Her mothers were constantly nagging at her to socialize more, especially now that she was getting older and closer to becoming a warrior. Quynh’s apprentice years had been mostly spent wandering and helping her mothers with the hunt. They were constantly moving between the continents, visiting all the trees and fighting whatever great beast caught their attention, which left little room for Quynh to truly settle and make local friends. She also of course had her own difficulties considering her unique appearance and prickly personality which often caused fights while she was growing up with the local Aishan younglings. No matter the village she was always caught up in at least one fight before her mothers decided to uproot the family again on yet another adventure. It was only when her teenage years were mostly spent that they began to realize that perhaps it would be best to consider their daughter’s social life, their worries growing that she would end up alone instead of finding someone to brighten her life. Quynh honestly was not that worried about it but just to ease their sudden concerns the young Aishan had agreed to a blind date while they were back in Jahaur.

Of course while the other young Alkidike across from her seemed nice enough the young hybrid found her mind drifting to someone else every moment of the date. “Quynh?” The girl tapped her on the shoulder. “Did you see the waterfalls?”

Quynh’s antenna flicked as her gaze drifted back towards the petite Alkidike. Myki was her name? She seemed sweet enough but she was just so…polite? Quynh had tried teasing her earlier but the girl had not gotten the playful jest and had simply apologized before walking along the path, her soft steps the only sound for a few minutes until they arrived at this point of the trail where the rocky cliffs emerged from the jungle with the streams spiraling downwards into fine waterfalls. It was a fairly pretty scene but honestly Quynh’s heart simply wasn’t in it. But she just had to endure the day, fulfill her mothers’ request to try and date other girls her age. It was a shame that they considered pure Aishans to be the only ones good enough for their daughter and while she wished that her mothers could be a bit more accepting of earthlings the girl understood their concerns. They were warriors and did not have time to take care of delicate things which was why Quynh had learned to take care of herself early on. How could they entrust their daughter to an earthling or an earthling blood that surely would require someone to guard them instead? Though Quynh didn’t think that way considering the hybrids she had met throughout the years. Maybe if Myki was someone of mixed blood it would be more interesting? Or honestly if she had some sort of spark in her personality instead of blending in with the rest of the plants in Jahaur. Pretty enough to look at but nothing really to make her stand out from the hundreds of other flowers that Quynh had seen of the same type and color.

“Do you think jumping from the waterfalls could be fun?” Quynh asked as she glanced at the waters towards the deep azure pool beneath. There were no sharp rocks like in other areas and honestly it could be fun to feel the rush of the air against your skin, the blood burning in your veins as your heart raced in that moment of descent towards the bottom. Such a question though didn’t seem to settle well with Myki who shook her head.

“It’s a bit far down, don’t you think?”

“Ah.” Quynh suppressed a sigh before nodding. “I suppose so.” She offered a small smile towards the other girl even though they both seemed to know that this was a fairly awkward situation. “Thank you for showing me around this area again. It’s been years since I’ve visited so it’s always nice to see the sights.” Being polite was the best thing she could do right now. It was fine anyway. Quynh doubted her mothers would stay in this area for much longer. They would probably be going to Yael next and trying to set her up with an Elaria there if no Alkidikes caught her attention.

“You’re welcome, Quynh. Should we head back soon?”

“Yeah. I think it’s a good time to take a break from walking and enjoy some food.” Then they could both be finished with this awkward and super polite date. Quynh was eager for that and it would be a lie to say that her steps weren’t a bit quicker when they went back towards where they had first met.

[793]