First day [OPEN]

[crayolamutant]

Characters: Naminé, anyone else who wants to hop in
Location: Front lawn near the Graymalkin Driveway
Time: Afternoon
Content: A shy girl hanging out under a tree. Come poke her!
Warnings: Ffff none

Comments

[justnerves]

Laura held a great dislike of enclosed spaces, and now that her roommate had moved in, she was even less inclined to spend time in her room, that didn't include sleeping or showering. Honestly, being able to come and go as she pleased was something of a novelty, and she still tensed whenever she heard the footsteps of another echoing through the hallways, half-expecting to be dragged back to her bedroom.

She'd taken to spending a great deal of time reading, whenever she wasn't training. In the past few days, she'd made her way through two novels, a play, and a short collection of poetry, and was currently halfway through Pinocchio. There was a specific tree she always sat under, but as she approached it and tasted the air, she sensed another perched beneath it, though the trunk was blocking her view somewhat

[crayolamutant]

If it weren't for the shadow of the tree being over her, Naminé might not have noticed that she wasn't alone anymore. But when she looked at the ground--so as not to have to meet anyone's eyes--she could see, in the pattern of leaves and branches dappled on the ground, a distinctly person-shaped shadow, and she glanced up, seeing the dark-haired girl in the tree above her.

"Um." What did one say to a girl in a tree? "Hello?" she attempted.

[justnerves]

Having been spotted, Laura changed her position. She dropped down, so that she was sitting on the branch, rather than just crouching, and swung her feet back and forth. Book neatly placed against her lap, she leant forwards, to get a better look at the girl, now that she could see her face.

“Hi,” Laura eventually replied, quite decisively.

[crayolamutant]

Well, they'd exchanged greetings, and now Naminé had no idea what to do. Being around people her own age, who didn't expect her to do anything for them, was a rare occurrence; actually talking to one was even rarer. Maybe the girl wanted to be left alone? But what if she expected Naminé to talk, and thought she was rude because she didn't?

Eventually, she thought of something else to say. "Is it nice up in the tree?"

[justnerves]

Laura blinked, considering the rather odd question. A tree was a tree, and there wasn't much need to define it beyond that. “Nice” was a rather strange word to apply to it, and so Laura stared up into the leaves, trying to better describe it.

“It's fine,” she eventually replied, and then with a tilt of her head, asked, “Nice down there?”

[crayolamutant]

"Oh...yes!" Naminé answered, relieved that the other girl had asked a question as well, so she didn't have to think of something else to say (not for the moment, anyway). "It's cool in the shade." She hesitated, then added, "The leaves make pretty patterns on the grass." She'd been thinking of drawing them, in fact, before she realized the girl was there.

[justnerves]

Although Laura's eyesight was far shaper than the average person's, mutant or otherwise, she didn't exactly see what the girl meant about the patterns being pretty. She certainly sought to describe things in the strangest of ways.

Feeling that she might be missing something, Laura leapt from the branch, and landed heavily on her feet. Crouching, her eyes scanned across the ground, but still found nothing.

After a moment, she said, “It's quiet here.”

[crayolamutant]

Naminé started slightly when the girl jumped from the branches, with a little gasp--but she landed on her feet, apparently unhurt. She watched her bend over to look at the ground, where the shadows made their patterns. "See, there are gold tones between the shadows, but in the shadows the green is very deep. The colors are very pretty."

She nodded when the girl spoke again. "I like quiet," she admitted shyly.

[justnerves]

Laura listening to the girl's explanation, and peered at the grass for a second time. Still not quite seeing the appeal, she settled for nodding.

“Want me to leave?” Laura asked. Although Laura had taken to reading beneath the tree, it wasn't as if she held any particular ownership over the plot of land. If the girl appreciated the quiet, Laura could certainly respect that.

[crayolamutant]

Strangely, the other girl's presence didn't bother her very much. She still wasn't sure exactly what to say to her, but the other girl didn't seem to mind. "No. Stay if you want," Naminé offered timidly. Not like it was her tree to offer, but some kind of response had to be made. "I was just going to draw a little..."

[justnerves]

Laura repositioned herself so that her back was against the trunk of the tree, and glanced down at the girl's sketchbook. It reminded of her cousin, and of what little time they had together, and so Laura smiled, ever so slightly. Folding her book open in her lap, her eyes briefly scanned across the text, searching for the relevant passage.

A few minutes passed, before she thought to look up and say, “I'm Laura. Hi.”

[crayolamutant]

As the other girl sat back against the tree trunk, Naminé took it as her cue that it would be all right to open her sketchbook. From her pocket she gathered a few crayons in varying shades of green and yellow, and began to sketch the patterns, as she'd said she would.

When the girl spoke again she glanced up and smiled shyly. "I'm Naminé. It's nice to meet you."