Chelvaric was putting some meat spread on sandwiches inside his room. His table was covered in all sorts of things. From peanut butter to cheese and Strawberries. He didn’t completely know what Snow liked to eat so he was packing in as much stuff as he could. He walked to his magic fridge and opened up to take out some sweet chocolate cakes. These were going to be the desert he had spent so much time into getting them right. Took a couple of days to not screw up the cooking process. But he finally had finished it and it was one of the best that he had made so far. He even bought a special magic box so that it wouldn’t melt while they were out. He slowly took the delicious cake out and put it in the magic box that was purple in color. He tied a ribbon around it to make it look like a present.

He had planned the day completely and he hoped she would have fun on their second date. After he was done preparing everything he wrapped it up in the basket and went into the bathroom. Turning the water on and taking a nice hot shower. He was letting the hot water fall over his skin as he was rubbing himself with soap. He felt the warm water crawling over his skin while he thought about his previous date. He had lots of fun at the amusement park with snow and he was sure that they got closer together over the course of it.

He hoped it would go perfect today and nothing would go wrong. He stepped out of the shower and dried himself off before he started to shave his beard. He never liked having a beard it was super itchy and annoying and Snow probably wouldn’t like him looking so rugged. He wrapped his towel around him and took some clothes out of the wardrobe. A simple white V neck t-shirt with over that a black blazer. On his legs, he would wear some silken black pants. It looked nicer than the jeans he would always wear. He grabbed the basket and rushed out of the door to docks where he was supposed to meet Snow.

The soft tunes of melody played in the background of the apartment house as a feminine voice hummed along the music. The entire room was filled with the delicious fragrance of food; meat, fresh vegetable and fruits, prepared for the picnic that was about to come. Today – was the day that she had been waiting, ever since she left Crocus after their remarkable first date, where she had the opportunity to visit the amusement park, a nice walk under the beautiful stars and was even rewarded with a kiss on the cheek by the end of the night.

Standing by the kitchen table was a young maiden, slicing up tomatoes and onions to prepare for the picnic date that they were supposed to have in the afternoon. The girl had been busy since the morrow drew its first sunrise, walking over to the nearest market to do grocery shopping and began cooking the moment she returned home. The scent of fried prawns, cooked tuna and steamed rice filled the area as she would begin to roll sushi, as part of their picnic lunch. Placing the seaweed first onto the bamboo sushi mat, she located sticky rice, followed by cooked tuna and some avocado before squeezing it into a nice tight roll.

When having a picnic in a nice, warm weather, she figured that lemonade might help refresh themselves after a tiring day and poured it into a two glass jars and placed it inside the picnic basket that she had bought earlier. After all the food was cooked and ready, Snowflake decorated them nicely inside a lunch box, assuming that it was just some females’ instinct to make everything look pretty. Satisfied with her own work, she wiped her hands on her apron and began to count everything inside the basket to make sure nothing was forgotten.

”Food. Check. Drinks. Check. Cutlery. Check. Marshmallows…..” She paused, hesitantly before grabbing a pack of marshmallows near the kitchen counter and tossed it into the basket. ”Check! Oh, a picnic blanket.” She’d add and rushed into her room to grab a large piece of cloth before sliding it into the basket that was already filled with all the necessities.

Snowflake stared at the reflection in the mirror and brushed the tangles out of the silver silks on her head, gradually learning how to braid it for who knows why. She’d dress, feeling empty without her eyeband and then she’d leave the apartment room without so much as a word apart from giving a quick glance over to the woman who worked at the reception desk, the crease on her forehead indicated how busy she was with accepting phone calls from customers and flipping through pages of books. What bad luck.

Chelvaric was walking through the streets of Hargeon while he was holding his picnic. He didn’t want to drop it so he was holding it very firmly. He walked very carefully through the crowds of people. He didn’t want to bump into anyone and flatten his food. It needed to be perfect so that Snow would only have the best food available to her. If she wasn’t happy on the picnic he would be super angry on himself. He would walk back to one of the temples and pray on his knees for a couple of weeks. He put on a confident face and said to himself that he wouldn’t fail. He ended up walking over the white cobblestone bridge that led to the Light tower.

The light tower was a huge tower that was painted red and white with a huge lacrima on the top of it. When it was cloudy or dark the lacrima was like a huge torch to warn ships that the coast was close by. They weren’t coming here for the light tower though. There was a small dock next to the light tower where you could charter a ride in one of the long boats that was being pushed forward by one guy who was standing in the back of the boat. It was supposed to be supper romantic. He hoped she would like it he was giving up a lot for her since he hated water so much. He walked up to the boats and waited at the docks for Snow.

The snow haired wizard had been in an exuberant mood for the day, since she was looking forward for her second date with Chelvaric. In her hand was the picnic basket that she had prepared several hours prior and silently, she hoped that the food would be enough since she does actually eat a lot. Despite how they’ve been on a few dates, Snowflake did not want to refer themselves as couples just yet as they’re still learning more about each other’s personalities and she did not want to be in a relationship so fast however, these little events that they have together have made her mind and feelings clear of all the confusion she had before and how he had helped her grow as a person, not as an emotionless android but someone with more than that.

