fh_trips | Manta Resort, Zanzibar [Friday Daytime]

Anchored in an ocean floor anomaly we call the blue hole, the floating underwater rooms top almost anything. Encapsulated within a turquoise blue bubble, watching shoals of reef fish swim by – sometimes in three or four layers of different species--this is a truly heart-stopping experience. The floating structures provides three levels: above the water clad in local hardwood is a lounge, bed and bathrooms underwater, and a stargazing, sun tanning bed on the roof.

THERE ARE FISH RIGHT. THERE. Ahem. Perhaps we're a little excited about these bedrooms, but they're underwater and there are fish riiiiight there.

[OOC: NSFW goes into private journals, suite assignments are here!]

There's also seats to stare out at the water or a sunbed to get gorgeously tanned--or sunburned--just in time to go back to cold, dreary Maryland tomorrow.

For a girl who'd, up until a couple months ago, had never really left her small little corner of Tennessee before, save for the occasional excursion out to Wal-Mart or a celebration breakfast at the local pancake house, this trip had been almost unbelievable. This many days in, Libby still couldn't believe it was entirely real, and was half expecting to wake up back home in her bedroom, with Patience sleeping in the next bed over, as if even Fandom itself had been part of the dream.

But it was also, especially this far in, pretty overwhelming, and even though she'd been able to ride that adreneline and excitement pretty hard, especially since she really, really didn't want to miss anything, by now, she felt, she just needed to take kind of a break.

Thankfully, even taking a break around here, by going up to the sunbed and just looking out over the water and marveling over it all, was also pretty amazing! She just couldn't believe how lucky she'd been, these past few months, but you'd better believe she'd been doing all she could to make sure God knew just how grateful she was for it all, too.

Especially that whole rhino thing. Whew!

Edited 2022-02-25 10:23 (UTC)

"It's pretty, isn't it?" Vi said, climbing up from the lounge.

"I don't think pretty even begins to cover it!" Libby gushed out, with another awed shake of her head at the far distant horizon, before turning toward Vi with a grin that she wouldn't have been able to keep on her face if she tried. "It's incredible!"

One happy, blissful, content sigh of wonder, and then: "Have you been having a good trip, Vi? It's so funny, there's been so much to do, that I feel I haven't had a chance to see much of anyone except maybe here and there!"

"It's very different from back home." Vi sat down on the edge of the sundeck, legs dangling over the side.

"Same, I've seen more some people-" *cough*Tahani*cough* "-than others too, but, yeah, I've been having a good trip."

"Good," said Libby, with another smile at Vi before she just took one more moment to look out over the ocean and sigh again, happily, wondering how anyone could ever even get sick of something like this.

"I sometimes have trouble believing it's even real," she added, her voice quiet with awe. "Like I'm just gonna wake up at any moment and be back in my bed at home and it was all just a dream."

"I know the feeling," Vi said softly. "Like the other shoe is out there just waiting to drop."

Good things didn't happen to people like her, and if they did, it just hurt more when you lost them.

Libby's head tilted thoughtfully as she looked at Vi, then she laughed, lightly, and shrugged her shoulders.

"Guess that just means," she said, "we better make sure to enjoy it while we still can! But I think, for the time being, I'm pretty okay with enjoying it a little less actively. Who knew just having fun could wear you down this much? I'm beat!"

"You mean you need a vacation from your vacation?"

Vi thought she was funny.

Luckily for Vi, so did Libby, but then again, she always had been pretty susceptible to terrible dad jokes.

"Exactly!" she laughed, grinning now as she leaned back a little, arms behind her to prop her up, watching one of the few clouds in the sky that looked a little like a rabbit, slowly passing them by. "Maybe I should ask someone if they need any help with chores. Or find out which one of these the boys ended up in, I bet their rooms are in need of some help by now!"

"The boys can take responsibility for their own damn rooms," Vi replied, stretching her arms out and flopping back against the deck. "Teach 'em a valuable lesson if someone mixes up their stuff with the trash."

"That is a very important lesson," Libby agreed, even if that did mean one less thing for her to theoretically do to escape these troublesome toils of such an enjoyable vacation. Then she took just another quiet moment to soak it in some more before asking, "Who'd you get to have for your roommate? I don't think I got the chance to see."

Re: Moray Eel Sunbed

giveittoyoursister - 2022-02-25 21:59 (UTC) - Expand

Re: Moray Eel Sunbed

outofthequiver - 2022-02-25 22:05 (UTC) - Expand

Re: Moray Eel Sunbed

giveittoyoursister - 2022-02-25 23:02 (UTC) - Expand

Re: Moray Eel Sunbed

outofthequiver - 2022-02-26 00:11 (UTC) - Expand

Re: Moray Eel Sunbed

giveittoyoursister - 2022-02-26 00:23 (UTC) - Expand

Re: Moray Eel Sunbed

outofthequiver - 2022-02-26 00:47 (UTC) - Expand

Re: Moray Eel Sunbed

giveittoyoursister - 2022-02-26 01:00 (UTC) - Expand

With no party rooms to pretend-crash in last night, Amaya worried that she might have to start getting really creative or just finally bite the bullet and take her chances on being in a far too luxuriant and comfy room with only one bed and just as many escape routes, but actually? She realized why not just enjoy the nice weather, get comfortable out on the sunbed, and sleep there last night. Maybe the sea air might even help the snoring!

