[color=gray][right][sub][b][u]TIMESTAMP:[/u][/b] Late Afternoon | Friday, July 23rd, 2021
A [@BrutalBx] & [@Venus] Collaboration
Featuring [color=7B68EE]Natalia Belmonte[/color] & Formally Introducing [color=8A8256]Heather Tatanka[/color][/sub][/right]

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[indent][indent]With her beloved Post Malone playing in the background, Tal mustered up the confidence to sit in her vanity chair and face her reflection in the mirror for the first time in weeks. The greasy hair from before was now clean and freshly blow-dried into glossy locks of dark hair that barely reached her shoulders. The dark bags under her eyes were now less pronounced and had lost their puffiness, enough that she no longer looked like a racoon. The blemishes that had on her cheeks and chin had been effectively treated with pimple patches, their only trace of existence being fading dots of hyperpigmentation on her pale skin. These, and any other imperfections on her face, were soon concealed from view with the assistance of makeup products, while her best features were consequently brought to the forefront. Concealer was used to hide the blemishes and the dark circles, mascara elongated and thickened up her lashes, navy blue winged liner emphasized her starry eyes, a touch of sparkly liquid blush gave her cheeks a healthy glow, a spoolie fluffed up and styled her eyebrows, and a flavored lip tint plumped up and added some color to her lips (and hopefully make them more appealing for Tena to kiss while at it). A short, form-fitting, spaghetti-strapped baby blue sundress paired with some matching sandals had been the outfit of choice. She wanted to look casual and cute while toeing the line at being sultry.

Today, with Charlie Decker's and her mother's encouragement, was the day that Natalia Belmonte would momentarily put her fears aside to follow her heart ‘down that blue highway’ and straight into the arms of Mitena Strongbow.

With the windows down and a far more uplifting playlist flowing out of the speakers, Natalia sped down the roads that led to the Blue Hill Reservation with ease. But because of the circumstances surrounding their first night together and her determination to surprise her, she couldn't recall the way to Mitena's house. The only place she remembered how to get to besides Adora's house was Aponi's, which is how the Eden native ended up at the reservation’s landmark longhouse. 

Although she tried her best to put on a confident facade, the young woman anxiously made her way inside the large building, looking around for any familiar face that could help her but failing to immediately recognize anyone nearby. Letting out a deep breath, Tal decided to occupy one of the stools beside the bar instead, hoping that getting some liquid courage would soothe the nervous butterflies inside of her. If she was lucky enough, maybe Tena would show up while she waited. 

[color=8A8256]“Hey!”[/color] A female voice called out from beneath the bar floor. [color=8A8256]“I’ll be with you in just a second, okay?”[/color] After a few moments, a tanned hand appeared from the other side of the bar top, then another and then finally a head, face and body soon followed as the girl pulled herself out of Aponi’s freezing cellar and back into the warmth of the world. Closing the trap door behind her, the girl offered the offcomer a warm and welcoming smile. [color=8A8256]“Sorry about that.”[/color] She said with a small giggle in her voice. [color=8A8256]“I was just changing some kegs. Let me just wash my hands and I’ll get you whatever you need, pretty girl.”[/color]

The woman strode over to a nearby sink and began to rinse her hands free of sticky beer and fragrant produce. Now stood in the light, her features were far better illuminated. Unlike most residents of the Blue Hill Reservation, this girl's hair was far more brunette than it was black, with soft blonde highlights. Her face was sun kissed and befreckled and her eyes a lighter shade of chocolate. She was dressed in a flowing buttoned down dress with the arms rolled up a touch. She very obviously spent a lot of time taking care of herself. She was in an enviable shape. After finishing up at the sink, she slid back down the bar and directly opposite Natalia. [color=8A8256]“So, what can I get for you?”[/color]

The Belmonte girl was left momentarily speechless. What was in this reservation water that made their women so gorgeous? The stunning specimen currently standing in front of her ticked a lot of the boxes on her Yes list: dark hair, brown eyes, button nose, full lips, a beautiful figure and a feminine appearance with a dash of athleticism. Under different circumstances, this would have been someone that Natalia would've absolutely tried to take home with her. But of course, no matter how floored she was by her bartender’s looks, it didn't change the fact that Tal was here for her beautiful and incomparable Dolcezza.

Realizing she'd been staring at the woman a second too long, Natalia cleared her throat. [color=7B68EE]"What's something good you have to take the edge off?"[/color] she asked her, knowing that her usual White Claws wouldn't do.

