Valentine's Event Round 2

The music played on the podium slowly faded and the two hosts appeared on the podium again. After a few moments, the fox spoke into the microphone. “Aaaaaand time’s up! Hope you’ve had a great time with your first partner, but now it’s time to move on to the next one! Don’t you worry. If you liked your first partner, you can always meet up after the next two rounds and see if they’re still interested!” She gestured towards Fidalio. “Now Fidalio, would you please read out the pairings for coming round?”

“Ah yes of course darling.” He reached into his pocket, but before he could, the fox already gave him a piece of paper. “Oh hey you should read this one.” He grabbed the note, nodding towards her as a ‘thank you’. He then started to read the list out loud.
“Okay then you lovely fellows! Next round these will be your tables. Please still know that the bell is still not broken and ready to use. Now listen up:



at table 1: Bastion and Keandra

at table 2: Aaron and Ember

at table 3: Nang and Anastasia

at table 4: Ebonia and Tofa

at table 5: Sweetie and Yuki

at table 6: Dione and Cheyzy

at table 7: Ragnilde and Kelina…”

The owl then paused for a moment, softly reading out the next part, frowning. “At table 8…..At table 8 Stella and Luka?!” Fidalio’s face expressed fear…for only a second. He quickly recaptured himself. “U-uh y-yeah right! Well then! Chop chop! Go to your next table and no talking towards your old partner you silly people!”

Tofa was gonna respond but got inturpted by the hosts. She sighed, letting the speakers finish.
"I guess that is all the time we have. It was nice talking to you, Rag. Perhaps we can talk later when it's all over. I'd still enjoy showing you a few intreasting comics. "
Tofa said as she got up and moved to table #4. She sat patiently.

"Oh!" There was the end of the round! As genuinely nice as the conversation about video games was (and she really wanted to continue it), Ragnilde still didn't have an interest in Tofa. Her being a fugitive had wrenched a spanner in the works, and the manticore had initially began to zone out. She had, however, focused in back with the newfound discussion on video games, and she actually almost missed the fading music until everyone else had stopped and turned around. With a defeated sigh and a gentle smile at Tofa, Rag turned to the podium. They began to list names. She could have sworn one in particular was familiar, but she didn't have a chance to focus on it entirely before moving onto the next pairing. She had to pay attention to her own!

Table 7... table 7! With Kelina! Where she was already sitting! She didn't even have to move! Rag exhaled a small sigh of relief - she didn't want to get caught in the hustle and bustle of the crowds, and instead remained seated. To ensure she wasn't getting in anyone's way, the woman pulled forward into the table and wrapped her tail around the chair. Looking up, Tofa offered a small farewell. That made Rag smile, and she returned it with a thumbs up, "Y-yeah! You too!" she laughed, "It... it was great! And we should. We. Really should. I'll, uh, I'll see you after the event, I hope! Hahah!"

With Tofa leaving, the manticore woman was left on her own for a few seconds. Kelina. Kelina. It was a cute name! Maybe a cute person too! Taking a moment, the woman ran her fingers through her mane and tried to adjust it. The last round had been quite a mess, and she hoped that it wasn't showing on her appearance. She popped her colour, patted her cheeks, and exhaled a deep breath. She wasn't the most presentable person, but it didn't matter with the last round, so why should it matter for this one? She was... actually feeling a little confident! The first round was a test - dipping her toe into the waters, but now she was wading through this river. 
How bad could this next person be?

So... It turned out that when she tried to leave because of nerves, a certain Chao of hers had followed her to the restaurant and prompted her back inside with a grumpy pout that roughly translated to:
"You cannot turn back now! You wrote everything down, follow it through until the end!"

Yukiko slowly walked back in to the establishment, bowing lowly to the caretakers of the event mid round and apologizing profusely. Surely she wasn't the only one who had backed out suddenly, and she felt truely terrible for even doing so. Once she said her stuttered apologetic words, she was ushered back into the room just as the round had finished, and waited for her name to be called whilst standing near the doorway. 

