Robin returns with drinks

Becky felt distinctly out of place. She was uncomfortable, exposed, and vulnerable.

A part of her mind fixated this feeling on her skin. Becky had always been pale and, even as a child, on the rare summer afternoons that she had spent roaming the woods with the other village kids, she had come away from the experience red and chafing. Some time past, she had come across the recipe for an ointment that would prevent her skin from burning and she had applied a perhaps somewhat overbearing amount to herself before stepping out into the sunlight. But that wasn't enough to stop her skin from crawling with the thought. There was no hood or mask to hide the pale, gaunt features of her face behind and the beach was clear as far as the eye could see. Even the black veil she had managed to convince herself would make sense as part of her beachly ensemble was like a parody of her usual coat. It was the same deep black, but it was so small as to barely cove her thin, pale shoulders and, even if it had been large enough, it was completely see through.

Becky's fingers clutched to it's fringes, even as a blurry haze of anxiety screamed all the dangers of exposure in this utterly open place.

As Becky's eyes drifted across the beach, they settled on the figure of Skye who, for all their bookish similarities, looked far more comfortable. Her pleasantly plump figure was laid out on a slatted lounging chair and her face was tensed not with personal anxiety like Becky, but with a motherly concern for a friend.

"Are you feeling okay?" she said, just loud enough to be heard over the noise of crashing waves and the general modest cacophony of a decently busy beach. "I know Fuu said to relax, but if you're feeling unwell we could probably--"

"Attention ladies!" Robin's voice cut her off so loud and bright that Becky could feel the grin plastered across the girl's face almost as strong as the sweltering sun.

She turned to see the petite girl striding confidently across the beach with a silver platter held in one hand like a butler. Atop it were a number of tall glasses with thin stems and large cups, brimming with colorful liquids intermixed with cubed ice and various exotic fruits. With a flourish, Robin claimed a seat at the bottom edge of Skye's elongated chair (forcing the other girl to tuck her legs up at the last second, lest Robin sit right on top of them) and placed her newfound treasure in a precariously balanced position on the chair's arm rest, between the three of them.

To her credit, only a single glass was disrupted enough by the sudden movement to tip over and fall, flipping, into the sand below, spilling it's teal elixir into the ground.

"Whoops," Robin said. "Oh well, there's plenty more where that came from."

"Maybe I should ask if you're doing okay, too," Skye murmured.

"I am actually doing great, thank you for asking!" Robin smiled at her again with a radiance that nearly forced Becky to cringe away, lest she be blinded. "And I figured out a way we can all be doing even better--and it didn't even cost a single gold!"

"...is that so?" Skye asked, clearly not nearly as overwhelmed by the girl's sudden presence as Becky was.

"Yeah! The guy said he'd put it on our tab, then just gave me whatever I wanted, no money needed," Robin explained, matter of fact. "So I think it's either free or I have to figure it out later. Either way, it's not a problem current Robin has to worry about."

Robin's clear blue eyes settled on Becky and rather than take the time to explain the fundamental economics behind loans and debt to the girl who should probably already know such things by now, Becky just gave her an uncomfortable grimace and a nod.

Robin's smile softened into something more sympathetic than garish and, strangely, Becky immediately felt her hackles starting to lower. "Look, I get that maybe this place isn't really for everybody, but look around! It's awesome! And there's plenty of fun to be had. And I know that, sometimes, when certain things like socializing are hard, alcohol can make them easier, right?" A small conspiratorial note tweaked the corner of Robin's smile. "So come on! Bottoms up, okay?"