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Aria spat out a bit of water, before shaking some more off her face. Then, she took a deep breath and met Mergo's gaze. "...Yeah, I think I do too." With her free paw, she dunked his head back underwater, keeping it there for a few satisfying seconds. <><><><><>

"Wh... what the fu—?!" Aria began, but cut herself off abruptly. All things considered, she should've seen it coming. She should've seen it coming the moment they sat down at a beach. As they fell, she gripped Mergo's hand tight in what might've been a scandalous gesture, if it hadn't an...

She'd expected him to pull away, but instead... Aria closed her eyes, relaxing into his side. It felt nice. "...Mhm?"

Another rare display of weakness, and another thing she could use to tease him mercilessly. The fool. ...With her paws in her lap, Aria leaned over, resting her head against his shoulder. "Bless you."

Salt and fur were an annoying combination, but living by the seaside had ruined her ability to care ages ago. "Y'know, I've asked myself the same thing a couple times," Aria said, carefully lowering herself down by his side. As her outstretched legs sank into the cool water, she let a relaxed...

"T'was nothing but a fling back then, my dear Prince," she cooed, sauntering towards him. "But now..." Aria abruptly dropped the sultriness from her tone. "Now, I'm pretty sure you know exactly what I meant. We butted heads often back then, didn't we? Every conversation seemed to lead to an...

"It's solitude with a nice view — perfect for clearing your head. Bonus points for not changing much between worlds," Aria said, humming in satisfaction at the silky sand underneath her feet. "So… yeah, I came here often." And not a moment too soon, in terms of the present. Her legs were...

She rolled her eyes, though they glinted with amusement. "That's as good an answer as any, I suppose."

Aria sighed in relief, but not before punching him in the shoulder. "...Was gonna say, it'd be weird if you still remembered the ear thing after that long," she said with a smirk. "Let's hear it, though. Who are you?"

"Huh, that's—" She trailed off as the number clicked in her head. "...S-sorry, what?! Did you just say forty?!"

"Wouldn't be a paradise if it didn't have place for someone like you." The dim lighting made it hard to see the half-hearted smile on her face, which Aria was glad for. "I should've been more specific with the question, though. The world's not the important part, it's... you. The fact that...

"...Mm." The salty tang in the air suddenly felt sharper. "Do you hate being here? On Cibus, I mean."

Aria shot him a glance, his face wreathed in the slowly-dimming light, before turning her gaze back to the passage ahead. "Things that never crossed your mind? Or things you took to the grave?"

"Oh, sh-s-shush!" And with that stuttered response, Aria swatted away the psychic distraction keeping her from stringing words together. She took a moment to brush her ears back upright, needing more than a few attempts, and to rub the grin out of her jaw. "...Right. Okay. So, it shouldn't...

She squeaked in surprise — and perhaps something else — before slapping a paw over her mouth. Wide eyes glanced over at Mergo, and upon seeing his arms still by his side, she put two and two together and levelled a glare at him instead. Not that it accomplished much, considering she hadn't...

That did it. A quiet snort soon gave way to shameless snickering, as Aria grinned up at him. "Guilty as charged. But I made you drop character first, right? Riiight?"

Once again, Mergo made it a challenge not to break character... which would've mattered if she wasn't already preparing to pull her mask off. "Hm. Quite the evil laugh, if a little abrupt. Though... I must ask, is comedic timing going to be an important part of our plans, or are you just...

The fact that he cared to remember those moments spoke volumes, but Aria decided not to poke him about it just yet. She had a character to play, after all. "Weaklings, all of them," Aria said, a scowl crossing her face. "Figure out what they want to hear, and it's child's play from there. So...

"Quiet, you fool!" Aria snapped back, glancing around furtively. Her voice hadn't changed much, but the atypical sharpness in her tone served the same purpose. Or so she hoped. "Did you not see the lingering mistrust in their eyes? We could have people following us at any moment." Never mind...

She shrugged in response. "It's not like you'd listen, and I trust you're mature enough to know when to rein it in. And besides, I'm not sure I like the implication that I'm some boring do-gooder all the time," Aria said, crossing her arms in mock-offense. "I know how to have fun!" A pause...