Step-By-Step (Char/Theo)

The sight of Theodore made Char feel horribly under-prepared. That was the only word for it. He had the look of an outdoorsman, with a massive pack and ankle-high boots. She was in good physical shape, but... maybe she was getting in over her head? Theodore's bright smile helped dispel that fear though, and Charlotte smiled back, waving back to him. There was something just so... alive... about Theo. She couldn't think of another way to put it.

"My new coat?" the prawn echoed. She didn't... have... a coat. It took her a moment to realize that he meant her shell, and when she realized this, she gave a light, "Oh, thanks!"

Theodore charged through a list of things he had, going so far as to explain that he had a tent and blankets. Waaait, were they camping? She hadn't packed any spare clothes or blankets or anything like that... maybe she'd misunderstood the invitation.

A newfound apprehension roiled in the prawn, but she nodded, despite this, and declared, "I have water and lunches."

Small talk was exchanged between them as they awaited a bus just off-campus. Talk of the new academic year, of plans and classes and friends. It would fade periodically, and pick back up again without really fading. Quiet English nothings murmured at the back of the bus. Words were easy with Theodore. Time passed quickly.

It felt like the blink of an eye before their bus reached the lush green mountains, and the two students disembarked. It was busy... bustling with hikers and children of various skill sets with the same intention as the duo. Charlie stuck close behind Theodore, following him to a steeper, more overgrown looking path. But it seemed quieter. That was a plus.

At the boy's observation, the prawn nodded, heaving a sigh. Less people was better. The two began to walk, Charlotte maintaining her place just behind Theo. The trail was a narrow, dirt thing-- nothing compared to the crushed granite walkway that the majority of the other hikers had elected. Crazy, how quickly the clamor of it all faded away behind them once they slipped through the trees...

It almost felt irreverent to speak. So, she didn't. She turned her eyes to the canopy, the thick green foliage mixed with, of all things, cherry trees. The sun was just right, and wind surged like rushing water through the branches. Charlie sighed. It was peaceful. In her reverent communion with the wilds, she didn't notice Theodore waiting for her until she was almost on top of him. A chuckle.

"I spaced-out," was her apologetic excuse, "They don't... have places like this, in the city." She had turned her eyes towards the surrounding area and fallen quiet, "Sorry." The two began walking again. It was only a few moments before Charlie began to speak again.

"Even though... San Francisco... is all hills, with gorgeous parks... Oakland is flat and ugly. At least til you get to the hills... but only rich people... go into the hills..." You needed cars to navigate the narrow roads. Buses couldn't handle the hairpin turns. It was a sort of gentrification built into the very fabric of the city's layout.

"But there was... this creek, just down the hill from my mentor's apartment... it was kinda wild, like this. I liked to walk along it and pretend I was exploring uncharted territory."

Of course it was choked with litter of various types and frequented by the homeless population, but still... it was a fissure of nature that had burst through the seams of the urban sprawl.

"Kinda reminds me if this place. You know. A peaceful place."

Words were easy, with Theodore. They came upon a felled tree that had never been cleared. With a little struggle, Charlie cleared it by swinging a leg over. Ever cognizant of her shorter companion, she turned and extended her hands, if he needed something to grab-on to or steady himself with.

"Do you have places like that, back home?"

OOC notes:

The prawn hummed as Theodore spoke, with a humored, “You fish?” He really was an outdoorsman, despite his insistence that he lived in the suburbs. Perhaps there were wild places near his home, Theodore had just never wandered there. Did any decent parents let their children wander as much as Charlotte had? She was jarred from that line of thought when Theo clasped her hand. Warm. She was reluctant to let go of him… but she did, after a pause, with a smile. His face was pink. It was funny how pink people could get. Cute, even.

When they began walking again, she walked alongside him, shortening her stride to keep pace with him.

Theodore took the lead once again, and the question he uttered made the prawn stumble a bit. Her mentor? Of course Theodore would be curious about him. Charlotte talked about him obliquely, and often. Not Mom, not Dad, but her mentor. Would he think less of her, if she told him? She'd kept it under wraps for months, now, at U.A. She'd maintained a relatively unblemished reputation… could she trust Theo to keep it to himself?

“He was… the leader of a gang,” Charlotte finally confessed, breathing a sigh. Her lavender eyes flicked towards her brunette companion, gauging his reaction before she continued. “I didn't know until later, after he died.” After he was killed by an American pro-hero, rather. While Charlotte was in the neighboring room. He didn't need to know that.

