Iván woke up, staring at Corvella with a rather confused look in his face. This day has been indeed very, very strange. But most importantly... did he just called her gorgeous? The light-haired knight could feel her face getting hot again, prompting her to gaze the other way towards the window, breathing slowly until she could stabilize herself. "Uh, m-morning? It's already evening. We have to go to the castle, no, what's left of it now." Then she heard a noise coming from Iván's stomach. Didn't they just had a meal before they slept? It seemed like six hours has passed since they have arrived in the tavern. Gosh, it's unbelievable how they could sleep that long in a single bed. "Fine, we'll grab some food before going to the castle, okay?" She left the side of the bed, trying to find excuse to seclude herself from the pressure. "I-I'm going to take a bath first. It's not going to take that long, just a quick bath. Yeah, just a quick bath." With that sentence, Corvella quickly left @Iván Carl alone and ran into the bathroom. The bathroom in this particular room was quite spacey, in fact the bathtub itself is enormous in size, allowing her to drown herself in water and thought. As she leaved the hot water running, Corvella closed her eyes to reflect on today's weird occasions. For the past few hours she felt like something is pulling her towards Iván. But what if it's an affection? It's possible, but everything felt really unnatural, like she's being controlled out of her conscience, almost like an illusion. But what if it's love? Maybe it's love. She was being the slave of love. She slapped herself on the cheeks with both hands. What in the seven heavens am I thinking right now? I need to focus on the mission first. But this situation, and her body that kept getting warmer and warmer is an issue. Right, the hot water was running non-stop. Upon realizing that she's literally being boiled in the bathtub, Corvella jumped out and grabbed a towel to cool off her body. After her hair has dried enough, she tied it on the back and wore back her armor before getting out from the bathroom. Can't keep her partner waiting. "So.. We grabbing food below at the tavern or you want to walk around to see if there's more peculiar cuisine?"
MY CORVELLA ROMANCE Hidden: theme "Evening?" Iván narrowed his eyes at @Corvella. How long was he out? He felt like he'd been asleep for days, weeks even. The formerly masked illusionist caught himself wondering about something he could no longer remember. Was it related to a dream? Wait, was he dreaming? What was he dreaming about? His thoughts were interrupted when Titan mentioned something about taking a bath. He locked eyes with her for what seemed to him like a millenium before she disappeared into the bathroom. "Well, that was weird." It was almost an invitation. Was it? Iván grew red as the idea crossed his mind. He shook his head, clearing his thoughts, resisting the images that started to invade his mind. No, it wasn't. It was most definitely not an invitation. Corvella and him, they were just partners, working together for the greater good. They were on a mission, not on a honeymoon, though it was starting to feel like the latter. "Wait, what? No... It's nothing like that. We were just...sleeping. Together. In one bed." Like a flash of lightning, figuratively of course, Iván stood upright, rising off the bed like it had suddenly turned into lava. It had not. It remained the same bed both of them had slept in last night. He still had his clothes on, so nothing definitely happened. He heaved a sigh of relief. He wouldn't have done anything without her consent and Iván knew the same goes for his partner. They were two upstanding adults. Full of control. Professional adults. Nothing else. Nothing more. Iván had his back turned towards the bathroom when Corvella reappeared into the room. He spent most of her bathtime just standing there, thinking things, arguing with himself, debating his relationship with Corvella, specifically the lack thereof. He was caught offguard when he heard her voice. It was as if she had spooked him, surprised him, like she had planned a prank of sorts. "Oh, yeah, uhm, we already ate, right? Maybe just a quick bite. Or we could grab something. On our way to the castle..." Each word that came out of his mouth seemingly served to only make his cheeks grow redder. He couldn't keep his eyes off of Corvella for some reason. "I'm just, uhh, I'm gonna take a quick bath and then we can just head on out," Iván bowed at her for some reason before grabbing a towel and walking straight into the bathroom, awkwardly catching a whiff of her that seemed to weaken his knees for a second or two. He quickly undressed himself, submerging most of his body in the water, leaving nothing on the surface. "What the hell's happening?"
