Dango Nakama [Private with Sera]

[Leonard Uaine]

She'd leaned into him as they walked. Lennie wasn't sure if that was on purpose, but far be it from him to discourage a pretty girl from making other guys give him jealous stares as they walked.

"My vote's for dreadfully fantastic," Lennie decided after a moment's thought. "That way we get the best of both worlds," he added as the twinkling lights of an observation wheel came into view over the tops of the buildings between them and the park.

A-ha,. He smiled. Reni's face while at the top of the wheel was definitely something Lennie wanted to see.

[Serenity Sandstalker]

A chill ran through Sera's body at the thought of what, exactly, the lights might be attached to- forcing out an involuntary shiver. She had no issues with heights, but she much preferred the safer... natural ways to find a nice view. In her time amongst the general populace, she had long since learned that both humans and faunus love a thrill- and they tended to use terrifyingly rickety machines to chase that thrill. If those lights were anything other than a building or lights strung up in trees, she was going to have a rough time of maintaining her stomach- perhaps she should not have eaten quite so much.

Despite the looming potential embarrassment, a hint of a smile flickered over Sera's face at her companion's words. "Dreadfully fantastic, hmm?" She drawled "I don't know if I'd say that is the 'best' of both worlds, if that is what I think it is, I might just chicken out of this adventure!" Sera glanced up at the giant walking beside her and, in the most dramatic way possible, pointed at the lights in the distance.

[Kailyn Keison]

Lennie smiled at Reni's sudden nervousness and patted her hand gently. "I'm sure with my height and your looks we'll be able to see the whole city from up there - wouldn't that be something?" He wasn't exactly sure how much teasing would be too much, but he hoped that she'd go up with him instead of leaving him literally high and dry.

"I could go for some barbecue chicken later," he mused absently. He gave her another wink, whether she was looking or not was her problem.

((THIS WAS SUPPOSED TO BE LENNIE LMAO WHOOPS))

[Serenity Sandstalker]

Sera was more than a little embarrassed by Len's very casual mention of how she looked- she was unused to the attention. However, as she processed his words, she cast a reproachful look up at him, "You can already see it, can't you." She said, more of an accusation than a question. His following words soothed her ruffled feathers- or scales, rather- and she weighed her options;

One- ditch and go hide from the world and then wind up thinking about the stupid tree-person or,
Two- follow through and go with him (way out of her comfort zone, mind you), and get to spend even more time with this strangely appealing man.

Sera was still scowling at him as the realization of the choice, or truly the lack of choice, presented itself to her. She was going to go with him - and because she was in the middle of somewhere between a scowl and a grimace while still looking up, she caught the wink. She promptly answered with. Of course, she spoke her thoughts before the filter caught up, and wound up blurting "Do you bribe all the girls you hang out with or am I just the lucky one?"

[Leonard Uaine]

Questioning his honor, was she? Well, lucky for her... "Both," he answered honestly. "The girls I hang out with are my mother, my uncle's daughter, and you. I don't usually bribe my mother, but I absolutely bribe my cousin."

They rounded the last corner, and the fairground came into view. There were the usual stalls of children's games, funnel cake, and toddler-sized rollercoasters, and towering over the back of the park was the wheel, its cars large enough to sit six or eight people, with glass walls to prevent overexuberant children from leaning out too far and falling. "Do I have to bribe you to spend time with me more than I already have?" he asked her cheekily.

[Serenity Sandstalker]

"You... but..." Sera stammered "You just admitted that you bribe your mother sometimes and your cousin all the time!" Her indignation was washed away as the fair popped into view.

She gulped down the instinctive protest and pressed closer to Len as they approached the hubbub. Lights, people, and noise were everywhere. They weren't even there yet and she was second guessing her decision to stay. As usual, however, her stomach won. Granted, they hadn't been walking for too long, but she was never one to be outdone. His cheekiness could not go unchecked! "As a matter of fact," Sera told him solemnly, "I'm afraid we must part ways... unless we aquire a tiny snack." She definitely knew she would regret it later, but she would kill for a funnel cake or some nacho cheese chips. They were the best part of the fair, after all, and all this commotion could be put off while standing in line.

[Leonard Uaine]

"Lucky for you, I bribed you with food," Lennie conceded as he steered them toward the line for funnel cake. "Lucky for me, it worked."

The fair was bustling, and the crowd didn't seem to be dying down despite the setting sun. That was fine by Lennie, since a healthy night life was the mark of a good place to live. Given that this was both the capital of Vale and the city that housed Beacon, that was a good thing for a city to be.

