[Hot Springs]
Julia did her best to smile innocently. "Sorry I startled you. Me and Avea were getting tired of the smell of chlorine in the pool. Figured we'd have a change of pace. Something nice, pleasant, relaxing, take away the worries of the day, that sort of thing." She avoided looking up at Qrlil and Xavier, embarrassment obvious. "Anyways, we'll just be in the pool for now, but say the word and we'll get back to the sauna."
Avea shook her head, smiling fondly, and then quietly made her way into the pool, Julia following close behind.
"That could have gone better," Julia whispered.
"And it could have gone worse," Avea replied.
[Beach]
Sigmund just facepalmed at Lyra. "Well," he muttered, "I think Virgil's got an uphill battle." Then he turned back to Vincent. "Ever meet Dr. Rose? If you've got any interest in biochemistry, and don't mind hearing about it from a guy who hates pretty much everyone, he could really talk your ear off." He considered Vincent, then asked, "y'know, that reminds me. That magic you do, it's biological, right? Is it like, your brains, or some sort of organ?" He quickly added, "uh... small words, please."
He then whispered to Russell, "by the way, if our perverted companion there suggests the bet involves Lyra's clothing or something of that sort, you're the one who thought of it. Doubly so if, God forbid, she take it..."
[Bar]
With a force of effort, Amu constrained his power, gently floating to the floor, finally coming to rest just an inch above it as the wind and sparks died down. It took effort to keep his mind calm, though. Slowly, he said, "I think we can both agree this conversation is getting very tiresome."
edited 28th Feb '12 4:57:10 PM by KillerClowns
"Of course! Just you watch! Hell hath no fury like a woman... at a... tennis ma—whatever, I challenge you!"
"Your determination is admirable. You could at least get some practice in and learn the rules before vowing to whoop ass."
"Eh, true..." Lyra said, her hype dwindling by a notch. "A few warm-ups?"
[Beach -> Tennis Courts]
Virgil developed a smug smile on his face, as he began walking towards the tennis courts, wrapping his arm around Lyra's shoulder to lead her there. "Very well, my dear," he said to her, "If you feel you must have a warm-up, then go ahead. Of course, it would be much more fun to get the game started right away..."
[Tennis Courts]
"Indeed, give it your all!" Virgil said to Lyra, releasing her from his grip so that she could move to the other side of the court. "I just realised, we haven't agreed on a bet for this match! Okay my dear, how is this for a proposal: If I win, we have dinner together. If you win, I will pay for us to have dinner together."
[Beach]
Sigmund shrugged and said, "Asayu's not really into 'you lose, we fuck' as a bet. Sort of... skirts the rape line, and her order feels very strongly about that. Leave you to bleed to death in an alley type strongly. Unless she's confident the other guy's just looking for an excuse to sleep with her and she really wants to win. Though she's said 'you win, we fuck' more times..." he shook his head. "Still, I see your point. And while I wouldn't date Virgil there, handsome as he is, I think Lyra's tough enough he can't hurt her, and silly enough she won't notice him trying to seduce her." He whispered, "hope he likes blue balls."
Now this was exciting, Lyra thought. She gave the tennis ball a couple firm squeezes, testing its weight a bit before tossing it unnecessarily high in the air. "All right, then! Prepare for trouble, Virgil!" she twirled in place when the ball went airborne, preparing to go in for as hammy a strike she could manage. "McPherson Super Revolver Swiiiiin—" And she missed.
There was an awkward silence as the ball bounced about on the tennis court. Lyra didn't budge until it was motionless. Russell burst out into hysterical laughter. "Oh my God, Lyra. What the hell."
"Sh-shut up! Here, lemme try again," she said, picking it back up.
edited 28th Feb '12 5:40:50 PM by AXavierB
[Beach]
Vincent took a deep breath, as if he were about to say a lot of things, then said, "We don't know. That's actually the biggest mystery of magic: where the hell does it come from? It used to be thought that it involved the brain in some way, but brain scans done when using magic yielded..." He wiggled his hand. "...weird results. It hasn't been actually disproved, though.
"One of the most believed theories is that it has something to do with the mind or the soul, but some of my work has..." He paused. "Large words edited out. Anyway, that theory's pretty much bogus without some serious modification, not that the general public knows that."
He sighed. "So I guess you could say it involves the fiwek: the 'fuck if we know'. Unfortunate, but..." He shrugged. "Hey, no one can know everything."
[Courts]
The ball bounced towards Virgil, as he hit it with tremendous force with his racket, sending it back flying over to Lyra's side, before she was finished with her sentence. "Yes, you did it!" Virgil said, keeping up his faux smile, "but you also managed to neglect the fact that I was going to hit the ball back. Oh well, I suppose it's 15-0 to me."
"N-no way! All right, no more messing around, then." She grabbed the ball and sent it flying back in Virgil's direction, trying her best to aim just out of his reach.
Russell kept smiling at Sigmund. "That's Lyra. Never once thinks things through. But he's not gonna hurt her or anything when they inevitably have dinner together, right?"
[Courts]
Virgil, ever the show-off, quickly made his way over to the spot which the ball was flying, and sent it flying back over to Lyra's side of the court... without so much as breaking what appeared to be a casual stride. "I hit the ball lightly, so you could have a chance at catching it. Aren't I nice?"
Lyra missed by a hair as she tried to return the ball. Oh hell no. She wasted no time sending it back at him, determined to win that free dinner. If only she weren't too caught up in the game to remember she was getting that either way. "You're tougher than I thought, I'll say. A worthy opponent."
"She's got a flair for the dramatics, eh, Sig?" Russell chuckled.
[Beach]
Sigmund's hand flew to his face, courtesy of the embarrassing display. "The fuck?" He shook his head. "Unbelievable."
"Sorry, Vincent, got distracted by that... what's the word...? eh, it'll come to me. Anyways. Uh... let's see, so brain scans were inconclusive, I'm guessing you tried full body, blood, genetics, and anything else that's legal. Maybe had trouble with a few that weren't as well." He tapped his foot and considered. "Apparently, the soul can be described with really advanced mathematics, but... well, the only guy who can tell you the details is Shamsiel, and he's a buddy of Amu's, so it comes with a side of schizophrenia and gibbering madness." He tapped his chin. "I've always wondered if that's an inherent part of those maths, or just how Shamsiel chooses to go about it on account of being, y'know, a soul-harvesting demon."
He looked over at Lyra again, and added, "something's wrong with this picture. Not sure what, but something..."

"Derp. You're right. Well, you can fill me in on how to play, and then you'll regret it once I win. Hehe, I wonder how it'll feel getting destroyed by a monster of your own creation?"
Russell rolled his eyes before smiling and stifling a laugh. He turned to Lyra with an innocent grin and said "Hey, why not make a bet with him if you're so confident about it?"
edited 28th Feb '12 4:57:03 PM by AXavierB