[attr="class","aurelie"]

[attr="class","aurelie_body"]Aurelie watched appreciatively as Xiura started assembling s'mores with cheerful, careless expertise, before snagging a s'more for herself almost as soon as it was done. When she bit into it, it tasted exactly like a s'more should: crunchy and mellow graham cracker on the outside, with rich chocolate and sweet, gooey marshmallow on the inside. She let out a sigh of pleasure.

"Well, this is everything I dreamed of," she chuckled, brushing a smear of chocolate off her lips. "You know, Xiura, you and I have got to cook together sometime."

She warmed to the topic as she grabbed another s'more from the paper plate and popped it into her mouth. "Seriously, it'd be so fun! I could teach you Kalosian recipes, and you could teach me a Kantonese desserts. A true meeting of two cultures."

Her uncovered eye grew misty with anticipation for a moment at the prospect. Aurelie had to shake her head sharply to wrench her thoughts back to the present, turning back to smile at Xiura again. "But for now... Hmm, I don't think I'm in the mood right now for amuse-bouche appetizers to tease my taste buds or anything like that. Let's get to the main course!"

Rising from her seat beside the fire, she walked over to the cooler and baskets they'd brought and began rummaging through them. Carefully, she shook out the picnic blanket and laid it in front of the fire, before starting to spread out a small but lavish and tasty feast. There was, of course, plenty of the crusty baguettes and boules that Aurelie loved, a few different cheese wedges, tubs of honey butter and blackberry preserves, potato salad, herbed hard-cooked eggs, and several sandwiches stuffed with cheese, cured meat, and pickled vegetables.

For dessert, she pulled out plastic containers filled with jewel-like grapes, plums, apricots, and pears, as well as sugar-dusted madeleines and petit fours. Aurelie didn't remember packing any beverages beside water, though she suspected Xiura probably had brought tea leaves with her. Or other options entirely.

"What's your pleasure?" she asked, turning to her friend with a smile and gesturing toward the food. She glanced away into the flickering fire for a moment, absentmindedly popping a grape into her mouth.

"You know what this reminds me of?" Aurelie asked softly, suddenly. "Do you remember that bonfire party on the beach in Slateport City, last year? It feels like forever ago, doesn't it? You were there, and me, and...Zev Harcourt, for some reason? And Jack." Her voice softened a little at the last name, the corners of her lips curling upward in a mischievous smile.

[attr="class","cred"]VEL OF PIXEL PERFECT

[attr="class","aurelie"]

[attr="class","aurelie_body"]"Macarons?" Aurelie echoed a little hesitantly, still smiling but raising an eyebrow doubtfully. "Well, I can see why you'd be interested, but I won't be much help to you. You're probably already better at them than I am, even if you say 'you've never been great at them,' blah blah blah."

The red-haired Kalosian gestured airily at Xiura and then broke into a wide grin to show she was teasing. Shrugging, she added, "I'm not much of a baker and I'm hardly a specialist in tasty sweets, like you. My desserts tend to be on the level of crepes, chocolate mousse, and madeleines, not something that needs practice, preparation, and patience, like homemade macarons."

She chuckled as Xiura kept a watchful, almost maternal eye over her freely wandering Pokemon, who were clearly having a wonderful time roaming the campsite and eating the food they'd brought. She'd make a good mom, Aurelie reflected. Assuming that's something she wants to be.

Snagging a slice of baguette, Aurelie meditatively spread some goat cheese on it, sliced up a handful of strawberries, and added them on top. After devouring the snack in a few bites, she happily accepted the tea that Xiura offered. Her single eye widened in astonished surmise when Xiura speculated on possibly hosting a bonfire party of their own.

"Oh! That's...hmmm," the redhead stammered, looking surprised and excited. "That sounds kind of fun, honestly! Do you think anyone would come? I guess everyone likes summer beach parties, and it surely couldn't be harder to organize than a cooking contest..."

Aurelie filed the possibility away for next summer. The bonfire party they'd attended during Splashfest had ended up such a whimper, rather than a bang, after all. It tickled her fancy to think she and Xiura might redeem those memories with their own efforts at some point.

Then her face brightened with wide-eyed interest when she saw how Xiura blushed shyly and enthused about jack wainwright. "Sounds like you know him pretty well," Aurelie observed, perking up animatedly and leaning forward. "He certainly is a caring and patient soul, to put up with me! And he's great in..."

Glancing over at Xiura, she caught herself in time and closed her mouth swiftly, before opening it again and finishing lamely, "Uh, in kissing. He's a great kisser. Definitely."

Aurelie tried to smooth it over quickly. "Anyway, I don't know if we really fell for each other. It still surprises me he even said yes when I asked him out at the party." She laughed softly and shook her head in wonder.

"I liked his eyes, and his..." Aurelie gestured helplessly with her hands, shaping an outline of a well-proportioned male silhouette. "And like I said, he's so patient. And kind of...noble, you know? Honorable. So...nothing like me."

She smirked a little at the thought. "I guess they do say opposites attract. Arceus knows what he sees in me."

Then Aurelie eyed Xiura meaningfully across the fire as she reached for a sandwich and toyed with it in her hands. "What about you? How did you two first meet, if not at the bonfire party?"

