Private Hylands Ascent Getting Ore Galore with Mi Amore

[Brutus Dahlgren]

"I'm not quite sure what my nose is smelling." The lion's tail would flit once as he inhaled through his nose. The air was filled with all sorts of savory and sweet smells. Two stalls down someone was making hamburgers, even further the familiar smell of corndogs would tickle against his nose. No, he was looking for something specific. Something sweet, perhaps fruity? He'd seen someone holding...what was it...?

Unconsciously taking her hand, the two would walk letting their noses, and their eyes, guide them along a veritable smorgasbord of food. Turkey legs and grilled corn were tempting, but the chicken was already scratching that sort of itch, and he desperately needed something showstopping to catch the Lepus' attention. She was very food oriented, so a rad enough treat would hopefully make her forget his cringey ass soliloquy of a joke. As they walked, he would keep an eye on the hare to gauge her reactions to any of the things they walked by, but nothing seemed to leap out and grab the Lepus. Finally, his nose danced upon the scent that would change the pace of the date. "Aha, found it."

A grin would spread across his lips as he would lead her to where the road they'd been on met with the town square. All sorts of lights were strung up on cords filling the ambience with a twinkle. The music grew slightly louder, and the energy of the air more vibrant. The giant spied several other couple walking about arm in arm, and he didn't think Finweald was normally this busy. Was there some sort of festival about he hadn't been aware of?

How serendipitous.

Finally, the giant found himself and his date standing in front of a Crepe stand. "I remember seeing someone with one when we were getting the Yakitorri." Brutus explained. "And I could smell it, but I couldn't quite place where it was, but behold." He would give a light waggle of his hand in presentation. The elf making the crepes paid them next to no mind as she went about preparing an order for another couple in front of them, stuffing the crepe with fresh fruit, smothering it in what looked to be a sweet vanilla creme, and then dusting the whole thing liberally with a coating of powdered sugar.

"The pride of my heritage."

@Toko

 

[Toko]

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She allowed the Felis to guide them down the street, occasionally looking here and there at the stalls that were present, though Toko couldn't quite say any particularly jumped out at the hare. Her own drink was sipped now and then, still enjoying the play of flavors between the sake and the orange juice, before a stand in particular caused the lion to stop as he declared a small victory.

"Oh, it's a crêpe stand!" Her ears perked up in response, an excited twinkle in the rabbit's eyes as they walked closer to the stand in question. "It's been a while since I've had some in Naha-shi..."

There was a faint moment of confusion as Brutus claimed they were a pride of his heritage, the Lepus almost sure America had nothing to do with the dessert, before remembering that the man's ancestors were actually French.

"Ah, that's right! Crêpes originally came from France."

@Brutus Dahlgren

 

[Brutus Dahlgren]

A grin spread across the lion's lips as he nodded along. "In fact, the story goes that the crepe was first made in Brittany, which was a region on the coast of France that often changed hands between the French and English. My family is actually from there." He would stand next to the hare as she inspected the Crepe stand in question. The elf finished the order for the couple in front of them and looked to the two of them. "What can I get for you?" Suddenly the lion was faced with a dilemma as he stared at the litany of options in front of him.

"Hrrrm."

His hand would raise up to stroke his beard as he mulled over a decision. "I'll go with a mix of chocolate and vanilla cream with sugar sprinkled over the top." It was a rather plain choice, but there was a reason classics were classics. Plus, it opened up the opportunity for Toko to get adventurous and they could share their treats.

"What about you Toko?"

The Giant would turn to the Hare and raise an eyebrow. "Feel free to get adventurous, I picked a pretty safe option so we can always share." Unsure of what sort of treat tickled the Hare's fancy, he made a mental note to note down what she ordered for future reference. You know what they say, Happy Hare, Happy Home? Something like that anyways.

@Toko

 

[Toko]

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"Ah, I see... wasn't that a common theme between the English and the French through history?"

Quietly she perused over the menu, finding that most of it leaned towards the sweeter side—before an option close to the very end caught Toko's attention. "I'll have that one, onegai~" There was a slight look of surprise on the elf's face when the hare made her pick, before they nodded in affirmation as they began working on the order.

