Akshay drove an awfully hard bargain, she was planning on paying for most of it, because she was afraid of eating the poor guy out of house and home. It seemed though that her date would much rather split the check than letting her take care of the whole thing. She would gaze at him with that hardened gaze of hers seeing if she could get him to change his mind. When that didn't work, she would let out an exasperated sigh.

"Oh fine, We will split it, but don't say I didn't warn you," Emerald told him with a teasing grin, shaking her head at him a little. He seemed bound damned and determined to help pay so she would let him....this time at least. Playfully, she swatted his leg with that wagging tail of hers as they walked to their table, carefully taking in her surroundings as she did so.

Emerald took note of the exits, any sort of windows, among other things, once again just in case. Otherwise though, she was preventing herself from drooling from the sheer smell of the steaks. She could probably announce to every customer what was cooking at that very moment if she wanted to but she held back. The wolf girl would thank the hostess once they arrived at their table and would detach herself from Akshay, sitting down.

Even though she did ooze with confidence there was a little bit of nervousness in her belly. Emerald was worried about anything going wrong and she didn't want anyone to get on Akshay's case about being with her. Normally, she didn't give a damn about what people said, but now was different and she had someone to protect.

>> "Oh fine, We will split it, but don't say I didn't warn you,"[/color]

Akshay smirked as he walked through the restaurant with Emerald on his arm. He could practically feel how hard that was for her. But Akshay really did not want the entire meal to go to Emerald. After all, this was a date and certain traditions needed to be upheld. He liked the redhead too much to take the easy way out. Besides, seriously, how much could she eat? He had a feeling that part of her was exaggerating. At least with the compromise, though, if he was wrong, he would not have to worry about having to take the bill on all by himself.

He could at least pay for half and still feel like a gentleman.

The rustic atmosphere loomed all around them as they were led to their table. They maneuvered around other tables, other diners, but still the Wordsmith found himself enchanted by the décor around him. The sights, the smells, all of it simply drew him in. And judging by the wagging of Emerald’s tail, she was enjoying herself as well.

Once led to their tiny table for two near the back wall that lined the restaurant, Akshay knew that probably one of the most awkward moments of this date was coming up…the start of the conversation. They already had smack talk, playful jabs at one another, but the most draining was coming up with real conversation to have. Akshay hoped that he would not suddenly completely draw a blank as to what to say.

“Thank you,” he beamed to the waitress as he was shown to the table.

Once Emerald removed herself from him, Akshay slipped next to her, pulled out her chair and waited for her to sit. Only once she did did he help to push her chair in. With that done, he circled around to his own chair and took a seat. Menus were passed out and the hostess beamed her million dollar smile and turned on her heel to head back to her podium. Once she was gone, Akshay turned to glance across the table.

Nope, Emerald was not a mirage. She was still here. Nervously he chuckled as she reached back and rubbed the back of his neck a little awkwardly. He hated coming up with the first thing to say but he did not want to just sit in awkward silence either.

He sighed as he gently patted his backpack at his feet, hoping for some topic to present itself. Another glance up and he shied his gaze away so that she didn’t know he had been watching her pretty eyes. It took another moment or two before he finally said anything.

“Um…s-so…how was the ducati ride?” he beamed. Hey, at least it was a topic…

Emerald gnawed on the inside of her cheek nervously, feeling that really awkward part of the date coming on. It wasn’t that she had never been on a date before, it had just so long since she had last been on an official one. She would wait for a little while longer, double checking to make sure she was on a date with a cute comic nerd. Lucky for her though he broke the silence first and thank goodness it was something she knew about.

“Oh! It was awesome! You have a really great machine there, if you want I could maybe work on it some time, I used to race motorcycles a few years ago so I know a bit about them,” Emerald told him, beaming like an excited kid that was talking about their favorite cartoon show.

She did look relieved that he started the conversation before she did; the wolf girl always had this funny way of starting most conversations badly. Whether it was commenting on someone’s scent or how there posture changed that day, the Alpha Female just sometimes forgot how to interact with fellow two legged creatures.