A bell rang, and she perked her white tipped ears at the mention of her name ."T-table 5?" 
Looking around the room for but a moment, Yukiko spotted the fifth table with the two in the first round getting ready to move on to their next places. She opted to move closer to the table to take a seat as soon as they left, nervously rubbing up and down her arm .

The nerves were starting to really sink in now. She was actually doing this for real.

Annnd there was the buzzer! Bast was almost proud with himself, flashing Stella a wide grin as the hosts began rattling off the new pairings, "..man, speak of the devil! Looks like its time for a switch about... hope you have a good time with your next date, Stella! Maybe we can catch up later, if you're intersted?~"

And with that, he was off! Indeed, he practically skipped his way to table #1, his head slowly swiveling as he attempted to deduce the appearance of his new companion. Again though, with no prior information on... well, anyway in the room, he found himself without much to really go on - with the exception of Stella and the hosts, Keandra could be literally anyone in this room, but there was a sense of enjoyment in the rudimentary deduction game.

So what could he work out from the name? Well, presumably his new partner would be a woman, and... well, that was really it. In the current society, even that wasn't necessarily a given! But, considering the gender ratio in the room, he figured it was pretty likely. It also struck him as a stylish name, one parents of either class or power would give - it was also cute as hell. Like seriously, Keandra? it practically rolled off the metaphorical tongue!

With these thoughts in mind, Bastion slightly untucked one of the now-vacated seats, before sitting down in one of the ones vaguely opposite it. A small part of him wondered if he should actually be waiting for his partner and seating them properly, but... well, could that be seen as too forward? With Stella it might have worked, but this new individual?

Well, suffice to say, he was excited to meet them.

And, with a loud buzz, Ember slumped forwards slightly. "Shiiiiiit," she said, probably a bit louder than she should at a place as sophisticated as the restaurant, before sighing. "Well, Ebonia, its been nice talking to ya! See you around, I guess?" She said, before standing up, and bowing her head slightly, before turning to find her next table. 

"Okay... Number two... Numero dos..." Ember muttered to herself, quickly finding said table and sitting  down, sighing "I need to be a bit more careful with what information I talk about, this time... That was so awkward..."

Finally! Kelina looked over. Hearing the announcement, meaning she finally got to move on from the volatile conversation in front of her. She stood up from her sear and stretched her back slightly.

"Well, at least things can only get better from here on out.." She would mutter, not sharing any words with her first partner before turning away. 

"Seven... seven, there we go~" Kelina spotted the table she was assigned to, and her new partner to add to that. She glanced over the manticore woman, the side of her mouth curving into a light smirk. She was certainly interested by both the new look, and, well, hopefully a better conversation.

"I'm sure ya already heard, but, Names Kelina~" She said to the opposing woman, her voice transitioning back to that of a smooth, calm tone. She reached for the chair in front of her, pulling it over and sitting, crossing her legs over as she fixated her bright yellow eyes onto the manticore.

"And.. Rag..nilde, was it? That's an interesting name if I ever heard one." Finishing her sentence, she went back to an idle smirk. Clearly, she was more relaxed now. She leaned back slightly, waiting to hear what her new partner had to say, hoping to get some sort of read on her personality early.

The music got turned off. Everyone fell silent as the hosts reappeared on the podium. Dione's ears drooped slightly, realising the first round had ended already. Despite the nerves of talking to and "dating" with total strangers, she was having a lot of fun talking to Sweetie. "Aww, it's time already? I suppose you'll have to tell me more about your powers when this whole thing is over!"

She listened closely to who her next partner would be. Cheyzy at table 6. Right. "It was so nice meeting you, hopefully I can make it to your shop some time soon!" With that, the wolf stood up and started making her way over to her newly designated table. Before she actually went there, she made a quick stop at the table with snacks and drinks, picked up a glass with fizzy juice and then proceeded to make her way to her new table.

