A Date on Valentines Day (Itori)

It was Valentines day in Rose Garden and one man was currently confused and oddly hopeful, Sol had never really had anyone to spend Valentines day with and though he was looking for  romantic partner he had yet to have much luck considering his profession. He found out that he could go thru a service to get a date and despite the little voice in the back of his head telling him it was a bad idea the slayer and gone and set up a blind date. The slayer was currently at where they had told him to go in front of a nice resturant and then they had them set of for dancing afterwards.

To say Sol was nervous was an understatement, he had never really been on a date and most girls he ran into were either not to his liking or they were light mages which was not good for them or him.He hoped that this would be different, the slayer was dressed very nice in a black suit with a black vest and tie and a black fedora was placed upon his head,the finally part of it was a black coat that the slayer wore over his white shirt.”I hope this goes well I’m not sure what I was thinking” he muttered to himself as he waited

Outfit:

A date.

It was a very strange thing that Itori was apparently doing today. It wasn't even her idea. She had been planning to spend the day cooking, maybe trying out some new recipes that she had thought of earlier. However before she could get started her sisters had suddenly pushed her out of the guild and told her that she was going to meet somebody for a date, leaving Itori no opportunity to ask how, why, or argue against the whole idea. Not that it was a horrible idea, but it had definitely not been part of the fox girl's plans for the day. However her sisters had been extremely adamant about the idea, so now she was walking towards where she was apparently going to meet somebody who would help her enjoy the evening. They hadn't really told her anything about the person she was going to meet either, except that it was a man and that he was of the right age. Or at least, the right age if one looked at Itori's biological age instead of how many years she had been alive. Not that she was planning to make that matter on some random date, but it looked like her sisters were thinking ahead.

Before she had been bodily removed from the guild hall (or as close to bodily as makes no difference) her sisters had also gone through the trouble of making her dress extra nice for this date, which made Itori wonder just what they were planning. Her normal clothes were good enough for pretty much every occasion, so what were the two of them expecting from this that they made her wear something more expensive, and most likely more fragile? They should know that Itori wasn't the kind to start getting close to a stranger that quickly. However they hadn't explained anything, leaving Itori just wondering as they went through her (somewhat limited) wardrobe and put her in the new clothes before pushing her out and telling her the address where she'd meet her date for the evening. The fox girl had stood in front of the guild hall for a while, wondering whether she should try to get back in, but eventually she had decided that if she didn't go her sisters would keep pestering her the entire rest of the day, not allowing her to return to what she had been planning. That and since she had already been pushed inside those clothes she'd rather not have to wash them for no reason. She hadn't been given much of a choice, but she might as well see what this was all about.

Walking towards the place where they were to meet Itori looked around. She was a bit later since she had to find her way, so he was most likely already here and waiting for her. Well, males usually were the ones that waited for the females anyway, so that shouldn't be a problem. Now that she was here she was starting to wonder what kind of person was waiting for her. She wasn't expecting this to lead to anything, but with some luck her sisters had at least found somebody who could actually make her enjoy the evening instead of some dimwitted human who just wanted some equally dimwitted female. If that was the case she'd just sent him spinning for a while by filling his head with illusions before going back the guild hall and telling her sisters that they could at least have tried to back up their words with something more interesting. On the other hand, her sisters weren't stupid. They would most certainly have tried their best to give her some interesting male to be with.

Eventually she saw what she believed to be her date. He looked kinda interesting. At least it was clear he was taking this date seriously, seeing how he had dressed himself sharply and was looking nervous. He was quite handsome, although Itori wondered why he had green hair, of all things. Not that it looked bad, but green wasn't a usual hair colour. However that wasn't the most important part. If she had to go by looks alone he was passable, but she had to make sure that he was also interesting as a person before she could actually see herself having fun on this date.

Walking forwards Itori approached Sol until she was several feet away from him, at which point she tapped the ground with one foot to draw his attention, her three white fox tails swirling behind her as she waited for his response. Once he turned towards her she would bow, a deep bow during which she'd see how he would response to her appearance and her behaviour. It shouldn't take too long before he would react to the fact that she was, rather obviously, a fox girl. Some human males liked that, some didn't. The first reaction was important. After he was done reaction to her being a fox girl he'd most likely notice that she hadn't said a thing. Humans tended to pick up on that. This is where it would become tricky, since honestly Itori wasn't sure how she could properly date some stranger when she wasn't even capable of proper speech, something which was quite important when dealing with humans. Still, her sisters had gone through the trouble of setting this up for her, even if Itori didn't have a clue why they would have done that to begin with. Sure, she wanted a mate since she had felt kind of lonely travelling alone all those years, but finding a mate should be her own job (she thought), and she didn't think she had given them any signs that she might like going out with somebody.

But since they had gone this far she might as well respect their efforts and go out with this man, and see if it would actually be an enjoyable evening. The meeting place was in front of a restaurant, so that was at least a good start. Good food meant a happy Itori.

((Sorry for the delay.))

Outfit:

Hearing a tapping Sol  turned in the direction of the sound and saw a  white haired fox girl standing a few feet away from him before she bowed deeply to him. Seeing that as the hint that  she was his date the slayer moved forward and  walked over untill she was a few feet away from him and he bowed back to her trying to be polite.”you must be Itori I’m Sol Terumi pleased to meet you” he said finding no reason to be rude to the girl. Sol was not one for interactions with humans apart from his guild members but around others like Itori and other Non humans Sol could actually be pleasant to be around. He glanced at her for a moment and her fox features along with her outfit made her look very pretty in the demons eyes.

Sol then noticed that the girl didn’t speak  it didn’t seem like she was doing it to be rude for all the green haired man knew the girl had lost the ability to speak, he started to try and think of ways for them to communicate but  at the moment he figured they should at least head inside and order something. Sol offered his hand to the fox girl as he spoke”Shall we head inside? He asked as he waited for her to take his hand, if she did he would lead her to the door before opening it for her. So far  he was feeling rather good the girl was pretty and to top it off she wasn’t human like him the slayer thought he might actually have some fun tonight.

As they  entered the restaurant Sol noticed that the lightning was soft and there was some music playing in the background, it was rather romantic and he had to give the dating service credit this was a good way to start things off.

(Its cool ^^)

Itori straightened and nodded when Sol introduced himself. It was a good thing that her sisters had at least gone through the trouble of telling her date her name, otherwise this could have become quite awkward. Not knowing the name of the one you're going out with would only become a hindrance, and seeing how the Kumiho couldn't actually speak having her sisters take care of that problem was a blessing. She still wasn't sure why her sisters had gone through the trouble of arranging this for her, but at least she could be thankful that they had been thorough. They hadn't just planned to give her something to do for the evening which didn't actually mean anything and which wouldn't draw her interest. Whatever their motivation they must genuinely have thought that this was a good idea, and that they should do their best to prepare it as well as they could when they couldn't ask Itori for her opinion on anything to keep it a surprise.

As for Sol himself, he wasn't human. He might be hiding it, but Itori wasn't easily fooled, especially because she had ways of looking at people which bypassed any normal disguises they might have. What he exactly was she couldn't really tell, but that he wasn't a human was clear to her. Which she didn't mind. She didn't like humans that much, so the fact that Sol wasn't one was only a point in his favour. Of course now Itori was curious and wanted to know what his true nature was, but it would be rude to just try and figure that out from the very get go. He was acting polite and friendly, without showing any of that foolishness some humans tended to show in situations like this. He might have looked nervous when she approached him, but now that she was here it looked like he had calmed down somewhat. She might try to ask him later on, but for now she would accept that she couldn't know everything and respect him by just trying to enjoy herself on this date. She didn't know anything about him yet, but maybe they could figure out a way to communicate and she could start asking him questions.

When he offered her a hand before entering the restaurant Itori only hesitated for a moment before silently nodding, taking his hand carefully. She followed him obediently, smiling softly as she waited to see what this restaurant looked like from the inside. From the outside it looked like a high class restaurant, a place where even the nobles wouldn't feel ashamed being seen at. However the outside was almost always as impressive as the owners could make them, seeing how it was the outside appearance which attracted customers and set the tone. If your restaurant had the appearance of being very high class the customers would overlook minor flaws in the food and the service, or even go so far as to attribute them to how elite the place was. As an illusionist Itori knew these principles well. of course, since she knew these principles and used them herself when she used her magic and tricks that also meant she was familiar with them and wouldn't be easily fooled. Beyond that it was unlikely that the cooks in this restaurant were better than she herself. If the people of this place knew what kind of precise observation they would be going through with the arrival of the three-tailed fox they might have begun to feel rather nervous.