Light Tower – the destination of where the date would be held albeit, little did she know that there was something planned before their picnic date. As the summer was on the verge of coming to an end, the weather grew colder each day with frigid winds entering the country and people would begin to prepare for the upcoming season; autumn. Beyond her was the sky, stretching on for eons without seeing the end to it. She’d gaze up at the empyreans above, enjoying the clouds drift by the blazing yellow orb as she weakly conjured up random analogies in her head; something about the blue yonder above her and a journey too, maybe even the distance it took to span the entire sky; an old habit of hers when she has nothing on her mind.

Snowflake was considerably lost within the area, for she had never been to the vicinity before and was not aware of where Chelvaric would be located. The tower was just a few meters ahead of her, towering above her petite figure, casting a faint, long shadow behind her while she studied the building. She was in her most casual outfit; a white shirt tucked in a dark denim skirt, paired up with high heeled boots to finish off her entire look. The youth walked up to the docks just by the side of the tower, assuming that her partner would be waiting for her and there he was, standing with another basket in his hands. She hadn’t expected he would have prepared meals for the date as well but nevertheless, it was good for them since she would be able to enjoy the food more.

”Chelvaric.” She walked up behind him, tightly grasping onto the handle of the woven container. "Were you waiting long?"

Chelvaric was looking at the sea from his position near the boats. He was shiffering as he really didn’t want to get close to the water at all. But it still looked so beautiful though. He chuckled on how something so terrifying could be so beautiful. He did know that there were really yummy fish swimming inside this terrifying water. He suddenly heard a voice behind him and he turned around to see his favorite and most beautiful girl in the world Snow. She looked great as she was wearing a simple white blouse and a denim skirt. He looked at how her body nicely curved underneath them and how her legs were sticking out of her skirt. She was like one of those top models he would see in magazines.

“Hi Snow, great to see you again. No, no your not late don’t worry” he said to her while he gave her a hug. He made a slight bow and stepped to the side to reveal the long small rowing boats behind him. “Miss I prepared a vessel for us to make a trip before we eat”, he said in a loyal manner of speaking to make a bit of fun of the situation. He chuckled as he continued, “I hoped that we could make a boat trip just the two of us. To have some quality time before we eat”. He walked to the boats and hailed one of the rowers. “Good day sir, I rented one of these boats yesterday”, he would ask of the rower standing on the boat. “Oh yeah you’re the cat from yesterday hop in ill show you the best spots of hargeon”, the man would say. “After you Snow”, Chelvaric said and helped her get into the boat.

Snowflake approached closer to him and as he turned around, it was then she noticed how short she was compared to the man standing in front of her, despite the fact that she was wearing heels. What happened next left her quite stunned as Chelvaric wrapped his arms around her body, though for a brief moment and declared that he had a little event planned before their picnic date, which was a boat ride. This caught her attention and Snowflake was snapped out of her reverie and her wild thoughts that she received from his hug and gave him a questioning look as if she did not understand what he’d just said.

Her lips would curve into a small smile at his little joke and gladly nodded in agreement upon his request. While Chelvaric was busy renting a boat for the two of them, the white haired woman would take a quick glance beyond her, the quiet lake and the blue yonder above them. There seemed to be hardly any people within the area, apart from the two of them and some rowers who’d take them to the middle of the lake to enjoy the view and perhaps, feed some fish. Somehow, the Gods above appeared to be on her side since the weather was so perfect; not too warm or too cold, but mildly warm to enjoy the heat and while the gentle breeze that blew across the land from the sea cooled the summer heat.

”A pleasure to be your company.” She spoke in a joking manner, a playful smirk dancing on the line of her cupid-bow lips.

With her partner’s assistance, she climbed onto the wooden structure before mouthing 'Thank You' towards the human-neko and eased herself on one of the vacant seats by the other side of the boat, allowing Chelvaric to sit across her. Placing the basket on the floorboard, she waited for the man to climb aboard and curiously glanced around, taking in everything in her sight, the trees and the seagulls that flew above her.

Chelvaric felt a small cool breeze going over his skin as he helped Snow into the boat. He smiled at her little joke before she stepped into the boat. He noticed how much smaller she was than him. He felt like he should take care of her that she was fragile and he could break her any second. Although that was far from the truth. Since she was way stronger than him. He had seen her lifting up boulders like they were a pair of shoes. He put his picnic basket next to hers and took place in front of her. He wondered why she wasn’t wearing her visor today.

“It’s great to see your beautiful eyes there so rarely visible”, he would say to her while looking at her with a dreamy smile on his face. When the boat was pushed off he was holding the edges of the boat really tightly he didn’t want to fall into the water after all. “Sorry if I seem a bit edgy while we have the trip I am not that fond of the water”, he said while he didn’t mention that he had been coming here for a few day’s now to mentally prepare him to cross the water.

