A Shark out of Water (Tier/Santa)

Santa couldn't help but smile warmly as she saw .....she wasn't sure what she saw. But the gentle rest of a hand on her shoulder and those calm, emotionless words devoid of anything resembling mirth still felt.....warm! IN Tier's own special way at least. She couldn't help but chuckle just a little at the words offered. "It was a BLAST, Homie!" She pointed out, clearly happy with the result as a bit of that bad lingo spilled out. Though she perked up when Tier handed the prize over to her, smiling from ear to ear and promptly clinging to it! "THANK YOU!" She squealed, promptly leaning in and attempting to slip an arm around Tier for just a brief moment, to give her a firm hug, even lifting the woman off the ground if permitted for just one instant before she would go back to hugging the plush itself!

And just as Tier anticipated, Santa gladly followed along when Tier began to move on, this time rather intrigued to see what else would catch the woman's interest. "This is great! You reallhy liked that huh? OR at least you seemed interested....right? Totally! I'm a little surprised you don't want to keep your prize? It's very soft." She pointed out, giving the big shark a few squeezes as if to demonstrate the fact. Not that she was complaining at having a second Shark to hug, she was just a bit surprised. She probably SHOULDN'T have been. But all the same.

As they walked, Santa took a moment to eye the woman's scarf a little. Falling.....silent just a little. She actually went quite for quite a bit, seeming to think , or try to, before ultimately speaking up. "I was actually also a little curious. How come you wear a scarf? You don't seem like you'd really be the kinda girl who would care what others thought of her looks. So why do you hide your mask?"

Santa smiled, pleased and warm as she made note of Tier's response about having given up her prize. It was pleasing to hear the woman talk, and to feel .... like she was getting to know the woman. That she considered her own little victory something of value, and more than necessary to maintain beyond just the little toy they had gotten. Santa glanced at the shark and smiled, squeezingv it fondly before her attention shifted back to Tier.

"I see.... in that case I'll be sure to keep it and take good care of it!" she chimed brightly, before for just an instant, that smile softened, smoothed. Those bright eyes took a brief instant to look down at Tier and she reached up, not to touch, but to gesture, an open hand and a palm upward, as if presenting the woman beside her. "To remind me of my dearest Champion."

And just like that it was gone, her smile back to it's brilliant radiance up until that silence had shifted the topic of conversation. She seemed to struggle just a little. Parsing hollow masks as something to fear was..... not entirely alien. Even in a world where it was normal, there was still the anxiety of something unknown that you'd never fought before. An enemy that wished a meal of you. Though.... She looked up at her own antlers.

"But won't people be looking at you for being around me? Do you want me to hide my antlers?" She ventured lightly, her brows knitting together with concern as she thought it over. That Tier valued such .... low profile experiences. And Yet Santa was practically incapable of such things. At least from what she'd gathered from Tier's explanation. Surely if she cared about keeping a low profile, she wouldn't be with santa. So the answer seemed to be more..... not wishing to scare others.

She frowned, and then chuckled. "You're cute, you know that Tier?" She would informt he other woman, before dropping her hands to her sides, and staring blankly ahead, in pantomime of Tier's own general expression. "Such worries are a waste of time." She affirmed blankly, a mimickery of how Tier generally talked. A smile broke the act, and she gave Tier a fond look. "Right? OOH! If you want I could paint your mask! Make it look like it's fake! I could make the teeth cyan... and the rest maybe some sort of .....seagreen? We should TOTALLY try that sometime!" She chuckled, clearly enamored with the notion. Yet again, she seemed to steer toward the idea of Tier showing off her mask. No doubt in part because of Santa's.....bizarre fetish for the thing. But in small part because she hated the idea of hiding. Especially someone like Tier, it felt....beneath such a woman. And that the world forced such precautions....she despised it.

Santa frowned, puffing her cheeks out and CLEARLY pouting a bit at Tier's retort. "So? Who cares about them. It's a pretty scarf but it's bugging me." She murmured almost under her breath, kicking a bit at the sidewalk as she scuffed her shoes in idle disappointment. Bahhhh, maybe she should switch tactics. What was that....reverse psychology? Maybe she should tell Tier that her face was ugly and she should hide it? Wait no, that was a lie. It would hurt her soul far too much to make such a claim. Should she try bribery? She eyed the plushie shark. Hmm, Tier HAD just handed it over. She didn't seem to care about cute stuff. What could she bribe her with?

