We promise according to our hopes [Nathalia]

[Ry]

A feline looking female paced, tersely, through the crowd, the yellow with lilac and white points marking her as belonging to the Gardens, and the ideals indoctrinated through nurture.

Ideals and notions that she was not entirely sure she disbelieved. Males were usually easy to manipulate and distressingly unintelligent, and she had no use for those. There had been, however, one exception. An exceptional, pink-striped equine who had made quite an impression.

She had sought out a Corvistowneian, planning to worm her way into his confidence, and gradually, seek among his acquaintances to discover a Card with sufficient power for her purposes. Instead, she had found a single, solitary with no family and no lab, but sufficient intellect to hold her interest.

Interest had turned to admiration, and the admiration was returned. Cauter was not exactly a suitable instrument, but surprisingly, she had a soft spot in her heart for the odd biped.

[Nathalia]

The Horse jostled through the crowd; smile bright, chains jingling as he gazed about eagerly.

She had said yes!
His darling little Souris had returned, and her letter had said yes.

He would finally have a proper date with the pretty yarrow...and maybe put this whole ridiculous obsession to rest.
Or just let it be what it was, so long as she wasn't too high-maintenance...maybe?

She had rarely left his mind, her delicate paws, he lovely ears, the curve of her beautiful face...
Gods above, he understood why so many men cursed Yarrows now! So beautiful and yet so few of them would allow a man to do so much as hold the door.

And he had a shot!
Now, he just needed to find her and take her to the charming little panini place down the street...buy her a coffee or two and she should be all over him, right?
He would not like to admit that he had no clue.

He shouldered a large, morose looking Torque aside and gazed around for her.
Yellow shouldn't be too hard to spot in this crowd.
Her letter had said she'd changed a bit, but it couldn't be much, just a little dabbling with potions. Never hurt anyone, look at him for the sake of all...

He spotted yellow, and lilac...

Hurrying toward the spot, he gave a cheerful wave.

"Souris! My dear, so good to see you."

[Ry]

She turned, smiling exultantly, to face the odd biped, careful not to trip over her own tail, now longer and bushier. "Salut," she greeted him warmly. "Ça va ?"

Her extended stay in the Gardens had strengthened her native accent and her own language tripped familiarly over her tongue before she could halt the torrent. The years spent studying and perfecting the Common Tongue would become time wasted if she didn't work harder to suppress the habit. She gritted her teeth silently in annoyance, her protractile claws retracting and protracting tellingly.

Of course, the beautiful accent and words would work in her favor, given the silky smooth voice her circlet granted her. Cauter, being a Ten, probably wouldn't be influenced, but the result would still lend her a far more pleasing sound.

She should se serrer la main, she supposed, but was still uncertain about her fluffier limbs that did not end in rodent feet, therefore, she cheated. Faire la bise, she did, two kisses, one on each cheek. Quite forward, for the slight acquaintance she had, but she didn't think he'd mind.

[Nathalia]

Cauter's ears flicked forward eagerly, grinning widely as he approached his mark.
Her smile was precisely what he had been hoping for, warm and inviting as a summer's day; her thickly furred tail being jerked out of her way abruptly as she sauntered forward.
Her strange words were not lost on him...he'd had to trade with many, many people.
"Salut, dear lady." He murmured, taking her paw and kissing it lightly. "And I am well. How about you?"

Even her voice sounded slightly different; husky, smooth, silky...he wanted to touch her.
The kiss on each cheek was accepted with good grace, earning her a slight bow in return and a proffered arm for her to lean on should she like.
He was working hard to suppress the glee.
This woman wasconfusing and he liked it!
Had he won her? Were the kisses purely cultural? Was this all a show, or did she mean some of it? Was she just out to get money, or had she genuinely come to see him?
None of these questions were easily answerable...he'd never run into that before.

"Have you ever seen a Corvistowneian performance?" He asked, letting his smile fall more into place with the normal and beginning to walk with her. "I can promise you that it's quite...explosive."

