Too Hot to Handle

Too Hot to Handle
Date of Scene:	30 November 2012
Location:	Fluorgis - Shard Seekers HQ
Synopsis:	At last, the promised moment: Ivo, in his noble quest to acquire for Maira a fireproof outfit, must take her measurements. All is going according to plan, until a couple highly unexpected guests interrupt his otherwise foolproof plot. But when at last the two are alone again, will she surprise him by proving to be too hot to handle? ...So to speak.
Cast of Characters:	Maira, Ivo Galvan, Cheshire Cat, Katyna Redsvaren

---

Ivo Galvan has posed:
Ivo has been looking forward to this.

"It's only natural, Maira."

Very, /very/ much.

"I can't have the garment made if I don't have your measurements."

The dashing young swordsman gives the fire mage his absolute best most winning smile as he slowly approaches with measuring tape in hand, his eyes sparkling with an excess of mischevious delight. His quest for the leaves of the Red Toyon complete, and with the sorcerous seamstress Morgan Albaste having agreed to produce the necessary fireproof fabric, the only uncompleted objective in Ivo's mission to provide Maira with a flame-resistant outfit is-- well, this.

"Besides, if I'm going to give you that swimming lesson, you'll need to undress anyway, yes?" He takes a glance around. While this is the lobby of Shard Seeker headquarters, if farther back and near the garden where the pond lies, the HQ is silent. "Don't worry, no one's around. There's no need to be shy!" Actually, it's not like there's /no/ chance that someone will show up, but it's a /minimal/ chance, so it's fine, right? Right.

How nice for a quest to be its own reward.

"Now, if you could remove your clothes..."

His smile seems so friendly. But what is that glimmer in his eyes? Teasing amusement, of course. But, uh... that's... /all/ it is, right?

"...and raise your arms above your head..."

Ivo Galvan, true knight.

Maira has posed:
This really is awfully nice of Ivo. Maira was quite tired of going through so many clothes. True, she needs to learn control of her magic--but in the meantime? Something fireproof would be very handy! Very kind of Ivo to go through all the trouble of making sure that would happen for her.

He totally has no ulterior motives. Clearly.

Maira stands there, blinking. He wants her to take off her clothes, right here? "Uh..." she says, looking around. "All of them?" she asks. Surely, that wouldn't be necessary! Not...that Ivo hasn't already seen it all, damn him. BUT STILL! Something about modesty blah blah blah, she can practically hear a chorus of female disapproval in her head. There would be a loud male voice there as well if Maira hadn't grown so frustrated with him that she'd sent him away for a little while!

Swimming. Right. Well, that's true. Wouldn't want to get her clothes wet. She only brought one pair. Sighing, Maira shrugs her shoulders and pulls her shirt up over her head before she shimmies out of her jeans. She's leaving her undies on, because this is pg-13 buddy!

Cheshire Cat has posed:

Just behind Moira's head, a grin comes into view. It's human in shape but inhuman in just how big that grin is. It doesn't take long for a pair of human eyes to fall out of nowhere and join the grin, and only then does it do anything. It winks, right at Ivo. As though the eyes and grin know just what Ivo is doing. So far, there's not a word said.

He's quiet, not quite betraying his presence to Maira yet. After all, he'd startle her, and really, he wants to startle Ivo. The eyes do not gaze at Maira's undressed state even once, just staring at Ivo after that one wink, and that permanent, far too wide grin. There's not even a face to match the eyes and grin to.

Katyna has posed:
Well...Maybe this place isnt TOTALLY empty! Somewhere, Katyna is lurking about the headquarteres, looking to pay Reize back after he rescued her from the desert a while ago (Looking to learn more about him and that mysterious pendant too!).

Clothed in her much quieter, softer tunic, it's a bit easier for her to sneak around the rooms without giving herself away with her heavy, clanking armour. And it doesnt take her long to wander upon the room that houses Maira and Ivo, the former who seems to be doing some sorta..Striptease!?

Still, she doesnt really look where she is going, but rather, just bursts in on them, not expecting anyone to be doing something so..BIZARRE out in the lobby, even if it IS at the back by the pool! "Heeey! Reize, are you here!?" she calls out, then suddenly flushes, and laughs nervously when she sees the two of 'em doing..Whatever they're doing.

"WOAH!"

Ivo Galvan has posed:
It's all fun and games until someone gets naked.