They shared this awkward gaze before her partner decided to go into the bathroom. Don't tell me that he realized my strange behavior? A panicked Corvella went around the room like a knight patrolling in the hallway, trying to find something nonexistent. It's possible that it was only her imagination and Iván did not suspect anything weird at all, so for now it's better to not bring anything up. Don't fix what isn't broken, that's what they say. While waiting for Iván to come out from the bathroom, Corvella went to make the bed to busy herself with any kind of work. Looking at the crumpled bed sheet, she still did not believe that they spent the last night sleeping at the same bed, repeat, the same bed. They are not even a husband and wife, what if someone knows about this? Majolica certainly knows, as she tracks Witch Ops members with the sticker. The Titan hoped that she did not misunderstand when she noticed two of her subordinates spent a night in the same inn room. Nope, she'll definitely misunderstand. She might be in her cottage right now giggling 'Hehehe' while watching the two from a magical crystal ball. In the meantime, she grabbed Barbarossa's dossier files and laid on the edge of the bed, taking another detailed look at it. Only known as Barbarossa, the eccentric serial killer targets people at random. His method of killing varies, but is usually not straightforward and requires further investigation on the victims' bodies. He likes leaving clues and riddles for the thrill of the chase (Why does he remind me of a particular Batman villain?). Corvella glanced at the last line of the dossier, underlined in red; there has been only one survivor, and he had gone crazy and killed himself not long after. His last words being something along the line of getting the happiest moment in his life? Weird. Iván has been in the bathroom for quite a time, hasn't he? Did he fall asleep in the bathtub or something? It's possible, since she almost fell asleep earlier before getting startled by the hot water. Should she check on him? The metal boots made contact with the wooden floor as she stood up from the bed and walked towards the door. Assuming that knocking on the bathroom door is rude, she leaned towards the door with her ear to hear in case Iván fell asleep in there.
That was exactly when Iván, clad in only a towel draped around the lower half of his body, drying his hair furiously with another towel, opened the door of the bathroom. Most of that towel on his head obscured his vision, which led to him walking into @Corvella without even seeing her, caught surprised when his skin made contact with hers. For a few seconds anyway. The two of them immediately ended up falling to the floor thanks to the collision, with a half-naked Iván on top of Corvella who was flat on her back. In retrospect, perhaps it was a bad idea for Iván to walk around the place with just a towel around the lower half of his body. After all, he didn’t have the room to himself. He was sharing the room with someone else, that someone else someone of the opposite sex who could turn him into the opposite of being alive. Just like that. But Iván wasn’t really the kind of guy who cared about anything related to the opposite sex, including anything related to the words “opposite” and “sex.” To Iván, the word “opposite” was just a word denoting something, or someone, that didn’t share certain things with him. He didn’t care much for any and all political connotations that came with the word. At the same time, the word “sex” was simply fact for him. Male and female. Two opposite sides of the reproduction spectrum. Nothing else. Nothing more. So why the hell was his face red, hot? Why the hell was he blushing? Why the hell didn’t immediately get off Corvella, instead staying on top of her with his eyes glued on hers? “Gah! I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry!” Iván scrambled to get off of Titan, making sure the towels stayed put, where they were. He scurried to one corner of the room before getting up, on his two feet, and quickly dressing himself. “I didn’t know you’d be right behind the door! I didn’t know…” …I could feel this way. About you. Iván suddenly stopped. Dead in his tracks. He swallowed hair, slowly getting his shirt on. He turned back to Corvella, walked slowly towards her, and extended his hand, a little nervous but at the same time seemingly drawn towards her. “I should’ve been more, uhm, helpful… Here, let me help you up.” If Corvella looked closer, she’d notice his face was redder than usual. Not that she’d ever seen his face that many times before to get acquainted with it. Still, it was uncannily red.
Maybe it was bad luck, or a good luck. As soon as she leaned, the door opened inwards to the bathroom. She quickly lost balance and stumbled forwards, making contact with unsuspecting male who in turn walks towards her with his eyes covered by towel. It might be Iván's force that is stronger than hers, and by the laws of physics, cue anime-esque collision and fall. "Ah!" She gasped. This position is familiar to those who watches romantic-comedy animes, especially in fanservice moments. And the trope surrounding it is invoked as they both stared each other in silence like the world's stopped around them, both of their hands locked in each others'. They stayed still for quite a time before the man wrapped only in towel realized how improper the position was, and quickly stood to go wear his clothes. As for Corvella? She was still lying on her back, her mouth gaping and her face is frozen in time, cheeks bright red like it's going to explode anytime soon. If this was a normal occasion, the man known as @Iván Carl would be no more in just few seconds. She would have shredded him to pieces and eat his body parts for what he did, but this, this does put a red shade on her face. Still unsure what to do, she stayed on her back with blank eyes before Iván came back to help her off the wooden floor. "No, I-It's my fault for being right behind the door. I-I was checking if y-you fell asleep in the bathtub." She stuttered hard, unable to stare at him right in the eyes as she averted her gaze, combined by the fact that she is not quite used to seeing his face. Nevertheless, she took his hand to get off the cold floor. She went into the corner to let Iván finish putting on his equipments. "A-are you done? Let's get going, then." The visor on her helmet was then slid to cover her reddened face.
