Starrine

[[ Sorry for late response, been busy w/ school registration and such! o; ]]

"Haah? We're talking about going on a picnic on High Fields someday, right?" Starrine asked, lifting her brows as she asked; they obviously weren't on the same page anymore.  She didn't have the food required to go on a picnic yet, and even though she could buy some with her minuscule amount of col, it probably wouldn't be anything good. She looked a bit confused, but it faded off quickly as she once more dwelled on her thoughts; it was, indeed, quite hot, but from the ninth floor he described, she wondered if he wasn't used to the heat there, either. Of course, Starrine wanted to see every floor and look at the place where Zelrius spent time on, but if this amount of sunlight was stifling, she wondered how bad a level with volcanoes would be. She glanced up with a small, resting frown, listening as he spoke once more, seeming to think out loud, considering he hadn't made much sense. Ahh, wait, was he uncomfortable with how close they were? She blushed a little in embarrassment, but quickly dismissed the thought, since he was the one who offered his arm in the first place.

Rearranging the necklace wrapped around her neck, the raven haired girl exhaled, taking note of his nervous chuckle. Starrine became a bit self conscious, wondering if she was doing something to make him nervous. Then, he spoke again, interrupting her thoughts once more. "Ahh, I see. I'd still like to see it someday.. Though I'm curious, why would you chose a floor like that to live on?" The girl asked with a giggle, peering at him strangely. Well, he seemed to be okay now, so she pushed off her earlier thoughts, and turned her attention back to the conversation at hand.

[[ Sorry for the late reply! Been busy since school is starting soon, haha. ]]

Starrine pulled her hands close to her sides, sleepy gaze drifting upwards as she stood, waiting for her friend. As he stepped on, face looking somber, he mumbled something about being sorry if he ruined her birthday. She opened her mouth, but was interrupted as they were teleported back to the first floor. Starrine shifted her feet awkwardly, fists grabbing at her dress awkwardly. Opening her mouth, she glanced upwards, looking a bit flustered; she honestly didn't want Koumori to feel like it was his fault that the night had ended so weirdly.

"Y-you didn't ruin my birthday! I was clumsy, and.. and I had a lot of fun today!" Starrine spluttered, trying to get the correct words out of her mouth. She just wanted everything to be okay; Koumori was a really nice, great guy. He'd comforted her, helped her, and been so, so generous. He deserved better. For some reason, her heart shook for a moment. Her gaze faltered, and she looked up, trying her best to smile big for him. "I'm really happy that you came with me today, Koumori.. Just, keep your promises to me, okay? And remember, I still owe you one!"

Starrine's eyes lit up as he agreed to go to a picnic, and she happily thought of what to make; of course, she was getting ahead of herself, considering she didn't even have her profession yet. For some reason, she really looked forward to the thought, though. She laughed as he continued on to speak, saying he didn't enjoy staying in direct sunlight. "Well, we could wait until evening, when it's cooler, if that's more to your liking," Starrine suggested, pausing as he continued to speak. "Well, I was thinking about taking up a profession as a cook later, so I'd have that covered!" Taking a picnic in a play she'd never been before, with a stranger she'd only known for an hour or two at the most, wouldn't have even been a second thought to Starrine before stepping foot in this game. Of course, after entering the death game and sticking around for awhile [not willingly, of course] she'd become too trusting for her own good. Then again, she'd never come across a PKer before. That probably would've changed her mind about trusting others. "Picnic blanket? I might be able to come up with something," she giggled.

Stopping as her partner did the same, she watched him pull his gloves off and sigh in a content way. Starrine peered at her own gloves, and deciding that she was cool enough, shrugged and continued walking. As Zelrius agreed to staying her friend, she smiled a bit, and suddenly thinking of funny, she opened her mouth to speak again, "Just don't fall in love with me," she joked in a teasing voice, telling herself the same thing, for some odd reason. Listening as he stated his 'favorite' floor, she nodded. "Never been up there before.. I would love to see it some day. It sounds pretty cool," Starrine said with a grin, flashing her gaze over at him for only a moment, practically glazing over anything she'd just said. "I guess from the floors I've seen so far, my favorite floor is the opposite of your's: I like floor four. I really like snow," she said with a glimmer in her eyes; it was true. She had a strange, hidden [not really] love for snow. Plus the floor was somewhat quite, and especially pretty at night time. "Theres a really pretty lake there," Starrine said, and then stopped suddenly, as if remembering something embarrassing, and stopped speaking, shaking her head. "Uh.. I'm sure you probably knew that though, huh?" She said suddenly, pushing away the thought that had previously bothered her.

