Late Night Champagne (Rabirria/Shizu)

[freshstrawberries]

It was a beautiful night in France, hardly two hours past midnight and still with hours to go before dawn.  Up in the brilliant night sky the moon stood, waxing but not yet full.  The cool chill of night ran across the vast endless fields of grapes, grown en masse, an endless sprawl of vineyard broken only by occasional reservoirs or small isolated pockets of tree and park.  Amidst this ocean of cultivation islands of civilization, small towns and villages whose job it was to manage the great expanse and harvest for the creation of the region's namesake: Champagne.

They glittered like isolated jewels set upon fields of grass, mimicking the stars above, stars that became obscured as the air cracked unnaturally.  Cracks spread and then grew into a gaping maw of pitch black, a frightening thing, that few if any below would actually see.  From this gaping wound in the sky would step out a woman with shocking pink hair and gold set upon a curious mask over half her face, a hand extended to help her companion step out onto the cool night air and gaze upon the tranquil, pastoral beauty of the region.

"Champagne, France, literally the only place like it in the world, if only due to what they make here.  You couldn't have a more idyllic countryside to view.  Granted all those endless fields are dedicated to growing but three things.  Pinot, Muenier, and Chardonnay.  Luxurious grapes that you'll hardly find available for sale in any normal market, they're almost exclusively used for wine."  Two ghostly thieves stood on the air over Champagne France.  Though they meant no harm to its people, they were here to steal a paltry few dozen bottles of its famous product.

[Smiley]

Shyly, a pale hand accepted the offered help. ...And refused to let go. A ghastly, dark-haired woman wrapped in a grim dress stepped out into the night. She greeted the beautiful moon with an awkward smile. Tasted the fresh night air. Embraced the tranquility.

As Shizu admired the field of delectable treats, her sunken eyes twinkled like the stars. Even if her memory from before death was long gone, she was still absolutely sure she had never seen anything like this. It sparked rare joy in her empty chest. Quietly, she wished the moment could last forever.

Soon, however, the friendly words tugged the awe-struck girl back to reality. ...Mostly, at least. Okay, so maybe the actual words themselves never quite registered. Still, she was pretty confident they were thinking the same thing.

A wistful sigh left the gloomy goth’s lips. “Y-yes, this is so... r-romantic...” Her gaze wandered along the quiet roads and across the lush fields. “I wish I could die here...” Hey, a girl could dream, right? Right.

Shizu carefully sidled closer to her beautiful knight. She cast a shy glance at the woman. Her cheeks were burning and legs felt like noodles. “W-w-wh-where... w-would you like to go first... d-d-d-d-?” That last word got stuck in her throat. It refused to come out.

By now, the original purpose of the trip was quickly slipping from the lovesick Arrancar’s mind. She was going to need a reminder. ...And she was still insistently clinging onto the jester’s hand.

---

Post 1
freshstrawberries

[freshstrawberries]

Rabirria had predicted that the girl would be a bit starstruck at their environment.  She was terribly sheltered, not very knowledgeable, and while none of those were character flaws they did mean one was very easily impressed, at least for a short while. 

"Dear?  Darling?  Delicious?"  Rabirria teased, poking a little playful fun at Shizu's stutter as she held her hand and began to walk down a set of invisible stairs, broad enough for Shizu to not have to worry about stepping off the edge.  She was heading down at a leisurely pace, towards those sprawling farm fields.  "We have plenty of time, so we can enjoy ourselves a little.  Have you ever had a chardonnay grape?"  She asked casually as they descended towards the grape vines, set up on their posts and wires in neat, seemingly endless rows.

[Smiley]

Flaring an even brighter shade of red, the smitten ghoul wobbled. “A-all... three...!” Her honest mouth blurted, before the anxious mind caught up. The luminescent blush intensified. Stupid mouth...!

Shizu followed quietly after her prince(ss) charming. She resembled a gothic balloon, drifting weightlessly in the jester’s wake. Her wide-eyed stare flitted all over the place. The sky, the ground, her date, the ground again... It was simply too much.

Fortunately, the clever trickster knew the path to a hungry horror’s hollow heart. Food. The mere mention garnered an instant and intense stare.

“Chardonnay... grape...?”

The echoed words drifted from the gloomy goth’s lips alongside a drop of drool. Why no, she had never tasted such fancy grapes before... And she was dying to sink her teeth into one. Or a dozen.

As they approached the grape vines, Shizu hastened her light steps. She wanted to pull her friend along... Suddenly feeling a whole lot stronger than her frail frame suggested. Her eyes reflected the beautiful bunches of glistering pearls. Closer and closer, she leaned all too close before-

-CHOMP-

An entire bunch of grapes vanished into thin air. Only a serrated bite mark was left in the leaves. Juices flowed, as the ghoul munched happily.

