Valentine's Event Round 1

Tofa sighed.
"I'm sorry i shouldn't have said that. I'm ruining this..."
Then she took the bell from the table and rang it a little. She had a face of regret.

Sweetie laughed. "The reason I started making them was because I couldn't stay away from them. It's like I can't stay away. It's like I need them." It felt like she was trying to hint at something, but with the way she worded it, it made herself sound like some sort of sugar addict.

"But what was that guild you mentioned? Is it that 'Heroes Guild'? Are you apart of it?" She was curious, but she doubted she'd ever join a guild like that. She wouldn't mind trying to help others, but she's prone to causing friendly fire.

Aaron let out out a sigh, he honestly wished this was over and he could move on. But Alas... he had to wait for the round to end. As waited he ran through anything to make the situation any better than it currently was, ~Let's see... she heartless, Uncaring, really bad at insulting... honestly there isn't anything better to do...~ he continued to tick stuff off as he drowned out whatever she was saying.

Several minutes later Aaron sat up and, with head on his chin, stared at her, "Welp, this is boring... how about this yellow belly. I'll ask a question and then you answer. After you answer you'll ask and then I'll answer," his face was neutral as he spoke, "We'll just trade questions until this is over. That sound ok to you?" He scooted up to the table and rested him elbows on it, "It'll go first: what martial style do you teach and where is your dojo?"

Keandra couldn't help but blink a couple of times, opening and closing her mouth a touch. Well... okay yes, Nang had certainly opened up now! She wasn't sure what had triggered it, but it seemed he'd found the confidence to share a little. Actually, from how much he was sharing, it seemed in some respects like the dam had burst.
Not that she particularly minded! She was just slightly taken aback that all of this had come out at once.

"I'm not so sure I'd call my own job 'important for civilization' but... certainly sounds like you've got quite the career of your own there," she offered him a grin, hoping to boost his confidence a little more with it, "With a lot going on in it too by the sounds. Though er, I'm curious, and I hope this isn't prying but-"
The fox was about to ask about why the dog's father had been wanting him to follow in his footsteps, rather than the elder brother as a more direct heir? Unless the plan was to hand the company on to both of them, but Nang wasn't interested in his own share?

Unfortunately, she became rather distracted at the sound of a bell from another table. For a moment, she looked as if to try and spy on who was at the table from which the sound directed - but considered it probably best not to be too nosy.
Shaking her head a second, she cleared her thoughts to refocus on her own table. She didn't want to give her partner cause to ring that bell for himself.

"Heh, uh, seems not everyone's night may be going quite so smoothly, uh..." she cleared her throat a second. Admittedly the sound had thrown her somewhat - and made her incredibly self-concious about keeping the experience of her own date a positive one.
"...I like your hat by the way," she attempted to drag the flow of conversation back, "Very retro."
...Okay that was pathetic. Still, always worth a shot at a compliment.

A chuckle escaped from Dione as she heard Sweetie talk about how she can't stay away from sweets and sugary treats. "That sounds like a good reason to start your own shop, yeah!" The wolf smiled and listened to the fox's question.

"The guild? Yeah! It's the new one, they only recently opened their doors for the sign-ups. I'm a member. So far I've saved a cat, and there's a mission coming up where I'll have to fight bandits. I wonder how that's gonna go.." The canine sighed and rested her head on her right hand. "Have you considered joining them? Or are you not much of a fighter type?"

"Hmm.." Sweetie shifted her gaze from the wolf for a few moments while she pondered on her question. "Well, I may not look it, but I can definitely win against anyone if I get serious." She spoke with confidence as though her success was guaranteed in a fight.

"However, I wouldn't think myself as much of a team player. When it comes down to it, I tend to put my needs before others'. That may be selfish, but I do what I can to survive."  She paused for a brief moment before following up with another comment. "They just tend to get hurt when they're around me. Maybe I'm cursed." She giggled. The way she added that statement to her previous comment almost made it seem awkward and out of place. How did she go from putting her needs before others' to others getting hurt around her? Was it one or the other?  They appeared to be unrelated, or... maybe they were really connected.

"Good luck with those bandits, though. How do you plan on dealing with them? Are you going to turn them in, or beat them unconscious, or... are members of the guild allowed to kill? Personally, if it were me, I'd make them bleed out." She spoke in a kind tone with a smile still plastered on her face. That ominous vibe she gave off immediatley intensified.

