Welcome to Gaia! ::

Aila cast a dubious glance towards the Drifblim when he yawned. She had a thought to intercept his reaching arm but decided against it. There was no need to be pointlessly rude, and she was saving up for a finale anyway. She sat stiffly, though, and did not yield to his touch.

At this point it was a bit like a game of chicken.

Decision time: Offend the blimp, or surrender to his whims? 3... 2... 1... Aila grudgingly forfeited her hand. It was getting late anyway. If anyone brought it up later, she could just pretend that she had been too tired to know exactly what was going on.

Game of chicken.

Aila turned her head slightly, an eyebrow raised, and leaned forward just enough to inspire the thought that she might actually reciprocate the gesture. She stopped just short of doing so, however, and spoke:

"You arrived completely unannounced and without making any semblance of a plan in advance. Not only that, but you also brought gifts that would put unnecessary pressure on your date. Your choice of dress added to that pressure. Furthermore, you shouldn't use candy and flowers unless you specifically know which type of candy and which type of flower are her favorites - falling back on chocolates and roses stereotypes her. Your choice of dining would have been fine if you had not invested such effort in dressing it up. Doing so isolated the table and put it under a spotlight where a more inconspicuous approach would have been preferable. If you were trying to do something fancy - as one would assume from your costume - the cafe was a rather cheap way to do it. Also, small talk is only acceptable where both parties can understand what is being said."

She stopped to take a breath.

"Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches with chocolate milk are not classy. To begin with, you shouldn't order for your date unless you are familiar with her tastes. What if I were allergic to peanuts? It's poor manners to finish your meal much more quickly than the person with whom you're dining, and you shouldn't have asked for straws if you were going to look so ridiculous fumbling around with using them. Asking for a check and then paying with non-money just makes you look pretentious. The movie would have gone smoothly if you hadn't used the yawning move. Not only is it a cliche tactic with little impact, but yawning in the middle of a movie makes it appear as though you're bored with the film you yourself chose."

She leaned backwards, crossing her arms. "Thirteen strikes in total. Not a lucky number at all. And despite all that you think you're still lucky enough to warrant a kiss?" Her tone was thick with skepticism, as was her expression.

Aila sighed and crouched in front of the blimp. "I'll give you an A for effort, though. It's just that effort alone generally isn't enough to make up for an overall lack of compatibility. Maybe next time you should set your sights on someone who can understand exactly what you're saying, for one." She reached up briefly to attend to a fallen strand of hair. "If nothing else, you can take this as critique and do better next time, right? Here." She extended a hand. "It isn't a kiss, but I'll at least shake you hand, if you like?"

It stood to be determined just why she was encouraging him after going through such an involved set-up to bring him down. That she actually felt guilty for the bluntness of her words after seeing his reaction to them was not an acceptable answer.

She straightened her posture as Newton did, an eyebrow raised at his sudden switch. She gave a single laugh as he began to depart. "Well, good evening to you too, sir." She turned and pushed open the door to her room. She would prepare a fresh cup of cider, start the act over, and forget everything but the pleasantness of an evening to herself.