Valentine's Event Round 1

It had been a few minutes after the last person signed in. The restaurant had quite some participants in it now. Everyone was asked to sit on a small chair facing the podium. When everyone eventually had been seated, the lights in the room suddenly turned off, and two spotlights were faced towards the podium as the curtains opened. Behind those curtains were a few people.
There was a little band in the far back, playing slow jazz music while there were two people more on the front. One was an owl, looked around his thirties and was rocking a waistcoat, a bowtie and some fancy trousers and shoes that come with it. Next to that owl was a younger teal kitsune, wearing a full-on tuxedo suit. They both had a small pin of a heart shape on their lapel. They eyed pretty fancy looking, but had a certain cheesy feeling to them as well seeing as…you know…this Valentine’s event happening and all?
The owl spoke into the microphone. “Ladies and gentlemen, may I welcome you to the amazing Butterscotch Restaurant! I am Fidalio Butterscotch and the pretty lady next to me is called ‘Luka’. After some preparations we are glad to present you this Valentine’s greatest event.  We hope you will all have a great time here during this wonderful speed dating session.”
Then the woman spoke up, she clearly looked to be more excited. It gave a nice contrast with the owl’s suave. “Thank you sooo much for coming here! You can’t even imagine how happy we are for you to come visit us during this lovely day! Just a few things before we start. After we’ve told you your table, you can immediately go to there.” She pointed at one of the tables. It was a regular square dinner table, but with a nice pink tablecloth over it. There were some roses potted in a glass in the middle of the table and there were some small sweets and a glass of water on each side as well. A plastic block was placed on the left side of the roses. It had a number on it, probably meant to indicate which number the table had. There was also a small bell next to the other side of the roses.  “If you ever get stuck in a conversation, you could ring the small bell and either of us will come to your table and help you get a nice conversation starter to get you going!” She looked at the owl. “That’s the rules for you, just have fun. Now Fidalio will tell you who’ll sit where and we’ll start the first round!”
The owl grabbed a piece of paper out of his trousers. “Alright. So then these will be the first lovely and adorable pairs. Remember that you have to go sit on the right tables, so listen closely:


At table 1: Aaron and Kelina (DeltaGear/Hellez Bellez)



At table 2: Anastasia and Cheyzy (Crimson Skies/AngeredFluff)



At table 3: Stella and Bastion (Crimson Skies/Sparktb)



At table 4: Dione and Sweetie (Dione/Sea Bunny)



At table 5: Ember and Ebonia (TheRedBlur/Caliburn)



At table 6: Keandra and Nang (Dregan/MikeMurdock)



At table 7: Ragnilde and Tofa (Spekkal/Dogy9978)


Now then, make haste, you pretty faces! Your partner can’t wait to meet you!”
And so the Valentine’s event had begun.




(You can post freely in this thread now! remember that ringing the bell is actually a thing. Please keep the convo between only you and your partner. Don't keep them waiting for your reply and try to be as active as possible. If you are not able to keep that promise, please PM me or the person you're paired with and we'll find a solution!)
This round ends at the end of the 13th of February, next round will start on Valentine's day~

The pomeranian's ear perked at his name being called, feeling the fur on his hands already damp with sweat. He knew he'd be nervous, but this much so? This was not going to be fun. He hesiatated to stand, only doing so when the literal beacon of fire started shoved at his white clothed shoulders.

  "Jeez, alright, I'm goin' Ari! Chill out, will ya? The night's not goin' anywhere!"

     He hissed quietly at the spirit, dusting off the front of his tux even though there was nothing to dust off. He sighed, quietly walking his way over to the table marked with a 2 block. Rather than sitting immediately, he hovered around the table, waiting. He was with an Anastasia, right? That mean't...a girl? Of course, that'd mean he'd have to be a gentleman. It was only fair right? Then again, didn't most females believe that chilvary was dead at this point? Either way, it was just manners.

  "Now here I go, overthinkin' it all-" 

     He mumbled to himself, tossing minor glares at the spirit that was now wrapped around his neck like a boa. A conversation starter, he expected.

Oh god, they actually read her name out loud. If there was someone she knew, they'd know she was here. They'd know she was looking for a date because she couldn't get one herself, this was pathetic. The moment the owl called out her name, her face blushed a bright red and Ragnilde lightly coughed into her sleeve. For a moment, she thought she heard a familiar name, but that was a thought lost in the hustle and bustle of the crowds. And, seeing and everyone else was moving, Rag thought she herself should too.

