Complete Private Aloha Hawaii Now Explain Yourself

[Fiora Di Angelo]

She left the door open on her way into their room, standing right next to it for the moment Val would make it in, lazy eyes never averting from the blonde's. She swung the door closed moments after in a much more calm fashion in comparison to what her face portrayed, quietly shut in a moment's notice.

"What are you not telling me, Valeria." Straight to the point once she turned back to face her, folding her arms under her bust as she awaited for any sort of explanation. She wanted to give her the benefit of the doubt just like she did with Yugam, that much she deserved.

It turned harder by the minute to do so, given this involves herself and Ronja - A topic hot as lava and enough to start a wildfire if given the wrong impressions. "Why did you get all jumpy when I mentioned Ronja. Do you know her?" Assertive in tone, displeased by the idea, if only because of the mystery surrounding it, and the impressive skills the puerto rican displayed when it came to dodging the subject, just as good as her ability to dodge a bullet or a sword in Terrasphere.

@Luthien

 

[Luthien]

❰ Branch off from Ua Ola No I Ka Pane A Ke Aloha ❱​

She could feel that familiar pressure on her chest, an uncomfortable feeling that only arose whenever the blonde was feeling anxious, although for all intended purposes Valeria wasn’t sure why she was feeling this way. It wasn’t like the matter of one Ronja Bubblyfoot should cause any friction between them, and if anything the girl was happy and excited to hear that two of her friends were dating one another, but something about Nico’s body language had triggered all the wrong warnings in her mind ever since their car ride back from the supermarket—she only hoped whatever misunderstanding was going on could be buried quickly.

The pinkett waited for her beside the door, her gaze never leaving Val as the blonde made her way up the stairs, and once she’d entered the room Nico had soon shut the door shortly after following inside. "What are you not telling me, Valeria." The question confused her, or rather it was the expression on the girl and the tone of her voice that really had Valeria wondering what exactly was going on.

"Nothing…?"

The girl unconsciously crossed her arms over her chest instinctively, keeping a healthy distance between Nico and herself out of an old habit that apparently hadn’t quite died down as Valeria had originally thought. "Why did you get all jumpy when I mentioned Ronja. Do you know her?" The woman wasn’t one to beat around the bush, not when they were finally in a room and away from extra ears at least, but the tone of voice that the pinkett used still left a bitter taste in Valeria’s mouth as she frowned.

"Well it didn’t look like you wanted us to know who your girlfriend is, Nico." That much the blonde had picked up on when they were driving back, the way the gremlin had deflected when Valeria had asked when they could meet Nico’s new belle not lost on the girl. "I didn’t expect the world to be so small, so when you said her name is Ronja I was just taken aback by it—that's all."

If anything she would’ve liked to clear up the air between them sooner, but the stern look on the pinkett’s eyes and her body language had honestly made Val hesitant to approach the topic—and then the group had narrowly avoided a disaster once Ari had come downstairs to join them. "I’m not sure how many Ronjas are out there, but by your reaction to how I described her in-game avatar I’m gonna assume we know the same one." A sigh left her lips as the blonde sat by the end of the bed, her arms finally unfolding as they gripped the edge of it lightly instead.

"So, care to enlighten me as to why I received the thousand daggers stare from you when I was describing her in the car?"

Her voice was calm, a light hint of curiosity dancing at the edges of her words, though there was still a guarded tone to it as Valeria spoke. She still wasn’t sure what had triggered the pinkett on the way back to their AirBnB and, given how Nico wasn't one to shy away from physical confrontation, the last thing Val wanted was to say something that might sick the gremlin on her without warning.

@Fiora Di Angelo

 

[Fiora Di Angelo]

"Nothing…?" So that was the game Val wanted to play, and the so treasured distance the puerto rican had came to an end once Nico stepped up her 'game' in all the same way by closing the gap just a little further.

Yet she knew better than to be like her father, despite taking on certain mannerisms he had, and gave the woman a moment to explain herself. Only: everything Val said somehow felt like an excuse, yet the form did not matter much compared to the nature the blonde displayed, which is the only thing holding her thoughts back at the moment.

She wasn't lying despite how outrageous it may sound, and a quirked up eyebrow just displayed a fraction of Nico's disbelief. Certainly there ain't many people called Ronja out there that play Terrasphere... But she wouldn't explicitly say so, that would only add coal to the fire she wanted to extinguish, a shared sentiment between the both it seemed, given how Valeria's demeanour in the car is but a shadow of her current self, far more collected and level-headed.