Her ears perked up and she placed a hand over her mouth. "Oh! Perhaps a comment like that is inappropriate at a time like this." She giggled once more, trying to bring the mood back up from the dark direction it was headed.

"It's less of a worry and more of a throught exercise," Stella would smile deviously. "How insignificant can someone become at a cosmic scale? At which point does the thing towering above them consider them too insignificant to squish under their hee? I know my place well, but I tend to nudge others in the right direction should they make it personal."

His correct guess piqued her interest, as did his ability to to keep up with the conversation. 

With the first candidate for 'further evaluation', perhaps her idea to go speed dating wouldn't be so fruitless after all.

How exciting.

"Yeah, seriously. I wouldn't lie about something so ridiculous, trust me." Ebonia couldn't help but nervously laugh a little, she really wasn't sure if she was making herself look like an idiot or if it was actually some genuine kind of charm. Curse interaction, aaaagh! And so the cat just kind of, shrugged to the swimming point.

"Uh - I think there's a spot somewhere nearby. Beach, pools, lakes, name it - pretty sure that there's gotta be at least ONE nearby, right?" She smirked a tad at that point, pretty confident that there had to be somewhere of the sort. There just had to be, right? No place wouldn't have them. "...I'm not from this area so I dunno for sure, ahah." She added, just to make sure.

The notion about 'out there' being the middle name of Ember was something that captured Ebonia's interest a bit, however. She raised a brow, leaning forward subconsciously while she asked that suddenly burning question - "Oh? Where did you come from, then?" Eagerly she awaited the answer.

Bast was silent for a moment as he digested the cats answer, his lips pursing together in idle thought. "hmm... Its an interesting thought thing, I'll give you that. Its the whole 'do you care if you crush a primal-ant under boot' thing, except on a constantly growing level. Although I guess it's always worth remembering that even titans can be felled by smaller foes when they flock together - just look at us and bacteria and other illness stuff. Too small to care about by itself, but once it swarms..." He gives a small shudder. Almost without thought he reaches a hand under his makeshift eyepatch, scratching the concealed area.

"And I can't imagine people stray out of line too often with you. Or at least, not for very long. You don't seem like the kind to suffer fools, and all that jazz~"

There it was. One simple ring. A piece of metal hitting another. The fox had heard it. She had to do this. For LOVE. Luka walked over to table 7, with a way too excited smile on her face. Yeah. These two were actually being very cute, like, almost the cutest little dolls. And they were both so uncomfortable with each other~ That's so wonderful!

She leaned one hand on their table and the rest of her body towards Tofa. Her two tails were almost planted in Rag's face as they just barely avoided her, time and time again, constantly moving. "I heard you caaaalled?~"  She giggled afterwards. She was WAY into her element at the moment.

"Sooooo I've been watching you a little and it seems like Rag is trying her best to ask as many questions possibleee. Maybe you-" She laid her hand on Tofa's shoulder. "Should try and ask something back yourself! Getting to know each other is important! From both sides!"

She then turned towards Rag, getting quite close to her face. Luka should definitely do something about her flirty behaviour. A devilish grin appeared on her face. She whispered. "I'm so sorry for this" And then she continued to speak out loud. "Here let me start off! Ragnilde? What do you like to read???"

OH NO SHE DIDN'T JUST DO THAT. NEXT TIME CROSS OUT YOUR ANSWERS BETTER. WE HAVE A WANNA BE DETECTIVE IN OUR RESTAURANT.

Also she leaves the table afterwards. c:

The fox was right about not looking like a fighter, but then again, Dione didn't really look like much of a fighter either, but she'd be able to stand her ground pretty okay in a fight as well. The phrase 'don't judge a book by its cover' came in quite clearly in this case, apparently. 

When Sweetie started talking about putting her own needs as a first priority, the wolf nodded to let the fox know she understood where she was coming from. Not everyone was willing to risk their skin for others, and that was understandable. Sometimes those others don't deserve it either. When the girl brought up the fact that others tend to get hurt while being around here, Dione started to feel bad for her. The way the vulpine had put it, it sounded as if she had constant bad luck following her, preventing her from keeping close relationships with others. 

Then the guild came up again. "Oh uhh.. thanks. I'm not sure how we're gonna go about things yet, I suppose it'll be up to the one who submitted the quest to begin with. I'm assuming there will be kinda like a squad leader of some sorts." She personally didn't know if guild members were allowed to kill. The green canine assumed that, if it really came to it, they would be allowed to kill to save their own lives, but not in any other circumstances. The subject of conversation was, indeed, quite grim for an event like this, and Dione was more than happy to change it to something else. 