Itori nodded at Sol as thanks when he opened the door for her, stepping inside and looking around. The inside looked about as good as the outside, which meant that it wasn't just a cheap front at least. However that was only the first step. Next would be how the waiters and the other employees would act. That would be a tricky hurdle to clear: you could be as thorough and precise with your deception as possible, but if you had to work together with others they could ruin it still because they weren't as talented or dedicated as yourself. A single bad-mannered employee could immediately lower the reputation of a restaurant, even if at high class places people were more likely to dismiss minor flaws.

Luckily for the restaurant the one who came to greet Itori and Sol was perfect in his role, not even batting his eyes at Itori's traits, even her three white fox tails only earning a mere glance as he took her in before bowing deeply, making the bow feel like he was genuinely showing his respect instead of just following a routine. Once he had greeted both Sol and Itori properly with that earnest bow he showed them the way to the table which had already been reserved for the both of them, which as expected of valentine's day had been set up for a romantic evening. The tables in this restaurant were all of the small round type today, so the couples could be close together. Each table also was given plenty of space, so people wouldn't feel crowded while enjoying their meal together with their date. There were also beautiful flowers on each table to help improve the mood. It looked like this restaurant was used to valentine's day, and also knew the best way of dealing with it. Nothing extravagant like putting on a large show. Just the right kind of lighting, good music, and giving the couples plenty of space to enjoy themselves. Itori was impressed.

The waiter was there, ready and waiting to help them take their seats. After they had both sat down he would bow and disappear for a couple of minutes, long enough that the couple could take their time choosing their dishes, but not so long that if they were done deciding they would feel like they were being neglected. Of course that was helped by the fact that most couples would also spent the time talking with each other. The fact that Itori wouldn't talk wasn't taken into account here, but she couldn't blame the people of this restaurant for that. Her muteness was not exactly a common thing. Picking up her menu she started looking through it, trying to find the most interesting looking dish. She knew a lot of these dishes herself, but that didn't mean she wouldn't take this chance to enjoy some professional cooking.

Sol was very glad that the inside of the restaurant was just as good as the outside of it and as he inhaled a bit he caught the smell of spices and herbs being used along with freash produce, although he normally enjoyed eating poison day to day he wouldn’t pass up the opportunity to eat something high class.The man who greeted him and Itori was very respectful and didn’t make a fuss about the fact that they weren’t human and even gave them a respectful bow which even as Sol glanced at him with his golden snake like eyes he could tell the man was being honest and polite.

As they were seated the slayer took off his hand and coat and he put them on the back of the chair, the table was small but had enough room for them to sit and not feel crowded. Once they were sitting Sol then decided to try and tackle the wall of how they would converse, he could tell that she didn’t speak but she could hear him so he thought of one good option.”Itori since your seem to be unable to speak I have an idea if your comfortable with it you could use your finger and write what you want to say on my palm and I’ll answer but that’s if your ok with that” he suggested calmly before he waited for her answer.

After a moment Sol decided to look at the menu, there were so many good things to choose from but he had to narrow it down, after a few moments he finally figured out what he wanted but now he had to wait for the server to show up again or for Itori to communicate with him somehow.

The choice of foods in this establishment was quite expansive, and in good taste as well. Instead of trying to convince the masses that they were fully invested in the perfect valentine's romance, where they replaced their menus with special ones which only consisted of choices with references to love and romance, they had decided to stick with their normal menus. After all, this was a high class restaurant: visiting it was almost always a special occasion anyway. The only people who could afford to eat in this kind of place on a whim were people with enough money that if they wanted to make the occasion special they could get something custom prepared just for them. For everybody else, the mere fact that you were in this restaurant already made it clear that this was a special event. Their normal menus were already filled with high class delicacies and choices, so why bother changing them for something which only lasted for a day? That kind of behaviour was for lower class establishments who actually needed to put in effort to impress the customers on valentine's day.

This pleased Itori, who had seen too many places where every valentine's day everything would be turned pink, there would be hearts on every single thing, they would think of fancy names to call all their dishes, all in an attempt to attract the masses and make them believe that this was special, hoping that by doing all that they could attract all those young couples who would find such a thing romantic and fascinating. From her point of view it was all rather silly, ridiculous, and unoriginal. If everybody did it then nobody could use it to attract customers. That just made sense. If everything turned their establishments pink, put hearts on everything, and gave their dishes fancy romantic names they wouldn't stand out. So they started wasting money trying to do all of that, but more so than their competition. It was a bad idea and Itori was glad that this restaurant was smart enough not to bother. Or at the very least, of high enough class that it knew that it wasn't necessary and that even if they kept almost everything the same they would still get customers.

Looking through the dishes that were offered on the menu Itori quickly made her decision. There was a lot to choose from, but as somebody who was a very skilled chef herself, and who had dedicated a large portion of her time learning all kinds of tastes to find the one she liked the most, it wasn't too difficult for her to figure out which meal had the highest chance of appealing to her. Having finished her decision Itori put the menu down, waiting for Sol to finish deciding what he wanted to eat and at the same time waiting for the server to return so they could make their orders. As she waited she smiled softly at Sol, looking entirely content and comfortable waiting for him, encouraging him to not feel rushed and take his time choosing his meal. Making people feel comfortable and at ease was a skill which Itori had a lot of practice with. That Sol wasn't a human shouldn't change things too much.

Her three tails swayed behind her slowly, making use of the space offered by the layout of the restaurant so she could actually spread her tails instead of constantly keeping them close to herself. Three tails wasn't nearly as much as nine, but it was still enough that sometimes the Kumiho felt quite uncomfortable in small spaces where she had to curl her tails up and nearly tie them into knots. It was always, without exception, an annoying experience and every time she hoped she didn't have to do that ever again. Being able to spread them like this was a lot more comfortable to her. That and she was sure that the other people in the room, including Sol, would appreciate the opportunity to gaze upon such fine tails. Like any Kumiho she put a lot of effort into grooming and combing her tails, which combined with her natural good genes meant that they were quite the sight. Long, fluffy, flowing white tails without any visible imperfections which lazily moved through the air.

When Sol offered his method of communication Itori raised one of her fox ears and lowered the other, looking thoughtful for a moment. It was true that they couldn't just spend the entire evening without communicating to each other, and his idea would bypass her inability to speak quite efficiently. She was mute, not deaf, illiterate or stupid. She knew words, she knew what they meant, the only problem was getting them out of her mouth. After thinking about it for several seconds she nodded, then used one hand to beckon Sol to hold his hand out so she could test this new form of communication. Once he did she would gently hold his wrist, contrasting her soft pale skin against his own and displaying her long delicate fingers, and use the index finger of her other hand to draw words on his palm. Of course, in this position Sol would also have the opportunity to see and feel that her nails were long and sharp, sharper than a human could hope to imitate. She was very careful with his hand, not actually scratching it, but he would feel that fingernail travelling across his skin.

'I apologize for being unable to speak. I hope we'll both have a pleasant evening regardless. Once the server arrives, could you tell him that I want the roasted salmon with the hanabachi sauce?'

Itori looked at Sol, apparently waiting for him to acknowledge what she had written on his palm before letting his hand go, folding her hands on her lap and once again smiling softly. Her vermilion eyes were studying Sol with curiosity, but she was being very careful to avoid looking rude, intrusive or creepy. It was just the gaze of a woman trying to learn more about her blind date by being observant.

Sol was surprised at how well the night was going so far, the service had found someone that actually was a good match for him so far. The slayer wouldn’t admit it outloud but he was rather lonely but it was rather hard to date someone when you hate most humans, as he set his menu down he glanced at the girl in front of him, she was slightly shorter then him but that didn’t bother him that much but her ears and tails were what he found fascinating. Sol felt the urge to just reach out and pet her tails but he resisted knowing it was rude and also he had heard of legends where fox’s would curse anyone who touched their tails without permission and he certainly didn’t want that.

