It's NOT a date... (Arc/Lani, Private-ish)(NSFW)

"This outing," Jay said, following after her, trying not to poke the proverbial wasp nest that Phoebe had suddenly turned into; not without some help, but suddenly nonetheless. It was totally a date, though.

She had to give him credit for not saying the word again, at least, though it didn't do as much to cool her temper as it could have. Sighing, she shook her head, "That doesn't mean you're any less insufferable..."

"No, that is true, it doesn't," Jay said, nodding his head along in agreement. "I can cool it with the teasing if you like, you know? I do want this to be enjoyable for the both of us."

Phoebe mumbled something under her breath, clearly not planning on repeating whatever it was she had said loud enough for him to hear it. Instead, she kept walking, hoping to get to the park soon. She was more comfortable being around him when they were alone, rather than where he could publically tease her.

"What was that?" Jay still asked, before it was clear to him that Phoebe hadn't intended it to be heard. Sighing, he simply resigned himself to walking alongside her, providing little in terms of undue distractions so that they might get to the park a little quicker than otherwise.

She gravitated towards him without realizing it, not quite touching him but certainly closer than most people would typically be comfortable with being.

Jay obviously noticed, looking down at her when she got closer, but didn't do anything about it. No quips hoping to get a reaction, or actions that he'd have to hope wouldn't leave him punched or something; he just let it be.

Once finally at the park, Phoebe began leading him to one of the trails. Even the students didn't frequent the area much, preferring combat training to hiking, so it was fairly empty and quiet up here. She breathed deeply, seeming to relax in the fresher air, tension visibly leaving her shoulders.

"Oh, I do prefer this to the city proper," Jay commented once they were some way into the park, breaking the silence. He held a hand up in front of himself, slowly moving it through the air; it was a sort of idle action, although unlike one it wasn't something he did very often.

Phoebe nodded, almost wanting to take to one of her animal forms, though none of them would have given her even as much freedom to stretch as she would have wanted. Oh, well. "I thought you might." She said honestly, closing her eyes and taking in the surroundings with her other senses.

For lack of anything better to do or say in the moment, and the relative distance that the path they were walking down allowed from other people, Jay reached into his quiver and pulled out his flute. He started playing softly so as not to make the sound startling, though quickly enough picked up volume. He watched Phoebe from the corner of his eye; only partially because she had her eyes closed.

The witch beside him let out an appreciative hum at his music, swaying her upper body slightly to it as they walked, a soft, strangely serene smile on her normally serious or deceiving face.

Soon enough, Jay's attention was definitely not on where they were walking either. He was way too focused on Phoebe's calmed expression and the general effect his flute seemed to have on her.

With a mental map of the area and enough of her senses about her to not step off a steep hill or into a tree, Phoebe continued to lead them, albeit a bit slower the longer that they walked. Eventually, she opened her eyes to find a sizable enough rock to be able to sit on, taking a seat and leaning her head back into the grass. Her eyes closed as her hair settled around her, freeing her horns from their hiding spot as she relaxed and idly kicked her legs in front of her.

Jay really only had enough sense to stop walking due to seeing Phoebe stopping. How lucky he was to not have made a fool of himself so far. Without a pause to his playing, he slowly and carefully got himself sat down next to Phoebe, though he was sat up straight and cross legged, looking down at her. The thought that maybe what he was doing could be classed as straight up staring, but he shrugged it off quickly enough; if that's how it is, then so be it.

Whether she noticed his gaze on her or not, she didn't particularly acknowledge it, blowing a strand of her hair until she finally lifted her hand to move it away. She seemed almost to be falling asleep by him, though the continued movement said otherwise.

Sometimes, though rarely, Jay wished that he could somehow play his flute with only one hand; with his magic he has so far only worked out how to play it without using his mouth. A spare hand would have had him playing with the hair and horns she unwittingly drew attention to in no time; with little regard as to the potential reaction would be from the owner. Instead, he started to play more softly again.

Sometime after the melody softened, she rolled onto her side to look over at him, ignoring the leaves tangled in her hair as she watched him play, now blatantly ignoring his staring.

He tried to give her a smile as best he could without interrupting or ruining the sound of the flute, so it wasn't much of one. So, now both of them were looking at the other and paying attention to little else, while sitting or laying in the grass in the middle of a park. If this wasn't a date, then Jay really had no clue what was. Not that he did or could voice such a thought at the moment.

She would have throttled him if she heard the thoughts, and they both knew it, but since she wasn't a mind reader, he was safe. At least... he'd be safe until the next sassy or smartass remark. Who knew, though, really; she had been awfully forgiving with him, thus far, despite her usual nature and tendencies. Maybe he would somehow turn out to be safe, despite his comments... maybe even because of them. For now, however, her focus was on the sound and the way he played it, eyes lingering at his mouth and the instrument almost absently, expression peaceful yet somehow unreadable.

A short while, but a while nonetheless, passed before Jay's piece was over; slowly it was softer and softer until finally it ended in silence and Jay put the instrument back in it's place within his seemingly bottomless quiver. He smiled at her properly now, finally looking away from her as another smirk crept onto his face. Before she could say anything, he spoke up. "Glad you liked it."

Phoebe nodded slowly, eyes lingering after him before she rolled onto her back and stared up at the sky, barely blocked at all by the trees above them. She didn't say anything else to him, seeming to be forgoing the hike itself for the sake of the relative quiet.

Jay, now not preoccupied with playing an instrument, lay down next to her. He was less interested in the sky than he was in her, still, however. A few moments later and he reached over to put a hand atop her head and to rub the base of one of her horns, hoping that he wasn't going to have to do any running away from potential bodily harm.

Her eyes widened for a brief moment before fluttering closed, eyes rolling back as she let out a sound between a sigh and a soft moan. What was left of the tension in her body dissipated instantly, her legs stilling as she aloud the tender touch.

Oh good, that was for sure the kind of reaction he preferred over any alternatives. "Hey..." he broke the silence after another short while, "If you're really adamant that today isn't a date, then I guess that means it really isn't, but..." he said, even though the two of them certainly seemed to be acting like it was, at least in Jay's opinion, "I was hoping for it to be one. Really looking forward to it being one, actually."