Can the evening get any longer or more hectic? Olivia's had to dance with several Skreeks, Skeeks, and Kadie, thanks to her role as one of the Frog Maidens. After that she had to dash home … find Axel (which wasn't fun), then get him to Isolde's home with only a few minutes to spare. And, her night isn't done yet! So, yes, it can. Now she has her date with a certain gypsy Skreek named Djivan. He told her to meet him at the docks at midnight. So, here she is. Only one problem … no Djivan.

Olivia cranes her neck to peer about in the darkness… not an easy feat when the lantern she's carrying only sheds light in a small circle around her. She's dressed carefully for this meeting in a silky, electric blue blouse and Djivan's red scarf wrapped twice around her waist. The skirt she's wearing is a sight to behold, too, with a sheath of the same electric blue material underneath several wispy layers of light green gauze. "He had better not have stood me up when I went to all this trouble," she mutters, slightly disgruntled.

Some far off frogs croak as if remarking on Olivia's plight. So, she gets to stand there. About ten minutes pass by, and a swinging light can be seen coming down the waterway.

Olivia holds her lantern up higher, in the somewhat vain hope of seeing who's approaching. "Who's there?" she calls out softly.

"Only de greatest hope an dream of de worl'," comes the reply in the distance. Yep, that has to be Djivan. After another minute, his shadowy form comes into view. He's using a punt to move a flatboat along in the water.

Olivia puts a hand on one hip and grins. "And why exactly were you made the greatest hope and dream of the world?" she teases. "What were the criteria there?"

The boat pulls up alongside the dock and Djivan hops off. "Why, my good looks, o'course," he remarks. "Best lookin' guy in de worl' has to be de greatest hope, no?" He flashes Olivia a grin, then a wink.

Olivia just shakes her head. "Well, at least you don't have an ego about it," she sighs, rolling her eyes heavenward. Then she asks, "So, what did you have in mind for tonight? I've handed Axel back to our village witch for whatever she plans to do with him, so I have no more obligations just now."

"Oh, we goin' on a boat ride. Dat's why I'm late. I had to gamble an win a boat for de evenin'. Ran into a bit o' snag. De dang otters cheat as much' as I do!" Djivan grouses. "But! All was no lost. They cheat as much, but no as good." He winks.

Olivia laughs and says, "Normally I would frown on the whole gambling thing but if you beat the otters at their own game then I guess it's no more than they deserve!" She offers her hand to the Skreek for help into the boat.

"Yea. It vas easy. I jus' bribed one of de otter girls to slink by an rub on my opponent at de righ' time. He never saw me svitch out de cards, heh," Djivan remarks as he takes her hand. The Skreek helps her down into the boat, then follows soon after.

Olivia finds a good seat and hangs her lantern on a hook on the other side of the boat so there are lights at either end. "Hmm. Sly and smart. Something tells me I'll have to watch out for you tonight," she teases.

Djivan retrieves the punt and pushes the boat away from the dock. "Oh, I hope vou be lookin' at me all nigh'," he quips, then winks. "We goin' out into de swamp a bit. Got a suprise f'vou." The boat lurches a bit, then steadies out.

Olivia ohs! "Great! I like surprises," she says, watching the lanterns make pools of light on the dark water. "Well, nice ones, anyway."

"Oh, vell, den you migh' no like de evil monsters ve haf to fight along de vay," Djivan deadpans as the boat slowly moves back out onto the water. "But, I bet vour blue clothing vill blind dem long enough fer me to vhack em." In short order, they're surrounded by darkness.

Olivia gives the Skreek a look of mock-dismay. "I thought you liked my clothing," she says, smoothing out the top layers of her skirt. "I even wore the scarf you gave me!"

"I do. I noticed dem, didn't I?" Djivan asks, then glances down at Olivia with a grin.

"You teased me about them," Olivia grumbles, but grins all the same. "That's not quite the same thing."

"Sur' it is. It's attention," Djivan counters with a grin. The punt makes a disturbing, squishing, 'bloot' noise each time the Skreek drives it into the dark water. Around them, Olivia can see the shadowy outlines of trees enclose them.

Olivia admires the light on the water, and the dark forms of trees all around them. "This is a kinda pretty place at night," she murmurs. "Well, except for the smell of fish, anyway."

"Coul' be vorse. No svamp gas," Djivan remarks, pushing the boat along and peering ahead. "So, how did de rest o' de dance go after I left?"