Seeing Itori nod at his idea and motioned for him to give her his hand he held it out and he felt her gently touch his hand and started to write on his palm with her nail, it was sharp but the green haired slayer was slightly amazed she was so gentle and made sure not to cut him.”its alright we found a way around the problem right? I’m sure we will have a very nice evening and of course I’ll tell him “ he said with a small smile


the server came back after a few moments and smiled at the two of them.”so what can I get for you two this evening?” he asked politely as he stood ready to write down their orders, “I’ll have the lamb curry and a glass of pinot noir please and she will have the roasted Salmon with Hanabachi sauce and.. What is it that you want to drink Itori?” he asked as he offered his palm to her again.

Itori hadn't really learned a lot about her date yet. So far he had acted polite, respectful, and a bit nervous, and while that all spoke well of him (it was very difficult for a man to be confident on a very date without appearing either cocky or narcissistic. The Kumiho had eventually decided that if she saw a man immediately act like that when meeting a woman for the first time she'd find a way to interact with that man as little as possible. Confidence could be very attractive, but only if it was natural. Most men didn't have it) it didn't tell her a lot about him as a person. He wasn't human, he had green hair, he dressed sharply, he was overall attractive, and he behaved like a man should behave on a first date. But that was all just a first impression, and could very well be a mask which was put on when meeting somebody for the first time. The mask could be intentional or accidental, as some people put on masks without thinking about it. In fact, that was the majority of people. But no matter how the mask got there, the fact was that it didn't tell her a lot about Sol as a person, other than that he could make a good first impression.

She might just be thinking too much about this. She was on this date because her sisters had set her up to it and pretty much hadn't given her a choice about whether she wanted to go or not. She was bodily pushed out of the guild hall and told to go on the date. It hadn't been her plan, she hadn't been expecting it, she hadn't looked forward to it: if it had been up to her she would have stayed in the guild hall making lots of food for both herself and anybody else who decided to not go out on valentine's day. While she didn't exactly go to this day with feelings of resentment and reluctance she wasn't exactly jumping with enthusiasm. She had not been planning to make anything out of this other than a pleasant evening either. Sol was making a good first impression but so far she had no intention of going out with him again on a later again. Granted, that could change very easily if he impressed her enough, but instead of wasting her time wondering about it she would be better off just focusing on the date itself. If Sol was going to impress her he would do so out of his own volition and actions, not because she was busy wondering about him.

She nodded and smiled at Sol as he said that he was sure that they would both have an enjoyable evening. She hoped he was right (not that she was actually expecting anything to go wrong). At that point the server arrived, asking them what they would like to order. Like the one who had been waiting to receive them at the door this one was also looking very honest in his politeness and respectfulness. As Sol had promised he made her order for her, although after that came the realization that she had forgotten to tell him what she wanted to drink. She blushed slightly as she reprimanded herself, quickly taking Sol's hand and once again drawing the words on it. However while she was embarrassed and slightly flustered she kept her finger steady, refusing to let her emotions make her lose control to the extent of actually harming her companion for the evening. That would both be even more embarrassing than forgetting about the drink and signify a serious lack of self-control.

'A glass of Chardonnay, still.'

After that she withdrew her hands, sitting there in silence as she tried to get rid of the feeling of embarrassment. It was only a small mistake, it wasn't even a very problematic one since she had been able to answer him quickly once she was reminded of the fact. There was no reason for her to actually be flustered about this. Was she flustered because she was taking this date more seriously than she thought she was? That would be a surprise, since normally Itori was quite good at recognizing her own emotions and thoughts, and even at figuring out what was going on with her subconscious. As an illusionist, a mage who fooled the senses and minds of others, lacking control over your own mind could be crippling or even fatal. Just because she was on a date was no excuse.

After Sol had passed on the message of her choice of drink the server would depart to alert the kitchen, leaving Sol and Itori once again alone. In that time the fox girl stared into the distance for a short moment before motioning for Sol to once again give her his hand, so she could say something else. This wasn't the best method of communication she had ever come across, since it required him to constantly hold out his hand, but it was better and more practical than most other options available to her. This time while drawing on his hand her finger was slower, signifying a certain amount of hesitance at actually 'voicing' the question she had in the back of her mind.

'You...are not human, are you. I've got sharp senses, so I can tell. I can't tell what exactly you are, however. Could you tell me? It should already be clear what I am, so it would be fair if I knew what you are as well.'

Now that the question was out in the open Itori looked expectant at Sol, clearly hoping for him to actually answer her instead of dodging the question. Asking somebody what they were was rather personal, but it was all right to ask that on a date, right? Especially since her true nature was out in the open, so having Sol keeping his nature hidden could be considered impolite.

As he told the server the Itoris order Sol saw that Itori blushed and became slightly embarrassed and he smiled a bit, he wondered why she became so flustered but passed it off as being nervous like he had been, after a moment she motioned for his hand again and Sol gave it to her before she asked what he was since she could tell that he wasn’t human, he knew it was a good question and he thought for a moment before he decided that he shouldn’t avoid the question and give her an actually answer. “ yeah I’m not human I’m a demon but I cannot to show my real form since it would cause a scene here” he explained before he decided to explain it a bit more.

“ I made a deal with a demon to become stronger but since I’m a dragon slayer it made my real form rather dragonic” he said before the server came back with their drinks and set them down, the slayer sniffed the wine for a moment and was hit with the aroma of cherries and a faint hint of chocolate before he took a small sip and savored the taste. Sol decided to ask Itori a question and find out a bit more about her.”So Itori are you a mage and if you are what kind of magic do you use?” he asked, he knew that this was gonna mean he would have to reveal that he was a dark mage but he knew he couldn’t go thru the whole date and not tell her so he figured he better get it out of the way sooner then later.

Hearing the answer to her question made Itori stiffen for a moment, then look at Sol with clear suspicion and doubt. Inside her mind there was suddenly a minor struggle arising, since what she had just heard was actually not something she had wanted to hear. She didn't like demons. In fact she had a strong dislike for them. And the reason for that was pretty simple. As a Kumiho, a spirit fox, a medium, and somebody whose magic included dealing with the ethereal and the spiritual, she had an adversity for those demons who would try to consume souls or taint them. Her sister was also a soul eater, so having a demon around meant that her sister would have to compete with that demon for those souls. And tainted souls were always such a mess, removing the taint was a hell of a job and Itori took no pleasure in it. No, she did not have any reason to like demons. The only argument that could be made for demons was that they were the only ones who understood the importance of souls, and that argument felt short on the fact that the demons knew that, and then tried to take all the souls for themselves, leaving Itori and her sisters with none.

So hearing that the man in front of her was a demon didn't make the foxgirl happy in the slightest. Could she trust a demon? They were known to be devious, cunning, and untrustworthy. A lot like her own kind, in fact, and in contrast with her own kind the demons had no bonds of blood with her that might make them inclined to act favourably towards her. So far he had acted very normal, very much like your average humanoid. He had been polite, somewhat nervous, and appreciative of her company. However as she had stated to herself before that was all behaviour that anybody could show when meeting somebody for the first time. Was this demon actually planning something a lot more nefarious for this date than the usual? She would have to be wary from this point on, and look back on what had transpired so far in case there were clues towards his objectives. She wished she could just trust him, but demons were even less trustworthy than Kumiho and humans. She found herself wishing he had just been a human instead, or even better another Kumiho. Hearing that he was actually a demon made her feel sad for some reason. Sad that her date was actually a type of creature which she normally treated with nothing but caution and distrust?

Sol continued explaining, making Itori's ears perk up. He made a deal with a demon? Did that mean he actually wasn't a full demon himself, instead just a human who had been corrupted by the vile essence of a true demon? That would still be troublesome, since such humans often lost themselves completely to the demon they had made a deal with. And even if he accepted the offer she wasn't sure if she could remove the taint. And would he even say yes? If he made a deal with a demon he most likely had good reasons for it at the time, although Itori couldn't find herself in a situation where dealing with a demon wouldn't make matters worse. A deal with a demon was almost always only beneficial for the demon in the long run. The other party might have use out of it for a short while, but after that they'd find that their lives would have continued and ended a lot better if they had never even seen that demon.

