(^^' oh mah god, they're adorable together! :3)

Talia blinked when she noticed his cheeks darkened, and shyly pushed a strand of hair behind her ear. Her own cheeks warming a bit. He was cute..

Once they ate and everything, she waited for him by the door as he scurried off to his room. She smiled when he came back wearing a jacket. She followed him outside and raised her arm to shield her eyes a bit, taking in the sea air. She missed her parents.. Her mother. She was still upset with her father. No, she had to focus! She was here to prove her father wrong- to prove humans weren't as bad as merpeople thought! Talia blinked and glanced at him when he voiced a question.

She lowered her gaze and the arm that shielded her eyes, and shyly touched her fingertips together. "I haven't experienced eating pastries.. My parents didn't allow that kind of food in our house." -again, she wasn't technically lying. Her cheeks graced with a rosy tint, somewhat preparing for laughter.

Kael looked at her in disbelief. "Are- are you guys allergic to bread?" he stammered as he tried to think of reasons why pastries were never allowed. But she ate the dumplings (right?) and the soup. "Is it a gluten thing?" Just as he was about to ramble, the scent of baking bread wafted through. He turned his attention towards the small bakery that had just opened for the day.

He looked back to her then to the shop before wearing a determined look. "Well, I'm sure you'll find something you can eat. They make a lot of stuff." He grinned as he offered his arm. "Shall we?"

Talia shook her head lightly when he asked about a bread allergy. "I ate those dumplings you brought me, and they were delicious!" She said with a smile. She didn't want to give him the idea she was weird, by trying to think something uo, so she instead she didn't say much else. How could she explain that they didn't have bread where she lived? When the smells from the bakery entered her nose, her cheeks lit up.

She blinked when his expression changed, and she nodded lightly, offering him a small smile. "I'm sure of it." She said reassuringly, gently looping her arm around his offered one.

A smile crept upon Kael's lips as she wound her arm around his. He brought her inside the shop and took her around the shop, introducing every type of bread they found. "Pick as many as you'd like. It's on me." He grinned as he himself scanned the shop for something to eat. The buttered croissant at the corner looked very inviting, as did the spinach and bacon quiche.

He grabbed a tray from one of the tables and took the croissant he'd been eyeing before looking at Talia, waiting for her to choose.

Talia scanned over the items behind the glass display case and made sure to read the little cards by each treat. There was so many to choose from! This was nothing like back home, where mostly everyone are kelp salads with bits of coral in them. She spotted a golden muffin with little green-ish bits in them, and glanced at the card; 'Apple Muffin' He had said she could get as many as she wanted, but she figured out pretty quick that each card has a number on it.

They had a market back home, so she wasn't obvious to the idea of having to pay for things, so she tried to stay near the items with a lower numbers. "Two of these apple muffins please." She said to the person behind the counter, then glanced at Kael. She wasn't about to spend all his money, he probably earned it!

Kael paid for the food and brought Talia to an unoccupied table. He took a bite of the croissant before looking expectantly at the girl in front of him. "So, what do you think?" He asked after she had eaten with maybe just a little too much excitement. He was about to add more before the music from the outside halted his thoughts. He turned to look outside and his already wide smile grew wider. "I didn't know it was today." He muttered to himself before turning back to Talia.

"You moved here at the right time." He smiled at her. "I've completely forgotten about the festival. You see, every mid-summer, they celebrate the birth of the sun and end the night with a fireworks show."

He stood from the table and offered a hand, the excitement barely contained in his grin. "Would you like to see it with me?"

Talia watched him for a moment, before picking up one of her muffins and bitting into it. Her eyes and cheeks lit up at the fluffy goodness and an Apple piece but her taste buds. It was like nothing she'd ever tasted! She chewed and swallowed, blinking when he asked. "It's delicious!" She chirped innocently, a shy smile across her lips. She took another bite, and then another as she blissfully ate her muffin.

She paused when she too heated the music from outside and glanced at him when he began speaking about a festival. She knew of that festival. It was one of the times she liked to surface, just to hear the music! Now, she could actually witness it personally. Her cheeks turned a light shade of pink when he asked if she'd go with him, and soon she completely forgot about not feeling well. Was he..asking her on a date? She wondered, hence why she was blushing. Talia shyly pushed a strand of hair behind her ear and lightly took hold of his offered hand.

"I'd love to, Kael." She said, wearing a small bashful smile. "After I finished my muffin." She teased, releasing his hand and popping the rest of her muffin in her mouth to eat. Then she got down and got a bag from the cashier for her untouched muffin, and glanced at Kael once she was ready. "Now we can go. " She added to her tease and offered him a sweet smile.

(( Reminded me of when Ariel swam to the surface to watch the crew partying hard on the deck Cute~ ))

Kael blushed in embarrassment when he noticed that she wasn't finished with her food yet, scolding himself for being too excited to bring her around. The embarrassment quickly turned into pure glee when she told him that they can go and he led her to the venue. The streets were closed to vehicles and stalls were lined up on the sides. The main street was clear, preparing for the floats that would pass through. People were already gathering around it, waiting patiently behind the white ribbons.

"Come on!" he grinned as he brought her to the front of the line. There were a lot of people but not enough to make it feel uncomfortable; and as they stood behind the ribbon, a voice boomed from beside them and Kael was 'attacked' by a powerful arm around his neck.

"Kael! Haven't seen you since the exams." The man grinned showing his perfect teeth behind his perfect smile. He turned his perfect eyes to look at Talia and his perfect eyebrow raised in curiosity. "Who's this?" He moved towards her and gently clasped her hand in his. "Gareth. Gareth Layne. A pleasure to meet such a beautiful flower as you."

((hehe, I couldn't resist lol :3))

Talia giggled when she noticed the blush spread across his cheeks. He was too cute! She easily walked with him as they ventured down the street to get to the festival's location. She carefully followed him to the front of the already gathered crowd. She couldn't keep herself from smiling like an innocent child. She was actually going to see the festival up close!

However, her moment of bliss crashed when an unfamiliar voice boomed behind them, and a man suddenly took hold of her hands. A dark red blush painted her cheeks at the action. "T-Talia.. I just moved to town a couple of days ago." She fumbled over her name briefly, clearly she was uncomfortable. Did Kael know this guy?

(( So sorry for disappearing T_T Just got back in uni and got the full load of subjects for the sem. ))

"That's enough, Gareth." Kael half frowned-half smiled as he pulled his friend off of Talia. "What did I tell you about personal space?" His eyebrow rose at his friend.

"That I should only enter the space if they're okay with it." Gareth's perfect lips pouted as his perfect puppy dog eyes pleaded at Kael. "It's just been too long since I last saw you, kinda got excited."

"The exam was less than three weeks ago."

"And that was three weeks without my best bud."

"I-" Kael sighed as he held his temples. "I've got nothing to say. Where's Lucile?"

Gareth shrugged as he looked around with his perfect eyes and muttered something about her being right beside him just a few seconds ago before a pair of slender arms were wrapped around his perfect neck from behind. "Rrrright here!" A girl enthusiastically replied. "Hi Kael!" She greeted before her eyes landed on Talia. "And who's this? I didn't know you had a girlfriend!"