Ivo Galvan is very pleased with himself, in case that were not already clear from his enormous grin and sparkling blue eyes. Being able to so outrageously arrange, via such a strange confluence of factors, a situation so throughly Interesting pleases him more than anything else. Teasing such a charming and likable young woman is inherently delightful, of course, but persuading her to do something like this -- it's all so reasonable! -- is almost more than he can stand. He's so caught up in mentally patting himself on the back for being so extraordinarily clever that he forgets one crucial point.

"...Ah."

Maira is hot.

He got an eyeful in the Golmore Jungle which he won't soon forget, but it was only for a moment (though of course that was more than enough for a Memory Snapshot), and he didn't quite have the opportunity to, um, study her form. As she willingly strips before him, Ivo's grin slackens slightly, his eyebrows raising slowly. This is a little different than throwing a jug of water on her. He gazes at her silently for a moment or two, his expression oddly distant, distracted, like an actor trying to remember his next line.

...What was he doing, again?

"Oh, uh, excellent," he says, recovering himself, pushing down the sense that maybe he's gotten himself in a little over his head here. "You're doing great, Maira." He steps forward, confident as ever; there's no turning back here, obviously! He starts with the hips, pulling the measuring tape snug, standing mere inches from her, seeming almost to pull her closer to him, leaning in to peer at the number behind her. "Oh," he says softly, directly into her ear, "the material we're using to craft the outfit is quite rare, so there's not much fabric. That's alright with you, isn't it?" he asks, almost too casually, as he measures her waist. He can smell her hair from where he's standing. It's nice.

...What was he doing, again?

Right, right. The best part. "Now, hold still..." Very carefully, he reaches in front of Maira's chest, to begin stretching the tape across her bust--

"Geh!!"

The Cheshire's smile causes Ivo's eyes to snap wide, a shiver running all the way up his spine to make his hair stand up, his whole body tightening, every muscle clenching and tightening. Yes, even the muscles in his hands, which close tight and--

"...Oh."

It's literally the only thing that can make the flabbergasted Ivo look /away/ from that disembodied grin, blankly, to see what's so warm and supple that his hands have closed upon.

"Nice," is all he can say.

And then there's Katyna. His expression still blank, Ivo turns to look over to her. "Oh, we have a visitor," he says mildly. "Pardon the unusual circumstances. I'm Ivo, this is Maira, and this is a Disembodied Grin." His voice is shaking a little. Umm, Ivo, are you okay?

...because... he still hasn't moved his hands.

Maira has posed:
Maira is unaware of the cheshire grin and disembodied features of the being behind her, focusing instead of what was happening here. She'd just willingly took off most of her clothes so Ivo could measure her. Would that involved being touched, she wondered?

This questions is answered almost as soon as she is done thinking it. The measuring tape slides around her hips and her face burns red, the air around her for several feet rising in temperature. He's very close. She is sure she can feel his breath on her skin. "N-not a lot of fabric? W-well its enough to cover me, r-right? We could always get more...c-couldn't we?" she asks, blushing further at her stuttering.

Then he moves up and starts to move the tape across her bust and Maira holds her breath, as if she can't trust herself to breathe. She feels like right now would be a good time to scream and run away--or--other things are popping into her mind. Scarier things.

Of course, then Ivo exclaims in surprise over who knows what and LATCHES onto her nearest grabable parts, causing Maira's eyes to widen. "IVO!" she scolds, shoving him back in embarrassment and alarm.

Then Katyna is there too! Oh. Great! Maira turns toward Katyna and waves. "Ooh, hi Katyna...Ivo's taking my measurements for fire-proof clothing--wait, disembodied--AAAAH WHAT IS THAT!" she screams, and, of course, jumps into Ivo's arms.

Cheshire Cat has posed:
"Well this has taken a turn for the fascinating." The grin says as his head appears, no longer entirely disembodied. As he does this, spiraling purples outline a suit worn by a man, and the remainder of the suit just fades into being, he takes a step back and keeps up that grin. "My name isn't 'Disembodied Grin'" He winks to Ivo again, "You may call me Felix Cheshire." He lifts his eyebrows with that, like it's a hat.

As he puts them back he takes a step back to lean against the wall, "Don't stop making out on my behalf." He stresses the 'making out' part, giving a clear look to Maira, making sure she gets what he's saying. Only then does he look towards Katyna, "I haven't seen Reize today, maybe they'd know where he is?" His gaze turns back to Ivo and Maira.