But that didn't really answer the biggest question. How should she deal with this information, besides becoming more wary of her date? Should she continue the date or find a way to cancel it and return to the guild hall? If she suddenly left, even if she gave a valid excuse, he would figure out that she left because of his admission. That could be disastrous. If he was a demon who didn't actually have any special plans for this date he might just be disappointed and leave it be. If he had plans and she made it so obvious that she didn't want to deal with a demon he could cause a catastrophe. That didn't mean that it was impossible for her to escape, but it would be difficult, and she'd have to consider whether the risk of what Sol would do in response was worth it. It might be better for now to just leave it be and continue the date, hoping it would just stay a normal date and afterwards leaving for the guild hall. Finish the date, keep him happy, and then say farewell. Him being a demon, or somebody who had a contract with a demon, meant that she really couldn't consider having a date with him in the future. Demons, and anything they touched, were very dangerous and difficult to deal with.

For now she decided to continue the date though. As Sol asked her if she was a mage she nodded, and when he asked about her magic she motioned with one hand so she could once again carefully write on the palm of his hand. After the initial shock of learning he was related to demons she managed to hide her distaste rather well, the movements of her hands and the expression on her face revealing nothing.

'I am an illusionist. I show people a reality different from what it actually is.'

With that she picked up her glass and sniffed it before tapping the table with her other hand, hopefully drawing Sol's attention. He would see that the dark red cloth which covered the table was suddenly beginning to take on new decorations, golden lines forming spiralling and circular shapes. A fox with nine tails, an uncurling dragon, a swirling breeze... This display went on for about a minute before it all faded away once again, leaving the dark red cloth completely untouched. Itori then once again asked for Sol's hand so she could write her response on it.

'May I ask about your magic in return?'

Sol caught the look in Itoris eyes when he mentioned being a demon and he saw the sadness and the suspicion in them and for some reason it bothered him and though he didn’t realize it the hurt showed in his golden eyes for a moment.”I seem to have upset you by being a demon I am sorry I used to be human but for the sake of what my goal is I needed more strength “ he explained before he sighed and decided to just tell her what kind of mage he was. Before he could speak though Itori wrote that she was an illusionist and could slightly alter reality in their view.

The fox girl then proceeded to make the table cloth start to take different shapes inclusind a dragon and a fox before it returned to normal and Itori then asked him about his magic. Sol nodded before he gently took his hand from her before he spoke.”I am a dragonslayer and the element I use is poison so my body can produce poisons and I can ingest them like they are normal food to me even this wine counts I could drink the whole bottle and feel nothing” he explaind before he brought his finger up to his mouth and he nipped it to draw blood, as the red liquid welled up it suddenly shifted to a dark green color.

The liquid then started to harden and then crystallized and formed a claw before Sol broke the claw off and he set it aside, after he did that he took a sip of wine before he decided to speak again.”I should get this out of the way I am a mage but I am not a light or neutral mage I am a dark mage, but I have no ill intent planned tonight Itori, your not being mean and your treating me well so I have no reason to be mean or cause trouble I just want chance to find someone” he explained hoping she understood.”I would like to continue this date I may be a demon and a dark mage but I would like to treat you to a good time even if your view of me is not positive” he said softly and honstly looking at her with hope they would continue and some sadness at the fact that he most likely wouldn’t get a second date with such a beautiful woman. He would never admit it to himself but the slayer was lonely a lot but his choice of profession made finding someone next to impossible.

A deal with demons to gain the power needed for his goals. It wasn't a story that Itori was unused to. In fact it was the main method used by demons to trap humanoids into forfeiting their lives and their souls. Usually most humanoids were fully aware that demons were bad news, and would avoid and deny them whenever possible. However they tended to forget about this when they became desperate, or at least began to convince themselves that it wasn't as bad as they first thought it was. The demons, having learned of this, of course then began to try and find people who could be pushed into such a state of mind that they would take the offer, even if they knew that making a deal with a demon meant the end for themselves. Sol was just one of many humans who had fallen for that trick, which didn't really make Itori any less disappointed. Because she knew that this wasn't that unique it had less of an impact upon her, but she still was somewhat sad learning that the man sitting across her was actually the victim of a demon who had found the right levers in Sol's soul and pulled them.

At least he was honest and admitted it as soon as Itori asked about what he was if he wasn't human. That was a point in his favour. Still, if he had gained power from a demon and become one in the process that left the fox girl with no idea whether she could trust him, even if he was honest in admitting that he was basically untrustworthy... She'd have to stay careful. The Kumiho nodded and watched Sol as he demonstrated his magic, her eyes widening when his poisonous blood actually crystallized. She knew about Dragon Slayers, mages who specialized in strengthening and empowering themselves with a specific element, being able to devour that element to regain energy and also having a natural high resistance towards that element. It made them quite the dangerous opponent for any mage or monster who used the same element, since all attacks and abilities based on that element only served to make the Slayer possible. Itori was glad that her magic was not one which could be devoured by any Dragon Slayer that she had ever heard of. She used illusions, which had no real element, and spirit magic. If there was a Dragon Slayer who could devour spirits and spiritual energy she hadn't heard of it, and she hoped it would stay that way.

Sol being able to crystallize his blood was interesting though. Poison Dragon Slayers were one of the most well known Dragon Slayers, mostly because they were both extremely dangerous and very iconic. His blood being poison was to be expected, but she hadn't been able to foresee that he could actually solidify his blood, since that wasn't really what you would think of when you thought of poison magic. She wondered how that worked: was there an actual spell behind that, or was it more an instinctive ability like how she could sense the presence of spirits? She wanted to ask him, but she wasn't sure if that would come across as too invasive. Asking somebody the nature of their magic wasn't too much, but asking about specific details could be seen as quite rude, since knowing the details could help you figure out how to counter the effects. Asking somebody specific details of their magic was basically the same as asking them for ways to deal with them should you ever come across them as an enemy. It wasn't something you could ask of a mage you met only just now. Regretfully Itori would have to wait if she wanted to find an opportunity to learn more about how his poisonous blood worked.

His admission to being a dark mage, and the following explanation of how he had no reason nor intention to do anything that might be harmful to Itori, had the fox girl frowning in thought while she hid her mouth behind her glass as she took a sip. Sol sounded honest when he said all that. He gave the strong impression that he genuinely just wanted this evening to be a pleasant one for the both of them, and that as long as she didn't do anything impolite or insulting first he would try his best to keep his current intentions. Itori, throughout the years, had become reasonably good at reading people, through their facial expressions, body language, tone of voice, phrasing, and all those other little signs that wouldn't mean anything to the inexperienced. Unless Sol was a truly astounding liar she should be able to trust him, at least for this date. After that she would most likely still have to cut contact with him, since a demon's victim was never safe to be around. For that matter, if the demon knew that she knew Sol that was already enough for that demon to try something. It was regrettable, but Itori couldn't risk becoming entangled with demons even if Sol was pleasant company.

Finishing her drink Itori once again motioned for Sol's hand, once he reached out with it gently grasping it and beginning to write on the palm. This time the message was quite long, so Sol would have the opportunity to feel Itori's soft hand against his own for a while as the fox girl very carefully wrote down the right words to avoid angering Sol.

'I trust you when you say that you have no malicious intent for tonight. However I know enough about demons that I cannot help but be wary at least somewhat. If this offends you I apologize. You are hardly the first I've met who would draw strength from demons to achieve their goals, but that doesn't change the fact that demons, and anything they touch, are dangerous. I can sense and communicate with spirits and souls, so I also have a personal distaste for demons, due to them corrupting those souls that I would communicate with. I will also try to make this date pleasant for the both of us, but I can't risk exposing myself or the people I know to the dealings of a demon, so after this date we most likely won't see each other again.'

Sol felt her grasp his palm and Itori wrote on his palm again, she told him while he was honest and that was good she was still a bit wary and explained that while she wanted to continue this evening as well she told him that afterwards they most likely wouldn’t see each other again. At that Sol sighed.”I honestly expected that its hard for me to find someone but thank you for not storming away or ripping into me.” he said with a small smile, he knew he had shot himself in the foot but he was glad that him bring a dark mage didn’t blow up in his face. He took a sip of his wine before he spoke again.”even if we are not going to see each other after this lets have a good time never mind labels like dark and light for now we are just two people enjoing each others company on valentines day” he declared before he offered his hand for her to write on if she wanted to.

