[Gift] A Night of Deadly Courting

The evening was cool, a gentle ease into the cold of winter from fall. Nature itself wasn’t making many sounds, but tucked into a small patch of bushes and trees, a gentle, low wheezing sound could be heard. A rather peculiar looking Drakiri, whom many knew as Decay, had decided to chill on a small bed of plush grasses and leaves that her charge Fae had gathered for her earlier in the day. Fae had somehow come up with the idea of a “blind date” for her, in an attempt to get her out of the Casino for a little bit. The two eyes on the mushroom shelf of her face blinked, independently of each other, as she waited.  

Bargast had already met up with her earlier in the day. The suitor had brought her a rabbit, in the hopes of garnering brownie points and affection, however as with most interactions with others, all Decay did was simply stare into him and let out a wheeze. Currently, Bargast was off trying to formulate another scheme to woo the deadly lady. Courting was something that took practice, and while he liked to think that he was good at it, his shortcomings with Decay earlier in the day had him feeling a little infantile.  

With a rough snort of air, the brown colored male had his head buried in a patch of flowers, or at least.... what could pass as flowers. The season was not the right one for pretty flower growth, but he at least wanted to give her SOMETHING in terms of flowers. As much as he might like to win Decay over, Fae had mentioned to him that Decay didn’t get out much, and as a result, hadn’t had much of a chance to interact with other Drakiri outside of her personal bubble. Odds be damned, Bargast was intent on making a memorable impact on Decay’s social life. The big male was a little taken aback however when he pulled his head out of the flowers to find the light of the day quickly fading. With a slight panic, he drove his maw back into the foliage and roughly grabbed a bunch of flowers, ripping them roughly from their bases, a lot of the stems snapping in the middle before they could break away from the base of the plant.  

He could hear the ever constant soft wheeze that came from Decay’s direction as he made his way back to her. He at least had that going for him; she hadn’t run off yet when left unattended. For Decay’s perspective, Fae had told her not to leave before the night was over. The sweet child meant well, and only wanted to help Decay out, but Decay felt like she was fine. Regardless, she would stay and humor the brown and green male, if only for Fae’s peace of mind. Bargast didn’t seem like he wanted to go down without making a true effort, to his credit.  

Decay’s eyes blinked out of time with each other still, glancing up slowly as she heard Bargast returning. When he broke through to the small clearing they shared alone currently, his head was pulled back and his chest was puffed out proudly. His mouth was closed around a bunch of lack luster flowers, and his feet seemed to bounce around, as if he was attempting some sort of dance. Decay knew that this was some sort of mating dance attempt, his last ditch attempt at sweeping her off her hooves so to speak, though that point remained currently moot as she was already laying on the ground. She wheezed as he bounced from hoof to hoof, watching as he turned his flank to face her, his feet prancing as he shook his mane and tail, stretching out his green colored wings as wide as he could in his display. 

One certainly could not say that Bargast wasn’t making an honest effort. The male would have dropped any other lady to their knees by now and had them playing in his hooves. Decay was different however. She had very few purposes in her existence and she did those purposes well. She had no need for a big social circle, and certainly did not have the time nor the desire for such romantic tomfoolery. Though in the back of her mind, she knew that if she played into Bargast’s advances, it would make little Fae worry less. Given the circumstances, it might be something she could come to enjoy, if given the right criteria.  

So she granted Bargast a reaction. Accompanying her usual wheeze, the female tilted her head a little, almost curious what he might continue to do if she didn’t give him a favorable reaction soon. Much to Decay’s surprise however, Bargast’s movements slowed to a stop as he watched Decay’s reactions. Maybe he was going about this all wrong? Decay did not seem receptive to his normal flirtations, and she was certainly not the average Drakiri. Maybe he should be approaching this with a slow and steady pace, like as if he was trying to care for an exotic, rare orchid? He gave a slight chuckle at his own antics, realizing that maybe he wasn’t as good at this as he once thought he was.  

With that in mind, Bargast dropped the usual theatrics in favor of a more personal, oddly intimate approach. He laid down in front of Decay, and released the bouquet of shriveling flowers from the grip of his jaw in front of her legs, giving her a little offering of them, instead of parading them around for her. The eyes in her shelf face seemed to squint a little, but they were accompanied by very short, sharp wheezes, that Bargast could make out as a soft, albeit gargled laughter. His face perked up at his presumed success, and he leaned forward and placed a little lick on her horns, being very careful to avoid her spores and goop. He wanted to woo and court her, not die from her toxins. As Decay allowed him the touch of her horn, she let out an airy wheeze, and decided to give in to his advances, and at least give herself the experience. She could decide for herself if she liked it or not, and it would make Fae happy that she tried something new.  

And with Decay becoming receptive to Bargast’s advances, the night continued on as the two got to know each other better, on a more personal level.