Speaker of the Dead

When Tablo asked her later that evening if she wanted to go for a walk before they would go to bed, something which they tented to do from time to time, Bom easily agreed. After having put on her white coat and her boots, she was ready to enjoy a nice evening walk with her boyfriend. Walking hand in hand with him through the snow she talked with him about the idea of her family visiting them. Being excited about seeing them once more she told Tablo that she’d discuss it with them too and then would let him know a date for when they could come and visit them and spend a nice vacation on the island. Already looking forward to seeing her grandmother and father again and introducing both of them to Tablo, she didn’t notice how Tablo wasn’t exactly going into the direction they usually went for their ‘night walks’. It was only when they left the forest and she could see a new cottage standing on a cliff near the sea that she realised that they had been walking into a completely different direction.

Staring at the cottage for a moment in surprise, Bom first didn’t get the purpose of it. When her boyfriend gave her hand a soft squeeze and started to talk, however, she glanced up at him right on time to receive the peck on her lips after which she grinned totally excited and caring up at him as he continued talking. “Oh my God! Tablo!” She gasped, lifting up her other hand so she could hide her wide grin behind it she turned her gaze back to the cottage. Breathing out a happy, warm but short laughter then as she took in the beautiful looking cottage with the garden she dropped her hand from her mouth in order to speak. “It looks wonderful!” She exclaimed as she turned her body towards him then so she could hug him. “Thank you, darling. I love it!” Hugging him tightly she then gave him a good long loving kiss to thank him for the present after which she quickly took hold of his hand once more so they could get inside of the cottage being totally excited about it to see it from the inside.

Holding her breath so she wouldn’t make a single noise as he leaned in, Bom closed her eyes and tilted her head ever so lightly so she could receive, accept and answer his kiss. A kiss which was over too soon to her liking and which she somehow told him in the way she leaned  more into him to let the soft and precious kiss last a little second longer when he was already pulling away. Opening her eyes fully the moment she couldn’t feel his lips anymore Bom looked up at him, feeling a bit unsure at first until she saw that warm smile on his face. Not being able to resist that beautiful smile of his, she easily copied his one although in her smile there was a hint of relief visible and way more giddy than his was. Glancing over at his arm and his hand for a moment as he moved them, Bom soon caught up with his ‘plan’ and settled herself against him. Positioning herself against his side while she took hold of his hand she let her head rest against his shoulder after which she breathed out an inaudible but content and deep sigh. Letting her mind go over the happenings a couple of times more, she couldn’t help but smile giddy -and probably really stupid- in front of her as she softly squeezed his hand for a moment, as if to make sure that she wasn’t dreaming any of this. Thinking after a moment longer that maybe she should stop repeating the kiss in her mind over and over again, she turned her head a bit so she could look at the sky and instantly she remembered the night where they both had looked up at the night sky and where she had listened to a couple of his songs. “The sky is beautiful tonight, so as the stars.” She stated with a soft smile as she was awed by the view. Starting a small and soft conversation with him once more until he stated that they should head back to the circus.

Humming a bit displeased at his statement because Tablo forced her to come back down to reality with it, Bom eventually agreed. “Yeah, you’re probably right.” Sighing deeply she made a face in front of her which clearly showed how much she did not want to leave this place, nor her place against his side. Though a smile bloomed on her face once more when she felt how he gave her a kiss on her temple. “It’s not the walk I worry about, like… I don’t mind walking,” She answered as she let go of him and got up from the bench. “It’s just… I don’t want to go back already.” Humming lightly as they started to walk back to the camp, Bom was glad to feel his hand resting on her middle. Crossing her arms in front she looked down at the ground as she quickly continued, “But well yeah, I guess we’ve been gone for a long time already and we need to perform soon… Mhm.” Stopping there because she didn’t really know how to voice out her displease in a social expectable way she just decided to hold her mouth shut about it and instead started to talk with him about the other things that involved the circus.

Letting his fingers automatically curl around her hands gently when she took hold of his, he smiled warmly and gratefully at her wish for a good performance for him, nodding his head and wishing her good luck as well. And then she came closer once again to give him another peck, this time leaving him with a stupid, happy grin on his face after all as she pulled away and walked off. Watching her go, he remained in his position, looking after her and letting the feelings inside of him fill him up and vibrate through him with their comforting warmth. And even long after she had disappeared from his sight, he still didn't move, taking the time for himself to embrace these feelings and let them settle in his emotional palette, grateful for the opportunity to be the owner of them again.