"So, care to enlighten me as to why I received the thousand daggers stare from you when I was describing her in the car?"

She paused once she weighed her options, giving away how difficult of a question that is, equal parts dangerous given the misery her eyes portrayed that emptied all color from them.

Her lips parted after a second, nothing coming out besides a click of her tongue, and her right finger wagged on Val's direction. "You know how it feels when someone you love just fucks you over?" She didn't need to answer, given what happened between her and Ari ingame, courtesy of Moonsong. "I got over it, but opening up to someone else means that all comes back to you like it happened last night. Pair that up with the way you reacted, and well," Steeled gaze paired her calm demeanour as she glanced around the room, half a frown over her features. "I trust Ronja, but I run on instincts for some stuff.." She drifted off her voice, despite lacking any kind of remorse over these ideas. Only grief that they would happen.

It would feel kinda good, but it just proves how little she can control herself, even towards her own friends.

"So... I was wrong then? You just a friend of her and nothing more?" Determined to know the truth, even if hinted at, Nico had to be completely sure, pouring her full attention on Val. Waiting to hear what she wanted to hear. Not like she would tell her if it were the opposite. But lies never get too far either and they both know that already.

@Luthien

 

[Luthien]

The pinkett had quickly shortened the distance between them in a few well measured steps, and it had taken everything inside the blonde to not allow old habits to surface and try to flinch or guard herself when Nico intruded into her personal space as she had. For a moment, just the briefest of seconds, the woman had reminded Val of her mother—a ghost from the past that she hadn’t been in contact with for well over half a decade, and one the girl would’ve been more than happy to forget the entire existence of if it had been a possible thing.

Instead she’d gripped the edge of the bed harder still, her knuckles whitening in the process, as a deep and cautious breath had been taken to keep her voice leveled and steady. She knew the gremlin had a short fuse at times with Ari, and honestly Val wasn’t keen to find out anytime soon if that could also extend towards herself too. "You know how it feels when someone you love just fucks you over?" The question wasn’t one that needed a verbal answer, not when the change in the look on her face told Nico all that the pinkett probably already knew. The wound was still tender, even if they had all been doing their best to mend it over, and it caused her lips to press into a thin line as a bitter taste formed in the back of her throat.

"I trust Ronja, but I run on instincts for some stuff.."
"Hah, don’t we all? At least for some stuff…"

A light scoff had accompanied her words, followed by a long sigh as the missing pieces of the puzzle slowly began to fall in place one by one. Nico didn’t need to go into details of her past experiences for the blonde to understand where the pinkett was coming from and, now that she knew, a part of her could understand why the woman had been looking at her like that ever since they’d arrived from the supermarket. "So... I was wrong then? You just a friend of her and nothing more?" The first instinct upon hearing those words had been to defend herself, shown by the way one eyebrow rose high into the air in utter incredulousness, but before she could react Val managed to catch her own thoughts just in time and slowly reel them back.

With everything that had happened it was sometimes easy to forget that they had known one another for a rather short period of time, and as it was their interactions had always been within the confines of the game until today. While she had known of Nico long before she’d met her, and she was sure the same went for the other girl, that wasn’t really the same as actually knowing someone—and as such she couldn’t really justify feeling offended at the honest question her friend had proposed.

"One hundred percent, we’re just friends and nothing more, Nico." A hand rose to her chest, in the general area where her heart was located, before doing a crossing motion as she spoke, the same hand then raised beside her as if taking a pledge even as Val’s eyes remained focused on Nico’s steeled blue gaze. "Cross my heart and hope to die."

She wasn’t sure how much the pinkett would believe her, though that wasn’t something that the blonde could control, before the blonde offered a faint smile in Nico’s direction as she tried to alleviate the tension between them. "I met Ronja a while back while helping mend some of the damage in Camp Nisus, and we met again shortly after aboard the Imperial Petunia when we went fishing with Steph during summer." It hadn’t occurred to her until then, but she’d actually met the friendly magia long before her paths had crossed with Ari and Dayeon in the summer fest.

"She seemed pretty cool so we exchanged contact info in-game, and eventually our IRL info too when we became friends." The girl was one of the very few people that Val had met within the world of TerraSphere that she’d felt comfortable enough to share her phone number with, and messaged on a good amount of occasions. "When I told her about coming out to Hawaii with y’all she seemed a bit down… I think?" At least that’s how it had felt for the blonde, though she was aware there was always the possibility she might’ve been projecting her own feelings instead. "So I promised I’d let her know when we got here and send her pics and stuff of the places we went to. It’s why I kept badgering you to take some on our way to the supermarket and stuff, can’t exactly do that while driving."

