Remnants of the Earth
INTO THE PAST => Flashback Threads => Aedolis FBs => Topic started by: Anonymous on April 08, 2009, 01:38:19 pm
-
Damn Libraries.
Satori was tired of sitting in libraries alone all the time. Most of the programs she was enjoying like it was a vacation. Well, not quite vacation but a job she really loved. She had found a love for reading she didn't know she had, a kind of duty. she was ready to be what she had always wanted to become. Something her Step Mother would have hated. Satori grinned with pleasure as she thought of what the vile temptress of her father would say if she saw her in the candidate clothes, no make-up, and regular tennis shoes. The woman may have had a heart attack right out. At this point according to that woman's plans Satori would about now be at the store picking out a dress to wear to some even to impress some man. She shivered at the idea. Thank God she was psychic, a ticket out indeed.
Satori was happy to be a candidate, probably one of the few in the programs who genuinely wanted to be there. She wanted to be a Pilot, she thought it was far better than bowing for some man her Step Mother wanted her to. Weren't there stories about evil Step Mothers? Satori believed every word without having read any of them. Satori thought being a Pilot was respectable, interesting. She might have changed her mind if she had known what her real Mom had gone through, but her father had never divulged all that information.
She even had a really interesting mentor! One that she hadn't expected, a human. She had heard such insane stories about the Pilots she had assumed all of them were weird creatures. Instead, there was a mixing, even in the candidates. It made her much comfier. Marshal, however made her nervous, blushy. She had been expecting a mentor from Hell like all the stories she'd heard, instead he wasn't bad at all! He was hard on her, but he wasn't tyrannical exactly.
But, she was having a hard time making friends in the ATC. It may have been that her Step Mother was well known so people were nervous to get to know her? Her father would have told it was because she was pretty. Her Step Mother would have, well who cared what she would have said. Satori on the other hand figured it was because of the giant ass scorpion tail.
She made a decision she closed her book shut, somewhat loudly. She completely ignored the people looking over at her and started pressing buttons on her wrist organizer. She moved her studying to later in the day, or maybe she would skip it entirely. She stopped for a moment unsure of where to put it exactly. She just moved it to later in the day, maybe she'd come back. She gathered her books together sliding them in her pink messenger bag. At some point she would replace it. Maybe trade it with someone.
She left the library walking through the halls. Her scorpion tail was pressed tight against her back again. She still hadn't quite mastered the walking through the halls yet. There had been a couple bad incidents with people running into her tail, just horrible that she didn't want to remember. Sometimes people just didn't realize things like that needed to be left alone.
She was heading to the cafeteria, surely she could find someone who looked friendly there. She was determined to make a friend and stop being a loner, especially because it wasn't by her choice. Somebody had to be friendly! She pushed through the door looking at the busyness of the room. So many people. She started to feel a little nervous but lifted her head high refusing to look at her feet. She scanned the room, who to talk to first?
-
Lamb hated being a candidate. No. That was to simple of a word for the dark depths of pure, unadulterated loathing she felt for the whole thing. It was a singularly awful experience. Lamb was almost constantly picked on, the meek little rabbit pretty much the perfect target. And while Lamb could be vicious when backed into a corner, her natural instinct was to flee. She hated confrontations.
The threat of TRIM loomed over her head, menacing and dark. She was sure that any day she was going to be sent there. She was acing her classes, and most of her physicals were actually pretty good. But she wasn't much of a fighter, tending to mostly just dodge around, bobbing and weaving and avoiding the other person.
The cafeteria was pretty much her own private hell. She did her best to get through the line quickly, keeping her head down, avoiding eye contact. Her shaggy brown hair fell forward into her face and she hunched in, trying to look at small as possible.
So intent on avoiding bullies, Lamb wasn't watching where she had been going and almost walked smack into a pretty girl with an utterly terrifying tail, "O-oh. S-sorry. I-I didn't...sorry!" Flushing and stammering, Lamb ducked her head again, large eyes locked on the massive tail.
-
Her hands moved quickly catching some of the things that were falling off of Lamb's tray and she ran into Satori. There were a couple chuckles around them but Satori glared at one of the boys who was laughing. Noticing it was Satori that Lamb had run into he shut up quick. Sometimes it was a good thing to have a more threatening appearance in this candidate eat candidate place. She wished she knew how to put images in people's heads already without damaging them too badly, she would have imprinted something horrible in his mind.
