The weather was good enough for a glossy convertible, so Ruhe had rented one. Cruising, he stopped where he'd agreed to pick up Tenma. Pushing shades onto his hair, he smiled seeing her and turned the music down.

"We have two very good drivers here, so who drives?"

Tenma wore shades as well instead of her mask, the mirrored kind that Scorpion tended to prefer so you couldn't see their eyes. Not that she had a different pair. When Ruhe had pulled up, Tenma had been sitting cross legged, wearing the shorts and bathing suit combo she'd bought the other day.



She looked from her portable informator the car came to a stop, grinning. Turning off her device, she hopped onto her feet, "Guess that depends; Did you have somewhere you wanted to drive to? I'm perfectly capable of driving around if you have something you want to do as a passenger like play music or get fresh, but I don't have any destinations planned personally."

"I know you are, I saw it yesterday! I thought we could alternate while wandering about. My plan was to take you for a ride and see where we end up!" He devoted a moment of attention to her figure. "You look stunning."

A light blush.

"Oh, you like me in orange? I picked this up locally here from a touristy place. Was hoping to go out somewhere to swim and sunbathe some time while I was here like a proper vacation, though things haven't cooperated in that respect... still, you said you were getting a convertible, so I figured I could catch some rays like that. How about you start driving while I do that, and I can pick up later if needed?"

He was dressed in black leather trunks and a tee with Black Desert logo. "Orange is the new black, haha! Though it's not just the swimsuit, but the whole of you." He revved the engine a bit, waiting for her to hop in. "Sounds like a plan! Those clouds may move at some point."

"Hai. Plan it is."

She vaulted into the car rather than bother opening the door, her smallish frame being cradled by the white and brown upholstery as she landed in the seat with a fwumph. Tenma immediately put her sneakers up on the dash and pointed forward, "Onwards Moto-san! If the clouds are going to move, we'll just have to outrun them so we can find the sunshine!"

"As the lady commands!" Ruhe grinned and jolted the car onward with a roar and something close to half g, pressing them both deep into their seats.

Tenma smiled and snuggled down in her seat before looking at the radio, "...wonder what kind of stations they have here? Don't have many back home, actually. Though there's a decent enough dance station run by a group of peasants out of the shiro; Didn't really show up at home, but I used to listen to it a lot when I was tuning my motorcycle in the garage at the station."

"Tune it to whatever you like!" He had to raise his voice as the wind started howling at higher speeds. "As you can guess, I'm used to making my own music, but as a kid I listened a lot to whatever broadcast metal. What's your favourite genre?" This question was probably long overdue.

"Hmmm. House, probably. There are some rather good DJs from the World of Dreams I have some mixtapes of."

Tenma too had to speak up, but she was used to that; When one was trying to give instructions to Doshin or citizens over a siren or motorcycle engine, one learned to use a commanding voice.

"Also trance, metal, ska, disco, funk, and... well, anything with a lot of energy to it. I mean, maybe it's kind of cliché, me being me, but I need music to get my attention somehow. Not just be background elevator music to my life."

"So something that can charge you up, get your mind and muscles racing?" He found her explanation spreading a warm feeling in him as it seemed music played a role her life, and metal was on the list.

As their speed reached considerable levels the city behind them started shrinking rapidly, and rural landscapes started to dominate.

"Something to give me drive, if you'll pardon the pun! I mean, if I'm working on mechanical stuff, good music will guide my actions and give my mind a journey even as I'm tightening bolts. Or if I'm doing paperwork, good music will keep me interested and alert while I work out my words."

Tenma had her hands in the pockets of her hoodie, hood down and long red hair blowing in the breeze.

He'd like to focus on her memorable image but they were going too fast for him not to have his eyes on the road. The glimpse he stole made him smirk, and her words changed into a laugh that pierced through the howl of the wind.

"What's best for driving drive then?"

"Depends on what you're driving; If I'm driving my motorcycle, I like electronic. If I was taking a joyride on Kaneda-san's Harley David-san, then thrash metal. A convertible on a sunny day? That would probably be ska or maybe something to sing along to like some power ballads. Speaking of, lemme check that radio."

Sitting up, Tenma messed with the nobs on the thing until she found something she liked, "Oooo, nice."

Hearing the opening chords, Ruhe didn't hesitate to initiate singalong, though his rendition had a metal quality just because of the hues of his voice.

Quote:

Looking in your eyes I see a paradise
This world that I've found is too good to be true
Driving here beside you, want so much to give you
This love in my heart that I'm feeling for you

Let'em say we're crazy, I don't care about that
Put your hand in my hand baby don't ever look back
Let the world around us just fall apart
Baby we can make it if we're heart to heart...

He glanced at her while singing, took one hand off the wheel, and placed it on her side of the gear lever, palm up and open.

Tenma's voice had a more bad version of Cyndi Lauper to it, but she sang just as readily. She certainly had no voice training, apart from the academy's training in how to use a commanding voice and intimidate people. It was not the best for singing, perhaps, but it was good for belting things out. Looking down at the hand she put her own in the larger one, more than happy to have the intimacy and warmth.

As their fingers interlaced, the electrifying warmth of her small palm and her singing abandon - nothing wrong with belting out in Ruhe's musical book! - spurred Ruhe to put his heart into the refrain.

Quote:

And we can build this thing together
Standing strong forever
Nothing's gonna stop us now
And if this world runs out of lovers
We'll still have each other
Nothing's gonna stop us
Nothing's gonna stop us now

Nothing wrong with belting out, or metal head voices singing power ballads, in Tenma's book, so she didn't blink and eye and sang along. Her fingers laced with the rougher thicker ones of the moto even as her other arm rested on the door of the convertible, glancing over at Ruhe after looking at their hands; He really was a pretty cool guy, and he looked wild and handsome and free, not like anyone back home.

As the song wrapped up, she let her fingers slip from his to turn down the radio, which she'd turned up fairly loud.

"I am half surprised you know all the lyrics to that one, Moto-san. But only half surprised."

"There's a metal cover for almost everything." The landscape was shifting toward less and less cultivated, and so Ruhe expected the road quality to deteriorate anytime soon. They had covered a swath of distance in not much time driving so fast, leaving Yoake far behind, and the fungal forests started towering before them. He sought a turn, so getting his lever hand free was timely even if not desired. "Guess it's as good spot as any around here to enjoy the views." And he looked at her, grinning.

He really enjoyed watching her getting out of her shell the more time they were spending together; she was subtler than him, but no less genuine in how he saw it. Her flowing hair, her skimpy wear, her glances, the warmth of her body he'd just learnt... it was a new kind of euphoria even riding fast couldn't match because it was all new, fresh, and uncharted.

Tenma looked over at him again and nodded, "Mmm mmm; Getting out of the car and exploring would be fun. Maybe we could find a river to swim in or some trees to climb or such. I mean, I even brought my suit and climbing shoes and everything. Or if there are any clifftops to park on top of; Hard to see through the forest here."