Tsunami prepares for a date with a special someone! Little does she know, the experience awaiting her is nothing like she could have ever imagined.
Tsunami. Was. Terrified.
And that didn’t happen very often, take it from her! She was brave and she was strong and she was good under pressure and… and….
And she had no idea how to do makeup.
“Darkstalker’s sake!” she growled, burying her face in her talons and slouching over in front of her mirror. “This is so stupid!”
“What’s stupid?” asked Riptide. He was lounging on the cushions behind her, chewing on his quill as he pondered his latest architectural design.
Sitting up, she glared at him.
“What?” He raised his talons defensively, adopting that stupid, dumb, hi-my-name-is-Riptide-and-I-forgot-what-I’m-supposed-to-be-doing-again expression on his face.
“Why are you even here right now?” she quipped. “You’re being so incredibly useless.”
“If you didn’t want me here, then why did you invite me?” he retorted.
“I wanted you to come help me get ready for a date, not whatever the hell you’re doing now!”
He guffawed. “Bold of you to assume that I’m actually helpful when it comes to physical appearance.”
“Well, there’s only one of us here who actually knows how to do makeup, and it’s NOT the one in a dress!”
“Fine…” Riptide sighed and heaved himself up from the cushions, padding over to her. He picked up a brush and dipped it into the little vial of liquid eyeliner. “Just close your eyes and stay still.”
Tsunami obliged, closing her eyes as he applied the makeup to her face. She took a deep breath, steeling herself, trying to calm her racing heart.
“What are you even nervous about, anyway? You both like each other.” Riptide commented. “The date will be fine! Just… be yourself.”
“Moons, Riptide, I can’t believe you just said that,” Tsunami groaned.
They bantered back and forth as Riptide finished her makeup, applying spiked eyeliner and tracing around her eyes with red pigment to accentuate their brilliant turquoise. Her eyelids were shadowed with gold. He touched up her face and, with some fancy highlights here and there, made her snout look longer and more elegant. At Tsunami’s request, he left the scar on her cheek alone. Finally, he helped her with her jewelry, and fixed her dress on her back.
Riptide stepped back, admiring his work. “Twirl,” he instructed, and this time, she obliged without complaint.
She spun in a circle, her scarlet dress unfurling behind her. The outfit was attached around her neck with a leaf-shaped charm and was draped across her back in between her wings, coming to rest over her tail. Two silky vermillion sashes hung under her wings and silk wraps loosely enfolded her ankles. They shimmered in the fading daylight. Her horns were wrapped with golden pearls, and on her wrists she wore intricate, golden bands studded with rubies.
“You look stunning,” RIptide marveled, beaming with pride.
“You think so?” Tsunami turned to look at herself in the mirror. “...yeah. I guess I do.” She looked back at him. “Thanks, Riptide.”
“Anytime, Tsunami.” He opened his wings, and she leaned in for a hug, resting her forehead against his. “Fortune always favors the bold,” he quoted. “It’s going to be great.”
❁❁❁
Later, when recounting the date, Tsunami would say that she remembered few details about the night. She would snarl to hide the red creeping into her face and lash her tail to ward off prying questions, but really, she remembered everything.
She remembered how she met her dragon in a moonlit rainforest clearing, surrounded by fireflies and softly running streams.
She remembered how she was stunned speechless by the beautiful pink and gold silks her dragon wore, and how soft they were when they brushed against her scales.
She remembered the dinner they ate, a cleverly fantastic meal of whale and squid combined with sweet, flavorful fruits and tasty spices, but she also remembered how the colorful food paled in comparison to the dragon in front of her.
She remembered the musical they went to, a showcase of talent and a stunning menagerie of different dragons telling their different stories to the world. She remembered how her dragon slid a wing behind her back and gently drew her closer until they were pressed comfortably together, quick-paced hearts beating as one.
She remembered how afterwards she and her dragon sat together on a cliff overlooking the rainforest, listening to the frogs and watching the moon shimmer on the faraway ocean, their tails tightly entwined, her head comfortably resting on the other’s shoulder, breathing in sync.
She remembered the way her heart jolted when her dragon bent down and gently peered into her eyes and slowly… slowly… their mouths met together and there was an explosion of emotions and love and warmth and all she could think about was her dragon and… and…
She remembered falling asleep listening to the sound of her dragon’s heartbeat, her head gently resting in the crook of the other’s neck, a feeling of true warmth spreading through her entire body.
And she remembered, just before falling asleep, whispering for the first time words that she would repeat over and over for the rest of her life.
“I love you… my Cobra Lily.”
Thanks for reading! I put quite a bit of effort into this little story :)