Staying silent as they were walking Bom was too busy thinking about her cheeks to pay attention to where they were going. Yet she got woken up from her own triad of negative thinking when Tablo took hold of her hand. Looking up at him she gently smiled over at his side profile and took a better hold of his hand so she wouldn’t let his hand slip away or anything like that. Thoughts of her ‘red’ cheeks being completely forgotten the female glanced around to take in the beautiful scenery. “Oh whoa, it’s beautiful here Tablo.” She spoke in an admiring tone of voice as she followed the male’s lead to the resting place. Arriving there Bom took place next to Tablo on one of the benches. Giving him a content smile back, she then too took her time to see what this place had to offer them. “Truly beautiful.” She repeated herself in a soft whisper after a little while as she looked up sky.

Dropping his hand to his own lap again, he looked at Bom a little longer, not speaking and his smile dimming away, leaving his usual expression as he gazed at her. His eyes flicked over her face, going from her eyes to her forehead to her cheeks to her lips to her chin and back to her eyes, continuing to take in her face until eventually they settled on her eyes once more. His expression softened then but something else appeared in his gaze as well, something Bom would surely recognise if she had ever seen a man intending on kissing the woman in front of him. And there was no hesitation in Tablo, no worry, nervousness or anxiety as there had been before. Leaning in slowly, he gently pressed his lips against Bom's, kissing her softly for a moment before pulling back again. And it was then that the smile bloomed back on his face, expression softening completely, warmth flooding into it and his care for her seemingly radiating from him. Gently removing his hand from hers, he shifted his arm so he could put it around her shoulders and - as if to make up for the lack of his hand - reached out with the other one to take hold of her hand once more.

He settled like that, gently pulling her to his side a little as his loving and warm expression kind of settled on his face as well. Sitting with Bom on the bench, he still didn't really feel the need to say anything, instead willing to sit there and hold her to him for the rest of the night. But it didn't bother him when she spoke and he tilted his head lightly to look up at the night sky as well. "It is beautiful," he agreed, continuing on a moment later with a little bit of knowledge he had about stars, constellations and the likes. It might not be the most impressive thing to say, but it was a little something he could add to the conversation and from there they started talking again as they always did. It was after a good while that Tablo realised the time and hummed slightly. "Maybe we should head back," he hummed with a soft smile. "It's still a bit of a walk." When Bom agreed, his smile turned slightly amused before he leaned in once more and this time placed a soft kiss on the side of her head. "It'll be fine," he stated easily, moving to get up. Although he didn't take his arm from around her, he did let it slide down to her middle instead of around her shoulders. Waiting for her to be up proper and well, he then put himself in motion and started on the way back.

Having the feeling that time stood still as she sat there in silence while staring at their hands, the feeling of time came back to her when the waiter came to bring their ice-cream. Looking up at the male Bom instantly became aware of the fact of how the nervousness from before had vanished to the background and how it had swapped place with happiness and the wonderful feeling of infatuation. Smiling warmly up at the waiter Bom thanked him shortly as he put the ice-cream in the middle and then looked over at Tablo to see how he paid for everything. Smiling way more calmly over at him now than she had done before she chuckled playfully when he agreed with her and told her that the ice-cream was indeed yummy. “Told you so.” Mostly eating in silence Bom’s heart fluttered a tinsy little bit every time Tablo ‘fed’ her something she just had to try and she too made him eat two things he just had to try.

Enjoying the dessert together with him, Bom contently smiled over at the by now empty glass as she granted her stomach some time to start and digest the food. Glancing back up at Tablo the moment he hummed she felt a little bit sad because he said that it was time to go.  Yet his next comment didn’t leave her any more time to think about that, however. Huffing out a very aburpt chuckle, Bom made some playful complaining noises because of his comment after which she shook her head and huffed with a smile. “Apeh, of course you don’t have to roll me back to camp!” Pulling her hand back she started to get up from her chair so she could put her coat on and put her little bag over her shoulder. “I’ll just fly to camp if I can’t walk.” She continued, still defending herself lightly since there was no way she’d ever roll her way back to the camp. “I’ll force the wind to carry me. Nah.” Firmly nodding her head once at the end of her sentence, an amused grin soon became visible again on her face as she looked over at Tablo to see if he was ready to go or not.