@Fiora Di Angelo

 

[Fiora Di Angelo]

There was a certain reaction from Val that put her equally at edge.

The way her knuckles whitened with her tightening grip over the sheets, how her answer seemed to hint at something. Being so casual and unremarkable, it felt like the kind of comment that is just that: a comment. Yet Val's felt experienced and less so of a comment.

It earned her a long stare from the pinkette as that singular comment brought more clarity to her thoughts than most explanations the blonde sent her way. Even if they came along with doubt and pledges about her innocence, one with a strange gesture to match the equally strange puerto rican. Nico finally sighed, shooking her head off dismissively

"None of that crap. I don't believe in promises or pledges or all that." She paused with a hand rised as if to stop her after explaining her lenghty friendship with Ronja. "You ain't pulling this all out of your ass so I'll trust you on this one." Despite her stern, conflicted look, there's one thing that pulled her out of the misery of mind supplied by the little worm inside her head putting her down even now in a free vacation at hawaii.

The very mention that Ronja was a bit 'down'. These words got her cords on a twist, as the last time something of the sort happened meant a visit to the hospital for the little german...

"I didn't want to talk much about Ronja outside of the game. In it? Sure, but I ain't about to reveal anything about her life. That's for her to do to the people she trusts." She admitted, taking a step forward before turning her back against Val right before seating next to her. "You sure she seemed down?" Far more vocal about her worries this time around. Rightfully so, yet that never crossed her mind. "I was going to call her tonight. I kind of... Forgot to tell her I would be at Hawaii." A scowling look on her face directed these words moreso to herself than to Valeria, hanging her head low in shame as her eyes dropped onto the hardwood floor.

"Shit, I should have taken a few more pictures. I got too distracted with the shit Dayeon was talkin' about. Fuckin' north korean bitch. Bitch's so flat they could make a conspiracy theory out of it." She muttered under her breath, scratching at her temples. "We should call her now. These idiots downstairs can wait a lil' longer, I want to make sure she's okay."

@Luthien

 

[Luthien]

The pointed stare that she received from Nico both unnerved and calmed her nerves, a weird sensation to have really as she struggled to catch up with whatever subconscious nuance her brain had grasped onto that offered Val some form of comfort that things would prooobably be alright in the end.

"None of that crap. I don't believe in promises or pledges or all that."
"Smart; most people don’t mean them in the first place."

Not that Val was one of those people, far from it actually, but she had a feeling that Nico had pinpointed that much at the very least. If there was one thing the blonde tried her best to adhere to was not lying to others, much less those that she considered friends. There was nothing worse than being lied to and betrayed by someone who was close to you after all, who’s meant to actually care about you, and she’d been an unwilling participant to that feeling to last her this lifetime and the next—she didn’t need to inflict it onto others too.

The mattress sunk in lightly when the new weight was added beside her, a soft sigh escaping the blonde’s lips as she tried to think back to her conversation with Ronja. "I think so… but it’s also more of a gut feeling than something I can actually prove." There was no denying that, for better or worse, she was somewhat good at attuning to the emotions of others in the room—willingly or, more often than not, unwillingly—but the blonde knew that she could be way off the mark on plenty of occasions… and even more considering that Ronja was nowhere near to where she lived physically.

"W-Wait… you forgot to tell Ronja that you were coming to Hawaii?" Whatever previous thoughts the blonde had inside her brain had been completely whipped out as Nico admitted that detail, the girl staring back at the gremlin sitting beside her. "Nico, what the fuck?"

The next words out of the pinkett earned an involuntary raspberry laugh from Val in response, her hand raised quickly to cover her mouth as the blonde shook her head. "Hey, what’s done is done. We still have thirteen days left in Hawaii, just gotta make sure we take enough pics and vids on them to make up for the ones we missed today." No use letting Nico beat herself up for what was already done and gone, they’d just have to do better.

"Yeah, let’s call her." After all, her phone still hadn’t vibrated inside her pocket—which meant neither Ari or Dayeon were seemingly looking for the pair of girls just yet. "I bet she’ll be surprised to find out we know one another~"

@Fiora Di Angelo

 

[Fiora Di Angelo]

"Smart; most people don't mean them in the first place."
Nico blinked twice, holding back what feelings that sentence forced onto her in the first place. She expected a friend out of Valeria and nothing more, given how different they both seemed to be outside of the game. Not once did it cross her head that she would find herself agreeing with the blonde eight out of ten times.

