Where'd I go wrong? [Shizzy!]

[Rhi-Rhi]

Teidra shook her head at his question. No, she hadn't read that part. She hadn't read the menu at all since she didn't know what any of the stuff even was. Instead, she'd just ordered what they had order, and Bianca had ordered the mar-gur-rida while Mazz had ordered the fish and chips, so she'd just taken something from both of them and trusted they knew what was tasty. Which they had! Both had been really good.

She just hadn't known about the mar-gur-rida!

"Sorry," Teidra whispered as Mazz worried over her, rubbing her face, which felt quite hot. From the way he was acting, he seemed to think it was his fault or that he'd done something terribly wrong, since he was acting so concerned and awkward again. That was when it occurred to her that, maybe, he just didn't get it. Maybe it was another cultural difference. Wait. Bianca was drinking the mar-gur-rida, too, and they both had the same things in it, right? And Bianca was female...and she was also currenly giving Teidra a strange yet curious look, one eyebrow arched.

Teidra sank back in her seat and her blush deepened. Maybe this was normal here. Why else would Bianca drink it, too?

She took another long gulp of water, hunched her shoulders, and grabbed a fry and took a bite.

"Sorry, Mazz...I didn't mean to worry you. It's just..." She flicked her eyes toward the margarita. "I've never had it before...only males drink alcohol on Ren'unis, and only during certain times. Sometimes females, too, but not much." There were female hunters, after all, those females that were built larger and stronger than the average short, lithe, and delicate Tuathi female. The reverse was true, as well--some males were built more delicately. While gender roles were rather strict in Tuathi society, sometimes exceptions were made.

Swallowing down her fry, Teidra tilted her head back and closed her eyes while Bianca smirked. "Heh, you got the poor girl all gender confused now, Mazz," she commented with a snort. Cute as the Tuathi girl was--she was also very, very strange in Bianca's opinion and too much of a door-mat from what she'd witnessed of her behavior.

Those kinds of women drove her insane. Mainly because she'd been one at one point in her life, and she sure as hell wasn't going back. She pushed her plate away from her and folded her hands on the table. "So, what're your plans for the rest of the day?"

[Anonymous]

Well at least Mazz knew from all of this that she would in the very least start reading the ingredients. He'd rather have her ask him a bunch of questions then getting her drunk. That would just look really bad, and more so with his mind telling him to let loose. It was a vacation after all. Though, she didn't look like she had hated the drink or the food at least. He was glad that she liked at least something then.

"What? I-it's okay Teidra. You don't h-have to be sorry or anything y-y'know." He told her, his hand still making small circles on her back. He didn't want her to think that he was mad at her. He still did think it might have been his fault though considering....well he should have asked her but...it...he just...never crossed his mind. Argh. He'd have to be a lot more careful really. A lot...more careful.

"Oh well...most of er...human culture it's alright for any gender to enjoy alcohol." Some...enjoyed a lot more of it. But he wasn't really worried about Teidra becoming an alcoholic. That was just silly. Besides, her people probably looked down on that sort of thing, just like his own people did. Though, the fact that only males got to drink it was a little confusing but...then again that's what her whole culture was all about. Having the men reigning over the females. He didn't like it but that was just...how her people acted.

"What? It's...I mean...our culture isn't like...that. Genders aren't oppressed after all...well...not as much." There were some places, like Aedolis after all, but that was...just one place. For the most part, he believed, the Sol System was equal opportunity. That's how he had been raised anyway. Mostly by his mother, and she was a strong, very scary woman. Very...scary.

Mazz rubbed the back of his neck as he looked to Bianca. "I don't...really know I mean it's getting late...well...It's only seven but...I don't know?" He coughed, folding his hands in his lap as he looked downward at the table. What could they go do? The resort was going to be quiet now, and it wasn't like...well...it wasn't dangerous so they could go for a walk! Yeah, that was a safe little topic wasn't it? He could do that. Besides, a nice cool night, walking through the sparse forest of the resort? That had always been a nice time as he remembered.

"Well I was thinking of going for a walk. It's not a big island but the scenery is nice, and the air is always a nice cool and comfortable temperature." Mazz told her as he looked up finally. If they didn't want to come with him that would be okay really. Though of course, he'd really want them to come with him, well, Teidra anyway. As for Bianca he wasn't really sure but...she was being nice enough at least right?

