One Evening at Beelzebuddies

As the two promoted a bashful silence for different reasons, Becky decided to break the silence after an awkward while. She wasn't sure why Nagana was making such an odd face. Was she this unused to a hug? Whatever it was, Becky felt increasingly embarrassed and angry at herself for probably coming across too touchy or something.

"Um..well-I'll-order-time-to-eat!Waitress?" she turned her head sideways, and immediately met the terrifying faces of the two young dipterai that almost gave her a heart attack as her feathers poofed out in terror.

"Please do!"
"Tell your order!"
Synchronized: "And we'll get it to you in 15 minutes! Beelzebuddies always serves!"

They heard someone yell out loud in the back "HELL YEAH!"

Nagana was trying to hide her blushing face, embarrassed in how she was acting in front of Becky but unable to face her to apologize or explain herself. Nagana had to calm down, but the sensation of Becky’s soft head against the serpent’s underbelly was still tingly! She simply couldn’t calm down! The entire situation was such a mixture of crazy and yet mundane depending on how you looked at it! Nagana decided to focus on getting her face back to normal, gently smacking herself as Becky announced that she was going to order food. Nagana nodded in agreement, not looking over until she heard Becky flinch at the sudden attendance of the two twin insectoids. The two must have startled Becky, something Nagana herself could understand.

With a bit of subtlety, Nagana would move the tail end of her body in between the Dipterai and Becky and form a small barrier. The serpent would lean over Becky in order to keep the flies' attention off of the avian and onto her, casting a shadow over her friend while the tail gently shook the two flies away from Becky to give her space.

“I just want whatever you got that has protein. Preferably no exoskeleton or spices if possible.” Nagana said in a gentle tone, keeping the two wait staff occupied for the moment. “And more drinks please…if you have egg yolks, that’d be great.”

With that, Nagana would lean back in her seat. She tried to give Becky time to recover, but left her tail in between Becky and the Dipterai without caring how it looked.

Becky was surprised by Naganas little barrier, which caused her to turn her head in her direction for a bit, then quickly resumed her attention on the waiters.

"I'd-like-the-Red-Pulses-Special." she said in a rather sheepish tone. The evening was not quite going the way she expected. She wasn't actually sure what she had been expecting but so far, she was still caught off guard.

The waiters in their little chorus said they'll be on it and zipped out of view. The older waitress walked by, looking at Becky and Nagana, then noticing the little barrier that, from her angle, looked like she was sort of cuddling Becky in her tail, and she gave a giggle before walking on.

Nagana waited until the Dipterai twins were gone before letting out a sigh that might have accidentally sounded like a hiss.The tip of her tail tapped the cushion next to Becky, but Nagana didn’t seem to notice as she continued to think about what just happened. Thanks to the twins' distraction, it got Nagana’s mind off what just happened even for just a second. Becky didn’t know what she was doing, and while it might have been a bigger deal in Nagana’s culture, it probably was in Becky’s culture to be close like that. Maybe if Nagana phrased it right, it could almost be taken as a funny thing? Judging by the slight discomfort Becky clearly displayed due to her body language, Nagana figured it was worth giving a shot.

“Hey!” She said a bit louder than intended, “S…Sorry about what just happened. It’s not a big deal, but…eh…”

The serpent striker clicked her tongue, trying not to make things weird as she slowly raised her sweater just a bit to reveal a piece of her smooth underbelly.

“So…in Naga culture…touching or rubbing another Naga’s underbelly is…considered a…p…proposal.” Nagana said with red cheeks, pushing her sweater back down. “So I was just a bit surprised, y’know? I know you didn’t mean it…but hey, the way things were going there for a second, right?”

Nagana tried to smile it off, trying to push it behind her and think of it as something funny. If anything, she was more embarrassed by her reaction, and tried to get back on the good track they started out on.

“B-but…I didn’t dislike your hug.” The serpent muttered, scratching her cheek again as a way of expressing her nerves.

“So…what are Red Pulses anyway? Are they any good, or eaten them anywhere else before?” The serpent awkwardly tried to move the subject to something other than her embarrassing culture clash.

As Becky listened to Naganas explanation, there was a delay before her cheek feathers suddenly poofed out, making her face look flat while her eyes were in a state of panic.