Table 7, table 7... she muttered to herself, looking the area over. She found it within the corner, her tail wrapped around her leg to not accidentally sting someone in all this mess. Inhale, exhale. This was fine. She sat down. She was immediately aware that she under-dressed for this situation, and the manticore's face remained bright red. No no, don't think about it. She was only making herself look like more of an embarassment! Focus on the person you'll be talking to! Once they arrive!

Tofa. That was their name, right? She didn't mishear? An interesting name, if so! Ragnilde looked up, her unusual eyes scanning the crowd for anyone who would be approaching her.

Nang is nervous and doesn't want to take a seat, but his squad leader insists and gets him to the seat.


' I .. I dunno if I want to do this.' Nang will shake a bit being nervous.

'You can do it. I'll see you later now. Got a gal for myself to attend to.'

And with his squadron commander gone Nang continues to shake. Grabbing a soda and just waits there nervously to the guest that will take the other seat next to him. He doesn't know what is coming and that makes him even more nervous.

Aaron perked up when he heard his name called. Hopping up he quickly approached the designated Table marked with the number 1, taking his time as went. "Huh... lets see who i end up with shall we?" He said aloud as he reached the table, throwing a few jabs at the air and stretching a bit before sitting down.

As he waited he straightened his camo scarf and gloves, "Heh... I didn't exactly come formally did I?" He leaned back in his chair with a smile on his face, "Then again, this is a completely random chance event. Not gonna know who ya get." He looked out into the group of people, trying to see if he could spot his partner. "Their name was... Kelina was it? Not a bad name."

Ember couldn't help but feel a sudden wave of nerves as her name is called out. She was paired with someone named "Ebonia", apparently. The name didn't exactly give a clue as to what gender they were, which merely added to the sense of unease at the unknown that she would be facing. Either that, or she was seriously overreacting to a few butterflies in her stomach.

"Table 5. Okay, I can do this!" She told herself, as she stood up, and walked over to said table. She sat herself down, and looked at the roses. "Aw, those are so pretty..." she said to herself as she waited for her partner to show up.

As the contestants were asked to take their seats, Bast was barely able to contain his excitement. As both the owl and Luka stepped forward, the frog allowed his gaze to eagerly shift around the room, taking in each of his fellow daters. Daties? Love-bugs? Honestly he wasn't sure what the proper terminology for this was, but did it really matter? Like, in the long term was he really going to need-

He was so caught up in his thought that he nearly missed his name being called. With a wide grin he hopped up to his feet, his singular eye trying to pick out this 'Stella' from amongst the midst of the crowd. It was a good name! Flashy and stylish, yet with a mix of elegance and class about it. With such a name he almost believed he'd be able to pick the individual out by looks alone, but with so many people he found the task dissapointingly impossible.

After a brief moment, he made his way over to his designated table. Taking one last glance around, he pulled out one of the seats, before hurriedly making his way towards the other and seating himself in that one. After all, it was only polite that he made things easier for his companion, no?

Once Fidalio announced the first match ups, a big wave of nerves overcame Dione. She started to fiddle with the edges of her plaid flannel. "Table 4... Okay.." she muttered. "I can do this. Just say hi and talk to them." The wolf got up and started making her way over to her designated table.

She sat down, still really nervous, and waited for her matched date to make their way over to the table as well. She kept an eye on everyone in the room, observing them as they made their ways to their tables as well, trying to gather clues on what to expect in this and the next rounds.

Kelina would grin as she was called, looking over to the table, seeing that her first partner was already there.

“Number one hm? Seems only fitting for me~” She waltzed her way over, before pulling the chair in front of her back and sitting.

“So, Aaron was it?” She questioned, looking him up wnd down before kicking her legs up, her boot-covered feet resting on the edge of the table.

“Hm, anyway, I’m not here for idle chit chat, tell me one interesting thing about you and why exactly I should care~” She spoke out. Her words brash and rude, yet her tone being smooth and relaxed. Almost as if she was in some sort of deluded world where being mean and rude was considered ‘flirting’

Soon a figured approached the table, sitting down without hesitation or consideration. She was was of average height and had black fur with a yellow strip going down her body. Her voice was cool, calm, and deliberate. She immediately made it clear she wasn't around for the typical meet and greet.