Tucking a piece of red hair behind her ear nervously, the wolf girl would glance at the menu for a moment, constantly reminding herself not to order all the food. Thankfully, it wasn’t close to the full moon so she wasn’t going to eat too much, just enough to boost up her strength. She hoped that Akshay wouldn’t think she was ignoring him or anything she just liked to pick her food before anything else because otherwise they would be there all day.

The steak looks great, but I better not get the best cut here, I could always get the second best. Oh…there’s prime rib too! Ehh, I better not eat like a complete animal on my first date with this guy, don’t wanna scare him off. Emerald thought, tail wagging back and forth slowly in thought.

“No one should have to pick between all this meat, It all sounds too good.” The she-wolf complained, bottom lip quivering. Emerald glanced up at Akshay and grinned sheepishly, feeling a little embarrassed at that outburst. “Sorry about that, I always try to pick my food before anything else because otherwise we would be here all night. Gotta eat a lot of food because of the whole, shifting into huge wolf thing. “

It was a first. Akshay rarely started the conversation simply because he always found himself a little tongue-tied. Sure he could be charming at a first encounter and that tended to get him a date more often than not, but the problem was that once they were on the date, he had a hard time keeping up that façade of confidence. It really was a difficult thing to upkeep so his dates usually ended with awkward silence for him saying the wrong thing simply to having some type of voice talking.

Thankfully he didn’t really feel as blank minded around Emerald. He only hoped that such a state of mind would continue.

For half a second, he did not like the fact that he brought up the motorcycle. After all, is past experience seemed to prove that most of his dates were either too terrified about the bike or they only wanted to talk about the bike. But there was a glint in Emerald’s eye that seemed to hint that she did not mind the topic at all…

>> “Oh! It was awesome! You have a really great machine there, if you want I could maybe work on it some time, I used to race motorcycles a few years ago so I know a bit about them,”[/color]

“Really?” he said with an impressed tone. “That’s awesome. Sure! I wouldn’t mind check out the ducati. It is a fine piece of machinery but I’m always open to it being tuned up a bit more. There is only so much that I can do.”

Which was true. Unfortunately, though Akshay loved his ducati, his knowledge of really maintaining it was limited. He knew enough to keep the bike running and to know when something was wrong but he lacked the finer finesse necessary to truly turn his bike into the beast it deserved to be. But judging by Emerald and her interest in it, he believed that she had the knack to do so.

Another lull in the talking came and they turned to their menus. Good! That was an excellent time to regain his thoughts for more possible conversations. He began to skim the menu, thinking maybe of a the Top Sirloin…or the Ribeye! The Ribeye was always so delicious.

It was as he was thinking this over that he heard Emerald amusing whine…

>> “No one should have to pick between all this meat, It all sounds too good…Sorry about that, I always try to pick my food before anything else because otherwise we would be here all night. Gotta eat a lot of food because of the whole, shifting into huge wolf thing. “[/color]

He grinned. He loved hearing about people and their mutations! Though he rarely ever spoke about his own powers (since to him they were not so impressive) he loved to hear from mutants who were proud of their powers. It gave him something to one day shoot for.

“Wow, so…so you don’t just have wolf attributes,” he asked with interest. “You can actually TURN into a wolf? That…is…SO COOL!” he grinned toothily.

Yup. Akshay loved mutants…

The eager agreement of her fixing up his motorcycle made Emerald smile quite a bit. She loved motorcycles and everything about them,they were her preferred mode of transportation over cars despite the fact of how much safer cars were. Unless she was driving Ruby somewhere the young Alpha female didn't want safety as much as she wanted speed and easy maneuverability in case she needed to jump off.

Why would she need to jump off?

It's because Emerald Lupin really did love to make one hell of an entrance, not only to throw her opponent off guard but the very serious possibility she may end up hitting them with her bike was far too good of one to pass up. It would not only knock them off their feet but possibly end the fight before it even started. While that was slightly disappointing and not the warrior way, it was a way to clear up some lesser enemies before reaching the big one.

"I'll help you out whenever you need it, I know a lot of stuff about Ducatii's and though I'm not as good of a mechanic as my little sister, I'm still pretty good at it," Emerald puffed out her chest a little proudly.