Katyna has posed:
"woah, is that a disembodied grin? The heck?" Katyna is momentarily distracted from the sight of the lecherous Ivo, and the apparently naieve looking Maira..But dont let that fool you, she hasn't forgotten about you either, Ivo, you sicko!

She looks back at Maira, folding her arms, "Maira, what on earth are you doing, stripping down for a lecher like this guy?" Nope, she's never met him before, but she can already tell what kind of guy he is!

Finally however, Maira has the sense to shove Ivo away, and Kat just grins, "Heh, just another ordinary day at the Shard Seekers' Hq eh? Is that someone's pet..Err..Grin? Ooh! A guy in a purple suit! Nice to meet you, Cheshire, boy Reize is sure popular!" Another glance towards the grin, before looking back at Ivo, "Oh yeah, I'm Katyna. I was actually lookin' for Reize, but I guess he's not here right now, huh? Sooo, fire-proof clothing, eh?" She chuckles, "Good idea, but let's hope it gives you more coverage than your underwear!"

Ivo Galvan has posed:
"Oh, no, the leaves of the red toyon are extraordinarily rare, there's simply no way to acquire more fabric to-- whoa!"

Ivo's all-too-calm explanation is interrupted when Maira shoves him back, shaking him out of his dazed state but causing him to stumble and lose his balance, the typically poised knight-errant windmilling his arms for a moment as he attempts to pull himself together. There's a precarious moment, but at last it seems as though he's going to recover himself.

"Umph--!"

Until Maira jumps into his arms in fright, knocking Ivo over completely, causing her lightly-clad form to fall right on top of him as he hits the ground hard, his arms around her from having instinctively caught her as she leapt. He blinks, shakes his head once, and at last reorienting himself, looks up at the girl on top of him-- and smiles pleasantly.

"You /are/ soft," he marvels. "If only you could have cushioned my fall-- ouch," he winces, something finally interrupting his otherwise endless stream of blandishments as he tries to lift his head, feeling it throb with pain. "...I think I hit my head on the floor." It's almost like he deserved it or something.

Obviously, he makes no attempt whatsoever to move or get up, or even remove his arms from where they're gently embracing Maira's waist, though she could easily push them away if she tried. "One of Reize's friends," he murmurs up at Felix, before grinning again, albeit with one eye squinted shut from the pain. "I should have guessed. Nice to make your acquaintance, Mr. Cheshire." He doesn't seem particularly irritated about the surprise. If anything, now that his senses have returned, he seems amused and a little impressed. Professional respect between inveterate tricksters? "I'm Ivo Galvan, co-founder of the Shard Seekers." And their master strategist. Clearly.

"Oh, /you're/ Katyna?" he then says amiably enough, the young man turning his smile to the girl, not fazed at all by her straight-up insult. Because, uh, how is he going to defend himself from that accusation, anyway? "Reize has mentioned you. Nice of you to stop by. Unfortunately, he's away on business--"

PREVIOUSLY

"What's that, Ivo!?" Reize exclaims, eyes wide. "A little girl /and/ her puppy have fallen down a well, and it's her greatest wish to see her dying grandmother one last time, who was when in her prime a legendary crafter of Hookshots!?"

"That's right, Reize," Ivo says, placing a hand upon his young friend's shoulder. "Now go forth, and rescue her! And take all of the other Shard Seekers with you! And don't look back! Or come home. Until very late."

NOW

"--but I'm sure he'll be back... eventually."

As soon as he finds a well somewhere in this desert.

"It will give her more coverage than her underwear," Ivo assures. "Probably."

Maira has posed:
If she had actually thought about it, that wouldn't have gone how she'd planned. Ivo, you are suppose to catch her, not fall over, you idiot. "Umph!" Maira says as she land on him, wincing at the sound of his head hitting the floor. That's probably bad. But seeing as he is still able to embarrass her and be lecherous, he must be just fine.

Flushing, she removes his arms from around her and stands up, feeling as though she will not be able to continue living at that moment. Breathe Maira, breathe. The air becomes a little hotter around her.
5r Maira's eyes are on Cheshire as he appears, finally, as more than just a disembodied smiley face. Huh. Nice suits. She liked the stripes. In response to the comment about making out, Maira opens her mouth to protest, but isn't sure what exactly she is protesting to. She settles for; "What does 'making out' mean?"

