Time to meet one's neighbours

[liz_riley]

Liz gave herself one last glance in the mirror. Although she doubted that Katelyn would have any interest in other people's appearances, she did want to make a somewhat good impression on her other neighbour. The young girl smiled nervously at herself and lowered her head. It was no good. No matter what she tried, she'd never be able to be as

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[girl_in_a_tree]

Whilst Liz was busy preparing herself, the unsuspecting Kalinka was finishing up a book, as usual. The particular novel was one Lenore had written, and one Kalinka had read before, though the girl figured she had started reading it again to clear up a few loose details that hadn't been straight in her memories. Thoughts often strayed to what her mother was thinking back then, trying to get the story down from her head

[liz_riley]

A blink. And another blink while two brown eyes gazed up in confusion at the older student. She had visited many people before, since Liz liked to be in the company of other people, but never had anyone answered the door like this strange girl before her.

Liz wasn't also certain how to respond to this. What made it even more confusing was the fear the other girl radiated. No one had ever been afraid like that before. Not when she knocked on the door at least...

"Ah... uhm... I..." Words got lost while she thought about Kalinka's question. Was she real? "I... I think... I'm real, Miss Wellington," Liz stammered. She lifted up her hands to show the pie to her neighbour. Quietly, she continued, "I... I thought... maybe... Is Katelyn here as well?"

[girl_in_a_tree]

Kalinka sighed into her high collar, as if genuinely relieved. "It is always better to ask."

The anxiety remained, though the hostess was secretly pleased with not being called by the wrong name, especially by someone she hadn't instructed otherwise yet. It was always wrong, at least on the first days of class, and some people just never seemed to understand. That's right, all three of us seem to have problems with the names we're given on paper.Green eyes drifted slowly to the side, eventually followed by Kalinka's body, finding only a dark lower bunk stacked with books and a few stray sketchpads. Of course, this did not mean Katelyn wasn't there, somewhere in the mess. The only clearly lit portions of the room were so by the monitor's dim light, and it was an eccentric maze of objects in the first place. "That, is a very good question to ask. Most of her time spent here is at night. She may make herself known shortly, either way

[wildkate]

One of Katelyn's habits, though not necessarily a bad one, was that she was free of the schedules and routines that most people seem to enjoy on some level. Not feeling bound by the need to sleep only at night, nor only in one's bed for that matter, she often could be found napping just about anywhere at any time. In this case, she had slipped quietly into the room of Kalinka the Green while her roommate was asleep at her keyboard. Deciding not to wake the girl to ask her permission to stay there a while, she assumed the same, small shape that she took when they first met, and curled up into a warm ball of fur between two stacks of the other girl's books.

Upon hearing someone calling her name, she awoke from her light slumber. She stood and stretched lazily before peeking out between stacked books at the newly arrived visitor. Still waking up, Kate did not think about how to Liz, it would only appear as if Kalinka had a curious pet kitten that was investigating an interesting new person.

[liz_riley]

Liz curiously moved inside once permission was given by the slightly older student. It took her a moment to adjust to the dark room. The first thing she noticed, of course, was the computer, where the monitor provided the only light in the whole room. But as her eyes gradually adjusted to the dimly lit room, the young girl started to see other treasures as well. Her whole face lit up immediately when she saw that the room seemed to be filled from one end to the other with...

"Books!" she exclaimed happily. Then Liz realised she was not supposed to talk unless spoken to and she lowered her head guiltily. "I'm... I'm sorry, Miss Wellington," she mumbled embarrassed. "Uhm... m-maybe... would you like some pie?" Liz held the fruit pie up again, as if it could work as a shield against any possible punishment. "While.... while we wait for Katelyn...?"

[girl_in_a_tree]

Amused again by the outburst, Kalinka all but failed to show it, her expression quickly becoming very neutral again. "That's alright." The first word she thought of to describe Liz was one she would rarely actually say. Cute, I admit, but almost too polite... "Not to be cliche in my preferences, but 'Kalinka' will do."

The only response thought of, after spending an inordinate amount of time staring at the offered food Liz seemed to be hiding under, was the only honest response Kalinka could think of. "I don't really like pie, much." Finally noticing the quiet feline, she very nearly smiled. "Katelyn may, though she hopefully won't attempt to eat any near my books, the way she is now."

Passing the attention elsewhere, the green one somewhat lowered her guard, though it didn't last for long. Remembering the unfinished text on her screen created noticeable tension once again. Reaching back, she kept an eye on the other two, simply turning off the monitor behind her.

[wildkate]

Katelyn quickly pulled her head back between the two stacks of books, though it could not have possibly helped since she had already been caught. Between what little of the conversation that she had heard between Liz and Kalinka, she feared that she was not supposed to be in there and was in the wrong for sneaking in without asking her roommate first.

After a short while, she gave up and announced her presence. A disembodied voice rose up from amidst the collection of books. "I am, sorry. Am I not supposed to be here now?" Moments later, the kitten cautiously stepped out into full view, looking up at the two girls and wondering what would they would say or do next.

[liz_riley]

The small girl smiled when she saw Katelyn in cat-form. The fact that Katelyn looked now as a kitten didn't even strike as particular odd to her. After all, was her best friend not someone who could switch from cat-form to human-form?

