"You Don't Have To Be A Good Artist To Be Good At Different Forms Of Art." Lily Reassured, Amused By

Lily flashed Xavier a playful grin at his teasing, batting her eyelashes innocently. "The most pressing of questions~." She agreed through small giggles.

Truthfully, she'd spent a lot of time trying to figure out his preferences, but... sometimes he could be hard to read, especially in when it came to more 'trivial' matters such as colors. "Lavender, hm?" She hummed, tilting her head. "That makes sense. I honestly was starting to think it was white, since that's most of what you wear." She teased lightheartedly.

She easily followed his guidance around the uneven spot, turning her attention down curiously even though he'd already guided her away from danger. His question caught her off guard, prompting him to look up at him to confirm she heard correctly.

Her perfect life? It's not as though she hadn't ever thought about it. Of course she has. But that doesn't mean she ever thought she'd end up voicing her thoughts.

"My perfect life... All I'd really want is to be generally healthy, and for everyone I care about to be safe and healthy too... having enough time to spend with people I care about."

Perhaps it's the fatigue loosening her tongue, or maybe it's Xavier's presence, but she finds herself continuing despite herself.

"I just... wouldn't want to be alone."

❛ you shouldn’t be out here by yourself. ❜ 

Send me a prompt!

~

Normally, Lily tries to be fully aware of her surroundings. Working as a Hunter means she shouldn't let her guard down, especially when by herself. Who knows what threats are just waiting for a chance to strike, after all?

Though normally, Lily doesn't have to resort to late night walks to try and clear her mind so that she can sleep.

Suddenly hearing a voice nearby startles her out of her own thoughts, immediately setting her on alert. Her head whipped around towards the source, her posture tense and ready for a fight. Once she finally recognized Xavier, she let out a slow breath that ended in a sheepish laugh.

"Xavier!" She half-greeted, half-scolded.

Once she finally processed his warning, she offered what she hoped came across as a reassuring smile. "I know, I know. But I'm a big girl, I can handle going for a little starlit walk before bed." She teased, running her fingers through her hair in an attempt to calm herself down further so her heart wasn't pounding so hard in her chest.

"What about you? You're out rather late too."

Send 💖 for my muse to give yours a hug

If you can't see the emoji, please send 'hug' instead

Lily couldn’t help but beam as she watched him process, biting her tongue ever so slightly just to keep herself from breaking into giggles and shaking the mirror.

“You can take it out if you want.” She reassured, the giggles finally bubbling up some. “But I saw this cute little set and thought of you, so I had to get it and share!”

When he called her out for already having put her clip in, she tilted her head slightly in surprise. Does he like the idea that much?

“If you want, you can put it somewhere else for me?” She offered, easily letting him take the mirror from her.

“I trust you” - @lily-of-the-linkon

"Huh? What are you up to?" He closes his eyes.

--

Ask meme

⚠️; WAY too cute for this world!!! you're gonna give someone cuteness aggression! (me!)

Awe hun! Honestly that should be your warning! <3

Lily was absolutely doing her best to get photos of his reaction, beaming when seeing she managed to see she was doing a decent job at capturing the shenanigans.

When he retaliated with a boop of his own, Lily scrunched her nose up playfully and even wiggled it a little. "What can I say, you're fun to mess with?" She hummed, looking up at him.

“I trust you” - @lily-of-the-linkon

"Huh? What are you up to?" He closes his eyes.

--

Ask meme

“In their defense,” Lily started through snickers, “most recipes assume that the person reading them has either baked at least once before in their life with someone else, or follows directions to the letter without assuming any steps are missing. They don’t think they need to state that once the oven is pre-heated to the desired temperature, you don’t touch the temperature unless otherwise specified.”

His genuine befuddlement and interest in something she always thought was common knowledge made her hum affectionately. It also serves as a great reminder that she shouldn’t just assume people know the things she does, even if she thinks they’re better than her in most every way.

“I set it to pre-heat it when I finished cleaning, so that it would reach the right temperature by the time we were done prepping the batter.” She explained, nodding to all of his questions. “And yes, we can put them in since it’s done pre-heating, and the consistent heat will bake them faster and properly, so they don’t risk getting burnt so long as we set a timer.”

[Phone call, Xavier's voice sounds urgent] "I'm in great danger I need you to come downstairs right now. Please! You're the only one that can help. In fact, the entire complex may be in danger if you don't help me stop this right now."

As soon as she registered the urgency and he mentioned 'upstairs', Lily was rushing out of her apartment, only sparing enough time to grab her guns as a precaution.

"I'm on my way!" She reassured as she hurried upthe flight of stairs between them. Her thoughts were already racing a mile a minute, wondering what could possibly be causing Xavier of all people to struggle and call for help, especially without causing much of a ruckus.