“It’s an amazing view. I love nature they have the most beautiful things you can see everywhere” he said while he looked at the forest on the other side of the bay. Birds were flying over them and here and there you could see a deer walking on the shore. Suddenly in front of them, a dolphin would jump up and back into the water. “They say if a dolphin jumps here for you your meant for each other”, the rowing man said and smiled at them. Chevaric looked at Snow and hoped that the man was not telling a lie.

Silence reigned supreme within the vicinity, apart from the rustle of the wind and the high-pitched screams of seagulls that flew above them. Wild flowers and trees were carpeted around them with gorses of bushes growing wildly underneath and the scent of flowers that lingered in the air wafted into her nostrils, filling her senses. With a lift of his hand, the man would begin to row the boat as they drifted along the water slowly, sending ripples to subside in the deeper water, each moored to the protruding pontoon. The cool breeze was gentle against her skin, caressing her cheeks softly and the young woman would find herself briefly closing her eyes, enjoying the fresh wind from the sea.

It wasn’t until Chelvaric’s words slowly reached into her ears and her brain waves suddenly reacted with a jolt, that she would immediately be brought out of her reverie by a startle wake, her head whipping back in surprise. The woman absently brushed a wisp of silver hair that had come loose from the braid that she had worked so hard on earlier in the morning while she spent a moment to register the words that her partner had spoken a few seconds prior. Heat rose up from her neck up until her ears and her cheeks would be flushed a light crimson colour as she averted her gaze in embarrassment.

”…Thank you.”

Never once did she receive a compliment regarding her eyes; a part of her that she felt the most insecure of, until now. Her eyes were wide and brightly coloured, almost alien-like, considering that almost all her body parts were replaced with machines, including her eyes. She had never wanted people to see how her eyes appeared to be because even she, herself was scared of looking in the mirror and thus, she always kept them hidden behind the black cloth that she would normally wear all the time. Albeit, for this date, Snowflake had taken it off, since she felt that this would be the least she could do to share more about herself and slowly over time, perhaps, she might explain why she had chosen to go down the road to become a machia.

”You’re right.”

A small smile grew on her lips as they drifted further into the lake and Snowflake gazed upon the magnificent view beyond her; clouds racing in the empyreans above and over the bright, yellow blazing orb. The youth edged closer to the rim of the boat, peering over to look below, only see ripples of water spreading by the side of the boat. The lake was crystal-clear just near the surface and the further it went down, the darker the water grew muddy and turned opaque green but it was clear enough to see the plants and life below the surface. She had expected to see a variety of fishes and she wasn’t disappointed, if anything she was impressed, after she saw the highly coloured japanese Koi Carp swimming under the water along with other goldfishes.

”A dolphin? That’s impossible. You don’t see a dolphin in a lake.”

The woman retorted at the man’s remark without glancing up as she continued to watch the fishes swam by the boat. It was a rather stupid belief, she’d say and not once has she heard of anyone seeing a dolphin living in a lake like this. The wizard placed her arms against the rim of the boat while her chin rested on her arm, her eyes still fixed onto the lake and the creatures underneath. Curious, she dipped her finger into the water and the fishes would gather around her finger with their perky mouths smacking against each other.

It seemed that Snow was skeptical about the man’s prophecy as she was pulling it into doubt. Snow had a point though they wouldn’t see dolphins on a lake maybe it was just a fish that looked like a dolphin. He sighed, still he wouldn’t give up hope that they were meant for each other. It seemed she liked his comment about her eyes as she was blushing brightly when he told her. It made him feel warm inside when she blushed like that. He knew then that she was flattered. “You’re blushing makes you so cute t”, he would say softly to her and made a soft smile on his face before he started to look at the fish in the water. They were so colourful, from red to orange and hints of green here and there they would form a rainbow as they were gathering around Snow's hand. He liked seeing her so peaceful.

Without any thought on her head. Maybe she would flower open a bit once she was in a tranquil state. When someone feels peaceful they share more than when they were frustrated or anything like that. He saw the waves roll over the surface of the water as the boat was making its way to the middle. The city was starting to get smaller and smaller only the light tower was still looking bigger than all the rest. It would have taken a couple of months to build a giant structure like that. But it was quite beautiful in its own right.

When he looked up into the sky some seagulls were flying over them looking at the fishes that were swimming near Snow. if they were gone they probably would dive downwards and fish them so they could eat their supper. That was the way of nature after all. They neared the center of the lake and the boat came to a halt to give them a moment of rest.

The man appeared to be taken aback by her comment, considering how he stopped talking entirely after Snowflake claimed that his prophecy was rather silly. The female did not intend to be rude on purpose but most of the time, the honest brutality in her words tend to come out that way. Slowly, they would drift further away from the lighthouse, until it was almost out of sight, covered in the morning fog. Her partner added another compliment upon seeing her blush, which only made her turn into a deeper shade of red. Somehow, Chelvaric seems to be aware of the right places to just make her fluster like any other girl, or perhaps, it was due to the fact that she was holding some feelings for the man.

