[Azura Rayume]

Laen was beside himself. He couldn't help it, Oh, how he had waited for this day...! Well, not really this day specifically, but the day that his Warrior Princes would finally go out with him. He had been excited he received her reply to his note (a forced yes, but a yes nonetheless), giddy the night before, and absolutely bursting this morning.

He glanced over the picnic he had spent all morning setting up. Everything had to be perfect today, no screw ups. He had had enough of those with her in the past.

[Azura Rayume]

This was only to get him off her back. Ula was seriously getting tired of this guy always following her around. She couldn't really do much of anything if she knew he was there in the background. Normally people left her alone when she showed such obvious annoyance at them, but Laen apparently couldn't take such an obvious hint. She was only here to tell him to get lost, that she didn't need his help, and that he should stop following her. He was on the verge of creepy sometimes.

Muttering to herself about how ignorant some people could be, she crested the hill and was immediately confronted with a picnic and Laen, who seemed all too pleased with himself for his own good.

[Azura Rayume]

Laen was still surprised to see her, even though she had said she would be coming. He thought she would just forget about him or brush him off or something. But, no. She was here. Really here! He could hardly believe it.

"H-Hello," he stammered, mentally smacking himself for being so nervous. This was almost like meeting her for the first time, since he had never really managed to get her to sit down for any kind of conversation before. Now he was second guessing himself. He hoped the food was okay; he hoped she liked it; he hoped she wasn't allergic to anything. If anything was wrong with today other than just him being him, he might have some kind of breakdown.

[Azura Rayume]

He was gonna be one of those perfectionists, wasn't he... Ula sighed. Great. Just what she needed.

"Hi," she said gruffly, seating herself on the ground with her legs crossed. She stared at him, waiting for him to make some kind of move. She knew he had things on his mind, especially since she had never once heard him stutter, and she wanted to get this over with. The idea of food was tempting, but not enough to really get her attention. She was here to get him to leave her alone, and that was it.

[Azura Rayume]

Alright, stop it. Stop feeling as giddy as a little school girl. That's not cool.

Oh, who was he kidding? Laen felt like a kid in a candy store, though he had probably spent more time on this than any kid should on any candy store. She had spoken. To him. Oh, this was more than he could have imagined! Although why someone would bother setting up an entire picnic and not expect at least a little conversation was perplexing.

Now, however, came the problem: he had to make idle conversation somehow. In all reality, he hadn't even expected to get this far, so he was completely unprepared. He floundered for a topic, but came up blank, his brain leaving him staring at her in the most awkward way.

[Azura Rayume]

Ula glared at Laen, entirely unamused by his failings. It was one thing to invite her here even though she clearly had other things she could be doing at this moment and quite another to keep staring at her like an idiot. She sat for a moment longer, dealing with his staring, before she finally said something.

"Look, kid," she growled, emphasizing the word kid, "I don't know why you've been bugging me recently and I don't know why you invited me here on such a random day. But I am NOT here for you to gawk at until you finally get the balls to say something. So, you can either tell me what it is that you want to say so we can get this 'happy little meeting' over with, or I can just leave. Your choice."

That should knock some sense into him. And if it didn't, nothing would.

[Azura Rayume]

Ula's outburst startled Laen, honestly. He had grown content with his staring, failing to realize she would find it quite rude, then she exploded. He recoiled slightly, wincing as her voice grew steadily louder. This is what you get for being an idiot, he though, again kicking himself for being such a fool. Now she wanted to know outright what this was all about or she would leave. Without eating or anything!

"W-well," he said, looking a bit downcast. "I r-really wanted a chance to t-talk to you. And I've never gotten to before. And now I am, but I'm messing it up, and you're getting mad and... Oh!" He looked downright ashamed of himself. Stupid crush. Stupid love. Stupid heart. Didn't he always know that emotions like this would get him into trouble one day? He was fine when he was just helping people, but when his brain fixated on one, he just couldn't get that person out of his head. Sure, it had never happened before, but now that it had, all that was happening was him getting yelled at.

[Azura Rayume]

Oh, now he had turned into a blubbering fool! Ula had no idea what was going through this man's head, but she wanted him to stop stuttering long enough to make a coherent sentence.

"If you wanted to talk to me, you should have at least thought of what you wanted to talk about before I got here," she said, rolling her eyes. She had little patience for stupidity, but he just seemed nervous. Why she was willing to give him a chance to collect himself, she hadn't a clue, but she was. He had just better make this worth her while. At least there was food.

[Azura Rayume]

So she wasn't leaving? Laen's heart skipped a beat in excitement. He tried his best not to grin, but he did anyway. She was giving him a chance at this! He had no idea what the meant for her feelings regarding the matter of him, but he was at least getting the chance to try.

"W-Well," he said, swallowing hard to stop the stuttering. "I was wondering if... if you wouldn't mind... I mean, if you do, that's okay, too... But I was just going to ask if maybe you wouldn't mind spending some time with... me?" He smiled sheepishly, trying not to look too stupid. And failing at not looking stupid. A lot.

[Azura Rayume]

Spend time with him? Was that what this was all about? Ula thought this was a bit elaborate to ask someone to just hang out, but, then again, she wasn't one to "hang out" with much of anyone. She thought this guy was being annoying, but maybe he had an actual reason for hanging around her all the time, even if she did think he was a pest. Maybe he actually wanted to be her... friend?

Ugh... Whatever. If that was what he was after, he would probably say so. He seemed to be the type to just say what he was thinking without considering consequences first. "You want some time? Fine. I'll stay, at least for now. You've just gotta stop following me around all the time, alright?"