Starrine stumbled as he said he had no real intention of bringing her there. She lifted her brows in mock irritation, making a pfft noise as he continued to say that he wanted to see if she'd be willing to actually go. ".. Then, I'll wait to go there until you bring me," Starrine said stubbornly, though the edges of her lips remained curled upwards. She thought about taking the earning a living quest, and lifted her shoulders, glancing at him once more. "Maybe we can even have a picnic," she suggested with a small, pleased grin. She'd always wanted to become a cook, in real life, and in the game. Even if it was over simplified and rather boring in the game, she enjoyed producing results she could be proud of, and cooking for others seemed fun.

The raven haired girl looked slightly surprised as he began laughing, and lifted a luminescent, orange-yellow gaze to focus on his features. After he'd finished speaking, she focused on something in the distance, sunlight filtering through the above foliage, creating the uncomfortably warm temperature that was trapped beneath the forest's leaves. "Well.. I like getting what I want, so I hope you'll comply with the one wish that you stay friends with me," Starrine laughed, unsure of what to think. He seemed like a good enough person in her eyes, but she was absolutely sure she didn't know a single thing about him. Well, aside from his basic personality. Even then, she barely knew anything. As he promised to take care of her arm, she felt her heart twinge a bit, resisting the urge to giggle like a fool. "I'm glad. Don't let me down," Starrine spoke, chortling a bit as they continued to walk. Trying to keep up a conversation, she thought for a moment. "What's your favorite floor so far?" She asked after thinking for a few seconds, turning to regard him once more.

Starrine glanced upwards at the girl standing beside her, wondering what had happened to make her have so little confidence in herself. With raised brows, she smiled, shrugging her shoulders and exhaling a content sigh. "I see," she said in a breathy voice, still not quite understanding, but believing there was a good reason behind it. As silence settled in on the two once more, Glory seemed to be searching for something to say. Curious, Starrine propped her head upwards, blinking a pair of amber orbs expectantly.

Ehh? What a random question. "Hmm.. I wonder," she mumbled. Had she had a good time so far in SAO? Starrine had always wanted some kind of escape from reality, and this was basically that. But now that she didn't have a choice, it felt like something she had to escape. But, so far the people she had met were kind. And she enjoyed exploring the floors and meeting new friends. However, there was the overhanging, constant threat of death. Dying was Starrine's biggest fear, and it took quite a bit in the beginning to make herself continue on to battle creatures and leave the town of beginnings. "I think so. Even though I want to escape.. I think that I've enjoyed it here." She admitted after a moment. The fact that she might never get out of the game, however, scared her. If the game was never completed.. Or if she'd died in game.. Her strong gaze faltered at the thought, and she pushed it away quickly, not wanting to think of the bad things anymore.

[[ Want to end this thread as soon as it hits 4 pages? ]]

Holding her breath as she stood there, fingers entwined as she rocked on her feet. She liked Koumori, she knew that. Despite his many reactions, she knew it was one-sided. Lifting her head to the sky, snowflakes fell gently, kissing her pale skin on contact. Her amber gaze lingered on the clouded moon for a moment, and her grip on her own hands tightened for a moment. Exhaling the breath she'd been holding in, Starrine spun around, a bittersweet smile spread across her cheeks. She didn't want the last few moments to be dull and uncomfortable because of her.

"Yeah.. Let's go," she agreed, the core of her eyes softening as she turned back around, pulling her hands behind her back and continuing to walk forward, towards the teleporter. As soon as she stepped onto it, she paused midstep, wondering if she regretted the day's events. It was a somewhat bitter birthday, but.. at least she'd also had fun. Shaking the thoughts away, she waited, standing on the teleporter, the spot next to her open as she waited.

Starrine looked a bit startled at first, hearing something scampering around, but as soon as the little bear cub came into view, she stared down at it, eyes wide and sparkling. "S-so cute.." She whispered, watching as it skidded to Rainia's feet, and after he was done with her, ran over to Starrine herself. The dark haired girl sucked in a breath, shocked by how cute it was. Cute things were one of her weaknesses. She got on her knees, and began petting the little bear cub, not being able to resist the adorable creature before her. After a moment, she remembered. Oh, right. Dinner. She shook her head, embarrassed for getting off track.

