A Lovely Idea | Magnus | Chapter Four | Closed for Natsume
@shsldoormat It had been some days since the last trial. Things were quiet once again, with no motives or blockages to bring death into the village another time. The chemist, tucked away in his cottage bathroom, scrubbed away at the inside of his mask. The sinks water ran down the mask as he cleaned every last bit of it that needed cleaning. If Magnus was anything at all, he thought, he would certainly be a mask hygiene enthusiast. He was cleaning his mask constantly, just to make sure he looked as proper as one could be when wearing something like that so often. Yet, this time, there was something different propelling him to look the best that one hiding his face could even look. The Fool had opened up an amusement park, and, despite not trusting them at all, the chemist thought it’d be a lovely idea to spend the day there with his lovely girlfriend. He had asked her the day before if she would like going there with him, and as far as he remembered, she seemed just as positive with the idea as he did. Sure, knowing their host the amusement park could certainly be unsafe or life threatening, but going there certainly beat going on constant strolls and then calling them dates. So, he scrubbed and scrubbed, before drying it the best he could with a towel. Once the mask dried, a smile landed on the chemist’s face. The copper of the mask seemed just as new as when he had first put it on. Surely this was enough to impress the support, right? He thought so. So, quickly, he tugs the mask on before heading out towards Natsume’s cottage. Magnus gets there quickly, his heart beating wildly. He could not remember the last time he was this excited, especially in the hole that everyone called Cliffside. He knocks on the girl’s door briskly, before clasping his hands together as he waited for her to answer. Magnus takes a deep breath, before exhaling out of his nose. He hoped he didn’t seem too excited to the point of becoming annoying or anything of the sort, but he could not help his excitement to spend the day with someone he cherished so dearly.
Natsume found there was no longer any comfort in the down period right after a trial. Though, that implied that they had been doing this for much longer than they had. Three trials. Eight of them dead. The weight of it all made the days drag, but also feel like it had been years since they'd been brought here. All too easily her mind could slip into obsessive thoughts on how the most recent deaths were in fact her fault. It was illogical, of course. Nothing she could have done would have stopped Monoko and Yuri from going off together--how would anyone have known? And for as much as she could have spoken to Calandra about various plans to bring down the Fool, her roommate always seemed to be set in her ways. Everything Natsume could have said would have been taken into consideration, but acted upon? It wasn't very likely.
Today, she couldn't afford to let these thoughts get the better of her.
Today was going to be a good day. She would make sure of it.
A groan escaped her lips upon opening the wardrobe. Natsume may not have been a seasoned veteran of the dating scene, but she knew well enough that at the very least you should try to look nice. She'd not nearly brought enough clothes for this situation. (But why would you prepare for something you never believed would happen.) She couldn't very well wear her work out clothes, and the one nicer outfit she brought looked more suitable for going to a networking opportunity than a fun day at an amusement park. So... the same dress again.
Cool. Great.
No! This wouldn't be a problem at all! Determined, Natsume wheeled herself into the bathroom: if her clothes wouldn't work, then she'd just have to do something with her hair, right? It seemed easy enough!
After around half an hour of holding up various sections of hair and humming at the mirror not knowing what to do (and about ten minutes total of more groaning) she managed to plait her hair into a cute braid. It wasn't anything extravagant, but she was a simple woman. She thought it was cute, at least. It was, wasn't it? Would Magnus think it was cute?
Things had been so hard lately--she wanted this to be as close to a perfect day for the Alchemist as she could make it. So when he knocked on her door, she was still fussing in the bathroom, making sure that this was actually the style she was going with. And, well, now that he was here she couldn't keep him waiting simply because she was indecisive! She sped to the door, stopping in front of it both in order to catch her breath a bit and to not make it seem like she was too eager.Deep breaths, Natsume.
She opened the door, and there he was, looking as handsome as ever. "Hi," Natsume greeted him shyly. Maybe it was a little ridiculous: they were both adults, after all, and this wasn't technically the first date type get-together they'd been on. Still, this felt.... different. As if everything about Magnus made the space around him brighter and more vibrant. A potent mix between a normalcy that Natsume yearned for more than ever and the knowledge that this was a special moment, a special thing they were about to do. Did Magnus feel the same? Was his heart pounding just as hard as hers? "Are you ready t'go? Oh! Wait, do you want a drink first or anything?" Country manners, it seemed, wouldn't take a back seat even in the face of a date. Or maybe she was simply trying to calm herself, regain one moment of control before her heart lead her around for the rest of the day.