Taking a few turns and just taking in the city's buildings and presentation, he then took another turn which led them right onto a beautifully decorated street which, if they followed it a little further only, brought them to a - hopefully - beautiful place to sit, enjoy the sight of the stars and the trees around them. As he took the turn, he let his arm gently slide through Bom's until he could intertwine his fingers with hers. Taking a gentle hold of her hand like that came naturally to him and he continued walking without any sense of discomfort. Heading over to the little resting place he discovered that it luckily looked even better in reality than it had done on the pictures he'd seen of it. Smiling somewhat relieved and content, he led his date over to the benches in the middle of the parlour so they could take a seat and enjoy the view on this pleasant warm evening. Even as he took a seat and gently urged Bom to sit down next to him, he didn't really say much, instead running his thumb over the back of her hand gently and then looking over at her with a warm smile.

Waiting for the waiter to come back to their table she ordered their ice-cream and told the young male that the food was extremely good when he questioned them how it was. Letting the waiter clear the table she breathed out a small inaudible but definitely content sigh as she eyed the by now empty table. Savouring this moment for a couple of seconds, in which she was on a date with Tablo and had enjoyed a splendid meal just now and was looking forward to dessert, Bom sighed once more after which she looked up at the man that was sitting across the table. Smiling softly at him - if she’d meet his gaze - she let her hands and elbows rest on the table in between them. Placing her hands as far as she could on the table, without being suspicious, she secretly hoped that Tablo would take hold of her hand. But well, even though she hoped for this to happen she wouldn’t take hold of his hand herself.

Only when Bom turned back to him and leaned forward a little to place her hands on the table, did he move along. Taking the hint subconsciously, he unfolded his own hands and reached out to place his right hand on top of her left one. That way she'd still have her right hand free later on to eat with and he could manage to eat with his left, that wouldn't be too much of a problem. Gently curling his fingers around her hand again, he took a more solid hold of it, returning her smile with one of his own; a soft and warm one like usual. Breathing out a soft, content sigh he just sat like that, holding Bom's hand in his and waiting for time to come to a standstill in this moment. But of course nothing of the sort happened and instead he sat there waiting for the ice cream to be given, which was when he leaned back a little again without letting go of Bom's hand. Allowing the waiter to put the ice cream coupe in between them, he then thanked the man when he got the bill, looking at it and nodding, picking his wallet out of his pocket and only momentarily letting go of Bom's hand then to take out the proper amount of bills. Giving a little bit extra for the man's effort and the great food, he watched the other walk away for a moment while he put his wallet back in his pocket.

"I hope you’ll find some time soon to work again. It’s a pitty that some of the ideas you have now will maybe go to waste because you don’t have time to work on them right now." She stated once she had swallowed her food. "Good luck with the next song, anyway." Looking up at him when she stated that, Bom flashed a genuinely encouraging and warm smile at him after which she then turned her attention again on her way too delicious food. "Mhm! I really do love the way they have prepared the duck here. It’s really… really… just… mhm." Humming contently about the food she was eating to express how much she actually did approve of it Bom’s eyes soon fell on the beef which stood only a little end away from the duck. "The beef is delicious too, I just keep getting reminding of how good it is each time I put something in my mouth.” Blurting that out it was really not so difficult to see from Bom’s expression how much the girl in fact loved to eat and how much she loved to eat the food which was served in front of her now.

Smiling at Bom when she wished him good luck, he nodded his head lightly. "Don't worry, whatever melody I forget probably isn't good enough to become an actual song, otherwise it would keep bugging me until I make something out of it. Which, honestly, a few melodies are doing right now." Grinning lightly to show Bom that he didn't mind that at all and that it wasn't a bother to have melodies play around in his head, he then refocused on the food, feeling his smile widen when the younger woman showed her appreciation for the food on their table. "I'm glad you like it so well," he stated with a grin after her words about the beef, nodding his head and then adding: "It is quite remarkably good indeed, though." Voicing out his agreement with her words like that, he continued to eat while keeping up a conversation with his date about the food, music, singing and all kinds of things. As usual talking came easy around Bom and the subjects ranged from things he tended to talk about to completely random subjects he hardly ever brought up but that seemed to become interesting just because he discussed them with her.