"So.. the diner, it is, then," Starrine said, making a gesture for everyone to follow her to the little lit-up building near the end of the road. It only took about thirty seconds for the group to get to it, and Starrine pulled the door open, holding it open for her new acquaintances. 

Koumori seemed to wait for a moment, thinking on something, and then agreed, say they should both go back out. Starrine let out the breath she'd been holding, and nodded, her hands still tightly gripping each other. Gathering up her courage once more, the black haired girl stepped out into the clearing, and glanced back at Koumori through the trees, and then shyly back at her feet. It seemed everyone had continued what they had been doing before, and the number of people had diminished quite a bit as the night grew on. 

Starrine was tired. Really, really tired. Mostly mentally, but even with her HP bar at full, she felt like she could collapse. However, she wasn't sure what to do, and sort of did an awkward shuffle forwards, only to turn around and look at Koumori. "Um.. I'm kind of tired, I think I might head back to my inn soon." Starrine mumbled quietly to him, gaze scanning his face for any unknown emotions, and then back to the diminished crowd, whom she really didn't want to go back into again.

[[ I see. uvu I don't mind having a lot of other RPs, haha; it just might take me a bit longer to respond sometimes. Anyways, just let me know when you want to end it! ]]

Starrine's smile returned when he tapped the accept button, and she shifted happily, "Yup, friends," she repeated with the same emphasis, giggling a bit. As he asked her again, she glanced at him. Had he expected her to reject? "..I haven't been there before, but I have heard it has become a popular dating spot, yes." The black-haired girl said with a nod, and shrugged. "I assumed you had good intentions asking to bring me there; plus I've actually been wanting to go see it, myself," she continued on, going back to twirling a strand of hair in her free hand.

She laughed a bit as he rolled his R's again, finding it rather amusing; it didn't seem to bother her, even if it might others. Starrine lifted her sparkling amber gaze to him as he began speaking again, and grinned a bit. "It might not look like it, but I have a very good idea about people based on first impressions; I think you're a good guy, so I'm trusting you to take care of this arm," Starrine said with a little grin, patting her linked arm as they continued to walk. It was more or less true; she did think Zelrius was a good guy, even if he seemed to have distaste about interacting with.. well, lower levels. So, she decided to put her trust in him.

[[ Getting bored? xD ]]

Starrine turned to him with expectant eyes, expecting him to accept it. When he seemed to think about it, he seemed a bit hesitant. She frowned, wondering if she'd said something wrong. It sure seemed like it. He didn't seem to like the words 'hanging out,' either. "Ah.. Uh, meeting up?" She suggested with a tilt of her head, smiling slightly. Starrine paused as he suggested the place, surprise flashing across her face. Did he, like, have the power to read minds or something? Maybe he did have some kind of future-seeing skill. She eyed him suspiciously, going along with her own little mental joke. Oh, right.

"Sounds good to me," she agreed with a smile, though she had some doubts; he was a high leveled player, so he must've known that mostly dating players went there, right? Knowing that and still choosing the spot, he must've either not cared, or had some other reason for it. Clearing her throat once more, she turned back to the path, keeping his face in the corner of her eye as she slid her arm back underneath his. "Care to lead the way, Prince Zelrius?"

Starrine kept her gaze locked on something oh-so-important on the ground, awkwardly shifting her feet. He sure was taking his time to respond, to anything she said in general. Gulping nervously, the girl gripped the brim of her dress, her heart pulsating. Why had she even asked? I'm so stupid! She thought miserably, wishing she could just leave, and run away. It felt like nothing would be the same after this, just because of her one, simple mistake. Here she was, about to loose one of her very few friends, embarrassed and humiliated, standing like an idiot with nothing else to say.

