(open) ☀️ beach bonfire party

[niwabi]

WHO: Everyone! You and you and yes, YOU!
WHAT: Summer Beach Party
WHEN: June 23rd
WHERE: Solarpeak Beach
WARNINGS: none for now!

BEACH PARTY

The sun is shining, a cool, crisp ocean breeze flutters across the shores of Solarpeak Beach. There's not a single cloud in the sky, the perfect day to have a party! Whether you heard about it through Yoimiya's network post, word of mouth or just happen to stumble onto the festivities, everyone is invited to Ellipsa's scorching hot Beach Bonfire Party! Grab your swimsuits, sun dresses, or whatever you feel the most comfortable in, and join in on the fun.

➤

Gonna Soak Up the Sun

Through the combined efforts of Sisu, Yoimiya, and the many kind volunteers who lent their assistance in setting up the venue, the beach party is here and open to the public! Upon arrival, everyone will be given a choice of colorful, handmade hibiscus leis or bracelets to adorn for the party. They aren't mandatory in the slightest, just a cute little thank-you gift to those who are attending. After receiving a warm welcome from the hosts, you're free to set off and have fun! Meet up with friends or introduce yourself to new people from distant worlds, the party is your oyster. Of course, there will be plenty of other activities to partake in as well. Venture forth to the fun!

Feeling brave and daring? Sitting on top of the ocean is an inflatable balance beam built especially for water jousting. Foam joust poles and life jackets (if you wish to wear one!) will be given to would-be challengers looking to scratch the itch for a fight. The goal is to assert your dominance by knocking adversaries into the water and be the last person standing. Show off your strength and become the champion of the beach!

Perhaps you might be in the mood for a bit of fun in the sand. A large area of the beach is sectioned off for the grand Sandcastle Competition. Solarpeak residents from all across the city are bustling with excitement, flocking in to watch the artists do their magic, so go wild with your creations and give them a good show! Buildings, any kind of sculpture, or even just a basic castle are all accepted, let your imagination run free. You can even drag a buddy in for a helping hand if your work of art requires assistance. For the winner, the grand prize is a summer gift basket filled with goodies for a nice relaxing spa day at home. Tucked away inside the basket are gift cards to various restaurants in Ellipsa. Don't fret if you aren't interested in participating! Anyone is welcome to walk around and marvel at the competitor's creations.

➤

A Feast for All

The hosts are bound and determined to ensure that no one leaves this beach hungry. If you're craving a cold tasty treat to stave off the heat, a bustling shaved ice stall is here to cool down roasting attendees. An endless variety of flavors are available for mixing and matching, waiting to quench your thirst. If you are feeling adventurous, there are a few questionable flavors on the menu such as Bacon, Durian, Jalapeño, Ketchup, Mushroom, Pickle juice and Seaweed. Try them at your risk or if your palette is "hungry" for something more on the "unique" side.

For those who made inquiries about alcohol, special arrangements have been made! A small pop-up bar has been set up for today's joyous occasion. The bar's pride and joy is a variety of summer-themed cocktails but you can also find other basic liquor or non-alcoholic drinks if your tastebuds are craving simplicity. To go alongside the refreshing beverages, food is also provided at this small establishment. Some of the dishes on the menu are: kebabs with a hint of rum, peach bruschetta, spring rolls, fish and chips, crab hush puppies, and a spicy jalapeño popper dip (you can also ask for the ghost pepper version of this dip if you are feeling brave). All the hosts ask is that visitors to the bar be mindful of the people who can't or aren't interested in drinking.

Decorated across the shores of the beach are tables, picnic blankets, and sizzling hot grills for the designated picnic area. In a similar fashion to the potluck that took place a while back, several tables have been set up for those who like to go crazy in the kitchen or wish to advertise their food business by bringing samples to share.

Time flies when so much fun is taking place! As the last light of day begins to fade, the stars come out to brighten up the night sky on this clear summer day. However, just because there's no more sunlight, doesn't mean the party is over. Far from it! There's still lots of excitement to be had for the attendees who wish to stick around for the night festivities.

➤

A Midsummer Night's Glow

On the middle of the beach, a blazing bonfire burns ever so brightly inside a log fire pit. Eat snacks, catch up with friends, meet new people, or get cozy with others should one be feeling touch starved. In need of an icebreaker? A game of truth or dare or telling scary stories makes for a good way to pass the time. Maybe you'll have a fateful encounter and land yourself a date before the night is over.