After he had finished speaking the waiter came back with their food, Sol grinned as he caught the scent of his curry and it made him extremely hungry, taking another deep breath the slayer could pick out and picture so many spices from cardamom to turmeric and while it was faint from the other spices Sol also picked out the tender scent of the lamb. He bowed his head for a moment to give thanks for the food before he took his spoon and got a good helping of rice meat and the sauce and took a bite, the slayer almost froze from the amount of flavor he tasted. The meat was extremely tender and well done while the sauce while not heavy hit him with one flavor after another it had the slayer reeling from just how well done it was.” Itori you might have to try this its amazing” he said as he took another bite and savored the flavor.

It was clear from Sol's reaction to what she had to say that he wasn't happy with the news that they most likely wouldn't be meeting again after this evening. Obviously this wasn't the first time that he had tried to find himself good company, only to learn that as long as he remained a demon and the target of a demon most people would shun him, not wishing misfortune upon themselves or the ones they loved. Itori could imagine that for a man who still wanted somebody in his life just as every humanoid does this would be quite the burden to suffer, but she couldn't risk herself or her sisters for his sake, especially since she had no way of actually getting rid of the danger. Turning him back from a demon into a human was far above what Itori personally was capable of, if such a thing was even possible. It should be, but the Kumiho did not know the path nor had any hints to finding that path. And even if she could somehow return him to his former self the demon that had tainted him would take note, and then target Itori. No, there was honestly nothing she could do for Sol, but as long as he remained in his current situation being with him would invite trouble, too much for it to be worth it.

Still, it was regrettable. Sol himself didn't appear to be a troublesome person at all, for all his proclamation that he was a dark mage. Not that she doubted the claim, but if he was a dark mage he most likely taken that path because he had good reasons instead of merely being a depraved and twisted person. A demon would have trouble finding acceptance amongst the legal side of Fiore, since they also knew what dangers and troubles the mere presence of a demon could invite. The reputation of being the more troublesome kind of creatures was not undeserved, even if Sol himself might be considered an exception by some. Plenty of the people who sided with the rules and the authorities were judgemental and discriminated, so a demon who tried to become a light mage would encounter all sorts of resistance. It was no surprise that he had become a dark mage instead. The dark mages might not be that much more accepting, but at least they made less of a deal of it usually.

But Sol himself had yet to give Itori any sign that he deserved mistreatment or that reputation all demons shared. He had been polite, friendly, understanding, careful. He wasn't getting angry at her for stating that she couldn't trust her luck around a demon. He understood that it was a real threat, and that he couldn't blame somebody for not wanting to risk it. He wanted the both of them to have a good evening, and since Itori was planning to cut contact afterwards it wasn't like he could be planning something in the long term either. Unless he was planning to undermine her attempts at cutting all connections, in which case she'd have to show him that trying to outsmart a Kumiho was a bad idea. But that was unlikely. He didn't look the type to try something like that. Itori honestly felt that if it wasn't for him being a demon she wouldn't have minded going out with him again afterwards. It was truly unfortunate that this friendly man sitting in front of her had been cursed with such bad luck as to become entangled with the matters of demons. That was the kind of ill fortune the fox girl wouldn't wish upon anybody, knowing just how dangerous and troublesome it could be. Truly unfortunate indeed.

Well, at least he was accepting the situation and not trying to convince her otherwise. Instead he offered to try his best to make this evening as enjoyable as possible, so that even if they wouldn't meet again afterwards they would still be able to look back upon this date and be happy that they had decided to partake in it. Itori hadn't been planning to, and had basically been forced into the date, but if Sol could keep up the good behaviour that he had displayed so far she wouldn't mind her sisters meddling with her love life. Well, at least this once. She still would have to make it clear to Iniki and Izayoi that she didn't want the two of them to try stuff like this all the time. Just because this time it seemed to be working out didn't mean that they could start meddling like this. Itori didn't try to force them into dates with strangers either, and she expected them to return the favour.

Instead of writing on Sol's hand, as she had done before, Itori just nodded and smiled, showing her clear agreement. It was a shame that they wouldn't be able to meet again afterwards, but at least they could have fun without worrying about whether somebody was a dark mage or a legal mage, a demon or a fox, or any of those things. The fox girl also looked somewhat sad, even as she smiled and nodded, although her attraction was suddenly drawn to a completely new source as the food arrived. Her nose twitched as she smelled it, and her gaze immediately left Sol and moved towards the source of the scent. Seeing the waiter head towards them Itori appeared to perk up rather quickly, her tails swaying cheerfully behind her as she waited for the waiter to set down their food and leave them before she followed Sol's bow of respect towards the food. After which she immediately dug in. She ate with elegance and precision, but she was also eating quite fast, cutting the fish apart and putting piece in her mouth. As she ate Sol would get a good view of the carnivorous fangs the Kumiho possessed. She looked quite happy eating. She really loved eating. It was one of her most favourite pastimes. In fact, eating was just one of her favourite times, period. Good food was always worth it, and this food was well prepared indeed. It wasn't on her own level, but these people didn't have thousands of years to perfect their cooking. When looking at the limited lifespan of a human this food was very high class, prepared with obvious skill and dedication. Itori briefly looked up and nodded at Sol smiling when he talked about how amazing his meal was before returning to her own meal, her tails happily wagging behind her as she kept eating the fish.

Sol caught a glimpse of Itori eating while he took his time with his curry, her teeth were rather sharp but then so were his since his dragonslaying magic made his canines even sharper and longer then normal. So far they still were getting along so it made the slayer feel alright but he was still rather bummed out that they would not be doing a second date.He did consider that a good thing in a way as well since he had not had a reason to get mean with the fox girl in front of him but that didn’t mean he couldn’t go off on a passerby if they decided to push their luck, the slayer had no desire to reveal just how vicious he could be to the fox girl as he was sure he would traumatize her if he did.

The green haired man finished his curry and sighed in content before he finished off his wine as well before he remembered something the dating service had given him. “Oh I almost forgot the service gave me directions to a dance club it sounds like it’s a nice place from what they said. are you interested in going?”Sol asked as he pull out the directions from his coat pocket. The place was a rather small night club but it was highly recommended by the service so Sol had no reason to really say no.

(sorry its short )

As she ate Itori savoured the meal, as she always did. The fish was well prepared, the sauce was good... She still was pretty sure she could do better herself, but she wouldn't mind eating here again if the occasion called for it. That and if she ate here instead of cooking herself she wouldn't have to bother gathering all the ingredients herself beforehand, so maybe she could consider going here again if she ever felt really lazy. Which was unlikely: Itori could decide that she didn't feel like doing something one day, but the chances of her not feeling like preparing food were really low, especially since the reward for preparing food was one so good that even if she didn't feel like preparing food the reward would still get her going. It said a lot that after her sisters her main motivation in life was her stomach. For one thing, it said that she was an enormous glutton, and it was a surprise that it didn't show. Anybody who had known Itori for a while would always have the question in their head why such a glutton wasn't fat. Well, until they learned why, after which the question would change to how. The explanation was a bit of an abnormal one, so even if she told people they still couldn't figure out how it worked. Hell, she herself wasn't exactly sure how it worked, only that it did and that she was pretty sure it would keep working.

However there was more for her to think about than just the food (however delicious that food might be). The man in front of her also required some thought. Of course she had already been thinking about him for most of the evening, but now that she had some time to think about him again without having to interrupt herself with interaction she could get everything organized and lined up. First of all, he used to be a human. She wasn't exactly happy about that, since she didn't think very highly of humans. At best they were eager and helpful but simply didn't live up to the standards Itori was used to, being a Kumiho (which quite obviously was a much better developed and cultured species. At least, to her it was obvious). At worst they were selfish, despicable, savage, uncultured, barbaric, unintelligent, with as only use unwitting pawns (and even then they could be so unpredictably stupid and self-centred that it was better to pick something a bit more intelligent). However humans could theoretically be good, if not in actual ability than at least in intentions and desires. Sol so far had not given her any reason to doubt his intentions, so she was inclined to give him the benefit of the doubt and not hold his former status as human against him.

Only he then had turned into a demon after receiving power from one (or multiple). That wasn't as easy to overlook. Humans knew that demons were bad news. They didn't know it as well as Kumiho, but they knew it well enough. Accepting power from a demon was always a bad idea in the long run, if only because if it was a good idea the demon would go out of their way to make it bad for the human solely because they loved to ruin lives (Itori had a tendency to try her hardest to erase any demons she encountered from existence because of that despicable trait). So Sol was both a demon, one of the most detestable things to exist, and the victim of one, which meant that if she interacted too much with him she might also get caught in that demon's plans. Not something she wanted in the slightest, especially since she wasn't sure if she could erase that specific demon. The demons that she could remember dealing with had either been very weak ones or she had managed to approach them from a blind spot. To grant a human enough power to turn them into a demon themselves required a strong demon, and she would most likely not be able to trick one if they noticed her before she had enough time to think of a plan: demons tended to be rather cunning.

