Post by Articho Reville on Sept 21, 2017 6:28:32 GMT
The coffee in Articho’s cup swirled around as he lazily stirred the stirring stick in the now lukewarm drink. A cloud passed in front of the sun, casting a shadow onto his face that drew his attention away from his drink. Not that it mattered to him in the end. Coffee was never something he liked to drink, anyway, but he felt like a coffee shop was a good place to ask a girl out to. If she actually showed up, that is.
It had taken some work, but Articho had managed to get King Kai’s attention and asked him to pass a message to Yemma, who would then pass a message on to Styx, the Ogre he had met while he was dead. He had nearly forgotten about her, only for Pieter’s brother passive comment about his son and his mother’s constant insistence about Arti looking into getting a girlfriend had brought her back to the forefront of his mind. Out of all the girls he had met, why the random ogre he had run into now and again at the entrance of Snake Way? Thinking back, he was beginning to notice the little things about their conversations and it made him kick himself in frustration. She, quite obviously, liked him, and his dumb ass blew her off. Honestly, she had every right to blow him off right back.
“Um...hello, Arti…” a familiar voice caught the hybrid’s attention. He looked back to the source of the voice to Styx standing directly across from him, a small smile on her face.
“Oh, hey! Styx! You got my message!” a large smile broke out on Arti’s face as he stood up from his chair. “Please, take a seat!”
Styx obliged, sitting down and smoothing her skirt out as she sat. Seeing her again brought a fresh waves of memories back to him. She didn’t look any different from when he last saw her, even with it being several months. “Yes, I did. It gave me a bit of a scare when King Yemma called me to his office so suddenly,” Styx said, giving a nervous laugh. “But when he told me it was you wanting to meet with me, I got really excited! Of course, Aides had to try and burst my bubble somehow, but you know how he is.”
Articho laughed, memories of the other oni he encountered often peeking out. “Don’t I know it. But I’m glad you came! Do you want anything? Some coffee or something?”
“No, but thank you, though. But, uh, I have to ask...” she said, pausing for a moment. A light blush crossed her cheeks, which made Arti’s heart thump skip a little. Damn, she was seriously cute. He was going to knock his head against a wall after he got home if he screwed this up. “...isn’t going to a cafe like this people...people on a date do..?”
Now it was Articho’s turn to blush. He looked down at his coffee, his eyes tracking to steady swirls of his drink as he continued to stir it. The hybrid hadn’t anticipated her to read his intentions just like that. “Well, I mean, that’s...kinda what I was hoping this would be…”
Styx’s blush deepened, turning her whole face red, which contrasted with sharply with her dark blue hair. They sat in silence, both staring downwards and refusing to make eye contact. After a moment, Styx brushed her hair behind her ear and flicked her eyes upward, smiling softly. “That’s...oh, Kai, Arti, I don’t know what to say… I thought… The way you acted while you were dead… I didn’t think you even noticed me beyond a friendly guide to Snake Way…”
“Ah, well, you know… I’ve been told I’m not the sharpest knife in the drawer…” he replied, scratching at his head nervously. “H-hey, if you don’t want coffee, I had some other ideas about what we could do...Catch a movie, grab some dinner. You know, simple stuff that’d be kinda fun…”
“A movie sounds nice. Just don’t try any of those pervy tactics I’ve heard about from other souls before,” she replied, giggling. Articho sat up quickly in surprise, holding his hands up in front of his chest.
“H-hey, Turtle Hermits from years ago might have been perverts, but I’m not like that at all!” he protested, his face completely red. Styx giggled again, standing up from her chair and took one of his hands, pulling the embarrassed young man up out of his own chair.
“Come on, Mr. Smooth. We’ve got to see what’s playing. My favorite candy bar is Chuckles, by the way,” she said, her cheeks still red, but looking far more comfortable than the boy who’d invited her to this outing in the first place.
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For something that started out so bumpy, the date went surprisingly well. The movie went swimmingly and Articho had even managed to successfully pull off the classic “pretend to yawn and drape your arm over the girl’s shoulder” trick, though the glance and smirk Styx gave him clearly showed she knew exactly what he was doing. But she let it happen, which Arti took as a good sign. After the movie, he took her to dinner a few blocks away from the theater, managing to keep himself under control so he didn’t end up eating everything in the restaurant.
The mood had eased considerably since they first met in the coffee shop and spent much of the meal talking and laughing, recounting stories of the last few months since they’d last seen each other. Hours slipped by as they chatted, with a waiter having to come over and tell them that they were preparing to close down for the night. They left, still talking and joking as they walked down the street with only the street lamps to accompany them and their hands intertwined.
“I had a wonderful time tonight, Arti,” Styx said after a break in the conversation.
“I guess that means I did something right, then,” he replied.
“Don’t flatter yourself too much. You did an excellent job of giving me something to do that wasn’t work,” she ssaid, giggling as Articho jokingly clutched at his chest with one hand.
“Ah, my pride. How ever will I handle not being able to impress you with our first date?” he said in a faux hurt voice.
“Maybe you’ll do better with the second one,” she stated matter-of-factly.
“I’ll do my best to impress,” he answered. He stopped walking and turned to face her. “When can next time be?”
“I’ll be free in about a week. I’ll give you a call the day before so you can set up something nice without it being so sudden. That sound alright?” she looked up at him, pushing the bangs that hung low over her face out of the way, giving him full view of her face. Her bright blue eyes were shining beautifully in the low, half light cast by the streetlamps.