She felt herself being pulled forward, and as soon as she was enveloped in the hug, she felt her heart bursting; now she was sure he could feel it. Starrine didn't know what to do, so she just kind of stood there, face flushed red, her mouth a straight line. Was.. this what she wanted? It felt.. kind of one-sided. She sensed the hesitance in his motion, and slowly pushed herself away from him, amber eyes finally looking up to lock with him. For the first time since they met, she was entirely serious. She slowly reached forward, grabbed his hand with both of her own, and took a deep breath. Lowering her head, she gripped his hand for a moment, a bittersweet feeling filling her chest at the warmth in her hands. It wouldn't last. Starrine gently put down his hand, and finally looked back up at him, smiling in a hesitant way. ".. I'm sorry you got hurt," she whispered, intertwining her now empty hands into eachother, ".. I don't want this to be uncomfortable.. I think.. I think we should think for awhile.."

Starrine glanced up at him, obviously exhausted. There was a tired, unsure look in her eyes, and she seemed to slightly drift back and forth on her feet. For how childish she usually acted, she was being.. quite mature about this. She wanted to sort out her feelings, and it looked like Koumori had unsolved ones as well.

Starrine took a deep breath, trying to recompose herself as she sat there. She wasn't sure what to think about everything that happened, especially the kiss. Thinking about it now, maybe she'd overreacted.. But, still, being her first ever kiss, it was still shocking, to say the least. She was glad it was with Koumori, rather than some random guy on the street, though.. Wait.. But he kind of.. was? No, no, no! Stop thinking about it! She pressed her face into her hands and groaned, unsure of her conflicting feelings. Whenever she thought back to the kiss, though, she did feel.. somewhat warm and flustered on the inside, and she wondered.. if she liked Koumori?

Just then, she heard an 'i'm sorry' from next to her, and she jumped, so enveloped in her thoughts that she hadn't heard him coming. She looked up slowly, her face still pink. Starrine stood up quietly, and turned to Koumori, staring at her feet. "You don't need to be sorry, I was the one who--" she stopped midsentence, gaze fixated on his jaw, which was pixelated with a red mark. Without thinking, she gingerly reached up to touch it. As if realizing what she was doing, her hand quickly retreated to her side, and she stared in silence at her feet again for a few moments. "I'm sorry," she whispered, referring to the red mark on his face. "W-was.." She stuttered, avoiding his gaze as she spoke. "Was it bad?" She mumbled, lifting her hand to cover her lips as she stared at the ground. That was obviously not the right question to be asking, but being Starrine, she asked the dumbest question possible.

Starrine lifted her head, eyes a bit narrowed. She opened her mouth to say something, but quickly shut it as he continued on speaking. Of course, being quite bad at keeping up conversations with people, she always somehow managed to accidentally push off people she tried to befriend. Yet, somehow, most of the people she had managed to befriend were mostly guys, which was kind of awkward for her. She paused in her step, twirling a strand of hair in her free hand, curiosity piquing as he asked if he could be honest with her. After listening, she took a deep breath, looked away, and then turned back to him. "Well.." She mumbled, sheepishly kicking a rock off the path, "it's hard to be angry at someone who's so sincere. If.." Starrine took a deep breath, and glanced away again, focusing on something in the distance, "I suppose if you ever get tired of just sticking around those guys," she said, unlinking her arm from his to open up her menu.

After scrolling through the menu for a moment, she continued speaking, "I wouldn't mind hanging out with you again, after this." With that, a friend request popped up in front of Zelrius, and she shyly relinked her arm through his. "But in exchange, you have to come up with somewhere good to take me. Sound good?" Starrine asked, her original grin forming on her mouth once more.

Starrine glanced up as she apologized, looking rather confused. "Hah..? No need to apologize," she said, laughing a bit as she sat down in the grass, smoothing out the wrinkles on her dress. The black-haired girl tucked her legs neatly underneath the fabric, setting her hands on her lap. She wondered if Glory was always really self conscious, and felt kind of bad for her. Sweet? Starrine? She blinked in surprise, looking up at Glory. "T-thank you! Of course not, why would I be angry at you? You're really kind," she said with a small smile, making sure not to say anything bad in the future. Though, she wasn't sure what Glory considered bad because it seemed that she got a bit scared when she went off on her tangent about stuff.

"Are you implying you don't have a place in mind?" Starrine asked, grinning mischievously as he vocalized, thinking to herself where she'd like to go. She had wanted to visit the high fields of crossing, but considering a lot of players used it for a dating spot, she didn't want her idea to be misconceived. So, she kept quiet and continued walking. As he handed the handkerchief to her, she immediately thought the word gentleman. Giggling to herself at the thought, she smiled, "Thank you," and grabbed it, fanning herself. After his witty comment, she lifted her eyebrows, and began fanning him with the handkerchief, laughing a bit. "Better, then?"