She thought for a moment before speaking, trying to come up with a good question. "Sooo, what do you think about art and literature?"

"Mhm," Stella would nod, biting her lip. "And you seem like someone alert and level-headed, quickly able to tell what's what."

Definitely interesting. 

Able to figure out parts of her this quickly and not have her waste time talking and explaining?

It felt good. Really good.

Tofa rang the bell.
Rag didn't understand how utterly embarrassing it would feel until it happened. She didn't expect the sudden red blush on her cheeks; her whole body was hot with shame, and she felt like she needed to itch. The first bell was with her. And her date partner had done it. Immediately, her head swarmed with self-conscious thoughts. Did it attract the curious, judgemental of eyes of others? Were they looking at her? Was she so pathetic, so uninteresting, so boring that her partner was struggling to converse with her?

The confidence that was on Rag's face just moments before this spiralling ordeal had now shattered. She thought she was doing pretty well with Tofa, but now she'd just made a fool of herself. Who in the world would want to be Rag's date partner? The coil of her tail tightened against the chair. Her ears were flat against her head, and she said nothing out of shame. Let's just get this over with.

The hostess came over with a flirtatious demeanour. Rag's face was still bright red and buried in her own mane as Luka spoke. With the host turned towards Tofa, Rag herself leaned her head back to avoid getting tail fur in her face. Thankfully, a tiny exhale left her mouth as Luka asked Tofa to ask more questions, recognising the manticore's attempts. Which was... a little nice. It still didn't stop her from wanting to sink into the floor and die, though.

Rag continued to lean her head backwards as the kitsune's face was close to her own. She was... sorry? Sorry about what...? What was she-
Read? What did she mean, books? Cause that-
Oh.

That blush didn't leave her cheeks. Oh. This was. Awkward. And uncomfortable. So they did check what people wrote on their forms. They memorised them. "R-re...I... u-uh," she'd prepared for some baseless vague and uninteresting answer, but she didn't expect to be asked by people who knew. Ragnilde couldn't just say comic books. She couldn't just lean over and be like 'haha, yeah I collect them. Under my bed I have the limited edition signed collectors copy of the 100th special from the Last Call series' because she doesn't want the reputation of pathetic basement dweller. 

She continued to stammer, quickly running a hand through her hair again, "Well I..." stretch the truth, "I... don't... have much time to read. At all. I'm working. So much. B-barely had time for this. Hahah..." The hostess was gone. She could say this. They couldn't call her out. And it made her sound busy. This was okay. This was fine.

Tofa gave a giggle when the person who was supposed to help came with the a mindset of getting a date. Tofa listened to the person's advice and watched her "partner" attempt to answer the question.
"You don't have time to read? That's a shame. These cities usally have these books with pictures in them. More pictures than words. They are good if you don't have much time and want a quick read. Certainly more entertaining then just plain words from an old book. Maybe we can go to the store where they are sold after this event is over and I could recommend some to you."

'Oh.. umm thank you. It was my grandfather's It was big on me when he gave it to me and it grew on me. Do you have any heirlooms that you carry of your family?' Nang would ask the girl. He was still a bit nervous, but not as much when they started. He was happy he had someone to talk to, He knew he may not come home with someone, but He does like he has someone to talk to.


He would previous notice the bell ringing as he returns to respond to that. ' Well... I think some people are having a more difficult time. This is also my first time doing something like this so I can understand why they would have problems talking toe people.

'Maybe we could go to the store after this event?'
Yeah that red blush wasn't going anytime soon. The embarrassment of the bell was still prime in her mind - a blush doesn't just stop. Still, the idea that Tofa had just offered to do something after this whole ordeal wasn't helping matters either. In a positive way. Despite her ringing the bell, despite the assumptions that Tofa wanted nothing to do with Rag, everything had just been flipped on its head and now there was the chance of actually... doing something... afterwards. This was not supposed to be going well. It was Ragnilde, for gods sakes! She never had this much luck!

"That. Would. Be nice," the manticore slowly stated, pulling her face out of her own fur. Did she mean graphic novels? Or, god forbid, manga. Please don't let this cutie be a weeb. She didn't want to immediately jump on the assumption just on the chance she was completely wrong, but she was really interested in what Tofa would recommend! It brought her out of her shell just a little, and the hyrbid straightened her back with a tiny cough. Adjusting her collar with an 'ahem', she continued: "Since you've read these sort of books. With the pictures. What would you say is... uh, your favourite genre? Are you more of an action girl, or... or horror... or...." romance? "...mystery?" 