[Ry]

Souris couldn't help the grin that wanted to rise to her lips and spread across her muzzle, anymore than she could the shiver and the familiar frisson of awareness that threatened to spread.

He spoke her language, did he? Well, now...

Doubtless Cauter could see her plotting away furiously inside her head, as she laughed happily at the adorable bow he made her, and took his arm. She didn't really need to lean on him, of course, no Gardens girl did, but...strategically speaking, sound. She molded her soft form deliberately against his arm, careful to keep the smirk off her face.

"A Corvistowneian performance?" Souris questioned, innocently, as if referring to a musical or theatre performance, all the while firmly quashing the sneaking suspicion insisting mightily that that was a - what was the Common word? Adianoeta?

Double entendre, her mind supplied, in her native tongue. She shut that thought up, too.

[Nathalia]

Cauter's wide smile split his face at the faint grin that flitted across the visage of his lovely quarry.

"Ah, my dear. Please, won't you accompany me?" He held out his arm for the Yarrow to take, hoping she might drape herself across it and come with him.
He wasn't quite sure how he'd mange rejection right now.

She molded herself deliberately onto his arm and the thrill that raced up his spine was electric.
He curled his wrist around so that the fingers trailed languidly down her waist, her fur was soft and incredibly lovely.
"Indeed, I was thinking somehting along the lines of Dr. Hollard's compulsive explosives show, or perhaps Dr. Kyla's reacting particle forces?" He inquired, wondering if she would truly be interested.
Such a little minx, such a vision of beauty and charm...he wanted to have her.
But one must first woo the woman in this odd dance, before one could claim her.

He wanted to lay claims to her.

Walking her off in the direction of the more eclectic side of the city, he continued to chat her up about the various properties of the shows that were available, and some options for a dinner, perhaps?
This was all so new, he had to admit confusion, and wished there were a way to simply pay his way out of it.

[Ry]

Souris fought sharp sense of vertigo as her world tilted - such was the strength of her epiphany. "C-c-compulsive explosives?" she stuttered, as her vision ran in streams of color, privately impressed at her own ability to sustain the conversation, she as dealt with her own intensely personal revelation.

Now she understood the drive to acquire a bipedal form.

She absently ran her pads covetously over Cauter's wrist, capturing his fingers as he ran his fingers through her fur. "A-a-and-d-d-dinner?"

She fervently hoped he'd attribute her stutter to linguistic difficulties, as her usually quick and agile mind stalled, speculating as to where he'd take her, and what she'd eat, and how many points she'd brought along with her, and how many points he ought to be made to pay before she could explore the wonders of his biped form.

Hmm...she hummed thoughtfully to herself, considering. She supposed she could take the information he could supply as adequate payment, of course, but she didn't feel like selling herself so cheaply.

[Nathalia]

The Equine let his smile creep all the way up the sides of his face as he felt the Yarrow shudder a bit beneath his fingers.
"Well, yes. I do love a good round of swift bangs. Wouldn't you say, my dear?"
Her little stammer...it was either excitement or her accent...either way...
He liked it.

Her little paws caught his hand and roved over it in a way that made him want to grab her up and race her off to his lab.
Whatever the outcome of tonight entailed, he dearly hoped it involved himself and this little beauty becoming...more than just friends.
In so, so many ways.

"Dinner might be better as a calmer affair. Do you like seafood? Or...something more exotic? You know I think over on the Barrx side of the way there's a Corvie who aspires to chefdom...likes to cook with exotic foods, really. Have you ever tried Jubjub? Quite good, really."
The man also had a fondness for serving Ace, but that wasn't something that his petite Cherri needed to know about.
Even less that he himself was oftentimes a supplier.

Pulling her paw down and gently proffering his arm, he made an elegant leg.
He'd show her one Hell of a night on the town.
Perhaps that would earn him his Mouse-maid.