“That sounds perfect. I can’t wait to see you again,” Arti replied. Styx smiled, then stood up on the tips of her toes to give him a kiss on his cheek before stepping back towards the street. From nowhere, a taxi driven by an ogre appeared next to Styx. She waved good bye to him as she got into the taxi and it drove off into the night. Articho watched as the cab disappeared into the darkness, the feeling of her lips still warm on his cheek.
It had taken some work, but Articho had managed to get King Kai’s attention and asked him to pass a message to Yemma, who would then pass a message on to Styx, the Ogre he had met while he was dead. He had nearly forgotten about her, only for Pieter’s brother passive comment about his son and his mother’s constant insistence about Arti looking into getting a girlfriend had brought her back to the forefront of his mind. Out of all the girls he had met, why the random ogre he had run into now and again at the entrance of Snake Way? Thinking back, he was beginning to notice the little things about their conversations and it made him kick himself in frustration. She, quite obviously, liked him, and his dumb ass blew her off. Honestly, she had every right to blow him off right back.
“Um...hello, Arti…” a familiar voice caught the hybrid’s attention. He looked back to the source of the voice to Styx standing directly across from him, a small smile on her face.
“Oh, hey! Styx! You got my message!” a large smile broke out on Arti’s face as he stood up from his chair. “Please, take a seat!”
Styx obliged, sitting down and smoothing her skirt out as she sat. Seeing her again brought a fresh waves of memories back to him. She didn’t look any different from when he last saw her, even with it being several months. “Yes, I did. It gave me a bit of a scare when King Yemma called me to his office so suddenly,” Styx said, giving a nervous laugh. “But when he told me it was you wanting to meet with me, I got really excited! Of course, Aides had to try and burst my bubble somehow, but you know how he is.”
Articho laughed, memories of the other oni he encountered often peeking out. “Don’t I know it. But I’m glad you came! Do you want anything? Some coffee or something?”
“No, but thank you, though. But, uh, I have to ask...” she said, pausing for a moment. A light blush crossed her cheeks, which made Arti’s heart thump skip a little. Damn, she was seriously cute. He was going to knock his head against a wall after he got home if he screwed this up. “...isn’t going to a cafe like this people...people on a date do..?”
Now it was Articho’s turn to blush. He looked down at his coffee, his eyes tracking to steady swirls of his drink as he continued to stir it. The hybrid hadn’t anticipated her to read his intentions just like that. “Well, I mean, that’s...kinda what I was hoping this would be…”
Styx’s blush deepened, turning her whole face red, which contrasted with sharply with her dark blue hair. They sat in silence, both staring downwards and refusing to make eye contact. After a moment, Styx brushed her hair behind her ear and flicked her eyes upward, smiling softly. “That’s...oh, Kai, Arti, I don’t know what to say… I thought… The way you acted while you were dead… I didn’t think you even noticed me beyond a friendly guide to Snake Way…”
“Ah, well, you know… I’ve been told I’m not the sharpest knife in the drawer…” he replied, scratching at his head nervously. “H-hey, if you don’t want coffee, I had some other ideas about what we could do...Catch a movie, grab some dinner. You know, simple stuff that’d be kinda fun…”
“A movie sounds nice. Just don’t try any of those pervy tactics I’ve heard about from other souls before,” she replied, giggling. Articho sat up quickly in surprise, holding his hands up in front of his chest.
“H-hey, Turtle Hermits from years ago might have been perverts, but I’m not like that at all!” he protested, his face completely red. Styx giggled again, standing up from her chair and took one of his hands, pulling the embarrassed young man up out of his own chair.
“Come on, Mr. Smooth. We’ve got to see what’s playing. My favorite candy bar is Chuckles, by the way,” she said, her cheeks still red, but looking far more comfortable than the boy who’d invited her to this outing in the first place.
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For something that started out so bumpy, the date went surprisingly well. The movie went swimmingly and Articho had even managed to successfully pull off the classic “pretend to yawn and drape your arm over the girl’s shoulder” trick, though the glance and smirk Styx gave him clearly showed she knew exactly what he was doing. But she let it happen, which Arti took as a good sign. After the movie, he took her to dinner a few blocks away from the theater, managing to keep himself under control so he didn’t end up eating everything in the restaurant.
The mood had eased considerably since they first met in the coffee shop and spent much of the meal talking and laughing, recounting stories of the last few months since they’d last seen each other. Hours slipped by as they chatted, with a waiter having to come over and tell them that they were preparing to close down for the night. They left, still talking and joking as they walked down the street with only the street lamps to accompany them and their hands intertwined.
“I had a wonderful time tonight, Arti,” Styx said after a break in the conversation.
“I guess that means I did something right, then,” he replied.
“Don’t flatter yourself too much. You did an excellent job of giving me something to do that wasn’t work,” she ssaid, giggling as Articho jokingly clutched at his chest with one hand.
“Ah, my pride. How ever will I handle not being able to impress you with our first date?” he said in a faux hurt voice.
“Maybe you’ll do better with the second one,” she stated matter-of-factly.
“I’ll do my best to impress,” he answered. He stopped walking and turned to face her. “When can next time be?”
“I’ll be free in about a week. I’ll give you a call the day before so you can set up something nice without it being so sudden. That sound alright?” she looked up at him, pushing the bangs that hung low over her face out of the way, giving him full view of her face. Her bright blue eyes were shining beautifully in the low, half light cast by the streetlamps.
“That sounds perfect. I can’t wait to see you again,” Arti replied. Styx smiled, then stood up on the tips of her toes to give him a kiss on his cheek before stepping back towards the street. From nowhere, a taxi driven by an ogre appeared next to Styx. She waved good bye to him as she got into the taxi and it drove off into the night. Articho watched as the cab disappeared into the darkness, the feeling of her lips still warm on his cheek.