Scoping out new visitors

After a lovely morning lounging in the midst of his pleasant smelling new collection of plants, Val Etilen finally took a shower, fed his cat, and threw on a flattering dark red ensemble with reflective black bangles and headed to the Eel. He'd clipped one lily which had bloomed overnight and ticked it into his hair.
It was early in the evening, but already at least three herds of ensigns were making merry. He took up his usual place at the bar and waved to Falten.

"Jumja tea please, gorgeous. No shot yet.. I want to keep my wits about me." He grinned at the barmaid excitedly.

Today Da-an had bedecked themselves with a flower crown from the Pleasure gardens, and a decorative garland of jasmine blossoms draped over their shoulders. Though the new crowds of young people scared them, it was also so very exciting, they couldn't sequester themselves in the gardens and miss it all. So they made their way to the bar again, partly with the intent of people watching, and partly because they had hoped to see Val again. They did spot him, and with the hopes of not appearing too enthusiastic, they ordered water, and pretended not to see him at first.

Val had no such scruples, and the 7 foot tall plant being was difficult not to notice.

"Da-an!" Val hopped a few barstools and sat next to them. "You're so finely decorated! Is it a holiday?"

"Not at all," they said to Val. "Don't you ever feel like dressing nicely for the sake of it?" they asked. They took their flower crown off, and laid it over Val's head, which due to their size difference, did not rest on his head, but laid around his shoulders.
"I like your Bajoran Hope Lily. Did you receive my gifts?"

Val laughed with unrestrained delight.
"I did. They are marvelous, thank you," he rested his chin on his hand at the bar. "I'm thinking about you often too."

"I hope the aftermath..." said Da-an, gesturing to the whole of Val's body, "...didn't leave you in too much of a state?"

"I sneezed my way home, but a shower took care of it," Val said. "How are your gardens doing?"

"They're nearly ready for the grand opening!" Said the faceless plant with a hint of pride in their droning voice. "If you haven't anything better to do tonight, we could go see them. The Captain approved my request for a pond full of Altairian resplendent carp. They haven't arrived yet, but the lily pond is there now." They absently dangled their tendril in a glass of water, whose levels slowly decreased.

"I would like that very much," Val grinned, sipping his tea. "Do you ever consume anything but water?" he asked curiously.

"Sometimes I drink a solution of sucrose and water, anything more exotic would destroy my immune system. If I drank alcohol, I would shrivel and dehydrate," they said. "Why do you ask? Planning on poisoning me, you black widow?" They tickled him under his chin with a spare tentacle.

Val grinned. "Certainly not. If I didn't want to kill that Daimon, why would I ever wish harm on someone as nice as you? I'm just very curious about what your vices are. You must have some. Unless you consider ravaging humanoids a vice."

"Ravishing humanoids is my favorite, I admit," they said. "Secondary only to perhaps sunbathing, and yelling at birds," they said. They stepped down from their barstool and extended a tentacle to Val.
"Shall we?"

Val took Da-an's tendril and let them lead the way. With their floral jewellery they looked like a spring festival procession.
"Yelling at birds?" he asked.

"Birds, they're the worst. They get into everything," they said. They loosely wrapped a tentacle around Val's hips as they walked together. "The crows on Phylos are as large as you are, and they start calling around sunrise."

Val's brows rose, his interest piqued. "I bet they have magnificent feathers, though."
He regarded Da-an and formulated a strategy for interesting him more on this second date.

[Continued in Pleasure Gardens]