"Do you?" She stopped as he continued on, her face a bit surprised. He didn't seem like the type to hand out compliments, and as he made a quick save, she nodded her head. Thought so; he must just be trying to play with her feelings, or something. However, his continuous eye contact made her think.. a little bit otherwise. As soon as the thought crossed her mind, it was quickly dismissed when he began speaking again. Her lids lowered in distaste at his comment about her level; the one thing she disliked being teased about. Huffing, she put her free hand on her hip. "I'll try and think of something else, then, your highness."

Starrine took a moment to comprehend that she had fallen, and then another to realize where her friend's hand had landed. With her eyes wide and face bright red, she attempted to pull herself away, accidentally moving her head down at the same time as Koumori brought his up. And then.. they kissed. Practically screaming internally, she pushed herself away, digging her skates into the ice to push herself across it, and while doing that, tucked her dress underneath her, hands gripped into fists. Lifting one hand to her mouth, the other guarding her chest, she stared at Koumori, trying to comprehend what just happened. She felt violated. Extremely violated. She sniffled, and with tears forming at the corners of her eyes, she looked around to see everyone completely fixated on the two; even the younger players snowball fighting had dropped the snow and stared with gaping jaws.

She didn't hate Koumori, because it was mostly her fault that she fell, and she knew it; but she was so.. so, embarrassed, and began awkwardly trying to skitter herself off of the ice, while still holding her dress down in one hand. Most of all, she just wanted to get out of sight of all the people. As soon as she stepped onto land, the skates disappeared from her feet, and she sprinted towards a patch of trees, not stopping until she was behind one of them. With a great big exhale, she wiped away her tears and dropped to the ground, pulling her knees towards her body and sniffling. Starrine finally allowed herself to sort through what had just happened.. She covered her eyes and shook her head, making a tiny squealing noise out of frustration. What had just happened?! She remembered falling, and then.. Embarrassment blocked her thoughts, and she refused to think about it any longer. The one thing that stuck in her mind was his face, though.. He looked sick after it happened, and she wondered.. "Am I that bad..?" She mumbled quietly, lifting her fingers to her lips. That should've been the least of her concerns, and then-- oh. Right. She'd left Koumori out there by himself. She slammed the back of her head against the tree trunk, obviously frustrated, angry, violated, and completely unsure of what to do now. The disappointing thing was that she couldn't get the kiss off her mind; it was her first one, after all, even if it was in a virtual world.

Starrine fanned her face with her hand as the heat grew, and let out a sigh of agreement as he did. "It probably wasn't a good idea," she agreed with a hearty laugh, meeting his bright blue gaze as he continued to speak. "What would you use it for, then?" Starrine asked curiously, a witty thought coming to her mind as she spoke. "If I had it, I would use it to see where you're taking me," the girl said with a small, teasing grin, pleased that his arrogant smirk had returned. She liked his original, teasing self a lot more. Though, seeing him blush was also quite fun to see.

"I like the way you indirectly compliment me," she giggled as he said he'd fear she'd be one of the more intelligent people whom would be able to figure out his hints. Shrugging as he said no hints for her, she examined him closely, scooting a bit closer and focusing a wide-eyed stare on him. "Maybe I'll be able to intimidate you out of one," she said after a moment of joking staring, laughing a bit as she turned her head back to look at the path. She was curious about where they were going, though, and wondered if he even had anything specific in mind.

[[ I don't mind, haha! c: ]]

Starrine smiled a bit, relieved when he said that he also enjoyed her company. She shrugged as he mentioned it taking a turn for the worst, and glanced up at the sky, blowing her bangs out of her face. "Maybe," she replied, doing a double-take at his face with lifted amber eyes. Catching his gaze in the same glance, she offered a bright smile, pushing him to not worry about it. When he pulled her a bit closer, she felt a pink haze drift over her cheeks once more. Now thinking about it, this was the closest she had ever been to a boy she'd just met. Not wanting to make the situation more awkward than it already was, with a playful giggle, she tugged his arm towards hers and blinked long lashes at him, smile still lingering on her features.