Heather was flattered by the girl's big green eyes staring at her for a moment. She couldn’t deny the stranger's beauty, but the middle Tatanka girl had learned from her high school self and only wanted to be with one person and at the present time… [url=https://media.tenor.com/G7CMCyhXO38AAAAC/happy-smile.gif]A blonde roping champion called JoJo[/url] with the cutest smile she had ever seen. She took a strand of her brown hair behind her left ear as she began to sense some familiarity with the stranger. [color=8A8256]“Hm. You don’t strike me as a straight up beer girl and it’s too early for a shot, but how about you try this?”[/color] As she poured the alabaster stranger a taste of her sister Kalia’s latest brew of Warhorse Mead, Heather finally placed her customer's face. She had been on the reservation a few days ago; she remembered seeing her in the crowd, at the Red Wolf show. She was most certainly hard to miss and Tena had gushed about going home with her that night and being struck by Cupid's bow. Heather couldn’t help but smile to herself; Mitena was a strange kid. [color=8A8256]“If you like it, I’ll pour you a glass.”[/color]

She turned back and handed Natalia the small glass of alcohol before leaning down onto the bar with her elbows. Heather didn’t even actually work at Aponi’s, not in the same way Winnie and Ten did. Like most members of the tribe, she helped out in multiple places when the need called for it. On this particular day, both of the twins were unavailable and Kalia had just brewed her latest batch and needed someone to take it to the bar. Two birds, one Heather. [color=8A8256]“What brings you here, dare I ask?”[/color]

Rather than answering right away, Tal took a second to savor the sample provided to her, and immediately felt herself being blown away by the taste. The beverage was slightly thicker than wine, and its sweet blend of blueberries and honey felt pleasant and warm as it softly burned down the throat. It was delicious, and exactly what she needed right now. 

Natalia smacked her lips a few times and audibly expressed her approval before eagerly signaling the bartender for more. [color=7B68EE]“I’m actually here looking for someone-- well, more like I’m looking for someone’s house, but you get the idea,”[/color] she answered with a nervous chuckle, feeling the anxiety from before creeping back up again. And before she could stop herself, she went off on a ramble to this beautiful stranger on the other side of the bar. [color=7B68EE]“I sorta made an impulse decision to come all the way here from Edenridge to surprise Mitena Strongbow and ask her if she wanted to date me and give things between us a try. But now that I’m actually here and thinking about it, I don’t know if randomly showing up to her house unannounced would be a good idea. I’d probably end up looking like a fucking creep or a weirdo, and the last thing I want to do is scare her off.”[/color]

As she poured Natalia a full pint of her family's legacy, Heather couldn’t hide her smile. [color=8A8256]“Tena is fearless, it would take a little more than a pretty girl coming to confess her feelings to scare that one off.”[/color] The older woman finished pulling the drink and slid the mead over to Tal. [color=8A8256]“I’ll put this one on her tab. I mean she owes you considering how happy you’ve made her feel… Natalia.”[/color] It took a moment but Heather finally remembered the name of the girl that her friend had not stopped talking about since their last gig.

Everybody on the Reservation knew that there was just something special about Mitena. The way she had the uncanny ability to connect people and find whatever they needed from her almost instantly, it was astounding to watch, really. She spent so much time making others happy and bringing light into their lives that Heather and others worried just how longer she could go before her sun burned away. It was the Tatanka woman’s hope that maybe this Stargirl could share that light and keep Tena burning for a bit longer.

[color=8A8256]“I’m Heather, by the way.”[/color]

Heather calling her by her name stunned Natalia for a moment, but she shouldn't have been surprised. In such a small place, things like the names of random visitors who come to their land seeking one of their own was probably one of those things that became public knowledge shortly after it happened. Her vote of confidence that Tena wouldn’t be scared of what could happen was helpful, too.  [color=7B68EE]"Nice to meet you, Heather,"[/color] Tal said politely, winking at the woman in acknowledgement. [color=7B68EE]"And you don't have to put anything on Tena's tab! I've got it covered."[/color]

As she took a sip of her mead pint, the Belmonte girl thought about what Heather just said. A curiosity unlike anything she'd felt in the last few years motivated her to want to find out more about the girl she was interested in and where she potentially stood with her. [color=7B68EE]"You said that I've made her feel happy. Does that mean that she's, like, talked about me? Orrrrrrr…?"[/color] Natalia innocently inquired, a small smile on her lips at the thought of both her and Tena being so into each other that they'd gushed about their existence to the people they trusted the most.