Once there, she waited for the other people who were previously seated there to get up and get to their own new tables so she could sit down on one of the chairs. Patiently she waited for Cheyzy to make his way over as well, calmly chewing on the sweet and sipping from her drink.

Nang will thank the lady for the pointers as he moves on to the next table. still, a bit nervous. This is the 2nd table tonight and he doesn't know if the next person will be kind or not. He will just wait there at the new table awaiting the new person to arrive.

Sweetie was in the middle of thinking about how she was going to answer Dione's question when everything was put to a halt. The round was over. She was a little disappointed, but it saved her the trouble of trying to find a way around directly admitting she hunted and preyed on others. She smiled after hearing Dione was willing to meet up again after the event had finished. "Of course!"

Her ears perked up as names were being called for the second round. She grinned and waved a farewell to the wolf as she went to find her next designated table. As for Sweetie, she had to make her way to table 5, not too far from her current table.

It seemed like it happened with a blink of an eye. After the two at the table parted ways, one of the chairs was immediately occupied by a yellow fox. She wasn't even close to the table mere moments ago, and suddenly she's already sat down. Maybe she just didn't have a very noticeable presence.

Sweetie was fiddling with the rose she had taken from the previous table. It didn't take her long to spot Yukiko standing near. She quickly put two and two together, and figured that the snow leopard was her next date. She grinned and waved at her. "Yuki, right?"

Aaron sat up as the signal was given for the end of the first round. Taking his cue he kicked back in his chair and slide out, catching it and neatly setting it down a solid thunk, "Well, glad thats over, she didn't even speak to me Again." Aaron smirked as he walk away to his next table, "I would have said it was a pleasure... but I don't wanna lie. She probably would've said the same."

He casually walked over to his nexted table, finding his next date was already there, ~Welp, let's hope this goes better~ Aaron thought as he shook the previous encounter from his mind.

He casually sat down and faced his next partner, "Hello, my name is Aaron. Ember was it?"

Ragnilde looked around, waiting for someone to head her way. She'd look at someone eyeing up her direction, only to find out they were going to another table. Thankfully, it didn't take too long before the occupant arrived. A honey badger woman! She looked... tough. Black fur, yellow streak in her hair, sharp yellow eyes. She would have been worried, but she exhaled a small sigh of relief as the badger gave a light smirk her way. Honestly, she couldn't help but find it a little funny that both her partners thus far had black fur.

As Kelina sat, she spoke. And her voice was lovely. It was calm and collected, yet held an air of light, sultry teasing. Thankfully, the last round had solidified Ragnilde's nerves a little - she had her practice. Rather than melting into a bright red puddle, she held firm and offered a smile of her own! "H...hah. Hah. Thanks!" Was that a compliment? 'Interesting' had a variety of connotations, but she was taking it positively anyway, "My, er, my parents. Gave it to me."

Why did she say that. Rag felt like she needed to add more to that comment, a simple 'thanks' wouldn't suffice. But sure, let's mention mummy and daddy at the very start of a date. No, she had to bring this back. Quickly change the subject, try and hide that blunder. It wasn't that much of a blunder, but Rag had the awful trait of overthinking things constantly. She'd kick herself for weeks just because she said 'you too' to a happy birthday message.

"Anyway!" Ragnllde clasped her hands together, offering a confident grin that blatantly wasn't confident at all. She needed something to direct the conversation, and thought to just simply default to how she started every blind or speed date - with the exact same question, "So! Kelina! Uh, what do you. Do. For a living?"

Kelina leaned back upon her seat, listening careful to Ragnilde as she accepted her 'compliment'. Her rather subtle smirk curving into a more blatant one. Her interest growing some, as she heard the comment about her parents.

"I'd be slightly concerned if anyone else gave it to you." She said, her calm, low tone not budging an inch, almost teasing her in a light way as she watched on.

Kelina was beginning to enjoy this already, she could practically taste the awkwardness in the air as she then was hit with a question.

"What do I do eh~?" Her voice cooed a little, deciding she was going to have some fun with this, after all, she wasn't here for dead ended conversations and questions, so she attempted to be vague and, well... she what she could do here.