Although the thing that Sol was most worried about, the fact that he was a dark mage, actually didn't bother Itori in the slightest. The reason being that she herself had been a dark mage in the past, and that she had done quite a lot of questionable things in the past. Granted, she had done nearly everything just to find her sisters, but that didn't really leave her ignorant regarding the nature of her crimes. Deception, trickery, lying, stealing, torturing, killing... Itori had basically used every trick she could use of if she believed it would help her find her sisters. Of course she wasn't going to tell Sol that, since revealing yourself to be willing to commit even the purely cruel and awful deeds if given enough motivation was usually seen as bad manners. Also just a bad idea in general. Still, if she knew just how worried Sol was about traumatizing her with his vicious nature she most likely would have laughed, or at least silently giggled to herself.

Finishing her meal Itori looked up at Sol as he mentioned how he knew the directions to a dancing club. That was a curious suggestion, one that actually had Itori frown in thought as she considered the offer. On one hand, it couldn't be that bad, now could it? The dating service that her sisters had used to arrange this had, after all, set up this meeting in this restaurant, which was rather high class and of good reputation. They most likely also had chosen a respectable dancing club. On the other, the Kumiho wasn't sure whether she wanted to dance. She wasn't that much of a dancer, honestly, although admittedly more because she usually had more important matters to attend to (or just matters with a higher personal priority) than that she actually disliked the concept of dancing. Eventually she mentally shrugged, nodding and smiling at Sol. She might as well try it.

(I'm sorry for the delay.)

As the fox girl smiled and nodded at his suggestion of dancing and the slayer smiled back before he reached into his coat and pulled out a large stack of jewels to pay for the bill and tip the waiter, he stood up and dusted himself off for a moment before he put his coat back on and placed his hat upon his head. He waited for her and walked with Itori out of the building. As they walked down the street towards the club Sol caught sight of a carriage and he slightly turned green in the face at the thought before he turned back to normal, it was shameful to him but he hated that transportation was his one glaring weakness and it really bothered him.

He decided to try and break the silence after a while with a question that had been bugging him since they had sat down for dinner.”Itori you know what I am now but what are you exactly I know you’re a fox girl but I’m guessing there is more to it then that” he asked before he held out his hand for her to answer, even if he was focused on her writing the slayer could still be aware of the surrounding with his enhanced sense of smell and hearing

(Its alright I'm sorry this post is so short)

One advantage of being a female was that in these modern times if you went out together with a male they almost always ended up being the ones paying. Itori wasn't exactly greedy, that she found this a profound bonus, but it was something worth noting. It was also very convenient, since she hadn't been given the opportunity by her sisters to grab enough jewels that she could afford to pay for this kind of dinner. If she had been put in a situation where she had to pay she could most likely get away with using a light illusion, but that was only a last resort since humans tended to dislike any sort of tampering with money, even if it was done by creating the illusion of money, to such extents that it actually surprised Itori. Money, to a lot of humans, appeared to be the newest thing to worship and treat as most sacred, now that gods were no longer the most important thing in their lives. Using illusions to pay wasn't exactly impossible, but it carried a rather high risk. If she was caught doing it she would be in trouble, trouble she would have difficulty getting out of since if the humans noticed that she was an illusionist they would get the help of mages, and if she was particularly unlucky mages who specialized in dealing with attempts at deception.

Aside from the legal problems, Sol might also pick up on it, and even if he had described himself as a dark mage and a demon she didn't know whether he'd approve of such trickery. He was a mage, and most likely a capable one, so if he was wary enough a light illusion might not be enough to fool him. The Kumiho sighed to herself internally, to express her relief where nobody but she could notice it, as Sol paid for the meal and she could just get ready to depart while Sol dealt with the financial matters. Once they were both ready she smoothly followed Sol out of the restaurant, allowing him to guide her towards what would be the second episode of this night out: the dance club. She wondered what kind of dance club it would be. Looking at the quality of the restaurant they had left it was most likely something of good repute, but that could mean a lot of things. Dance clubs weren't held to the same standards as restaurants. It could be something large and impressive, but incredibly noisy and more aimed towards the younger kind of customer. Come to think of it, younger people were more inclined to dance (most likely because the older people were afraid to harm themselves), so that just made it more likely. Well, that wouldn't exactly be an issue: Itori might be thousands of years old, but her body was as healthy as that of any human in the prime of their life (in fact, even healthier. Itori didn't really get sick. Ever). Beyond that she was both agile and possessed precise control over her body, so dancing shouldn't be too much of an issue. She just hoped it was a more classy place where they weren't expected to just join a giant mass of youngsters jumping up and down. She had heard of some of the things young humans were into these days, and it was most definitely not something you should be doing after having eaten such a high quality meal.

As they walked Itori passively looked at her surroundings, enough that she could see what was around her but being nonchalant enough that nobody should be able to pick up on it and notice that she was a lot more wary than she might initially appear. She wasn't really expecting any ambushes or muggeries or anything like that, but her life so far had taught her the lesson that some situational awareness was never, under any circumstances, a bad thing. Being noticed as wary could backfire since that meant that people knew you had reason to be wary, so situational awareness had to be combined with subtlety and the ability to hide your intentions. For anybody that they encountered she would simply be an elegant fox girl dressed rather extravagantly, being escorted by a sharply dressed man. She might appear curious about her surroundings, true, but her appearance was naturally foreign: for her to show an interest in her surroundings wasn't strange. She just had to make sure the curiosity completely hid the caution.

Glancing at Sol Itori noticed that he was looking somewhat green, which made her frown. Did the food that he had eaten disagree with him? That was unlikely: as a Poison Dragon Slayer she was pretty sure that it was impossible for a normal meal to actually upset his stomach. Even if it was poorly prepared (which would be strange, since her own meal had been some of the best meals she'd ever eaten that had been prepared by humans) a stomach which could safely take in any poison wouldn't be bothered by it. Shifting her gaze her puzzlement was quite quickly gotten rid of as she figured out what was causing Sol's complexion to turn sickly like that: a carriage. She never really had known any Slayer personally (came with the tendency of knowing almost nobody personally) but she had learned aplenty about them during her many years. The fact that they were universally awful with vehicles was one of the weaknesses of Slayers that was the most widely spread. Although so far as weaknesses went it wasn't a very good one. Yes, theoretically you could always render a Slayer helpless by positioning them on a moving vehicle. However, if you used common sense you would quickly realize that Slayers also knew of this, and would try their best to avoid vehicles at all costs. Even more so, unless you've prepared everything to occur on a vehicle beforehand, how are you going to get the Slayer on top of a vehicle? You could only pull that off if you were either very lucky with your location or prepared the stage in advance. Or develop an entire magic around creating vehicles underneath people's feet.

Itori was woken from her thoughts when Sol asked her to tell more about herself. Specifically, he wanted to know more about what she was, other than just a fox girl. She nodded, accepting the question, even if on the inside she felt a pang of annoyance. She had hoped that he would forget to ask, since she disliked revealing anything about herself or her sisters to somebody she wasn't completely sure she could trust. The fact that this one was also a demon wasn't helping either. However now that he had asked she couldn't distract him. That would be too obvious. If he was observant (and she believed he was) that would just alert him that she didn't want to tell him, which in turn would earn her his displeasure and arouse his suspicion. No choice but to tell him a little bit and hope he didn't ask for more. Although if he pried too deep she could just act offended and refuse to talk any further about it. Taking Sol's hand as they walked she began to write on it.

'There is indeed more to it than just a fox girl. Our kind is called Kitsune, and we are spiritual creatures. We have a natural talent for clairvoyance, precognition, sensing the presence of souls and communicating with them. Beyond that we are also, to the fox, good with illusions. Which is good, because a lot of my kin also love pranks and illusions help a lot with that."

Of course, she didn't have to tell him the truth, and only the truth, right? She just had to give him enough information to satisfy his desire to know without showing anything but a compliance and happy fox girl. As a trickster species Kumiho also were rather good at lying. Itori had a lot of practice with it as well.

