Lavender and honey. It is rather soothing. Though, inevitably, guilt begins to rear its pitiful face as he is reminded of the life he'd left behind. This was not something he deserved. And, though Summer Atreides was part of TEAM ROCKET, he was still needlessly endangering her. She did not, after all, know about LOS CUERVOS or the bounty on his head.

Nevertheless, when she inches her face over to look at him, he can't help but softly smile. Maybe just this time... this one time, he could be allowed to indulge in such comfort. MARIA would have understood. She had always joked that she had a secret list of rich older men she would have married if he'd kicked the bucket first. And she had always made him promise that he would move on if she ever...

He closes his eyes again, burying his expression in her hair as his muscular arms gently tighten around Summer's waist, pulling her intimately close. "Yeah."

♥ + Summer Atreides

☉

The entity dwelling within the sands finds itself incapable of escaping. Furthermore, a SPRINGTIDE STORM sweeps across the beach in hues of pink before revealing the true identity of this 'monster': a PALOSSAND. Cade figured as much. The sight of the large sand castle begrudgingly taking shape before them was not so surprising to him.

The strange SPRINGTIDE STORM that the LUXRAY had called forth, however, did. Casually, as if they weren't in imminent danger of being swallowed up by the ghostly sand, he turns to the little girl and says: "I've never seen a Luxray do that before. What kind of attack was it?" The mercenary prided himself on being extremely knowledgeable about the subject, after all. Not knowing stung his pride.

Meanwhile, NADYA the SABLEYE operates independently of her trainer. The PALOSSAND attempts to BULLDOZE the small gremlin with an earth-trembling charge but said gremlin simply leapfrogs over it before striking down with its claws (KNOCK OFF). This seems to separate it from a good chunk of its primary mass (SOFT SAND).

MISSION + Eris Halla

☉

His body ached after what they had practiced. The invitation to her bedroom for some much-needed rest and recuperation was irresistible. Not that he would have looked for a reason to reject it anyway. Especially with a breakfast by the delivery on the horizon. "That sounds perfecto, mami." Cade hums as he's gently reeled under the covers.

It takes some shifting but, eventually, the two find themselves cocooned against one another. Unsurprising to him at this point, Summer fits perfectly in his embrace as the 'little spoon' of this pair. The scent of shampoo in her hair elicits a pleased inhale and smile.

"This is nice... and you smell good. What is that?"

♥ + Summer Atreides

☉

The mercenary can't help but sneak another peek after she requests her towel. Though, just as quickly, he masks the action by seizing a towel of his own. It sweeps across battle-scarred muscle in an effort to dry his skin before it tends to the messy bedhead of blonde hair on his head. When he's done, he glances over at her again when she chuckles. This time, however, the one-eyed wolf doesn't look away.

"Pleasure's all mine, Prescott. You really handled yourself in there. I was wrong about you." He remarks, tracing the shape of her hips with his eyes before looking away again with a smile. "You in the market for my services, mm? Look me up. I'm in Rocket's database. All the information you need is there." He responds, letting his own towel slip to the floor as he stands and calmly walks off.

"Call me anytime."

EXIT

MISSION + Summer Atreides

☉