The hint of weariness on Val's sighs concerned her all the more. She had no reason to lie, afterall. "That's enough for me to worry." Nico replied with little to no hesitance. Such answers weren't her style usually, but to hold back information for the sake of Ronja's privacy is the least she could do for her, and until she knows the full extent of Val's knowledge, so would her lips remain shut in that regard.

"W-Wait… you forgot to tell Ronja that you were coming to Hawaii?"

With her terrible memory being reminded with a vague berating from the blonde that beat her to a pulp, Nico shrunk her shoulders in silence, fully acknowledging her mistakes and accepting them all the more with nigh an attempt to elaborate. A faint attempt to uplift her spirits came along, which, if she had to be frank about it, it's better a scolding as if a petulant child she were.

"Between us four we probably will get a lot of these, I just gotta mug Dayeon and Ari for 'em." She smirked, taking a hold of her phone out of her pocket and flipping it horizontally, going through her contact list where Val could see names such as:
-Fuckboi
-Val
-Mom
-Fuckboi2
-Honey

Obviously she had to drop on the last name, quickly tapping to start a video call in hopes the blonde would miss the nickname. With a bit of luck, @Ronja Bubblyfoot would still be awake and pick up the phone to notice blonde and pinkette alike sitting next to eachother staring straight to the camera.

@Luthien

 

[Ronja Bubblyfoot]

In her nightdress and on her bed, Ronja was just done with her diary, closing it and giving a gentle tap on its cover, before taking her glasses off and resting them on top of the diary, laying down on the bed.

By her side, the VR Device was connected to a PC, on a table that was nearly attached to the side of her bed. Taking the device, Ronja was ready to step into Terrasphere once more and do a couple of tasks, before deciding to sleep in-game.

However, as soon as Ronja wore the device, her phone rang, making her blink and remove the device, side glancing at the bedside table and seeing the phone ringing.

Incoming Video Call from 'My Knight'​

It was way too late for that, but Ronja would never reject it.

Reaching for her remote control, she pressed a button to turn on the lights in her bedroom, snatching her glasses back to put them on, not having time to put contact lenses, and glancing at the wide mirror that covered one of the walls and trying to quickly adjust her hair before picking up the phone with both of her hands.

Accepting it, Ronja pursed her lips, looking at the screen-

"Good... Good evening!" She smiled, a bit sheepish, knowing she wasn't at the best of her looks right now.

@Fiora Di Angelo @Luthien

 

[Luthien]

It was interesting, on first appearances alone they both seemed to be quite different from the other, surely someone that could eventually be counted on as a friend but not much outside of that… and yet, not for the first time, they often found themselves in agreement with one another more often than not—even if that fact was not verbalized often between them. The things that came out of Nico’s mouth simply resonated with the blonde a good amount of times, and the same seemed to be true in reverse, which often blurred the line of how long they had truly known one another for.

"That's enough for me to worry."
"Well, she’s your girlfriend now—you probably know her the best, I think."

She enjoyed the company of the small magia in-game, and was even delighted with the convos they carried outside of TerraSphere too, but she had never outright called Ronja to her device. If anything the blonde often avoided calls all together, usually reserved more for serious topics or emergencies than a normal means to keep in touch with others.

"Pffft, no need to mug ‘em for them Nico, you have me after all, and of course I’d share them with you." Besides she doubted either of them would refuse to share whatever pictures and videos they captured too, if anything the harder part might be actually having them take them in the first place. "Hmm… oh, if everyone’s okay with it maybe we could do a lil’ text group chat? That way we could all post them there directly and, if Ronja and you are cool with it, she could be part of it too~"

The decision however she’d leave to the pinkett and brunette to make, though it was certainly not one they needed to rush into. She could understand if Nico wanted to keep her personal matters separated from the group, and of course that right also went to Ronja as well—last she wished was to put the other girl in an uncomfortable situation.

"Wait… why do you have ‘fuckboi’ twice? Who’s the second fuckboi, Nico?"

Her eyes had trailed over to the phone screen as the pink-haired gremlin pulled out the device, not really bothering to hide the list of contacts on display before she tapped on the one that Val correctly guessed would be Ronja’s. The call rang a few times and, for a moment, it seemed like the other girl might not be around to pick it up. "Mmm, maybe she’s deep diving right now—oh!" It was then the screen changed, the rather sweet face of another girl appearing on the screen as a sheepish greeting floated through the speakers.

