2023-12-24: A Risk Well Worth Taking

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  • Log: A Risk Well Worth Taking
  • Cast: Rena Lancaster, Anita Rosetta
  • Where: United Emirates of Orb
  • OOC - IC Date: U.C. 0097 12 14
  • Summary: Rena and Anita celebrate the anniversary of their first date - and Christmas Eve - by having a date in Orb and revisiting a nostalgic hobby.


<Pose Tracker> Rena Lancaster has posed.


One year ago...

Anita and Rena went on their first date. Naturally, this is a cause for celebration. All the more with the Silent Calling driven back from the North Pole, Dr. Hell stopped, and the world having not collapsed into total disarray. But, mostly, a one year anniversary is something to celebrate.

They're celebrating in the Orb Union capital of Olofat; a different locale than their first date on Island Frontier, but still nice.

They had a lovely dinner, at one of the seafood restaurants, earlier. Now, well -- it's a tropical nation, so the weather is warm. Rena is wearing a button-up shirt and slacks, as she walks with Anita down the seaside boulevard. She has a location in mind, of course, though she hasn't said what it is.

Her arm is looped through Anita's, as they walk, and she glances sideways at her.

She beams. Not the first time she has tonight, either. "One year!" she says. "It's still a little hard to believe... both that it's been that long and that it hasn't been longer."

<Pose Tracker> Anita Rosetta has posed.

One year... And what a year it's been. Anita can hardly believe it.

Today has been... great, so far. After an excellent dinner, Anita finds herself walking side-by-side with Rena. She's dressed pretty similarly, in a dress shirt and slacks. She was wearing a blazer... but, given the warmth, she's now wearing it on her shoulders rather than wearing it properly.

Rena seems to have a location in mind, and Anita certainly doesn't mind being lead. When Rena beams at her, Anita smiles back.

"One year." Anita repeats, and then laughs a little. "Seriously... I guess 'cause we've known each other so, time kinda blurs together... It's been a pretty good year, though."

Anita chuckles.

"...Certainly hasn't been a boring one, that's for sure. Kept us busy." She says.

<Pose Tracker> Rena Lancaster has posed.


"Hmm, I was hoping I did a bit better than pretty good," Rena says, teasingly. Only teasingly; she knows perfectly well what Anita means. She bumps her hip against her girlfriend's, as she leads her along -- taking a corner, which leads a little away from the beach.

"It has been an eventful year," she says. "I'm really glad I had you for that year, too." She wouldn't have been alone, otherwise -- but it is hard to imagine it without Anita.

And she wouldn't want to.

"...Knowing each other so well before we started dating helped, didn't it?" she says, glancing sideways at her. "I was worried at the time... maybe it'd mess up our friendship, maybe it'd be awkward or weird... um... you know. Seeing that side of each other."

Rena shakes her head. "But it never was, for me."

<Pose Tracker> Anita Rosetta has posed.

Rena teases and Anita laughs, offering her a grin as she bumps her hip against hers.

"Well... you were incredible." Anita replies. She nods as Rena continues, her grin softening into a smile.

"...Yeah, me too." Anita agrees. A lot of things would've been a lot harder to get through...

"Hahah, yeah." Anita agrees, meeting her glance as Rena airs her worries. "That's always the risk, I guess - that you take the jump and it ends up ruining a good thing... It was a risk well-worth taking, though."

She smiles and chuckles as Rena said it was never awkward or weird for her. Anita looks sheepish for a moment, massaging the back of her neck with her free hand.

"It took a little gettin' used to, for me... Though, that was more about my own hang-ups than anything." Anita adds quickly. "You know... not bein' sure anyone could ever look at me like that."

Anita laughs, offering Rena a smile.

"I'm real glad you proved me wrong."

<Pose Tracker> Rena Lancaster has posed.


"I'll settle for incredible," Rena says with a little laugh.

She nods, after that. It was a risk, but a risk that was worth taking -- and paid out dividends, beside. She looks at her for a moment, as she considers that. She heard that before; she saw it, too, early on.

"Mm-hm," Rena murmurs. "I understand. But... I definitely look at you like that." She smiles at that, and she scoots just a little closer as they walk.

"I worried I'd mess it up. I had screwed up before, except for Eight... and even with Eight, I think it's more that Eight made sure I didn't screw up too bad." Rena trails off for a moment, before she looks back at Anita.

"But I'm glad I got it right with you," she says. She looks ahead -- and then brightens up. There is a plaza, decorated for Christmas up ahead; a tree and lights are visible from the distance.

"Ah, there we go! We're almost there."

<Pose Tracker> Anita Rosetta has posed.