Having a happy and soft smile plastered on her face from then on, Bom glanced a bit around to discover her surroundings while she really did enjoy the fact that he was actually on a date with Tablo and that hopefully a second date would follow, Bom turned her head back to the male when he started to speak to her again. Answering him the both of them had a small conversation again about their previous topic while they waited for their food to arrive. Like always, whenever she was with Tablo time seemed to fly by and so soon the waiter came back with their food.

Taking in their delicious looking –and also smelling- meal Bom clasped her hands together as she took her time to take the food in. “It definitely does.” She easily agreed with Tablo when he told her that the food looked delicious, chuckling lightly when he continued and said that they had to go on their second date no matter what she grinned back at him while she nodded her head. “It looks like that yes. I guess we have to be grateful towards the restaurant and the delicious food.” Joking about it she wished Tablo a nice breakfast/dinner after which she picked up her chopsticks so she could try out the food. Starting with her own duck first but then also eating a bit of the beef Tablo had ordered. Telling him that maybe they had to rearrange their plates so that they could easily reach every single plate she waited for Tablo’s answer before both of them arranged the plates a bit differently so they could freely eat whatever they wanted to have.

When suddenly his date brought up music and more specifically his own writing, Tablo was silent for a moment. Not so much because he had no answer but more because he savoured this fact for a moment. It wasn't often after all that someone would truly have interest in his music except for his colleagues and fans and to have someone he liked show an interest towards it without being prompted felt really nice. And so after pausing in all his movements for a second, a smile started to bloom on his face before he shook his head lightly and shrugged.

Pulling it a bit closer to her, she stirred through it a bit before she lifted up her head to Tablo when he spoke to her. Instantly starting to smile warmly while she listened to him Bom laughed lightly when he suggested to go and eat some ‘street food’ if it turned out that the food at the restaurant sucked. “Yes, that’s true.” She agreed with him, “We’re lucky to have such a great alternative!” Chuckling lightly in amusement she then shook her head briefly, “But let’s hope that our duck and roasted beef will be good enough for us. We can go and get ourselves some old-fashioned but delicious street food on our next date.” Realizing too late that those exact words had left her lips Bom instantly looked down at her Sangria with a smile to hide her embarrassment. Sure she would love to have another date with Tablo, but stating something like that even before your first date had full and well started was not a very smart move of hers. But yeah, she had said it now and there was really no point in taking it back so there was no other option for her than just going through her embarrassed feelings.

Not really saying more after that, he just looked at Bom a little more once again, the smile remaining on his face and even widening a little as he thought of how they would be going on a second date into any city to get themselves some street food. It sounded like a great outing and he looked forward to going out there and doing so. Walking hand in hand, buying her all kinds of great food that they could eat from a stick, enjoying the fresh air and the city lights,.. He could already imagine the night and he already looked forward to it even though they were only beginning their first date just now. A date which also still had some nice events in store for them - or at least he hoped they would be nice. Smiling lightly at nothing in particular, Tablo eventually refocused his gaze on Bom as he hummed and then asked her a question that would return them to the conversation they'd been having on their way to the restaurant.

Stopping with walking the moment Tablo did she looked up at the restaurant of his choice as the grin dimmed down to a soft, happy but still way too excited smile as she walked inside of it with him. Greeting the person behind the bar back with a friendly ‘hello’ and a nod of her head she then let Tablo do the talking and followed him to their assigned table while she glanced around lightly. Thanking Tablo when he pulled the chair back for her, a giddy smile appeared on her face as if to show the outside world exactly how she felt because of this little gesture of his as she took her seat. Needing to school her expression lightly when the waiter brought them their menus she took her menu over from him with a slight pensive expression as she tried to decide whether or not she wanted an appetizer. Opening her menu quickly so she could find the right page with the appetizers on as she hummed, to indicate that she was going to say something more but that they just had to give her some time, Bom’s eyes quickly went over the different cocktails the restaurant could make.

