Somehow Nic ended up at the lighthouse and stopped the bike beside it.

--

Raven let Frei go.

Laurel slowly got off and looked at the water before going over and standing beside Nic. "Do you think the view is pretty?" she asked quietly.

--

So Frei went off in search of Fin.

"... Sure," Nic replied blankly. He didn't seem to be looking at anything in particular.

--

Raven blinked as Frei walked off. "What about kitten?" he asked, moving to pick up the jaguar.

Laurel slowly took Nic's arm, "How do you define 'pretty'?" she asked softly.

--

"That's not Kitten," she stated blankly, "That's Mr. Whiskers."

"... Something desirable to look at," Nic replied.

--

"... Then who- Oh..." Raven replied with a bit of a smirk. "Hey, I have some errands to run. You want to invite kitten along for half a day on one of the islands?"

Laurel paused, "What else is desirable to look at?" she asked.

--

Frei paused, "Is Ryuji coming?"

Nic blinked, not sure if she was fishing for a compliment or not. But in case she was, he replied, "You."

--

"... I think he's busy," Raven replied.

Apparently she hadn't been because she looked startled and blushed a little. "N-No I meant... things you like to look at."

--

Frei nodded. Waiting for him to come. The cat jumped off the table and into Frei's arms, she didn't hesitate to put him on her shoulder where he sat comfortably.

Nic thought about it a little, but shrugged.

--

"It'd probably be best if we left Mr. Whiskers here," Raven noted as they went off in search of Fin.

Laurel squeezed his arm a little as she rested her head against it. "I want you to be happy..." she whispered.

--

"Why?" Frei asked. The jaguar hissed at Raven.

"I am," he replied in his usual blank tone.

--

"Don't want him to get lost," Raven noted and then turned to the cat. "Don't worry - we'll bring you something back."

Laurel sighed a little as she reached up and stroked his cheek, "Then why don't you ever smile?" she asked quietly.

--

The cat hissed again. Frei shrugged but didn't take the cat off.

Nic shrugged.

--

Raven let Frei keep the cat until it was time to start the boat.

Laurel continued to stroke his cheek, "How can I get you to smile?" she pushed further.

--

Frei shrugged again and put the cat on the group. He was not happy and yowled loudly in protest as they took off in the boat.

Nic shrugged again. "I don't really smile," he replied.

--

Fin watched the cat disappear into the distance. "... That isn't a house cat, is it?" he asked.

Laurel pulled Nic's head a little closer to her, "But I love you," she whispered, kissing his cheek, "Shouldn't that make you smile?" she teased a little.

--

Frei didn't say anything.

Nic looked a little confused.

--

Raven let Fin stew a little before finally telling him. Fin didn't ask where they had got it.

Laruel chuckled a little as she kissed his nose, "Smiling means you're happy and you should be happy that I love you," she explained.

--

Frei looked out at the water for a while before suddenly jumping out of the boat.

"I am happy," Nic replied, "but I don't smile."

--

"Frei?!" Raven exclaimed as he stopped the boat and ran over to the edge. Fin was also looking out over the edge.

"Why not?" Laurel asked, kissing a little closer to his lips.

--

Frei was bobbing and looking down at something. After a moment she dove under the water. It looked like a pod of dolphins was swimming by underneath.

"I don't know," Nic replied.

--

"Whoa," Fin said, looking at the dolphins. After a few moments he took off his shirt and shoes and jumped in to get a look.

Raven sighed a little, leaning on the edge as he kept an eye on the kids and enjoyed the dolphins.

"You should..." she pulled his lips up into a smile with both his hands, "Smile more," she chuckled before kissing his lips.

--

So Frei and Fin swan with the dolophins for awhile. Frei was very gentle and seemed as curious as they were. But eventually she swan back to the boat and looked up at Raven, expecting to be pulled up.

Nic kissed Laurel back, but the smile didn't naturally stick to his face.

--

And Raven did pull Frei back up onto the boat with some towels at the ready. Fin pulled himself up once Frei was on board.

Laurel let it go on for a little while before pulling away and just hugging him.

--

Frei started stripping off her wet clothing.

Nic let Laurel hug him, giving her a half hug back.

--

Fin quickly turned his back to Frei. Raven started pulling out a dry pair of clothes for Frei he had taken just in case. Once Frei was in her dry clothes, Raven started the boat for the island again.

Laurel stayed like that for a rather long time. "If you weren't here... I don't know where I'd be," she said seriously.

--

Frei didn't jump off a second time.

Nic didn't reply.

--

When they got to the island, Raven took Frei and Fin for some sight seeing and shopping.

Eventually Laurel let go but she didn't pull away, "Even... if you won't leave now. You know we have to leave this group eventually, right?"

--

Again, Frei was attracted to shiny or brightly colored things but she didn't seem to want to show that she was. Making a point to avoid them even though they clearly caught her eye.

Nic still remained silent.

--

Both Raven and Fin noticed, but neither of them seemed to act on it. Until Raven found a bright dress that looked just about the right size for Frei.

So Laurel sighed a little and moved away from him and back to her bike.

--

Frei did her best to act disinterested in the dress, giving Raven a blank stare, but it was pretty obvious she was drawn to it.

Nic followed her, getting back on his own bike.

--

"You want to try it on?" Raven asked Frei with a grin on his face. Fin was pretending to be interested in a pair of sneakers.

Laurel took off at a slow place.

--

Frei snorted and looked away. It appeared she needed more convincing.

Nic followed beside her.

--

"Give it a try," Raven tried to convince her. "I think it will look great on you." Then he leaned in a little closer and whispered, "I'm sure Kitten would like to see you in it too."

Laurel seemed to be aimlessly wandering down the coast. Her glaze seemed far off, she didn't appear to have a specific heading in mind.

--

"Kitten's already seen me naked," Frei stated loudly.

So Nic followed Laurel for awhile, letting her go wherever she wanted.

--

Raven blinked before glancing at Fin who was making his way to a pair of sneakers that was further away. Raven shook his head a little before turning back to Frei and sighed a little. "It's not about how much skin you show," he tried to explain. "It's about being happy and comfortable in whatever you're wearing. And I'm pretty sure trying on this dress will make you happy. And guys like seeing girls happy."

It soon was pretty clear that she wasn't going to stop until she ran out of gas.

--

Frei tilted her head a little, confused by that information. But after a long pause, she grabbed the dress and starting stripping in the middle of the store. Apparently shopping in stores wasn't a usual occurrence for her.

Nic tried to herd her a little back toward the shop before that happened.

--

Raven quickly stopped Frei and took her to one of the changing stalls. "In here," he instructed.

Laurel fell for it. They were about back to the shop when the gas ran out. Laurel blinked, snapping out of her thoughts as she stared down at her bike.

--

Frei blinked but shrugged and walking inside. Soon she walked back out, the dress was on backwards. She didn't wear dresses often.

Nic got off his bike and helped Laurel roll her bike back to the shop.

--

Raven smiled a little before shoeing her inside and helping her put the dress on properly.

Laurel swatted him away, "If I can handle rolling your bike with a flat tire, I can handle this," she stated.

--

Frei was pretty adorable in the dress, she had a slim, cute figure. She looked into the mirror blankly, it wasn't clear what she thought of it.