With a sky full of beautiful stars, a bustling bonfire, and a large open space, the atmosphere is perfect for dancing. The DJ for the evening is the bright and energetic Aimoto Rinku, here to bust out an array of sick beats with her turntable. There's plenty of fun to be had in a group conga line or grab a partner for a slow, romantic bolero, and dance to whatever music piques your interest. A small makeshift stage is also set up for those who wish to sing, Rinku will be more than happy to work with any potential performers. From upbeat EDM to ballads, all types of genres fill the air with music. Let loose, enjoy the melody, and dance the night away!

➤

Festive Mementos

For one of the hosts, summer just isn't the same without fireworks exploding across the sky. To end the evening with a bang, a beautiful barrage of fireworks paints the night sky in various colors and patterns. As a final gift to the attendees, Yoimiya has prepared sparklers for everyone to play with. There are a variety of colors to choose from, pink, red, blue, green, orange, purple, yellow, etc. No matter what color catches your fancy, with a little flick of the wand, all of them appear like twinkling stars sparkling and flickering across the stick.

To end off the light show, fireworks representing each of the seasons burst into the sky. Blue snowflakes for Winter, pink cherry blossoms for spring, a yellow sun for Summer, and red maple leaves for Autumn. After the vibrant display, a final golden ray of light flickers and explodes into a bright, heartwarming message for all of the guests. "Thank you for attending! You are all amazing! Let's have a great time in Ellipsa!"

(OOC: Make your own top levels, mingle and have fun! ♡)

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[hometown]

Reiner's fingers twitch in Eren's grasp, the reflexive (taught, ingrained) need to defend his country rising within him. He should say it wasn't fucked up; he should say they were chosen Warriors, not mere children; he should say it was an honor bestowed upon few, and there's no way Eren could ever understand. He can feel the words forming hot on this tongue, knowing they'll come with an accusation that Eren sounds like a filthy Restorationist.

But how ridiculous would that be, accusing Eren of being a Restorationist? Eren, who spent his whole life on Paradis? Eren, who Reiner is supposed to consider an inhuman devil?

Reiner bites his tongue, trying to smother his offense. Selfishly, he doesn't want to fight again. Not right now. Not when Eren's hand is so warm in his. Not when he still feels so despicably weak for losing track of himself, even if he ultimately won the game.

Still, his fingers twitch.

"I remember those lessons," Reiner says. They weren't the first lessons Reiner had in shooting a rifle. All his hours spent practicing back home made him look better in Paradis. "They stuck out. Came in handy when we had to shoot Titans in the face once. Otherwise, they didn't seem very practical."

Not in a place where people weren't supposed to go to war with other people. Just one of the many things that didn't quite make sense about Paradis' society.

Reiner takes a breath, letting it out in a near-silent sigh. Then, finally, he releases a few of the words still sitting on his tongue:

"I chose this. You know that, right, Eren? It was my decision."

As if he could've made a fully informed decision when he was ten years old, much less when he began training at five. But even if it was a decision born from lie after lie, a desperate child chasing a dream, begging to be wanted, Reiner still has to live with the consequences. He still has to move forward.

Again and again, Reiner has made the decision to push forward. What else can he do now but more of the same?

[dreamsofwings]

Eren glances sideways, considers if he's going to answer the way he wants to, takes a breath.

"No," he says. "I mean…later. We trained to shoot people."

The earlier lessons had seemed pointless to Eren, too. Shooting titans with guns, with cannons, did any of that ever work? Not really. It was a stop gap until someone else could get behind them and take them out, most of the time. The thunderspears were effective, but he doesn't bother mentioning them. He doesn't know if Reiner's actually seen a thunderspear yet. Doesn't matter.

He doesn't elaborate on who or when or why. Who taught them to shoot guns like that? Ha, Reiner wouldn't believe him, he thinks. Marleyan turncoats, people oppressed by Marley and sympathising with Eldians. Reiner would probably be scandalised to hear that as he is now. When? Sometime before Eren tipped himself completely into madness and went behind Marley lines alone and on purpose. Why? That one's easy. You learn to shoot guns at people to kill people. People, not titans.