[color=8A8256]“Oh for sure!”[/color] Heather shook her head. [color=8A8256]“I mean, T is a talker at the best of times but all it’s been since you were here last had been ‘Stargirl’ this, and ‘Natalia’ that. She’s down bad for you, babe.”[/color] She had never seen her bandmate like this before. Mitena had always been a free spirit, something that Heather aspired deeply to be yet when she spoke of the Italian woman that she had met one night at Aponi’s Heart, the songstress became a giggling school girl. [color=8A8256]“I can drop her a message and tell her you’re here if you’d like?”[/color]

Natalia’s smile widened into a beaming grin with Heather’s words. The confirmation that the same feelings and their intensity were mutually shared by both herself and the object of her affection lifted a weight off the woman’s shoulders. Her self-sabotaging, self-deprecating nature had been working overtime trying to convince her that this thing with Tena wasn’t worth pursuing: that the risk of getting hurt was too high. She was glad to have an opportunity to silence those thoughts, even if it was momentarily.

When the freckled woman offered to contact Tena, the dark-haired girl shook her head. [color=7B68EE]"No, that's fine. I'd rather she and I meet somewhere a little more private,"[/color] Tal explained, hoping that the other girl would be understanding of her desire for discretion. She didn't want the potentially vulnerable conversation to be interrupted in any way. [color=7B68EE]"If you're comfortable with doing it, though, are you able to give me her address and maybe send her a message asking if she's home right now?"[/color]

[color=8A8256]“Sure thing.”[/color] Heather picked up a pen from behind the bar and scribbled on a service notepad that she had tucked away. [color=8A8256]“I already know she’s home. She messaged me about five minutes before you walked in.”[/color] After finishing the note that contained Mitena’s address, the drummer for Red Wolf Road slid it across the bar into the off-comers waiting fingertips. [color=8A8256]“To be fair, Silverheel isn’t very far and you can’t really miss it. Take the main road to the west of town and follow the dirt path straight up the hill. Lovely scenes but a bitch to walk when you’re drunk…”[/color] Heather placed the pen she had just used behind her ear before placing her hands on her pear hips. [color=8A8256]“Then again, you’re walking with purpose and that purpose is damn worth it. She really is.”[/color]

In some ways, the native was jealous. She had yet to find her person, her reason. She wondered if they even existed. Joelle was an interesting case. Heather loved spending time with her when she could. But more often than not, the blonde-haired country girl was off on her travels with her firecracker sister. And as happy as seeing that bright smile made her, the Tatanka daughter did wonder if the fact that she could leave so easily, meant that what they had wasn’t what she thought it was, or wanted it to be. Heather had spent much of her youth being a terrible person and it was only after her older sister lost something dear that she realized how short and brittle life could be. Natalia was a beautiful girl and based on the look in her eyes, she wanted to be Mitena’s person. Good for them.

[color=8A8256]“You know I have a cousin in Edenridge? That’s where you are from, right? Her name is Topan…”[/color] Heather paused at a loud bang as her head sharply turned to see a young man dropping a large box onto the floor. [color=8A8256]“Tuna, you shitass! That’s some expensive equipment!”[/color] The boy shrugged his shoulders in melancholy before he began to refill the box, and their guest chuckled in amusement. [color=8A8256]“Sorry. I’m not even supposed to be here today but I’m glad I was. Give T my love when you see her?”[/color]

Natalia chugged the last of her mead and nodded eagerly. [color=7B68EE]"Sure will!"[/color] she replied to the woman with a grateful smile, sliding her a $10 bill across the bar and rising from her seat. As much as she wanted to continue their conversation, there still remained a bigger purpose for the visitor's presence in Blue Hill. Now that she had the information she needed, it was time to turn her eyes and focus back on the prize. [color=7B68EE]"Thanks for everything, Heather. It really means a lot to me."[/color]

Tal waved at Heather and took a few steps, but suddenly stopped and turned back around with a playful smile. [color=7B68EE]"And if Mitena and I end up getting married, I'll make sure yours is the first name on the guest list."[/color]

Heather let out a soft giggle. [color=8A8256]“Married, huh? Guess this must be that love thing people always tell me about?”[/color]

Natalia gave a laugh on her own and shrugged her shoulders. [color=7B68EE]“Maybe. I guess we’re going to find out.”[/color]

Heather picked up the bow empty pint glass that Natalia had left behind and placed it into the open dishwasher which had yet to fill up for the day. Seeing the stranger giddy and happy was infectious and the drummer hoped that it would spread across the reservation as she made her way through it to Silverheel Ranch. Everyone could always do with one more good day. Heather slipped the payment into the counter and the befreckled beauty offered Natalia one more warm smile.

[color=8A8256]“Go get her, tiger.”[/color][/indent][/indent][/color]