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[Max you will regret saying that very soon-]

I will. I just hope I don't do something like almost burn my room down again...

[ blah blah blah surprise tool to help us later etc ]

You got those mitten-things, it should be...less bad, at least.

[ Max is not good at the optimism thing but god does she try. ]

Y-yeah! They do help a lot.

[Listen ANY optimism is better than nothing. Basil appreciates it.]

Though, when Mr. Rosso was helping me calm down that day...I found out I can breathe fire too.

[So. You know.]

[ Max's eyebrows raise. ]

Oookay, so we're going full dragon, then.

Y-yeah, I guess so! It's a little scary, but...no matter what I do, my own fire doesn't hurt me.

[In fact, NO heat hurts him anymore. It's like he's just...immune. Which is a plus, considering.]

I kindof wish I could have turned into a Nymph or something instead...at least that I could have understood.

[ Fireproof is probably good. Max quietly wonders if she could ask Eddie or Will some things about dragons. Yeah, that guide is probably a better source...but who better to ask about nerd shit than the nerds? ]

Oh, but you can't have that, something you might be a little more equipped to handle. [ Ah, the patented Max deadpan. She punctuates it with a roll of her eyes and a snort. ] Instead you just get flowers in your hair when the local witch misinterprets what you ask.

[ Ah. Wait— ] You- told me about that, on one of the... I posted something on the network, it's gone now.

Oh, d-did I? That's okay, I...I would have told you anyway.

[It also means he missed the conversation about school, and going to the bus stop with Max sometime, but...that's all stuff that can be revisted, at least. Easy stuff.]

But yeah, I...I guess that would be asking for too much. For things to be easier.

[ Max feels a little guilty... but there really has been a lot to go over. She was the only person who knew in the Palazzo what was going on, after all...but still. Knowing stuff he told her, when he doesn't, it feels weird.

She taps her hoof on the porch stairs—the whole thing, not just the front or back. ]

...Enough with all the monster talk right now. [ It's a little heavy, but event. ] Have you thought of something? That you wanna do to, like...acknowledge your birthday.

[Ah...he'd almost forgotten that's what they were talking about. Something he wants to do, to acknowledge his birthday...though, "acknowledge" is just a fancy word for celebrate, isn't it?

Basil thinks. He really sits and thinks for a long moment, looking ahead. What would he want to do...? He could say any number of predictable things, like spend the day gardening, or dig a ton of holes, or go looking for rocks......]

...a picnic.

[Or...]

I...want to have a picnic, somewhere. Somewhere nice.

[ Somehow, the answer surprises her a little, and Max smiles slightly. ]

A picnic, huh? [ It's the middle of February. It doesn't sound normal...but it's charming, isn't it? ] Got a place in mind?

Mm...

[That part is easier.]

The park. The one in Bavan. That'd be a good place, I think.

[Oddly, it's one of the few places- other than the Palazzo- that Basil feels the safest. You think he wouldn't, not when it's in Bavan, but...it reminds him of simpler times.]

[ Right. There's a few parks in the city she's run into, but she knows which one he's talking about. The big one, the park. ]

I say go for it. [ A beat. ] I've never actually been on a picnic, but, like... That sounds like the right kind of place for one.

[Oops Max you just said the magic words, and also in the perfect configuration of Basil being confident enough to pose it without stumbling over his words.]

You...you can come with me, if you want? It'd be nicer than having a picnic all alone.

[ Hilariously, Max did not see this coming, and her cute little deer ears shoot up, alert. ]

What, really? Me? [ Doesn't her whole...vibe run counter to a nice, relaxing picnic in the park? ] Well... Am I supposed to bring something? 'Cause I think I violate a few health codes now.

[ Her bony tail flops on the porch behind her for emphasis, as Max decides to play it cool and not let on just how touched she is to be invited. ]

[Basil nods, his sheepish smile widening.]

I mean...you don't have to, but you can if you want! And there's no rules saying you have to bring anything specific to a picnic.

[So yes, Max can bring as much jerky as she thinks she might need, Basil won't discriminate.]

If I can have a picnic when I'm accidentally turning stuff to charcoal...then you can too.

["Even if you're dead now" we won't say!]

[ It feels like when the guys first invited her to trick-or-treat. Basil's a lot smoother, funnily enough, probably because he's not tripping over himself trying to impress her. She can't really blame Lucas or Dustin though; they were thirteen, and Max already feels a lifetime wiser than when she was thirteen.