At least this was a subject she was comfortable on. This date was going to be easier than she thought it would be if she was only going to get questions like that.

Of course that's not what happened but it was alright to dream wasn't it. Not that what happened was a bad thing, it just gave the normally proud wolf girl a chance to blush a little. How excited he was that she could do that was kind of cute in a way. The she wolf accidentally tucked her hair behind her not so perfect ear before quickly brushing her hair over it rather non chalantly.

The last thing she needed was for him to ask her why a chunk of her ear was missing.

"It's not that cool, I've been like this since I was little and I've been able to shift since I was a pup. It's no big deal really." Emerald sheepishly twiddled her fingers. Her powers had been called a lot of things but cool wasn't often one of them.

Akshay had grinned a little as he thought about the idea of Emerald turning into a full blown wolf. He had only ever seen such things in movies, TV shows, and in comics. It was that ultimate fear of mankind, the whole slipping away from the human conscious ness and accepting the body of a beast. If there was anything that mankind feared more, it was slipping back into that primordial sense of self. A cultured and civilized man never wanted to accept the beast in him. But there were those that knew how to tap into it.

At least that was what he thought. He read enough comics and books about folklore to come up with his own mythos concerning werewolves of legend and such. It was just one of those things that he did in his free time. Besides, a lot of that research helped him to write the comic that Emerald reminded him so much of.

But even through his praise, he watched as her cheeks flushed into a bright red and she nervously tucked hair behind her ear. It was cute how easily flustered she became. Part of him began to wonder, though, if maybe she was embarrassed about her mutation?

>> "It's not that cool, I've been like this since I was little and I've been able to shift since I was a pup. It's no big deal really."

He smirked. Since she was a pup? That really was cute. Just the idea that she had the power to do something so massively cool earned her big points in his book. Akshay truly loved mutants, all kinds. From the lamest powers, like his, the most awesome, like hers. He respected her a lot for having a power that primal and being able to tame it. After all, she was not running around as a wolf the whole time. She seemed to enjoy at least some aspects of being human. If she didn’t then she would have never gone on a human date, would she?

He was more impressed with her by the minute to the point where it was almost like having sparkles in his eyes. She was beautiful, strong, and she had a kick ass ability. It was obvious that she embodied the character he thought he had created from the ether of the universe. Maybe, somehow, he was just picking up on her brainwaves or something.

It was possible. Especially in New York!

He smirked and shook his head.

“Nah, you have a power I have to respect,” he said with a nod. “You walk that balance that no one likes to admit is even there. Truly that is something inspiring,” he said as he watched her eyes for a second. He blinked before he smiled a little shyly and nodded to the menu. “I think I’m going to have the ribeye. You?”

That blush was still vibrant on Emerald's face but it luckily began to die down when Akshay began talking again. The wolf girl sometimes didn't understand why people were so fascinated with her power because to her, it felt like a very natural thing. She believed that man kind should be this close to the animal within themselves whatever that animal may be.

This of course didn't mean this animal was always a good thing to connect with. Especially in the case of Blood fang, the psychopath that tore off part of her ear in the first place. The wolf girl took a moment to shake him out of her thoughts, not wanting to thing about him now, not on a date. He was not going to follow her wherever she went, this much she was sure of. Emerald Amber Lupin had defeated greater foes as well as her memories of them, she could defeat this.

Akshay seemed to be enamored of her, some that made her smile like a dang fool. He said she was inspiring, that certainly wasn't something she heard every day. It was true though. She walked a path going from the normal side of life as a "human" then as a wolf and it was honestly far harder for her to be a normal two legged human that it was a wolf.

"It's hard a lot of times, with the whole wolf thing, cause I'm used to everything being portrayed in body language, when you are on two legs though, it's with words more than anything else. Not to mention that certain things in the wolf world are way different than they are in the two legged world." Emerald admitted, sometimes hating the social difficulties of being a wolf. Sure, she was fine when she was in the wild, but never put her in a big party, she would be more likely to take off than anything else.