"Good... Good evening!"
"It’s the real Ronja! Hiii~"

A wide grin and a wave were given in response, the blonde shifting closer to Nico so both girls could be on the frame as the device captured voice and video to relay back to the German on the other side of the call.

@Fiora Di Angelo | @Ronja Bubblyfoot

 

[Fiora Di Angelo]

Val's words struck deep this time around, eyes going wide for a moment in disbelief. The concept still didn't dig that hard into her mind despite how confident or rooted she is about it when around Ronja, but for a third person to address her as 'her girlfriend'...

When she herself spoke about it, it didn't felt this heavy in comparison to letting it rip out of Val's own lips.

"Yeah, you are right." Nico answered with a bit of delay, trailing off for a moment before recovering her momentum once the conversation turned over taking pictures and totally not mugging Ari and Dayeon, with preference over the dark haired man, her prime target for bullying. "I mean, shaking these pics out of Ari's pockets is also fun, nothing says we can't do both." She smirked, only to assent a second after. "I'm cool with it so long as she is, really. I couldn't give much of a care about a group, I probably gonna keep messaging you all separately anyways."

"Wait… why do you have 'fuckboi' twice? Who's the second fuckboi, Nico?"
"..."
A choking silence took hold of the pinkette, who deliberately ignored the question as quick as it came, but not without her eyes scouting over that name too. She really should have changed it, but her contact list usually collected dust moreso than her other social media, which allowed her to call people through it in the first place.

And just as that fog dropped around them, like the wrong question set at the wrong time, so did it leave once the screen beamed with Ronja's features, her heart skipping a beat for a sharp second- It has been quite a bit since they did a call like this, to see eachother's faces. A warm smile crawling over her lips, flashing pearly teeth with it as she pulled back the phone as much as she could to get the pair on screen.

"Good... Good evening!"
"Hope I didn't wake you up, love... I didn't wake you up, right?" Nico reiterated for emphasis, swallowing hard. Even now the blonde could see how her left hand squeezed over the bed like she were about to get tortured via electroshocks and braced herself for impact. "Anyways I had something important to tell you that Val here reminded me of. I'm on Hawaii right now with a few friends. You already know Valeria apparently. Then there's her boyfriend and a chick from Terrasphere too."

@Luthien @Ronja Bubblyfoot

 

[Ronja Bubblyfoot]

Ronja's cheeks grew rosy at the way she was referred to. It hitted differently to hear it rather than reading it.

But she tried to not let it get to her, shaking her head and smiling reassuringly. "No, no! I was about to play a bit before sleeping in an inn." She said. Rarely were the moments she slept in real life, after finding out about Terrasphere's capability of resting the player if they were sleeping in game.

Her eyes grew wide when another voice suddenly spoke of a real Ronja, making her instinctively sink her phone's camera against the mattress, abruptly turning everything pitch black.

"Wh-Who, who is it?!" Ronja asked, with a hint of disbelief on her voice, never expecting Nico to dox her like that.

Granted, the name soon caught her attention.

"Va... leria..?" Ronja blinked, taking a moment to grab a pillow, wrapping it with her arm against her chest, as if to have a cover to hide whenever she needed. Then, she picked up the phone, turning it to face it again.

"Hawaii..? So you..." She muttered, still in disbelief, until...

"Ah-"

She adjusted her glasses.

"I see."

She giggled.

"It is a dream."

Obviously, Nico wouldn't forget to tell something that important. Besides, what were the chances of all of them knowing each other without them ever noticing.

@Fiora Di Angelo @Luthien

 

[Luthien]

Her inquiry never received a reply from the pinkett, entirely ignored even as Nico’s eyes were briefly drawn back to the contact in question. It caused Valeria to arch one of her eyebrows in a silent question and a sprinkle of surprise, but the blonde was willing to drop the subject entirely even before Ronja’s face flashed on the screen. "Hope I didn't wake you up, love... I didn't wake you up, right?" She couldn’t help the smile that pulled at her lips upon hearing the way Nico spoke to the girl on the other side of the call, before a light giggle peppered out as the camera suddenly went dark and Ronja’s voice squeaked through the speakers.

Close as she was now to the pinkett it was impossible to not notice how Nico’s left hand suddenly tensed as it gripped the bed, her eyes momentarily fluttering down to look at it before the blonde quietly reached out. Relax, it’s gonna be fine. A palm carefully rested atop the hand of her friend, shifting up ever so slightly to give Nico’s wrist a reassuring squeeze, and while this world lacked their usual method of telepathic communication it didn’t stop Val’s mind from speaking up regardless.