"I hit people. Sometimes make 'em cry, then they pay me for it~" She didn't break eye contact for a single second as she spoke that sentence, wanting to keep a close watch on any kind of reaction given.

"And since I'm inclined to ask, what do you do for living?" She said, almost glossing over the fact that her own answer was... rather outrageous.

Spotting the yellow Mobian sitting down as soon as the other two had stood to leave, she couldn't help but find a small smile grow on her face as she questioned the purple felines identity. 

Yukiko sat down on the other vacant chair, her tail flicking around her as she nodded to the sun coloured female nervously. 
"You must be S-sweetie? It is a pleasure to meet you."
The violet leopard wasn't sure what to do for anymore of a greeting. She opted at first for a handshake, but deemed it too formal, so instead gently placed her hands on the table clasped over a little. 

Chancing a quick once over her partner, Yukiko found Sweetie to be quite - for lack of another term - sweet. However, there was something about her she couldn't quite put into place. 

She brushed it off. After all, this was literally her first time meeting the yellow fox girl. Judging someone before a proper conversation was very unlike her. 

"Well, uhm, what is it that you d-do? As a job I m-mean."
Oh if only her stupid stutter would keep itself at bay for this. She felt so silly just sitting here making a fool of herself. She wouldn't be surprised if she was already going a little bit pink in the face at this point.

Keandra blinked slightly in surprise as time came quite abruptly to an end. Dammit. She'd really hoped that they'd give a little more notice than that... She was suddenly quite concious of the fact that these small meetings could end at any time, and without warning. It felt much more imperative now to make a decent first impression and... well, actually talk things out. Beating around the bush here wasn't gonna get things anywhere.
With a small nod, and a "Good luck," Keandra left the table she'd shared with Nang, eager to meet her new partner. 'Bastion', eh? Unusual name!

She didn't have to wait long to see it's owner either. A frog had already found their seat over at the first table, and seemed to be sat their rather patiently.
Giving him a quick once-over, first thing she took in was just how... outlandish he appeared. Greens, purples, and browns, all decorated together with a tunic and beads that suggested this gentleman was most certainly not from around here. The white band over the eye too, gave everything this almost... make-shift appearance.
Was... was this guy a monk? Had this guy travelled all the way from some overseas monastry to... try and find a date?
Also wait, did this mean he was gonna be super religious? Or like, maybe he was super-punchy? That's what monks did right? Like, if they weren't religiony, they punched things a lot?
...Keandra was immediately struck by the idea that she may not fully understand what monks are or two. The amount of time she'd spent playing as them in various games had NOT informed her well for this meeting...

Realising by this point she may've been staring for... well, an uncomfortably long time, she finally took a seat across from her date. Attempting to resist the automatic urge to go for a handshake once more, she clasped her hands tightly together under the table. Good. That should keep them under control.
"Aaaahhh... uh- hello! You must be Bastion!"
...Okay now she felt she wasn't moving her hands enough. Why did everything she had to do feel so unnatural?
"...I'm Keandra!"
Of course you are Keandra. Why would anyone else have sat here?

Ragnilde was very eager to dismiss the first remark regarding her name. Her own comment was silly, it was dumb, and she didn't want to linger on her own awkwardness longer than she had to. With a tiny "hah-ahah!" for acknowledgement, the woman quickly went on to focus on the next part of the conversation - Kelina's occupation!

And then she wished that she hadn't asked. How do you even respond to that?

Well, she did react at least. The manticore's response was roughly the same as finding out Tofa was a fugitive. She leaned back slightly, her chair creaking against the floor, and gave a very uncomfortable grin. Her ears twitched downward, not quite pressing against her head just yet. And, in addition, the woman's unusual eyes widened in surprise. She was expecting something like singer, secretary, something mundane. Even adventurer was a standard job these days - that would have been expected too! What kind of job was this badger talking about? ...Well, shamefully, she had an idea. But it wasn't the kind of job that you could just tell people. The very thought of it, being so open about that kind of thing, was enough to bring a small blush onto her face. Rag coughed into her closed fist, briskly looking away.

