action; closed

[whiteas]

WHO: Weiss & Zuko
WHAT: A date!
WHEN: Friday, August 15th (backdated)
WHERE: A little Sichuan restaurant in Attleton Gate
WARNINGS: None?

[ Ever since the party, Weiss has been in a surprisingly pleasant mood despite certain circumstances. The party had, frankly, been exhausting. But fun! However, it wasn't what had put her in such a good mood for the week following it. What had was the fact that she was excited for Friday and her date with the guy who she kind of thought was kind of cute and totally had managed to escape any prying eyes (she hoped) to go meet him where they'd agreed.

Except, you know, she may have come a bit early. And possibly stood out waiting a little early in a dress in white instead of cream and a pair of fashionable boots (just in case she had to move-- the heels are nothing to her). Beneath the dress was a red petticoat-- just enough to give the dress a little oomph and protect her in case she needed to do any flips for whatever reason. Though her Genessia pendant was in a little purse (for whenever she needed it), she had a small necklace around her neck, matching the accent from her petticoat. Her usual hair crown accessory was where it always was, her hair tied back in her regular style.

Weiss opened her bag as she took her scroll out to check what time it was to see how much longer she would be waiting. She absolutely wasn't going to let Zuko be the one waiting on her. That much she had decided beforehand, but.. Well, she was getting impatient now, even if it was completely her fault. ]

Comments

[banishment]

We'll see if you're still saying that after we face Azula.

[ for while weiss did have a point, he also had one of his own where azula was concerned. he couldn't say how azula would react to the news that he was dating someone who wasn't mai, but he didn't see her reaction being anywhere close to positive. zuko wouldn't blame her if she decided he wasn't worth it after seeing how azula responded to them. ]

I'll try keep my head up for the rest of it.

[ he lets go of her hands when the waiter approaches them. he knows what he wants — yu xiang rou si — but he suspects that weiss likely doesn't. ] Do you need more time? [ or help? he can explain the dishes. ]

[whiteas]

Despite being the heiress of a company, I chose to become a huntress. One of the most dangerous jobs available that not everyone survives once they get out of school. Also if fire's involved all I need is for you to bend toward the ground when I say so and we can both get out easily.

[ It was a new move she had been developing with her team, so it wasn't perfected yet but she was confident enough with it that escaping Azula long enough to come up with a plan if she did decide to react violently? It should be pretty easy. Actually fighting Azula might be different, but it's better to avoid a confrontation if possible.

When the waiter arrives, Weiss honestly has no idea what anything is- but she knows how to order just the same. ]

What's the most popular dish?

[ Every restaurant has something they're known for doing best, and Weiss figures that's what she'll order and just.. be surprised when it gets there. ]

[banishment]

[ kung pao chicken is the waiter's response. zuko elaborates: ] Chicken, chili peppers, Sichuan peppercorns, various vegetables, peanuts, wine... I believe you can replace the peanuts with cashews if you want. [ zuko looks to the waiter and the man nods in confirmation. ]

I'll have Yu Xiang Rou Si and Huangshan Maofeng tea

[whiteas]

I'll have the Kung Pao chicken then..

[ It doesn't sound bad to her, and if it's the most popular then it's a good place to start. She looks more unsure about what Zuko just ordered though, since that mostly sounded like gibberish to her. ]

And water.

[banishment]

[ just ask him to write his name, weiss. or write anything. he'll give you traditional chinese characters instead of a latin alphabet. (why people in the avatar!verse write in chinese but speak in english, i'll never know...) ]

No tea? [ he teases as the waiter departs to place their order and get their drinks. ] Or are you waiting for me to make it for you?

[whiteas]

You're the one responsible for impressing me with tea.

[ If he starts writing things for her, she's probably going to make him do calligraphy for her whenever she needs something nice. ]

[banishment]

Challenge accepted.

[ as long as you find him a good brush and an inkwell. a pen would probably baffle the hell out of him. ]

As long as you follow through on your promise to show me what a film is.

[whiteas]

Let's finish this date before we worry about the next one.

[ So far Weiss was considering it mostly positive, though. Considering that her relationships with anyone don't tend to go smoothly, that little hiccup with the whole 'btw my sister might try to kill you for dating me' bit was honestly not the worst that could have happened. ]

So what exactly did you order?

[banishment]

Okay. I can do that.

[ zuko points to a sign in answer, hanging high over the entrance to the kitchens. yu xiang rou si may not be the restaraunt's most popular dish, but it is their special of the day. but of course, it reads "魚香肉絲," which zuko can read just fine, along with what it contains: 豬肉, 竹筍, 大蒜, 姜, 紹興酒, 辣椒, etc. of course, he doesn't know that weiss can't read a word of it. ]

[whiteas]

[ Weiss turns her head, her face falling when he points to the sign of equally confusing jibberish. ]

If I didn't know what it meant when you said it, what would make you think pointing to a sign in the same language would help?

[banishment]

You can't read that? [ obviously not, prince obvious. ] Pork, peppers, garlic, and ginger, for the most part.

[whiteas]

We're all from different worlds. I can't read every language from every world.