"Oh yeah food! I think I will probably have the Rib Eye too, but rare..or maybe a little bit cooked, " Emerald pondered aloud, tapping her finger on her chin in thought. She actually had already decided on her food but she was admittedly musing at how well this date was going. The Alpha Female really liked Akshay and was glad she had agreed to this.

"What about you? You keep asking more and more about me and yet I don't hear a peep for you. Now how is that fair?" Emerald teased, tail wagging back and forth mischeviously.

>> "It's hard a lot of times, with the whole wolf thing, cause I'm used to everything being portrayed in body language, when you are on two legs though, it's with words more than anything else. Not to mention that certain things in the wolf world are way different than they are in the two legged world."[/color]

Akshay could only imagine the kind of shift that would be to get used to. To change from being a wolf, which relies primarily on body language for communication, to being a human in which voice is everything, that had to be tough. Akshay had double respect for the wolf-girl for being able to balance the two things so successfully. He doubted that many people would be able to. He doubted HE would be able to.

But it was nice to know that someone knew how to travel that line.

The conversation shifted away from the moral dilemmas of man being unable to accept his wild nature, and instead turned that of food. Akshay had been eyeing that ribeye on the menu ever since he saw it and just knew that that was what he was going to have.

>> "Oh yeah food! I think I will probably have the Rib Eye too, but rare..or maybe a little bit cooked, "[/color]

He grinned and nodded.

“Excellent choice,” he beamed.

>> "What about you? You keep asking more and more about me and yet I don't hear a peep for you. Now how is that fair?"[/color]

A smirk grew on his face and suddenly he began to feel inexplicably shy. Akshay never really cared to talk bout himself. Not because it was embarrassing or anything, but simply because he was not interesting. His life had been pretty uneventful except for when his powers developed. And that was clearly nothing to go ape about. They were not as cool or useful as Emerald’s. Therefore he tended to keep that part about him a secret.

But the wordsmith could only shrug as he smiled a little slyly.

“Not fair at all,” he grinned. “My life isn’t too exciting. It’s an open book though. So…ask away. I’ll answer anything.”

It looked like Emerald had once again gained the advangage in the conversation. Not that there was much to be gained or that it was a contest it was just better for her to be on the higher ground than anyone else was. Just made being the whole "alpha thing a hell of a lot easier whe she had something had an upper ground to see her whole pack.

"Alright, what got you into drawing comic books in the first place? " Emerald asked, tail wagging back and forth curiously. She had an inquistive look on her face, like she did really want to know about him. It was a wolf thing mainly, but the more she knew about those that she was close to the easier it was for her to take care of them.

It was a simple question and hopefully one she hoped that didn't freak him out too much. He seemed to be a little shy about the whole thing and with his character bearing a close resemblance to her like he said he may be even more shy about talking about it. Hopefully though she wasn't overstepping her boundaries. The last thing the redhead wanted to do is to overstep her boundaries with him

Akshay leaned back in his chair nonchalantly as he smiled and waited to hear what Emerald was going to ask. He really was an open book but there were certain subjects that he was rather sensitive about. But he really did not want to dwell on things like that today. Not today. He was having a pretty splendid date with Emerald so far. He could only hope that the trend would continue. Who knows, he figured he asked her some pretty simple questions to start off. Maybe she too would start off that way?

One could only hope.

Well, he left himself open to her. He did say that he was an open book and she could ask anything. Therefore…the ball was in her court.

>> "Alright, what got you into drawing comic books in the first place? "[/color]

He smiled, wide. Thank god she started with an easy question. It was pretty simple for him to answer. People always wanted to know why artists did what they did. He got asked questions like that plenty of times, especially when Slaagathor first came out. It became one of those standard questions that he could robotically answer.

But…one look at Emerald and he knew that he could not answer her in that same manner. She was not some fan he was trying to please, or a reporter from Wizard Magazine looking for standard answers. No. She was much, much, much more than that.

He smirked as she toyed with the menu in his hands before he focused on her.