[Serenity Sandstalker]

"It wasn't bribery," She muttered in protest, though her heart wasn't in it. "However," she added with a grin, "It was the anticipation of more food." As he redirected them toward the funnel cake line, Sera visibly relaxed just slightly. Enough so that she wasn't seemingly trying to share the same space that Len was.

As the line ever-so-slowly crept forward, Sera appeared to get slightly agitated "Awful lot of people out and about, don't their kids have... I don't know, chores before dinner and bedtime or something??" she eyed the two toddlers directly behind them as they whispered and didn't quite touch her tail, but certainly got too close for comfort, giggling even louder when she curled it in closer to herself.

[Leonard Uaine]

"Ah, so that's how it is," Lennie mused as they approached the middle of the line.

Not having a tail himself, he could only shake his head slightly at the antics of the children behind them. "I would imagine that this is how their parents bribe them to accept those things on all the other days."

As the line slowly crept forward, a thought appeared to him. "You know," he said in a low voice, leaning into her so the kids wouldn't hear, "You could always give them a repeatable slap if you want them to leave you alone..." He quirked an eyebrow in their direction suggestively.

[Serenity Sandstalker]

"That's how what is, exactly?" Sera returned, the faux sweetness simply oozing from her pores.

As the line continued to shuffle forward, the young lines behind them crunched closer in a manner she was positive they thought was inconspicuous. She glanced up at Len as he leaned in, looking remarkably like a hunchback so he could speak to her quietly. A giggle escaped her at that thought, not catching the first half of what he said. She did, however, catch repeatable slap and leave you alone and was able to more or less piece together what he'd said. "I think," Sera said, as she leaned toward him as well, doing her best to make sure he didn't have to hunch over so drastically "That I don't know what your talking about." She denied, as she had never outright admitted her Semblance was the cause, or validated his earlier accusation, and she enjoyed the banter, so it was for the best, truly. However, the suggestion was now filed away in her mind- for antagonistic use later.

[Leonard Uaine]

"What was it they say about anticipation?" Lennie asked, deflecting the hook thrown by his companion.

Oh, this girl was trouble, and she knew exactly what she was doing. Lennie's mother would not approve of him spending time with her, and his father absolutely would. His uncle, meanwhile, would say that he agreed with his sister, but he'd slip Lennie a smile and a wink later - and that was IF he told any of them. He'd only just met Reni, after all - who knew where their budding friendship would end up.

He'd absolutely bring her by his uncle's gym at least once, though - she'd be a devil in the ring.

[Serenity Sandstalker]

Sera grinned up at Len in response to his return quip. A rhetorical question, she was sure, but she absolutely could not resist answering it. She winked at him and said "Myself? I'm a fan of that one proverb... what is it? 'Greatest of joys come from the anticipation of discovering new possibilities' or something like that."

The giggling children finally backed off when her tail lashed angrily after one actually touched her and their mother finally started paying attention and scolded them. And at that point, they finally made it to the front of the line and Sera requested two funnel cakes and the largest cotton candy available. Only after she ordered, did it occur to her that if she was going on rides, she might get sick. Sera winced at the thought and sent a prayer out to whatever benevolent beings that might be out there for her stomach to not betray her and make a terrible impression.

Her face a tad less enthusiastic for food, she waited for Len to order, 'cause there was no way she was sharing that little amount of food!

[Leonard Uaine]

"That sounds right," Lennie agreed.

The children's mother corralled them as they reached the head of the line, and Reni ordered a modest dessert (at least, Lennie assumed it was modest based on their earlier consumption). "I'll have the same," he decided, and the lad disappeared to grab their food.

"Should we do the Wheel first?" he asked her, indicating it with a head gesture. "It'll stop for us at the top so we can get a nice view and eat a funnel cake or two."

[Serenity Sandstalker]

As the vendor returned with their food, Sera eyed the wheel with no small amount of trepidation before looking back at Len. "How long does it stop for?" She asked, maybe, just maybe, she could eat only one before getting on the ride, then eat the second while not moving and not get violently ill. "And how sure are we that it won't just... CSCHHH!" Instead of finding words, she just imitated a loud crashing sound.

She began nibbling on her funnel cake as she stalled going toward the giant sky dish of death. At the same time, she was scolding herself for being a poor excuse for a lizard. How could she have such an issue with being a few feet of the ground?