The couple leaned over the boat, enjoying the view of the fishes below them as the boat bobbed above the waters. She wondered if Chelvaric would feel anxious since he disliked the sea to a great extent, or so she has seen. Nevertheless, her partner made such great efforts so that Snowflake would be able to enjoy the day without any concerns. He is indeed, a great guy. The thought occurred to her mind as she continued to watch fishes swarm around her finger before she’d cup her hands and collect a small amount of water in her hands and splashed it at Chelvaric. She made sure he wouldn’t be drenched in water since she didn’t want to scare him away, but being slightly wet shouldn’t be of no problem to a neko-human.

Silence reigned supreme within the area and she loved such peaceful tranquillity that she did not dare to disturb it. Beyond her was the sky and the colourful horizon, stretching on for eons without seeing the end to it. Once they reached their maximum distance, the rower would slightly turn the boat, heading back towards where they departed from. The woman wondered how long they have been on the boat, possibly no more than a few hours as she edged a hand into her pocket to retrieve a pocket watch. With a swift movement of her fingers, she’d flip open the cover and registered the hours into her mind. It was almost time for lunch and she was starting to feel hungry. Perfect, she thought, the image of her cooked picnic lunch emerging in front of her eyes.

Chelvaric was enjoying the boat trip even though he was still super afraid of the water that could jump him anytime. Well not really but that thought went through his head. He was happy that he could give Snow a good time though. If she was happy he was happy to no matter what the circumstances where. He only wanted the best for her. She had tough live changing appearances being so isolated from people. Maybe she liked that way it could be but still, he wanted her to be with him so he could make her even more happy then she already was.

He suddenly felt the wet feeling of water dozing over him. It wasn’t much so instead of panicking he was sitting expressionless frozen in his chair. It seemed Snow was the culprit. If it had been anyone else he would have gotten mad but now the only thing he could muster was a devious smile. He stuck his hand into the water.

what a horrible feeling, he thought and splashed a small amount of the water back to her. It was a big victory for him mentally to just be able to do that. But he didn’t want to ruin the fun and tried his utmost best. He probably would have nightmares tonight or other stress-related symptoms but for now, he was sort of happy in a weird way.

Snow looked at her watch and looking over her shoulder it seemed it was nearly lunchtime while the rower started to turn back to the coast. They wouldn’t be able to see much while they rowed back as a mist had taken hold of the lake. “I wonder what kind of foods you brought I can’t wait to see what else you like to eat”, Chelvaric said to her and smiled while he felt the cold wet feeling of the places that got wet on his body. It was eating at his mind but he was holding firm. When Snow wasn’t looking he would bite hard on his lip to keep holding it out.

The reaction from Chelvaric upon having water on his body was such a hilarious sight – frozen on spot with eyes wide in shock, that Snowflake couldn’t help but grin widely. In return, he would splash water on her as well, which she didn’t mind of course since both of them were having fun. She slid her watch back into her pocket while they returned back to the coast. They would pass underneath bridges and small canals where she was able to see more about Hargeon Town itself. She was glad Chelvaric had taken her out to a boat ride and she was never aware that the journey would be this fun. It might also be perhaps, Chelvaric was accompanying her as well. For some reason, his presence seemed to soothe her like no other and she always felt comfortable with the man.

The rower assisted them out of the boat after they reached the coast and she’d whisper a ’Thank you’ to the man for helping her out as well as being the rower for them. Clutching onto the picnic basket that she’s brought with herself, her icy blue orbs wandered over the yonder, selecting a good place to have a nice picnic amongst themselves. ”You’ll see.” The young woman teased a bit, hoping to keep him curious about all the meals she had prepared. Her cooking might be nothing compared to a chef but she didn’t find her cooking skills any less than average, mayhap, even better. After all, she had been cooking for herself most of the time.

Blue hues drifted off into a distance once again until her attention landed on a nice vacant spot by the beach nearby. The distance was not that far from where they were located so they might as well just have a short walk there. ”How does having a picnic by the beach sounds?” She’d ask, but she did not bother waiting for a reply instead, she grabbed him by the hand and directed themselves towards the direction of the beach. The weather was not too warm, but not too cold either which made it just perfect for a picnic date without worrying about the heat. Taking out the piece of cloth that she had shoved inside her basket, she laid it on the sand so that they could relax before taking out the prepped meals.

Snow was grinning widely when he had been sitting frozen from the water she had done. So she seemed to enjoy seeing him in a weird expression. He found it quite funny that his reaction would pull out a smile from her. While they were being rowed to the city again they were going under bridges and through small canals. He never realized how beautiful Hargeon could be. Being with Snow made him see things that he would never have if he had been alone. It made his life more fuller and experienced. He was happy he got to know her. If he had never joined Blue Pegasus he maybe wouldn’t have met her at all. He thanked fate for this chance he had with her and stepped out of the boat after the rower had helped Snow get out. He thanked the man and paid him a handful of jewels for the services. He sighed relieved and stretched his body out.