"Are you alright hon?" Satori had seen Lamb before, enough to know her name. She was normally on the wrong side of the wrong candidate. It couldn't be easy to look like she did in a place like this probably awoke the worst instincts in the bullies around her. Always had to be on her guard, Satori only had to worry about running into people with her tail too much. It may get out eventually she was sweeter than she looked but for now, she played to the dangerous aspect. Right now though, she didn't want that at all.
Lamb was staring straight at Satori's tail. The scorpion sighed shaking her head.
"I promise I don't sting or bite." She said to Lamb trying to look as nonthreatening as possible.
-
Lamb froze, heart pounding. She stared at Satori, already large eyes going wide, not moving a muscle. Everything in her screamed that this was a hunter, dangerous.
"I-I-I-I-" Lamb swallowed, trying to fight her instincts, "Thank y-you. F-for catching m-m-my tray." She flushed, ducking her head down, hearing the people around them snicker. Everyone knew she was going to fail.
She started at Satori's comment, having been lost in her own thoughts, "B-bite? O-Oh! T-that's good!" She blushed again, giving Satori a shy smile, not really sure what to do know.
-
Satori kept a friendly, warm smile on her face as she waited for the poor thing to finish her sentence. She was stammering like it was going out of style. Satori held her tray for Lamb still and set some of the items that she had caught on it then held it out to the other candidate. Satori looked at the blush on her cheeks and how nervous she was. Satori suddenly felt very protective over the other candidate. It was somewhat obvious the girl might need help.
"Hon, do you want to go sit somewhere away from all these idiots?" She spoke loud enough for the people who were still snickering to hear and gave them a grin afterword. Satori wasn't one to be intimidated by people on the same level as her. The Pilots? that was something different entirely, the candidates? Even if they were a higher stage than her she really couldn't be brought to care in issues of respect.
She turned and looked around the room, scoping out where a good spot might be for them to sit down. She spotted a mostly empty table in a back corner. That looked like it would work pretty well. She looked back at Lamb and waved her to follow her and started to walk slowly to make sure she didn't leave the girl behind. Hopefully she wouldn't decide to take off in another direction.
Because the cafeteria? It was a hunting ground.
-
"T-t-t-thank you!" Lamb knew she looked stupid and weak. She wasn't stupid. The weak part was rather true. It wasn't in her nature to be aggressive or violent. Not until she was backed into a corner did she ever lash out. And even then she would much rather run away then fight.
Nodding her head, Lamb gave the other girl a shy smile, "Y-yes. Please. I-I would like that very much." Glancing around nervously at the other people around her, Lamb quickly followed Satori. It must be nice to be so brave and confident. Lamb couldn't imagine it.
Though even as she followed, she started to have second thoughts. What if she just wanted to lure her away. Or it was some elaborate plan to just pick on Lamb even more. It wouldn't be the first time it had happened to someone. Glancing over her shoulder at the door, Lamb thought about just running for it. But, in the end, she was lonely. She hadn't made any friends here yet. And any shot at a friend was worth a risk.
Sliding into the seat, Lamb pushed a strand of her fluffy brown hair back. She stared intently at her food, unsure what to do or say next.
-
When they sat down Satori got herself comfortable. She took out a couple books and started messing with the pages. Then she found her eyes drawn back up Lamb was still scared. Satori was busy trying to pretend she was unaware of the eyes that had followed her. She was sure she had attracted the attention of some of the wrong candidates, but surprisingly she wasn't as nervous as she would have been. Lamb made her feel protective, not as afraid of what would happened to herself.
"Are you alright?" She asked Lamb again with a reassuring smile. The poor girl was so nervous. Satori was surprised more of the candidates weren't like Lamb. Most of them were just rude, or sort of unaware of other people. Satori knew why she was more excited, and happy. She was living a dream, though actually going through the motions was a whole hell of a lot different. It was tons more work. The fantasy was more fun. Though this wasn't bad at all.