[Leonard Uaine]

"Long enough to enjoy the view, but not long enough to be awkward," Lennie answered noncommittally. "And it won't... cschh because it was built by people who know what they're doing. I won't ask them to hunt Grimm, and they won't ask me to build the wheel." They approached the wheel at a leisurely pace, Reni nursing one of her funnel cakes.

Wait, was she nervous about being up in the air?? Nah, that couldn't be it. Then what was there to be nervous ab-oh. Oh dear.

[Serenity Sandstalker]

"Your faith in this structure is... terrifying." Sera had finished one cake at this point, and the color of her scaled patches had lightened considerably from their dark green, of course this could also just be a trick of the lighting. "Yes, the individuals involved are professionals... but everyone makes mistakes..." She trailed off, becoming aware of exactly how naggy she was sounding. Or worse yet, that she might come across as scared. Then she offered Len a sheepish grin and offered a feeble explanation; "I've been told i worry too much."

Internally, however Sera was anything but calm. She had just come to terms with the possibility of being queasy, but now she was sure Len was gonna know, or already did know that she was hesitant. Who knows, maybe he thought it was because of him. I am such an idiot. The only outward indication of Sera's internal dialog was a quick one-handed massage of her temples.

[Leonard Uaine]

Lennie wrapped his arm around Reni's shoulders and gave her a friendly squeeze. "Come on, Ŕeni," he hummed softly as he guided her over toward the wheel. "Let's give you a taste of the high life," he added with a wink.

[Serenity Sandstalker]

"Taste of the high life my foot," Sera muttered ungracefully under her breath, before speaking a little louder to Len himself "I think the trees didn't get the memo. I'm this close to the ground 'cause I'm not supposed to dangle willy-nilly off a rusty hunk of metal." Despite her protests, however, she allowed herself to be led to said hunk of metal. In the calmer recesses of her mind, she was also curious, but her nerves far outweighed the curiosity- it was an endeavor she never ever, ever would have ventured on by herself.

[Leonard Uaine]

Lucky for them, the line was short as the last group had just boarded the ride. The wheel spun its lazy spin and Lennie did his best to keep Reni occupied with humor until it was their turn to get on. "I think us trees chose to ignore the memo, since our roots are just as close to the ground as yours are. Don't quote me on that, though - I was sick for that meeting."

[Serenity Sandstalker]

Sera stared unashamedly at Len, not quite sure how to respond to his joke. As a matter of fact, she stared long enough to make it weird, amusement warring with confusion on her face. However, the world snapped back into focus, bringing awareness to her surroundings once more, as the little gate squeaked open, but there wasn't a buffer anymore- Sera was the next in line. She shuffled forward and mumbled "Sick for the meeting, Imma be sick for the next four Reptiles for Global Warming conventions."

[Leonard Uaine]

Reptiles for Global Warming? That was pretty funny, but never mind that, there was another way he could spin this.

"I guess I'll be missing those meetings, too, then," Lennie replied softly as he guided her into the car. "Someone's got to take care of you while you're sick," he added by way of explanation.

[Serenity Sandstalker]

Sure, they seemed to click. Sure, she was enjoying spending time with this funny, but horribly tall, man. However, she absolutely did not anticipate the softly spoken statement. It was so unexpected, if fact, that she legitimately stumbled, despite the ground being perfectly flat. If he hadn't been guiding her, she most certainly would have taken a nosedive out of the car. In an instant, heat seared up her neck and she hurriedly sat down, clearing her throat. Speaking equally at softly, she said "I- I can't imagine being sick would be so bad if you were there."

Sera looked up at Len, her blush not receeding at all. Her volume increased exponentiallyas she added "But... you... you can't say something like that! What if I'm actually an insufferable immature brat who needs to be stuffed back in an egg?"

[Leonard Uaine]

Heh. Gottem.

Reni's red face was becoming a familiar sight, and you wouldn't catch Lennie complaining.

"The great Ŕeni? Insufferable?" he asked, feigning shock. "Never!"

Self-deprecation seemed to be a thing around this school for some reason. While he understood the humor in it, there was a tendency for his fellow students to take it too far. Shouldn't they be confident in themselves? They'd enrolled in Beacon, after all - they were the best of the best, not the best of the rest.

