Howlina Day 29.2 - Character Revisited

I have gone back and done several post on character building, but I wanted to do something that goes along with Day 29 of World Building.

On Day 29 it was suggested to write a scene where a main character is given a gift they must refuse.  I would like to share that scene with you now that I've thought of what that gift should be, a man.

"Payate, Christmas is a children's holiday, we have barbecues and give toys to children, not gifts to adults," Viole spoke in a low voice despite the fact that she and her fellow Transhuman, Payate were speaking in a private language they had  created nearly a year ago when then met.

Payate smiled, "He's sort of a toy."  She pushed the door to the tavern open, winked and pointed inside with her head.  She let a normal man pass under her arm and enter while she waited on her stunningly beautiful friend.

They both wore the short, loose tunics that were standard clothing for women in Howlina, but on their outrageously tall and curvy bodies they looked like goddesses.  Payate nodded toward the open door again and her shoulder length black curls waved so seductively that the other men and some women who were waiting to enter stood with their mouths open.

"You're holding up traffic," Payate said.

"A toy?"

Payate let the door go and stepped up next to her friend, "Sure he's a toy, you can play with him all  you like."

"Are you suggesting sex?"

Payate stared at her friend.  Her gaze unconsciously went to Viole's broken nose.  She never spoke of it, but on an otherwise completely flawless body it was a blinking red light with a siren.  Payate was sure it was a purposeful affectation and wondered why someone who was so determined to fit in and follow social norms would make such a vain body modification.  When the other Supers were trying to create their own culture, Viole steadfastly stuck to her beloved Veebeelo.  If she didn't want to be a Super why wouldn't she want a normal for a partner.

"Yes, I was suggesting sex.  Doesn't your Veebeelo prescribe sex?"

"Not as the first test of compatibility, and not as frivolity," her voice was calm and steady but still low in the secret language.

In English, Payate said, "Come in, meet him, have a nice night.  That's all I'm asking.  He's a nice man, a nice looking man.  What's wrong with making sex the first test?  It could make it easier to overlook the other tests if they fail.  It's a no-brainer, he is desperate to get with a Super."

"Why don't you take him then?"

"Ah, well I would, but I'm meeting with my boyfriend Sama later tonight.  And besides, I want to see my friend smile, so I got her a gift," she linked her arm in Viole's elbow and pulled her.  Viole gave a faint smile and acquiesced.

Inside the tavern was loud with music and talking.  There was a live band, but it was clearly a pick-up group.  There were several people getting ready to either take over or join.  There were a few other, less performance oriented groups and pairs off in several corners.  Where the music didn't fill, the conversations did.

Payate easily found her man standing at a table.  She caught his eye and motioned that they would join him as soon as they could make their way through the crowd.

As usual for Cheekagopolee, the room was filled with all sorts of races, from normals, to Supers, Cats, and Cybers.  The only ones not easily visible were Faes, who were probably there, but too small to spot easily; and Mers who most certainly were not there.

The normals and Cybers were intermixed with no visible pockets of Cybers alone.  The Supers were intermixed as well, but there were a few clumps of them off to a side here and there.  The Cats mostly stuck to groups of their own.  Every now and then one would break off from their group and enter mixed crowds, not unlike a lion stacking a herd from the inside.

Viole noticed one of these Cats, a female, who had moved toward a lone normal man standing at the bar.  There was something about that man that immediately told Viole that he did not belong.  It wasn't that he was normal, but she instinctively knew he was a foreigner.  It wasn't anything obvious at all, but more of her superior brain picking up on almost imperceptible things and complying all the data quickly.

As the woman Cat made her move on the short man, Payate tugged at her arm.

"Viole, this is Delo, the man I was telling you about.  Delo, this is my friend Viole.  She's a queer bird, and a bit of a prude, but she is a great time and would love to talk with you for a while."

He was indeed a good looking man, for a normal.  He was over six feet tall and had the typical Howler curly blond hair.  He was very fit looking in his dark male tunic.  His green eyes sparkled as he looked her over.  He had a hungry look in his eyes.

Viole held out her hand to shake his.  He had a firm grip, but she squeezed hard enough to see his eye twitch.  He gave no other indication of the pain she knew she caused; good.

"Can you sing, Delo?"  She asked, but she looked over his head and watched as Payate walked away toward the tall godlike Super waiting for her near another exit.

"Yes, baritone," Delo responded with confidence.

Viole held up her ocarina, "Let's find a corner and see how jamming goes," she said gamely.  Delo smiled and nodded.  As they looked around for a somewhat secluded corner to test out their musical compatability, Viole noticed the man from the bar was gone. 

The woman Cat that was with him was just leaving and her tail was doing something unusual.  Viole looked around quickly to confirm what she saw with the tail. Indeed, the group of female Cats that she had come from were laughing and carousing  in just that way they did when one of them was about to rape someone.

"I'm sorry, Delo, there is something I have to do," Viole barely gave him a glance as she moved quickly and smoothly toward the door.  In a flash she was out and gone.

Delo knew when a date was over and this date was most certainly over.  Though he knew she would need no assistance, he made his way toward the door she exited to see if he could help.