By the time she reached his door her heart was pounding and she was braced for a fight.

When faintly hearing the voices from his end of the phone, Lily couldn't help a small grimace. She hadn't meant to interrupt his work, regardless of what he says. This is what she gets for trusting him when he says he isn't busy- "I didn't realize you were at an auction, or I would've waited to call," she huffed, scolding herself more than him.

"How about you let me know when you leave, and I can call you again?"

As much fun as it would be to see Sylus's face when she shows him some stupid picture and says 'it's you', she's not sure she has the energy to make herself presentable for the N109 zone and make the trip out there, but she doesn't want to bother him with picking her up either...

❝ wish i could be there to see your face. ❞ - @lily-of-the-linkon

"Why wish to see it when you can come over, kitten? You know the base is always open to you." He invited in response, chuckling for a moment as some muffled voices could be heard on his end. They could wait though, her call was more important.

"Unless, you'd like to be picked up instead? This auction's a bore anyway, so I won't be staying much longer. Which leaves my face free for the remainder of the evening."

BLOOD AND DARKNESS STARTERS.

Lily stuck her tongue out at him playfully in response, even with her cheeks still pink. "You know what I mean." She insisted, even as she's already fighting down her giggles.

Though his more serious admission made her hum in response, finishing off her drink finally and seeming a little surprised to have already reached the end. However she just set it aside for the moment to throw away once they're done.

"I know... I think sometimes it's hard to think of a good question to ask, or I have something to ask but it's a bad time." She looked a little sheepish as she attempted to explain her train of thought, absently fiddling with a napkin as she wiped some sauce of of her hands. "Plus it's a little embarrassing when it feels like something I should know by now."

After spending the morning doing research on places in Linkon City that offer milk tea, Lily finally found a place that seemed like it would be a nice place to visit and had the coffee milk tea that Xavier mentioned. Plus it wasn't far from a few good places to eat so they'd have options based on what they were feeling up to without having to go all the way across town. Perfect.

Lily finally sent Xavier a text in the late morning.

'I found a place that has that coffee milk tea you mentioned! And it has really good reviews.'

After a moment of thought, she sent another text as well.

'And thank you for walking me home last night. I really appreciated it. It was nice, looking at the stars with you.'

If not for the sporadic texts, Xavier would still be asleep. Outside the birds that often bickered over his balcony were squawking at a volume loudly. The combination of factors is enough to stir him, just barely. He knows its her before having to unlock his phone.

↪[ Audio: I'm awake. I'm up. I'm coming. ]

↪[ It was nice. Let's do it again sometime ]

In a flash he rinses off, takes care of basic hygiene, and is donning a favored hoodie in spite of the weather.

By the time he gets downstairs, he's already rubbing his eyes again as he knocks on the door.

"Oh, everything's fine with it, nothing to worry about." Lily reassured easily with his concern, finally giving him a little more room properly, but not venturing too far. Just not 'I was literally just on top of you' close. "I was just a bit rough with it last time I used it, so I wanted to make sure that it was okay before I needed it again."

Better safe than sorry, and she doesn't want it to fail on her when she needs it, since she'd rather not do a bunch of running if she doesn't have to.

The mention of new merchandise caught her interest though, perking up slightly as she listened, following his lead. "Oh, they really are pretty!" She beamed, picking up one of the pins to examine it. "I think Xavier would like them, honestly. He really seems to like the stars, especially if the cute little charm on his sword is anything to go by." She mused absently. "Tara might like it too? It seems up her alley. I might need to buy a few from you." She semi-teased, despite fully planning to do so.

Jeremiah's musing about the kind of friends she has, or what people are into, earned another small giggle from her. "I have an... interesting variety of friends, honestly. Lots of different interests and personalities."

( Jump - sender jumps on receivers back - @lily-of-the-linkon )

Lily grinned when seeing Jeremiah wasn't paying attention to her, a mischievous little plan forming in her head.

Putting her training to the test, she carefully approached him from behind. She kept her movements as silent as possible, slowly lifting her arms to brace herself for step two.

When she was finally within reach of the (unsuspecting?) man, she lunged to jump on his back. While she was careful not to knock him over if she could help it, she was still dramatic.

Almost immediately after 'impact', she couldn't help but break into giggles, shifting to at least attempt to look at his face. "Hi Jer~" she greeted with playfully exaggerated casualness.

"What the- ah!"

The sudden surprise and sensation of warmth pressed against his back shocked him enough to let out a yelp in surprise, but the familiarity of the voice immediately calmed his instincts.

He adjusts his grip to ensure her safety but doesn't put her down.

"Stars, Lilyyyy! Where did you come from!? How did you manage to be so quiet!?"