"Some choice," Eren answers, derisive, but not really at Reiner. He knows how few choices those kids had. It's disgusting to him, the way Marley was willing to use children, to throw away Eldian lives because they were so obsessed with keeping their own power.

"We're the same," he says, faraway for a moment, like he has said/will say to Reiner in the future. "You and me, we're exactly the same."

That's not true and he knows it. He's the worse one, willing to drown the whole world in blood. It goes so far beyond the island's shores, beyond the concept of who is good and who is evil, devils and men. Eren is the real devil, after all, just like they called him in Marley. He, too, chose something that is no choice at all, though he won't see it that way.

They're both moving forward down a path that only one of them knows the end to. Even then, though, there are questions Eren can't answer about the hideous unthinkable future. Maybe with Zeke, he could, but he hopes that Zeke never shows up here, for his own sake, for Eren's sake. For everyone's sake. He knows he's better off if they never see each other again, never talk, never touch. Together they are a death sentence.

He looks down at his hand, clasping Reiner's still. Together, they could be something terrible too, he thinks. They have to choose to be otherwise. It's a hard choice, somehow, the choice to not be a monster. He wonders if Reiner would feel the same there, too.

[hometown]

Reiner blinks, the full meaning of Eren's comment about rifles dawning. He opens his mouth, words forming on his tongue, an explanation before a flood of questions. But Reiner cuts off that explanation before it leaves his lips, silencing it and whatever would follow.

He was going to say, "I forgot." Because for a moment, Reiner did. Not who and what he is—not this time—but the simple fact that there are years stretching between their disparate times. Eren didn't wake up one day and find himself physically older with nothing in the interim. Reiner has missed years of Eren's life. Five years, a fact that resonates in Reiner, seeming too significant for a coincidence. What are the chances that Eren's mysterious years would equal the same amount of time Reiner spent in Paradis?

Reiner knows so little of what happened during those five years. He can guess, putting together a rough outline from context clues, piecing together the puzzle one oddity at a time. He could do more than just guess: he could actively seek answers, starting with questioning Gabi. But would that answer what happened to Eren?

"Now I keep living," Eren said back at the food court, eating ramen on what might've been their first date. A vague answer before a more revealing one: "We learned the truth after that."

The truth. A dangerous thing at the best of times. Something Reiner spent five years carefully avoiding divulging.

Is that truth why Eren and the others had to learn how to shoot people? Dread coils in Reiner's gut, the suspicion that he could've failed so categorically sending a cold chill through his body. Is there a full-scale war looming in the future?

Then Eren keeps speaking, saying that they're the same. Reiner sits motionless, his head turned to watch Eren, studying the other boy's profile. Trying to piece together what Eren means. Trying to understand why Eren would say such a thing when he knows precisely what a horrible person Reiner is.

No, not even a person. That's what Eren said mere months ago for Reiner, the words still ringing clearly in Reiner's head: "You two aren't even human anymore!!" Why would Eren call them the same after that? What happened during those five years?

"Eren…," Reiner starts, then trails off, watching Eren looking down at their joined hands. He wants to ask what Eren means by saying such a thing. But for some reason, he thinks of asking Bertolt, "What do you mean, 'Warrior'?" Is the answer hovering just out of Reiner's grasp, as it was back then? Would Eren only stare at him in silence as Bertolt did?

In the end, Reiner voices none of his questions. He only squeezes Eren's hand, still watching Eren's face, gold eyes searching for something just beyond his grasp.

[dreamsofwings]

Eren could spill some of it, messy and angry, like he had a half-cocked plan to when they talked in the food court. That sure as hell hadn't gone how he'd thought, and now there was a shift, and something was different. He wanted to hurt with that cheap ass attack during the game. He doesn't want to cut any deeper, not now. It's selfish to tell Reiner what happens and it's selfish to keep it to himself. There are no good choices.

He stares off at the horizon, the water stretching on. It's not anywhere near as far across this ocean-lake as even the trip to Marley proper was. But from here, he can't see that. There's just water and sky.

He thinks of the first time, everyone running around in the water. All he could feel was dread, knowing what would happen and not being able to explain how or why or when. He could drift away into that day. Everything changed that day, though it had already changed. But the world was suddenly so much wider in a tangible way. Reading about it in his father's journal was different. Even his fucked up memories that knew better were different.