Satori tried to guard her mouth from going wild. She hadn't been able to talk to much of anyone for any amount of time because she was somewhat intimidating. Now there was a real live person ready to talk to her. Satori wanted to talk a mile a minute and be friendly and open, but instead she guarded herself, this girl needed the attention more than she did.
-
Lamb did her best to look small and uninteresting. They had attracted a lot of attention and Lamb wanted to avoid attention as best she could. She didn't want people to think about her. Just blend into the background. Or run very fast. Those were her survival methods.
Glancing over at the other girl, Lamb saw that she was reading and she looked back at her tray. She didn't really want to eat anymore, far to nervous. But she didn't want to try making a break for it yet. Too many people were still watching. So she just picked up a slice of cucumber and absently started to nibble on it.
Until Satori suddenly spoke and she dropped it, startling to the side. Her cheeks flushed again and she nodded, heart still pounding, "Y-yes. T-thank you again. I app-p-preciated that. You were so c-cool!"
She fell silent again, not sure what else to say. Lamb wasn't very good at reading people, even with psychic powers.
-
Well, Lamb was severely shy. That may have been understating it even...way understating it. Satori felt so sorry for the other candidate. She was frowning slightly as the girl spoke to her. Satori was doing the thing she always did and couldn't seem to help doing, trying to figure people out. She was tilting her head at Lamb trying to think what could have caused her to become so nervous around people. Maybe the candidacy was enough to do that on its own but there was normally something else, something rooted deeper.
"No problem at all, really." She gave a small smile to Lamb across the table. "Sometime you just have to stand up to people like that. The assholes. Then they'll leave you alone. Some people don't though." Satori beamed when Lamb said she was cool. "Thanks!" It had been a long time since anyone had said something like that to her and meant it really. Normally people had complimented her just on the basis of her Step mother. Yuck, fake people.
Then, once again Lamb fell silent. Satori watched her trying not to be too obvious with staring at her. She looked back down at her books biting her lip trying to stay quiet for a few minutes. After about three she gave up and looked back up at the other girl.
"So! How did you end up here? That's always a fun story right?" Satori rolled her eyes. She knew for her getting picked up was probably different from every other candidate.
-
"I-I....yeah. I j-just am not s-so g-good at s-standing up to p-p-people." Lamb still looked nervous, like she was ready to bolt. She had always been skittish, it was in her genes. Her instinct was of flight, not fight. She could lash out, but only when very cornered. And the candidacy program had only made that worse for the girl.
Lamb fidgeted, staring back down at her plate. She wanted to talk to the other girl. But the words would just catch in her throat. Satori was so cool and pretty and brave. She wouldn't want to talk to someone like Lamb.
So when the other girl asked her questions, Lamb startled, her head coming up again, a pleased and surprised expression on her face, "O-oh! M-me?" Lamb actually looked around to double check that Satori was in fact, starting a conversation with her, "I...oh. Well, I-I don't think m-mine is very in-interesting. J-just a routine medical ex-exam. A-and next th-thing I k-knew I was here."
Still fidgeting slightly, Lamb flushed a bit, ducking her head down, "W-what about you?"
-
Satori listened to Lamb quietly a small smile on her face. She tried to appear as nonthreatening as possible. She let her tail relax and lay down beside her on the bench stretched out so it wasn't in view and scaring the girl away. It was a blessing and a curse in so many ways. She nodded as the girl talked about the medical exam.
"My story isn't that interesting either." She chuckled and smile as she started to tell her own. "I started showing signs at a young age, but they weren't sure what it was, took me to a Doctor when it got worse and here I am!" She beamed. "I was so happy." Satori was one of the few that grinned when she told her story about getting picked up. She felt like she needed to explain somewhat, plus she had a girl to talk to and her mouth started to run on.
"See, my mom died awhile back." Her voice fell off towards the end. She bit her lip the grin disappearing and a brief silence hovering. Then her face brightened again, but it seemed sort of fake. "...Anyway, so he remarried. To Anna Tam?" She stuck her tongue out and rolled her eyes after saying the name. "You might know her, she's in movies." Satori could barely keep the disgust out of her voice and off of her face for the woman.
-
The tail being out of sight helped, but Lamb still looked ready to run at the first sign of danger. At least she had stopped nervously scanning the area every so often. She was never really all that relaxed, it was a rabbit thing. Too much going on for her to fully relax.
