The Galapagos Islands were like paradise to newlyweds Marcus and Kiri Spencer, who, unlike some of their contemporaries, hadn't done much traveling beyond Rhy'Din. If they'd been left to their own devices, they probably wouldn't have chosen it for a honeymoon destination, merely because it was more than the couple could afford, but with people like Jonathan Granger and Mataya De Luca giving it to them as a wedding present, it was hard to pass up.
It was, quite literally, a world away from anything they could have hoped for, and unlike others on this Earth who had to take a plane just to reach the central island of the Galapagos Archipelago, they had arrived by portal, fresher than their companions for the long car journey to the crater where their accommodation was waiting for them. They were a little like children on that trip, craning out through the windows to see all the beauty of this surprisingly unspoilt landscape as they drove through it, pointing out creatures and plants they'd never seen before this moment, much to the amusement of the other couple who shared the vehicle with them.
Once they reached their hotel, they were in further awe of their surroundings. The room that had been booked for them, though not a suite, was far beyond anything either had experienced before. It held a balcony view of their surroundings - lush and green with a view of mountains in the distance to the south, beach and sea to the north. The room was bright, spacious, and comfortable, and as close to luxurious as they couple had ever known.
"Wow ..." Dropping her hat and bag at the foot of the bed, Kiri let out an awed giggle, drawn toward the floor-to-ceiling window and the balcony beyond without needing to think about it. She pushed her sunglasses up into the natural curl of her hair, resting her hands on the balcony, enchanted with the sheer beauty of this place. "And there are other islands here we can visit, too' Can we stay forever?"
Marcus didn't have to drop their bags anywhere, since a bellboy was taking care of all that. He crossed the room to join Kiri on the balcony, as in awe of his surroundings as she was. "Yeah, a bunch of them," Marcus replied, having read the travel brochure Mataya had given them before hopping through the portal to their destination.
"I really didn't know Earth looked like this," she laughed, tilting until her shoulder rested against his. "It's so bright, and clean. Gods, can you imagine if Rhy'Din was this clean?"
"It's not all like this, Kiri," Marcus remarked as he came up beside her to share the view, which was, in a word, breathtaking. "Rhy'Din isn't so bad, once you get outside of the city," he added, though he hadn't had the opportunity to do it very often.
She smiled, twisting to toss her sunglasses through the door and onto the bed. "I don't think I've ever been outside Rhy'Din City," she admitted ruefully. "That's kinda dumb, isn't it' I've spent most of my life on TV, and never actually left the city I was born in."
"I used to go backpacking with friends when I was in college," he admitted with a small shrug. "I miss it sometimes." It wasn't so much the backpacking he missed as it was just getting away from the chaos of city life.
"Where did you go?" she asked curiously, leaning forward onto her forearms as she looked up at him. A teasing sparkle glimmered in her dark eyes as she grinned at him. "And how do I not know this about you?"
He shrugged again as he turned to face her, taking a lean against the railing, able to admire both the beauty of their surroundings and that of his new bride. "It was before we met," he told her simply. Before he'd started working full-time on a career in acting and moonlighting as a bartender to make ends meet.
"Oh, so naturally it doesn't matter," she teased, leaning close to brush a kiss against the corner of his mouth. "You do realize you're going to have to take me packbacking now, right?"
"Backpacking," he corrected with a chuckle, touching his fingers to her cheek a she leaned close to kiss him, his other arm going around her waist to draw her close, dark eyes bright with happiness and just a little mirth. "So, now that we're here, what do you want to do first?"
She snorted with laughter, tucking her arms about him as he drew her close. "Well, I want to ride a tortoise, but they told us we're not allowed to," she admitted mischievously. "What do you want to do?"
He could have answered that any number of ways, as there were any number of things he wanted to do with and to his new bride, but it wasn't like they'd never shared a bed together before, and he was eager to explore their new surroundings. "I was thinking a walk on the beach or something. What do you think?" he asked, playfully touching his nose to hers.
Her lips curled back from her teeth in a bright smile, delighted with that suggestion. "Maybe we should check out the activities the hotel offers," she suggested in turn. "See what we wanna do and make a plan. We've got two weeks to fill, after all."
Marcus pulled away from her, just far enough so that he could affect a theatrical bow. "Whatever thou wishest, my lady," he said with a grin.
"Why, lordy, sirrah, you do great honor," she countered, somehow managing to mangle both Shakespearean English and a southern belle accent all in one go. Laughing, she caught his hand. "C'mon, Romeo, let's go exploring."
"Not Romeo," he corrected. "Romeo didn't have a happy ending. How about ....hmm, Orlando?" he ventured, picking a role off the top of his head. "Of course, that makes you Rosalind," he told her with a grin, as he took her hand.
"Not Ganymede?" she chuckled, moving toward the door, hand in hand with him. "I mean, I know I'm not busty, but that's a little harsh. Mind you, you married this boobless wonder."
"Uh, I think I'd prefer you as Rosalind," he said, seeing as how he was perfectly content with her, just as she was. The thought of her disguised as a boy was amusing though, but not one that brought any lusty thoughts to his head.
"Yeah, well, I happen to like you as Prince Charming," Kiri countered impishly. "Got the key?" She wasn't taking her bag with her - all they were going to do was explore the hotel and surrounds for now, there was no need for anything more than the key.
It had only been a few months since they'd played those parts on stage, and they had both enjoyed every minute of it. Marcus had always preferred the comedies to the tragedies anyway. "Yes, ma'am," he replied, tugging it out of his pants pocket to prove it.