The birdsong in the trees almost felt contrary to the settling mood. There was so much wrapped into that relationship-- how she'd fled her parents and never been pursued. Bounced around the system after his passing. She tried not to think about it. That's what made it easier to live with. But Theo had questions. And Charlotte wanted to answer. Even if she didn't know how to.

“That's the crazy thing about bad people… is that they aren't all bad, all the time,” Charlotte murmured, “He took me in and raised me. Took me to church. Loved me like his own. He was a funny guy, but he also had really high expectations of me, in like… school and life and stuff,” she smiled faintly, “But then… he also taught me how to survive in the hood.” She'd let Theo imagine what that meant.

The missing piece was, of course, where her parents were amidst all of this. What half-decent parents let their daughter fall-in with a gang? It was the logical follow-up question. But that was such a big, unspeakable part of her life, that the prawn went quiet for a moment. Absentmindedly, the prawn slid her hand into his again… though if Theo asked, it was because of an impending surging creek that they'd need to cross by felled log, which the two could see and hear quite clearly… and not because Charlotte wanted to be comforted. She wanted to know that Theodore was still there, and wouldn't rebuke her for her circumstances.

“I found him after I escaped my birth-parents,” she murmured, “They… I… wasn't allowed to leave the house. They brought people in to… civilize me.” The words, not hers, which was clear in the way the word “civilize” creaked out of her mouth “-And one day I hid in the trunk of my speech therapist's car. Because she was kind to me, and I thought i'd be happier with her. But then I lost her, and my mentor found me… and I tried to never look back.”

She squeezed Theo’s hand lightly, perhaps a little desperately. There was a trace of sadness in her eyes.

“Please don't tell anyone. The last thing I want is for a school of aspiring heroes to think I’m a villain waiting to happen.”

OOC notes:

Charlotte shrugged at the apology, closing her eyes as she spoke, "It is what it is."

She never understood the practice of apologizing for something one didn't personally cause. Charlotte smiled faintly as Theodore responded. Huh, he remembered that story? He must have gotten some wires crossed along the way, though, for he mis-remembered who'd taught her to braid hair.

"His girlfriend taught me to braid hair," she laughed, "Though he did let me braid his hair periodically. I'm surprised you remembered."

His hand was smaller than hers, but somehow... they made it work, even with her massive, three-fingered hand. It felt nice...

And, when Theodore squeezed her hand, it prompted a surge of heat to rise to her face. He wasn't going anywhere. And that... well, that reassured her. It made her realize that... well, he was a really important friend. And she didn't want to lose that. Theodore swore to keep her secret safe-- not only that, but he piled affirmation after affirmation onto the prawn, lauding her as a great, wonderful person with a bright future. And if she ever needed anything, to talk to him.

Charlotte laughed, faintly, and her hand slipped from Theo's. But only because she wanted to ruffle his hair. There was something affectionate in the gesture, almost like a caress. Maybe her hand lingered too long. She let it fall, timidly returning her attention to the trail ahead.

"I appreciate it, Theo," she murmured, "I really do."

There was a tightness in her voice, the kind of strain that accompanied barely restrained emotion. People didn't say stuff like that, to her. Or very rarely, they did. She wasn't sure how to answer it. Thank him? Return a compliment? Deflect it?

She elected to thank him.

OOC notes:

A fantastic yowl cut through the air, snagging the prawn's attention. For a second, she found herself wondering what kinds of wildlife were native to these hills-- and her eyes fell upon Theodore. He wore an apologetic smile, bashfully announcing that he was "peckish", whatever that meant... and inquired as to lunch. Oh, he was hungry.

"And here I thought you'd smuggled a cat in your backpack," Charlotte said drolly, the look in her eyes smug. She was teasing, of course, and gave a quick nod and quiet, "I'm fine with that."

The two trekked onward, scoping-out a place where they could hunker down and eat. The trail was narrow and unevern, so they couldn't really sit down where they were, lest anyone walk by on the treacherous path. Surprisingly, they hadn't seen... much of anyone, yet.

The two came upon a spot of grass, surrounded on all sides by massive trees. Charlotte sighed, releasing a breath she hadn't been aware of holding. In his melodious British tones, Theodore declared this place suitable for lunch. And Charlotte, a little winded from such a demanding walk, couldn't agree more. After some wriggling, she was able to shrug-off her own backpack, and pad the rest of the way to where Theodore was settling.