~Almost seems likes she's here to straight up tick people off for the fun of it,~ Aaron's smile only slightly faltered as he leaned back placed his boots on the edge of the table as well, putting his hands behind his head. Smirking as he made his reply, he answered just as bluntly as she had, "To answer in order: I'm a former middle weight boxer. And second: Why should I care what you think Is interesting about me?" Aaron felt rather accomplished as he look at her dead on, "Now for you: Who are you and why should I care?"

Tofa enjoyed the calm jazz. It was a type of music she wasn't not familiar with. She listened to the two hosts but truly wasn't paying attention. She was messing with something on her gloves. Luckily for her, she payed attention when she heard her name. 
"Table 7? "
Tofa got up and went through every tabled counting out loud until she made it to the table. There was some sitting there already. A mobain she'd never seen before. Tofa was clearly making a confused face as to what Species she was looking at. 
"Hello! You must be the person!"
Tofa sat down, smiling.

Throughout the entire introduction to the event, Sweetie appeared to be listening intently, and she was. However, she cared not for what had to be said, and was only focusing on listening out for her name.

Once that moment came, her ears perked up and an innocent-looking grin stretched across her face. She wasted no time in looking for the table she was assigned to. Her feet hovered inches above the ground as she glided over to the table marked with the number "4". There already appeared to be someone there. She couldn't help but smile.

Before she sat down, she admired the roses in the middle of the table, and plucked one out of the glass. After taking her seat on the opposite end of the table, she took her time to smell the flower. A soft giggle escaped her lips and a wide smile appeared on her face, showing off the sharp fangs poking out of her mouth. Though her smile looked innocent enough, it gave off an ominous vibe. 

"Dione, right?" She heard this name along with her own during the announcement. If she was at the right table, then this green wolf had to be who she was paired with. "My name's Sweetie, as you must've heard. What brought you to this event?" Her tone was polite and sweet, but there was still a sinister air about her.

Kelina's expression instantly changed. Looking him up and down as her smirky, jokey expression became that of a more stern, neutral look.

"Former fighter huh? What happened, quit? Got lazy? Lost to much?" She would ask, again, not seeming to be very considerate for his feelings. 

She raised an eyebrow at him. It seemed the mention of any kind of fighting made her become an awful lot more serious.

"I'm a highly specialized hand to hand combat master, I have students from one city to the next. And well, who wouldn't care about me~" She ended her sentence with a slight hint of that smooth, flirty tone once more.

Ragnilde's first thought upon seeing this mobian was 'Is... is this Tofa?' shortly followed by 'they're... they're really cute.' It might have been the black curls, or the perked up ears, but this Tofa was adorable. She wasn't sure if she was lucky or unlucky. The manticore grinned awkwardly, motioning to the chair which Tofa had already sat at, and there was a small dip in her stomach as the woman pulled a confused face. Immediately, self-conscious thoughts began to swirl in her head. Was Rag not what she expected? Was Tofa disappointed? For a second, her ears flicked downwards. But immediately shot up again when she was asked a question.

"Uh-!" the hybrid helpfully started, momentarily caught off-guard, "I... I think so! I'm Ragnilde! Table 7! That's. What they said. So that... must. Be me. ...And you're Tofa, right?" Don't go for a handshake. Never go for a handshake. She'd learnt this before. This wasn't a business meeting - it was a casual get-together. A handshake makes things formal. Instead, Rag rested her arms upon the table and gave a smile herself. "So uh- what do you do for a living?"

Tofa laughed.
"You sound more nervous then I could possibly imagine. Don't worry if I gave you a strange look it's just I've never seen something like you before. Bat wings, horns, and a scorpion tail."
Tofo noticed she was about to go on table mode and talk about if the person she was speed dating was a demon but stopped herself.
"I dance with some special effects to entertain the simple minds and dazzle the eyes."

Ana's ears perked up when she heard her name being called out, as well as the table number. Making her way to there as quickly as she could, the schoolgirl was full of excitement and barely able to contain herself, thinking of all the things she'd discuss, all the questions she'd ask.

And then she saw him, already waiting for her, something around his neck.

