Off-season Picknick

[Vivian Wing]

Vivian watched Gerrit just as much as he watched her. Listening intently when he spoke, and when he didn't speak. Tuned in, is what the Old Man called it. 'Look it Vivi girl! That boy is very tuned in to you. Why don't you ask him if he wants some peanut brittle. He passed it four times as if trying to resist. Offer him a small piece for a sample, and then offer to package him up some...' Sure he was trying to make a sale then, but still. The looks, the glances, their eyes meeting and stares catching. Wasn't it the same thing the Old Man had pointed out?

She looked over at O.C munching down the grapes like a champion. It may be time for a little chocolate. I mean, everyone needed chocolate. Chocolate was candy version of pure happiness. The Old Man's chocolate Truffles were not to be discounted. They were dark chocolate coated, rolled in unsweetened double processed dark cocoa, and filled with a delicious dark chocolate ganache with a hint of cinnamon for a little warmth on the tongue, and sweetened just enough to bring out all the wonderful properties of the chocolate, but without being to sweet the way milk chocolate truffles could get.

So Vivian sat up a bit on her knees and reached to the bench to grab the pretty box of Truffles. She sat back down and undid the ribbon carefully with her fingers. And opened the box. Exposing the Truffles to the light, and holding out the opened box to O.C to take a couple first, then to Gerrit. The electric feeling in her stomach intensified sharply, and she made a mental note to ask Circe what it all meant. Circe had a knack for telling Vivian exactly what something was with zero weirdness. The Airtouched appreciated that more than she could convey properly.

"You both simply must try these! The Old Man made them special for the picnic! He really is a brilliant candy maker. He gives my friends a 20% discount too."

[Gerrit]

Oscar's bottom line got a chuckle out of Gerrit and then there was a surprisingly long moment of silence, as everyone ate and chased their own thoughts. He was oblivious to the others' - he'd been circling around the same statements for a while whenever he had the chance for idle thoughts. Don't read too much into that, she's just friendly - If I'm too off-putting it'd be rude - If I'm too friendly it could be creepy - we can't leave out OC, that'd be impolite - Don't read too much..

Luckily some people apparently had an easier time of not getting lost in their head and the Swiftrunner's question derailed Gerrit's train of thought again. He made a point of giving him his full attention. "Uh, frankly I haven't. Maybe I should suggest this to my boss, but how would you keep the edibles apart from the non-edibles. I don't know if there are that many different kinds of edible flowers." A slight smile showed on the Ogre's face, as if he just realized something. "I guess I'm pretty boring in that regard."

"As for delivery, we're not doing this at the moment - sorry." He looked at Oscar, apparently trying to figure him out. "You already have a job, don't you? You seem to be pretty eager to get a new one.. if it's not too personal, is there a reason for this?"

When Vivian moved to get the chocolate Gerrit almost flinched a bit. He suddenly was very aware of his own heartbeat, each thud sending shivers of pain from his chest through his body. The way she unpacked the sweets almost seemed reverent, as if the box contained something very precious. Well, for all he knew it did - a gift from her Old Man. His mouth stood slightly open as he just watched Vivian, the voices in his head silenced momentarily. For the Ogre this was true beauty, the appreciation of those personal little things.

The beating of his heart got even harder as she moved from Oscar to him and when he reached for a truffle, his hand was shaking slightly. "Thank you, they look beautiful." Why was he looking at the Elemental's eyes now? How long has he sat here, arm outreached without taking a piece of chocolate? With a jolt he tore his eyes away and carefully took out a truffle.

Even then he needed another moment to catch on an finally take a bite. "Oh!" The bitterness of the cocoa was rich and made for a perfect contrast with the sweet filling, the flavours complimenting each other to create a really special and well-rounded treat. "That's delicious! Uh, I think I'll have to become a friend of yours to get that discount."

[Oscar Carpenter]

Quick little hands dart forward, taking a single chocolate before throwing it in the air and catching it in his mouth. He focused in on Gerrit. "Oh, all flowers are edible if you don't care about flavours. Trust me, I spent an asstonne of time as a..." He thought better of it, remembering the rule about not talking about Lost specific things. "As a, as a herbivore. Shit, I mean vegetarian." He pulled an apologetic face. He was definitely trying, he just sucked at subtlety, which was weird for an autumn courtier.