Standing there in the ocean, all he could think about was death. That's all it's been for years, death and more death until there is no one left to die, or until Eren himself dies.

If you want to stop me, you'll have to stop me breathing.

He opens his mouth to say…well, who knows what. He closes it again.

Reiner says his name and the present sits in stark relief against the future/past. This is not their ocean. There are no enemies here. The only enemy here is next to him, their fingers interlaced. Eren doesn't want him to be anywhere else.

We can be something different.

As in Folkmore, Eren lives with the terrifying question, though: what if he can't? What if he can only be a monster? It's not as if you get to come back from genocide. Sure, sure, he hasn't actually done it, walked through it, lived it. But he's lived it a million times in the past couple of years, the parts of it that he knows so well. And the truth of it: he would do it anyway. If he goes home, it still happens. Even thinking about it, given a choice, he knows he would make the same one over and over again, so that the handful of people he loves too much could be free. Reiner, too. In the end, if he lives through it, won't he get to be free too?

What do you want to be? Reiner had asked him. Alive, he had said, and it was one of the truest things he's said in ages.

"We all made shitty choices," he finally says, which is also true. "We were born in a world that didn't want to give us choices at all. We were born in cages, both of us."

That is not what he meant when he called them the same, something Reiner can probably discern, but it is something he believes. The contempt for those cages drips from his voice, sits in the lines of his face, here and not here, staring at a memory as much as the skyline in front of them.

He feels Reiner's hand squeeze his again and he pulls himself out of it, looking sideways again, anger slipping away from him as he wills it to. His hair is still a mess, clinging to his face in wet pieces. He finally uses his free hand to push some of it back.

"I don't wanna sit here anymore," he says.

[hometown]

In the silence before Eren speaks, Reiner continues to watch Eren's profile, turning those inexplicable words over and over in his mind. We're the same. You and me, we're exactly the same. Their meaning continues to elude Reiner, hovering just beyond reach. What presses in instead are those five mysterious years, at least part of which Eren spent in a different world. Reiner holds Eren's hand, and he wonders (again and again and again) what happened to Eren to change him so drastically.

Truthfully, everyone from their world has changed. Historia has changed, the girl Reiner knew as "Krista" fading from sight. Jean and Mikasa have changed, their years spent in other worlds leaving indelible marks. Levi and Hange have changed: Levi physically, Hange in rank, both in knowledge. And Gabi… Gabi was just a kid. She's supposed to be eight years old, not within spitting distance of Reiner's age. She's supposed to be safe in Liberio, not making friends with Scouts.

Yet those changes make sense to Reiner, more or less. There are some he doesn't understand, mainly concerning events and attitudes. (Why is Hange willing to give him a chance? What "important role" does Levi believe Reiner has to play? How the fuck did Gabi start thinking of Levi as her "best friend"?) However, the passage of time accounts for most changes, leaving Reiner feeling uninformed but not bewildered.

Eren is a different story. Next to all the others, Eren sticks out like a sore thumb, the changes in him far too drastic to be blamed on time alone. What the hell happened? What turned the boy who only thought about revenge into the young man holding Reiner's hand, saying that they're the same?

Eren speaks again. The words strike like Zeke's boulders, peeling away armor with each impact. Reiner's fingers twitch again, his hand squeezing, holding Eren's a little tighter.

Shitty choices. No choices at all. Born in cages, the both of them.

Reiner stares at Eren, his throat tight. Thinking of his mother crying as she told him the secret of his paternity, her wish that he'd been born to a Marleyan. Thinking of walls topped with barbed wire, guards with guns they weren't afraid to use. Thinking of the years he spent sweating, bleeding, and fighting for a red armband. Thinking of Marcel, of Annie, of Bertolt. Shiganshina, Wall Maria, the Training Corps, Trost, Marco. Standing atop Wall Rose explaining things to Eren, genuinely believing that Eren might go with them willingly. Waiting atop Wall Maria months later, knowing it was just a matter of time until he would have to kill his friends.

Eren looks over at him, eyes drawing Reiner in as surely as the ocean could swallow him whole. The people on the beach may as well be nonexistent. There is only Eren's face. Only Eren's eyes. Only Eren's hand held tightly in Reiner's. Only their bodies swaying with the waves, moved by a force beyond their control.

