Snow gave Raven a few pointers and teased him a little but mainly focused on Laurel.

"So you've finally stopped ignoring me, huh?" Kale asked with a bit of stiffness in his voice.

That seemed fine with Raven. It was going to take him a long while yet before he could meet this group's standards.

Blaze was silent for a short moment before looking away. She told herself something in her mind before turning back. "... I can't be with someone who doesn't do his best to take care of himself," she blurted out quietly. Then she wore a strong face as she waited for Kale to reply.

"... You couldn't have said that a week ago?" Kale asked blandly.

Blaze blinked before becoming a little irritated. Who's time was more precious? "I'm saying it now," she spat a little.

Kale sighed a little, "I'm 29 years old, Blaze. I've taken care of myself for a long time."

"You haven't taken care of your body," Blaze argued, but she didn't say anything more like she didn't want to talk about it.

Kale shrugged.

That seemed to flare up Blaze's temper again. "Eh?" she spat as she mimicked Kale shrugging. "That's it? Even when I didn't know if I'd see the next morning I would do the best I could to ensure that my body wouldn't give out before I ran out of injections. That was all I thought about for years - stretching every minute out of this broken body! I can't be with someone who doesn't respect that and won't try to do the same." Her eyes started to tear up and her voice got quieter. "... But there's nothing you have to say. Just a shrug..."

Kale slowly looked up at Blaze, the expression in his pale green eyes was unrecognizable to her. He just stared, gaze seeming to peer right into her.

After a moment, Blaze looked away. "... Fine, whatever," she told him quietly. Then she started to walk off.

The door shut quietly behind her as she walked off.

Blaze disappeared somewhere for a good majority of the day.

--

A few hours before dinner, Yue was looking for a boat to get to one of the islands they were passing by this evening.

It wasn't hard to find a boat and when Laurel heard Yue was heading out she set out to find her. She really needed to get away from all these guys for a little while.

The rumor seemed to spread quickly. It took no time for Blaze to join them. Then Raven tried to smooth talk his way onto the boat.

"No boyfriends aloud!" Laurel teased Raven, "But... I guess fake boyfriends are okay." She winked at him.

Just after Laurel had said that suddenly Nic showed up without a word and assumed he had a spot on the boat.

Laurel shook her head at Nic, "No boys aloud!" she told him just as Wolfe walked up. "Well... no straight boys..." she corrected as she moved to let Wolfe onboard. Wolfe took a seat next to Raven. It was pretty clear to Raven from Wolfe's expression that he didn't trust him alone in a bar.

Raven looked like he didn't know how he felt about that. He had dressed up a little nice, but not that nice. And it was mostly to keep up a bit with the girls. Yue and Blaze had gone full out. But he seemed to accept it soon enough. It was more time with Wolfe.

Nic raised an eyebrow at Laurel, not taking her seriously. So he started to walk around her.

Laurel put out an arm, stopping him, "Seriously," she stated, "It's a girl's night out. I need some time away as much as they do."

"... I won't follow you guys around," Nic explained. "I need to run some errands."

Laurel glanced back at Blaze and Yue to see if that was okay with them.

It looked like they just wanted to get underway.

Laurel nodded and removed her arm, letting Nic onboard.

As promised, Nic kept to himself.

--

A few minutes after the boat had left Missy showed up at the dock in a sun hat and a patched pastel sundress. She blinked at the lack of a boat before sighing a little. Maybe it was for the best.

Laurel looked down at her normal clothing and then at Blaze and Yue's. "... Can we go shopping?" she asked the other two, "I feel like showing off."

--

"So sweet I might gag," Rosen commented from behind her. He was topless with a pair of jean shorts on.

Nic did a surprisingly good job of not reacting. Even though he had clearly heard. And he clearly wasn't tuned out.

Blaze didn't seem up for shopping. Yue seemed alright with it. Raven was up for whatever.

--

Missy jumped in surprise. Though her sigh said that she should have seen that coming.

Laurel nodded, ignoring Nic as she chatted with Raven about styles she liked. Wolfe glanced at Nic for a moment before staring out at the water. He seemed slightly blue around the edges.

--

"Seriously? What's with this virginal outfit?" he asked, pulling on her dress a little.

Raven rubbed Wolfe's hand a bit when no one was looking.

--

Missy slapped Rosen's hand and started to walk off. "I like it," she explained.

Wolfe swatted Raven's hand away. He just wanted to get to land.

--

Rosen trailed after her, hands in pockets. "What are you going to do now?" he called out.

So Raven left Wolfe alone until they got to land.

--

"I don't know," she replied as she kept walking.

When they got to land, Laurel left Nic behind and asked the girls to enter a flirty clothing store with her. Wolfe stuck by Raven.

--

"Let's play then!" Rosen stated hopefully as he caught up to her.

Raven chose to stick with the bigger pack of girls as Blaze headed off. But he opted out of the flirty clothing store and sat on a bench outside.

--

"I'm tired of playing video games," Missy told him.

So Yue and Laurel went into the store. When Laurel got away from Nic, some of that frustration resurfaced. She really wanted to show off and asked Yue to help her find the right clothes.

Wolfe chose to stand somewhat close to Raven.

--

"We can play other things," Rosen teased, wrapping an arm around her shoulders.

After a minute Raven rolled his head to look up at Wolfe. "... This is awkward," he noted to the man who looked like his bodyguard. "Sit down."

--

A shiver went up Missy's spine and she blushed before trying to shake Rosen's arm off. "Terra, would you quit doing that?" she asked.

Wolfe looked confused but after a moment he took a seat.

--

Rosen laughed a little and flicked Missy's nose, "Games it is!"

Raven seemed happy.

--

Missy sighed, stopping in her tracks. "... This is really frustrating," she said as seriously as she could, trying to make Rosen listen. "... It drives me crazy that... well... you keep flirting with me, but I know it will never be anything more than that. I'm clearly not your type, and you clearly just want to play video games and have me clean for you. So... could you just stop it?"

Wolfe looked more confused.

--

Rosen tilted his head, "Aren't we friends?"

Raven didn't explain as he enjoyed the view of the beach awhile.

--

"So could you act like it?" Missy asked.

Laurel stepped out in a cute bikini and sheer top with short shorts. "Let's hit the bars!" she grinned. Wolfe sighed.

--

"... Aren't I?" Rosen asked, looking genuinely confused.

Raven blinked at Laurel. He thought she and Nic were getting along lately. Or maybe Laurel was just in a mood. Regardless, someone would have to keep an eye on her.

--

Missy stared at Rosen blankly for a moment. Like she had never considered that he was actually treating her like a normal friend. After a moment she let out a deep sigh. It was just her.