Nico would probably understand, even if she couldn’t hear the blonde inside her mind.

"Va... leria..?"
"Mhmm, the one and only~"

The brunette finally came back into view, now gripping a pillow close to herself it seemed, and the blonde gave her friend a cheeky little grin through the camera while she spoke. ”Ah—I see. It is a dream.” The statement caused Val to giggle along with Ronja as the woman on the other side of the call spoke, shaking her head softly in the process.

"I’d pinch your cheek to prove this ain’t a dream," Her voice was light and airy, the smile never leaving her lips as she spoke. "But that’s a bit hard to do right now considering we’re all the way in Hawaii—and there’s also the added fact that Nico might bite my finger off too if I tried that."

@Fiora Di Angelo | @Ronja Bubblyfoot

 

[Fiora Di Angelo]

The pinkette muttered a sigh of relief. At least to the most impending, upfront worries she had, moving on to the next instead. "Oh, sleeping in-game now? Don't do it in some shady inn though, can't have a good night's rest in these." Nico added, twisting the words out of her mind to a completely different result. She would have scolded, most likely warned her, and the hint of concern on her face spoke for itself. Yet given Ronja's circumstances let her understand the reasoning behind that decision despite the dangers it came with.

"Ronja? Hey!" Nico called out just as the screen went black, sharing a look back to Luthien who took it humourously instead considerin that jumpy reaction Ronja gave them, like a cat caught from her blindspot. Fortunately she wasn't sleepy enough to not piece things together as per the identity of this totally mysterious blonde who played a totally mysterious blonde with pointy ears.

Yet the sheer mention of their current location; Once 'hawaii' rolled out of Ronja's lips and her shoulders grew stiff, a reassuring grasp over her wrist almost had her recoil away from Val, her head sharply turning in her direction for a split of a second, until she could tell the person next to her was someone else entirely, to her relief. Reassuring and comforting, eerily so.

"I see."
"Yeah, I-"
"It is a dream."
"I'd pinch your cheek to prove this ain't a dream,"
"A drea- Is Lena feeding you sleep pills or something?" Awestruck words rolled with an extra bit of disbelief. At least Valeria suggested what they both were thinking about: to pinch those round cheeks back to reality, to which she gave her a thumbs up for Ronja to see. "If you let me know I don't mind, just make sure to pull them too until she goes back to herself. Not so different to me punching Ari in the gut to wake him up." A devilish smirk drove her lips into a curve.

@Ronja Bubblyfoot | @Luthien

 

[Ronja Bubblyfoot]

Ronja's giggles faded out, with a faint and tired smile remaining on her lips as Valeria spoke so clearly-- Maybe way too clearly. Dreams were usually a bit foggier than that but turned out this was one particularly lucid dream.

"You shouldn't bite or punch anyone, Nico..." Ronja pouted slightly, scolding the dream Nico for a moment.

Nico's concern also sounded very clear, and it did sound like something she would usually say. Ronja would've loved to be resting in an inn right now, but she apparently plopped into sleep instantly...

... Which was strange, considering she usually didn't do that. She wasn't particularly exhausted either, aside from the usual lethargy.

Pinching the cheek...

Ronja looked at Valeria, blinking a few times before finally deciding to reach for her own cheek and-

"Ow-"

Okay, that was way too real.

The squeezing fingers opened, and she rubbed her cheek with an uncomfortable expression until a couple seconds slipped and... There was no end to it. No sudden waking up, and the lingering discomfort on her cheek made her aware that-

"... I'm awake." She said, widening her eyes with her cheeks growing red, and her phone was quickly shoved against the mattress again, darkening the screen. "How? Why? Why are you two... How did you two know each other?!" She asked.

@Fiora Di Angelo @Luthien

 

[Luthien]

The way Nico had referred to their other two friends, currently waiting downstairs for the girls to return, hadn’t been missed by Val—but aside from a rosy hue coloring her cheeks at the particular word chosen for Ari the blonde found herself with little time to mull it over, not when Nico’s gaze sharply turned in her direction. The tension grasping the pinkett was hard to miss, a stiffness settling on her shoulders, before Nico visibly relaxed as recognition flashed inside those baby blues.

"You shouldn't bite or punch anyone, Nico..."
"Agreed… please don’t wake Ari up with a punch, Nico. Man barely gets enough sleep as it is."

