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 Posted: Thu Feb 27, 2020 9:43 am
 So, on the one hand, Xoana's first Venus Day party didn't, uh, go as planned. On the other hand, somehow her father hadn't heard about it so she hadn't caught hell about it. Beltan had been quite the gentleman, and she was super glad she'd been with him during that awful maze. He'd had a hard time loosening up once the real party started, though, she'd noticed, which was disappointing because he had a reputation for being a real charmer. Perhaps he was still just shell-shocked, Xoana had decided.
The natural solution was for them to have a real date. Xoana planned the whole thing out. They'd have dinner at Reef and Chasm, then ice cream at that new place, Salty something?, and then they could go for a romantic swim and get to know each other better. And if he invited her up to his apartment, well, she wouldn't say no.
She wrote everything out on a little card and swam to Beltan's apartment. She gave a little knock at his door and waited with excitement for him to open it.
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Posted: Fri Feb 28, 2020 12:28 am
 Welp, he'd survived another Venus Day party. Very like the last one, certain parts of the evening stood out clearly in his memory while others were a bit fuzzy around the edges. Thinking of the weird oily hands in the maze still brought on a shudder of remembered sensation, but everything after he'd noticed that Xoana was really a very attractive naiad girl all blurred together.
He vaguely recalled mechanically following her around wherever she wanted to go, his coveted shrimp puffs forgotten along with the plate of other morsels he still had had in his hand. He supposed he could see why legs might drive some land pae males wild, but she had the prettiest tail fins... Shaking his head to rid himself of a train of thought that would probably get him murdered by Hjortur, Beltan instead resumed puttering around his apartment, keeping an eye on Quetzal playing in the living room. After his son had been delivered (literally, in a gift basket and everything, by a cherub dressed in a Las Venus uniform), he'd had to move out of the barracks and into this cozy little two bedroom place.
Had that been a knock? Wondering if he was about to get another surprise, he crossed to the door and slowly opened it. "Oh! What are you doing here?" he blurted out, startled to find her there. "Sorry," he quickly added. "I didn't mean to sound so rude, but I wasn't expecting any company."With the keen hearing of a small child, Quetzal had also heard the knock and looked up from his little shell blocks. Following his dad's progress to the doorway, first with his eyes and then with his whole self, Quetzal floated after, his flight feathers dragging a little through the water and causing him to loop-de-loop before he secured a hold on one of Beltan's side fins.
Expecting his nuncle Hjor, he peered around his dad and his huge golden eyes settled on the unfamiliar female waiting there. Not the least bit shy, he smiled big and used his free hand to wave, piping, "Hi, I'm Kezzle. Wuz your name?"
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Posted: Fri Feb 28, 2020 8:30 am
Xoana was beginning to think she perhaps had the wrong apartment when the door finally opened. She brightened and straightened up with a smile. "No need to apologize--I did drop by unannounced, after all." Her smile turned a bit cheeky. "Now, since our date definitely didn't go to plan--oh my goodness, hello sweet pufferfish!" Her tone shifted abruptly to a high, sing-song pitch as she noticed and then immediately addressed the little one. She'd had lots of experience with kids--first with Inci and Haust, and then with Peaches and Kelee.
"It's so good to meet you!" she exclaimed, crouching down to Quetzal's level. "My name is Xoana. It goes sho-a-na. It can be a bit tricky at first, so you can call me Ana if that's easier." She threw a glance and a smile up to Beltan. "He's sooo cute," she directed to him, before turning her attention back to the child.
She'd forgotten that Beltan had children, but somehow thinking of him as a doting father made him even more attractive. Family was very important to Xoana, after all.
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Posted: Fri Feb 28, 2020 11:30 pm
Beltan had opened his mouth to make introductions, but he simply wasn't fast enough to beat Quetzal's charm and ability to take complete control of any conversation. He might be oblivious to his own effects on others (especially females of the species), but he was well aware of his son's undeniable charisma so he just let them take care of it themselves. Besides, he'd mentally stumbled at the word 'date'. She couldn't be thinking of the party, could she? All he could do was nod and smile weakly at Xoana when she briefly addressed him.Oh, he liked her. Drifting out from behind his dad, Quetzal instead anchored himself by hooking his elongated serpent-like tail around Beltan's and turned all of his attention on the nice pretty lady. Bobbing his head in time with her slowed-down pronunciation of her name and the shortened version, Quetzal tried both but ended up blending them into, "Sha-na." Reaching up to cover his mouth and a giggle, he continued, "Way, dat's not right. Said I could call you Ana, bu' I like the shhhhh part."
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Posted: Sun Mar 01, 2020 10:31 pm
Xoana couldn't help but giggle at the little one's unique pronunciation of her name. "Y'know what?" she said, reaching out and touching his cheek warmly, "I like that. You can call me Shanna." She smiled and leaned her fists on chin, and elbows on her tail coiled beneath her. "It has been so delightful to meet you, my precious pearl, but I gotta give something to your dad. I'd love to chat longer next time, though!"