Olivia sighs down at the much more comfortable shoes she's wearing now. "My feet are killing me, if that's any indication," she grouses. "I never would have thought it, but being a Frog Maiden is hard work! Dance with these 10 people. Smile all the time. Wave a lot. Sit up straight and try to look pretty. Ugh, I'd rather be sewing or something!"

There's a strange burbling sound in the water … just to Olivia's right. Djivan doesn't seem to notice it. "Bleh, I rather be dancin' than sewin'," Djivan remarks. "Oh, ve might se Lily briefly. She helpin' me out a bit tonight vith setting some stuff up."

Olivia looks in the direction of the noise and peers down a bit, trying to figure out what's making it. "Oh, is she?" she asks absently, listening more for the source of the strange burble.

"Yea. She carried some stuff out to de islan' for me," Djivan is saying. At about the same moment, two eyes pop out of the water, then a sploosh! Olivia finds a frog sitting right on the top of her head a moment later.

Olivia squeaks and feels around on the top of her head, trying to shoo the frog off. "Yeep! Talk about a living frog tiara!" she gasps.

Djivan raises the punt quickly and looks like he's about to bash Olivia on the head with it! "Ack, frog attack," he squeaks. Fortunately for Olivia, the frog jumps off and back into the water. Hmmm. She could have sworn the moment the frog jumped into the water … there was this big eye looking at her from the water.

"It's okay, he's gone," Olivia says quickly, before she gets punted on the side of the skull. "Ummm, but maybe you could row a bit faster? There might be some bigger ones out here and I don't like the idea of being frog bait!"

"Pfft. Nex' t'ing you be sayin' is dat swamp monsters are real," Djivan teases as he lowers the punt back into the water and pushes the boat onward. Thankfully, Olivia can see a small light in the distance.

Olivia deadpans, "Of course swamp monsters are real! You should see some of the otters after feast days – big, bloated, hairy monsters swaying drunkenly all over the place!"

"Oh, sounds like lots of parties I've been to," Djivan says with a grin. "Vhere do I sign up?

The boat moves ever onward. The light … no, lights, start to get closer.

"Well, you just missed the Frog Festival," Olivia replies. "I guess you'll have to wait until next year for that big bash! That's when the monsters come out in force."

"As long as dere is beer, I am so dere," Djivan says, grinning from near ear to ear. The lights are probably fifty feet away now. It looks like a bunch of candles burning in the distance, really.

Olivia squints into the darkness again, toward the lights. "Whatever you have planned, it looks like an awful lot of work went into it," she says.

Djivan peers at the lights. "Y'know. Dat doesn't seem quite right… " he muses.

Olivia looks back at the Skreek quizzically. "It doesn't? What's wrong?"

Djivan grins. "Vell, I remember askin' Liliana to put out fifty candles. I only coun' forty-eight. Two missin'," he comments, barely able to keep a straight face.

Olivia does the gypsy hand-against-the-forehead motion again. "I think we'll survive without two of them," she comments.

"Pfft! It ruin de mood! I vanted fifty, no forty-eight. My plans be ruined, ruined I tell vou!" Djivan goes on, and on, and on. "Vour no buyin' any of it, huh?" he finally asks.

Olivia gives Djivan a lopsided smile. "Nah, not really. It was a nice try, though!"

"Oh vell. I guess my firs' plan of fillin' vour room wit mushrooms vill have to go into effect," Djivan deadpans, then winks. The boat eases up next to the small island. In the center is Liliana, looking bored.

Olivia waves to the Eeee and calls, "Hi, Lily! What's the matter? You don't look very happy."

"I been standin' out in dis stinky swamp, in de middle of novhere, and I haf to keep relighting de blasted candles," the Eeee grouses and waves her arms around dramatically. "Do I get a fun evenin'? No. Hmph!"

Djivan pffts and waves a hand at Liliana. "Oh, pish. Vou owed me, vou know. Vho keeps people from peekin' in your wagon all de time? Me, dats who," he retorts and grins. "Quit bein' such a drama-bat."

Olivia ohs silently. Then she asks, "Um… well, where's Morgan? I hear that you two are seeing a bit of each other now. You're not going out tonight, too?"

"Couldn' find him," Liliana grouses, then just shrugs. "Oh vell. At leas' I had somethin' to do tonight. An' someone is gonna haf fun. So, anyvay, I t'ink I should be headin home soon. Vou two don' do somt'ing I wouldn' no?"

Olivia mutters, "That gives us a wide range." But she scrambles out of the boat and hugs Liliana quickly, saying in a louder voice, "Thanks for all your hard work!"