"I-is that," she breathed in. "A snake?! Please, please let me pet it!"

If she had a pet, she would have brought it in, too.

"Calm yourself down," the alien parasite would tell her. "You're just scare both of them off!"

Seeing as the alien had a point, Anastasia would sit down, clear her throat and talk again. "I mean, uh, if it's friendly and doesn't bite. And you don't mind."

-----------------------------

Splendid.

Bastion, was it? Intriguing. She'll ask about the name later, but first, there was something she needed to adress - her attire. With just a couple of seconds of solitude in a restroom and her handy sketchbook always by her side, the cat put on a disguise.

Nothing too different - just the same old her, but with a red, low cut dress, something she deemed fitting for the occassion. It proved itself to be quite the eye candy last time she had it on and today was likely going the same ordeal. But today wasn't a flowering night, full of passion and love, but one where the cat knows which mouse out of the bunch is hers and hers alone.

And the cat would get very angry should other mice interfere.

As she gracefully made her way to table three and her partner for the date, the sight of a pulled out chair made her smile. "Oh, so you've remembered the thing mum used to teach you? Good," she thought to herself sarcastically. "Without other things to complement it, it's nothing more than just muscle memory."

Instead of taking that chair, she chose to sit down on the one to his right.

Not saying a word, Stella wanted to give her date the privilage of the conversation starter.

Nervous? Nervous? She wasn't nervous she... was. She was completely and utterly nervous, that was correct, but someone saying that so early on made her gulp. She swallowed her nerves, or tried to, and awkwardly laughed off that comment with a chuckle and a cough. "Yeah I'm. Not. Usually around here. I'm a manticore- like- uh," she raised her scorpion tail up, "-like a weird mix. That's me. W-weird. Hahah." She was not helping her case. Ragnilde felt like she was actively digging her hole into the ground. Her tail flailed a tiny bit for emphasis on the word 'weird' and then slowly slid back down against the floor in defeat.

Thankfully, Tofa had saved her by talking a little about themselves! Yeah, let's focus on that. Let's focus on the date. Which she was here for. And not herself. That'd be smart. Ragnilde entertained the idea of Tofa dancing, fireworks in the background, super dramatic. It pleased her. Though the notion of calling the average person someone with a 'simple mind' wasn't lost on her, and she, once again, awkwardly laughed that comment off. "Special effects?" the manticore asked in confusion, "Do you mean like... fireworks. And glitter? That sort of thing? Stage lights and. You know. Illusions. I guess? I'm not that knowledgeable on. Dance. Sorry." Evidently.

Dione jumped slightly when her assigned partner made it to the table. They appeared to be a fox, and a girl. Oh boi, this was gonna be great. Dione had never really been on a date with a girl yet, so she didn't really know what to expect. When the girl introduced herself, a shiver was sent down the wolf's spine. She had a nice voice, but something seemed... off?

"Y- yeah! I'm Dione! Nice to meet you." She smiled and continued talking. "I half and half got forced to participate by my friend. She uhh... she has a boyfriend herself already and thought this would be the perfect time for me to find someone as well. Why did you decide to participate, if I may ask?" 

The nervous fiddling slowly stopped and she folded her hands before resting them on the table in front of her. The wolf inhaled deeply and sighed silently, trying to get rid of the rest of the nerves. Hopefully this wouldn't be too bad after all.

Tofa noted the species.
" Hmm... Sure I do something like that, I suppose maybe a little more dangerous than glitter..."
She gave a nervous chuckle. She leaned in closer.
"Actually if I'm telling the truth, I have some pyrotechnics that are in my glove. Don't tell anyone though."
She whispered.

Oh.
Well.
Hm.

She certainly was a bold one, wasn't she? Hot and Bold, a dangerous mix. Between the low cut [and honestly just really pretty style] of her dress and the fact she opted to sit beside him, Bastion honestly wasn't sure if she was trying to impress him with her bold nature, or to intimidate him. If it was the latter, she'd made an unfortunate mistake, as Bast seemed anything but intimidated by actions, instead opting to raise his eyebrows in bemusement of her semi-scandalous actions.