She straightened up and handed the little card to Beltan. "Anyway, since our date up on land got sort of spoiled I took the liberty of planning a do-over. Everything's already sorted out and I've written when and where to meet on that card for you. Dinner, dessert, and a casual swim to just enjoy one another's company. Nothing too fancy. Anyway, I--" she paused as she noted Beltan's expression. Was she being too forward? She'd been about to say Anyway, I won't keep you any longer and I'll see you then! but suddenly that did seem presumptuous. What if he couldn't get someone to watch his little one? Or worse, what if he hadn't been impressed with her during the Venus Day party and he had no interest in a second date?
"I hope you can make it," she finished weakly with a nervous smile.
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Posted: Thu Jun 18, 2020 9:54 pm
Quetzal positively beamed at Xoana's approval of the nickname and the added bonus that he could continue to make the fun 'shh' sound at the beginning of her name. Giggling in turn at the pet-name she used for him, he gave her a little wave and drifted some, quickly righting himself and squiggling back to his dad's side. Feathers made steering hard.Beltan had used their exchange as an excuse to take a mental breather and try to sort out his feelings on the matter only to be struck by a fresh wave of awkwardness when she redirected her attention to him and held out a little card, launching into an explanation of her plans. Only slightly stunned, he managed to reach out and take the invitation from her.
"Well, it would be pretty rude of me to say no after you went to all this trouble," he started, chuckling a bit and glancing down at Quetzal who was still smiling brightly at her. "I wanted to apologize to you, anyway, about the Venus Day party. I was supposed to keep you out of trouble, but I did not see that coming," he admitted, silently berating Hjortur once again for being at the root of the shenanigans that cropped up in his life. Speaking of, Hjortur would probably kill him for this, but what could it hurt to have dinner with her? "I can make it."Menelie And then I s'pose cut to the date? ^^
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Posted: Fri Jun 19, 2020 8:58 am
Beltan's response fully put the current back in Xoana's fins. "Great!" she exclaimed cheerfully. "I'll see you then!" She turned her attention briefly back to Quetzal: "I'll see you later, little pufferfish," she said with a little wink, then waved to Beltan and flounced off, feeling quite pleased with herself.
---
The day of their date, Xoana had taken some extra time to get ready. She typically liked to think of herself as a ~natural beauty~ but a little extra care wouldn't hurt. She used a tint to make her lips just a little more defined, and a different tint to make her eyelashes darker.
She arrived early to the restaurant to pick out the most perfect table with a nice view. She wanted everything to be as romantic as possible, and for everything to be just perfect. After she got settled, she noted that Beltan ought to be arriving soon. She couldn't help but bounce in her seat. Was she excited, or nervous? She couldn't tell.
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Posted: Sun Dec 20, 2020 2:29 pm
By the time Beltan arrived at the restaurant, he was frazzled and stressed. Quetzal had plagued him with incessant reminders to say hi to 'Shana' for him and had waxed poetic about how pretty and nice she was, even as he was being dropped off at daycare. Which earned Beltan some vaguely threatening looks from a few of the staff (both male and female) that he wondered if he should be worried about, considering that the naiads shooting them his direction were normally all smiles when he arrived with Quetzal.
Shaking off the feelings of foreboding from all the side-eye, he gave himself a few seconds of mental prep before he entered the restaurant. He spotted Xoana right away. It was clear she had taken great care in picking a table and that made him unaccountably nervous. She'd also done something to her face; her features seemed to really pop. If he could sweat (and they weren't already underwater), he'd have been drenched. Beltan smiled nervously as he approached then, when he reached the table but before he took his seat, told her, "You look really nice. Sorry if you've been waiting long. Quetzal wanted to make very sure I would tell you he says hi."
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Posted: Sat Dec 26, 2020 9:17 pm
Seeing him made Xoana's heart leap in her chest. He was gorgeous (wasn't he always?) and so effortlessly charming. She gave a little wave as Beltan approached and sat.
"Oh! Well, thank you," she said at his compliment, blushing despite herself. This had, after all, been the intended effect. She made an open-handed gesture and smiled broadly. "It's nice to really go the extra mile sometimes." She primped her hair to punctuate the phrase.
"I hope it wasn't too much of a bother to find a childminder for him," she responded to his next comment. "Although he's such a precious pearl that I can't believe anyone would say no to his company for a little while. He's certainly got his father's captivating personality."
Yikes, had that been too much? Her mouth sure had a mind of its own some days. She cleared her throat nervously.
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Posted: Sat Dec 26, 2020 11:22 pm
Her last comment brought a little bit of extra color to Beltan's face and startled a self-deprecating snort/chuckle combination out of him. "Oh, it was no trouble finding a sitter. I haven't met anyone who could resist Quetzal's charm, myself included, though I'm fairly certain he didn't get that from me." His chuckles trailed off into thoughtful silence, though, when he remembered yet again the vaguely hostile glances that had been directed his way. "I'm not sure what was going on with the caregivers today, though. They must have gotten some bad news or something because a few of them looked like they were in a sour mood.."