“Comic books saved my life,” he said with a smile. “You see, I’m from Buffalo…at least I think I am. When I was a baby I was abandoned at a fire station. For years, I lived in foster home after foster home. I…always wanted to have regular parents like everyone else, but…it just was not in the cards. I started to think I was just not wanted, that there was something wrong with me. After all…who would abandon their kid unless something was wrong with them, right?” he shrugged. But he smiled as he continued. “Then one of my foster fathers introduced me to comic books. Namely a character by the name of Wonderman. See, he was abandoned, like me, but he was an alien left Earth. Being an alien he had all these superpowers that he used for good.” He sighed, chuckling silently to himself. “That was when my foster dad at the time put his arm around me and said ‘See, son? Maybe you’ll be meant for great things too.’” Akshay said as he lifted his gaze to meet Emerald’s. “After that…I was hooked…”

Emerald leaned back in her chair as Akshay began his story and the wolf girl had a very distinctive feeling that he hadn't told many people this version of it before. Maybe it was just a wolfish hunch or maybe she was developing psychic abilities (god forbid) but she had this feeling that this may be sort of a newer story to tell for him.

He had been abandoned at a fire Station? That wasn't something Emerald expected, she expected him to grow up normally in a normal family life judging by how well adjusted he was. The she-wolf frowned a little, almost in worry for his past self. Her tail stopped wagging a little as he continued, kind of hoping this story had a happy ending.

Luckily though, there was one, Akshay go into comic books because of his Foster Father and viewed himself as something special because of it. Emerald couldn't have been happier for him and it was honestly sort of inspiring. It was also quite different than what she found out about him through that handy dandy little magazine her sister gave her.

"Looks like you grew up into a great person because of that and you managed to become a popular comic book artist,I'm glad you told me about all that, I had a feeling that interview you gave to that one comic magazine was wrong" Emerald would look at him with a playful yet sincere grin. "I may have told my comic crazy little sister about you and she sent me an article that had your name on it. I figured there was more to your comic loving self than what you gave there. I like this version of the story a lot better."

Emerald had this odd little habit that may have been mentioned before, she liked to prepare for anything and if it meant researching her date then would do it in a heartbeat. It wasn't like she looked up his criminal records, she was just curious about his whole comic book loving thing.

It was weird for Akshay to tell that story. He never did. Not because he was embarrassed by it but because he did not want someone to make fun of him for it. For such a long time he held that memory in a special part of his heart because it really was the turning point for his life. Bouncing around from foster home to foster home can do that for a child, make them feel as if something is wrong with them to have been abandoned in such a way. He didn’t want that memory tarnished by someone who simply did not understand.

But as he raised his eyes to Emerald, he actually smirked a little. She did not have the look of someone who didn’t understand. Instead she seemed to have this look of compassion that he simply could not ignore. It was the type of look that he had not received in a long time. And it felt wonderful.

>> "Looks like you grew up into a great person because of that and you managed to become a popular comic book artist, I'm glad you told me about all that, I had a feeling that interview you gave to that one comic magazine was wrong"

He tilted his head curiously. He almost would not have caught the quick remark if he had not been paying attention. But he was. Interview? She had actually READ one of his interviews? But it did not seem like she knew who he was prior. How on earth…?

>> "I may have told my comic crazy little sister about you and she sent me an article that had your name on it. I figured there was more to your comic loving self than what you gave there. I like this version of the story a lot better."

At this…Akshay just had to laugh. He chuckled and he shook his head. That was definitely a smart move on her part. Part of him began to wonder if he had done the same thing if the situation were reversed. Heh, of course he would have. She was not the only one that liked to do research. Unfortunately he had just never thought about that for this date.

But, he was happy that she had pulled it off. He pretended to bow and tip his hat to her.

“I am impressed. That’s a good way to know that someone is not BSing you,” he said with a chuckle.

But before their conversation could continue any further, a peppy waitress appeared, wearing a black apron. She smiled wide as she looked between the two of them.

“Hello there! Welcome to Gallagher’s! Have you all decided what you’re in the mood for today?” she asked as she turned her attention to Akshay.

The young wordsmith simply smirked as he nodded to Emerald. “Oh please, ladies’ first.”

