[PRP]You've Got Mail! [Sindri x Dulce][FIN]

[Menelie]

Dai

Sindri was hanging out outside of his home, chickens running around have having a go at their morning plucking, while his eyes read over an interesting sort of parchment that one didn't often see on the surface. There was a goofy sort of grin on his face, and despite knowing that he was meant to handle his weekly egg transaction soon, he was completely focused on that.

Good thing the mail had come in after he'd finished preparing the eggs for pickup.

Mene

Dulce came up the path, carrying a cloth-lined basket on her arm. That detail, of itself, wouldn't be any different than normal, as Dulce frequently brought a loaf of bread for Sindri, but what was inside the basket certainly was. Inside were six golden-brown muffins, still a little warm from having been baked that morning, dotted with spots of red raspberries. She'd waffled several times on whether to bring him muffins, but once she'd finally decided to do it, she hadn't questioned her decision once.

Their date had gone well, and she intended to ask him on another one. Thinking on Cocoa's advice to remember that she was sexy AF, Dulce had decided to, well, sweeten the pot a little. Besides, it wasn't as if this interaction would be very long. They'd have a muffin together, she'd get her eggs, and she'd be on her way, and the only lasting effect might be that Sindri might view her a little more favorably and enjoy the view as she left.

"Good morning, Sindri," said Dulce cheerfully as she approached his gate. He appeared to be reading something. "What's that you've got?" she inquired.

Dai

Sindri visibly flinched at Dulce's voice, having been so absorbed in the letter that he failed to notice her walk over. He exhaled slowly before trying to gloss over it. "You surprised me there!" The grin returned and he nodded before presenting the letter. "Look! My little sister wrote me!"

He was excited enough that he didn't think about how it was written in water glyphs.

Mene

"Oh?" asked Dulce. She took the parchment and looked at it. "What f--" she swallowed the rest of the phrase funny-looking letters and quickly recovered with "--fancy handwriting!" She handed it back to him. "But, um, I can't read this. What's it say?" Dulce wished she received letters. What a treat that must be, to have someone far away who loved you enough to write to you. Not even Dulce's mother wrote to her. Although, Dulce realized, it wasn't as if she every wrote her mother either. Hm.

She shoved the thought aside; Sindri looked so happy that she wanted to hear what he had to say.

Dai

Sindri looked confused for a second before it dawned on him. "Oh... Ah... Right... Water glyphs and all..." His voice lowered slightly as he added a, "...sorry..." before bringing it back and looking it over again. "She said she has a boyfriend now - so that makes half the family dating... geh - and recently started working as a Lady in Waiting for the Queen, just like our grandmothers. It looks like my other sister joined her in that work as well... but apparently she's been hiding how frustrating it is? Something about her powers having some serious downsides."

"Let's see.... She wants to visit soon!"

"And... mmm... some other little details about the family and the Spring. Apparently my mother's coconut and father's shark had children??" He visibly cringed - what the ******** class="clear">

[Menelie]

Dai

Sindri looked up from the parchment before shaking his head. "No, Breeheart's too far from water for a naiad - she asked if we could meet up in Sunrise Terrace like the last time. It's right on the Lake and has rooms underwater, plus our former half-sister-in-law founded the village in the first place, so... got quite a bit a family there." Yeupperoni. Helped to have connections.

Mene

Dulce started to bring up that Sindri was a naiad and here he was living here, but decided she didn't actually care right now. "That sounds lovely," she said with a smile and a nod. "I ought to visit my mother sometime, she lives in Partayzia."

Then, as if remembering, though she really hadn't stopped thinking about it, "Oh! I tried out a new recipe!" She held up her little basket, uncovering the muffins that were hiding under the cloth, still warm. "Want one?"

Dai

"Oh yeah, you did say she was up there, didn't you? That's up on the north shore right?" He closed up his letter and put it back in the envelope for saving.

He tilted his head. "Oh, sure?" After he accepted it, he looked at it more closely. "New menu item?"