"What... w-what... kind of. Um. What kind of job- uh- profession. Job. Is that?" Rag asked for clarification, hoping that her mind had just whisked her away into a realm that was far from the truth. Leaning back in to not seem rude, her gaze was focused on the table and she rubbed her arm shyly, which was rude. She wished she could have said that a little more confidently, but seriously, how can someone hear that and not be taken aback?

Thankfully, a little mercy was present - the badger had asked about Ragnilde's job! This was an opportunity she was going to take. Steer the conversation into a different, less awkward direction. Perfect. Taking a small breath, the hybrid rested her arm upon the table and made tiny motions with her hands as she spoke; "Oh, me? I'm a security guard. Just... for a mall in the city of Trinus. Sometimes. Or for... a store. Depending on where they send me. I-uh. I look... scary and intimidate people into not robbing the place. And then I. Uh. Chase after them. If they do. Wh-which is rarely!" Taking a moment as she continued to compose herself, that small blush now having faded from her cheeks, she continued, "I'm- I don't look like this," Ragnilde gestured to herself, "I have this... big armour made for me. Since I er... I work under Dragon Corp and all..." Dragon Corp being a worldwide company dedicated to robotics and medicine. While it sounded impressive working for such an influential business, it was less impressive when you realise that she's the lowest rank in the workforce.

In any other situation, Bastion would have made note of the silence and moved to break it himself, except for one simple fact; he himself was taking a moment to be entirely surprised by his companions appearance. His single eye flicked over her with trained calmness, taking in her surface appearance and demenour!

Oh no.
Oh noooo.

o h n o she was hot. And cool. She was hot and cool, which was just an absolutely unfair combination for a single Mobian to have. Again, he knew he should never judge a book by its cover, but just by her appearance alone the frog was excited to learn more about his companion!
.. She also seemed to be fidgeting a little bit. For a moment he seemed surprised that an individual who outwardly looked so cool and stylish would be this nervous about talking to him??

As she introduced herself, Bast allowed a warm smile to fill his face, leaning back a little in his chair. He hoped his own relaxed state would help her ease up a little, but that would remain to be seen.
"Thats me! Pleasure to meet you, Keandra. Although, uh, feel free to call me Bast." He paused for a moment, before adding "Is this your first time to one of these as well? It's exciting, isn't it!.. And a little nerve wracking, to say the least."

Well, he was talkative, you can give him that.

Anastasia was a bit sad that she didn't really talk that much with her partner, but didn't dwell that much on it. The night was still young, after all.

Standing up, she's start making her way to the 2nd table.

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

The announcement that time was up caught Stella off guard, but she knew it has to come sooner or later.

Then, she heard who she was seated with and her heart raced with excitement, a devious smile on her face.

No change of attire this time - she'd just grab her sketchbook and make her way to the 8th table as soon as possible.

Ember wasn't waiting long when another walked towards the table. A guy this time. An echidna as well, which was certainly rare, especially from the future she came from. She cursed in her mind for constantly thinking of the alternate timeline she truly came from. This was a time to be happy, after all! 

"Oh! Um... Yeah, I'm Ember!" She said, standing up, causing her chair to scrape across the floor awkwardly. She held her hand out. "Nice to meet you... Aaron, was it?"

"Bast, eh...?" she maintained her grin but raised a slight eyebrow. Perhaps not the nickname she'd choose for herself. Then again, as far as slang goes, it was... perhaps uncommon for it to immediately spring to mind for most. She simply shook her head - before stopping it as she felt the motion shudder through her body slightly;
"Bast it is then!"

Admittedly, part of her was focusing on the name so as not to focus on... well, the next part. The kicker.
'Is this your first time to one of these as well?'
No. No it wasn't.
She'd definitely not been to many, and it had definitely been a while since her last. She wasn't so desparate as to be just going to these one after another after another.
Buuut... this being the second person in a row to suggest how new they were to this kind of thing wasn't exactly good for her self-esteem.