Impulsively, Reiner reaches out with his free hand, brushing more hair away from Eren's face. He tucks a stray, wet lock behind Eren's ear, his fingers a little clumsy; it's not something Reiner is used to doing. (So much of this is beyond his experience. What's one more thing?) His fingertips linger on Eren's cheek for a second too long, memories of cupping Eren's face in the dark pushing to the forefront of Reiner's mind.

Then Reiner drops his arm, his other hand loosening its grip on Eren's.

"Will you let me help you swim back?" Reiner asks, expecting a refusal. He offers anyway.

[dreamsofwings]

If Eren stopped to think for a second, he'd realise he's probably gone too far, said too much. But does it really matter? He knows he's different. Reiner hasn't (yet) seen him completely shut down, quiet and haunted and matter-of-fact instead of threatening, pseudo-helpful and then an explosion of lightning. Younger Eren was all screams, all tells, easy to read and easy to push. Eren now…well.

He can feel Reiner staring at him. He wonders idly what the other boy must see, not just his long hair and sharper lines, baby roundness gone from his face, still-wide green eyes looking at the horizon like there's something there to look at. He doesn't know what people see when they look at him. A monster, he thinks, but Reiner doesn't know him as one yet. As always, though, Eren doesn't give other people enough credit.

When he looks at Reiner, Reiner reaches out and pushes his hair back, still wet. That would have been futile when he was younger, but now that wet lock stays. It's a bit messy, but maybe that's just a metaphor for how things are with them.

He might be leaning just slightly into Reiner's touch before it drops away again. He forces his fingers to uncurl, to let go, though they're still touching.

His eyebrows pull together in a frown.

"What makes you think I need help?"

[hometown]

Reiner blinks. Blinks again. He opens his mouth to point out the obvious: Eren's lack of a life jacket, earlier flailing in the water, and inexperience swimming in the ocean. But what comes out instead is … laughter.

It isn't mean or mocking laughter. It's just laughter. Reiner's shoulders shake with it, his face lit up, gold eyes crinkling at the corners. For a second, he probably looks like what he is: a young man on the edge of eighteen, charmed by someone for whom he cares. For a second, it's no more complicated than that.

It's just so like Eren to stay stubborn until the bitter end. Even after that earlier (cruel, humiliating) stunt and the weight of unsaid things between them, Reiner can't help but laugh.

Then he rolls his eyes and shifts forward, slipping into the water. He ducks beneath the surface and swims beneath the inflatable beam, coming up a few feet from Eren's knee.

"Come on, then," he challenges, water dripping from his hair.

[dreamsofwings]

A frown settles on Eren's face, eyebrows pulled together. He almost gets actually mad about it, Reiner's laughter. It's not mocking, but Eren doesn't like feeling like he's being laughed at. But…

But the whole thing is pretty fucking stupid and he knows that. He can't laugh himself, though. Does he remember how, when he's not being a lunatic trying to pull it together and failing? Apparently not. Someday, maybe. Not today.

"Shut the fuck up," he grumbles.

He settles for rolling his eyes right back as Reiner moves away from him. He looks back in time to see Reiner disappear, then reappear on Eren's side of the beam.

He shoves off the beam himself, into the water. It's still weird, the pull of the ocean. Sure, this is all fake, but it feels real enough — especially to someone who's only stood in the ocean as a human being, like, twice. Also, was Eren that strong a swimmer to begin with? He's not even sure; it's been years since he actually swam any distance. He knew how as a kid, and he's pretty good at remembering things like that when he needs to. Somewhere in his fucked up head there's others who must have known how. That won't make him great at this.

If he was younger, he might make this a challenge too, demanding a race. He doesn't, though. Lesson very temporarily learned about hubris, at least with ocean shit. He just swims to catch up with Reiner as best he can. He's not awful, so he's managing, but he's not as adept as Reiner is. Maybe he could use help, but like hell he's going to admit that to anyone including himself.

[hometown]

Predictably, Reiner lingers until Eren catches up, treading water with the skill of someone who has plenty of experience swimming in waves. Of course, it's been a while since Reiner has done so before today, just as it's been a while since he practiced melee combat with a rifle. (He's far better than he used to be, although he doesn't know it. Brute force makes a big difference.) However, they aren't lessons readily forgotten—even when they get confused in Reiner's head.

What else has gotten confused in Reiner's head? There's no way for him to know. No way to tell until it untangles itself, his self-deception laid plain. He hopes he hasn't forgotten or twisted anything too significant.

