah. She’s feeling a little bit warm. Tucking the large stuffed animal under an arm, she turns towards the blinking lights of the Ferris Wheel nearby.]

In any case, now that we have this, shall we continue?

[His eyes widen in surprise hearing that. Allura's never been to a carnival before? There've been so many festivals and the like that are hosted here that this is a little unexpected, but he's also not complaining. Allura's first carnival and she came with him. It's not a date -- of course it isn't, but he wants this to be a good first for her. God knows there've been lots of awful moments at Nysa.]

Hold up. Lemme grab a picture of you two cuties first!

[He whips out the phone, angling the camera juuuuust right to get the perfect shot. He adds with a more earnest smile:]

That way you'll have something more than just a memory to look back on.

Edited 2019-01-21 06:08 (UTC)

Oh!

[She looks a little surprised when he pulls out the camera, and there's a moment that she stands up a little straighter, smiling, but right before Lance can snap the perfect picture, she starts, as if just thinking of something.]

Wait- But you need to be in the picture as well!

[And she'll have no ifs, ands, or buts about it. They came here together and the memory wouldn't be right if it didn't include the both of them. Looping the plush in one hand, she strides forward, taking Lance by the elbow and pulling him to stand next to her. Much better.]

Can you still take a picture like this?

[.... oh. Oh. So they're taking the picture like this now? It only takes Lance a second before he laughs in earnest.]

I sure can!

[Allura is, after all, talking to a sharpshooter, the grandmaster of stealth and the patron saint of selfies. He's quite the multitalented fellow, Lance is.]

I'll just do one of these-- [Translation: Raise his arm at what is a very practiced angle.] aaaand say cheese!

[And of course in true pro selfie fashion, he takes three pictures so they can choose their favorite one from the bunch. He lowers his arm, holding the phone between them for them to look.]

Oh man. I'm keeping all of these.

[Even the one where Allura and him both got caught mid-blink because that's just..,,, oddly endearing.]

[In true selfie fashion, she leans in close so that they can both be in the picture, one arm propping up the lion plush so that it's also “looking” at the camera, and her other arm looping through Lance's elbow. For lack of a better place to put it, but also because it felt right.

When the pictures are finished, she takes a step away, but leans in to look at the pictures as he swipes through, laughing at the one where her eyes are half shut. But they're nice. They both look happy. And there's something about the multicolored glow of the festival lights around them that makes the picture seem even more dream-like.

She smiles, stepping away.]

Now we will both have a souvenir from our evening.

[With her hand still loosely hooked on Lance's elbow, she starts pulling him along once again.]

Are you ready to go?

[Lance catches her eye as she tugs on his arm, and his heart skips a beat. He's always felt so lucky to have Allura as his friend, but this is a little more than just feeling lucky to be able to share a happy moment together. She's so beautiful, always has been, but she's so much more than that. She's the most courageous, giving and wonderful person he's ever known an in his heart of hearts, he knows there's a good chance that he could live an entire lifetime and never meet another person as special as Allura.... and more than anything else, he wants her to be happy.

And maybe he wants to just tell her how important she is to him, but it's such a strange thing to say in response to her question that he has to laugh at himself a little and shake the thought from his mind.]

More than ready! If this is your first carnival, we can't just stand around all day, we gotta try everything there is to offer!

[Keeping their arms linked, Lance starts walking along with her towards the ferris wheel line. Luckily, it's not too long and there are only a few people ahead of them. He fills in the wait with more enthused chatter.]

We gotta do all the classics like whack-a-mole! Oh! And we gotta try and find you some cotton candy. It's not a carnival until you've had some good old sugar to top it all off.

Edited 2019-01-25 06:44 (UTC)

[She’s smiling, listening to him chatter. She’s not sure why they need to whack any moles or how they made candy out of cotton, but she’s happy letting him fill the space between them with his enthusiasm. It’s always been like this between them, and as much as sometimes it could get a little overwhelming, she wouldn’t trade it for anything else. There was something inherently comforting about moments like these, walking arm-in-arm, listening to his excited chatter and letting herself enjoy the moment in all of its simplicity.

It was something she’d missed dearly in the time that they were apart, something that she’d taken for granted, the easy way they could talk, how naturally Lance could pull her out of her own head. She wasn’t sure if he realized it, but she considered his positive influence was just as much the heart of Voltron as anything else.]

Perhaps at the next game I can win you a prize- or maybe if we go back to the balloon game we can get a second lion- Oh, we’re moving!

[It doesn’t take long at all for them to reach the front of the line, and she releases Lance’s arm when the carnival worker opens the gate for the next open basket on the ride. The whole thing wobbles a little when she steps on, and she gives a little woah, before sitting down, setting the lion in her lap and offering her hand to help Lance up next.]

[That gets a fresh burst of laughter as he takes Allura's hand and steps into the small compartment.]

Oh man, if you won me a prize, I'd treasure it forever and ever.

[He takes a seat, and the attendant closes the gate.]

Not that I don't already do that when it comes to you - [Uh. wait. This is getting real cheesy for talking to a friend -- ABORT. He rubs the back of his head, grinning sheepishly.] Heh.

[Yeah, just "heh." Real. Real smooth transition there, Lance. But he's spared a little because the ride begins to move and their basket swings a little as they move up into the air.]

Woah, alright we're heading into the sky! Bet the view's really something up on the top of the world.

[Allura gets quiet when Lance turns up the cheese, and she can feel a tightness to her chest as she turns away, in a show of appreciating the view (which was just slightly-above-ground-level tents and trees at this point). It’s not the first time she’s felt like this, not even the first time this night, and she’s not obtuse enough not to realize what it is she’s feeling — she felt it in the moment that her mice told her about Lance’s true feelings, in the relief of seeing him on El Nysa and a dozen times in between.

But that doesn’t make it any less complicated.

She’s quiet for a bit, fiddling with the plush lion in her lap while she thinks. Abruptly, without looking at him,]

Lance, back home, do you remember… a conversation that you had with the mice?

[Being trapped on a ferris wheel is the perfect time to bring up vague awkward feelings. (And a great time to forget that their memories might not exactly match up.)]

Edited 2019-02-04 22:57 (UTC)

Slow me down

December Carnival

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this is too cute I'm dying

im also dying...

this thread is so cute ;_;

all our threads are murder

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