"Oh, yeah, uhm, I'm done..." To say that Iván was acting unusually sheepish would be the understatement of the year. The usually masked illusionist was never sheepish. He was mysterious, intentionally quiet, and often contemplative, but never sheepish. It's never dawned on him, such a feeling, this feeling whenever he turned to look at @Corvella, their eyes meeting together, her gorgeous smile and her beautiful face making him feel strange things, feelings he has never had before. At least not as he could remember. "What's happening to me?" Their entire journey down into the tavern below, a span of minutes, ended up being awkwardly quiet. Neither Iván nor Corvella felt like talking. All they could do was steal glimpses of each other and grow red every time one of them caught the other. Although, to be fair, it wasn't like they needed to talk on their way to get some food, right? It wasn't that long of a walk either. It was a just a few minutes after all. Sooner than anyone had liked, or perhaps they actually did like the fact that they had gotten to their destination that fast, they found a table in which they could order food and wait until that order would arrive. Iván heaved a sigh of relief as he sat in that table, having ordered the same meal he had earlier, thinking that the worst was yet to come. His eyes found themselves stuck on Corvella, making him realize that the worst was happening. The two of them were trapped. Not inside a burning castle but at a table, with just the two of them, awkwardly staring at each other, awkwardly unsure of how to move forward from the things that happened upstairs, the feelings they now seem to be drowning in, the mission that they both know they have to accomplish at all costs. "So, uhm, about earlier..." Iván tried to clear his throat, all manly like, but what came out of his mouth was boyish and pathetic. It wasn't a strong cough. It was more like what you would hear from a kitten coughing up a hairball. Shaking his head, he tried his best to move on from that embarrassing show of anxiety, though not in the best way he had imagined. "I'm sorry about falling on top of you like that. Half-naked. I mean, uhm, I'm not sorry about looking into your eyes. You have beautiful eyes. I'm sorry about not asking permission first...to fall on top of you." He stopped talking, his face redder than a tomato. "Crap. What the hell? That's not what I wanted to say!" Out of options, he simply flashed her a grin, an awkward one, something that was more concerning than comfortable, before looking away then down on the table. He decided to stay like that, head bowed, in order to prevent more awkward things from coming out of his mouth. Was he still asleep? He felt like he was still asleep. Maybe it was just wishful thinking.
Corvella sat in the table with the visor on all the time, mainly to cover her face if she suddenly burst to red again, but also so she doesn't get caught awkwardly looking at Iván (which is still very obvious). They spent the time waiting for food in silence, before the man in front of her finally addressed the elephant in the room. Hearing the words that came from his mouth, it seems that the problem has worsen, as Corvella's face once again burst red. How can he say that and then grin like it's normal? Is he a pervert? "O-oh.. That w-was my fault, too.. You d-don't have to apologize. I'm fine with, I mean, I don't mind, no, I'm not uncomfortable with that." After stuttering hard, she finally found what's wrong with her sentence. "Ah! I-I mean... Look, we'll t-talk about it later, okay? Let's focus on the i-investigation first." The waiter delivered their order on the best time possible, cutting off the dialogue for the rest of the meal. Nope, apparently not just for the rest of the meal. After they finished eating and made their way to the burned castle, the walk was filled with silence, with both of them only uttering few words every five minute or so. "By the way." Corvella questioned "I haven't heard a Barbarossa killing today, which is weird, since he kills people regularly. Did our ambush yesterday cause something for him to break out from that habit?" They reached the ruins of Barbarossa's former castle, with the heat from last night's fire already dissipated. "Let's look around here and see if he left a clue or a track somewhere...." Splitting off is a great idea, especially when you can't afford to meet someone in the eye. Still, the way this castle was destroyed was very weird. There was no explosion besides the one Iván made, but the entire building crumbled to the ground. After few minutes of investigation, Corvella felt that she won't find anything important in this place, prompting her to get back to Bound Prince. "You find something?"