A sigh escaped the blonde then, though the smile on her face showed she still found humor in Nico’s comment… though if anyone could actually follow through with said words it was definitely this pink-haired gremlin. At least Ronja seemed to be the sensible type, not a surprise given what Val already knew of the girl, and the blonde could only hope some of that would eventually rub off on Nico with time.

"... I'm awake."
"Told ya—hey! Ronja!"

A cheek grin was on her face as Ronja finally realized this wasn’t a dream, though any teasing Val might’ve thought to deliver was quickly forgotten as the brunette pressed the phone back into the covers of her bed and blacked out her screen once more. "What can we say, the world is apparently way smaller than it seems." A light laugh escaped Valeria before she spoke, amused by the rather endearing response of the girl on the other side of the video call, though she could understand why Ronja was so surprised.

"Check this out, Ronja. I met Ari back in June while at the summerfest," Maybe the brunette would remember that event, Val was sure she’d shared a few clips from the various concerts she’d seen a few months later when Ronja and her had begun texting in the real world. "Well, it turns out that Nico’s actually his roommate."

@Fiora Di Angelo | @Ronja Bubblyfoot

 

[Fiora Di Angelo]

It's not a big deal to be ganged up on. Already happened before to her, a 2 v 1 that is. Not like she came out as the winner in most cases, but verbal combat was her thing. Except this time around she's got her hands tied behind her back:
"You shouldn't bite or punch anyone, Nico..."
"Agreed… please don't wake Ari up with a punch, Nico. Man barely gets enough sleep as it is."
"Come on..!" She protested as she turned heads to look at both scolders, despite knowing full well she's guilty of it. Resigning, Nico nodded along, after huffing in disapproval. "I won't I won't, sorry." Ronja was certainly far more awake than she led them to believe if she could rationalize her actions. At least one of them noticed the humour riddled in her statement, winner being Valeria this time around, unsurprisingly. All forms of violence were greatly frowned by the little blue magia, and that also applied to the drowsy brunette who piloted her.

"... I'm awake."
"Welcome back, missed me?" Nico replied, bursting with smugness plastered over her smirk, and not a second after the screen went black again. She couldn't hold back her wheezing at that point onwards, but Val took the initiative in the meantime to explain the situation better than she could ever do, and missing over some details. Brownie points for Ari, the man didn't let his tongue loose about their matters, even with a woman of Val's caliber infront of him. Probably the highest he'll ever get in his whole life.

"Well, it turns out that Nico's actually his roommate."
"Yeah." She stepped in just as Val finished. "Ari's the guy who helped me out that one week, remember?" Keeping it vague, but the soft curvature upon her smile, capable of melting ice with it's warmth alone. That's all Ronja needed to figure out what week she's speaking of.

Hardly possible to forget it, at least for the pinkette herself.

"We kind of all hang out together now. It's my first time meeting up with Val though, but she's fun. Also a bit scary with a bow when she wants to. I'll make sure to punch Ari if he pisses her off, would be a good reason to." She giggled. "-Really wish you were here with us." And then sadness warped her features, if only momentarily, before returning back full-force once her free hand smacked her own lap. "But Val here and I had the same idea of sending you videos and pictures. I kinda planned to call you every day. I know more or less at what time you are free, so it should only be for lunch or dinner. Don't wanna interrupt your grind." Or to pull her out of Terrasphere all together, not when Ronja was so happy inside the death trap of a game. The brunette had to choose between two traps, and she clearly chose the sweetest one. Nico couldn't blame her for it.

@Ronja Bubblyfoot | @Luthien

 

[Ronja Bubblyfoot]

Their voices only made Ronja squeeze her phone deeper into the mattress, pursing her lips as she glanced at the mirror. Really, she should be looking way better than this for this surprise, if Nico seeing her like that was already embarrassing, someone that she was seeing for the first time was even more nerve-wracking.

Still... It was Valeria, or Luthien, so... It should be fine. Maybe.

"It... Really is a very, very small world." She said, still keeping the phone out of sight, keeping her gaze intently at it as she slowly tried to muster the courage to pull it back to its normal position, looking at it with a sheepish expression. "This surprise... You could've at least waited until tomorrow, that I wouldn't be in my sleeping clothes." Ronja protested.

Her memories ran through for a moment, and she nodded. "So... Ari is the one who helped you out... Who also is the one Luthy is dating." Ronja pondered, smiling faintly.

"At least it means she is in good hands." She said.