Disregarding Eren's demand that he shut the fuck up, Reiner soon speaks again.

"You know," he says as they swim toward shore, keeping pace with Eren, "helping you swim would just mean having my arms around you for a bit. Not that you need it."

He glances at Eren, more to see the other boy's reaction than out of any hope that Eren will allow it. Maybe Reiner would have a better shot under different circumstances, renewing the contact his body already misses, the water feeling cooler than ever against his too-warm skin. As it is, the shore isn't far away.

[dreamsofwings]

Eren can swim, but in the clumsy way of a kid who taught himself how. He doesn't flounder or choke and that's good enough, but he couldn't keep up with Reiner's actual smooth strokes if he tried. Good thing he didn't do something like challenge Reiner to a race.

"Yeah, you wish," is all Eren says, but if there's some telltale colour on his face at the thought, he pretends it's not there. He looks young for a second, younger than he already looks, expression wavering between irritation and something he won't acknowledge. He thinks of Reiner against him. What would that feel like in the water? He's not going to find out today, too proud and stubborn.

Finally he can just put his feet down and walk (stomp?) the rest of the way to the shore. His pants slow him down, heavy and wet, threatening to slide off until he catches his waistband with a hand. He makes a note to get shorts if he has to swim anywhere again.

He glances back. Even through his annoyance at losing, he's still got room to notice Reiner, the way the water runs along the planes of muscle in his chest as he comes to the shore, off his shoulders, hair turned gold in the afternoon sunlight.

[hometown]

Reiner tries (and mostly fails) to keep a smug smile from tugging at his lips, pleased by the color that alights on Eren's cheeks. Apparently, Eren isn't the only one whose words can plant ideas in the other boy's mind. The situation is entirely different, the revenge barely qualifying as such, painting thoughts of desire instead of twisting a knife. Still, Reiner is strangely satisfied.

Eren hurt him. Eren still wants him. Eren likes this more when they're not angry with each other. Eren thinks that he and Reiner are the same.

Reiner will ruminate on those thoughts in the days (weeks? months?) to come.

They reach the shore, Reiner's gaze catching on the small of Eren's back as those water-laden trousers nearly drop. Saltwater droplets shine in the sun, diamonds on Eren's skin, and fuck, Reiner wants to lick them off. He pulls his eyes away as he gets his feet under him, his own exit from the water considerably more dignified thanks to his attire. But he looks back in time to notice Eren noticing him, and he can't help looking pleased.

He likes that Eren finds him attractive. He likes the idea that Eren wants him even more. For now, Reiner doesn't examine that too closely.

"We should have a rematch sometime," Reiner says, as if he didn't mop the floor with Eren in nearly every bout. Reiner means it as more than just water jousting, though he doesn't say it outright. He just lets the words hang, his desire for a future competition plain.

[dreamsofwings]

Reiner's revenge is much softer than Eren's, but that tracks. Eren has always been brutal, though Reiner does not yet have any idea just how far he'll go. There's only the barest hint, the way Eren turns cold, the way his voice goes flat, the way he picks something that will hurt the most without ever swinging a fist. Of course he's still violent; his promise to Levi to be better doesn't make him some sort of pacifist. His words, though, are less likely to be screamed like an explosion and more likely to be targeted like sniper bullets.

Reiner looks pleased when Eren looks at him. Even if he's not forgiven for that shit he pulled a few minutes ago, they're not…too bad off, he thinks. Surprisingly, that's a relief. He didn't fuck this up entirely. Reiner shouldn't forgive him. He hopes he doesn't; that would be worse, actually. But even with all of it, they're still…

Something. He has no idea what, and any word he assigns is wrong. They're just something.

He almost doesn't answer that last remark, but of course in the end he can't just shut up.

"I'm not gonna lose next time," he says, nonsensically, since obviously they're not talking about this exact game. Whatever awaits them in the future, whatever they decide to compete on, could be just as one-sided and he knows that. He says it anyway, though.

He lingers a moment longer before he finally forces himself to look away. If he stays here like this, he'll grant Reiner that request to touch, though they're not in the water now. He's still too sore about losing to want to give in.

"I'm gonna go dry off," he says. Without waiting for an answer, he turns and heads back up the beach towards wherever towels are.