"Nope, haven't seen Reize..." she continues, looking back to Katyna, who scolds Ivo. Ivo says nothing really to defend himself. Maira hangs her head. At mention of the outfit, she sighs some, shrugging. "Well, something is better than nothing, if I can't have a full fire-proof outfit I can at least have flame proof underclothes..."

Back to Ivo. "Are you done with your measurements now?" she asks, though it is more of a plea. Swimming lessons ahoy? At least then she can cool off.

Cheshire Cat has posed:
"It's something lovers do." Felix explains, without going into too much detail. He's gotten up and moved to another place, now sitting on some kind of surface, probably a table. He puts his hands behind his head, and with a slight pop he pulls if off, "Maybe we should play some ball game?" He throws his head into the air, lets it drop to his foot, which kicks it right back to his neck where it reattaches.

"Or we could go swimming, I'm sure that Ivo would love swimming." His grin doesn't disappear, but he winks to Ivo again. "But I wouldn't." He pauses, momentarily not grinning though it doesn't get any less wide. It's like an upside down grin, "I'd get wet."

Katyna has posed:
Katyna chuckles as Ivo stumbles on the ground. "Heh, is this normally how you treat girls? I mean, c'mon! Just be lucky that ain't me your messin' with. But poor, naieve Maira.."

She makes a face at her when she talks about 'making out'. "Hah! He means kissing you, which he's obviously dying to do. What else might he be planning though, I wonder?" STill, it's a good thing she's here to make sure he behaves!

When Ivo speaks of Reize, she seems interested again, "Ooh, he's mentionned me? What'd he say?" Seems this reize interests kat for some reason, whatever for? But then again he seemed garner the attention of many girls. Kat idly wonders if Ivo and Reize ever butt heads.."

Ivo Galvan has posed:
Whew, it's always so toasty around Maira. Maybe /he/ should undress. ...Well, he'll have to anyway, if they're going swimming. But maybe he shouldn't give Katyna any worse of an impression of him than she already has. When the lovely fire mage finally extracts herself from their tangled position the swordsman crosses his arms behind his head, reclining, looking as though he'd meant to end up in this position all along. "Well," he remarks idly up at her, back to being thoroughly amused at her embarrassment, "I suppose I have a good enough sense of your measurements... for now." Perhaps a little more squeezi-- empirical investigation will be in order later.

Wow, Ivo likes this Felix guy already. "Me, Maira's lover? I've never been so flattered," he says modestly, looking up as though, oh, he wouldn't dare. "I could only aspire -- but there's no way a charming lady like her would have any interest in a rogue like me." Whereupon he flashes that smile at her again. "Would you, Maira?" Perish the thought.

"No need to dip into the water yourself, Mr. Cheshire," Ivo adds, raising himself to his feet. "Have you seen the garden yet? Lily and I have put quite some work into it..."

Ivo's gaze shifts to Katyna, quirking an eyebrow slightly. Another chaperone, huh? Two can play that game. "Now, Katyna," he says mildly, "you may insult my integrity all you please, and I understand why given the accident you just witnessed, but I can't stand for you belitting my friend Maira. Naive? How unfair. She chooses only the best of friends." Yeah, just think if Avira weren't watching over her, he'd have her clothes off in-- "I wouldn't dare /plan/ to kiss her. But my desires?" He slowly turns his gaze to Maira, smiles slightly, and then looks away. "Oh, no... I shouldn't say," he murmurs, as though chastizing himself.

Someone is having way too much fun here.

"Aha?" Looking over to Katyna again, he blinks, before a smile flickers about his lips. "Someone sounds interested," he teases, before turning away. "Why don't you join us in the garden and discuss? Shall we, Maira?" he then asks, gallantly sweeping out his arm toward the rear entrance to the backyard, where lies the pond.

Maira has posed:
Whatever it is the strange man in the striped suit is trying to tell her...she doesn't really get it. Well, yeah, swimming. You get wet. Of course, then Felix takes off his HEAD, gives it a casual kick, then re-settles it back onto his neck.

Maira sways where she stands, looking as though she's about to pass out. She's hallucinating. That's it. This is one of those horrible hallucinations when things are just really stupidly weird. Must be a fever dream. Those always feel very real. Uh huh.

