Welcome to Gaia! ::

Zota sat at the same fountain that she had met Tiam at for their blind date. A bundle of nerves that time, she was now more collected and excited for the day's adventure. Could she count this as a second date? She liked to think of it that way! If anything, she had taken longer to get ready this time, dressing in an outift more suited for walking while still looking cute. She fiddled with the end of her thick braid idly, adjusting the tiny flower clips dotted along the golden strands for the hundredth time.

There was so much to see, in her opinion, and she prayed that Tiam would like the area as well. It had taken a while for Tiam to get enough free time to spend with her, and she wanted to make sure it had been worth the wait for him.

The voice sent a pleased flush instantly to Zota's cheeks, and she twirled to face him. "Oh, no, you are right on time," she assured, releasing her grip on her hair as though was was caught doing something bad. Perhaps she was still a little nervous.. "It's a pleasure to see you again, Tiam. Are you ready?"

Well... now that her heart was fluttering like crazy, Zota shyly took his arm and hugged against it like before. What had been her plan for the day? "I-I was thinking that you're usually so busy.. that perhaps you would like to see some of the other places that would be nice for visiting when you have some spare time. There are some lovely little shops, a book store that you can borrow from and read right there in peace, a garden with plants from all around Tendaji, and even a bath house with hot water that you can just sit and soak in." She peeked up at Tiam hopefully. "If those would interest you, of course."

Zota was glad to see Tiam's interest in most of the locations. They're both so interesting with much to see and places to relax." Her brow rose with interest at the young man's rising blush, and all at once her own face was pink with mortification. "I-I'm sorry! I didn't mean we would use the bath house today. Just to show it to you!" Her gaze dropped to the ground, quite beside herself. That had sounded so inappropriate! Her voice lowered from its brief rise of panic after she let out a long breath. "I didn't even bring my bathing suit.." As if that would prove her intentions had been nothing more than to introduce him to the bath's location.

More than ready to get her mind off of her fumble, she nodded at the ground, gaze still bashfully turned down, and headed in the direction of the book shop since Tiam had voiced his interest in it. "We'll stop at the book shop first. They have a reading area where you can get tea and coffee and little cakes as well. ..If you spill on any of the books though, they make you buy it."

With a little physical space between them and where she had fumbled, Zota was able to take a few calming breaths and felt her face cooling back down. She was just grateful that Tiam was so patient and understanding. It made her all the more delighted that he had ended up being her blind date for that first date.

"If you would feel better about it, you don't have to eat and read at the same time. They just have it as an option. I haven't spilled anything yet," she mused, allowing herself a pleased smile. After all, she prided herself on being an upstanding citizen that her family could be proud of! Part of that definitely included not spilling tea on the shop's books.

She gave Tiam's arm a light tug to guide him as the storefront came into view. "Here we are. What sorts of books do you enjoy reading?"

Zota giggled lightly. Not everyone could be completely proper and refined. That would just get boring! At least he was aware of his limitations already. "Then we can just read and have a bite to eat after. If we end up staying there to look, that is."

When Tiam leaned in, the teen couldn't help how the heat rushed to her cheeks again. "I.. I do love learning from books, but I also enjoy the ones with heroic adventures and.. grand romances." She pressed her lips with a bashful smile, pausing at the door to the shop to catch her breath again. "Would you like to go inside or move on to the next place?"

Zota couldn't help looking up at Tiam curiously. "Maybe you could try making time for a small one. I wouldn't say I've been on any big adventures.. but some little ones. I have family down in Matori that I have visited before. That is certainly an adventure, right?" Romances though.. She kept herself quiet on that end, silently hoping that she was starting her own romance journey right here...

Future dates! The idea nearly took her breath away with excitement. "I believe they would.. would all be wonderful date spots." Gifts? "Oh, you don't have to worry about getting me anything. I am really enjoying our time together. ..but, if you did... thank you." Time to take another breath, and she gave his arm a gentle tug to lead on from the book shop. "Let's keep going then. There is a nice little shop just down the road here that sells items that they get from the other territories. They're always going through their inventory, so there's almost always something new to see. Then we can go to the garden after there."

A small smile rose on Zota's lips. "I am sure you'll enjoy wherever you go." Small or big, an adventure was a nice break from the normal day to day life.

Oh, he seemed quite interested in the shop. She couldn't help a flutter of pleasure. Making others happy.. especially Tiam... Oh goodness, this was only their second date! "I like to visit them once a month. More often than not, they have their inventory rotated by then. I doubt they sell everything though, so you can always ask them if they have anything in the back storage. They had the loveliest hair pin once, but I couldn't afford it at the time. It was gone by the time I had the funds, but I tried asking anyway and they actually still had it."