((Better short than late.))

Sol focused on Itori’s writing intently wanting to know as much as he could as he was interested in knowing more about her, when she mentioned that she was a Kitsune and told him that they were naturally talented in things such as clairvoyance and precognition as well as illusion Sol smirked and nodded. He grinned wider as she mentioned that they enjoyed pranks but he also remembered something he had read before about Kitsune being skilled liars however without his old magic he couldn’t tell if someone was lying as well as he could before.

The slayer didn’t put much thought into it though as both of them were having a good time so the slayer saw no reason to stop that by being suspicious for no reason.”sounds like your races abilitys are incredible useful” he said as the club came into view. It was rather nice and seemed upscale like the restaurant they had just eaten at. Sol opened the door for the fox girl and then went inside with her, the place was nice and was not packed with people. It had soft music on at the moment and the room was not to brightly lit but not to dark either, in the corner a band was setting up to play while Sol grinned.”well this is rather nice I’d rather have this then a room full of screaming people” he chuckled

It looked like Sol was having a good enough time that he wasn't questioning what Itori said, which was good. Itori had no qualms against lying when it was necessary, but she'd rather not push the issue, especially since Sol had yet to give her a real reason to dislike him as a person. She didn't like the idea of dealing with a demon, any kind of demon, in the slightest, but even if Sol was dangerous because of his demonic dealings that didn't change the fact that going by personality the Kumiho wouldn't mind interacting with him some more. He said that he was a dark mage, which meant he had most likely done questionable things (besides dealing with demons) and possibly enjoyed doing those, but until she actually got to see that for herself or was provided proof of it happening she could hardly allow that to affect her judgement of him. So yes, she found it easier not to lie to Sol if she could avoid him, so she felt glad and even somewhat grateful towards him when he just accepted what she said without questioning it. That should make the rest of the evening easier for the both of them, even if Itori was pretty sure she could keep deceiving him for as long as possible. Just because she could didn't mean it was a good idea.

As he mentioned how her race's abilities were incredibly useful Itori nodded. He was right that her kind possessed talents and abilities which could be used for a lot of things, and if nurtured properly could take on frightening levels. Itori herself had pretty much mastered control over her illusions, now just needing to acquire more magic power to improve them even further. However she was lying when she was talking about precognition and clairvoyance. Well, there were probably Kumiho who could see the future or observe things from really far away, but it wasn't an universal trait of the Kumiho. That was something which belonged to the Kitsune. While Kitsune and Kumiho could be considered similar in many expects, there were some very fundamental differences, and this was one of them. Of course, it wasn't like Kitsune got all the good stuff and the Kumiho were left with only the basic trick of deception. It's just that the abilities that the Kumiho possessed which the Kitsune didn't were... Well, she was pretty sure that the humans would describe them as distasteful. They were closely related to why Kumiho didn't get along with demons, after all. No predator likes it when another predator starts taking their prey. Granted, Itori herself hadn't actually devoured any soul in many, many years: she preferred real food. Still, it was something she'd rather keep a secret if possible. Although if Iniki ever became more active again that secret wouldn't last very long. Itori was pretty sure that her beloved sister was one of the most voracious of soul eaters, even when compared to demons. It was only the fact that Iniki was having trouble coping with her new situation that she hadn't already gotten herself in trouble with tendency.

Shaking her head slightly Itori looked up when she noticed that they were approaching a building, most likely the dance club that Sol had been talking about. It looked nice: it was clear that the ones who had organized this night had kept in mind that Itori, at the very least, preferred the more cultured part of human civilization. Like the restaurant, which had most definitely counted as posh, this place also looked like it was usually reserved for nobles and rich merchants. While those kind of people were often the most irritating to deal with (so full of themselves! Itori was good at acting submissive, so she could hide her actual opinion very well for extended periods of time, but if she ever were to say what she really thought about those kind of people they'd most likely behead her for her insolence) at least they had some basic understanding of actual class and quality. Of course, just like with the restaurant the inside was as important as the outside, but the fox girl very much doubted the possibility that they would encounter jumping and screaming masses inside this building.

She followed Sol inside the building, looking around as she looked at the interior. Like the outside, it looked pretty nice. Itori had heard about and seen the concept where what used to be ugly and messy was considered the new highest forms of art. She didn't like it. Art evolved over time, true, but this modern stuff seemed to be more of a regression than anything else. She was glad that at least this dance club had decided not to go with that concept and stick to the solid basis, that which you could always trust to work. Plenty of stylish decorations, a structure which was based on one of the older human civilizations that Itori knew of (mostly because if you travelled a lot occasionally she would encounter one of their ruins. That civilization sure loved its pillars. And its white marble, although in here they had decided to go with ivory instead). There weren't too many people, so there was plenty of space to move while dancing without having to fear being crushed and pushed and shoved by those young humans who didn't knew what actual dancing was like. Instead of using normal light they had installed Lachrima which could easily be adjusted for different intensities. All in all, this place got her approval, especially when she heard the music. She nodded her agreement with Sol when he practically voiced her opinion, smiling and looking at him before motioning for the two of them to move further forwards. If they came here to dance they might as well dance. Itori had already decided that she was at least going to try and use this evening arranged by her sisters to enjoy herself, and besides, she liked dancing even if she was a better singer.

As the band in the corner started to play a slow number to set the mood in the club many of the couples continued dancing before Sol and Itori made their way out onto the floor, Sol gently pulled her slightly close as he placed one hand on her waist and the other one he moved to hold her hand before he started to move them slowly to the beat of the song.”this isn’t to close is it if so I’m sorry” he said hoping he hadn’t overstepped his bounds since he was trying to make sure they had fun tonight.

“So Itori what guild are you from I kept forgetting to ask you?” he asked politely as they continued their waltz. No matter what he would still stay polite even If she was from a light guild but he would be cautious not to give her any information regarding Basilisk fang other then that he was a member. The slayer knew if he did spill anything that Famine would kill him on the spot.

Itori was led to the dance floor by Sol, which was to be expected since he was the male on this date. At least, it was to be expected as long as you were following the customs of humans and their kind. The fox girl was briefly reminded of her original home, her only actual home, back when she hadn't been left to wander the world searching for her sisters. Chivalry did exist amongst the Kumiho, but in all honesty it was more a weapon than anything else. Kumiho were creatures who tended to put a great deal of effort into keeping up appearances at all times, even when there were only other Kumiho around especially when there were other Kumiho around. They were also highly competitive and wanted to assert dominance. The result was that quite quickly Kumiho society had developed extremely complicated social protocols on almost all levels. Different ways of reacting and talking to peers, subordinates, superiors, parents, siblings, children... It went so far that some would joke that every Kumiho had a unique protocol for each Kumiho they met, and that protocol would constantly have to adapt to changes. Sometimes you got stronger, sometimes they got stronger, sometimes they lost something, sometimes you failed at something... It was, at best, extremely complicated. Compared to that keeping up a solid appearance in human society was a walk in the park. In comparison to Kumiho humans were extremely easy-going in how to deal with each other. If you showed weakness to the wrong Kumiho, and worse, did it unintentionally, you could be sure that they would try to make use of it. Often they succeeded. But humans showed weakness all the time, not even thinking twice about it. Only the humans who found themselves in extremely precarious positions were as immersed in the world of social warfare as a Kumiho found natural.

There wasn't that much difference between males and females either. Chivalry existed, but either a male used it to score points and increase their reputation and standing, or a female manipulated a male into doing something she herself didn't want to do, using chivalry as an excuse. Amongst good friends and family it might be more natural, but all in all chivalry wasn't nearly as fundamental a part of Kumiho society as the humans had made it. Which made sense. So far as Itori knew Kumiho had developed themselves as a species remarkably fast. More importantly, they had developed magical and spiritual abilities rather than physical prowess. Humans, so far as she could tell, were predominantly physical creatures. And the males had developed as the stronger gender, whilst the females were rather lacking physically. Not that it was impossible for a female to match a male (Itori knew very well that some female humans were remarkably strong physically), but the fact that this was always noted spoke volumes about what the average human expected of a female's strength. The human species had assigned the males as the ones who did all the fighting and the protecting, and the females as the ones who looked after the offspring and supported the males by treating their wounds and curing them when they were ill. At least, that's what Itori's observation had driven her to conclude. So for humans it was natural that the male took the lead, the female following. Of course in modern times, when humans no longer had to struggle just to survive, that instinctual assigning of roles had developed itself in rather strange ways.