"Cheating? Is it?" She asked with a small laugh, practically feeling the awkward aura that wafted off of him now; it seemed some of his confidence had diminished in the past exchange of events, and she wasn't sure how to make it come back. She had to admit that his child-like blushing was charming in some sort of weird way, and it added a dynamic side to his personality. She wondered what his other expressions looked like, and made it her goal to become good friends with him and see them. "Would one little hint give it away?"

Starrine watched as Koumori stepped on the ice, skating over to her with ease and helping pull her up. "Thank you," she giggled as she tried to keep her footing on the slippery lake's surface. He'd obviously been skating before, with the way he moved easily across the ice. Wasn't this kind of like rollerblading, in a way? She'd done that a few times. Just then, he skated behind her, saying he'd try to teach her. She sucked in a gulp of air as he grabbed her waist, trying to keep herself calm. He was just trying to help her learn, it wasn't a big deal! Stop freaking out, she thought to herself desperately, taking deep breaths to calm herself. Alright..

Starrine nodded stiffly as he instructed her to lift her arms for balance, and she did so willingly, practically holding her breath at this point. She slowly moved her right foot forwards, and then her left foot, feeling like she wouldn't be able to do this with his body so close. Her thoughts swirled, and she couldn't focus. On her fourth movement, she slid, barely able to catch herself from falling back onto him. "W-woops.. I think I've almost got it," she mumbled, her voice determined, her face red and her movements quick, flustered. Swallowing thickly, the long haired girl lost her concentration for a split second, her legs slid forward, and her dress flew up as she fell down again. She turned her face up desperately as he fell, her hands automatically reaching for his, and she pulled him down as well.

[[ Looking forward to Kou's reaction. c; ]]

Nodding as he said a surprise, she decided it would be more fun to just find out once they got there. Feeling the air heat up a bit, she was reminded of the humid air in the forest farther down, and internally groaned at the thought of walking through it again. As her partner stopped rather abruptly, she skidded to a stop as well, pink cheeks finally beginning to fade back to a normal color. She lifted her brows in confusion as to why he stopped, however was soon met with a reason.

As if suddenly realizing that her response had come off in a bad manner, she shook her head, laughing a bit. "A-ah, it's not that; I enjoy your company," Starrine stuttered a bit, becoming her tongue-twisted self as she tried to reason with him. "I think I  just got a little surprised is all," she mumbled with a sheepish giggle, glancing down the path. When she looked back up to see his reaction, she found his face tinged with pink, and her heart dropped a bit; had she actually hurt his feelings? Wide-eyed, she stared at him, not sure what to say. She was sure seeing him with such a blush was an uncommon thing, so she did her best to save this picture mentally.

"A-anyways," she said quickly, once more grabbing his arm and avoiding eye contact, she began walking again. "Maybe you could give me a hint as to where we're going?" Starrine asked, trying to change the subject.

With her mind still racing, Starrine shivered a bit, only just now realizing that she was.. pretty cold, which was surprising, due to how hot her face felt. Taking her hands from her face and rubbing her arms, she took a chance and slowly looked over at Koumori, who seemed to be absorbed in his own thoughts. Breathing in her hands because she was trying to brush off her own feelings, and do anything but think about them, she glanced upwards. Huh? What did he just ask? It took her a moment to realize he'd just asked if she wanted to go ice skating. Blinking a pair of wide eyes, she hesitated, and nodded, slapping on a smile so it wasn't five times more awkward. Anything would be better than sitting on this bench alone, in the silence. Even if she didn't know how to ice skate.

Unsure of where to get skates, she thought of the real world, looking for some kind of booth as she stood up. She took a step forward onto the ice, and blades automatically appeared underneath her shoes. Ehh? Must've been some special auto-command for the lake, considering it looked like one of the only places for specifically ice skating. Taking a deep breath, she put her other foot on top of the ice, and immediately fell on her butt, grimacing on impact. This was harder than it looked. Glancing back at Koumori, she giggled nervously. "Uh.. I don't really know how to ice skate," she said, rubbing the back of her head foolishly as she attempted to prop herself up again.