"Good, 'cause I have nowhere to put it on me," she giggled, pulling him out through the door. The heat here wasn't heavy; it was a dry warmth that was alleviated by the breeze off the sea, comfortable to be in the direct sun for a few minutes at a time, but more comfortable to be in the shade for longer. "Which way should we go, do you think?"
It was, quite literally, a world away from anything they could have hoped for, and unlike others on this Earth who had to take a plane just to reach the central island of the Galapagos Archipelago, they had arrived by portal, fresher than their companions for the long car journey to the crater where their accommodation was waiting for them. They were a little like children on that trip, craning out through the windows to see all the beauty of this surprisingly unspoilt landscape as they drove through it, pointing out creatures and plants they'd never seen before this moment, much to the amusement of the other couple who shared the vehicle with them.
Once they reached their hotel, they were in further awe of their surroundings. The room that had been booked for them, though not a suite, was far beyond anything either had experienced before. It held a balcony view of their surroundings - lush and green with a view of mountains in the distance to the south, beach and sea to the north. The room was bright, spacious, and comfortable, and as close to luxurious as they couple had ever known.
"Wow ..." Dropping her hat and bag at the foot of the bed, Kiri let out an awed giggle, drawn toward the floor-to-ceiling window and the balcony beyond without needing to think about it. She pushed her sunglasses up into the natural curl of her hair, resting her hands on the balcony, enchanted with the sheer beauty of this place. "And there are other islands here we can visit, too' Can we stay forever?"
Marcus didn't have to drop their bags anywhere, since a bellboy was taking care of all that. He crossed the room to join Kiri on the balcony, as in awe of his surroundings as she was. "Yeah, a bunch of them," Marcus replied, having read the travel brochure Mataya had given them before hopping through the portal to their destination.
"I really didn't know Earth looked like this," she laughed, tilting until her shoulder rested against his. "It's so bright, and clean. Gods, can you imagine if Rhy'Din was this clean?"
"It's not all like this, Kiri," Marcus remarked as he came up beside her to share the view, which was, in a word, breathtaking. "Rhy'Din isn't so bad, once you get outside of the city," he added, though he hadn't had the opportunity to do it very often.
She smiled, twisting to toss her sunglasses through the door and onto the bed. "I don't think I've ever been outside Rhy'Din City," she admitted ruefully. "That's kinda dumb, isn't it' I've spent most of my life on TV, and never actually left the city I was born in."
"I used to go backpacking with friends when I was in college," he admitted with a small shrug. "I miss it sometimes." It wasn't so much the backpacking he missed as it was just getting away from the chaos of city life.
"Where did you go?" she asked curiously, leaning forward onto her forearms as she looked up at him. A teasing sparkle glimmered in her dark eyes as she grinned at him. "And how do I not know this about you?"
He shrugged again as he turned to face her, taking a lean against the railing, able to admire both the beauty of their surroundings and that of his new bride. "It was before we met," he told her simply. Before he'd started working full-time on a career in acting and moonlighting as a bartender to make ends meet.
"Oh, so naturally it doesn't matter," she teased, leaning close to brush a kiss against the corner of his mouth. "You do realize you're going to have to take me packbacking now, right?"
"Backpacking," he corrected with a chuckle, touching his fingers to her cheek a she leaned close to kiss him, his other arm going around her waist to draw her close, dark eyes bright with happiness and just a little mirth. "So, now that we're here, what do you want to do first?"
She snorted with laughter, tucking her arms about him as he drew her close. "Well, I want to ride a tortoise, but they told us we're not allowed to," she admitted mischievously. "What do you want to do?"
He could have answered that any number of ways, as there were any number of things he wanted to do with and to his new bride, but it wasn't like they'd never shared a bed together before, and he was eager to explore their new surroundings. "I was thinking a walk on the beach or something. What do you think?" he asked, playfully touching his nose to hers.
Her lips curled back from her teeth in a bright smile, delighted with that suggestion. "Maybe we should check out the activities the hotel offers," she suggested in turn. "See what we wanna do and make a plan. We've got two weeks to fill, after all."
Marcus pulled away from her, just far enough so that he could affect a theatrical bow. "Whatever thou wishest, my lady," he said with a grin.
"Why, lordy, sirrah, you do great honor," she countered, somehow managing to mangle both Shakespearean English and a southern belle accent all in one go. Laughing, she caught his hand. "C'mon, Romeo, let's go exploring."
"Not Romeo," he corrected. "Romeo didn't have a happy ending. How about ....hmm, Orlando?" he ventured, picking a role off the top of his head. "Of course, that makes you Rosalind," he told her with a grin, as he took her hand.
"Not Ganymede?" she chuckled, moving toward the door, hand in hand with him. "I mean, I know I'm not busty, but that's a little harsh. Mind you, you married this boobless wonder."
"Uh, I think I'd prefer you as Rosalind," he said, seeing as how he was perfectly content with her, just as she was. The thought of her disguised as a boy was amusing though, but not one that brought any lusty thoughts to his head.
"Yeah, well, I happen to like you as Prince Charming," Kiri countered impishly. "Got the key?" She wasn't taking her bag with her - all they were going to do was explore the hotel and surrounds for now, there was no need for anything more than the key.
It had only been a few months since they'd played those parts on stage, and they had both enjoyed every minute of it. Marcus had always preferred the comedies to the tragedies anyway. "Yes, ma'am," he replied, tugging it out of his pants pocket to prove it.
"Good, 'cause I have nowhere to put it on me," she giggled, pulling him out through the door. The heat here wasn't heavy; it was a dry warmth that was alleviated by the breeze off the sea, comfortable to be in the direct sun for a few minutes at a time, but more comfortable to be in the shade for longer. "Which way should we go, do you think?"