Laura wasn't sure what to expect at the party, but she knew it was oriented for aquatics like her. While she took off her shoes and hat, she of course kept on her wet suit. It had been hot outside and her body has trouble regulating temperature when out of water. The wetsuit helped greatly with that. The temperature inside was much more closely suited to her needs. She wouldn't need to add water inside her suit.

Unable to speak English via her blowhole, she had made sure to bring a good thick notepad and lots of colored pencils and markers. She took her time mingling. A few people struck up conversations with her. She conversed with them using her notepad, but hadn't really found a crowd to hang out with yet.

Finally, a cute feral cought her eye. He was clearly a dolphin of some sort, with a tail and flippers. He had fur though, perhaps part seal? She wasn't sure. He was clearly not well suited for land. Propped up on a sofa, he was relaxing and conversing with others. She figured she might as well try to flirt with him a bit.

Drawing a heart on her notepad, she got closer to him. He eventually glanced about the room and saw her flashing her notepad while making eye contact with him. A large smile formed on his face and he shouted out a series of clicks and squeaks. Laura froze up. Anthros capable of speaking English typically are incapable of speaking the Cetacea language. Any squeaks and clicks they can make are just gibberish to a Cetacea speaker, but in this case he was trying to say the English equivalent of, "Do you speak Cetacea?" Did he really know Cetacea? It was so uncommon to come across an English speaker who was actually fluent in it. His accent though, when he was talking to others. She hadn't paid attention to it until now. Could it be?

Unsure what to expect, with everyone in his group looking at her, Laura took a few steps towards him and said, in Cetacea, "Are you literate in Cetacea?"

The hybrid let out a chuckle and replied, "I could understand Cetacea before I could understand English. I bet my accent gave it away?"

"I actually hadn't noticed your accent until you asked me if I spoke Cetacea", Laura admitted in another set of squeaks and clicks. "I'm Laura."

"Everyone calls me Tuft, in English at least," The hybrid said, "My real name is actually in Cetacea though. You'll be able to pronounce it easily once I explain it, come hang out with us." He waved his flipper to invite her to sit next to him. "I can translate for you."

Laura gleefully accepted his invitation. After Tuft had gotten across to her his real Cetacea name, it wasn't long until she was fully integrated to the conversation with everyone else. Tuft happily and instantly translated anything she said to everyone else. Cetacea was clearly his first language. Being unable to speak English was no longer an impediment with Tuft beside her.

Laura continued to flirt with Tuft as the evening went on, including little messages to him in Cetacea at the end of what she was saying to the group. He welcomed the flirtation and it wasn't long before she had him comfortably seated in her lap. Lacking any dexterity of his own, Laura fed Tuft snacks from the plate that the group had. She playfully booped his Seal nose and played with his whiskers at every opportunity. Needing to hold him in her lap, she was also subtly running her webbed hands through the fur on his chest and flippers. Tuft was no fool and used his flexible neck to rub his head affectionately against Laura in return.

As the party started to wind down and people began to discuss going home, Laura offered to take Tuft. Tuft happily accepted her offer, clearly eager for a chance to talk to her in private. On the drive home, the the rough & tumble side of both really came out. Phone numbers were exchanged and a tentative date to get together again setup when the two got to Tuft's place.

This lovely piece was drawn by  Apple Wyvern. Find the original here, https://www.furaffinity.net/view/36776348/