The frog hesitated for a moment to soak in her appearance, as well as giving her a chance to start them off! ...Except she didn't, which meant there was a few seconds of awkward silence between them. Or at least, it would be awkward for most people, but Bast seemed to take it all in his stride, deciding that if she wasn't going to start them off, then he would [seemingly ignoring the fact that this was probably her intent.] So! He flashed his cat companion a wide grin, happily tapping his fingers on the edge of the table. "well, hey there! It's very nice to meet you, Stella! That's a very nice dress you're wearing!"

"So, speed dating, huh? What made you want to give this sort of thing a try?"

Ragnilde made a zipping motion with her hand on her lips. She wouldn't tell a soul. Tofa looked so delicate, it was amazing to think that she actually worked with fire, and she definitely seemed confident about it! The manticore wanted to ask where she danced, so she could watch and support it, but quickly realised that could come off as stalker-ish or creepy. Thankfully, this realisation arose before she'd even opened her mouth. Instead, she'd opted to say something a lot more reasonable.

"A dancer who works with fire?" she whispered in return, before exhaling in awe, "That's amazing! Cause well honestly... I'm. N-" pause. Wait. Hold up. You're here to make people like you. You can't say 'nothing special'. That'd dampen the mood and make her not as interested. Play yourself up, dammit! "-I'm...I actually work for a. Big. Organisation. H-hah. Like.. global. As a guard for them. For uh. Dragon Corp!"
Now it just looks like she was to place herself as above this really sweet dancer. Like her fragile ego was threatened and had to prove herself. That wasn't the case at all! Tofa didn't even ask about this, why did she blab it out? Rag wanted death. Her fingers started to lightly claw at the table in her own anxiety, giving another awkward laugh, "B-but anyway! Sorry, sorry I'm. Getting ahead of myself. Aren't I. What uh, what do you tend to do when you're... not dancing? Uh, like. Hobbies!"

"Pleasure's all mine," Stella would say, smiling. "Was walking by, poster caught my attention. Had nothing else planned out for the day."

Lies.

This was a self-imposed challenge. A challenge to see if she could woo one or more people and have them all to herself by the end of the day.

At that, Bast had to raise his eyebrow in slight doubt - would she really wear such a fancy dress when simply going for a walk? but then, who was he to judge? He loved his clothing because they were eyecatching, so who's to say she didn't as well? "Ah, thats fair! Was pretty much the same thing for me. Except with less walking by and more a friend shoving the fliers in my face. Still though, can't say I'm dissapointed - if everyone else is half as neat as you seem to be, it's gonna be a great evening!"

"So, like, what do you do for fun?"

Tofa notice how odd Rag's speech pattern was.
"Are you okay? "
She asked genuinely worried.
"We can stop if you if this is too uncomfortable for you. I know talking to new people is a hard task to take on at first, so I understand if you are not ready."
Tofa looked to the side a little sad. She didn't even answer Rag's question.

Keandra was still standing awkwardly by the bar when it finally came time to assign tables. Waiting for everyone else to sit first, they nabbed a small seat at the back, drink held firmly in both hands. They didn't want to risk a bend or stretch of the wrist sending it cascading across the floor. They reeeaaally didn't need that sort of attention right now.

Waiting patiently as the energetic hosts ran down the list of names, the pale vixen couldn't help but listen out to see if there were any names she recognised there. She wasn't quite sure if she could deal with that.
No...
No...
No...
And then her own name came up and suddenly all her attention was on that. Ah, right. Table 6. Alright then.

For a moment, Keandra opted to wait. After all, if she paused for a second here, she could perhaps take a glance at her table - see exactly who she'd be sitting down with first.
...At least, that was the plan, until she realised everyone else was heading to their tables already. Feeling rather self-concious over the idea that in a second she'd just look like some weirdo sitting there by herself, she hopped to her feet - wibbling ever-so-slightly - and made her way to her table perhaps a little too fast.
As she dropped quite forcefully into her seat, she seemed to... shake, just that little bit. She... really hoped her partner hadn't quite noticed that.

Speaking of which, she finally took the opportunity to take in the man sat across from her, and- Oh! He was... cute. Probably quite a bit younger than her but... well, she wasn't here to be picky.
Offering him a not-altogether-confident smile, she extended a hand;
"You must be Nang!"
...Why was she holding her hand out for a handshake? Dear lord who shakes hands on a date? Oh god this guy must think she's a dork.