She had no picnic blanket (was that an expectation for picnics?) so Theodore laid-out one of his own, with some help from the prawn. Charlotte then sat gingerly upon the blanket, crossing her legs. She sat towards one corner, with her rump partially on the grass itself, because she didn't want to take-up too much space.

The backpack was unzippered, and two bentos, a thermos of tea, and a water bottle were removed. Charlotte accepted the pack of jerky, but set it in front of her.

"The bento's were Hye-Rin's idea," Charlotte said lightly, "I've never gone on a hike before. And when I told her I was going on a hike with you, she said I should make lunches." Operative words being "with you". He could thank Hye-Rin later.

"Just... wanted to give a disclaimer... before you started to think I have any... cooking skill at all," the prawn said, between her struggle with prying the lids off of the bento boxes. They'd been covered while still warm, which meant that the lids were suctioned on. When Charlotte finally managed to open the container, she revealed a sundry of foods within the bento... broccoli, tamagoyaki, karaage, and a spinach-and-corn saute on one side of the divided lunch box... and two, smiling onigiri on the other. It was stupidly cute, even by Charlotte's standards. And, for whatever reason, this embarrassed the prawn.

"I, uh, also have utensils."

She rummaged into the bag and procured to sets of chopsticks, forks, knives, and spoons, each set separated by a sanitary plastic container.

"I hope this is okay."

She couldn't watch Theodore as he surveyed the food, so she busied herself with other things. Absentmindedly, the prawn removed her mask by hooking one finger through the elastic. A gust of air tickled at the flesh beneath her maxillipeds. It was so easy to forget how hot surgical masks were, until you removed it. The surgical mask was wedged deep into her backpack. For a few moments, Charlotte sat focused on the unopened package of jerky, trying artlessly to pry it open with her hands... and to no avail.

Frustration peaking, she bit the top of the bag with her two, outermost maxillipeds and tore the plastic free of the Ziploc closure. She only realized what she'd done once she'd procured a piece of jerky from the bag... and she paused to look at Theo, peering sidelong at him.

"I, uh..." she began hesitantly. Why was she so hyper-aware of how her mouth moved when she talked? The clack of her mandibles, the slight flex of her maxillipeds with each vowel, "Um... is this weird? I can get the, uh... eating mask... if it's weird."

Even in the company of a friend, Charlotte was ever-modest.

OOC notes:

The prawn had gone noticeably quiet, as Theodore drew closer to her. How could she not notice? There was a whole goddamn blanket, and he was right there beside her. Even when she was trying not to look at him, he was in her peripheral vision. His leg was practically touching hers. She resealed the jerky, her eyes downcast, as Theodore thanked her for the meal.

"N-o problem," she mumbled. It hardly felt fair to say thank you when Hye-chan had admittedly done a majority of the work. She took a bite of the jerky, severing a piece with her outer maxilipeds. Beyond the two, massive appendages, the inner-workings of lesser maxillipeds and mandibles were all but a mystery, save the quiet crunching from the prawn.

"It's... spicy..." the prawn observed, and air of surprise in her tone. She'd never had jerky before, much less jerky with jalapeno's and cheddar. But it would be rude to let the food go to waste, though. She set it on her leg, promimsing herself that she'd countinue eating it "later", and began to grapple with the lid of the bento box. Again, Theo thanked her, lauding the meal as delicious. This earned a faint, humored chuckle from the prawn. Why were these lids so... freaking... difficult?

>> "Its not weird at all, Char. In fact... I think you look a lot better without the mask."

Her hand slipped, and Charlotte cast a startled look his way. All she could do was nervously smile at that-- but then she remembered that her mouth was in the open, and that smiling would flash mouthparts, and she covered her mouth with her hand. By some strike of fortune, she managed to pry the lid off of the bento one-handed. She then let her hand fall, only after the smile was more subdued.

"I, uh," she began. His arm, tanned from days outside with the Sports Club, was practically radiating warmth through the thick shell of her arm. She couldn't focus, "I think the mask gives me an air... of intrigue."