[Rhi-Rhi]

Teidra wrinkled her nose and stared at Mazz in confusion. Oppressed genders? Huh? That flew right over her head as, honestly, she simply had no concept of 'oppression' or 'inequality' and didn't even know what it meant. All she knew was hierarchy, and she'd observed that even humans had their own hierarchies. Mazz deferred to other scientists just as Tuathi females deferred to males and all Tuathi deferred to their elders. To her, it was all the same thing: it was all a matter of respect and power balances, only in her society it was based on age and gender and in Mazz's it was based on...well, she hadn't been able to figure that out yet.

Mazz's hierarchy didn't make too much sense.

"We're not oppressed, either, in my culture," Teidra said slowly, frowning. Mazz didn't understand, but she couldn't expect him to. They were both literally worlds apart in their thinking.

It was the sort of statement that made Bianca want to take the girl by the shoulders, give her a good shake, and tell her to wake up. She'd observed the submissive way she behaved around Mazz and it irked her to no end. Bloody door-mat women. Eugh.

She refrained, however. It wasn't her business nor her problem and she wouldn't be knowing either of them for very long.

Bianca raised an eyebrow as she listened to Mazz speak--which was a complete mess as he tripped over his words. Why, she hadn't a clue; he was acting all flustered and unless she'd really missed something, the dinner had been as tame as tame could be. While getting him riled had been entertaining, him acting all nervous for seemingly no reason was a little...bothersome . It was almost making her nervous. Finally, though, he seemed to gain control of himself and speak in a steady, normal fashion and she relaxed a little.

"Mmm, well, a walk sounds nice to me. It's always a good way to work off the calories after a big meal!" Bianca said with a smile, rising to her feet and arching her back as she stretched her arms over her head. Ahh, sitting for too long always made her stiff. "You can be the tour guide, eh? Since it sounds like you've done it before. Well, once you get the tab, at least."

That she said with a sly wink. "Thanks for dinner."

[Anonymous]

Mazz just didn't really know how to explain it to her. She just didn't understand it. Her society, males were the dominant ones after all. Here it was just...everyone was...well...mostly equal. In different places it really was uh...well...differe nt. Aedolis had it's own ways, Edanith, Teinar, TRIM...hell, a lot of the people that he deferred to were women. He was also much more likely to listen to his mother, who was a whole lot scarier than his father, who was a bit nicer...

"I know it's...uh...just different with my people. Our people would think that yours oppress women in a way...but um...never mind it's not really important." Mazz told her as he rubbed the back of his neck. Ugh. How awkward was this anyway? He had no idea how to explain it to her. Maybe it was best to not.

It was a little worrisome, with Bianca being around with Teidra. Bianca didn't look like one who would be um...dominated. She was very outspoken, very...uh...well. Yeah. She was very forward after all. He really hoped that Bianca didn't decide to try and set Teidra straight, or that she started giving her a lot of ideas...after all, he was having a lot of trouble just introducing her to a bunch of new ideas. It was ending up to be quite a lot of um...well, strain on him.

Ah! Not like that of course!

"Well, I've walked this island quite a bit...they rotate all the fauna and designs every year so it's never the same." That was something amazing really. They were just able to change up the flora and animals every year. Sometimes there were repeats but the island was never the same. He smiled as a waiter came over to him, running his hand over a data pad, allowing him to painlessly pay for the meal. The drinks were always a little expensive but...he was the one who wanted to take them out for dinner.

A blush spread along his cheeks as he coughed uncomfortably. "It's no problem Bianca...I'm glad you enjoyed it. Are you okay Teidra? Are you up for a walk?" He really hoped she was. He didn't like the thought of going outside with just Bianca. That seemed like a very...bad idea. It was really surprising how this was all turning out to be. He'd make it through this week, he would have to. It was going to be a very difficult one, with all this temptation around him. Ugh. Teidra had been bad enough but then...Bianca was a whole other variable. One of those very scary ones.

"It'll be nice to get outside. The night air is just perfect."

[Rhi-Rhi]

Bianca stared at Mazz as he blushed some more, and then looked down at her clothes to make sure everything was tucked in where it should be. Yep, she was still covered, all right, so why was he blushing? She'd just thanked him for the meal. Oh, hell, maybe he was still blushing over that stunt he'd pulled with Teidra, you know, making her lose her bikini top and everything. She had to admit, that had been a pretty cruel stunt to pull on a total stranger and it wasn't something she would normally do, but she'd also been bored out of her mind and it was easy entertainment. She'd needed a good laugh.

