When the Hawaiian State Police Department promised to sponsor the luau at Mieni Atoll, they definitely lived up to their bargain. They sent over quite a lot of stuff to make the luau both authentic and enjoyable. It wasn't quite local custom of the Marshall Islands, but this could potentially become a permanent addition to Animalia Resort and Nature Preserve. It certainly was very interesting to watch the firedancers and the hula girls.
It wasn't just the newly-arrived guests that were enjoying the luau. The staff from Horizon Labs were taking a break from their research to enjoy this evening's entertainment. And some of them didn't come alone. Harold was sharing a table with Kirana. He had traded his lab coat for a Hawaiian shirt and was feeling quite relaxed. Kiaran was also dressed up for the occasion, so to speak.
Typically, Kirana wore little more than a bikini top as she needed little else. Her lower half was nondescript enough that modesty was more of a formality than a necessity. Then again, the choices of lower bodywear for snake Animalians was rather limited. While females could easily wear skirts and dresses, males had less options unless they wanted to wear kilts. But then, large belts that covered most of the hip area were a common fashion statement for snakes. Right now, Kirana was wearing a zebra-striped wrap across her hips that matched her bikini top. She at least the modesty to wear a cream-colored blouse as well, though it was mostly unbuttoned.
Contrary to what some people would think, this wasn't their first date. Well, it was certainly their biggest date yet. Since the resort was still being completed, there were some limits to where they could go on a date. Their earlier dates had mostly consisted of walks through the jungle, picnics on the beach, and swimming in the sea. Not that Harold begrudged not being able to take Kirana to more sophisticated places. It was actually nice to be able to get out of the lab for a while and enjoy the outdoors and Kirana was a surprisingly open person to be around. For being one of the most venomous snakes on the planet, the uplifted sea krait was very sweet and also very inquisitive.
Though there was a little venom in her look as she noticed Harold watching the hula girls. Why should he be staring at them so much? What did they have that she didn't? Asides from hair, legs, and that tropical brown skin. But then Harold popped that bubble of jealousy by saying, "Did you know that the hula dance is an interpretive language? Each movement means a different word and the whole dance forms a story."
"No I didn't," said Kirana, "Does that include the leg movements?"
"I suppose so," said Harold, "I don't really know what story they're dancing to."
"So you weren't just staring at their legs?" asked Kirana teasingly.
"Uh, of course not," said Harold, "I mean, it's not that i find you less attractive for having no legs, it's, well..."
"Legs are overrated," said Teela as she slithered over to their table wearing a lime green tube top, "How's it going, sis?" Since Kirana's DNA sample gave Teela the ability to slither on land (along with unintentionally giving her similar hands and stripes on her back) the uplifted moray eel considered Kirana to be very close to her. As far as she was concerned, they were unofficial sisters. Kirana found Teela to be a nice girl in spite of the natural rivalry of their respective species.
"It's going well," said Kirana, "Are you enjoying the luau?"
"You bet," said Teela, holding up a plate of fried fish, "I had no idea fish could taste this good when cooked." She held up a piece of fish to her mouth and opened wide. From within her throat extended what look like a small pair of jaws which seized the piece and dragged it down.
Harold raised an eyebrow at that. "Do you always eat that way?" he asked. He knew that Teela retained her pharyngeal jaws from before she was uplifted, but he hadn't seen her use them before.
"Well, I kinda needed to at first," said Teela, "Swallowing with air took a while to get right. But I eventually figured out how to swallow with my new throat muscles both in air and underwater. My extra jaws are still useful for eating things fast."
"Sounds like you're missing out on the flavor," said Kirana.
"Not at all," said Teela, "My extra jaws have their own taste buds and they're actually more sensitive than my tongue. It's another reason I like using them on occasion."
"It sounds like you'd unnerve a lot of people eating that way," said Harold.
"About as much as Topanga," said Teela, "Have you seen the inside of her mouth? All those backwards-facing spikes. It's hard to tell which of our mouths is scarier."
"Well, those features do have an important role in your digestive system," said Harold.
"Yeah, like how neither of us have gag reflexes either," said Teela. Harold didn't comment on that particular one. Then again, he couldn't imagine any guy daring to stick any part of their bodies down those two ladies' throats.
"So, why did you slither over here?" asked Kirana.
"Oh, just to see how you were and I was wondering why Harold doesn't have a tail yet," said Teela.
Harold sputtered on the drink he was sipping and said, "Teela, that's not polite dinner conversation."
"Well, you obviously care for her and she for you, so why aren't you mates yet?" asked Teela.
"Well, you can't just rush into a relationship that fast," said Harold, "You need to get to know someone first."
"What is there more to know about Kirana? She's only been an Animalian for about a month now," said Teela.
"She does have a point there," said Kirana, "You know all there is about me. Are you saying I don't know you well enough yet?"
"Uh..." said Harold, not really sure what to say to that.
"Are you saying you're too uncomfortable about changing your species to be with me?" asked Kirana, sounding a little hurt.
"No, no, that's not it," said Harold quickly, "I really do like you and I wouldn't mind becoming an Animalian. It's just that I can only change my species once and I wanted to make sure we could work as a couple before I commit to anything irreversible."
"And do we work out?" asked Kirana.
"Honestly, it's unnerving how WELL we go together," said Harold, "You're intelligent, innovative, responsive, but also compassionate and open-minded. I mean, it's almost like you're my..."
"Soulmate?" suggested Teela.
Kirana cleared her throat and said, "Don't you have somewhere else to go now?"
"Actually, I'm heading over to Susan and Tzan. Apparently someone gave them the idea to do their own webshow and I want to be on the ground floor of that," said Teela.
"Webshow?" asked Harold.
"Yeah, apparently it's a going to be a sit-com/reality show, whatever that means. But it's going to be taking place here so I wanna be able to get some camera time," said Teela.
"I'd watch that," said Harold.
"We'll be on it," said Kirana, scooting closer to Harold, "As a sexy sea snake couple?"
"I think I can work with that," said Harold with a smile.
"Well, my work here is done," said Teela, "See you lovebirds, I mean, lovesnakes later." With that, Teela slithered off.
"So, shall we retire to your quarters?" asked Kirana.
"After the luau," said Harold, "I don't want to miss this performance."