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 Posted: Tue Sep 28, 2021 11:19 am
Mene Alborada had passed the fornight since her first date with Sven cheerfully. She'd excelled at her work, been exceptionally pleasant to her family, and just....generally been in a good mood. It was amazing how just one interaction had made her feel this way.
The evening of their second date, which frankly was twice as far as she'd gotten with anyone recently, Alba fussed over her appearance even more than usual. Before the evening meal she'd bathed and washed her hair, so that by their meeting time it would be dry and soft. After the evening meal, she'd scooted home for a few final preparations. She fixed her hair with two small pins to keep her bangs out of her eyes, and otherwise let it hang loose in curls around her shoulders. The fragrance of her hair soap still hung gently about her, not overpowering, but enough as to be pleasant.
She gathered her picnic blanket and the bottle of wine she'd promised to bring, along with two cups. Alba hiked up to their meeting spot and spread out the blanket, setting the wine aside for later. Her hair and tail glowed softly in the waning light. Dai Sven had actually lost sleep the night before as he'd prepared - he had a vision and he would do what he needed to make it reality. The evening meal had just finished and, with Mena's blessing (and wink and thumbs up... maybe also a smirk) he'd skipped out on the cleaning duties to return to his alcove and freshen up. Naturally that included a thorough shower, and his hair would still be damp as he made it way up to the branches, along with the final touches for tonight's snack.
The moon was already quite high in the sky by the time he arrived - a nice quarter moon, which allowed the stars to shine brightly above them... at least the ones not near the daemon's floating City.
That said, he wasn't particularly focused on the moon. No, there's was a different star casually sitting before him, her skin and her hair practically glowing (well, one of them really was actually). He smiled a touch awkwardly as he walked over and waved. "I hope you weren't waiting too long?" Mene Alba's heart leapt as he approached. "Of course not, just enjoying the moonlight," she responded with a smile. Suddenly she wished she'd brought some candles for additional mood lighting. As Sven got seated, she kicked off a little small talk. "How was work this evening?" she asked. She couldn't wait to see what he'd brought. Somehow the knowledge that he'd brought a picnic combined with not knowing what would actually be in the basket had her heart racing. It was like a surprise, without the surprise.
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Posted: Wed Sep 29, 2021 9:39 am
Dai He took that as a polite 'just a little bit' and made a mental note to be more accurate in predicting his travel times in the future.
"It was just as busy as usual. Did you like it?" He responded as he sat himself down and made himself comfortable, dusting the dirt from his otherwise-cleaned hooves and placing the basket beside him. "Though maybe not too much?" While he was sure she'd be just as lovely with a bit of additional plumpness to her, he'd hate if she felt obligated to overeat on his behalf!
While not generally noticeable in his day-to-day, he couldn't hide the way his tail was now glowing a light yellow with the sun set, not unlike her hair. He really should compliment her on it. "Your hair's even prettier than last time." Too direct? Mene Alba nodded an affirmative. "Lovely as always," she agreed. The evening meal had become more enjoyable now that she knew who was preparing it. It made it a little more special, somehow. She imagined that he was cooking just for her, although she knew that was absurd. "Don't worry, I saved room for our picnic," she said with a little giggle, misunderstanding his question. "I can't wait to see what you've brought."
She blushed at the compliment, and tucked a little strand of hair behind her ear. "Thank you," she said softly. "An odd side effect of my magic--my hair glows in the dark." She chuckled a bit. "I wear a nightcap when I sleep or else it lights up my whole alcove. But it is pretty and I do love it." She was chuffed that he'd noticed her hair, after the extra effort she'd gone to tonight.
His tail hadn't escaped her notice either, but she wasn't sure how to bring it up without letting on she'd been looking at his backside. Dai "That's good to hear," and he meant that wholly, for both items. "I just finished the final touches before coming here, and it was nice to not have to think about the travel." Given it was just from his alcove here to the Branches, the items could be a bit more perishable.
He tilted his head at her comment before what she said seemed to click in place. "Oh right! You did say that last time." Glowing blood or something? How peculiar... though he couldn't say much. Already, the wild (and yellow-colored) fireflies were beginning to appear in small numbers. "I guess between you and I, there really wasn't any need for a candle after all." Mene Alba was positively delighted at the fireflies. "How romantic," she sighed with a dreamy smile. Then, with a little giggle, she added, "We'll always have light wherever we go."
"Let me know when I ought to pour the wine," she said. She had noticed that Sven sometimes needed a little prompting to get to the next thing. Dai He nodded once to that before blinking and nodding again - oh, right, wine. "If you want, I can start plating everything while you pour it."