@Fiora Di Angelo @Luthien

 

[Luthien]

"This surprise... You could've at least waited until tomorrow, that I wouldn't be in my sleeping clothes."

Well, she couldn’t argue with that logic—it wasn’t a hard task to put herself in Ronja’s shoes and understand where the brunette was coming from with her statement. "S-Sorry, that might’ve been my fault… kinda. I told Nico you had seemed a bit down when we talked last time and, well… yeah." BUt hey, at least the pink gremlin wasn’t looking to skin her alive with her eyes, so that was a good thing right? Not that Ronja needed to hear about that part, not when the girl already seemed a bit overwhelmed with the current scenario.

She couldn’t help the soft chuckles that escaped when Nico mentioned she’d punch Ari if he ever pissed Val off, a playful eyeroll given back to the woman before she noticed the sadness that warped Nico’s features for a moment. "Hey, chin up~ You’re gonna fly out and see her soon, right?" The words were whispered quietly to the girl beside her, an encouraging smile on her lips as her pink gaze met Nico’s baby blues.

"So... Ari is the one who helped you out... Who also is the one Luthy is dating." A blush quickly colored her cheeks as Ronja’s words, or rather the meaning behind them, finally sunk into her mind even as a hand rose to nervously tuck a few strands of hair behind one of her ears. "At least it means she is in good hands."

The blonde glanced again at the gremlin sitting at her side, the sole source of this whole mixup, as she wondered if to correct Ronja on the matter. While they had each finally admitted having feelings for the other it’s not like they were officially dating right now, the pair having talked earlier in the day about taking things slowly to see where they went.

"Y-Yeah," her voice faltered just slightly before a defeated sigh left the girl’s lips—so much for correcting misconceptions. "He’s a good one."

@Fiora Di Angelo | @Ronja Bubblyfoot

 

[Fiora Di Angelo]

A surge of warmth followed the fluster across her cheeks just as Ronja tried to downplay her looks, yet the words to fight back just couldn't come out of her throat, defiant with objections that never came, and promises towards the sleeping beauty. Clinging to Val's apology worked as a good start for it, despite the word 'princess' just chugged there as a pipedream within her mind.

"I did the call, so you can blame us both if you'll like. Besides, you look great on pajamas and without a clue of what's going on." She chuckled for a short moment, giving a fleeting glance to the blonde next to her who paid notice despite the mask she wore to paint away the anxiety, and even encouraged her for a future that felt so far away with how costly the expenses to travel were.

But she smiled and nodded all the same to give some respite to her friend. One less problem to trouble herself with, given how she apparently put her in a dead end by calling her 'Ari's girlfriend', yet she couldn't feel apologetic in the slightest even as the woman blushed and stared back at her like saying 'Why....' in the most upset and dissapointed manner.

"At least it means she is in good hands."
"Y-Yeah, He's a good one."
"I know ya' both don't like me doin' what I do best, But If he screws up, I'll have to kick his ass." Quite in the literal and figurative sense, Hands raised on the air after calling the shots and giving forewarnings for the both to be mindful of. After the fiasco with the everwhite, the pinkette couldn't leave the blonde on her own in times of need. Not only life and death, but emotional aswell- as much of a warrior as she is a friend for her.

"So we were wondering if you'll like us to get you in a group with the others. It's to send messages and pictures of the trip so you can check them out. Does it sound good to ya'? I didn't share anything about you with the rest, so it's your call." Serious despite the air of casualty within these words, leaning back and dragging the camera a bit with herself, almost getting Val out of view, quickly taken note of to twist herself just a lil until both fit in.

@Ronja Bubblyfoot | @Luthien

 

[Ronja Bubblyfoot]

"Oh..." Ronja blinked, rubbing her neck and averting her gaze.

"I... Didn't want to worry you..." But it seemed like Valeria could read her like an open book, even if she was trying to not show her bad mood, mostly caused by a loneliness that she shouldn't even be feeling in first place. "... So I will blame Nico instead." Ronja looked at Nico as soon as she mentioned she could be blamed for the call.

Her head tilted slightly, with a glance of concern when Valeria hesitantly agreed with her words regarding Ari. Maybe there was a bit more than she thought about their relationship, but Ronja didn't wish to barge in, especially in front of Nico.

"You shouldn't kick other people's asses just like that, Nico." Ronja protested, only getting rid of her scolding expression when the suggestion of a group chat was brought up.

She paused for a moment, considering it before nodding.

"Well... It wouldn't hurt to meet more people." She smiled faintly.

@Fiora Di Angelo @Luthien