"Yeah, I've got a job, but gig economy." He shrugged. "Work exists some days, and other days it doesn't. Drumming up more work is real important, because it means work exists more often."

"Oh, these chocolates are amazing. No wonder you brought them on the date. Makes sense." He looked between them as they shared a moment, and he tried his best to not intrude on it. But he was a creature of low impulse control, so he began to hum "Kiss the girl" from the little mermaid.

[Vivian Wing]

Vivian had been following the conversation between the Runnerswift and the Stonebones with some interest. She couldn't recall ever having edible flowers before. That definitely must be a different level of foodie than she was/is. Or ....maybe foodie didn't quite mean what she thought it meant. She would have to look it up if she thought about this again. She knew herself enough that often things came and went often with Vivian. Much like the breeze, eh?

Vivian noticed Gerrit's anxiety, because of his breathing. The Elemental gave him a soft smile, encouraging his gaze, well as much as a simple smile can prod one on. She felt much the same as she stared into his eyes. It was different. It felt like an alive or active feeling racing through her. Like a jolt of lightning, only it didn't burn, it felt wonderful. She was just sharing chocolate, and yet it felt like so much more when her gaze locked with Gerrit's. She swallowed audibly, and calmly sat back down. She was torn away from her nano focus on Gerrit, noticing the way the light was moving through the trees. The day was waning away. Darkness would fall soon. Already the shadows of the trees grew longer.

"They taste even better than they look. You see?" She nodded approvingly of his response to the chocolate. There was something to be said for that Old Man's chocolate. He put real love and care into it. Vivian always felt like she could taste it in the chocolate.

She smiled warmly at O.C and then looked a little puzzled. "Well....I brought them to share with the picnic. Uhm...to contribute, you know." She noted the humming, and wondered if she had said something wrong. Oh my. She only hummed like that when she was really overwhelmed or refused to answer a question because the only suitable answer was a lie. She hated lying. Even when it was necessary, and she sucked at it. She must have said something wrong. But what? Boy. Good thing its time to go. Yeesh.

She smiled to both of them then. "Well, I think we should finish up what we can, and pack it up. Soon it will be night...."

Thank you both for the scene! Was amazing.

[Gerrit]

Maybe it was just him tuning in to Oscar's speed, but the Beast seemed to relax a bit. Despite the unfortunate timing, Gerrit was glad that he could help a new arrival to get footed in Sacramento. He just needs to remember to call Rhodes. At least OC was trying to use non-suspicious language, that accounted for something. "I'll have a look into that - you could be the first costumer once we actually sell.. uh, universally edible flowers." The Ogre's attempt to crack a joke was a bit awkward, but he was no charmer at the best of times and there were lots of other things going on in his head right now.

Of course, the Runnerswift was quick to put his finger in that particular wound again. Did he come off as a creep, someone who got Vivian here under false pretenses to make advances? He definitely wasn't.. but maybe he made the Elemental feel uncomfortable? He was pretty sure that wasn't the case, then again: Elementals could show and feel those things differently, right?

The hummed song didn't help Gerrit's headspace. As a father of two small kids you don't get around the Disney classics - and this realization hit him like a ton of bricks. What am I doing here? What about-?
He cleared his throat with a gurgled sound and shifted a bit on the ground. "Oh, uh. Yes. We should probably pack it up." He gathered the leftovers and whatever else he brought with him, keeping a respectable distance to Vivian. He tried to come up with small talk, but didn't really know what to talk about then and there.

Once everything was tightly packed again, he got up and looked at nothing in particular. "So uhm, it was really nice. Thank you Vivian, I- uh, thanks." There was more to say, more to thank her for but he didn't want to make a fool out of himself. Or make her uncomfortable.

He turned to Oscar again. "Uh, so again: welcome to Sacramento. Make sure to give Rhodes a call and I hope I see you around?"
After a few moments lost in time, looking at the Airtouched, and an awkward wave Gerrit made his way home.

Closing the scene after checking in with Kaliska .
Thanks for the scene, that was awesome!