In retrospect, it hadn't been a good idea because now she couldn't have a normal conversation without him blushing. It was going to drive her nuts, but she'd just grin and bear it. She wasn't after him for his personality or looks, after all--well, looks to a certain extent. He looked well off, and if he could invite a random stranger to a nice dinner and pay for everything including some pricey drinks, that meant he had money. Even better. That meant when she sneaked on board his ship, the destination would be nice. Excellent. She'd have to find out more about that.

But for now, this target sounded promising--and not psycho and creepy, at least. She had other targets she was monitoring on this island, as she liked to keep her options open, but most of them were staying longer than he was and that automatically put him more in her favor. She had to get off this damned planet as soon as she could, and it didn't really matter where they were going, as long as it wasn't, like...TRIM.

The easy thing to do, of course, was to just ask if she could hitch a ride, but she didn't really want to do that. That meant being a passenger and having to socialize more and all that crap, and even if she was being social now, it was only so she could get information on her potential transporters and keep dibs on them, make sure they weren't leaving earlier than they'd said. Once she had that, she could go back to ignoring them for the rest of the week.

Unless she got bored.

She peered down at Mazz and clasped her hands behind her back, rocking a little on her hooves. "Well? You're sure talking a lot about this nice walk thing, but you gonna get up and actually take us on it or what?" she asked, sticking her tongue out at him. "Stop telling and start showing, man!"

Teidra looked over at Mazz when he asked if she was okay, then nodded and, like Bianca, slowly rose to her feet. She had to hold onto the back of her chair for balance as she was still a little woozy, but she didn't feel that sick anymore. The water and food had helped dilute the alcohol some, but she was still feeling the effects.

Getting out and going for a walk would probably help. Fresh air usually did feel better, and she liked the outdoors more. Something about this place felt rather artificial, but it was still a drastic change from TRIM, where everything was metal and plastic and the "sunlight" was from fluorescent light bulbs.

Rotated flora and fauna, though? That sounded bizarre. "Are the plants and animals real?" she asked, rubbing her head. "And...there are no predators, right?"

[Anonymous]

Mazz was going to, he hoped at best, to try and subdue his blushing. At least when they were outside he could blush because it was cool, or in the very least, just stop blushing. The walk would help him insanely he was hoping. All the night air and stars would clear his mind at this point. He smiled lightly, trying to get rid of that damned blush. He looked toward Bianca, who just looked...adorable as she rocked on her feet...er...hooves, with her hands behind her back like that. "Oh right...I will then." He really didn't want to say 'I'll start showing alright.' because that would be just...yeah it would...um...be bad. It was dirty.

This is what happens when your child grows up with very little contact.

He was in his thirties, he should be able to control himself. He was having troubles but damn it he would figure a way to do it. He just had to keep his mind off of everything. Not read deeply into anything. That way he'd be alright!

He could handle that...yeah.

"Yes, all the plants and animals are real, and there are no predators. It's a predator free zone." After all, this was a vacation spot for employees, it was meant for people to relax. If you put a bunch of vicious creatures here, it could end in disaster, like sending even more stressed out employees back to the station. The whole object was to relax them so when they returned, they could be at peak efficiency once more.

Mazz took a deep breath as he led the ladies outside, careful with Teidra as she seemed a bit unstable still. It was crisp outside, this must have been later in the year, it was a bit cooler than he remembered, but it wasn't bad, it was nice, just right even. He could hear small insects and nocturnal animals all around them, even from inside the hotel compound still. It was only a short walk until they were on a dirt path into the forest. A few glowing objects darted lazily in the forest, the fireflies and such with their luminescent bodies. Things were just so peaceful here, there was no worry, no tests to run, nothing. It was just...

Enjoyable.

"See, no predators out here Teidra. It's just us, the small critters and bugs, and then the stars." Ah, he enjoyed the stars. To think how far away some of those little points of light were. He was rather...happy right now. His blush had faded, and he seemed...calmer. His muscles weren't tensed, he already started to seem much more relaxed than he had been inside the restaurant.

There were people there after all, and with...Bianca and Teidra around, it was not a very...good place to be. In case any  more...accidents happened. Like Teidra shredding his pants again. Ugh.

No, don't think of it. Just relax.

He took a deep breath as he walked, smelling the sweet air as some of the nocturnal flowers opened into their bloom. So peaceful.