Djivan hops off the boat and ties it to a nearby gnarled tree. Liliana just looks at Olivia, then taps her ears. "I heard dat," she says. "Vide, indeed!"

The insides of Olivia's own ears turn pink at Lily's commentary. "Oh, yeah. Heightened hearing. I forgot."

"Quit' righ', vou forgot," Liliana admonishes. "It vouldn' be vide, it vould be huge. Vou best watch him," the Eeee winks, then grins fangily.

"I'll do my best," Olivia grins, "but it is a bit dark out here, even with all the nice candles. So I might miss something." She turns now to Djivan with a considering stare. "Which may have been his intention… "

Djivan is innocently tying up the boat still. Yep, very innocent. Liliana giggles and nudges Olivia, whispering, "Vou vill be fine. If he starts actin' up, just call him 'pookins' an he'll shut up." She coughs, then says, "Vell, I'll leave vou to it. Heh."

Olivia grins at the Eeee and whispers, "Thanks, Lily. I'll remember that."

The Eeee snaps her wings out and takes off. Soon Olivia is alone in the swap. With a Skreek. A gypsy Skreek. A gypsy Skreek, with control of the boat.

Olivia looks around the small island at all the flickering lights. "It all looks beautiful so far," she says to the Skreek and smiles. "Thanks for going to so much trouble."

"Oh, wasn' much trouble. I gots plenty o' blackmail material an I know how to gamble," Djivan says dismissively. Hard to tell if he's being serious or not on that one. He lifts a couple boxes out of the boat that he was sitting on and sets them on the ground.

"Hmm. The blackmail list must be impressive, then, to have Lily standing out here for an hour re-lighting candles for your date!" she teases.

Djivan pulls out a blanket and some bottles of wine. "Oh, vell. She didn' require much prodding. She didn' have much to do tonigh'," Djivan comments and shrugs. The Skreek then spreads out the blanket on the ground.

Olivia goes over to the blanket and sits down gingerly, trying to avoid any stones or roots underneath. "So, um, how much longer do you think your tribe will stay around Stonebarrow?" she asks, trying to make conversation. "My friend Amelia thought it would be for a while longer but none of us know for sure."

"Vell, it usually depends. Ve leave around de time de pitchforks and torches come out," Djivan remarks as he struggles with the cork in the bottle. A few moments later … pop! and the cork shoots off into the swamp.

Olivia just looks at the Skreek. "Uh, that was a joke, right?" she asks weakly.

"Eh, only partially. Ve aren't exactly de most desired tribe to have aroun'. Ve vere surprised vou let us stay so readily," Djivan remarks absently and starts to pour two glasses of wine.

Olivia gives Djivan a relieved smile at this. "And Stonebarrow isn't the most normal town in the world, either. I figure as long as you don't run around burning down houses or trashing the market, you'll be fine here as long as you choose to stay."

Djivan offers Olivia a glass. "Vou really don' know about us, do vou?" he asks, sounding rather serious for a change.

Olivia takes the glass slowly. "Er, well, I know that Lily is a vampire, but not the undead kind. And that your fortuneteller really can see the future, which makes her a little scary to be around. Is there anything else I should be aware of?"

"Vell," Djivan says and takes a sip from his glass. He seems to be trying to decide just how to say something. "Bad t'ings seem to follow us. It's been hard on Natasha. She been having a lot of bad visions lately. Vhen de occur, vell, she gets blamed … and ve often get chased out of town. People don' like prophecies of death an' destruction comin' true," he says.

Olivia runs a finger around the rim of her own glass before taking a swallow. "I see," she says carefully. "Has she had any more bad visions recently? Like, since you've been in Stonebarrow?"

Djivan takes a drink from his glass and looks out into the swamp. He noticeably doesn't answer that question.

"Ah," Olivia says softly. "I can tell that she has. Did it foretell major destruction? Or the death of just one person?"

Djivan takes a long drink from his glass. "The latter," he replies after an uncomfortable bit of silence.

Olivia takes another mouthful of wine before asking; "May I ask whom? Or would that be just a little too uncomfortable to talk about?"

"Don' know who. Jus' know it's apparently someone vho knows vour friend, Amelia," Djivan replies and shrugs. "Sorry."

Olivia frowns. "Talk about a wide field," she murmurs. "That could be almost anybody in town… " Then she sucks in a breath. "I just hope it's not… well, not that it's good to have anyone die, but… " Then she, too, falls silent.

"Oh. It involved somet'ing near flowing … no, falling vater," Djivan adds and glances at the Skeek. "If dat helps any."

The hand in Olivia's lap tightens around the folds of her skirt. "It may narrow the field a bit, yes," she says tightly. "I hope not in the direction I'm thinking, though." With a shake of her head, she takes another, larger gulp of wine this time.

Djivan shrugs and says, "Vell, Natasha always says dat de future is just a mass of possibilities dat change as things in de now change. So, vhat she sees may never come to be. But, she not been wrong in a long time." The Skreek takes a drink and then tries to smile at Olivia. "So, is dis a dat'? We both actin' like our favorite pet jus' died."

Olivia brightens a bit at this. "That actually makes me feel a little better, believe it or not," she confesses. "It just means… well, there are a few people I might have to keep a closer eye on, I guess. Anyway, you're right, we're supposed to be having a good time!" She clinks her glass with Djivan's and takes another sip.

"Good, cuz in de grand tradition of datin … vhich I mad up jus' now, it comes de fun part of de date," Djivan says and eyes Olivia. His eyebrows waggle.

Olivia eyes Djivan. "And just what do you consider fun?" she asks with another lopsided grin.

Djivan leans over, coming nose to nose with the Skeek. "Oh … I can t'ink of several t'ings… " he says … rather ominous really.

Olivia arches an eyebrow but to her credit, doesn't lean away from him. "Care to name them?"

Djivan gets the sort of grin parents want to lock their daughters in the closet to protect them from. "Vell, what I'm t'inking of vill probably involve giggling and a bit o' sweating… " he says slowly.

Olivia puts her glass down in the safest area she can reach at the moment. "It's not anything that will make you lose respect for me in the morning, is it?" she asks archly.

Djivan sits back and lets out a melodramatic huff. "Why, Miss Olivia Veaver, vou have a dirty min'!" he mock-admonishes. "Dis is de first date. Dat vould be improper!" The Skreek starts laughing and reaches back, then pulls out an odd stringed instrument. "It's time for de musical portion of de date, of course! Where de women giggle an I end up sweatin'."

Olivia picks up her glass again and grins hugely. "Oh, c'mon, that's probably part of why you like me," she says, laughing. Then she looks over the Skreek's instrument. "Lily did say that you were a bit of a musician. I was wondering if I'd ever get to hear you play."

"Drat, she varned vou already," Djivan grouses as he fiddles with the instrument tuning.

"Hey, the only thing she said was that you were… enthusiastic," the Skeek girl smiles.

"I don' know if I believe dat," Djivan remarks. He then strums over the strings and seems fairly satisfied. The Skreek clears his throat.

"It's true!" Olivia protests, but she can't keep the grin off her face.

The Skreek then starts playing a light tune. He starts singing … and it's a pity his singing isn't near as good as his skill with the instrument. ~Oh, Olivia Weaver, how I can' believe her, when I see her … she makes me forget about everyt'ing, even de snee'er!~ He pauses there and whispers, "A snee'er is kinda like a seer, but has a cold… "

Olivia covers her mouth with her free hand in a fit of quiet laughter. She comes out of it just long enough to remark at the end of the first verse, "Ohhhh, so that's what a snee'er is! I had always wondered… "

The Skreek continues on … if you can call it singing. ~oh, de Weaver, de don see how great it be to squeeze her … or maybe tease her,~ he wails, then waggles his eyebrows at Olivia.

"Well, you certainly do plenty of that!" Olivia exclaims from in between the fingers covering her mouth.

~Alas, everytime I see her, I jus' want to please her … dat Olivia Weaver!~ he wails, then strums hard on the instrument! A rush of wind whips through the trees, then all the candles and lamps suddenly go out! Olivia can now see … a lot of dark.

Olivia tries to see in the sudden complete darkness but her eyes are slow to adjust. "Uhhhh, that was part of your plan for the date, right?" she asks hopefully. "To, you know, amp up the mystery of the whole thing?"

"Uhm, no. Dis was definitely no part of my plan," Djivan says. There's some noise as he's trying to move around. "Let me see if I kin find somet'ing to light a candle… "

"Okay," Olivia says, trying not to become too nervous about the sudden turn of events.

"Uhm, Olivia?" Djivan asks a moment later.

"Yes?" Olivia answers.

"Please tell me dat's your leg I jus' grabbed… " Djivan says nervously. A moment later, a soft growl fills the air.