While she was thinking about this Itori showed none of her thoughts as she followed Sol quietly (as always), looking around at the other people in the room. They all looked like they belonged to the higher classes of human society. Which was to be expected. It had been ages since this Kumiho had first noted that the higher class humans tended to behave a lot more like her own kind than the poor and the weak. Maybe that was because Kumiho had the good fortune to develop strong magical and spiritual powers, thus leaving them plenty of time to focus on such matters as how to behave and how to look good in the eyes of others? Regardless, they were surrounded by humans who actually kept an eye out, judging everybody else constantly and trying their best to look as good as possible. Itori doubted that any of them would actually survive in a Kumiho society, but at least they tried. As for herself, while her vulpine features might be considered strange by some, there was no doubt that with her appearance, and her choice of attire, this fox girl belonged here. Kumiho and Kitsune were alike in a lot of ways, and one of those ways was that neither of the intelligent fox species ever had to worry about whether they were beautiful in the eyes of humans.

Sol began to lead her into a dance, Itori smoothly following his example and moving along to the rhythm of the music. Her ears twitched as she quickly picked up all the notes that the musicians produced. They weren't this large for cosmetic reasons. Well, maybe partially. Kumiho (and humans, it seemed) did appreciate a good pair of pointy, furry ears. Although Itori had rather that they didn't give humans the urge to pet them... As large as those ears were, they were also rather sensitive. Regardless, the music was good, the musicians obviously knowing their craft. At Sol's question whether he was too close Itori shook her head slightly, enough to make it clear that it was fine but not any more than that. When he asked her to tell him what guild she was from she silently pondered the question for a second before answering him, using the hand on his back to quickly write her answer.

'Sabertooth.'

Writing on his back wasn't as efficient as writing on his hand: his skin was covered by at least one layer of clothing, after all, and the hand was a lot more sensitive than the back. She had to write slowly and with a bit of exaggeration to make sure that he would be able to understand what she had drawn on his back. As for why she waited for a second? She had been considering whether it would be harmful to inform him that she was from a legal guild, after he had admitted to being from a dark guild. Eventually she had decided it unlikely that he would turn against her immediately. So far he had genuinely been enjoying the evening, and he had worried more about what she would think of him than what he would think of her. While he might not be happy going out with a legal mage, she didn't think he would actually do anything...unfortunate...because of that knowledge.

As they Danced Sol felt her write on his back as she shook her head about his question of being too close, he focused on her writing instead of the music and he was slightly surprised to learn that she was from Sabertooth and he nodded slightly.” I see I am from Basilisk Fang but like I said before tonight light and dark do not matter tonight you have been kind and respectful of me despite me being a dark mage and I will give you the same even if you are on the opposing side so don’t worry” he reassured her. Now that he knew she was from a light guild Sol knew he would have to watch his words if she asked him anything about his guild as he could not risk giving anything away lest he get punished by the guild master herself.

“this is rather nice I haven’t been dancing like this in years its rather nostalgic” he mumbled as he remembered dancing when he was growing up with his foster family before the tragic fate that befell them. He pushed the thought from his mind as he caught sight of a clock and saw that it was started to get late and that they most likely would have to part ways at some point soon.

(sorry its short)

Not really thinking of anything else to talk about after telling Sol that she was from Sabertooth, Itori danced silently from that point on. He once again reassured her that since she hadn't been treating him like trash he didn't mind that she was  a legal mage even though he himself was a dark mage. He had said something similar before, so she hadn't been worried that he would suddenly become violent or anything like that, but having him reaffirm that he just wanted to enjoy the evening was in a way still nice to hear. At least it meant that she didn't have to be quite as wary as usual. Granted, he was still a dark mage, so letting her guard down completely would be a foolish move, but she suspected that as long as she didn't show him any opening to exploit he wouldn't even think of doing anything. From his body language and the way he talked she could tell that he was honest in his desire to enjoy this date, so if something went wrong it would originate from Itori herself, either because she tried something or because she showed Sol an opening too tempting for a dark mage to resist. Fortunately she wasn't planning on either of those. Like Sol she'd rather just enjoy this evening, even though it wasn't going to last much longer. She was somewhat surprised at how much she had enjoyed this date. Originally she only went because her sisters had thrown her out of the guild hall and told her to go. And she wasn't really the type to enjoy herself by going out either. It was a pleasant surprise, but even so Itori didn't think she was going to repeat this any time soon. She couldn't go out with Sol again, because no matter how friendly he might be as a demon's target getting too close to him would only invite trouble. And there wasn't really anybody else who drew her attention either.

As they danced Itori's three silken white tails trailed behind her, reacting to every movement they made. She always took care of her tails, since they were very important for Kumiho, but tonight before they had thrown her out her sisters had gone through the trouble of making those tails look even better than usual, a rather invasive decision that would have earned anybody but her sisters a tail in the face and an illusion that would send them straight out of her room to some random location. Touching her tails was not something the Kumiho allowed often. Right now, however, that invasiveness meant that three pure white silken tails were drawing the attention of the other people in the dance club. They had been combed extensively, so much that they actually caught some of the dim light and managed to reflect it. Beyond her tails Itori herself was also a sight to behold: a beautiful fox girl with perfectly groomed tails and fine pointy ears, wearing a luxurious kimono which actually exposed quite a bit of Itori's pale skin. The Kumiho didn't mind the stares, although she hoped that the whisperers simply didn't realize that her large fox ears could actually hear what they were saying. She wouldn't get angry at people thinking...certain thoughts when they saw her, and sharing those thoughts with others, but that kind of thing shouldn't be done in her own earshot. Instead of getting angry she had decided to just blame it on humans having bad hearing, so they didn't realize that those ears of hers weren't just for decoration.

The dancing lasted quite a while, Itori staying silent as she looked into Sol's eyes and followed his movements. She didn't really look embarrassed or flustered. In fact, she wasn't showing a lot of emotion other than that soft smile. It was rather unfortunate that somebody like Sol had been trapped by a demon's trickery. However she still couldn't bring herself to feel particularly sad about it. It was unfortunate, but years of despising both humans and demons (for separate reasons) had made it difficult for Itori to feel truly sympathetic for a human who had been turned into a demon. Especially since she knew that he had chosen this path. Of course, it was also likely that he had been in a position where he honestly had no other choice than to let himself be turned into a demon, but still, the fact that at some point he had said 'yes' made it even harder for the already rather distant Itori to feel sadness or regret. If she felt any regret, it was that a demon had once again managed to get what they wanted. That was always something she'd rather not see. Thwarting demons and sending them to the afterlife was something she both felt satisfaction from and which could be seen as a good deed. She wouldn't do that to Sol, but all in all her opinion was rather neutral.

Then they began to approach the end of the date. They had already eaten, and now they had danced for a while, and it was getting late. It had been an enjoyable night, but Itori didn't want to stay for much longer. She had to return to the guild hall and see if they had some food or ingredients left (yes, she had eaten at the restaurant, but it was nearly impossible to fill Itori's stomach with just one meal). That and she had to talk to her sisters. She still wanted to scold them for forcing her to go on a date. However at the same time she guessed she also had to thank them for forcing her. If they hadn't thrown her out she wouldn't have realized that this evening could actually be pretty enjoyable. Itori looked at Sol, once again writing something on his back.

'It is getting late. I should return to my guild.'

Itori looked slightly guilty as she wrote this on Sol's back, but she didn't hesitate in writing it. It had been an enjoyable evening, but she wasn't going to try and drag it out, especially since they'd pretty much already gotten everything out of it that they could ask for, given the circumstances.

Sol looked slightly sad but nodded as Itori wrote on his back that she needed to get back to her guild, the slayer understood but he did wish that they could see each other again and he gently led her out and to the street before he smiled a bit.”Thank you Itori for a great night I was surprised how well it went and I’m happy nothing bad happened” he said softly before he continued.”Listen you might not take this offer but in the future should you ever need someone taken care of please don’t hesitate to ask around for me I would love to do business with such a lovely Vixen” he said before he moved forward and placed a kiss on her cheek before he turned to head back to his own guild.

"have a good night Itori and be safe” he said very softly as he looked over his shoulder and tipped his hat to her before he headed out into the night and he quickly vanished into the darkness.

(Exit)