Welcome to Gaia! ::

A slip of crimson among the rest of her mail had Tress puzzled for a while until she recalled the ‘Space and Love Affair’ matchmaking event that the Destiny City Museum of Air and Space was holding. It had been a while since she had signed up and she’d forgotten that she would be assigned a ‘match’ for the occasion. Tress wasn’t the most romantic person in Destiny City, so although she was usually very organized about her scheduled time, she hadn’t remembered to mark the date of the event on her calendar.

It was something of a shame. After both assistant teacher work at Romano’s and shop clerk work at the clothing store, she had been so looking forward to devoting the rest of her meager free time that evening to gardening. As she wasn’t one to back down from prior commitments, however, the tawny-haired young woman went to go get dressed appropriately for her outing. She didn’t want to keep this Rhona Lee waiting, especially when she herself had stated she valued punctuality in her personal details.

Not only was Tress not a romantic, but she wasn’t much more sociable, either. She had signed up for the ‘Space and Love Affair’ for the same reason she had signed up with for the matchmaking event of the previous year - to learn to socialize better. One of the first steps, she had come to understand, was to be at least a little considerate of others. This meant that even though this ‘match’ of hers was some person she’d never met, she still at least owed her the courtesy of making an appearance. Hopefully she wouldn’t be as painfully shy as the girl from last year. That match hadn’t seemed to be all that successful, but Tress still had hope that this time would be better.

Since they seemed close in age, the Romano’s assistant teacher’s fears of having to babysit retreated significantly. On her way into the museum, she studied the back of the note card she’d received in the mail as if she’d been expected to learn it by heart by the time she entered the front gate. Hmm...she likes gothic poetry? That was an intriguing little tidbit. Tress didn’t know how to make heads nor tails of the mention of crystal witches. Even more ambiguous and cryptic, however, were the two words given as the first thing people noticed about her: ‘my hair’. What about her hair? Well, at least she seemed to have been precise enough about what she would be doing and where. Tress hoped it wouldn’t be too difficult to spot her.

'Eating her feelings'...feelings about what, I wonder. Whatever the case, it didn’t sound healthy and it seemed like it would be up to Tress to distract her from such a detrimental pastime. Originally, the task sounded daunting. However, if this other woman really liked to garden as she said she did, perhaps providing a distaction wouldn’t be so difficult after all. In fact, she began to have hope that her evening might yet have been salvageable. With that in mind, Tress attempted to survey the area near the buffet table as she passed, carefully and mentally cataloging each person’s hair in an attempt to comprehend the enigma of her date’s clue.
((Started 2/13))

The force with which the glass was slammed down yanked Tress' attention over and immediately the bespectacled woman thought she understood the reason her date had put down her hair as the first thing people noticed about her. A cascade of red, corkscrew curls framed a miserable face that looked up and they stared at each other for a paralyzing moment.

Then Tress recognized the obvious signs of panic because Rhona looked how Tress felt. However, she wasn't about to back down now just because they were both so ready to leave. Both of them must have come here for a reason and it would have all been for naught if neither of them gave anything a chance.

Tightening her lips into a thin, stern line, the assistant teacher went over to seat herself in front of the woman who had to be Rhona before said woman could make a break for it. If she had any sense of courtesy, she would sit back down herself.

"...Miss Rhona Lee, I presume?"

Neat, tawny brows rose a degree and before she could help herself, the barest of smiles ghosted its way across her painted lips.

She's trying, Tress noted, the attempt at a proper posture a sharp contrast to the defeated slump she had expected of the other woman. That was undoubtedly an attempt to leave just a second ago. Now, not only is she staying, but she's endeavoring to repair the situation. Impressive.

It was her turn to make an effort of her own, she supposed. Hopefully, she wouldn't screw everything up.

"Thank you," the short-haired woman answered. She also managed to stifle her natural inclination to add that her name was not of her own choosing and that she, therefore, had no reason to take credit for such a compliment. Such a response had not gone over well in the past. "Yours is very lovely as well." Tress gave what she hoped was a friendly smile.