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Posted: Wed Sep 29, 2021 1:52 pm
Mene "Lovely," agreed Alba, and settled herself in a more upright position so she wouldn't need to lean on her hand for support and could instead use it to uncork the wine bottle. "This one's from Koehaira," she explained as she poured a small amount in each of two glasses. "I haven't tried it but it's supposed to be good." She didn't know much about the winemaking village or its inhabitants, but she'd heard their winemaking had been blessed by Euphrosyne herself. She held onto both glasses until she sensed that Sven was finished with his task, then passed his to him. Dai While Alba was preparing the wine, Sven took out a rectangular, wooden platter and set it between them. He then delicately began preparing it with an assortment of goat cheeses, fresh strawberries and grapes, apple slices that'd been soaked in lemon water to prevent browning, pieces of a darker sort of chocolate, and nuts. He'd considered also bringing some dried fruits or crackers, but figured this was plenty.
All in all, he really hadn't done much actual cooking this time. Just picking ingredients and presentation.
He looked up when he was done and thanked Alba for the wine before giving it a small sniff. He'd been focused enough on his plating that he hadn't really been paying attention when she'd spoken. "Where did you say you got this from?" Mene Ohh, that chocolate looked so tempting. She hadn't had it in ages! She'd never realized that food could be so artful or bring so much joy. It was so much more than just nutrition, or being not-hungry.
"Koehaira," she repeated. "It's that vineyard village that's like, maybe northwest of here? I didn't go all the way there, of course, I bought the bottle from a merchant traveling through Apple Farm." She took a sip of the wine and made an appreciative face. "Oh, I do quite like that." Dai Ohhhh, Sven had heard of Koehaira before. Of course he had, he was a chef. It'd be like saying he hand't heard of Breeheart... well, maybe not that dramatic, given proximity, and one was certainly more niche than the other. Okay, maybe it would have been reasonable for him not to have heard of it after all.
"That's lucky - I was expecting one of the Apple ciders or one of Breeheart's fruit wines." He took a taste after her, and glanced back at the glass with a smile. "That's even better than I expected." He looked up at her. "Thank you." Mene Alba was pleased that he seemed so pleased. She made a casual little shrug, her cheeks already turning pink from the alcohol and the company. "I just wanted to get a little fancy," she said.
Having learned from their last date that she wouldn't necessarily be invited to begin eating, she picked up a strawberry and nibbled on it. She tried to think of what to talk about--she didn't consider herself a scintillating conversationalist--that they hadn't already discussed last time, and that wasn't like, small talk. "Mm, so, d'you have family nearby?" she inquired as casually as she could. Dai Sven took another leisurely sip of the wine as he watched her start eating, very intent on confirming that she liked it before reaching to pick up a piece of cheese. "Oh, yes." His tone was rather monotone as he answered this time, given he didn't particularly care for his crazy family. Mene Alba nearly snorted. Well that tone had spoken rather loudly, hadn't it? She'd never heard him so flat. "Ah," she responded with a nod. "I take it you don't, er, see each other often, then?" Dai He missed any facial nuance her reaction would have had as he nodded. "Correct. My mother and father are usually busy, so I only visit on occasion. She's in the fields, and he..." He scrunched his brows for a second before shaking his head. "Yeah, no idea. He's just strange." Very accurate. "My brother lives outside the tree and only Laisidhiel knows what he's ever doing." That was for sure - last he'd seen of him, he'd adopted a full-grown adult as his own. Mene Alba nodded in understanding. "My parents are field workers as well, my brother too. It's a busy time of year, to be sure. Mother hates her work but says it's all she's suited to." A beat and a sip of wine. "Hey, I wonder if your parents and mine know each other," she wondered aloud. Then, after a moment. "I know what you mean about brothers, they are strange creatures. Mine, Rhoea? He's a complete meathead. Like he's not a terrible person or anything, I guess, just obsessed with exercise and chasing tail." She rolled her eyes. Dai "Probably. From what I understand, the field workers all all pretty close on account of the work." Not unlike the kitchen staff honestly. He took another sip of wine. "Oh, that's right. I almost forgot you were his sister. With how Mena practically talks about him nonstop, I know more about his life than I wish I did." Another sip. "Honestly, I was worried you were going to be the same way when Mena was setting this whole thing up."
The idiom wholly missed, Sven responded in full seriousness, "From what Mena's told me, I thought Rhoea was all about chasing females and..." he made air quote "...gains..." end quotes, "...not tails." Mene Menahem's ongoing crush on her brother was not unknown to her, but she preferred to distance herself as much as possible from Rhoea's romantic affairs. Gross.
