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[Maya's left blinking in surprise for a few moments (not that.... it's super visible, what with her eyespots being what they are) as she takes that in-- and then she's a bundle of laughs and squeaks, pushing her dolphin nose forward to nuzzle Dandy's.]

What can I say? I've got the best jokes.

[Even as a giant monster. Which really, again! Still isn't the worst!]

[That muzzle very rarely smiles, and yet just like that, there he is beaming like an idiot. He's never felt anything so tender against that monster snoot, a weaker man would've died by now.]

Heh... No kiddin'.

[But back to business. He can't deny he heard her fall over earlier, it's what brought him over in the first place. If she's gonna act fine, he might as well make sure she stays fine.]

So, how about it? Need a hand getting used to walkin' on yours?

Bold of you to assume I'm not already an expert!

[she's not.]

But I guess I could use a few pointers. I haven't even tried swimming yet..

[Looks like Dandy's gotta teach her how to be a monster.... again.]

Don't kid yourself, I already heard you fallin' on your ass a mile away.

[Or like really nearby, who's counting?]

But seeing as we're celebrating your new legs, I'll let you choose. Walkin' or swimmin'?

[Maya rocks side to side, only slightly sheepish. It's fine!! she was just surprised!]

Personally? I'm sick and tired of being stuck in the lake.

Alright, lesson one: Try to keep up~

[And with that he bounds off, like an excitable giant dog, running away from the lake. Just anywhere but there, to show off her newish freedom. He wants to see what this expert is capable of, and then he'll take it from there.

Or just keep running, who knows. He almost looks like he's having fun with this, but that can't be possible, he hates the fog.]

[As far as Maya knows he sure does hate the fog! Which is why she's a little surprised when he takes off.]

Hey! No fair!

[She protests despite knowing how useless it is. She runs after him, stumbling to start but hitting her stride quick. She's determined not to lose, after all, if he's going to be a cheater!]

It's sink or swim, baby!! [Or...sink and run?? Fall and run?? Whatever.] No time for being fair!!

[Thankfully Dandy's body is large and clunky, so catching up to him isn't that hard. He may not even notice she's getting closer, much too focused on his run. His hair manages to stay out of his eyes for once, if only because of the wind, and his tongue lolls out, again, much like a dog.

This is not the face of a man who gets angry so often.]

[Running and leaping is all a little easier to coordinate and learn-- probably because it doesn't suddenly involve having a tail instead of legs-- and it's not long before Maya's at least gaining on him. When she's close enough, she tries to leap forward to swat at his tail.]

See! I'm gonna catch up to you!

[She's laughing along, too. Dandy actually seems to be in a good mood! Who knew this would lift his spirits.]

[If Dandy were a smarter man, this might all concern him. He could probably figure out this is all just the more animalistic part of his dumb monster brain rejoicing that there is Another™. His pod feels more complete, he isn't a lone wolfdolphin anymore!!

Instead he just focuses on playing like an idiot.]

Hey, check you out! You catch on quick!!

[There's so much PRIDE in his voice, like he's genuinely happy for her. He doesn't even yelp when she smacks his tail.]

But I'm still better~

[Being smarter about it doesn't help them any, though. Like it or hate it, they're stuck here- so... better off liking it, right? At least that's what Maya's content to keep in the back of her mind as she plays through the horror just like Dandy.

Why mope around if she can turn it into something better?

She's pretty happy to hear that pride, too. It might be about something... really unusual, but it's pride all the same.]

Just you wait!

[She'll catch up, or she'll at least try! It's harder to match his stride, but she's slightly more streamlined. It's enough that she can leap forward to hold on to his tail in attempts to bring him down like a little goblin, though.]

[Maybe he should have seen it coming with how she was able to reach his tail in the first place, but Dandy finds himself caught off guard and pulled down along said tail. His feet stumble and he trips over every one of his limbs, causing him to flop into an embarrassing roll as he tumbles to a stop.

Majestic creature he is not.]

Alright... I say you pass...

[Ow.]

[Maya's not free from the majesty, though; Dandy's tumble causes her to flip and roll too, landing Maya a bit sideways on her back, a little ways past Dandy's shoulder.]

See? Doubting me gets you nowhere.

[She can't keep up the smugness for long, though, bubbling into laughs and squeaks whistles again. She isn't hurt, and she feels so strong and she's having fun and the fog is definitely, definitely not getting to her head at all.

It's just nice not to hate being here every once in a while.]

[Dandy simply lies there in his defeat, smiling to himself as Maya squeaks and giggles. The sounds cause the fins on his head to twitch in unison, it's an incredibly soothing sound. Soothing enough to make him forget any bumps or bruises he may have required, anyway.

It's funny... Besides her hair, Maya looks absolutely nothing like how she used to, but none of that seems to matter. There's a big whistling whale-bear right there, but all he can see is.....Maya.