"My full name is Tress Julia Gervene. But if you are referring to just my first name, I'm afraid not. 'Tress' is all there is." Her bespectacled gaze studied Rhona's body language and, though she wasn't the most adept at reading other people, thought that even she could make out the other young woman's discomfort. This was both surprising and amusing to Tress because usually, she felt was the one struggling harder to meet others in social situations such as these.

"You need not stress yourself for my sake," she told Rhona, watching the elbows be propped up onto the table only to be withdrawn a moment later. "Whether my card information, my timing, or some other characteristic caused you to get up just now, I apologize. However, I want you to know I appreciate that you're still willing to give me a chance."

She placed the card invite down and put her own, carefully folded hands atop the table. "I'll be frank. I entered my name for the matchmaking because I want to practice befriending people in social situations. While I find matchmaking in this manner to be questionable for seeking romantic partners, I do think it's a convenient way to at least foster a friendship.

"That said, would you, Rhona Lee, do me the honor of accompanying me for an outing?" She reached out to tap the card with Rhona's information on it. "If I'm not mistaken, we seem to share a common interest in gardening. I happen to have a small plot I tend to in a community garden not far from here. Would you care to join me to go see and tend to it?"

Rhona’s blush was infectious, which was bad news for Tress. Her own, already ruddy complexion reddened to hue that clashed horribly with her hair color and to a degree that caused her freckles to stand out worse than ever. As if that wasn’t bad enough, the nature of a blush threatened her semblance of composure. She feared being seen as under-confident, overly emotional, and incompetent in regards to mental discipline. Clearing her throat, she looked away, attempting to quickly analyze the reason for her reaction so she could diffuse it as soon as possible.

She must be embarrassed that I directly acknowledged her intent to leave, Tress concluded. And I’m embarrassed to have made her embarrassed. How pointless. But emotions, she had learned long ago, rarely required a strong reason to be felt, and she took it in stride. At least now they had shared a mutual feeling other than the original desire to be elsewhere.

Once she felt the burn of her cheeks recede somewhat, she shifted her head slightly to observe the corkscrew-curl lady sip at her beverage. Alcohol, by the scent of it. Commonly used to relax on social occasions such as this one. Tress doubted it would have been much use to herself, but hopefully it was of benefit to her pre-determined match. Perhaps it did, because the short-haired woman’s patience was eventually rewarded with a very personal and important slice of information.

Lowering her bright green gaze to the tabletop, her painted lips frowned the tiniest bit. “I see,” she answered, her brows knitting without her knowledge. “I’m so sorry to hear that. I have also separated - “ She paused, then rephrased her formal terms. “- broken up with someone who was dear to me, but that was a while ago. Still, I recall the difficulty and pain of getting over him clearly enough. It’s not easy, especially alone.”

Before she knew it, however, a few peals of sweet laughter drew her gaze from the table and Tress was treated to the smiling, laughing countenance of the acquaintance before her. ...Did I cause that? Had she said something wrong or right? The sight of those previously distraught features transformed with mirth warmed Tress pleasantly and the laughter seemed like a positive thing, but she had been wrong in making similar conjectures before. With her poor social skills and lack of sufficient information on the matter, she deemed it disastrous to assume either way, so she simply fell silent and discreetly went back to studying the table top while she waited for Rhona to finish.

The end was followed up with an apology before an explanation. Said explanation, however, was not detailed enough for Tress’ comfort. “...Was it not to your liking?” she tried to clarify, attempting to keep her tone impartial. “...Too formal?” It was a common complaint of her co-workers and others she spoke often with.

Whatever the case, it must not have been terrible enough to dissuade Rhona, because to Tress’ immense satisfaction, her offer was accepted. This time, when she smiled, it was full and genuine. “I’m so happy to hear that.” Pushing back her chair, she offered her companion a hand. “If you’d like, I can assist you with yours as well. Your…’green babies’, you called them?” The term parted amused lips to reveal carefully-maintained teeth. “If this is a holiday for expressing love, it seems there would be no better time to make up for the length you’ve been away. They must be starved for your attention.”