“It’s good to be on land again!”, he said out loud. It seemed snow didn’t want to tell what kind of food she brought and teased him about it. He was still very curious and was looking for a spot to sit. There were many nice spots around but it was Snowflake who found a spot first. It seemed she wanted to eat at the beach.

That sounded like a great idea to him and he nodded to her, “Yeah that’s perfect I bought a cloth with me so that we won’t get sand in our food”, he said to her but before he was finished he was already being dragged to the location. He quickly grabbed his food basket so that he wouldn’t leave it behind. It seemed Snow had the same thought and took out a cloth to lay it out. He was a bit sad now as he wanted to do it for her. But well it just showed she was a prepared lady for things like this.

The heat was quite okay and it would be a relaxing time to get to eat there stuffs. He laid out the sandwiched he brought. Some cold rice with vegetables and chicken teriyaki. Then he took out some dishes with fish like tuna rolls and squid balls. He brought a handy magical heater so they could heat up some stuff if they wanted to. As last he had Caserella cake and fluffy cheesecake as a dessert with him. “Take whatever you want Snow. Whats mine Is yours and I want you to try everything!”, he said a bit excited and smiled at her.

With two picnic baskets, it seemed that the two Blue Pegasus mages are going to have their nice full of lunch. The female settled down onto the cloth mattress that she had placed before, as they would begin to unpack their meals. Chelvaric went first, revealing a box of sandwiches as well as some rice accompanied with delicious teriyaki meat and vegetables. She never liked vegetables, which was probably the reason why she was so petite but at least, she has been trying to get back to her healthy meals. The sweet fragrance of cooked food assailed into her nostrils and her mouth would water, followed by a low grumble of her stomach.

”It looks delicious. Did you prepare all of these?”

The female asked, curious and surprised at the same time. She was never aware that Chelvaric would be the type of person who would cook meals for themselves instead, he appeared to be one who would order take out all the time. Males who knew how to make dishes and meals were attractive, or at least to her and she couldn’t help but stifle a smile to herself. Perhaps, she was elated that she found a hidden talent of the man. When Chelvaric offered her the food, the youth wasted no time to dig into the food since she was already hungry. Grabbing the cutlery from the basket, she’d take one for herself and handed a pair to her partner if he didn’t have one.

Using a knife, she’d have a taste of the teriyaki chicken first and her eyes would immediately widen at the rich flavour of it. ”It tastes really nice. I never knew you were such a good cook.” The youth nodded, clearly amazed by his cooking skills but she has yet to show her meals. Snowflake edged a hand into a basket to retrieve the lunch boxes that she had packed. Inside the boxes were rolled up tuna sushi and avocado, some rice balls with minced pork stuffed inside and a few extra sandwiches. She brought a few other snacks as well, in case one of them got hungry in the remaining hours of the day and with cakes located in front of her, she didn’t have to worry about what they were going to have for dessert.

Chelvaric felt the soft cloth underneath him as he was sitting on it. It felt very comfortable while they would eat the things. Snow was laying out her sandwiches and sushi and there were rice balls. He smiled at her as her food looked quite cute. “Your food is very adorable and so neatly packed”, he said to her and waited for her to start eating his food. But before she did, she asked if he made everything.

“Oh yes I did make it all, I didn’t want to buy anything as it’s a date so I wanted to be homemade”, he said and smiled as she was eating the food. It seemed she liked it looking at the expression on her face he was very happy about that and she confirmed when she praised him for his food.

“Thank you, I have to cook every day for myself so I guess I have a lot of practice”, he said to her before he picked a rice ball with pork inside. He took a small bite of it and felt the grains of rice and pieces of the pork melting together as he chewed on the nice tasting food. The meat tasted great it was cooked till the right amount and not too many spices were added while the rice was sticky and soft a real feast in his mouth.

“We packed so much food I guess we will take a while to all eat it, can I have one of your bentos, they look amazing?”, he said to her and waited for her to hand one over. He was starving and they looked so tasteful he wanted to dig in on all the different foods packed inside the little box. They took so much time to make so he would appreciate her hard work to at least eat everything.

”Your food is very adorable and so neatly packed.”

As a perfectionist, Snowflake tends to be extremely thorough about every little detail, which was why it took her very long to prepare the lunch boxes, though it seemed that her hard work had been paid off. Despite how she disliked eating vegetables, she tried to include as much as possible since it wasn’t just for her only and decorated the meals with broccolis, carrots and some lettuces on the side. One would include fresh, warm omelettes with ketchup slightly drizzled over the top, another with onigiri balls and sandwiches. All of her lunch boxes were stuffed with so much food – in a very appealing way, that they would have some trouble finishing all of it as Chelvaric prepared his as well.

The youth didn’t have to worry about having leftovers since she was a rather big-eater herself, despite her petite figure and with a high metabolism, she could easily burn all the calories that she had gained. ”I’d love to try one of your best dishes.” She mumbled through the food that she had stuffed herself with. Having cooking as one of her best hobbies, Snowflake was always interested in learning meals prepared by other people, in a way to better her abilities as well, which was also one of the reasons why she loved trying out new food every now and then.