Iván’s eyes widened at @Corvella’s response. She’s fine with it…? He swallowed air, feeling himself get red again. Narrowing his eyes, he turned away from her, specifically, he turned his face away from her line of sight, half-afraid to let her see his facial reaction, half-afraid to see her facial reaction. She’s fine with me falling on top of her. Half-naked. Thankfully, Corvella was quick to direct their conversation elsewhere, which got some persistent nodding from her “date” who was just glad at the prospect of talking about something else. That was, after the meal, of course. They had to eat first, and they had to focus on eating, on getting themselves fed and rejuvenated, refreshed. Well, they tried. Iván, in particular, wasn’t able to enjoy most of their dinner, though he found everything delicious, as usual. It was just that he found himself spending more of that time stealing glimpses of Corvella instead of actually eating, of savoring their meal. For some reason. He had no idea why. He simply felt the urge to keep doing that until an image of a blushing Titan made him blush, prompting the Bound Prince to finish his dinner rather quickly and awkwardly. A few minutes later, after dinner, of walking silently and barely acknowledging each other’s presence, the pair of Titan and the Bound Prince were back at Barbarossa’s castle, what remained of it anyway. Iván thought it was a waste, a little disheartened, disappointed. The castle could’ve been turned into a shelter. For orphans. For refugees. For the homeless. Instead, their flamboyant target’s despicable lust for blood turned it into nothing more than just another lost cause. “He’s probably just licking his wounds or something,” Iván hypothesized, throwing it out there dryly, as a response to his partner’s concern. Barbarossa was as narcissistic as they came. Having been forced to run, he was probably still fuming at the two of them, rethinking his strategy, his entire operation. His instincts would tell him to make a break for it, to leave this place, be far from it as possible, but his ego won’t let him. “That guy’s going to come for us soon. Before he disappears.” While Corvella left Iván so they could each perform separate investigations on the grounds, saving time in the process, the Bound Prince turned his attention to what had actually been Barbarossa’s room. They had never been there, but now that it was all reduced to ash, they had access to every nook and cranny of what remained. Surprisingly, there was only one explosion that had happened prior, at least to their knowledge, and it was the one that they had created in their successful attempt to flee the premises, which was at the opposite end of the room. It wasn’t that big of an explosion, too, so what did happen after they left this place? “I found this,” Iván took his time, rising up from the ground, before turning to Corvella who had come back. In his hand was a singed piece of floral paper, a miraculous survivor. It had an embossed symbol of a swan, white, on the pinkish paper, probably an invitation of sorts, or maybe a menu, most probably a menu, with the words “Le Swanky” underneath that white swan. “I think it’s a restaurant.” As his eyes once again met Corvella’s, he had to fight the urge to look away, knowing he had to stand his ground for this partnership to work. They were there to find a man, not for Corvella to find him as her man. Or whatever. She was gorgeous. He’d be lucky enough to be her man. Wait, what was he thinking? He was getting sidetracked again.
"Le Swanky... Where do you find this thing?" Corvella read the text on the unscathed paper. The flamboyant choice of name and the decoration on the menu highly suggest that it was Barbarossa's, and deliberately left for them after the fire. "Does not ring any bell for me. Familiar to you, maybe? I don't know much about restaurants. Judging from the looks of it, it's one hundred percent a clue from Barbarossa. He still want to play when he almost got captured last time? What a crazy guy." She reached to the paper with her right arm to inspect it closer, before suddenly twitching and pulled her arm back like a shock was delivered to it. Corvella quickly switched to the left arm to take Barbarossa's clue. "Let me inspect it closer, he might include something else aside from the name." The knight averted her gaze to hide the sudden pain from her right arm. She definitely felt immense pain for one second. Did she dislocated her shoulder on the night of the escape? No, it's a different sensation. She certainly have fractured, if not broken, her upper right arm when the upper floor fell on them. How did she just felt that by now? What's important now is that her partner, Bound Prince should not notice it. They have been on the trail of Barbarossa for quite a time, telling him that she's crippled can lead him to tell her to take rest and might risk Barbarossa getting away forever. She pretend to flip around the paper, looking for hidden clues. "Hmm, no hidden clues so far. Not any visible to me, at least." They've got their clue, but Corvella had no way to decipher it. She'll have to rely on Iván to lead her where to go next.