[[ I'll try my best! Haha ]]

Koumori seemed to stand there staring at the watching players for a tad too long, and then, as if coming to a conclusion, turned to look at Starrine, quickly reaching his arm out and wrapping it around her shoulders. Spouting something about her being clumsy, and then getting out of their way, he pulled her along to a bench on the far side of the lake. As they both sat down, Starrine hadn't really comprehended what had just happened, but her amber orbs were permanently fixed on Koumori, her whole face flushed red as she sat with a gaping mouth. Her heart was pounding louder than she thought was possible, and some stupid part of her brain wondered if Koumori could hear it.

She didn't even answer him as he asked, "right?" and simply sat, gaping. He was practically hugging me, for like a whole minute! With her brain on autopilot, she stiffly nodded, closing her mouth and fidgeting in her seat embarrassedly. He didn't seem to think anything of it, was she just overreacting? She lifted both of her hands to her hot cheeks, blinking and wondering if that even just happened; had she imagined it? She didn't even realize that if Koumori looked over, he would see an extremely flustered, red-faced Starrine.

[[ Hope I delivered well! LOL! ]]

Starrine nodded all officially as she responded, smiling gently as she stared up at the bright sky. At least on the hill it wasn't dark; well, it kind of was, but you could still easily see all of your surroundings with ease. She didn't like being in the dark more than the next girl. Turning her attention to Glory, who thanked her quickly and clapped her hands together happily. "I'm glad! Ahh, m-my pleasure!" Starrine exclaimed, shifting happily on her feet. She was really glad that Glory had seemed to calm down a bit, actually beginning to enjoy herself. Blinking in surprise as the girl grabbed a piece of her long hair, and began playing with it. Not wanting to embarrass her or make her seem like she wasn't normal, Starrine decided to allow her to do it, not really minding, either way.

"W-whaaa? Who said that? I think you're a perfect size! I don't think body size matters, anyways. As long as you're a good person, which you are, I think everything is set! If anyone calls you big, don't be afraid to come to me for help, okay? That's not cool for people to do," she huffed, going off on her own little tangent to try and reassure the girl that she was, in fact, cute, but ended up rambling on about something else, anyways.

Rather focused on walking down the mountain so that she wouldn't trip or stumble, she tried not to allow herself to get distracted. Though, she couldn't stop herself from stealing an occasional glance at the boy walking next to her, their arms linked. He was.. despite being pretty smug, kind of cute, in a way. There was something intriguing about him, and though she couldn't put her finger on it, it was enough for her to go off with some random guy. Which, thinking about it now, would've probably gotten her kidnapped or something in the real world. In a sense, she was kind of glad that her real body wasn't at all involved with anyone physically in this world.

With laughter escaping her mouth, she shrugged. "I'm curious about it, but if you want to surprise me, I'm fine with it." Starrine said, gaze fixed on the mountain path that they continuously walked down. Her pink cheeks notched up to bright red as he made the prince comment, and she stumbled for a moment, relying on her linked arm to catch her fall. Pulling herself back up, she glanced at him, somewhat thinking that someone else had made the comment. After glancing around and reassuring herself that it was actually Zelrius, she cleared her throat, trying to come up with something to say in response. "W-well, some princesses, uh, lead by themselves, y'know?"

"Ahh, it kind of does, doesn't it? I hadn't thought of that!" Starrine laughed, hoping that her over-happy sort of nature wasn't scaring the girl off. At one point she'd glanced back during the walk and seen her looking very uncomfortable. "You don't need to force yourself to talk, Glory!" Starrine said with a sweet smile, "I'm okay with the quiet; plus I can do the talking for both of us if I need to," she giggled a bit at this statement, and tucked her hands behind her back, watching as they emerged to see Glory's reaction.

As she glanced over, she caught sight of Glory's slack jaw and sparkling eyes, and couldn't help but smiling at the girl's face; it seemed that her smile was contagious. "Isn't it?" She agreed, glad that she remembered the spot on a mere whim, hoping that they'd be able to see the sky at night. "O-oh, it's my pleasure! I wanted to see it, too," she said with a slight chuckle, sheepishly kicking a lone pebble on the ground. As she complimented her hair, Starrine blushed. Uwaaa.. How can something this cute exist? The black-haired girl thought, staring at Glory with shiny eyes. Realizing she'd been quiet for a moment, she stuttered out a reply: "T-thank you! I really like your hair too. You're really cute, did you know?" She said with a reassuring laugh, hoping that the girl didn't catch the stutter in her voice.