Ever oblivious, he gave himself a little shake and shrugged it off. "Dropping him off took more time than making the arrangements, honestly. But, in any case, since this is my first time here you'll have to help me out. What would you recommend?" Unaware of his own physical attractiveness though he may be, he was, however, aware of his borderline addiction to shrimp puffs and so he resisted the impulse to ask if they were served at this restaurant.
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Posted: Sun Dec 27, 2020 11:50 am
"My experience with toddlers is that it takes twice as long to do anything with them as you expect," agreed Xoana. "At least that's how it was with Inci and Haust. They're my," she paused thoughtfully, "niece and nephew, I think." A casual shrug. "I dunno, my family is huge." And getting bigger all the time. "Y'know, if you ever need me to watch Quetzal, I'd be happy to," she offered cheerfully. "I've minded all the little ones in my family since I was a teenager."
She paused to look at the menu. Truthfully, Xoana had never been here either, but it seemed fancy and date-y, so that's where she'd made plans. "Well," she began, quirking the corner of her mouth, "I've never been here either. But it came highly recommended! I think....smoked scallops and kelp sounds good to me. I'll share if you're interested in trying it."
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Posted: Mon Jan 11, 2021 2:30 pm
Beltan nodded along as she talked. Yes, that had indeed been his experience with Quetzal's newfound mobility. He agreed her family was huge, recalling Hjortur's vague and hurried explanation prior to the Venus Day party. The part about offering to watch Quetzal herself made Beltan raise his eyebrows, but Xoana's attention was already on her menu.
It was oddly comforting that she was also in unknown waters here so he just went along with her whim and gave his own menu a thorough study. "I would like to try that, but I'm very partial to crustaceans. So, fair being fair, if I were to order the freshwater shrimp and watercress, would you be interested in sampling it?"
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Posted: Sun Jan 24, 2021 10:57 am
Truthfully, crustaceans creeped Xoana out, with all their little legs. She much preferred shellfish--clams and mussels and the like. But she wanted to be a good sport, and sharing their plates seemed very ~romantic~. "I love watercress," she agreed with a smile. "I find it pleasantly spicy."
Xoana put her menu down and placed her arms on the table, folded gently. "I'm so glad we got to do this," she said, her smile growing warmer and more...personal. "Not that I didn't ultimately have a good time last time," she added, with a little twinkle in her eye. "But it's nice to do something a little, mm, quieter together, yeah?"
Not to mention more private. They had probably thought they were being discreet, but she'd definitely noticed the way that Gran and Uncle Hjortur had been hovering nervously around her and Beltan. She wasn't sure what they were so worried about. Beltan was a well-known Naiad of good character, and Xoana was an adult who could handle herself and make her own decisions. Like, even if this didn't ultimately work out, her own heart was her own responsibility.
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Posted: Fri Apr 30, 2021 2:31 pm
Beltan had to agree that the setting was certainly less.. chaotic. But, while Xoana was quietly celebrating the fact that they were alone together, the realization made him exceptionally nervous. To cover for it, Beltan made small talk and asked after her family which filled the time while they waited perhaps a little too well. She had to be related in some way to half the lake...
"Oh, there's our food," Beltan piped up, catching sight of their waiter. Eyes lighting up at the jumbo shrimp that made up the bulk of his entree, he was pleasantly surprised to find that there were tasty morsels of clam and scallop scattered throughout the greens. Xoana had covered it well but, despite being thick-headed and dense in many respects, Beltan had still caught a flash of the same "oh great, thanks" expression Quetzal wore when something he didn't like found its way onto his dinner plate.
Without really thinking about it, he carefully loaded a fork with watercress and shellfish before transferring it to her plate. Only after he'd completed the motion did it occur to him that, oh chum, this is a full-blown date and his brain oh-so-helpfully offered up panicked visions of dying slowly and painfully at the hands of her entire family, Kel at the forefront with Hjortur shouting encouragement and suggestions like, 'punch him in the gills'. Even so, a small voice in all the tumult said, you like her, though. And she likes you, too, for some reason.
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Posted: Sat May 01, 2021 8:50 pm
Xoana didn't mind filling the silence, chatting away about her family, which was vast and complicated. She had no shame, either; she thought that their complexity made them more interesting, and it was never a bad thing to have someone you could call upon in whatever part of the lake you were in. She got the feeling that he was more than content to just listen to her talk, but she wanted to give Beltan an opportunity to talk. Xoana certainly didn't want him to think she wasn't interested in anything he had to say. She was about to ask him an inviting question when their food arrived.
"These smoked scallops look amazing," she gushed, then: "Ooh, thank you!" she exclaimed as Beltan lifted some watercress onto her plate. The gesture struck her as somewhat...intimate? Not in a sexy-times way, just in a closeness kind of way. She blushed and smiled softly, her eyes glimmering.
She was also thankful that none of the shrimp made it onto her plate.
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