(And, through an unexpected turn of events, it actually did?).

And honestly? It wasn't too bad, and not a bad way to wake up, either, though now she supposed she'd just wait things out until she figured it'd be safe to head down.

Irene, given her own delightfully uninterrupted sleep this morning, had actually gotten up very early for her. Early enough to squeeze in a little workout, and to peruse the spa menu again. Early enough, in fact, to even check out the breakfast offerings in a way she hadn't prior to now.

She prided herself on being a master at observing behavior, which was why she'd let Amaya keep her distance all week without trying to change that fact. But she was also not nearly too proud to accept a helpful, kind-of-out-of-the-blue tip from someone who seemed to know the subject better.

"Morning," she called cheerfully, making her way up to the sunbed where she was 99.9% sure Amaya had slept last night. "I got too much breakfast, if you'd like some."

Breakfast, it seemed, was as many different meats on sticks as Irene had been able to request. Not exactly her cup of tea -- she'd make herself one of those down in the lounge, bah-dum-tss -- but she was game enough to pretend she'd just gotten all of this just for herself, at least for the moment.

Well. So much for sneaking off successfully, although, if she was entirely honest, she'd have to admit, she'd had pretty good luck so far in managing to keep a broad distance from her roommate so far, she really shouldn't complain too much.

Besides, Irene very clearly had her attention now.

"I was actually about to go see about that," she admitted, "but I do hate to let a good breakfast go to waste..."

Especially when there were sticks clearly involved...

"The chef assured me these were quite good," Irene lied, blatantly, as she crossed over to just sit right on the bed. Like there was anywhere else to sit? Also, she'd slept (literally, thank you, very literally, amidst the snoring) next to this woman for half a week, anyway. Sitting on a bed together seemed tame enough. "Do you like -- things on sticks? I'm a little new to it."

That part, at least, was very true. Weirdly, Irene was not much of a street food sort of person.

And at least up here, if there was trouble, Amaya could always just throw herself off the side of the deck. She wasn't a great swimmer, but she was sure she'd figure it out. And it was safer than if she'd've had to do it back in Kenya, even.

"Oh, seeing what sorts of things people'll put on sticks is one of my favorite parts about these trips!" Amaya admitted easily. "Got the squirrels real fit to be tied one trip when one of those things was Guinea pigs, let me tell you, some of them are still a bit sore on that one. But they're great. Easy. Convenient. Neat. There's usually enough grease on these gloves without adding various meat juices, too."

Like a poet, that Amaya Blackstone was.

"Guinea pigs?" Irene made an impressed little face, even as vile as that sounded. (But then, she liked eating the occasional snail and loved raw fish, so who was she to judge?) "You know, I don't know that I've had many things on sticks, but they do seem convenient. Like ice pops, but without the melting factor. And with protein."

She was trying, here. She really was.

"Not to mention," Amaya offered helpfully, "a good variety when it comes to sauces and spices."

With that, she decided there was far too much talking about meats on sticks and not enough just enjoying them, so she finally took it upon herself to peruse the offerings and pick one out.

"You can even make them fancy, if you're so inclined," she said with a sort of conciliatory nod, considering who she was talking to. "I made a set of skewers for Dr. Lecter not too long back, and you don't get much fancier than that."

She finally took a bite before adding, almost mid-chew, "It's practically the most perfect kind of food there is, really."

This was honestly sort of adorable? Irene was charmed, in a strange way.

"I've had satay and things before," she offered, nodding as she daintily took a be-meated stick for herself. "It does seem efficient. No need to dirty a fork or even chopsticks. Plus you can do other things while eating, I'd imagine."

Not here, on this gorgeous sunbed with just water around, of course. But she could certainly see the appeal when cast in that light.

"Just so," said Amaya, happily, because, really, that was the true magic of meats-on-sticks, their ability to just effortless crumble away all her walls and suspicions, her supposed toughness and deeply-seated neuroses, to just strip her down to the actually pretty squishy person underneath who could appreciate the simplicity of tasty flesh shoved onto something pointy.

The little things in life, you know?

"A multitasker's food," she concluded, "and I'm definitely a multitasking kind of woman."

"I have noticed that," Irene replied with an appreciative smile, scooting just a skosh closer. "I think I get the appeal a bit more now. All the convenience and deliciousness with none of the fuss. Perfect for a walk, or if you needed to write a text, or...forge something."

Even if she was already being a little fussy with trying to eat her meat-on-stick situation. Probably a lost cause.

"Having a nice trip? I feel like I've hardly seen you, speaking of multitasking." Just casually noting. No pressure. Irene was clearly too busy trying to be dainty about stick-food to be very interrogative about it, you see.