It wasn't long before the pair had received the crêpes in question, Toko
s tail quivering happily as the elf handed her the bacon and egg salad savory crêpe that the Lepus had opted for. "Arigatooh!" With the proper thanks given the rabbi didn't wait any longer, biting into her chosen confection before a delighted squeak echoed through a mouthful of food.

Sure dessert crêpes were nice, but if Toko was honest the savory types were always the best.

@Brutus Dahlgren

 

[Brutus Dahlgren]

"Yup, the French and English hated eachother, and depending on who you ask they still do." He would raise an eyebrow as the Hare made her selection, going for what could only be described as breakfast and not date food. Soon the lion couldn't help himself as a chuckle escaped his lips, turning into a full on laugh as he shook his head slightly.

"Gomen, I know it's rude to laugh just...of all the choices for some reason that surprised me."

He would watch her take her first bite and squeak, and he swore his heart was going to jump out of his chest. He would take a moment to nibble on his crepe walking in lockstep with her. They'd just gotten done eating Yakitori, so he wasn't putting a hurt on this snack as much as he'd munched down the chicken.

"What do you think we should do next? Peek into some shops? There's a park nearby we can walk around in?" His eyes would dart some dancers. "We could dance if you want?" He felt slightly off his own normal balance, usually the two of them went on adventures that involved punching goblins or swatting bugs. Still, he would roll with the punches, and if the whole romantic sort of date didn't pan out they could always just go on actual adventures instead of...this.

@Toko

 

[Toko]

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A soft shrug was her response to Brutus commentary towards her crêpe choice, an unapologetic grin on the Lepus' face as she finished chewing and swallowed her bite. "Sweet crêpes are fine, but sweet flavors just tire me out quickly... savory crêpes though are usually rare to find, so whenever I do see an option I can't help but take it." Toko understood the reasoning behind it, after all for most people crêpes were strictly tied to and associated with desserts, so it was natural for most stands to cater to the options the majority of the clientele would naturally go for.

The mention of dancing soon had the rabbit shaking her head in response—while she didn't mind watching others dance Nao wasn't particular inclined towards that activity herself, and that was something the game wasn't changing any time soon.

"W-walking around the park sounds like a good idea, I've heard the flowers are really pretty this time of the year."

@Brutus Dahlgren

 

[Brutus Dahlgren]

"That makes sense."

Nodding along, the giant continued to pick at his own crepe. The warm buzz of whatever was in that last drink was beginning to kick in and chase away the general anxieties that cluttered his mind. Not a healthy coping mechanism, but something that could get him through the night without turning into a mess. "I don't get a chance to indulge in sweets too terribly often so I tend to leap at the opportunity." Wiping some sauce from his mouth, they would begin to work their way over to the park. The entire thing was encased in beautiful wrought iron fencing displaying intricate patterns that probably held some deep significance to the people of the town but were lost on the giants eyes beyond how pretty they were.

Crossing under the gate, it was like the hustle and bustle of the city just...vanished. Blinking, Brutus glanced back the way they came to a bard who was not more than a block down the road, mid song strumming away on his lute, yet not a trace of his melody seemed to waft this way. Shrugging, he would turn back to Toko and raise an eyebrow. "That's a neat little trick they've got set up there."

The park itself was gorgeous, truly showcasing that Astorea was the starcalled country with it's rather modern park design. Paths of concrete snaked through lush verdant lawns, bordered by emerald hedges. Scattered like sakura petals in the wind were flowerbeds carefully tended to keep the blooms vibrant and the soil weed free. Each bed had small placards naming each flower with a small picture of them alongside, describing their bloom patterns and various bits and bobs of trivia associated with each one. In the dead center of the park was a small fountain dedicated to the founders of the country, the babbling water feature being one of the key sounds echoing throughout the park aside from the gentle murmur of conversations that other parkgoers might be having.

"You weren't kidding about the flowers being pretty." The giant would muse as they walked. "It reminds me a lot of some of the botanical gardens I've seen back home."

@Toko