Maira looks back to Katyna, and while she has convinced herself she is dreaming she still blushes. She knows what the word naive means. Poor, naive Maira? Patronizing. Maira doesn't like it. She frowns deeply. "Poor naive Maira can also take care of herself," she replies, a bit of pride creeping into her voice. Maira has sort of been through a lot lately. What happened in Baron and afterwards has left its mark on her.

So it is that Maira looks genuinely surprised when Ivo defends her. She looks toward him, blinking several time, her indignation gone only to be replaced with innocently pleased surprise. She looks away then, embarrassed. She doesn't answer Ivo's question about if she was interested in him. It was a silly question.

"Yeah...lets go swimming," she said, but did not take Ivo's offered arm. She walks off ahead on her own.

Ivo Galvan has posed:
Preposterously, Ivo had been speaking to Felix as though the man in the striped suit had not literally removed his head and kicked it around. This is in part due to Ivo's base-level calm, and part due to the fact that Jack Skellington is possessed of similar capacities, so he's getting a little enured to people with strange powers having strange, uh, bodies.

And part of it was just defiance.

Once Ivo Galvan loses his composure, he doesn't lose it again!

Cheshire Cat has posed:

"Well, look at the time." The man in the striped suit gets up from his seat and turns around, his grin long back already. "Can you say hello to Reize for me?" That he doesn't know him is besides the point. "I'll be elsewhere if he needs me." He turns to take his leave, he passes by some furniture and seems like he's hiding his figure behind it, but there's one problem. There's no way he could entirely fit behind it.

Were one to look behind, he's not there. It's clear he's gone ... and that without a trace!

Katyna has posed:
Katyna just clicks her tongue at Ivo. "Ooh, you're sneaky! But, hopefully Maira can fend for herself..And Uist is always there to take care of her! So sorry I cant stay and keep an eye on you, but, I must run!" She grins at Ivo. "You sure are a charmer, but...I'll have to raincheck, see ya!" And she dashes off.

Ivo Galvan has posed:
"Hm?"

Ivo blinks in surprise as Maira asserts her independence, Katyna's words seeming to summon a pride that allows her to shake off his usual teasing. Oddly, to him, her expression still suggests embarrassment, but she seems satisfied rather than bashful. Suddenly she's reticent. What did he say? Katyna was making him look bad, so he had to say /something/ to turn to the tables: accusing her of patronizing Maira was the best approach to taking the rhetorical higher ground. Was Maira /actually/ offended?

...He was so caught up in the fun, he didn't notice.

For the first time in a while--

"Ah... wait for me, Maira."

Ivo looks ashamed of himself.

He hastily glances back, only to see that Felix has made himself scarce. "Huh..." He grins lopsidedly, an eyebrow raising. Whoever that guy is, the swordsman can't help but hope to meet him again. Katyna at least seems entertained by his banter, which is good. He's rather relieved he managed to convert the bad impression... more or less. "I'll let Reize know you were here," he calls to Katyna's departing back, before turning toward the garden entrance. Following behind Maira -- not such a bad place to be, clad as she is -- Ivo's brow furrows after a moment.

"...Who's 'Uist'?"

The garden is quite neat at this point, the back patio set up underneath a trellice swathed in flowering vines, the trees and blossoms blooming as though Fluorgis were not a desert city. Off to the side, the 'pond', obviously a natural spring used for bathing, placidly awaits. Still feeling a little uneasy about his own insensitivity, Ivo clears his throat. "I'm sure she didn't mean to insult you," he says gently. "Your friends are just worried about you. It /did/ look like I was taking advantage of you."

Look like!?

"Why don't we cool down?" he then asks, his playful tone returning, grinning as he looks over to the water and reaches down to, without a second thought, pull his shirt over his head, and then casually begin to unbuckle his belt, even humming to himself as he does so.

Are we sure this isn't just heating up all the more?

Maira has posed:
Yes, she had been insulted, and surprised that Ivo had defended her, what seemed like sincerely. It is always surprising to her when people do that, but it is especially so of Ivo, who is prone to teasing. Usually good natured...but sometimes, she cannot tell--sometimes she worries she's the butt of a joke she doesn't know of.

Maira wanders out toward the pool, her eyes taking in the beautiful garden. Surrounded by the greenery, she visibly relaxes. She takes a deep breath. "I know...I'm just...it just felt like she was calling me dumb. I don't like that," she replies. That's an understatement. Maira is perhaps not the brightest, and has been teased a lot for her weirdness. "Kaydin called me stupid a few days ago after I went to break Avira from Baron. I know Katyna means well, but Kaydin didn't. Sure, he tried to take it back, but what was said was said. "Heh, someone was there to defend me then, too. That was nice. Though he was awfully violent about it..." Maira replies with a small smile. Maira shrugged a little and extended a foot to dip into the water.