"H-happy? W-why? You w-wanted to be a Pilot?" The idea was just....horrifying to Lamb. She wanted her life back. She wanted to get married, have a family. And now she was stuck trying to become a soldier. Something she wasn't cut out for, but her only other choice was to be a science experiment.
"Anna Tam?" It took Lamb a moment to place the name, then she nodded, "Oh, the actress? I-I take it y-you don't like her?" Lamb still couldn't believe that life with anyone was worse then having to fight, to kill. Lamb didn't want to hurt anyone, let alone kill them.
-
"My Dad is in the military. I hardly ever got to see him." She looked off for a second blinked a couple times then looked back at Lamb. "So I was hoping this could bring me and him closer together." She smiled to herself for a moment. Just thinking about her Dad seeing her complete the program grow to her full potential. She just knew that he would be so proud to see her in that uniform. Then she could pick him up on her dragon!
"Anyway," Satori looked back to Lamb and put a hand on the table. "Anna Tam." Her hand curled into a loose fist. "Well, she's...a bitch. To put it very, very simply. She took control of my life, pushing me towards what she wanted. She wasn't even my Mom." Satori rolled her eyes again. She gave a chuckle and shook her head. She still felt a sort of joy whenever she thought about Anna stuck in that house most of the time by herself. Serves that woman right.
"And really, I think that military is in my blood." She looked down at her lap letting out a slow breath. "My mom was in the military, my Dad told me all her stories. She was a Pilot, when I was really young. So I feel like I'm closer to her here even though I barely remember her." She smiled at Lamb a weak sort of smile like she was emotionally tired after the speech.
"Plus, when we pass, not if, we get to be the big bad in Aedolis, and Anna Tam will have to eat her words." Then Satori looked at Lamb and her eyes got big as if she was realizing the girl had bunny ears for the first time.
"I talk so much Lamb, I'm sorry!"
-
Listening to Satori talk, Lamb could feel her eyes growing wide. She could understand wanting to be closer to her parents by following their footsteps, that seemed sweet. But the talk of Anna confused Lamb.
She couldn't understand wanting to go through this hell, to lose your shot at a real life, just to get back at someone. Lamb just nodded, "I-I guess that makes sense. B-but....I'm so afraid. I-I don't want t-to have to fight." She glanced up at the pretty candidate, "We ha-have to kill people as Pilots."
Lamb didn't want to hurt anyone. She didn't want blood on her hands. But far more then that, she was afraid of TRIM. She was afraid to end up there. So she would pass. She would study hard, do what she was told and work her fingers to the bone to keep out of that place.
"I-it's fine. I d-don't mind you talking at a-all. You h-have a pretty voice."
-
Satori felt a sort of sadness in her throat in the form of a sigh but caught it. She suddenly felt guilty for being so excited about being a Pilot. She didn't even take the time to think about the lives she might have to take. She glanced around her to make sure no one was listening as Lamb spoke. Confirming no one was watching she looked down at the table again feeling sort of odd about the whole thing now. She hadn't thought about it that much. She just guessed it was better to realize she had no choice in the matter. It was easier to accept it all that way.
"Thanks." She blushed a little as Lamb complimented her. Satori was pretty sure of herself most of the time. She knew she wasn't ugly, but a giant scorpion tail did give you a complex sometimes. It was nice to know people noticed things other than that. She was getting more comfortable in herself. This program was helping, all the physical training she was feeling much more at home in her body. She was gathering much more courage than she had before.
"And I guess I just like to look at things at a glass half full kind of thing. Even in situations like this."
-
Lamb nodded glumly, keeping her eyes on the table, "I-I-I wish I could do that." Be so confident and sure of her self as Satori was. But all Lamb could think of was war and violence. Of the fighting Pilots had to do. It terrified her, "I j-just get so s-scared."
She winced slightly. She was ruining everything. Making things so sad. She flushed a bright pink and tried to think of something to say to lighten the mood, "So...I...um....w-what's it like having a-a tail like that?"
That just got another wince. Lamb hated when people always made a big deal out of her ears. And here she was commenting on Satori's tail, "S-sorry. T-that was r-rude to ask."