"I-I-Im-really-sorry-i-didnt-mean-to-propose-i-" she took a moment to breathe and ran a hand over her cheek feathers to sit down. This time she tried to speak calmly.

"I-didnt-mean-to-do-that. I-just-wanted-to-thank-you-for..your-kind-words-earlier,-they-meant-a-lot-to-me.-Nobody-here-so-far-has-expressed-the-kind-of-concern-you-have,-everyone-just-assumed-Im-either-just-sweet-small-and-naive-or-that-im-a-popular-celebrity-back-home-so-truth-be...told,-it-feels..." she slowed down, and the corners of her beak seemed to smile, "it feels good to have that off my shoulders to someone."

She then wondered. "If I was to hug you again in the future, which part of you should I do it on?"

Nagana’s eyes widened a bit. Did Becky just speak normal for a second there? The snake couldn’t help but snicker to herself with the realization that Becky was starting to get used to talking with her, just as Nagana was starting to learn how Becky talks. The young bird usually had to speak slow and methodically, but near the end, the avian sounded natural! Without noticing, Nagana used the tip of her tail to scoot Becky closer to her, the serpent looking at her feathered friend with glee!

“Hey! You didn’t have to talk super slow just then! Looks like we’re learning from each other!” Nagana smiled, her fangs gleaming, but for the first time they looked fine rather than menacing. Nagana quickly shut her mouth when she noticed, but that smile was still on her lips. Becky asked where, if anywhere, she could hug her in the future if she wanted. Naga’s were solitary creatures by nature, even most tribes containing only a handful of individual Naga’s at most. The tribes spoke and were at peace with each other, but peace made many simply keep to their lands. Most affectionate gestures were reserved for proposals or for mating. For friends?

“There is one…” Nagana muttered as she rubbed her chin. “Can I pick you up for a second?”

Only if Nagana got Becky’s permission would she gently move toward Becky. With a delicate touch, Nagana would gently scoop Becky up off her feet and bring her close. Nagana’s snake eyes would be entirely focused on Becky, her tiny form in the palms of her hands. When Becky was close, the serpent striker would lower her face down and gently nuzzle her nose against Becky. While some species took that as a romantic gesture, the way Nagana looked after she pulled back let everyone know that such an action was not the case for her people.

“That’s how we greet our family and friends. We can smell each other's pheromones that way. I think it's kind of like business cards.” The snake muttered, unsure if that was an apt comparison.

As Becky was pulled closer to Nagana, she noticed Naganas face definitely changing. It was far more positive than their first meeting. At least, as happy as her scaly face could show, but it looked almost beaming.

When Nagana asked her if she could lift her, Becky got surprised. "S-sure! Go ahead." She hadn't expected Nagana to ever make that gesture, but here we were.

As Nagana picked her up, Becky's feathers did a subtle wave motion. Becky remembered unpleasant memories of the many times she had been picked up by punks and bullies, but this was....not that. Despite how strong Naganas frame looked, her hands had such a gentle and careful touch, she was not sure what to say.

The nuzzle Nagana gave her, along with the explanation, is what made her feathers do a contracting and relaxing motion as they kept poofing and settling down. She was shaking in Naganas hands, as she said, "Well, the more you know, huh?" There was a tone of cheer in her voice.

The waiters came back suddenly.

"FOODS READY!" they exclaimed, almost causing Becky to cluck like a chicken and her feathers poofed out again.

Becky was shaking a bit in Nagana’s grasp, and the serpent pulled back a little. It was natural to be freaked out when being so close to what was essentially her natural enemy and their deadliest weapons being poisoned fangs, the mouth was probably the farthest place a bird would want to be. But Becky was genuinely trying, at least in Nagana’s eyes. And that meant a lot. So rather than be offended, the Naga figured the Avian had enough stimulation and began to lower her back to the seat. But just as Nagana was about to, the two waiters suddenly came out of nowhere, right in the snake's blind spot and basically yelled about the food! Instantly, both of the fighters flinched! Thankfully, Nagana was careful with her precious cargo, her hands tensing up, fingers curling in preparation to make a fist, but stopping before getting anywhere near Becky. When Nagana looked over her shoulders to find the two twins buzzing happily, she didn't mind letting her temper appear in her expression.