---

Post 2
freshstrawberries

[freshstrawberries]

All three huh?  How flattering.  Rabirria found this arrancar endlessly amusing, escorting her down to the grapes with nary a snicker at her embarrassment...even if she did want to.  She had a feeling the girl would go for the grapes, but she was still a little surprised at the way she just lunged and took off an entire bunch of grapes.

"Grapes grown for wine are quite a bit different from your usual tableside grape.  They're larger, with thicker skin, and the sweetness is on a far higher level, a much more intense flavor."  Rabirria commented, as she carefully twisted a bunch off of the vine.  They also weren't seedless, but somehow, looking at Shizu chewing on grapes vines and all, she didn't think that the girl was going to be that bothered. 

Rabirria in contrast, plucked a single grape off and moved it up to her mouth, gold painted jaws parting.  There was no 'mouth' behind her mask, the mask was her mouth and it had no lips, those painted jaws were also all she had for teeth!  Fortunately her tongue was pretty monstrous, matching the inhuman look of those jaws.  She'd place the grape between those teeth and press.  Not a full crush, but enough to split the skin, before her tongue would swipe it out from between her teeth, rolling and pressing to squeeze and crush. 

It must be nice having lips, Rabirria couldn't even use straws unless they were very thin and even then it was more of a struggle than for other people.  She'd start walking with Shizu, heading towards the town these fields surrounded.  "I sometimes wonder, which is closer to the true, natural grape, these massive, super sweet fruits, or the more common, more relaxed consumer's grape."

[Smiley]

Chewing away, the hungry ghost hummed a joyful, little tune. While nothing could match the flavor of a fresh soul, these grapes were still nice. She especially savored the lovely mouthfeel. Soft squishiness was occasionally broken up by wonderfully crunchy seeds. Heavenly~!

Between the bites, the eerie girl pondered the delicious-sounding explanation. “I... fhee...” She mumbled, her mouth still pretty full. “You afhe vefhy wihfe...” She agreed. Why yes, this sweetness was indeed on a far higher level. ...Probably.

However, even the intense flavor of the snack was soon forgotten. Shizu froze mid-meal, staring at the way her friend ate the grapes. She gulped nervously, forcing the entire clump down. The words bounced off of her ears. Her mind was elsewhere entirely.

As if in trance, the gloomy goth crept closer. Her eyes twinkled like tiny stars. Or was it just a trick of the light...? “Your mouth... is beautiful...” She breathed softly, utterly mesmerized by the sight. Strange warmth pulsed gently in her hollow chest.

She didn’t want this moment to ever end...

Against all social conduct -and common sense- the weird girl reached for the peculiar mouth. She wanted to touch the beautiful mask. To trace her thin fingers along the painted teeth. To feel the inhuman tongue against her skin...

All too quickly, she had gotten side-tracked.

---

Post 3
freshstrawberries

[freshstrawberries]

If there was anything Rabirria could claim to have ever been self-conscious about, it was her mouth.  She hadn't been for a long time, but those feelings had still lingered, mutating more into a form of jealousy of those who had lips than self-conscious about her own lack.  Perhaps that was why she was so...'obnoxious' about the way she ate, slipping another grape between those jaws to squeeze, split and then pull past them.

Shizu's seemingly hypnotized reply took Rabirria off guard though, the arrancar actually almost flinching, a rare thing for her, as those hands reached for her jaws.  They snapped shut with a sharp click, the kind of force that one might imagine in a bear trap but a couple inches shy of Shizu's fingers, they were safe.  If Shizu still wanted to press ahead then Rabirria wouldn't stop her from stroking over the polished ivory and gold, she'd just keep walking along with her.

"Yeah, technically the whole gilding your mask thing went out of style a couple decades ago, but nothing's truly out of style if you're willing to put in the effort to make it work."

[Smiley]

Positively enthralled, the gloomy goth didn’t even flinch away from the snapping jaws. Her self-preservation instinct needed work... Buuut to be fair, losing a finger or two would’ve been a minor inconvenience at worst.

Thus, the creepy girl crept closer without fear. She ran her cold claws along the ivory and gold. “Shiny... Smooth...” Her eyes twinkled with odd admiration, like she was gazing at a fine work of art. Hm, well, not all that far from the truth.

Shizu jostled out of her trance, when she heard her friend say something unbelievable. Awful, even. “O-o-out of style...???” She stammered, gasping for words. “B-b-but it is so pretty... L-like a tattoo painted in gold...” To be fair, she had fallen out of fashion herself quite a while ago.

Eventually, the awkward girl stopped her invasive pawing. “Um...” Meekly, she brushed her messy bangs upwards. Her broken mask fragment sat on her forehead, resembling a jagged headband with tiny horns. “Do you... think...?” She trailed off, before withdrawing her hand and clamping her mouth shut.

After a quiet pause, the eerie lady shook her head. “Uh, n-nevermind...” What a silly thought. Shoo. Away. This was no place to be thinking about frivolities. They were on a mission! ...Uh, what was the mission, again?

---

Post 4
freshstrawberries