Alba chuckled and nodded as Sven completely missed her joke. "Mhm. The gains are from the exercise, and those tails he's chasing are always attached to pretty females." She shook her head and made a dismissive hand gesture. "But I don't like to think too much about what he does in his free time, y'know?" She picked a couple of grapes off the stand and ate them. "I'm sure you're the same way about your brother." Dai Sven made a neutral face as the tail = females joke was explained, a light bulb seeming to go off above him. "I don't do either of those things - running after girls doesn't seem particularly fun." And it was also exercise. Must be why Rhoea liked it.
"Actually, I try to think about my brother as little as possible. It's a dramatic improvement to my quality of life." He reached forward to pick off some grapes before having another sip of wine, his glass now half-emptied. "This really is a good drink." Mene "Cheers to that," agreed Alba, raising her glass slightly, then drinking from it. Then, "Yeah, I'm glad I picked it up," she said, swirling the dark liquid around in the cup. Hers, too, was about half-empty. She shifted her position to one more comfortable, tucking her legs beneath her. "Anything you'd like to talk about?" she asked after a moment. "I thought of the last thing," she pointed out. Dai "Me too." Maybe the next time he'd try to get an okay to take her on a trip to Breeheart - multi-day, of course, so she could enjoy their specialty treats at her leisure. Food seemed to be working. It wouldn't be Koehaira or anything, but the faun were at least welcome in this village.
Her question brought him out of his musings with a slight start. "Sounds fair." He agreed before taking a heavier sip of his wine. This was probably the most he'd drank in a very long time. "Do you drink often?"
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Posted: Wed Sep 29, 2021 3:28 pm
Mene This....hadn't been what she was expecting, but to be fair, she hadn't been very specific. "Oh, not really," she responded with a shrug. "I mainly drink tea or coffee, but I do enjoy the occasional wine, especially in the evening. I like how it makes me feel like, warm and rosy? Mm, but not for everyday, for sure."
They continued trading questions back and forth until the hour was quite late and they'd eaten all of the food and drank most of the wine. By that time it was fair to say they were both feeling quite a bit more comfortable with each other. They picked up their picnic and started back down from the Branches. "Would you walk me home?" asked Alba, her eyes twinkling. Dai Sven was, in fact, feeling quite good after drinking so much. His steps weren't wholly steady, but hopefully that was hidden by the numerous fireflies now hanging around them, their colors lightly changing from yellows to pinks. He glanced over and shrugged. "Sure, but I don't know where you live." Mene Alba giggled and tucked her arm into his elbow as they walked. "That's alright, I know the way, and then you will know where I live."
It was a relatively short walk to Alba's alcove, and when they arrived, she opened the door and tugged gently on his hand. "Would you like to come in?" Dai Sven glanced down where their skin met, his face flushing lightly, before looking over and nodding. "Makes sense."
He enjoyed the bit of a walk they had before they came to her alcove. While he might have failed to read any further into it, he nodded as she tugged onto his hand. Right now, he'd probably do anything she asked of him Mene Alba's sudden forwardness was probably owed to the wine, although she'd be lying if she said she hadn't been thinking about this sober. In the darkened alcove they glowed more brightly as Alba closed the door behind them. She set the blanket and the bottle and cups down on the trunk at the foot of her bed, then gently took the basket from Sven and set it next to them.
"I really enjoyed spending time together this evening," she said softly, taking his hands again. Dai Sven walked on in as she closed the door and followed suit, setting his basket beside her stuff and glancing over. Whatever she was putting down, he wasn't picking up on. "I did as well - it was a beautiful night, and the food and drink were good."
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Posted: Wed Sep 29, 2021 5:03 pm
Mene Alba sorely wished that Sven would make the first move, or that just for a moment she had a fraction of a talent for this. Generally she had no problem asking for what she wanted, but right now? She felt like there were butterflies in a cage inside her chest. She tried another hint. She touched her forehead to Sven's gently. "I'd like to keep spending time with you..." she said with a smile.
Dai Sven blinked and smiled a touch awkwardly as their foreheads touched. "Did you want to sleep together.....?" He meant that in the most literal of senses - maybe she wanted to cuddle or something. Perhaps he'd be in for a surprise.
Mene Her heart leapt. Finally! Her smile spread into a broad grin. "That was what I was hoping when I invited you in," she admitted, pressing a little closer. "Do you want to...?" Dai Oh! So she did want to cuddle and sleep! Sven had really outdone himself this time. Usually he didn't pick up on this stuff, but apparently he could do it when he tried. The thought of getting closer to her, especially now that he was feeling pretty 'fluffy' from the good wine, was super enticing.
She could be little spoon.
He nodded, and it didn't take long after to realize that he was wrong ... but in the best possible way
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