❀ Dessie ❀

Arupek was a lot of things; Kind, funny, outgoing, determined... Yet, for all his good qualities, foresight had unfortunately never been one of them...

He hadn't meant to soak Merold with his trusty water gun, Big Dreamer. Not at all, in fact, he'd actually been aiming for Sanah.

The two of them had gotten bored while waiting around for a meeting between all three of the bouquets to start, and after a while they had decided to pass the time by goofing around outside for a while.

It was midsummer and it was pretty hot out, so one thing had led to another and a waterfight had broken out between them.

It had been going well up until now, and even with Sanah weaponizing a spray nozzled water hose he'd found in My Melody's courtyard, Arupek had been holding his own quite well. After all, he wouldn't be Pekkle's Fragaria if he couldn't hold his own in a water based activity!

Arupek had been pursuing Sanah after his water hose had gotten a kink in it, preparing to take the final shot to secure his victory, when disaster struck.

Only a few precious steps behind Sanah, he rounded a corner of the castle and opened fire with a victorious shout, hitting his target dead center and soaking him entirely!

The only problem? His victim didn't end up being Sanah.

It was Merold.

Oh. Oh no...

Both Sanah and Arupek stared at him, frozen in horror. Merold remained dreadfully silent for a moment, before finally speaking with a deceptively friendly smile.

"Sanah. Given that this entire incident is partially your fault, I'd suggest that you go ahead and get a decent head start while I see to Arupek here." He spoke sweetly, but his eyes were telling an entirely different story as he fixed his gaze onto the blue haired knight.

"Sorry man, good luck!" Sanah wasted no time at all in deserting him to his fate, and Arupek was soon left all alone with a very soggy and very ticked off Merold.

"Run." Was the only warning he got before Merold was on him, and Arupek just barely managed to dodge as he moved to grab him. He let out a small squeak of fear before taking off, blazing through the courtyard like a madman, with Merold right on his heels.

Arupek seriously doubted that Merold would do anything to actually hurt him, but still... He wasn't too keen on finding out what happened to those who managed to tick the so called 'greatest knight' off...

"Eek! Merold I'm sooorrryyyy!!" He wailed as he fled, just barely managing to stay out of the pink haired male's reach, but he could already tell he was outmatched by a longshot. It wasn't a matter of if he would catch him, but when...

The answer to that question ended up being revealed about fourteen seconds later, when Merold put on a sudden burst of speed and tackled the younger knight to the ground, wasting no time at all in enacting his revenge upon his poor junior.

"A-Ah- Uuuuwahahahaa?! No! No nohohot thahahaat!! Anything but thahahaaat!!" Arupek squealed in alarm, bursting into bright, bubbly giggles when he felt Merold's fingers immediately digging into his sides with zero warning whatsoever. Tickling?! Of all things, why did it have to be tickling?!!

"Oh dear~, looks like someone's a little ticklish, hm?..." Merold commented teasingly as he hovered over the younger knight, a smug smirk taking over his features at the sound of Arupek's hysterical laughter. It was remarkably happy and carefree despite the circumstances.

He didn't try to hold it in like Kurode, nor did he turn bashful like Hallritt. Instead, Arupek seemed the type that let it out freely and without hesitation, not seeming to care who heard him. Either he was bold, or he simply didn't think about such details. Either way, it was undeniably adorable.

As for Arupek, he didn't seem to take notice of Merold's silent musings over his behavior, being far too absorbed in his own mirth to care at the moment.

"Ahaha!! Ahahahehehe Merohohohold! Aahahahaahehe!!" He laughed, twisting and turning from one side of his back to the other in a poor attempt to alleviate the tingling sensations, but each time he nearly succeeded in turning onto a side, Merold would simply pinch the other side and start the whole process over again! It was totally unfair!

"Hmm~? Is something the matter?" Merold responded innocently, acting as if he were doing nothing wrong at all. So meannn!!

"Y'know Arupek, a knight really ought to not be so sensitive... Besides, you were the one who drenched me, a totally innocent bystander, because of your recklessness. Don't you think you deserve this even a little~? A Fragaria really ought to show a bit more grace and humility in suffering the consequences of their actions~.."

Arupek was now beginning to understand how the SEEDS must feel when facing Merold... He was really scary when he was angry, and his teasing was somehow even worse than Hangyon! His cheeks felt hot with embarrassment and breathlessness, and a bundle of desperate apologies tumbled from his lips as he shrieked and laughed under him.

He was just beginning to wonder if Merold would ever decide to have mercy, when his salvation came in the form of a certain gentle natured brunette, who had come looking for them.

"Merold, as much fun as you seem to be having teasing our poor junior, you'd best wrap it up." He suggested, coming to gently settle a warm palm on his friend's shoulder, "The meeting will start soon. You both need to change into some dry clothes, and I'm sure Arupek-kun would appreciate an opportunity to catch his breath and compose himself beforehand.."

And just like that, he was released. Arupek went totally limp as he tried to catch his breath, residual giggles still spilling out of him. And when Romarriche reached a hand down to help him up, he took it gratefully.

"Uwaaah..." He whined in exaggerated exhaustion, "I'm so sorry Merold! I really didn't mean to soak you!!" He apologized, rubbing the back of his head a little with an exhausted laugh. What a way to make an impression. He could only hope that he wasn't still too angry with him... What would Lord Pekkle say?!

Thankfully though, Merold didn't seem to hold any true ill will. If anything, he looked more amused than anything as he smiled smugly at him.

"You're forgiven. Perhaps next time you'll be a little more careful where you're aiming though, hm? It was fine this time, but you wouldn't want to risk making the same mistake with your real magic someday." He replied with an easygoing cadence in his tone, but he made a good point.

Arupek was still learning to use his magic properly, and there was a lot he didn't know yet since he hadn't gone to a proper knight school. He would need to work hard in the future to insure that he was serving his lord to the best of his abilities...

Alrighty then~," his thoughts were interrupted by the sound of Merold clapping his hands together lightly.

"If that's all, we should be going now. It wouldn't be proper if we were late to the roundtable at such a crucial time." He stated before turning to head inside, with both Romarriche and Arupek following close behind him.