Anita grins at Rena's laugh, then watches her as she thinks. Rena understands - and confirms that she does. As Rena scoots closer Anita rests her head on her shoulder for a moment - just a moment, before looking back ahead of her.

"I know that now. It's somethin' I'm never gonna forget." Anita replies with a smile. She nods quietly as Rena explains how she was worried she'd mess it up, how she had before...

She can understand that fear.

"I get that..." Anita replies with a nod. "...Yeah, I'm glad you did, too."

She looks Rena's way - but then, as Rena brightens, Anita follows her gaze. They're approaching the plaza, now.

"Oh, wow." She remarks, impressed. "Looks like they really went all out..."

She's pretty eager to see it up close, now.

<Pose Tracker> Rena Lancaster has posed.


"Mm-hm." Rena glances sideways at her and smiles -- and then she hurries along. "There's something I wanted to show you!"

She leads the way further in -- actually dropping her hand to take Anita's, rather than stick arm in arm. She leads her past a crowd, with a few stalls selling various Christmas-themed treats and hot chocolate (something to come back to, for sure).

And then she stops in front of a large ice skating rink. It's built around the tree, and the temperature drops notable; there are several large pieces of equipment nearby, doubtlessly helping keep the ice cold despite it not being freezing.

Rena looks back at Anita and grins.

"Since we did this on our first date, I thought..."

<Pose Tracker> Anita Rosetta has posed.

Something she wanted to show her? Anita raises an eyebrow, interest piqued.

"Right behind you." Anita replies, taking Rena's hand. She follows behind, noting with interest the stalls selling treats. Definitely something to come back to. But what ultimately catches her eye...

...is the destination Rena leads her to. Anita's eyes open wide as she spots the ice skating ring build around the tree.

"Wow, geez... I'm impressed they were able to set something like this up." She comments, taking note of the equipment. "That's Orb for you, I guess."

She's definitely interested in the logistics, but she certainly hasn't forgotten why she's here. Anita meets Rena's grin with a grin of her own. Going ice skating... It feel like a romantic idea now, after last year.

"It's perfect. Let's do it." Anita agrees enthusiastically.

<Pose Tracker> Rena Lancaster has posed.


Rena laughs. "Right? I mean... I know technically back home, it was all artificial ice and snow, too, but... it's a little different when they set it up on a tropical island." The climate of Orb still feels a bit like a paradise to Rena, some days.

She looks sideways at Anita and grins -- and then she nods. "Let's do it, then!"

She hurries over to the booth. After that, there is a little to be done; buying tickets, getting their skates, and being given jackets, gloves, and hats for going onto the rink.

There is also a locker, to put their shoes in.

Rena closes it, then takes the key, before she plops down next to Anita on a bench, and begins tying up her skates.

"I remember we were still a little nervous about holding hands or bumping into each other," Rena says, with a grin at Anita. "That sure changed, huh, Annie?"

<Pose Tracker> Anita Rosetta has posed.

"Hahah, yeah." Anita agrees with a nod. "Back home they were able to control all that kind of stuff, but it's different here. It feels kind of like a dream, walking off of the warm beach and onto an ice rink."

A good dream, at that - and meeting Rena's grin, Anita follows her over to the booth and, after making some arrangements, soon finds herself sitting next to her on the bench and putting on her skates, too.

"I remember that. We were still kind of in the early days..." Anita chuckles. "It sure did. Look at us now. Sharing a room, and even looking for a place together... we've come a long way."

<Pose Tracker> Rena Lancaster has posed.


"Yeah. It was at least like a real cold environment," Rena says. "Probably way more engineering and effort... but somehow this stands out."

Probably because it goes against what the natural environment is trying to do.

Rena stands up on her skates -- arms out to the side, to balance -- and then it's pretty easy. Being a pilot, her balance is quite good. She can walk on them without much effort.

"We have," she says, with a smile. "Now we're pretty comfortable with each other, I'd say." She winks. "But... I'm not gonna lie, I'm not sure I'm a better skater than I was back then."

<Pose Tracker> Anita Rosetta has posed.

"It really does." Anita agrees with a nod. It's quite the experience, that's for sure.

Rena stands up, and once she's sure of her balance Anita stands up too. Her balance is similarly good - she's so used to making all sorts of acrobatic maneuvers, after all.

"Very comfortable." Anita confirms with a grin... and then, a sly chuckle. "That so, huh...? There's nothing for it, I guess. If something happens, I'll be there to catch you."

And that would be a tragedy, of course.

<Pose Tracker> Rena Lancaster has posed.


"Definitely a perk of the relationship," Rena says, with a laugh.