Iván shrugged, “I’ve heard about it. Once or twice. From couples who accidentally walk into the Curry House.” He surrendered the clue to @Corvella without hesitation. They were partners after all and he did trust her with his life. More than he actually understood. Smiling, he recounted an episode at the Curry House involving Le Swanky’s name, thinking it was rather funny at that point in time but would later grow to regret sharing it, somewhat, “One time, two kids came in, a boy and a girl, both strangers, but when they were on their way out, they were already planning a marriage. Le Swanky, I overheard the girl say, would be a good place to have a proposal.” He had been smiling wide, grinning, at the thought of Le Swanky being a good place for proposals. That was, until he saw himself in his head, proposing to Corvella. Iván was caught offguard, and he blushed like a ripe tomato, feeling heat rush up to his cheeks. He hoped Titan wouldn’t have noticed it, but in turn noticed, felt, that something was wrong, not only with him but also with her. “You okay, sweetheart?” That was not what he meant to call her. “I mean, uhm, we should probably, uhh, check that place out… I mean, uhm, since we, uhh, don’t have any other clues, right? What do you, err, think… C-Corvella?” They should probably get some real swanky clothes, though. A place like Le Swanky sounds like a place you don't get to enter without wearing some real swanky clothes. Does Corvella have swanky clothes? Iván rarely saw her out of her armor, though he thought she'd look pretty amazing in a dress. Wait, why was he thinking that? Oh, no. What was happening to him, to them? Should he get her a corsage, too? Wait, no, what was happening?!
"A good place to have a proposal..." Yep, this is Barbarossa's trap right here, but they have no other choice other than follow his clue. And Iván cannot find out that she's not in any way fit for a battle, with the condition her right arm is in. "Let's check it out, as soon as possible. This might be the last chance to catch him, we cannot wait any longer." Trying to ignore the name Iván just called her with, the Titan looked the other way while holding her broken right arm. Did he noticed something wrong? There's too many distractions already. Her partner is the first, then it's the arm. "I.. I'm fine. It's just a cramp, we slept in a bad position." Soon she realized that the sentence implied something more. "I mean me! I had bad sleep posture!" It has slowly came to realization that she's not the only one being this awkward. Does Iván felt the same way, too? "Anyway, we can't go there with this clothing right? Like, right now you're wearing a turtleneck and a hoodie while I'm looking like Iron Man in black finish." She sighed, continuing "But we're on a budget, your budget specifically." Unless they used something they have in common, but as Corvella's psyche has not fully recovered yet, illusion magic is out of the picture. "Hmm... Any place where we can rent swanky attires for both of us? Should be as cheap as possible." She wasn't a fan of getting out of her armor in the line of duty, especially when they are walking into an obvious trap willingly. Iron Man getting inside a swanky restaurant could cause quite a ruckus, and Barbarossa would be quickly alerted. They wouldn't want that.
