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Ewa Forest Reserve - Late Evening.
Clay snugs Nithya and the two nap out under the stars
Nithya is perhaps the least tense she has been since... Maybe ever.
Clay is... tense. A little. Surprisingly so. She holds Nithya close, but hums quietly. "I... I think I know a name." She half-whispers, almost afraid to admit it.
Nithya blinks, then smiles warmly and wraps her hand around her friend's shoulder: "Oh? Well, let's hear it."
Clay's snout twitches, "Okay but..." She takes a deep breath, her usual demeanor about this sort of thing quite different, a nervous laugh on her lips. "Let me down easy okay? I've been thinking... Elanor...?"
Nithya considers: "Elanor...?" She pauses, as though tasting the name on her lips and seeing if she likes it. "Elanor... mm, yeah, that could work."
Clay nods slowly, feeling her heart beat faster for a moment in anticipation, "It... it's a name from my favorite books... Elanor Gardener. I almost feel guilty for taking it for myself, but... it feels right?"
Nithya hums: "I don't think there's anything wrong with taking a name from somewhere else. Parents do that all the time, don't they?"
Clay lets out a breath, "Guess you're right. It... it doesn't mean anything bad in any language you know right? I think she was named after a type of flower in the book."
Nithya thinks for a moment, then shakes her head. "Not that I can outright tell. We can research later to be sure, but don't think so."
Clay turns her head towards Nithya and swallows the lump in her throat, "Well... then I guess we'll go ahead with that then. Maybe not officially just yet, but... I guess..."
Elanor smiles, "...I'm Elanor now."
Nithya leans to hug Elanor: "Nice to meet you, Elanor."
Elanor can't keep her laugh contained, a feeling rising up from the pit of her stomach, "Ha! Oh uhm, wow. H-hi."
Nithya giggles: "Say, Elanor, what's a doe like you doing out here?"
Elanor blushes deeply beneath her fur, "W-well, I was just out for a hike, you know, getting in touch with nature. M-maybe find someone special along the way? I um, w-wow, what is this feeling?"
Nithya touches Elanor's shoulder: "Mmm?"
Elanor giggles, "J-just feels really good, that's all."
Nithya smiles: "Me calling you by your new name, Elanor?"
Elanor nods. "Yeah~."
Nithya gives her lover a soft kiss. "Mmm. Elanor~."
Elanor kisses back gently, "Nithya~. I love you. Th-thank you."
Nithya smiles after the kiss: "What for? I love you too~."
Elanor chuckles, "For being here. Without you, do you really think I'd be here, as a deer, as a woman without you?"
She blinks, then laughs again, "Those are all meant as postive things, by the way."
Nithya laughs: "I had a hunch you did not mean any of those as a negative, at this point, C-" She pauses, correcting herself with a smile: "Elanor."
Elanor grins, "Gonna take me some time to get it right, too. And still gotta be Clay for my passport and licenses and all."
Nithya nods: "Yeah... I just want to get it right from the get-go."
Elanor hugs tight, "Thanks for that. It's... it feels big. It feels right. And I knew you'd respect that."
Nithya leans to touch her forehead to Elanor's: "Even if I didn't have all the personal reasons to love and respect you... what good would it do to not let you try this out?"
Elanor leans against Nithya in turn, closing her eyes. "Heh, who knows? I didn't even know I wanted to try this out too long ago."
Nithya smiles as she closes her eyes as well. "Well, now you do."
Elanor hums, "Yeah... yeah, and I feel really, really happy about it." She grins again, laughing, "So... guess I should ask, Nithya, I know we just met, but do you want to be girlfriends with me?"
Nithya blinks, then smirks: "W-well, this certainly came quickly and out of the blue, but I think I am free for such an endeavor..."
Elanor kisses her girlfriend, giggling, "I could speak for 'love at first sight', I suppose."
Nithya hums, kissing back: "Does it count though, since this is..." She mock-counts on her fingers: "...at least like, third minute I know you, Elanor."
Elanor sighs dramatically, "I missed my chance to just propose the second I layed eyes upon you, hm?"
Nithya nods: "I am afraid you will have to do with-" She blinks: "Wait, propose?"
Elanor's face goes red enough to match her hair, her eyes going wide, "W-well, hypothetically! I mean... I want to spend the rest of my life at your side, and plus this whole curse thing means it just makes sense, and um... well... I do love you a lot and... I figured... in time, I or we or... y-you know, eventually. If you wanted."
Nithya blushes fiercely but doesn't look away. "Um..." She is quiet for a long moment after Elanor finishes.
Eventually, she seems to make her mind with a warm smile: "Yes."
Elanor's eyes dart, "B-but I wasn't... I didn't... I... w-wha- y-yes? Yes?!" She grins wide, all the embarrassment and fear wiped away. "Oh gosh, w-we only just met and already engaged~"
Nithya takes Elanor's hand in hers: "Yes. I think we are, now."
Elanor squeezes Nithya's hand, tearing up as she absolutely cannot keep her emotions in check, "That wasn't my intent, but I like the result. Guess we can even say we came to Hawaii to get engaged, hm?"
Nithya giggles, still blushing: "Y-yeah. We uh, did... kinda."
Elanor kisses Nithya upon the snout, her own blush is not diminishing, "And I couldn't be happier~. I mean, it's a hell of a lot of weirdness that brought us to this point now, but, can you imagine it any other way?"
Nithya considers for a moment: "...no. Not really. I mean, maybe a more planned proposal than accidentally stumbling into it, like in a restaurant having a talk about it or such, and maybe I wouldn't have approached it so quickly, but..." She shrugs with a smile.
Elanor chuckles. "Well... we can always do it again, a little more properly. Though, it might take away some of the stress knowing you'll say yes. But I wouldn't mind, mostly cause it would mean another romantic dinner with you. We could call it a doe-over."
Nithya starts to nod, then smirks and pushes Elanor on the shoulder: "Have I mentioned that you're horrible and I love you? Cause I really should."
Elanor laughs, rolling aside when Nithya pushes her, "I try, I really do."
Nithya giggles: "Your puns are a force of nature."
Elanor sticks her tongue out, "Me and nature have gotten pretty close in the past month."
Nithya sticks her tongue out: "You don't say."
Elanor leans in to lick Nithya's muzzle, giggling, "I promise to use this power responsibly."
Nithya giggles at the lick, then licks back: "Sure you do."
Elanor leans in closer to kiss more passionately, tongue and all, "It's true~. I can't just trot out any old pun afterall~"
Nithya leans into the kiss but groans as she does it.
Elanor giggles when she hears the groan, but simply continues to kiss her lover.
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