Private Finished Frozen Monkey

[Emotions: perky, excited]

Tiffany Fairchild lowered her phone to inspect the picture she'd just taken of a dog running by. Sooo cute! She started tapping away on her phone, partially curious as to why the dog was running away with shoes in its mouth. Maybe the owner was playing long-distance fetch with puppy!

The young woman startled greatly when someone dropped down from the sky right in front of her. She let out a quiet shriek and clapped a hand over her mouth, then burst out laughing in a break-neck change of emotion--from surprise to amusement. "Oh my God! You scared me, I'm sorry!" she giggle-snorted.

Her eyes flashed gold, effectively ending her rain of giggles. Thankfully, this one was short, and she snapped right back out of it. The open book of reverse empathy depicted her as perky and curious now. "Hello! What's your name? Am I in your way?" She took a moment to quickly glance him over.

"Your hair's really cool! I like it a lot."

[Emotions: perky, curious, energetic]

Tiffany felt a little relieved that she wasn't being a bother. "Like gold? You really think so?" she said, surprised again. She absentmindedly twirled a lock of her hair with her index finger. "Thank you!!"

She casually snapped a pic of Xing's face, tapped away on her phone for a couple seconds, then turned it off. "Hello, Xing! My name's Tiffany. It's nice to meet you!" With a big grin, she extended her hand for him to shake, if he wanted to.

"Oh, don't worry about it. I needed the fright anyways! Life's no fun without a little surprise once in a while, don't you think?" Her blue eyes glanced downwards when the monkey-man started shifting about. Her brows rose, and she started to feel concerned. It wasn't unusual for other races to go barefoot, but she wasn't sure if they could all handle going barefoot in the snow when it was the middle of winter.

"Umm...are you okay? Are your feet cold at all? Like...that looks like it would be really cold."

[Emotions: perky, energetic, concerned]

Tiffany's grin split into a bright smile. "Maybe you're my soulmate," she said teasingly as he inspected her and questioned how he could tell what she was feeling. Just a hint of attraction popped up about her, but she bapped it out of her system with the knowledge that it was literally just her reverse empathy. She playfully stuck out the tip of her tongue and decided she'd tell him later.

She drew her hand back to rest at her side. She could understand that not everyone on this island was comfortable with physical contact, so she wasn't upset. "There you go! Keeps you on your toes, doesn't it? Otherwise we'd all grow lazy and overconfident in our security."

Tiffany watched his tail with curiosity, but her eyes quickly returned to his when he made his offer. "Really? That's so nice of you!" If she had a tail it would be wagging. She began moving towards the city, a spring in her step. "Let's go before my fingers freeze!"

"So, you're new here, right? I mean, I've never seen you around before. Where are you from?"

[Emotions: cheerful, perky, curious, admiring]

Tiffany couldn't help but admire the little smiles he gave her. She wondered if perhaps he didn't get to smile very much, for it seemed he might have been unused to such an expression.

"Oh..!" The hint of a blush washed across her cheeks when he reached and took her hand in his. He could feel how cold her skin was. She bashfully dipped her head, sandwiched his hand between the both of hers, and shook it. Though her hands lingered over his, and though she was reluctant (he could tell), she politely let go.

She laughed at his jest and rubbed her chilled hands together. "You'll give me grey hairs before I'm thirty!" she joked. "I would say I wouldn't mind that at all, but if I did then I wouldn't be scared if you did! So I won't say it, and you'll never know and I'll never not be scared."

Tiffany skipped to catch up to him, and she bumped her hip lightly and playfully against his. "The Himalayas? Wow! That must have been really pretty!" Out of all the trips she'd been on, she had never gone to the Himalayas. She wondered what they were like outside of a phone screen. "Yes, I was! My parents are well known in the Narrow Reality, but they married here on the islands and had me. I've grown up around so many different races and met so many different people. And there are a lot that come from elsewhere! It's so nice to see those whose roots are here on Manta Carlos."

"So, what do you think? Do you like the islands, or is it too soon to tell? How long have you been here?"

[Emotions: cheerful, perky, bashful]

That's it. Tiffany was determined to see this cute monkey man smile some more.

"It sounds delightful. Maybe you can show me one day when I go out on a trip again! It'll be a while; our next vacation is booked for Japan." Tiffany stuck out the tip of her tongue again, half-joking with her invitation and for some reason half-hopeful, though she couldn't explain why for the life of her. "I totally get that! Even though I've been here my whole life, I still feel like I'll get lost one of these days," she laughed. "I think you'll get used to it eventually, though! People say it grows on you after a little while."

That thought process was cut off as her eyes flashed gold, and her steps slowed. She was walking blindly, one hand partially extended in front of her with fingers splayed to make sure she didn't crash into anything. Determined to make it through without help, she kept on. After a few seconds she blinked, and she could see in front of her again.

She jogged to catch up with Xing just as they arrived at the shop and he held open the door. "What a gentleman, thank you!" she complimented with a grin and stepped inside. Walking from freezing cold into a warmth that felt like a blanket...the feeling could only be described as sweet relief. "Thanks so much for paying, Xing. You ought to let me treat you some-time too! I know just the sweetest bakery; it's actually only a couple blocks away from here, I think!"

TIffany looked up and around the shop, humming a sweet little tune to herself. She wondered what to order, then wondered what he would order. What did monkey men even like?