[attr="class","cred"]VEL OF PIXEL PERFECT

[attr="class","aurelie"]

[attr="class","aurelie_body"]Aurelie visibly brightened with a look of relief on her face when Xiura expressed an interest in making crepes. "Oh, well, considering what a skilled baker you are, crepes shouldn't be a problem at all," she replied confidently. "Especially when the best part is the filling, and you're already an expert with fruit, chocolate, honey, jam, and things like that."

She smiled softly at the charming tableau of the lovely purple-haired woman lying on her side atop the picnic blanket, surrounded by her content-looking Pokemon. There was something pensive, even wistful in Xiura's expression as she recounted how she'd first met Jack. It was intriguing—enough so that she missed Xiura's comment about her nobility, which would otherwise have amused her enormously.

"Wow, that's quite a first meeting for you two," Aurelie remarked, her eye wide as she tried to picture searching for a dead hiker. "Considering how sad it must have been, I'm glad it drew you closer together, rather than...well, the opposite."

When Xiura looked down and then back up again, Aurelie's mind started spinning. Instinctively, she slid over to join Xiura on top of the picnic blanket, plopping down to lie on her back next to her friend. Out of the corner of her eye, she watched Xiura sidelong as they talked together further.

At Xiura's comments about her work making her too busy to pursue other goals or even find time to relax, Aurelie chuckled wryly and nodded in agreement. "I know exactly how that feels. The life of a small-business owner is never easy!

"I had no idea that you were a fan of wrestling, though," she chuckled, looking at her friend with a mischievous grin. "I would've put you down as an admirer of classical dance or something like that. You're full of surprises, ma cherie!"

She tilted her head to look up at the emerging stars, though her mind was still full of speculations and thoughts about her friend. During the conversation, Aurelie had noticed how Xiura's eyes shone when she talked about Jack and how her voice went soft whenever she spoke his name. With no feeling of anger, betrayal, or even discomfort—only a warm and delighted curiosity—Aurelie wondered, Does she like him too?

Aurelie had never been the jealous or possessive type, at least in matters of romance or sex. She liked Xiura very much, so if Xiura liked Jack, then she should be free to date him too, if he was willing. In her mind, it was as simple as that.

And Xiura's suggestion of a three-person get-together sounded like the perfect occasion to explore that very possibility. "I think a dinner with all three of us or a movie night sounds like a lot of fun!" Aurelie enthused with complete sincerity. "I would love to, and I'm certain Jack would too, once we ask him. We'll definitely find time and figure something out, I promise you!"

Then, with a soft intake of breath, Aurelie pointed up at the sky. A silver streak of light shot across the darkness, flaring brightly with a silver glow. "Oh, look! A shooting star!" She turned her head and smiled softly at Xiura. "Time to make a wish..."

[attr="class","cred"]VEL OF PIXEL PERFECT

[attr="class","aurelie"]

[attr="class","aurelie_body"]Aurelie's face softened as she heard Xiura's wish, at once charmed and slightly crestfallen at the sheer wholesomeness of her words. Of course, a wish on a shooting star wasn't exactly a binding declaration, but it was revealing in its own way. She's so gentle and pure of heart, the redhead couldn't help thinking, with a wry little pout of her lips, especially compared to me.

At times like this, it surprised her that Xiura was even in Rocket at all. Of course, Aurelie had met sweet and charming Rockets before, but even Naomi Sato had no qualms about conducting shady experiments on Pokemon or people alike, while Xiura shuddered at the mere thought of eating Pokemon meat. Such delicacy, such innocence!

Oddly, it made her feel almost big-sisterly toward the pretty purple-haired café owner. Hoenn—and Rocket in particular—wasn't kind to innocents. Poor Xiura would need to be sheltered every day from the harsh realities of life if she was to survive here for long.

Then her eye widened when Xiura took her hand and then, to her utter surprise, placed a light kiss on the back of it. Where had that come from? The tender, almost courtly gesture took her completely aback and blew her feelings of big-sisterhood into confusion.

Aurelie risked a quick sideways glance toward Xiura's face, lit only by the flickering fire. She noticed that Xiura seemed distracted, perhaps preoccupied. Maybe she's thinking of someone else, the redhead speculated, her hand still tingling from the contact. She remembered how Xiura blushed while talking about jack wainwright, and her single eye narrowed speculatively.

"Oh? Thinking about kisses now, are we?" she teased in a low murmur. "Or maybe about your crush? Dare I ask...but no, I won't be nosy."

If Xiura did divulge a name, though, Aurelie knew she would be all ears. Even if—especially if—it turned out to be someone she didn't know! For the moment, though, she lay back comfortably on the blanket, satisfied that she'd probably figured out the cause of Xiura's unexpected gesture.

"Besides, I suppose I have a wish left to make too," she mused aloud, turning her gaze back to the sky. "Yours was a sweet one, but... Well, if we're wishing on a star, why not really shoot for the moon? I'll wish for world peace. Why not?"

She snorted aloud even as she said it, her lips twisting in a humorless smile. "Not that it's ever likely to happen. But wouldn't it be nice if it did?"

[attr="class","cred"]VEL OF PIXEL PERFECT