-
Satori smiled as Lamb changed the subject. The poor thing was so scared even her voice was shaking. She wondered if it happened all the time, or if it was just because she was afraid. Maybe it was a disability of some kind. Satori was curious but she would never ask a question like that. A laugh escaped her as Lamb asked about her tail so nervously. To Satori it was just like having an arm or leg, she barely thought about it.
"Oh no it's alright I know you aren't poking fun at me so I don't mind!" She grinned. "Well, my Dad use to tell me that I thought everyone should have them when I was born, so going anywhere with me was very...amusing. I was always wondering where everyone put their tail." She laughed again making motions of showing where it might be. "I didn't even really think of it being that odd till I got here and seeing the reactions some people have. It's so odd. The only thing that really bugs me about it is people get scared of me. I don't think of it constantly as a weapon."
In a way, that was sort of a lie, it's just the way her brain was wired to interpret a threat, that was her most powerful physical weapon. So, if a threat came up that was generally the first place she thought. It was like a policeman with a gun, or someone who studied swordplay...or like a Pilot with their powers. It was just an automatic reaction. Though she had learned to slow down her reaction here so she wasn't always endangering everyone else.
She let her eyes float up to Lamb's ears. She let a small smile cross her face.
"So, what's it like having those ears? I mean I love my tail but sometimes I wish I had something like that."
-
Lamb was relieved when Satori didn't seem to mind the subject change. Talking about what was going to happen to them just depressed her. Lamb was made for a place like this. She wasn't a warrior, she wasn't a leader. And she hated everything they were training her to do.
Lamb gave a small laugh at the other girls story, "W-wow. I b-bet th-that was really ad-dorable. D-did your p-p-parents have tails too?" When Lamb spoke, it wasn't that she had a stutter, but she was on such a high alert all the time and her body was almost constantly twitching, it effected her speech patterns.
"M-my ears?" Lamb wiggled her ears, blushing a little and ducking her head shyly, "T-they a-aren't that exciting. E-everyone in m-my family has them. I-I guess I c-can hear farther then m-most people though. I-I don't really know w-what it's l-like to n-not hear that f-far."
-
Satori's face brightened as Lamb reacted. Her ear wiggling and the blush coming to the other girl's face. Satori couldn't help but grin like crazy. Lamb just looked way too cute.
"Well that was just adorable." Satori gave another short laugh and stretched her back slightly as Lamb continued to talk. Of course she could hear farther, that only made sense. Duh.
"That must be annoying though. Sometimes especially in a place like this." She tilted her head imagining what it would be like to deal with something like that. She was guessing it would be kind of like when they had all first arrived in the program and everyone was always broadcasting their thoughts without even knowing it. Candidate to Candidate there really were no secrets, your thought were common knowledge. Luckily most of them had been getting it under control. Having ears like that on top of everything? That must have been torture, probably still was.
So maybe that wasn't the best topic to discuss. Damn. She looked down at the books on the table. Oh of course! What the big thing Candidates had in common? Being a Candidate.
"So what sort of book do they have you reading?" Satori grabbed her bag and slid it around to sit it next to her on the bench. "God I hate this pink thing." She stuck her tongue out in disgust and opened the pack looking at her books. "I think my mentor is sort of crazy about reading."
-
"A-adorable?" Lamb's pale skin flushed even darker and she shook her head rapidly, sinking lower into her seat. She didn't feel adorable, she felt silly and stupid. And she desperately wanted to impress this other candidate.
Tilting her head, Lamb gave Satori a puzzled look before the dots connected in her brain, "Oh! Well, no...It's not so bad. I mean, I'm used to it. I find the constant listening in on peoples thoughts so much worse. And knowing they can hear mine."
Satori's bag caught Lamb's attention and she gave a shy smile, "I think it's pretty. I like pink." She flushed again, lowering her eyes, "I've been reading a lot of history. It's more in depth then the stuff at school. I don't have a mentor yet." Lamb was pretty sure no one would want her. But she was not going to end up in TRIM. There was no way.
-
"Yeah that is nerve wracking for sure. I hate it but I guess I'd rather be able to hear everyone else too if they can hear my mind." Satori nodded sure of herself with a slight smile. The blond always tried to look on the bright side of life, a glass half full kind of person. Though she wasn't surprised to know that most people here didn't. In fact very few did. Sometimes it was hard to keep positive in a place like this.