She reddens, though, when Anita says she would catch her -- because some things don't change, and Rena is ultimately a little easy to fluster. Even if they live together. "I'm counting on you, then," she manages.

She walks out towards the exit to the ice. Then, she skates out a short distance and turns to face Annie. It's a little clumsy, owing to being out of practice, but she stays upright -- arms out to the side just so.

Then, she holds a hand out.

"Well," she says. "So far, so good."

<Pose Tracker> Anita Rosetta has posed.

"Definitely." Anita agrees, laughing along with her. ...Her grin only widens as Rena's face becomes flushed, and she winks as Rena says she'll count on her. Any day she can make Rena turn red like that is a good day. Fortunately, this is Rena.

She watches Rena walk out onto the ice before following her, skating out to meet her as she holds a hand out.

...Anita, it seems, has only gotten better since last time. She practically glides out to Rena, taking her hand.

"So far so good." Anita agrees with a nod.

<Pose Tracker> Rena Lancaster has posed.


Rena blinks with surprise as Anita oh-so-gracefully skates over to her. She takes her hand -- and then with a little caution, she does a turn on her feet, twirling with Anita.

It's a bit of a slow motion twirl. For safety's sake, but also so she can talk. Otherwise, she might fall over.

Her nose wrinkles.

"You've gotten even better," Rena says, thoughtfully. Then her eyes widen. "Oh my God. A-Annie. Did you... practice skating at some point?"

Or, maybe, she's that cool. Rena can't rule that out.

<Pose Tracker> Anita Rosetta has posed.

They do a twirl, and Anita smiles. Skating like this feels good. It's a little like flying, but on ground level. ...And just like flying, it's nice to do it with a good partner.

"You think so?" Anita replies... and then grins, as Rena's eyes widen.

"Well... I might've snuck a little bit in..." Anita admits. "I knew this day was coming up so I figured, just in case..."

She'd kept it in mind, the whole time. She's certainly glad it turned out helpful.

<Pose Tracker> Rena Lancaster has posed.


Skating reminds Rena of their childhood. Those days in Winter Wonderland, learning to skate with all of the other children. Some of the seasonal jobs even needed skating skills, but there was a certain simple joy in learning to skate and then doing it with friends.

Rena let her skills get a little rusty, though, and it shows.

She flushes when Anita admits to practicing -- but, Anita likes that. Rena smiles, then she moves closer, and manages -- carefully -- to lean in for a kiss.

"Annie..."

After all, she knows practicing something like that isn't quite relaxing.

"That's so sweet," Rena says, smiling at her.

<Pose Tracker> Anita Rosetta has posed.

Rena moves in for a kiss. Anita meets her kiss half-way, adjusting her hold on Rena to keep them both steady on the ice.

It's true - practice is something that takes effort. ...And yet, Anita's found it in herself more and more to be willing to put that effort in.

"Thanks..." Anita replies - looking just a little red, herself. "I had a good reason for it, after all."

<Pose Tracker> Rena Lancaster has posed.


"Mm."

It feels nice to have Anita making sure she won't fall over. For metaphorical and quite literal reasons. Rena sighs a little, but one hand rests on Annie's shoulder -- carefully propping herself up.

But also holding onto her, because that's worthwhile in and of itself.

She knows she is that good reason. Rena smiles at her, before she lowers her eyelids. "I don't know what twist of fate led to me meeting you. And I don't know what further twist of fate led me to fall in love with you. But..."

She sighs, happily, as they skate backward. "I'm grateful for it, every day."

<Pose Tracker> Anita Rosetta has posed.

The two skate across the ice, holding onto each other. Anita smiles fondly, as she hears Rena speak.

The twist of fate that lead them together... It's faint by now, but she remembers it - a vision of a world where they never met. She could've been happy there, too...

...But it's moments like this that make her she'd choose this world where they've met, every time.

"...Me too." Anita agrees. "I'd do all of this again, if I had to. We're both... extraordinarily lucky."

<Pose Tracker> Rena Lancaster has posed.


"Mm-hm. So would I," Rena says. Even the mistakes she made; even the hard times. They still led her to Anita and her life here.

She sighs as they skate -- she's going backwards, but between her Newtype senses and Anita, she isn't worried about that. She closes her eyes, resting her head on Anita's shoulder.

"I love you, Annie," Rena says, her voice soft. "And... we're gonna have a lot more Christmas Eves to look forward to together, too."

<Pose Tracker> Anita Rosetta has posed.

Going backwards is fine. Anita trusts Rena's senses - and Rena trusts her instincts. Between the two of them... they'll be alright.

"I love you too, Rena." Anita replies, her voice a similar murmur. "...Yeah. So many more. Neither of us will ever have to face it alone."