Emerald seemed to have struck gold with her reading because her dear date had no idea that she was going to do that. She shook her head a little, he should have known better than to think a mighty she-wolf would have come in unprepared for what was to come. Besides, a wolf had to be prepared at all times right?

"It's more like a masterful hunter studying her prey." Emerald would tell him, her grin wide and playful along with a quick wag of that tail. Sure, she just flirted by using a wolf pun, but it worked for it's purpose.

The she-wolf was snapped out of her thoughts when the other female came to take their orders.

"I'll have the Rib eye, medium rare please, 2 baked potato's as sides and a water to drink." Emerald told her, carefully handing the menu over to the waitress watching her turn to Akshay with the same question.

Once the waitress left, Emerald would grin playfully at Akshay, not knowing if he would retort to her playful flirt from before. Even if he didn't, it was still fun to mess with him a little, even if a part of her meant it. She did sort of want to study him more, just so she would know what she liked, in case the young compassionate comic writer might taken a liking to her.

>> "It's more like a masterful hunter studying her prey."[/i]

Akshay blinked before a smile appeared on his face. The flirtation was not hard to miss. Akshay actually appreciated it a lot. This had to go down in the annuals of his history because this had to be the first time, ever, that he was not the person to initiate the first flirt. Sure, their first meeting he paid her several compliments but that was not really an accurate gauge of Akshay’s flirtation. He usually saved that for the first date.

Surprisingly, though, Emerald actually beat him to it. He could only grin as he watched the young redhead, listening that wag of her tail. She really was something else.

“Careful,” he chuckled. “Sometimes the hunter can find herself being studying just as intently...”

This...was a lot of fun...

Their waitress and come to ask for their orders. In a most gentlemanly manner, he let Emerald go first. He really and truly hoped that she was not going to hold back just because she had agreed to let him pay for half…

>> "I'll have the Rib eye, medium rare please, 2 baked potato's as sides and a water to drink."[/i][/color]

Nope…definitely not hold back.

He smirked as he then turned to the waitress and flashed her a friendly smile.

“Rib eye, also medium rare, with the mashed potatoes and green beans,” he said as he handed the menu over. “And lemonade, please.”

The waitress dutifully jotted down their orders and moved away in order to get their orders into the kitchen. Once she was gone, Akshay turned back to Emerald. She really was a fascinating woman. And she was ACTUALLY flirting with him! HIM! He never would have thought that someone as attractive and interesting as her would ever do so.

A smirk as he took a breath, Akshay glanced down to his backpack before he raised his gaze up to meet Emerald’s again.

“So…are you ready?” he asked as he unzipped the bag. “And promise not to be too harsh of critic?”

Akshay was something else to say the least, Emerald really enjoyed being around him for reasons she really couldn't explain. Actually, she could explain it, she just couldn't believe it. She was actually relating to someone, she actually felt connected to him as a person and not as much as an opponent or a rival.

He was smart, he was funny and he had a sweet compassion to him that she hadn't really felt in a long time. He was one of those guys that legitimately cared about others instead of about himself. Emerald had met a few of those before, but most of the time, they left without a word or they with a hurtful word instead. For some reason though, Emerald really didn't feel that Akshay would do that.

So this is what it feels like to be a normal girl, Haven't felt this in a long time Emerald thought to herself. I feel like such a little kid

Once the waitress began walking away, the other boy started to look through his bag again, making the young wolf girl quirk a brow at him. What in the world was he doing? The wolf girl blue eyes focused on the rummaging young man, her head tilting to the side like a curious young pup, her ears twitching ever so slightly.

"Ready? Ready for what," Emerald questioned, her voice unsure. While he had smirked before that, he seemed a little bit worried about what she would think about it, or that's at least what she got out of it. "I won't be too harsh of a critic, I promise."

The she-wolf looked and sounded sincere about it, not wanting her date to feel worried about what he was planning on doing. As long as he didn't throw random flower petals at her she would be fine, so the young man shouldn't worry too much. So far, he was doing a great job on this date and he honestly couldn't do anything to mess it up unless he was planning on purposing to her or using a dog whistle on her.