The woman paused, letting a tiny moment pass before adding her own opinion, "Uh, I like... action. Myself. I just find something... cool about. Uh. Action things going on. Dramatic scenes. High stakes. Cool characters. Uh. I like those sort of... books." Not to say that Ragnilde didn't like actual, proper books! She still thoroughly enjoyed them - quite a bit! But seeing the action happen before you, seeing artist renditions of scenes, really makes it a lot more awe-inspiring that words on a page. And, like Tofa said, it was an easier and more entertaining read.

"definitely action. Made up heroes wity made up villains that reflect a bit of our reality is always nice. I don't mind the other genres though. They are fine as is." 
Tofa's ear flicked.

Sweetie pressed a finger against her mouth as she pondered on the wolf's question. "When it comes to art, I prefer traditional paintings. And for literature, I like the classics. Books aren't written or read in a vacuum. They're woven by writers and consumed by the readers with the influence of centuries of writing. Older art holds more story behind it. You can get an idea of how things once were. I also find classic literature to be more romantic. There's no real love without a mix of tragedy." 

She huffed. "Death is always lingering about."  Her expression darkened for barley a moment before she giggled and regained her composure. "But not everyone has to die. I'd protect my love until the day I perish. They're my life source after all. I'd never let them go." The way she worded it seemed a bit off, but nonetheless, it just sounded like she would really care for and rely on her loved one.

A small twinkle appeared in the girl's azure eyes as her date talked and explained about her view on art and literature. It was quite deep and well thought-out and it sparked some form of admiration in her. Dione could relate in various ways to the statements of the fox, being an art lover herself as well.

"Wow, that's.." was all she could bring out, lost for words. She honestly didn't expect the response she had been given. 

Sweetie's explanation on how she would protect her lover was.. romantic? and adorable, but also slightly strange in a way. The wolf couldn't quite pur her finger on it, but she didn't bother trying to figure it out either, thinking it was probably just the aftermath of the nerves she had experienced when the whole speed dating had kicked off. She stared in silence for a minute, only to realise what she was doing and to turn red like a tomato. "O- oh I'm so sorry, I got caught up in m- my thoughts!" she stammered, trying to recover from the awkward mess she had created for herself. 

"I- I uhh.. I love novels as well, but I also love reading comics and more of the uhm.. m- modern fiction and sci-fi orientated books." Great save, 10/10 Dione. She felt so embarrassed and she didn't make any sense. If only she could just sink into the ground and disappear.

"Yeah!" Ragnilde nodded enthusiastically, "I agree! I. Completely. Agree. Make-believe and fantasy is a lot more interesting, and you can explore a lot more with it! Real life is direct influence of it, but fantasy allows further delving into, uh, certain themes and stuff! Like planet destroying beam attacks and cities crumbling and heroes coming in at the last minute to SAVE THE WORLD! You can REALLY push it to the extremes!" 

As she spoke, the manticore's timid exterior was starting to lessen more and more. It was blatant that this was something she was a little passionate about, from the way she had one arm on the table motioning actions with her hand absent-mindedly, and had a glimmer of interest and wonder in her unusual eyes. "Those extremes, uh, like I said. Stakes. Even higher. It's just cool." She didn't really want to use 'cool' as the word to describe it. It was a lot more than that. She could lose herself in it. But intriguing and fascinating were more analytical than referencing how whimsical it was.

As Dione starred off in silence, Sweetie starred, too, right at her. She tilted her head and the grin on her face grew wider and wider with each passing second. She didn't view the silence as awkward. In fact, she thought she was sharing an intimate moment. As the wolf reacted to the silence with embarrassment, Sweetie couldn't help but laugh. She found this sort of reaction to be very cute. "My my, I wonder what you were thinking about~ You're face is so red it's adorable~"

She couldn't help herself. She put down the rose, and got up from her chair, stepping over to her. She wasted no time grabbing her head and pulling her into her chest for a hug. She then crouched down a little, so they were both at the same height, and rubbed her face against her's. "You're so cute, I could just eat you up~" 

She stopped for a moment, realizing how close she was to her. She could smell it, the blood coursing through her veins. Sweetie's pupils narrowed to slits. She was so close to her neck, too... but she couldn't. She shouldn't. Not now. Not when there's so many witnesses about. She had to move away before she couldn't hold herself back anymore. 