”Of course. Feel free to have all of them.”

Without any hesitation, she would reach into her basket to collect a pair of chopsticks and carefully picked up the rice ball, making sure that the food wouldn’t break it apart as well and cautiously placed it onto Chelvaric’s plate. She’d let the man eat first, her eyebrows raised in curiosity as she awaited for his feedback on her dish that she had spent a lot of her time and heart preparing – mostly because he was someone important to her, otherwise she wouldn’t have exerted a great amount of effort to impress someone. What was becoming of her? All these silly little things; wanting to look the best, cooking all the meals just for a single person and never once did these any of those thoughts crossed her mind until she met him – she wondered if these were the effects of being in love.

Chelvaric took the little Rice ball of Snow and put it in his mouth. A number of flavors coming loose from one bite was just amazing and it melts on his tongue like a small piece of butter. He loved her cooking. If they ever would get together he would have amazing food a lot of times.
“This is amazing you should open your own place, it would be swarmed with people”, he said to her and then thought about what his best dish was. He didn’t have it with him though as it was something you couldn’t prepare beforehand. “well I have this really nice spicy steak I can make but the best one I have here is this sandwich with crab and mustard and egg, it’s amazing”, he said and he took one from his bag and gave it to her.

“Try it I hope you like it”, he said in a passionate voice as he was quite confident about his own skill. “We should cook together one day I think it would be really fun, we always form a good team after all”, he laughingly said and was excited to do it already. He kept eating and was amazed by all the food and it started to fill him up quite well. He quite enjoyed eating with her and it was just much nicer to do then when he was eating alone.

“We should do this more often I quite like eating your food”, he said to her and then finally stopped as he was completely full of her bento boxes. “Do you still have some room for the cheese cake as I am stuffed as hell”, he said to her and rubbed his belly that felt like bursting. He was so peaceful and happy around her that he didn’t even know how much time already had passed, when he was with snow time went quicker than any other time.

The female pondered about it for a brief second and to be honest, Chelvaric’s idea was not necessarily bad. His suggestion made her thought about it seriously for the first time and to be honest, opening a small restaurant sounds very enjoyable. It sparked something within her albeit, the only problem was that she might not have enough time to manage a shop. Nevertheless, she wanted to try it as she began to think about what she would do if she owned a café – at first, it would begin small and if she was able to make a decent profit out of it, then perhaps, it might be useful for her. In fact, pastries, cakes and desserts have always been her favourite and she could imagine herself managing a shop selling those.

”…Would you be willing to help me if I end up building a café?”

The question didn’t have any kind of intention but she was curious to know, if it had worked out well. It seemed that Chelvaric’s best dish was steak and no doubt, it was the food she would love to eat every time, despite its expensive price in restaurants. A smile grew on her lips, glad that she met someone who shared the same hobby as hers. Such little things meant a lot to her and to be able to discuss about similar topics was an exquisite feeling. The youth took the sandwich handed over to her from Chelvaric and took a bite out of the food. Mustard was the only sauces that she disliked being spread on sandwiches however, it was barely noticeable and did not ruin the taste of the food as well. ”Mmm, it’s really tasaty. The crab is minced thoroughly and marinated really well.”

Snowflake wasn’t aware that she would enjoy eating and having a picnic with someone so well and she loved how Chelvaric and herself cliqued together right away – their hobbies and their likes, although, of course there were some apparent differences between them. ”If I end up opening a shop, you could be a part of it as well. Perhaps, we might be two chefs working alongside.” The female stated jokingly, but a part of her wanted it to be true. Now that most of the meals were completely eaten and devoured by both of them, it was time for desserts. It seemed that her partner was already full from all the food that they had prepared but she was far from being full.

”I’ll always have room for some dessert.” The white haired mage flashed a smile and held up a fork before digging into the cheesecake that Chelvaric had brought. She could even finish the entire cake herself and hopefully, he didn’t mind her big appetite, otherwise that would have made her felt horrible.

Chelvaric looked at Snow as she was trying out his sandwich. He was really hoping she would enjoy his sandwich. But before it came to that she was saying that she wanted to open a café and if he would help her. He didn’t have to think twice about that. “Of course I would help you, you may not know but I am a fine barista if I can be so daring to say.”, he said to her and started to eat a little sandwich too. He waited for her to answer and he didn’t have to wait long as she chewed on the food for a bit before she complimented him that it tasted good and that the texture was amazing.

He had never shared food with anyone else and this was the first time for him that people tried out his food. He was just really happy that she liked it and he wanted to make more food for her. It was just going so perfectly and he was filled with joy. There was no other girl like Snow that he had ever met that would give him the satisfaction that she gave him.

She then continued about her café and wanted him to cook with her. That was actually the idea he had in mind earlier to do with her. So he would definitely not say no to that. It would make cooking so much more enjoyable to do it with someone else and especially with Snow as she had the same passion for cooking as him and he liked that. No one else had shown him the same passion as she had.