The thought of Iván and @Corvella sleeping together in one bed made the illusionist blush. For reasons he could not comprehend. He shouldn't have blushed. He wasn't interested in those things, even implications of such things, but there he was, blushing as he stared at Corvella's beautiful face, swallowing air as his eyes darted down on her entire being. What are you doing? Control yourself! He looked away, forcing his eyes closed before shaking his head, trying his hardest to shoo those thoughts away. He wasn't that kind of guy, that kind of person. He should be drooling more at thoughts of curry, for purple god's sake! "Uhh, yeah, uhm, I think I might know a guy..." Iván did. He already spoke of him to Titan. It was the guy who came in the Curry House single, met a girl on the same day, and came out planning to marry that girl in a matter of hours. Love at first sight? More like love at first dumb idea, though to be fair, the last time he checked, those two were still married. Last time he checked, the guy had a tailoring shop, not too far from Le Swanky. He started it after their marriage, if memory served Iván correctly. "We can get to him faster if you ride me, I mean with me. On my mount." Blushing, Iván turned away from Corvella. He was beyond frustrated at himself, at his strange actions, feelings. Where were they all coming from? Why were they all directed at Titan? Corvella was gorgeous, beautiful, attractive, but Iván was simply not that kind of guy who would feel these sorts of things to a woman. Or a man. Or anything else in between. He wouldn't think of these things, grow red at being in close proximity with someone else, his skin touching Corvella's... "MAGICAL FAMILIAR I SUMMON YOU!!!" Iván screamed to quiet his thoughts, and sooner than later, Snowy the Snow-Quilled Guardian appeared from in front of him. The familiar had taken on the form of the monstrous porcupine thing that lived in that hot springs down in the Spire. That was one weird and deadly expedition, but Iván got himself some really good souvenirs from that adventure, despite the fact that their team had technically failed. One of those souvenirs? The stinky red mask that had become his trademark apparel. Heaving a sigh, Iván pull himself up and over Snowy, like one would a horse, except the monstrous wasn't a horse. He reined her in to face Corvella. "You're okay with, uhm, sharing a ride? It'll be faster. We'll be at the guy's shop in no time," Iván imagined Corvella sitting in front of him, the smell of her hair in his face, the warmth of her back against his chest. Oh, crap. Am I dying? Please, purple god, take me. What is this... Why am I like this? What is happening to me?!
Corvella forgot how quick Iván has improved in Summoning Magic as he called the magical familiar, based on something something he encountered on his adventure, as a homage? Most importantly, why porcupine? Not a porcupine, a monstrous, big porcupine even. Does everyone ride on a porcupine and is considered a normal thing now? She had more questions but decided that they don't worth the time. "Uh, wow." She commented. Not at the size of Snowy, or how menacing the familiar is. It's more like how Iván chose the shape of a porcupine to be his mount. Looks like this is not going to be a very comfortable ride. "Of course. It's not like sharing ride is a lovers-only thing, r-right?" Great, she stuttered again. She noticed that Iván has been misspeaking a lot, too. They are not drunk, are they? Corvella made sure that they did not drink any alcohol in the tavern, not while they're still on duty. She offered her right hand for Iván to help her get on Snowy, before quickly switching to left hand quite unnaturally to hide the broken arm. If it got grabbed it would hurt her and thus alert Iván. "So, how does this thing work? I have never ridden a gigantic porcupine. Do I sit in the front?" With Bound Prince's help, the light-haired knight pulled herself up the mount and finally got in the front position. Wait a minute, isn't the front position for the person in control of the mount? But if she's in the back, they would look like a lover. "Okay, so now how do we get this thing to mov—" She turned her face to the man behind her, before quickly turning it back to the front after their face almost made contact. Apparently, riding a porcupine does not leave much room for many passengers. Corvella took a deep breath to calm herself for a while, before continuing "—Oh, uh, so, do I guide this thing or you can just speak to her?" Unsure what to do, she caressed the thing's back and neck, with Buckbeak scene in Harry Potter as a reference in her head. She only hoped that the thing wouldn't get angry and dash uncontrollably.
The mere mention of the word "lovers" sent Iván's cheeks into a frenzy, not only turning redder, if that was even possible at this point, but also feeling hotter, likewise. He found himself musing about the idea of being @Corvella's lover. They would be quite the couple, to be fair, him the caster, her the berserker, both of them united by their mutual love and skill of illusion magic. Heck, maybe even the Grand Witch Majolica could be the priest at their wedding. Priestess? She was their Witch Ops Battalion Commander, after all. Witch Frogs as maids of honor and groomsmen? His thoughts were, thankfully, interrupted by Titan's right hand. A little embarrassed, Iván took it without really looking her in the eye, helping her get on the mount as swifty and as carefully as he could. If he wasn't too busy wondering what was happening to him, to them, he might've noticed something amiss with his partner's left arm. Alas, he was. Alas, he failed to notice such an important