Letting Bom decide whether or not she wanted to share her food with him - and his with her, of course - he looked a bit more through the dishes before deciding he'd really have the roasted beef, after which he looked up to see whether their waiter would be returning soon. It took a small minute but soon the male appeared in sight once more with their Sangria, which he placed down in front of each of them respectively before taking out his notebook so he could write down their orders. After letting Bom order her duck and then ordering his own roasted beef - which both came along with the usual side dishes, of course - Tablo then handed back his menu to the waiter and watched the male walk off before he would look at Bom again. "So... I hope you'll enjoy the food here. I heard it was a good restaurant, but I can't speak of personal experience. So this is really just a try-out here. If the food sucks we can always just leave and go have some street food, at least that's always a guarantee for good food here."

Humming in apprehension at his next statement she chuckled when he mentioned the cement. Nodding when he told her that he thought she was going to help him with fixing the cottages on Home Island, she answered him before he could voice out his other sentence. “Yes, I am.” Breathing out a small laughter at his next sentence she shook her head to tell him that she wouldn’t do that. But after given it a second thought it did look kind of appealing. “Well, I’m not going to do that all the time since I think I can be useful because of my ability, but most of the time I’m probably going to do exactly that yes.” Glancing over at Tablo with both an amused as a happy expression she looked a moment longer to the male than necessary as they reached the entrance/exit of the grounds.

Grinning a bit silly because of his thoughts, he looked over at his date with that expression when she spoke up. He needed a moment to remember what preparations she was talking about - because obviously the preparations for their date were done - but then he shrugged his shoulders lightly. "Well basically I have cement, I have a plan and I have no clue if it's going to work," he replied easily then, grinning loosely. Quite a bit of his usual somewhat more serious and mature self seemed to fall away at this point, which happened more often when they went out and had fun together, but this time it happened sooner because of the exact circumstances of their going out together. "I don't know if anyone else is going to help, I didn't ask anyone, though, so I don't think they will. Perhaps the people whose cottage I'm working on will help but if not, then not. I don't really expect it." Smiling lightly, Tablo shrugged again, before focusing on the road ahead, to make sure he'd lead her in the proper direction.

It was a very lovely feeling to feel his palm against hers and unconsciously she moved closer to the male and placed her free hand on Tablo’s lower arm while he smiled over his question. “I have yes. The nightmares are completely gone.” She answered in a light tone of voice while she acted like it was completely normal for her to be so close to him. It even felt normal for her to be this close with him. “You’re still able to sleep as well?” Lifting her head up to look at Tablo, her smile widening lightly as soon as she saw his face. The nervousness from before still being present somewhere inside of her, although it now got suppressed. Listening to his reply she shortly answered him warmly, the smile on her face widening momentarily again. “Good.”

"I agree," he stated when Bom told him she liked walking through the camp when it wasn't as chaotic. "It was the same back when it was the party and you were all out into the city. There was hardly anyone left and something about the abandoned tents and grounds was very poetic in a way." He glanced at their surroundings for a moment before looking at Bom once more, his eyes unable to leave her features for very long, it seemed. She was looking incredibly good that day and the way her hair fell down like a waterfall of black attracted his eyes every time he looked at her. The loop rings she wore as jewellery that day which occasionally disrupted this waterfall simply gave it that little bit even more which was probably why he found his gaze returning to her so often.

Yet walking required being able to see where you were going and so Tablo eventually tore his eyes away from her to look ahead of himself and see where they were going, as he didn't want to clumsily stumble over a rock or walk into a lantern pole just because he was admiring her stunning looks. "Ah, I do look forward to heading back to Home Island too, yes," Tablo agreed somewhat loosely, nodding his head lightly and starting to smile a bit warmer as he thought of the island, which had been the place where he'd joined the circus as well as met Bom for the first time. "I'm not that big a fan of swimming but I don't mind a walk on the beach or just sitting there for a while. You can go swimming while I write some lyrics on the beach, how's that?" he suggested, and looked up at Bom with a slight grin. Waiting for her answer to come first, he then shrugged his shoulders lightly. "But I'm also going to be working on the cottages for a while, now that we're finally returning to Home Island I can make use of all the cement I bought for seemingly no reason so far." His grin widened a little as he thought of people who might have seen him carry all that weight around yet never use it again after.