“Would you two mind? That’s the second time you two have surprised us.”

Nagana gently set Becky back down before turning on the two waiters. She didn’t say anything, but she raised herself up higher from her seat and crossed her arms. She was clearly annoyed, flicking her tongue between her lips at the waiters but holding back. They were kids…but scaring customers, and scaring herself and Becky, wasn’t something she was fond of.

“You’re clearly passionate, but passion without direction and patience only leads to flaws! You should focus your talents and learn to take the time to observe how to respond to the mood of the table. Your customers will be grateful, and you’ll become more effective in reading what their needs are. Hone your skills in observation, and you two will be excellent staff that will help this place's reputation grow.”

Nagana was…trying to sound nice, but she growled like a drill instructor giving orders to troops. It was a jarring sight; a muscular, sixteen foot Naga in a pink sweater and skirt barking at the waiters in a motivational manner!

Becky was also irritated by the waiters as she calmed down, but Nagana taking up her stance and suddenly showing off a dominant side, this stern and confident form, was honestly awesome to watch. Becky stared at her, her beak a bit open, awestruck at this display of controlled anger.

Now see if SHE herself had been at this and taken the reigns of the situation, she probably would've done something that would've thrown them both out.

The waiters stared at Nagana, their unreadable faces staring at her seemingly blankly. That was, until they both hung their heads down.

Foot: "We apologize."
Flying: "We are ashamed."
Foot: "We will remember your wise words."
Flying: "And apply them for better service!"
Both: "Thank you for your feedback, here's your food!"

Foot slid a tray that slid all the way up to Nagana. There was a piping hot steak with no bones and some salad leaves under it on the tray. It was a rather sizeable sized one too. Then a bowl full of egg yolks got slid to her, followed by 2 soft drinks.

Becky got her Red Pulses Special; Nagana could see a big bowl filled with what looked like red seeds but having herbs and spices cooked in on top of them, giving them a dark brown rich texture with orange streaks here and there. Becky looked at it hungrily.

The 2 young waiters buzzed off with a bow, as the older waitress passed by again, looking at the Becky and Nagana. She especially turned her head to look at Nagana, and said, "Thank the gods. I've told those two pests to stop scaring people so many times. I'm sure your little speech probably taught them a lesson." She gave Nagana a respectful bow of her head, before walking off to a different table.

Becky had already begun her assault on the Red Pulses Special, her beak shooting in at rapid fire speeds, eating and gobbling up the pulses with wet sounds.

Nagana didn’t like being snuck up on, but she was used to having a chip on her shoulder. Despite her scary appearance and the fact that she was a fighter by nature, the Naga had long ago learned that using her fists to solve situations only made things much worse in the long term. Heck, even short term it was a bad idea. Out in the Wildlands even the worst creeps travel in packs, and if you messed with one, then you messed with them all. In Tsubar, the best results were being civil, regardless of tone. Especially over something as simple as customer service.

Thankfully, the two insectoids seemed to understand her point. Nagana didn’t relax, but she didn’t push the matter either. The waiters were simply eager to please, and honestly meant no harm. So, the Serpent Striker simply watched as the waiters presented their food on the table. Nagana didn’t even look at her food as they set it down, just quietly watching them to really drive the point she made home. When they finally left, she clicked her tongue and leaned on the table. The table’s legs groaned supporting the serpent's weight, but Nagana didn’t seem to notice or care. She caught the head waitress watching her, despite her expressionless face. In the split second their eyes met, Nagana figured she was about to be asked to leave for scaring the waiters, but instead got some gratitude from the lead insectoid. For some reason, Nagana wasn’t surprised to hear this wasn’t the first time those waiters have had a talking to.

Becky had already begun to eat, but Nagana was still simmering down. Eating when she was heated usually made it hard to digest her food and upset her stomach. Plus, she didn’t quite feel up to unhinging her jaw in front of Becky just yet. The Avian would probably understand, but everyone stared when seeing a Naga swallow something for the first time. Instead, Nagana just watched Becky eat, surprised that the dish she ordered was actually a bowl of seasoned seeds.

Huh…that was the last thing I was thinking with a name like “Red Pulses”