However what happened next caused Santa to perk up. That shift in skin tone making her suddenly smile wide from ear to ear, absolutely no filter when she was suddenly INCREDIBLY happy! She was blushing! THAT WAS PINK! HELL YEA WE GOT HER BOYS! When Tier managed to murmur out that tsundere line and then finally pull down that scarf, showing off that mask Santa felt her heart melt. GOD what a Bae!

Santa was almost immediately grasping the woman by the shoulders, smiling wide. "YES YES! I am! You finally noticed! I have been flirting for a while! You blushed right?! You SUUUPER blushed! Oh fuck that's so cute! YOU'RE so cute! So pretty, GORGEOUS! Absolutely, let's get going!" She almost shouted, promptly bouncing in place before sliding beside Tier and promptly slipping an arm around the shorter woman's shoulders. If Tier looked up she would see a rarity: A sly smile on Santa's face.

"I'm a very poor swimmer you see. I can't go losing you. So I'll just have to hold on so I don't lose you, okay?" She chimed coyly, VERY pleased with herself.

It was AbsoLUTELY a terrible idea to bring up any subject of subtle nature around Santa. The girl had the nuance of a shovel with dickbutt engraved on it. And of course, she was ALL too happy with the way that Tier seemed to light up with it! She pulled her in and gently rested her chin briefly on the woman, a little squeeze afforded to the woman as she promptly seemed to relax! Truly Tier shouldn't have been so surprised that while Santa had the intelect of a cow pie, she was fairly emotionally cognizant.

".....We're still talking about flirting right?" She murmured, getting a little lost in the metaphor as Tier somewhat extended it past where Santa expected. She hummed for a moment, gently rubbing the woman's shoulder as she seemed to be quite in the clear with the affection she was giving~

She began to look around, eyeing the surrounding areas as it seemed Tier was a little distracted being hugged into Santa's left boob. "Any other places you wanted to head to? Theres a couple stands, a few more games... I think there's a performance around the corner. Ooooooor we could sneak off and make out!" She listed off, tilting her head and smiling to Tier as she waited for their response. Was she forgetting the mask again? She sure was.

Santa was pleased, even as Tier shot down her idea, she didn't seem to mind in the slightest! She was on cloud nine. Having gotten Tier to expose her mask, to blush so adorably and prettily, and no less that they didn't even seem like they were intent on trying to run away!

"OF course! A performance sounds like a great idea!" She chimed, smiling from ear to ear as she promptly began to head for the large clearing that had been set aside, already things seemed to be getting set up. The delicate plucks of a Koto's strings were echoing through the air. An old woman seated at one such instrument played. It seemed to be some sort of low budget play. An enactment of some battle that had happened in the area, of some saviors that had protected a small village. A celebration of endurance.

As they approached, the two would find a spot to stand and watch this little show, and Santa watched with glowing interest, although it wasn't the same brilliant smile as before. She seemed....calmer. Strangely, the usually-manic woman seemed almost pacified in response to the music that played along with the show. And for a moment, Santa almost looked.....forlorn.

Soft, soulful singing accompanied the Koto's notes, and Santa watched with intense focus, as if taking in every word. A song of loss, of dread, but eventual perseverance through hardship. She found herself glancing at Tier amidst the performance and took a moment to appreciate the woman. From those cold, voided eyes to the grisly mask. And yet there was still softness. That sortof sheepish charm that the woman seemed to get whenever Santa caught her off guard. And how permissive she was of Santa's less than favorable habits.

If Tier glanced her way, she would see that Santa was focused almost entirely on the ex espada at this point. That calm, simple smile of hers out in spades. Where one might have filled such a serene quiet with something charming or witty, Santa did no such thing. All she did was bask in Tier's presence, enjoying every moment she was getting to enjoy with the woman.

She thought, as best as her addled mind could think, about her long life. And so very suddenly, she leaned over, whispering in respect to not disrupt the performance that was going on. A soft, gentle tone that was no less bare and unclouded. There was no dance of tone or intent for her to have to question. There was no complexity for the shark to have to sort through. She was honest and plain, through and through, and it rang through her voice even in a hushed tone.

"I know this isn't a date. I get really excited sometimes, and I'm sorry. But I really am glad you're here with me. I've never gotten to enjoy one of these. I was always afraid of attracting hollows....and then people would start screaming and running all over the place. But having someone as strong as you, I feel safe. So thank you for being here with me."