That's how she tried to play it off, anyways. She totally didn't wear the mask because she was self-conscious, no way. She barely heard half of what Theodore said, her brain such a hum of thoughts. She absently lifted the bento, holding a fork aloft above the container, and stabbed quietly at the food, trying not to move too much or accidentally brush against Theodore. The last thing she needed was to accidentally scratch him with the arm-spikes near her elbow. Honesty, she should file those down, but it was so tedious to do so. Through bites of food, he talked about going on picnics with family, though never with a friend.

"That sounds peaceful," the prawn remarked. It really did, too. It sounded like a happy memory. Theodore went-on to say how happy he was to have Char with him, rather than Eli and Jack. Through a mouthful of food, Charlotte muffled a chuckle, raising the fork-wielding hand to her mouth.

"Heh, well... I mean... Jack is pretty... high-energy," she said gently. Which is to say, maybe hanging-out with Charlotte was different because she wasn't as high-strung? She held her fork-wielding hand to her mouth, to ensure that she didn't accidentally spit food while speaking. As she said this, Charlotte let her knee bump against his, a slow sort of motion. Just to see what he'd do. It was idle enough that he might not even notice...

"Do you... want any tea?" she offered, nodding to the thermos. She took another forkful of food. She couldn't even bring herself to look up.

OOC notes:

The prawn had gone quiet, in her embarrassment. Though she was not privy to the inner-workings of the boy's mind, her train of thought traveled on similar tracks. With Jack, things were so much clearer. He was always (very loudly) demanding cuddles, asking to sit close to one another and the likes... but he was also very explicit about the fact that they were just friends. And, for someone as dense as Charlotte, such clear communication and definitive boundaries were what worked. But Theodore... Theodore was different. She wasn't sure how to interpret his arm near her arm, or sitting practically flush with her. It wasn't explicit, and she didn't want to interpret it wrong. That was why she sat so still beside him. Accidental contact could incur violent reactions, and the last thing she wanted was to be spurned like that.

She seemed to relax, however, as the boy spoke of the quiet and the stars back home.

"I lived in the city," she murmured wistfully, "I've never seen many stars."

Or really, any stars. The Bay was so often swallowed-up by fog at nights, it was a wonder that the prawn even knew what the moon was. And then, when Charlotte got brave enough to let her knee rest against his, and he didn't pull away... Charlotte's heart stuttered. Theo's awkward smile became brilliant. And he didn't wince, or sound disgusted. Charlotte dropped her gaze towards the bento box, quietly skewering more of the packed lunch on her fork. A close observer would notice the smile that she wore, however small. Maybe... maybe things would be okay.

She would laugh about Theo's remark about Jack, nodding vigorously in agreement, "I'm always dropping into his dm's, telling him not to say anything stupid!" It was good to know that she wasn't alone in those efforts. Theodore went-on to explain that things were different with Charlie... even different from his interactions with Jun and Eli... Her smile remained.

"Thanks," she clicked. As their conversation stretched, and bento boxes steadily emptied, Charlotte would ease marginally closer to Theodore. She'd prop herself up on one arm, so that her body was partially turned towards him. and throughout the hours that slipped relentlessly by, she never once grabbed for her mask. It was as she'd believed before... words were just... easier with Theo.

They were so wrapped-up in each other's company, Charlotte didn't even have an inkling that time might have been slipping by until Theo's head jerked upwards, and he hastily demanded as to the time. Char looked up, too. It didn't look any different to her. But it had already been established that she saw better in low-light and no-light than the average person.

"I'll check," she murmured, reaching for her backpack. She dug into the bag, procuring her cell phone. The screen was powered-on with the click of a button, and the prawn simply... stared. She then flashed the screen towards Theo, looking to him for answers.

It was past seven o' clock. The last bus had left almost an hour prior, and the next wouldn't be there until morning.

"We messed up," Charlotte murmured, surveying her screen once again, "We don't even have service."

So they had no ride, and couldn't call for a ride, either.

"Maybe... if we run down to the main lot... we can bum a ride off of someone?" even Charlotte knew that was a stretch. The park closed at sunset, and the sun was already setting. And here they were, off some beaten trail where not a single sould had ventured past them, in all this time of them sitting and talking together. Was this even a trail?!

"Oh, Theo, we fucked up," Charlotte murmured softly, without waiting for an answer, dropping her phone on her bag, "What'll we do? We're gonna get in so much trouble..." A massive, anxious hand attempted to smooth back the prawn's antennae, but it only made her more jittery. How did they mess up so badly?

OOC notes: