You know, this was a fairly nice date. It started with a nice boat ride through the swamp and nothing bad happened. The island of candles was pretty, even if it was only forty-eight candles instead of fifty. The singing … okay, well, the music was good. The singing could choke a deaf Rughrat. But now, here they sit in darkness … with something growling. And apparently, Djivan grabbed its leg.

Olivia gets slowly to her feet in case she needs to make a run for it, but she clutches the still half-full wineglass in her hand. "You might want to start backing away, Djivan… " she whispers tensely.

"Well, I don't want him to let go," comes a sultry voice from the darkness, then the growl again. "Eh? What dey hey?" Djivan says and starts scrambling backwards. "Okay, dis isn' funny."

Olivia squints to try and get a better view in the darkness, hoping her eyes will adjust soon. "Who is that?" she asks of the disembodied voice.

Djivan, meanwhile, is trying to light a candle. Apparently the flint is not being cooperative, as he seems to be cussing at it every so often. A shadowy figure moves in the darkness. "Oh, well … is that Olivia Weaver I hear? Out here? With a man?" comes the voice again.

Olivia's hand tightens around her glass. "Yes, it's Olivia. What's it to you? And what are you doing out here, yourself?"

pfft! And a soft yellow glow illuminates the island again. Djivan holds up the candle and both Olivia and he are facing … a young, naked, female Akwavi. "Oh, this is a popular place for the Oggtons and other otter clans to go to, uhm, have fun," she says and sits up, grinning. "I presume that's why you two are out here. And here I was hoping someone grabbed my leg because they wanted to play. Poo," she says.

Olivia lets out a long sigh. "Thank goodness, I thought it was Deirdre again," she mutters to herself. More loudly, she says to the otter girl, "Uh, sorry for yelling at you like that. I didn't know that there was anyone else out here. You kinda startled us. And, ummm, would you like a blanket to cover up with?"

The otter rolls on her back and grins at Olivia upside-down. "Aww, clothing is so confining," she mutters. Djivan is just starting, looking rather dumbfounded. He shakes his head and looks at Olivia, commenting, "Vou live in a weird town. An' people complain about us!"

Olivia grins over at the gypsy, waving one hand in front of his face to snap him out of whatever daze he's in. "Hey, Djivan, stay with me here. If you want to continue this date, that is." Then to the otter girl she says, "I guess we'd better move to another spot on this island so we don't get in your way. Are there a lot of Akwavi here right now? We would like to have at least a little privacy. And I, er, didn't catch your name?"

"Oh, I don't know if any others are in the area. I was just out looking for some fun. But, the spot is taken, sigh. I don't suppose you'd want a third, huh?," the otter replies and slowly pushes herself backward and into the swamp water, anyway. She leaves a bit of a slimy mud trail as she goes. "An, well, my name is Milly. Milly Oggton," she answers.

Djivan coughs. "Ah, no, ve don' need three, thanks. Uhm, bye," he replies.

Olivia blinks a bit at the mention of a third, but manages to wave as the otter swims away. "Thanks for understanding, Milly," she calls.

Djivan starts lighting some of the other candles while Milly sinks back into the murky water and swims away, leaving a rippling trail in her wake. "Vell, uh, heh," is all Djivan manages to say.

Olivia sinks back down onto the blanket as Djivan relights the candles. Her shoulders start to shake a minute later and after that she is almost crying with laughter. "This is a night… I won't soon forget!" she stammers in between whoops.

"Vell, it no go as I intended," Djivan complains and sits down hard on the blanket. He picks off some wax that dripped on his hand. "Dey shoul' put a big sign on de island saying 'Akwavi makeout spot!' to varn others," he grumbles.

Olivia wipes her eyes and scoots over so that she is sitting right next to the gypsy. "Hey, don't be so hard on yourself! I didn't know it was the local couples' hangout, either. And I live here!" She reaches over and hands Djivan back his wineglass, then sips from her own. "I think you're doing better than expected in a place like this. You're right, it is sort of odd."

Djivan takes a drink from his glass, then looks over at Olivia. A sly smile creeps over his muzzle and he says, "Vell, if dis is a makeout point, perhaps ve shouldn' break the tradition, no?"

Olivia grins back at the Skreek and, daringly for her, leans her head against his shoulder. "I thought the only giggling and sweating was going to come from your singing?" she teases… but she stays where she is.

Djivan's brow goes up, obviously a bit surprised by that response. "Vell, vell," he says, grinning, "Full of surprises, no?" He sets his glass to the side and then reaches down to nudge Olivia's head up just a bit, then actually kisses her. Unfortunately, off in the distance the two can hear a 'Woowoo!'

Olivia gives in to the kiss but as soon as they are finished (for the moment), she turns her head back to the water and calls, "We still don't need a third, Milly!" Winking at Djivan, she slides a hand behind his neck and pulls his head down for a second kiss.

"Drat!" comes the reply from the swamp. Djivan goes over, and pulls the blanket over the two to conceal themselves from prying eyes. And there the two remain for some time. But, alas, Djivan eventually sits up and says, "Vell, as much as I vould like to continue dis … I don' want you makin' any mistakes vou migh' regret." He smiles and shrugs slightly, adding with a wink, "At leas' no yet. I should probably take vou home now. It's prett' late."

Olivia sits up as well, patting her mussed hair back into place. She sighs, a bit disappointed that their evening has come to an end, but nods in understanding. "Yeah, I don't want my aunt wondering where I am all of a sudden. Besides, I'd like to visit your camp sometime in the morning. To see you, of course," here the Skeek blushes a bit, "but also to talk to Madam Natasha for a while. Would that be all right?"

Djivan grins slyly. "Vou coul' always stay at de camp tonight," he says and tackles Olivia, then crouches over her triumphantly. "But, dat prolly no such a good idea. As den I migh' have to keep vou," he laments and sighs. "But, visitin' in de morning is fine, yeah. As for Natasha, she prolly don' mind. Vou vould have to jus ask her."

"Hey, the first time you met me, you asked if my parents would sell me to you!" Olivia reminds him, laughing. "But it wouldn't be such a good thing right now, no. Especially not after being chased out of your camp by one of our village witches! That's not a performance I'd like to repeat, thanks." She tries rolling away from the Skreek but finds herself trapped. "So, uh, you gonna let me go or what?"

Djivan goes nose to nose with Olivia. "I t'ink about it," he teases, then lightly bites her nosetip. "An, t'anks for remindin' me. I shoul' see about getting vou sold to de tribe," he says, winks, and kisses her again.

Olivia accepts the kiss enthusiastically… but in the middle of things, she gooses Djivan on his rump! When he yelps, she says wickedly, "You didn't think you were going to get away with grabbing my rear end at the dance, did you?"

Djivan sits up and rubs his backside. "Course not," he replies, still grinning. "But, vou realize vou just gave me license to do it more. Gypsy custom, pinch de bum, and vours is fair game," he says and nods sagely.

Olivia pushes herself to her feet before Djivan gets any more ideas. "Just remember, you started it," she says in a mock-sweet tone. "And if you keep this up, you may not be able to sit down for a week!"

"An proud of havin' started it, too!" Djivan declares as he gets to his feet. The Skreek goes about gathering up the items on the island and extinguishing candles. During the gathering of stuff, the Skreek passes by, and brushes against, Olivia a lot. More than necessary, really.

Olivia helps a bit by corking the leftover wine, then wrapping up the glasses so they won't get broken during transit. She grins knowingly each time the Skreek brushes against her, shaking her head. When everything is ready, she helps him to load the items back into the boat.

Djivan finishes loading the boat with Olivia, then steps in. He extends his hand to her, offering to help her into the boat as well. "Alas, de night comes to a close, darkness falls. No wait, it already fell. Made a splut sound too," he says, rubbing his chin with his free hand. "So, uhm, guess darkness vill be rising. Dat's so not as poetic."

Olivia takes the gypsy's hand and laughs as she gets into the boat. "You mean dawn will be breaking soon," she corrects him. "That's pretty poetic. You just have to find the right words to describe the thing, is all."

"Breakin' t'ings no so nice," Djivan teases and grins. After Olivia has settled down into the boat, the Skreek pushes it away from the island with the punt. "Let's see. De dawn breaks, baskin' de land with de glory of ligh'. Much like de naked otter basks in de mud," he says. "Hm, needs vork."

Olivia hides her face in both hands. "Yes, it needs A LOT of work," she says in a muffled voice, but is sounds like she is giggling, too.

"Okey, how 'bout dis? As de otter slides across de lan, so does de ligh … only without de wet, squishy sound," Djivan says, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. "Y'know, I t'ink dat's even vorse."

In between snerks, Olivia says, "Perhaps you should just stick to playing instruments and not making up poetry? It doesn't seem to be your strong suit."

"Tru'. Besides, my strong suit is brigh' blue," Djivan remarks and pushes the boat along in the water.

As the boat glides along in the murky water, Olivia could swear she sees something large following it. Its back comes just slightly out of the water now and then. Whatever it is, it's much larger than any otter.

Olivia's eyes sweep across the water at the back of the boat. "Um, I'm still seeing something in the swamp here and it looks too big to be a frog," she remarks nervously. "Are you hearing or seeing anything, Djivan?"

"Eh?" The Skreek asks and glances backward briefly. He squints and says, "No, I don' see anything." Of course it's at this moment that whatever it was has gone under water. He shrugs, then returns to pushing the boat along. Not long after that, two large eyes peer out of the water right at Olivia.

Olivia squeaks and shifts herself suddenly towards the other side of the boat! "Well, something's got its eyes on us!" she exclaims.

"Eh? Vhat now?" Djivan says and turns, looking in the direction Olivia is looking. Of course, whatever it was went underwater again. It's as if whatever it is is mocking her. Still, Djivan starts propelling the boat faster. "Vou sure vou aren't jus' imaginin' t'ings?"

"Not unless you put something in that wine!" Olivia shoots back at him. "I'm telling you, two eyes popped out of the water and looked at me! BIG ones!"

"Vell, uh, maybe it cause vou're cute?" Djivan offers nervously. The Skreek pushes the boat onward, squinting in the darkness. "I t'ink we're near the docks," he says a moment later. The water behind Olivia bubbles some.

Just in case whatever it is in the swamp likes Skeeks and Skreeks for a late-night snack, Olivia pulls out the half-full wine bottle and brandishes it like a club. "Good, 'cause I think we need to get to dry land as fast as possible," she says through clenched teeth.

Well, thankfully, they do seem to reach the dock without any incidents along the way. Djivan ties up the boat quickly and throws the contents of the boat onto the dock. While he's doing this, Olivia can see those two eyes again, out in the water … watching her.

Olivia shivers as she jumps onto the dock. "I think it's going to be a long while before I get into another swamp-boat at night," she comments.

"Ah. Vell, den de next date vill be in my vagon," Djivan teases and pats Olivia's shoulders. "Vhatever it vas, it din' vant to attack, at least. Mebbe it vas jus' curious, no? Vou vant me to valk vou home?"

Olivia puts the wine bottle back with the rest of the gypsy's items and takes his hand. "Yes, please. I'd appreciate the company after seeing that… thing in the water. Thank you."

"It vould be my pleasure," Djivan says as he lifts up the pack of things. Off they go back through the town. Which is … dead, really. No one seems to be out this late (or is it this early). In short order, they're back at the Weaver compound.

Olivia stands on tiptoes to kiss Djivan on the nose. "Thanks for the wonderful evening," she says. "Even if it was interrupted by a naked otter!"

Djivan, not one to pass up an opportunity to misbehave, drops his pack and lightly pushes Olivia up against the door of her cabin. It's there that the Skreek kisses her quite passionately, then whispers in her ear, "It vas my pleasure."

Olivia throws her arms around Djivan's neck and buries her face in his neckfur for a few moments, sighing quite happily. When she finally releases him, she whispers in return, "See you in the morning… which will be in only a few hours. Heh!"

Djivan lets Olivia go after a few minutes. "Indeed," he says, grinning. He lifts up the pack again and spins around. The Skreek then slinks off into the darkness, leaving Olivia by her door. After the Skreek can no longer be seen, several doors along this block of cabins open, and Olivia hears a chorus of Skeeks going, "Woowoo!"

The insides of Olivia's ears turn absolutely crimson but she manages to give the other apprentices a wink and a wicked grin before unlocking the door to her own room. "Shouldn't you all be in bed?" she asks mischievously before disappearing inside.

A chorus of 'no!' echoes through the night as Olivia's door closes, bringing the eventful evening to a rather ridiculous close.