“I could bring you special and fresh ingredients from the forest, or grow some with my magic”, he said while he took a piece of the cheesecake and ate it. Ah, he was truly full now he only managed to eat a small piece of it.

The woman chuckled as Chelvaric declared himself as a fine barista before slicing a piece from the cheesecake. ”Well, if you say so.” She responded at his remark, her eyebrows raised. The texture of the cake was extremely soft and fluffy, it felt like chewing onto a delicious sponge. The dessert reminded her of the last time they had a date at a cozy restaurant, where she had an extremely appetizing porterhouse, followed by a cake – just like the one they were having as a dessert. ”Do you remember our first date? We had a very similar cake.” She’d remind him and lovely memories of the event would flash before her eyes, causing a smile to grow on her lips.

Edging a hand into her basket, she would retrieve the lemonade, encased in a metal bottle so as to retain its coolness. The ices clanked against the metal as she poured out the drink into two plastic cups; one for herself and another for her partner. ”Would you like a cup?” She’d ask, gently nudging the cup over to him as she picked hers and lifted up to her mouth. The liquid strolled down her throat and soothed her chest from the warmth of the sun, quickly spreading to the rest of her body.

”I don’t think I ever get to mention…” The woman trailed off, unable to find the suitable words that might best describe her situation. ”…My reason of becoming a cyborg.”

The atmosphere was slightly different from before – at least to her – upon bringing the topic into discussion. As much as she wished to refrain from sharing it with others, she felt the need to tell him the truth of what actually happened during the time she disappeared and transformed to an entirely different person. The female averted her gaze away, hesitant of her decision, her pale hair glistening underneath the sunlight before settling cerulean hues onto a pair of scarlet. ”It was a really…impulsive decision. I think I was just greedy of power.” She began, her hands placed on her lap as she circled her wrists – a habit of hers that she had yet to remove, when she was feeling nervous.

It seemed that Snow wasn’t that impressed when he said that he was a good Barista, maybe she didn’t fully believe him, well he would have to show her later that he could make a mean cup of coffee. He placed his legs in a different position as they started to cramp a bit from holding them in the same place the whole time. He wondered if Snow could keep sitting like that because she was a machia, she probably wouldn’t feel aches. When she mentioned that they had a similar cake on their first date he would think back to that time and did remember that the desert was very similar to the one he made. They also had a really nice steak that day, even though he was quite full that thought made him a little bit hungry.

“We had amazing food that day, but I like this more since we both worked hard to make it”, he said as he thought about the date, “Still we had a great time during our first date”, he continued as he thought about all the things they had done. It truly was one of the days he would never forget, no matter what would happen from here on out.

Chelvaric looked as Snow was getting a can out of her basket. He wondered what would be in it as he was getting thirsty so that was a perfect timing for her. He agreed heartily when she offered him some lemonade. He took the cup from her and took a light sip of it. The sparkling of the lemonade prickled his mouth slightly but it was a nice stingy feeling. It had been a while since he had tasted lemonade and it was a quite refreshing taste.

She suddenly started to speak but a bit hesitant like it was about something more serious than the other subjects they had talked about. She seemed to have a hard time saying what she wanted and he knew why when she mentioned the machia and becoming one as words in one sentence. Maybe something bad had happened when she did it, he never really asked about it since he was giving her the time to explain it herself and it seemed today was that day. He let her finish speaking as he didn’t want to interrupt her so he let her speak. She started to blame herself though and at that point, he took her hand to reassure her that it didn’t matter how it went he would listen to her and hear it out.

Snowflake was clearly hesitant about sharing the topic regarding to her transformation to machia however, she felt the need to get it off her chest otherwise she would have lived the rest of her life feeling guilty about it and she didn’t want to keep any secrets from Chelvaric either, now that they have become really close friends – perhaps even more than that. Azure irises quickly glanced over Chelvaric to see what his response would be upon the mention of the topic and much to her surprise, he took her hand into his, indicating that he was willing to listen to her story and thus, she continued.

”It was back…when we parted ways to travel different towns. You remember when we didn’t have any contact for a long time back then?” She began and a gentle breeze blew across the vicinity, wafting through her hair and assuming Chelvaric recalled those times, she carried on with her words. ”I met this man called Nagi out of the blue and somehow, he could read what I was thinking – my desires, my wishes and what I wanted to become.” Her brows furrowed in thought, still confused by how the man was able to decipher her so easily when she barely expressed any kind of emotions on her face. ”He said that he was willing to help me and without knowing what his intentions were, I just…accepted his offer.”

Being a perfectionist, Snowflake was always searching for ways to better herself – means to further abilities to stand above others and mayhap, it was the reason how she ended up pushing herself into a corner. With so much greed over power, she was easily convinced by Nagi’s words, whom she did not even know of, nor what he did for a living; apart from the fact that the man was an expert in medicine and chemicals. ”There was so much pain”, her voice croaked and her tears began to well up as she recalled the memories of her body parts being replaced into machines. Regretful – yet, she obtained what she wanted – power. Not knowing how to continue, the woman stared down at the cloth underneath them, trying her best to hold back her tears.