[ Weiss leans back in her chair, her hands folded in her lap now. ] I'm a very fast learner though, if you want to teach me some eventually.

[banishment]

We'll save that for our third date, provided Azula doesn't kill us first.

[ dinner, movie, and learning chinese. that's the plan, apparently.

their waiter returns, setting their drinks down in front of them. he vanishes to check on their food. ]

[whiteas]

[ Weiss takes a sip of her water once it's at the table, putting it off to the side. ]

Learning a language doesn't count as a date unless you're planning on having dates with me nearly every day.

[banishment]

And what if I am?

[ something of a bold question, spoken over the rim of the tea cup he's holding up to his face so he can savor the tea's aroma. ]

[whiteas]

Then you're going to have to ask nicely and some of them are probably going to have to be at the library or the arena.

[ It's not like she wants to ruin romantic time but she, for one, is not going to get behind on her studies. ]

Possibly shopping. Confidence will get you a lot [ unless you're Jaune ] but you are going to have to keep up with me.

[banishment]

Shopping? I don't think I've ever been shopping just to shop. [ really, he hasn't. ] We went through them, sometimes, but we always had attendants who knew our measurements and what we wanted and liked to go inside and get things for us. It wasn't exactly proper for us to get out of the palanquin in the shopping districts. Not that I haven't shopped before for things like food and clothes after we went into exile, but that was more necessity and less want and desire.

[ a shrug, a sip of his tea. ] I can do shopping. And I can do the arena, as long as you promise to spar me.

[whiteas]

Then it's about time that you discover the freedom of getting to buy whatever you want with your own money.

[ Of course, she has a lot less money here than she does in Vale. ]

I'll promise to spar you if you promise to go to Vale with me next time I need to buy Dust.

[ At this rate they're going to have an entire year of dates planned out before they even have their food. ]

[banishment]

Vale, as in the Vale from your world? [ oh, right. if the gates for it exist... ] I can do that. I'd like to see it, actually.

[ good thing the waiter just showed up to set their food down in front of them. zuko thanks the waiter and reaches for the chop sticks. there's a fork sitting on the napkin near his forearm, but he honestly has no idea why a utensil that looks like something that doesn't usually leave the kitchen is doing at a table. ]

[whiteas]

Yes. But no firebending in the stores.

[ Absolutely not. She doesn't want to die.

Either way, when the food gets there, Weiss is definitely reaching for the fork. She has no idea how to use chopsticks and has never needed to learn how. Which is probably why she's staring intensely at Zuko and waiting for him to use them to see if she can figure it out. Of course, to try to make it look like she's not just painstakingly awkwardly staring at him, she's folding her napkin on her lap while she does. ]

[banishment]

What, you think my answer to everything is to firebend at it?

[ not that he didn't do that at times, but still. the chopsticks sit easily between his fingers as he plucks at his food with the ease and skill of someone who's used nothing but since childhood. ]

[whiteas]

Do you really want me to bring up the balloon again?

[ Her assumption at this point is just that his instinct is to go new thing + fire = ????

..Yep, she's going to absolutely have to practice using chopsticks in the safety of her own home so that if Zuko ever actually asks her why she doesn't use them when they're out on a date (which she's hoping he doesn't today) she'll just be able to say she prefers her world's traditional utensils but she's skilled with them too. All she has to do is get through today without him asking and there won't be any question about how impressive she is.

Not that it's helping much as she puts a bite in her mouth and it's much hotter than she thought it would be and her incredibly pale skin actually looks like it's turning pink around the ears as she tries to stifle taking a deep breath and look as calm and neutral as humanly possible. ]

[banishment]

[ he glowers at her halfheartedly, because she has a point with the balloon. sometimes curiosity mingled with his pyrophile lifestyle. it was hard to deny that, especially when she'd already seen evidence of it. were toph here, he would be willing to put money on her doing the same thing with her earthbending. ]

Are you okay? I told you it was hot.

[ at least he isn't asking about why she isn't using the chopsticks. on the contrary, he's rather fascinated by her use of the fork. that at least explains what it was doing on the table. he's wondered that about restaurants for a while now, too timid and afraid of looking uncivilized if he spoke up and just asked someone. ]

[whiteas]

And I told you I can handle a little heat.

[ It did have a good flavor, even if she was presently counting down how long she would have to wait before she could drink half of a cup of water that it wouldn't be incredibly obvious that it was because of the how spicy the food was.

It probably looks like she's trying way too hard to hold this in. Her eyes are even watering a little. Only a little! ]

[banishment]

It's okay if you can't. Here. [ zuko reaches out and wiggles his fingers in a near come hither fashion. steam rises off her food and into his hand. ] I can only take the heat off. As for the spice... [ he reaches for the sugar shaker. ] Sprinkle some sugar on your tongue. That usually helps.

[ he's not belittingly her. not at all. he's fully aware of the fact that fire nation food is too much for some people, that it's an acquired taste and not big with those from other nations. as a kid, there were dishes that were too hot for him to handle, but the sugar trick usually helped him make it through meals without fleeing the table or dissolving into a pathetic mess of unprincely tears. ]