It's...reassuring in a way? He always worried the fog made him too different, ugly, animal-like. Maybe all this time she just saw...Dandy, too.]

You can say that again, I think I'm good right here.

[He ain't going anywhere after that stunt. At least...for now.]

[Maya rolls over, letting herself flop onto her stomach. If she's going to be a big ol whale bear, she is going to enjoy it.

Lucky for Dandy, he's right. They'd been friends since before she first saw his fog form, and even then, all she could see was Dandy. No matter what this world did to them, Maya always tries to believe they're still themselves at their very core.

It makes it very easy to just keep playing and laughing with him. And just like Fiddleford said, sometimes their sense of humor and laughter was all they had in this place.]

Yeah, I figured. Looks like I'm better, now~

[Better at what??? Just better, apparently. She sticks her dumb orca tongue out, childish as ever. She is 21. She will never change.]

Edited 2019-12-05 05:56 (UTC)

I'll admit, you're definitely better now, but we still haven't put your swimming skills to the test yet.

[Dandy really doesn't want to get up yet, and he lets everyone know this by how he sort of flops his way closer to her. He affectionately rests his dumb head on top of her, but not before sticking his own tongue out just to give her snoot a little lick. ...He kind of hates how natural that comes to him, but it's worth it.]

You definitely taste better.

[Maya's content to bask in at least being better on land, the corners of her mouth drawing up and her tail wiggling. She has no dog compulsions, she's just-- wiggling, and it happens to show in her tail. She even wiggles a little closer when Dandy flops toward her, falling right into his trap. She squeaks a long, distressed squeak when he licks her, but it devolves into a choppy little giggled-squeak. It doesn't feel as disgusting when you're a monster, but it's absolutely the principle of the thing.]

Grooooooss.

[She protests, trying to lick upward at him in revenge. She's not above this, at all.]

[Dandy breaks out into his own set of squeaky laughs, complete with a long line of clicks and other sounds he didn't know he could make. It's true, being a monster makes it a lot less gross, which is exactly why he isn't afraid to go in there and give her a much longer lick across the face.

He'll take the hits just to make it happen. After all, he's pretty sure this is the closest they can get to kissing...]

Nah, you love it and you know it!!

[Damn, if this is how the rest of the fog plays out, maybe it'll go by faster? They normally drag on so long, but this is the first time he's actually having a blast.]

[Maya still squeaks in protest despite how gross it actually isn't, swatting pitifully at Dandy with her weird-water-bear paws. She grins, knowing just how quick she can turn this around.]

I know I love you, anyway.

[Payback for earlier. Slowly but surely, it gets easier to say.]

[Well, that'll definitely make him stop. Dandy's face-fins shoot straight up, his tongue stuck poking out as she caught him mid-lick. He's not too surprised to hear it these days, they're dating and all, but it's still........nice.

Really nice.

Dandy's goofy face is eventually replaced with a warm smile as he goes back to resting against her peacefully. She did it, she ended the war before it could even start.]

In that case, I'm sold. I'll make this fog go by in a jiffy.

...If anything makes you feel uncomfortable, just lemme know, okay? I'll help you through it.

...Yeah, I know.

[Maya's had a lot of reason to trust him lately, after all. No one really had the power to fix or prevent the terrible things that happened here in Ryslig, but Dandy stayed by her side when she was scared. That was enough.]

It'll be okay, though. It's not so bad when you don't have to do it alone, huh?

[Thaaaaat's Maya, always so optimistic and cheerful. He'll let her have it, she just agreed she'd come to him if she has a problem, after all. There's really no reason to kill the mood.]

No kiddin'. Reeeaally startin' to feel that first hand.

[He scratches his face with a claw, human brain finally catching up with monster brain. There's no denying it, he really lost himself in that nonsense, but it was fun. Go with the flow, he supposes.

No one's saying he can't hate the fog god and still have a good time, r-right?]

[And maybe, Just Maybe, since Maya trusts Dandy... she'll actually do what she's agreed to do. For now there's only the uncertainty of the future, though.

But as far as Maya's concerned, as long as there's people she cares about here, there's reasons not to give up. Not to feel like she has to suffer to reject the fog god. Maybe she does deserve it, sometimes, but there's still good in the people she loves and in the world and in being alive, and she's gonna find it, somehow, gods be damned.]

I guess you don't have to be grumpy all fog now, huh?

[Sure, she knows pointing it out might just get him all grumpy again, but--]

[Thankfully for everyone, there's no grumping. That's just how powerful this is for him, or so he's finding. He knows damn well how he acts during the fog, he's an absolute nightmare, and he's honestly surprised Maya put up with him for as long as she has.]

Heh, guess not...

Nice change of pace, if I do say so myself.

...Unless you're saying you want me to act all pissed off~

Nooooo! This is fine! Don't worry.

[She assures him. She's dealt with much grumpy plenty of times before, but she does appreciate when he's not so grumpy. It's a lot of hard work, cheering him back up...!]

This is way better.

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