Chelvaric looked at her in a comforting way so that she would feel at ease as Snow was telling her story. He didn’t know what to do if he was being honest. It was a hard thing to help people through tough moments. When she asked if he remembered the time when they didn’t see each other for a long time he didn’t have to think about it as he remembered it clearly. It was the last time that they actually didn’t see each other, since then they had been spending more time than with anyone else. He rather not go back to those times as he had grown quite fond of her presence and it would just feel unnatural to not bump into her during a job. Which was quite weird to say but it just seemed that they always met each other no matter what.

It looked like she met some doctor Nagi and he had persuaded her into doing the makeover of her body. Well not a lot of people would not go in on the prospects of having their wishes and desires full filled so he couldn’t really blame her for what she had done, rarely would you meet a person that could have withstand those odds. The last thing she said was that she suffered a lot, his heart nearly broke from hearing that she had been in so much pain and he hadn’t been there to support her.

He pulled her over and buried her in his chest before he started talking. “it’s okay Snow let your tears out. I promise you, from now on, I will always be there if you’re in pain. I’ll do my best to get you through those moments so there more bearable, you are not alone anymore. I don’t want to see you hurt, you mean too much to me”, he whispered in her ear while he tenderly rubbed her back trying to comfort her. He sighed too as he felt that it was hard for her to say these things.

What happened next, was something Snowflake did not expect. Without another word, Chelvaric immediately pulled her into a tight hug and comforted her, in which she was almost too surprised to respond, albeit, did not resist in his grasp. It was something she needed and Snowflake came to relish the soft motion of his hand atop her silver hair, a gesture much appreciated especially at that time, where she unknowingly sought for another human’s coveted warmth. As much as she tried her best not to show her weakness to anyone, tears continued to roll down her cheeks and onto her clothes. His voice was calm and gentle, as he continued to stroke the back of her head and the words he spoke was almost music to her ears, easily soothing her chest within a moment.

The female finally relaxed her shoulders and let herself engulfed by the arms of the man that she had come to fallen in love with. Love – such a confusing feeling, yet, a wonderful sensation. It was as if space and time became the finest point imaginable, as if time collapses into one tiny speck and explodes at light speed. Such a complicated description, but it was exactly how she felt at that point. The youth buried her face into his broad chest and she could smell the scent on his body, almost like perfume to her nostrils. She sniffled slightly as she snuggled further into his neck, careful not to let her snot all over his clothes and closed her eyes briefly; it was so comforting that she could even fall asleep in his arms.

Snowflake was grateful that he was here with her, listening to her stories and watching her cry, which was a rather embarrassing sight that she would prefer if no one else saw her in this state anymore, with Chelvaric as an exception. Now that she was finally able to talk about it, she felt as if a burden has been lifted off her shoulders. The girl slightly pulled away from his grasp, her fingers gently tugging onto his clothes as she maintained a few inches between each other and whispered, ”Thank you, for being with me. I don’t know what I’d do without you.”

She meant the words.

Ever since she joined Blue Pegasus, Chelvaric had been by her side, assisting her with all the things she needed and he was the sole reason that she had made so much progress: from improving her interpersonal skills to even making a few friends, and to understand the meaning of love.

Chelvaric looked at Snow while she first got closer to him, which felt great as her body warmth was very comfortable. He enjoyed and he thought she was reveling in too the feeling since she was pulling him so close. She was crying but this time It was a good thing to do. She needed to get out all her pain and anger so she would feel relieved from it. He would hold her tight the entire time and listen closely to her. He cared for her and he wouldn’t want to be anywhere else. He just hoped he could replace all her pain with happiness after this was done.

Once she started to calm down a bit she pulled her away slightly and looked at him thanking him from being with her. He didn’t know how to respond at first but deep inside him a voice was telling him that this was his chance to come clean. To tell her how he felt. He cleared his throat as he was gathering all the courage he could muster while doubt was eating at his stomach and a cold sweat was rolling over his back. The voices were telling him to do it while the whispers were saying to him how she would reject him and how he would end up in a dark place. But he pushed them away and let the voices be quiet so that he could tell her in peace and with a calm mind.

“I will always stay with you, no matter how long you want to hold me or need me. Since I met you my life has changed for the better. You made me care for something other than myself or my god or anything else. You made me care for you”, he said softly as he stroked a strand of white hair away from her eyes at the end of his talk, “I care for you more than anything else, you made me smile, you showed me that I was important to someone and when I watch you discover new things of the world that childish joy in your eyes is the one thing I would die to protect.”, he said her before he took a deep breath and said out loud what he was trying to say. Just go full in no time to back out anymore, “I love you Snowflake, for now, and ever even if you don’t feel the same I will always support you”, he said and then let the silence take over. He held his eyes closed and was praying inside that he would get a yes from her and that it wouldn’t turn into an unrequited love.