[Serenity Sandstalker]

The responding grin Sera gave was equal parts sheepish and flustered. "Flattery aside," She said, giving Len a half-hearted shove with one hand to his ribs. An air of amused arrogance slipping into her tone. "I don't need reminded that I'm the best, Len, I was hatched this way!" The last thing that needed to happen was anyone at Beacon, even- no, especially- Len, catching wind of her personal reservations and self-doubt. Better to be viewed as a dramatic reptile than an uncertain one.

[Leonard Uaine]

Before Lennie could answer, the door to the car was closed and they moved one space up to allow the next group to board the wheel. "I don't doubt it," he said, shooting her a smile. "I, on the other hand, had to put in considerable effort to look this good."

[Serenity Sandstalker]

Sera panicked momentarily when the wheel moved- it was jarring abrupt and made the cage sway in a manner that seemed to be actively trying to upset her stomach. Hopefully it won't be so bad once the actual ride starts.

Her thoughts on the wheel faded abruptly when Len spoke, and Sera allowed her attention to wander toward checking out -ahem, observing- her companion. She allowed conversation to falter and simply looked at him, trying to assess whether or not he was telling the truth... and if so, whether or not he'd look better 'un-primped'. Sera cleared her throat as the car swisher up once again, her focus broken, and she focused her gaze elsewhere- some thoughts just needed shut down before they stared. In attempt to prevent awkwardness, she wrinkled her nose and simply said "I can't, in good conscious, agree with that. I'm sure you'd look great either way!"

[Leonard Uaine]

Reni peered at him for a moment before responding. She wasn't checking him out, was she? Nah, she was just gathering data so she could respond better. That had to be it.

"There's a difference between 'I just rolled out of bed' and 'I just rolled out of bed'," he said, making air quotes at the second one. "Some of us" - he gestured to himself with both hands - "look good and put in effort to look great, while others" - he tossed a one-handed 'that's you' gesture at Reni - "look great and spend most of their time making the rest of us feel bad. Heaven forbid they put in real effort to look nice," he added, "because then? Pfft," his approximation of the human dismissive exhale sounded like something between a sneeze and a whistle as he waved his hands in front of him in an 'I give up' gesture, "we might as well not have bothered, because ain't no way we gonna come anywhere close."

[Serenity Sandstalker]

Sera's face flushed at the idea of her 'looking great' and the thought that Len himself has made that assessment. She was simultaneously embarrassed by the attention, wanted to preen because of it, and wanted to comfort the obviously blind and downtrodden man. Because he had to be blind if he was putting himself down in such a manner, while speaking so highly of herself. Her mouth forming actual words before her brain caught up "In an unconventional way, perhaps, but still easy on the e-" Sera froze as her mind caught up and realized she was speaking her thoughts out loud. The blush about 10 times stronger, she forced her breath to remain even as she schooled her face into careful indifference. Surely, if she kept stuffing her foot in her mouth like this, Len would tire of these conversations. No one likes such obvious infatuation- maybe she was making him uncomfortable... that was a terrible thought.

And now, even worse, the silence had settled one again, and Sera began fidgeting again, watching Len out of the corner of her eye. "Don't mind me," she said in a harried manner "I tend to, um, ramble. I'm sorry!"

[Leonard Uaine]

Oh. She was checking him out. Lennie wasn't sure what to do with that information.

Then she started fidgeting and looking embarrassed, and Lennie knew what to do with that: throw a curveball straight.

"Serenity." He spoke softly, using her full name to grab her attention, stilling her fidgeting hands by taking them in one of his own. "Would you like to go out for dinner with me tomorrow?" he asked.

[Serenity Sandstalker]

The metaphorical ball hit the woefully under-prepared Sera right between the eyes. He was holding her hands, and said her name - not his little nickname for her- and her poor little heart nearly gave out. So preoccupied was she, that she almost completely missed the question that followed. Was he really asking her to go out with him? After she was weird as hell all day? She only thought about it for a few seconds, forcing her hands to quit fidgeting and instead squeeze Len's in return.
As he had introduced himself with a Nickname, Sera was positive, she could not hope to answer with his name in return. Instead she sat up, leaned forward a hair, and locked eyes with him before she spoke, her tone light but serious. "Len," naturally things had to go wrong and it came out as an undigified croak so she had to clear her throat, but she pressed on even as heat flooded back in her face. "Len, I just want you to know that I would love nothing more than to go out to dinner with you." She leaned back, gently tugging her hands free, and crossed her arms. Some of her earlier snark reared it's head as she added, with a saucy wink "Except maybe enjoying a good book in the middle of the desert."