clue. Alas, he jumped right up and sat behind Corvella, mounting his mount. She felt quite warm. She smelled really nice. Iván just stayed frozen for a minute or two before he mustered enough sense to answer her question. "It's, uhh, it's basically like riding a horse. I holla at her and she goes where I want her to go... Her name's Snowy, by the way. Uhm, hold on." Iván grabbed a quill from Snowy the Snow-Quilled Guardian's head with each hand, coralling Corvella between them, and hollering, commanded his magical familiar to move. Without missing a beat, Snowy dashed forward, forcing Corvella to jolt backwards from the momentum, her back making contact with the rest of Iván's front, the illusionist having taken the form of a racehorse jockey, his head now right next to her. If Corvella turned to face him, at least to look at his face, their lips would be inches from each other, and so would their eyes. Iván felt his heart race, faster than Snowy. Did time stop? Was he hoping it would stop? It was definitely one of those moments he wished he could relive forever. "So... Are you two getting married?" Lautner Swift, the tailor guy Iván knew, inquired while fixing up the illusionist's very swanky suit, which Iván had put on, looking quite dashing in it. He seemed as blonde and annoying as Iván remembered him. "What?!" Iván sounded like he had gotten ambushed by a bunch of baby ninjas, truly a bewildering and unexpected sight. Blushing, he looked away from the tailor whose eyebrow had risen, "No, we're just going to have dinner at Le Swanky." Lautner guffawed, like a normal person would, as he finished up with Iván's suit, brushing off any unnecessary material that remained on its shoulders, "Oh, so mustering up the courage to finally propose eh?" "Oh, no, you've got it all wrong!" Iván's protests and attempts at clarifications seemed to fall on deaf ears. "Le Swanky is the place to do it, my friend," Lautner continued, still an eyebrow raised, failing to realize they were not friends, not even mere associates. "Your girl deserves better, and there's no better place to propose than Le Swanky." "I don't... It's not..." Iván continued to try and explain the situation but to no avail. Thankfully, Corvella was trying out her own gown, dress, in the other room, hopefully out of hearing range. This conversation, one-sided thanks to Lautner, would have been quite embarrassing for her to hear. His thoughts moved from the conversation to Corvella and her dress. He had never seen her outside of her armor. This was going to be a first. "Hopefully, just the first of many..."
The sudden change of velocity jerked Corvella backwards, cushioned by Iván's body. Snowy runs really, really fast. She could feel the air, blowing through her face and hair. This is an entirely different sensation than riding a motorcycle or rollercoaster, whatever those things are. The only thing holding her from screaming in excitement were Iván, whose head could be felt close next to hers. She turned her head to the right, only to find his face only an inch away. There's no reaction, no voice, only stares. Her eyes looked at his lips, then back at his eyes. The knight could hear her own heartbeat, slowing with the world as they their eyes locked. They were so close, an inch would do. She closed her emerald eyes. If only she had the courage to do it. To let out the feelings in her chest. With only an inch worth of move. Time is a mystery. Suddenly they arrived at the tailor, after an eternity or one second. The owner, named Lautner Swift, quickly recognized Iván and they talked for a while about the rent order. He guided Corvella to the room in the back, where dresses of her size were proudly displayed on the mannequin. "I recommend these. They complements your look." The tailor presented to her the rightmost dresses, the ones that stand out than the others. She found herself in the fitting room, trying for the dress of her choice; a black, simple dress that fits into her body. Corvella was never into dresses, as she thought that they are too revealing and hard to move freely in. Getting her armor undone piece by piece as they drop into the floor, she looked at herself in the mirror. Last night's battle was a near-death experience, but it doesn't leave long-lasting scars on her body, except the broken arm. Then she began to fit the dress, occasionally shifting it in different position to get comfortable with the built-in undergarments. Spoiler alert : she still hate dresses, especially when paired with high heels. Corvella did not felt comfortable with showing too many skin, despite the one she's wearing right now is the most modest compared to the others. Fortunately, the tailor provided accessories to fill in the blank. She decided to wear the black choker on her neck and black ornamental armbands in each upper arms. With all these exotic-looking garments, Titan wondered if they had the budget to rent it, even with discounts. Finished with the dress, she went to do her hair. Raising both of her arms behind her head to tie her hair on the back, the pain reminded yet again that her right arm is severely wounded. Unable to tie the hair with only one arm capable of raising up, she gave up and let her hair as always, hopefully that it doesn't look strange. She grabbed the handle of the fitting room door to ask how she looked. That's when the blonde heard the tailor's faint voice, but audible enough to make her blush yet again, stopping her from getting outside. Corvella waits for the one-sided conversation to end before going outside from the fitting room to present the black, short dress, pretending to not hearing anything. "Iván," She called, "How do I look?"