Regardless, the association's still there, because Max, who has greatly missed this in the months without her friends (sans Will), feels both like she'll burst with joy and also wants so badly to play it cool. Outside of ones sparked by burns, Basil has never really seen Max...vulnerable, and she's not in a hurry to change that. It's not that she thinks he'll use it against her—she just wants to keep up the illusion of being strong in front of him. In front of most people. ]

Will it be...just the two of us?

[ Somewhat joking, a tired but light tease in her voice. ]

Or do you wanna invite anyone else?

[Basil legitimately- in all of his...Basil-ness- had not been thinking about it that way. Probably because it's just been so long since he's felt like he's really had someone around like Max who he could call a friend and do things with. That's what happens when you've stayed either around or in your house for several years.

As such, it takes a second for it to sink in as he toys with his claws, already thinking about the kinds of things they could bring. It won't be as nice as it could be, not homemade stuff like before, but he's pretty sure he knows how to make a decent sandwich...

But then he looks up, blinking a couple times.]

Just...?

[...]

Uh! I mean...it- I'm f-fine with whatever! Whatever you want to do! I...I f...figured it would be...just us, but if you...if you wanted...uh.

[With all the force of his renewed fidgeting, he accidentally plucks the little knitted sunflower off his front, and has to fumble to pin it back on.]

[ And wouldn't you know it? Max actually laughs. It's short, and it's fond, and when she's done she reaches over to help with Basil's pin. ]

Here, let me. Don't bleed if I prick myself. [ The smile on her lips is small. But it's still there. ] I didn't mean it like that, okay? Just wanted to get an idea of what it'd look like. ...What it will, will look like.

I'm fine with it. It's your...not-birthday birthday acknowledgement, after all.

[Max laughs, but it isn't like...the kind of derisive laugh at his expense that would make him feel bad. She's laughing with him, not at him, as she helps him put the pin back on his overalls. He'll let her do so gladly, because...she's right, he's liable to accidentally shove the pin into his palm if he isn't careful.]

O...okay.

[Okay. And he looks...happy. Like, genuinely in a way he hasn't ever since that dumb timeloop stole so much time from him, or ever since Katurian saw too much, or-

So many things he wishes could be undone, or he could take back. Except now, like few other things, he has something he can actually look forward to.

Basil doesn't just smile. He beams, his tail thumping against the steps.]

Just the two of us then. It'll probably be nice weather too...and I can still be outside for a little while longer, so the sun shouldn't be a problem.

[ It's been pretty rare that Max feels like laughing nowadays. Even rarer, she thinks, that she's inspired this sort of bright response in someone else. It was really only Lucas, who would beam if she so much as looked his way sans glower or frown.

Lucas doesn't count. He's an exception. Special.

Has she forgotten what it's like? To make someone else really, truly smile like this? Just by being her? ]

If the cold still bothered me, I'd be arguing a little with you there...but if you don't mind it, who'm I to complain? One late February slash early March picnic penned into the schedule.

[ Her tail, for the record, is also thumping, though very lightly. ]

[Basil understands. It's not something he's ever easily managed either, though it's had less to do with his personality and more because talking to people is hard, and he is painfully shy. Yet here they are, very solidly friends despite how rocky their introduction was.

Funny how that works, and how quickly it can be reversed. But the things that plague him back home are not problems he shares here. They don't deserve his energy, not when he's feeling the way he is now.]

G-great! And this time...it'll be early enough that we won't run into anything happening to mess it up.

[He says, aloud, dumbly, practically asking for the gods to jinx him.

Basil does stand up on the steps after saying that though, because the sun is now gone and it's dark out. He wouldn't mind just staying here for a while longer, looking out at the lake in the distance and listening to the bugs buzzing, but mentioning picnic food has reminded him that they should probably...HAVE that.]

C'mon, we should probably go inside and get something to eat, speaking of.

[ She stretches and stands, bracing herself on the railing and...kind of hoping Basil just thinks she's still getting used to her hooves. ]

Mmm, yeah, if we don't, Mother Fugo will probably be on us like a hawk.

[ Max keeps an even, calm expression. Something to eat for her is a little different nowadays. Not yet for Basil.

In all his changes, she really hopes that one comes last. ]

[Basil may be trying not to think about it, but...he's aware that things are different, for Max. He'd been able to connect the dots with their first meeting eventually, and subsequently being around her has shown him how often she's eating. What she's eating. But he hopes, too, that she can enjoy other things...it doesn't have to just be...that, right?

Surely not. Surely...

He won't make a point to cast too strong of a light on it. He just grins and leads the way back inside, leaving the porch feeling...better, he thinks. The odd disconnect and melancholy of having so much time yet again stolen from him has abated, somewhat.

Funny how that works, when you have someone to talk to.]

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