"Heh, yeah..." she stated, uncomfortable grin plastered across her face as she attempted to completely blow off the comment, "Say, uuuh, if you don't mind me asking... how old are you?"
...Okay she'd flubbed it. She'd already flubbed it, she knew it. Hell, she was already bouncy enough as it was.
"Uh, j-just... Sorta got paired with someone last round who was, uh... a bit out of my range? N-not I think you look- I'm just, uh... Thought it may be good to check now before we... get to talking."
May as well paint herself green and just start going by 'flubber'.
"...Yep..."

"Yep, that's me, nice to meet you" Aaron felt a bit more relaxed as he sat up, trying to be a tad more presentable to his "date", "So... I guess I'll start the. My full name Is Aaron Carter, retired middle--weight boxing champion. Other than that... I'm don't really have anything else important other than me traveling and occasionally entering battle Tournaments," Aaron leaned back a little in his chair, "so ember... what would you like me to know about you?"

Kelina remained calm, collected, focussed. She watched on as the manticore spoke, her eyes darting up and down her in an examination measure. When suddenly she was met with a second question. Time for some more fun~

“Well that depends on how you like to defy things~” She continues to grin on with enjoyment in her tone.
“You could say my job is a personal trainer... or perhaps, a coach, or even, a master~” Upon finishing that sentence, she made blantant, PROLONGED eye contact. The sheer thought of how awkward and uneasy things could be bringing her tremendous delight.

However, rather than battering on about herself, she decided to listen to Rag’s words, clueing up on her own occupation.

“Security hm? Well I’m glad you said it first dear cause, we’ll, you ain’t exactly comin’ across as too intimidating, I should know~” She said, her lips almost permanently curlers into a playful grin, before she tapped her chin.

“Although, I suppose that must mean you’re pretty strong huh? Now that’s a good trait~” She said, her voice changing from that of sheer teasing and playful to actual peaked interest, a slight coo reasons ring for from the end of her sentence.

Nang will wave to the next person he will meet as he walks over to the other seat to help the lady into her seat ' Good evening. I ... am Nang.... I hope you are doing well this evening. ' His voice sounds kind yet nervous. Still trying to get used to this whole speed dating.

Cheyzy was a little disappointed that their conversation didn't last very long. He barely got her name! Well, he couldn't dwell over it much, so he simply bid the rabbit farwell and departed to the next table. He was a little surprised to see the green wolf already sitting and enjoying some snacks. He hadn't even realized the face matched the name he was paired with! Now his face reddened with a sudden case of stage fright, looking around himself for his 'wingman'. Unfortunately, the spirit had left him for some candles that decorated the place. Great.

With a few coughs to clear his throat, the canine stepped over to the table, a shy smile once again spreading across his face.

"U-uh, hey Dione! D-didn't expect to see ya here!"

Now not only did he look like a doof in a tux, he sounded like one too. He was already close to ripping the cufflinks out of the white fabric, this whole scene was just spazzing him out.

Sweetie laughed, finding Yuki's nervous stuttering to be quite adorable. "Cute..." She mumbled in a voice that was barely audible, and flashed a grin that showed off her large, sharp fangs. Her smile seemed genuine, but it gave off a sort of sinister vibe.

Once she was asked about her occupation, Sweetie wasted no time in responding. She was glad to talk about her shop, always hoping to gain some new customers. "I own a sweets shop just down the road from here. I definitely recommend you stop by sometime~ My treats are all something to die for!" She never hesitated to brag about her store or her cooking skills. It was something she was certainly proud of. "I only make the best of the best! You won't find anything as good as my sweets around here!"

After having calmed down some, she proceeded to ask Yukiko the same question in return. "What about you? Have an exciting job? A boring one? Something you love doing?" She gave her an innocent smile, and waited intently for her response, genuinely curious to know what she does.