She quickly returned to her chair, and looked at Dione with a smile. Her eyes still like that of a cat's. Was that drool running down her chin? Sweetie immediately realized that herself and placed the side of her hand up to her mouth. She brushed off the whole situation with an innocent giggle, and followed up with a question. "Do you believe in monsters...?" It was an odd question that seemed to come out of nowhere. But this was möbius. Surely almost anything is possible when you have a super-sonic hedgehog and two-tailed fox running about.

"Huh, your grandfather had good fashion sense," Keandra grinned before pausing a second. Was... was 'your grandfather had good fashion sense' really a compliment you could give your date? It sounded more like she wanted to date Nang's grandad rather than anything else. "Suits you," she threw in as an extra compliment. Nice. Nailed it.

Then there was the question of if she had any heirlooms of her own.
"I can't really say I've got anything from my old home - at least, not on me. Unless you count the accent?" It was true, albeit rather hard to notice. There was a hint of a slightly foreign accent there... though it seemed she must've been living locally for a decent while, with how subtle it seemed.
"I'm originally from the Mernayan Isles. Coconuts in the Sun! Beautiful place..." she chuckled, "Unfortunately the climate... wasn't quite for me."

Pausing for a second, she caught sight of one of the event's hosts stepping away from the table where assumingly the bell had been rung. Something about Nang's comment on it had given her pause to think;
"Say, Nang... If you don't mind me asking, how old are you?"

The poor wolf's face grew only more red when Sweetie told her she thought Dione was adorable. "I- I- uhh.." Before she even could reply she found herself being pulled into a rather intimate hug, hesitantly she wrapped her own arms around the fox in front of her, returning the hug. It was weird to be so close to someone she has met only minutes ago, but it didn't feel.. bad? A shiver ran down her spine when the yellow furred fox let go and crouched down, only to rub her face against her own. 

She was lost for words. Completely baffled and didn't know what to do so she just... sat there, letting it happen. Not too long after, Sweetie had returned to her own seat. Dione moved a bit on her own and turned to look at the fox again. She noticed something had changed about the girl, but she couldn't quite pinpoint what it was. Then it hit her, her eyes had changed slightly. They had narrowed down to feline like slit-eyes. 

Then came the question about monsters. The girl stared for a few seconds, trying to gather her thoughts to actually give a proper answer and not turn into a rambling mess like before. "W- well.. I've heard of vampires and demons before, but I've never ran into any, for as far as I know. It wouldn't surprise me if uhm.. they turned out to be real. There's aliens as well after all, so why not any supernatural stuff?" She hoped it would be a good enough answer for the fox. "I've never really thought about it, to be honest. What about you? Do you believe in them?"

Sweetie grinned after hearing that the wolf believed she hadn't run into any supernatural beings yet. She was proud of herself for staying under the radar. Normally, she wouldn't last too long, but it seemed like conversation was keeping her mind occupied while she fought against her instincts. 

She picked up one of the sweets off the table and bit into it. Sugar was a decent substitute for her. Although, not as good as blood in most cases. Nonetheless, this was able to calm her down a little.

She soon replied to the question. "Of course. I believe there's a monster in us all." She paused for a few moments. She almost wanted to follow up with 'Would you believe me if I said there was one right in front of you?' But she felt it was far too soon for that, even if the wolf wouldn't believe her. She needed to gain trust before she could reveal herself. She never knew if someone would run off in terror afterwards, and those who did didn't get much of a happy ending. "Would you be afraid of them?"

The wolf's eyes followed the fox's movements as she picked up a heart-shaped sweet out of the bowl between the two of them. It drew her own attention to the bowl as well, and it reminded her of the various snacks and drinks on the big table in the corner of the room. Before she could continue thinking about food, however, the fox replied to her own question.

Sweetie's response was.. slightly unexpected. Dione had expected her to refer to the supernatural monsters such as ghosts, vampires, demons and angels, but never had she considered the option of the inner 'demons' everyone faces. Or so she interpreted her answer, at least. 

"I.. don't know? I think I would be afraid in at least one way or another, but I wouldn't know how exactly, seeing as I've never been in the situation to have felt that fear before.." A few images out of horror films flashed through her mind before she continued speaking. "Surely they won't be as bad as the ones depicted in films and books, if they're really that good at staying hidden, right?"