Mene

"Oh, I don't know about that," said Dulce with a little flapping hand gesture. "I was just bored this morning and wanted to try something different." She pulled one out and looked at it. They had come out nicely, though, hadn't they? "They have fresh raspberries in them. I love raspberries, they look like little jewels." She bit into one and smiled, pleased with her work as usual.

Dai

"Raspberries? Where'd you find those? All I see around her is strawberries..." from his sister-in-law, of course. Though, he was probably just more cognizant of family than the market being short of other options. His first instinct was to thank her for the pastry and to eat it later - he'd just had breakfast recently, after all - but she seemed so excited about it... What the heck, he could have a bite or something. So he did.

"Mmm, pretty tasty! Did you want real commentary or just compliments?" He could do either.

Mene

"Well, I would like to say I grew them myself but I am most certainly not a gardener," said Dulce with a wry little smile. "No, I bought them yesterday," she concluded, leaning on the fence post a little. This was the most comfortable she had felt around him in...ever. Maybe it paid off to have a clear plan going in. Not even the thing with the letter had thrown her off for long.

She couldn't help a flushed smile when he ate her muffin. Her plan was going so well! "Just compliments," she answered with a little giggle. "These are just a gift, after all. I thought I'd leave the basket with you, if you like them...."

 

[Menelie]

Dai

Sindri raised his hand to wave off the idea. "That'd be way too much for just me!" That said, just compliments... that was easy enough. He took another bite before continuing. "It's soft, but dense. Not too dry. I like how the raspberries are really tart and... bold...? compared to the rest of it." He wasn't much for deep analysis.

A nod.

"It tastes good."

Mene

Dulce was slightly disappointed that he didn't want to take the whole basket, but she supposed he had a point. "Well, there were six here, so why don't I leave two with you? They should be good until tomorrow or the day after." She wouldn't be taking no for an answer.

Okay, time for the main question. "I was hoping that we could go out again," she said. "Not today, of course. Perhaps in a few days? We could go for a walk, or have a coffee, or something. I really enjoyed talking with you, and I'd like to do that again." A short pause. "You don't have to answer right away. I don't want you to feel like I'm springing something on you." Dulce smiled hopefully. Plus this way he would get to watch her go before answering~

Dai

"Sure, why not. Thanks." They'd make for a nice change of pace surrounding breakfast or a snack at least.

Still, he'd been taken somewhat off-guard by her follow-up question... so he almost choked on a muffin and had to hit his chest a few times to get the coughing under control. "Sorry, sorry...!" Another cough as he cleared his throat. "Swallowed it a bit funny." By Tariel's fins he sucked at this. He followed up with a smile, though it probably conveyed how awkward he felt about the whole coughing fit. "I enjoyed myself too. I... uh... don't get out as much as I probably should, so it was fun. Haha..."

Mene

Dulce frowned lightly at...all this. That hadn't been the response she had expected. He hadn't even answered her question! Did this mean he didn't want to go again? She was so confused.

"Um, well, then how about I stop by tomorrow to see about it?" She offered, taking two muffins out of the basket and placing them in his hands. "After you've, um, had a chance to think it over."

Why was this so hard? Why couldn't he just say 'why yes that sounds lovely, how about coffee in three days'? She wanted this so badly that her chest ached. She was trying so hard not to boss anyone around, and do things properly, but it was so difficult! This would be so much easier if she could just tell him when and where to be and what to do, but then...she wouldn't ever know if it was real. Sigh. Hence this middle road she was taking. All she was going to do was put an idea in his head, then it'd be up to him.

Dai

Sindri nodded, his smile notably relaxing as she spoke and the initial surprise wore off. "Oh, sure. I don't really drink coffee though..." As he looked down at the muffin in his head, an idea came to mind. He hummed as he thought it over - would this be too forward of him? Maybe he should be a bit indirect about it. "You know... Actually... I've always wondered about how you go about baking... Well... Really anything."

Too subtle?