As for who Uist is, Maira blinks and looks up. All this time, she hadn't actually looked at Ivo. "Uist is my spirit friend. You can't see him, though sometimes..." she begins to explain, then is confronted with a shirtless man. Maira's eyes widen and she looses her balance, falling backward to splash into the water.

Ivo Galvan has posed:
If it's any consolation, had Ivo realized Maira had been stung by Katyna's words, he /would/ have defended her regardless, perhaps in less playful tones than he had. That at least is evidenced by how his almost ceaseless teasing stops entirely, his expression becoming serious as he listens -- though he doesn't stop undressing -- and is silent as the fire mage speaks. Perhaps for the first time, recognizing that the woman before him has actually been hurt, the knight-errant stops playing around.

"You rescued Avira...?" He doesn't know who this Kaydin is, or what Avira was doing in Baron, but if it has anything to do with why she was dressed up like a maid inside that Memory Sphere he found, that would explain something, at least. After a moment, he smiles slightly, placing a hand on his hip. "How could a 'dumb' person rescue her friend from an impregnable fortress like Baron?" He's never been there, but he's heard the rumors, as he always does. "Your friends are lucky to have you, Maira, and they know it. So be confident. They only tease you because they like you."
r For a moment he looks a little too innocent as he glances off to the side. "In fact," he remarks idly, "if, say, /I/ were to tease you, it would merely be out of affection, so really, there's no reason you couldn't just play along and--"

Splash!

"Maira!?"

It's shallow water, obviously, and if she does stands up and finds her footing, her head should reach above it. Under normal circumstances, Ivo would find that moment highly amusing. But of course--

"Hold on!"

Maira can't swim.

Ivo is already leaping into the water, unhesitatingly reaching down to take the mage by the waist and lift her up. Rather than setting her down right away, he just holds her up under she calms down a little. "Hey, are you alright?" He's not particularly concerned, but he speaks in a calm tone, just to soothe her a little, in case falling into the water shook her up a bit. And perhaps it's to his credit--

"...Oh."

That he only then realizes he's hugging her close, both of them nearly unclothed, while soaking wet in a pool of water. He blinks the water out of his eyes, dampened hair still dripping, before smiling, face mere inches from hers.

"...You really /are/ soft," he remarks again.

Like he can't get over it or something.

Maira has posed:
Well, she doesn't have time to really reply to his questions about what happened in Baron, because she's under water and flailing madly. She kicks the bottom rather hard, stubbing her toe, but that is about the extend of her injury, for she rationalized that if she hit the bottom, she could probably stand, and thus, would not drown. Really, she did have MAGIC too.

Maira resurfaces as Ivo drags her up, sputtering. "I'm okay! I'm okay!" she assures him, reaching upward to peel sopping hair from her face so she could see. Really, she does appear to be fine. Her toe hurts, but seriously? She's been pummeled by heartless frequently. A stubbed toe is a non-issue.

Right, so. Time to reevaluate the situation. She's being hugged. Ivo is not wearing a shirt. Neither is she. This is exactly the sort of situation she was suppose to avoid, isn't it? Avira had expressly warned her!

Maira blinks. Then again. She looks toward Ivo, unable to move. She's just frozen in place, her skin very warm despite the chill of the water. Indeed, she's beginning to steam.

WARNING. WARNING. "I...uh..."

Maira just seems to overload. She faints.

.....Then, THEN, she bursts into flame.

Ivo Galvan has posed:
Ha ha, she's beginning to steam. That's adorable.

Maybe he should let up a little. Show a little mercy for once on Maira's poor innocent heart. Perhaps it would be novel to relent once in a while, and not cross the line every single time.

...Nah.

"Why, Maira, you seem to have a temperature," the knight-errant remarks, voice low and soft, leaning in to press his forehead against her own, as though to test for himself. "Hmm... yes, you seem to have a fever. Now may not be the time for a swimming lesson. Perhaps we should leave the water, and get you out of those wet cl--"

Oh. She fainted.

"Well," he murmurs, "that's no f--"

Fwooosh!

"--fffFFFFUUUUUUUUUUUU--"

Ah, justice.