"No, it's alright you're here," Liz replied gently. "I came here for you and... Miss... Kalinka." She glanced quickly at the green girl to see if it was really alright to call her Kalinka. "I brought pie as well. I... hope Katelyn likes pie? Since... Miss Kalinka doesn't like pie..."

The young Seer looked around for a place to sit. Almost everywhere books or other objects. That was alright. The floor could be comfortable as well. A little hesitantly, Liz sank down on the floor and put the fruit pie before her. "You... you really don't want to try a piece, Miss Kalinka?" she asked carefully.

[wildkate]

Katelyn hopped off the bed and silently landed on the floor below. Taking a glance at the desert that lay between her and Liz, she was reminded of what Kalinka the Green had said earlier about not trying to eat it in that form.

Reverting back into her human shape, the Katelyn that Liz was familiar with sat down, clad in a pretty blue dress. Though entirely too formal for sitting on a floor and eating a pie, Katelyn had simply been wearing it due to the fact her only other two outfits were dirty. Unaware of the awkwardness of being overdressed, Katelyn smiled, happy that she was wearing her nice clothes the first time she had someone wanting to come and visit her.

"I, I do not know. I don't think I have ever had a pie?" Katelyn looked at the desert and then the girl who was offering it to her. "What is it made of?"

[girl_in_a_tree]

Sighing, though not too obviously, Kalinka reached for the strangely frog-shaped base of a small lamp on her desk, clicking on the dim bulb whose light flooded the room. Closing the door and securing its lock, as she then did, would have otherwise left the area in complete darkness. She would have loathed to activate the excessively bright, overhead lighting that seemed to be in every room, and had considered removing hers on multiple occasions.

It annoyed her to repeat herself for Liz, and she often wouldn't have answered such questions. "No, I don't. It just makes more for you, anyway." Stepping over and around the other two, Kalinka simply began to climb into the top bunk, not really feeling like working on anything with company around. The floor would have felt crowded to her, at any rate, and she seemed much happier laying on her arms and staring at the ceiling while mostly out of view than trying to have a conversation. Even so, she did still listen to whatever they might prattle on about.

[liz_riley]

Liz winced slightly at the hidden reprimand and stared down at the pie before her. She looked up when Kalinka had disappeared on the top bunk, forcing herself to smile at Katelyn.

"It's made of flour, sugar, butter and many different kind of fruits. Strawberries, apples, raspberries, blueberries, peaches, that kind of fruits. It tastes usually very sweet, though I added some citron as well, so it shouldn't taste too sweet."

Liz opened the box to start cutting into the pie. "That... that dress of yours..." The girl blushed deeply. "I think it looks very pretty... You look very pretty in it, Katelyn."

[wildkate]

"Fruit is always, very good. With so many fruits, this pie must taste wonderful..."

Katelyn paused as Liz began to cut into the pie. The color of her face quickly matched that of her guest, as she had never heard anyone call her 'pretty' before. "I-I, um...Thank you." Her blue eyes glanced upward from the sweet dessert to her equally sweet friend. "You look, very nice, tonight as well Liz Riley."

[liz_riley]

The colour of her face deepened even further until she could almost lit the room on her own. "Y-you think so...?" Liz plucked a little at her new clothes, which had been a gift from Terence for her birthday. She had to admit they were the best clothes she had and it made her happy to hear other people liked it. "Th-thank you, Kalinka," Liz blushed.

She glanced back at the pie. "Uhm... yeah..." The girl stuck a thumb in her mouth while she looked around at the room. "...Maybe... we need something... like a plate or saucer... so we won't leave any crumbs or anything like that on the floor... Do you know if there is anything like that here, Kalinka?"

[wildkate]

"Yes, yes. I do think so," Katelyn replied, not realizing that it was a rhetorical question.

Following the girl's gaze downward to the pie, she stopped to think. "I, I do not know?" She looked up at Kalinka's bunk as she considered which to do, look through her roommate's belongings or bother her when she did not want company in the first place, and had excused herself to lie in her bed away from the other two girls.

She glanced back towards Liz, blinking slightly from the confusion. Deciding to give it her best shot, even though she may be wrong, she told her smaller friend "But I shall find them." Standing up, she wandered into a random direction and began looking for forks and plates.

[OOC: Wrong name, but we'll go along with it...hehe] ^_^;

[girl_in_a_tree]

"Ah..!" While not paying perfect attention, the sounds of Katelyn rummaging around reminded Kalinka quickly of the last words that had been spoken. Who knows what they'll... Shooting upwards into a sit, her finger pointed out from under her green sleeves towards the drawer that contained the greatest concentration of her sparse silverware. "They're, over...no, leave that alone, it's...just, stop." Her command's nature fell somewhere between a groan and a whine, ending with a sigh and her hand held out flat

[liz_riley]

The young Seer watched silently how the older girl came down again with a sigh to stop them for making a mess of the room. She tried to make herself as small as possible when Kalinka brushed past her and Liz jumped quickly out of her way.

"Ah... Th-thank you... miss Kalinka..."

The Seer looked down at the plates and forks, and then back up at the green girl who had now disappeared back on the top bunk. She glanced back to the green objects. "Memories... They're valuable," Liz mumbled while she sank down on her knees to put a piece of pie on each plate. "Gifts from a long time ago..."

The girl blinked and smiled then, a little embarrassed. "Ah... uhm... here. I hope you like it, Katelyn. Uhm..." She picked at her own piece. "..Do you like it here?"