Mene

"No? Tea then?" she inquired, tapping her chin thoughtfully. His next statement, an apparent change of subject, got her chattering again. "Baking? It's all a bit of chemistry, really, and I had to do something when I moved here to earn a living, and--"

Dulce stopped abruptly. It'd finally sunk in. He hadn't changed the subject, he'd proposed a date idea. Flushing a bit, she smiled with a fluttering giggle and put one hand on her stomach to calm the butterflies. "I'd, um, I'd love to show you. You could come over...?" She'd love to plan a fancy cake, or something, but all she really knew how to bake properly was bread and muffins. Which were really a specific type of bread.

 

[Menelie]

Dai

Sindri absentmindedly took another bite of the muffin as she began talking, nodding along and whatnot, before blinking at the sudden stop. He tilted his head and leaned forward while hurrying to finish his bite... but didn't quite do so before her moment of internal monologuing was complete and she was once again talking.

Oh! She got the hint! That was exciting!

Not that he wanted that to seep out too much and he come across as weird or anything.

"Really; it wouldn't be any trouble or anything? I could bring the eggs."

Mene

"No trouble at all," she reassured him. "I haven't had company in ages!" More like ever. "This will be fun!" Dulce looked the most genuinely happy that she'd ever felt. "Um, when do you think you'd want to come? Not today, of course, I'll need to get some things together."

"Eggs would be lovely," she said. She felt sort of giddy and faint, but soft at the same time. She almost wanted to sneeze.

Dai

A bright smile came to Sindri's face as she assured him he wasn't (indirectly) asking for anything weird or troublesome - it was going to be the second time he really spent time with any of the other villagers... Which was something he really ought to fix as some point... But he just got so hung up on being naiad and all... But his nieces never got treated worse for it or anything, so it was obviously all in his head...

Hard stop. Not the time.

"Awesome! Well, mm..." He mused on the timing. "Would a few days or a week from now work? Is that too soon?" He had no idea how long it would take her to be ready for a beginner in baking.

Mene

A week was much too far away. "Mm, three days would be fine." Dulce tucked a nervous curl behind her ear. She still couldn't quite believe this was happening, though she was trying not to think too hard about it, since that seemed to trip her up more than anything. "So....I'll see you then?" she asked, starting to back away. Wait, did he even know where she lived? "Oh! Uh, my house, it's in town, it's not hard to find." She added more specific directions, using landmarks he'd know.

Her wheels were already turning about what to make, and what she'd need, and how they'd do it together.

Dai

Sindri nodded quickly after she shortened the time frame. "Okay, tw-- three days. Got it." Oops, almost misspoke. By the water was he awkward sometimes! Had he gotten worse since he was a teen? Maybe he was just tongue-tied cause of her... mm... Now that was a thought.

Oh right, her house! He hadn't even thought to ask.

With some nods and asking for clarification as necessary, he at least had some idea of where to go to get in the general vicinity of her residence. Hopefully it'd be more obvious the morning of. "Got it." (mostly) "I'll see you then!" Boy was he excited.

Mene

"Yes!" exclaimed Dulce. She was thrilled she'd pulled this off. "I'll see you then." She blushed and ducked her head, then gave a little wave while backing away a few steps before turning and heading back up the road. She didn't want to see his reaction to her. She somehow felt like it would either ruin everything, or she'd feel weird about it. Either way. But she just might have put an extra little wiggle in her walk.

Dulce got about halfway up the road before she realized she'd forgotten to get the eggs. She mentally face-palmed. Should she go back for them? Oh absolutely not. ******** it, she'd get eggs from the market this week. If this date worked out like she hoped then the dip in her profit margin would have well been worth it.

Dai

Sindri offered a smile and a wave as she started to head on out and, given the way she was walking it didn't take long for his gaze to trend downwards from the nape of her next, to her shoulder blades, to her gently swaying hips.

Whewwww, now wasn't that a sight? He knew he shouldn't stare but...

Dayum.

He exhaled sharply the moment she eventually moved out of sight, then blushed furiously, turned around, couched down, and held his head in his hands. By the water he was so friggin creepy thank Tariel she hadn't turned around and saw him gawking.

And thus ended both a truly eventful, yet uneventful, morning.