"You like pink?" Her head jerked up her eyes shining at the other girl. The excitement was obvious in her voice. "If you have a bag like this I will so trade you." She took the other books out setting them on the table as Lamb talked about her books. She grinned wide and held the bag up so the girl could see it. She set it down next to the pile of books and shook her head as Lamb said she didn't have a mentor yet.
"My mentor is totally on my ass all the time. So many books." She waved a hand at the pile on the table. "Maybe you're lucky you don't have a mentor yet." She did worry about that though. Satori wished there was something she could do to get Lamb a mentor, the girl needed one to get her more comfortable, not so afraid. Satori could do her best as an interim one. She heard Lamb mention history.
"This book," She slammed a book down on top of the pile that had pictures of dragon and pilots across it on the front in the air. "Is the bane of my existence." She sighed. "I don't know how anyone could take a battle like this," She pointed at the cover her index fingers on one of the pilot's faces. "...boring, but somehow this woman managed it. I swear she was paid by the letter."
-
Lamb nodded, "Y-yeah. I-I miss m-my p-privacy." That was probably the worst part. There was no real privacy anywhere here. You had to share a room with someone, everyone could hear what you were thinking and you could hear their thoughts. It was awful.
The other girls excitement startled Lamb slightly and she jumped in her seat a little, expression startled. Then she flushed, slightly embarrassed at her reaction, but she smiled at Satori, nodding happily, "I-I do! It's one o-of my favorite colors. A-and I h-have a bag kinnda l-like that. I-it's g-green t-though. A-and n-not quite t-that style."
"I-I don't have it o-on m-me. B-but i-if you want y-you could s-see it some t-time and s-switch. I-if you w-want." She could feel herself blushing again, cheeks burning. She just wanted to not make a total fool of herself in front of Satori. And she seemed to be failing that rather impressively.
Lamb stared at the books when Satori brought her attention to them, eyes going huge, "Y-you have to r-read all of those?! A-and d-do your school work?!" Lamb was now very glad she didn't have a mentor. She would die. That was so much work to do. If she had all that, she wouldn't have been sitting in the lunch room talking to someone. She would have to have her nose stuck in a book to even have a chance of getting through them.
She was still a little shocked as she blinked at the book, "T-that one? O-oh. I h-hate that woman. S-she is s-so dry. I-I tend to s-skim her w-works."
-
Satori's eyes lit up as Lamb said she had a green bag. That would be perfect! Green wasn't her favorite color, but it was still one she enjoyed, and way better than pink. She nodded to Lamb.
"I'll get your number for you, or after you're done eating we could go do it." She grinned at Lamb. Perfect! It was such a good idea to come to the cafeteria today. Sometimes she even surprised herself with her victories. She hoped that they could hang out longer and switch it out today. She was really tired of only having Pilot Richards to talk to. While he knew ow to motivate her, he was really dry most of the time. Interesting, but in an intellectual way. She needed a girl to gossip and hang out with. Maybe Lamb would be that girl.
"Yup, all of it. Pilot Richards is just a wee bit obsessed I think. I get it I guess. I mean the Pilots take us under their wings, or a dragon's wings," She snickers at her own joke, "and have to push us to succeed. Most of the time though I still can't believe he wants me to read all this." She looked at Lamb slightly surprised when the girl said she skimmed the author's work. Se didn't seem lik sh was a rebel in any way. How interesting.
"Unfortunately I'm so supposed to write a report and compare two books on the event." She searched for the other n in her pile. "This one, at least I got to pick one. He's a much better writer. Focuses more on the people involved, their lives. He makes it much more interesting."
-
"N-numbers!" Lamb leaped eagerly at the chance to change contact information with the girl. Then blushed when she realized how overly excited she had sounded, "U-unless you w-would rather n-not..."
Lamb's focused on the books again, chewing her lip, "P-pilots sound scary." It made her nervous to see Satori with so much work. She has always had thought she was a good student, but that amount of work, plus all the other homework and physical training they had just seemed far to intense to her.
Satori was so lucky. She was beautiful and smart and strong. Lamb wished she could compare, and she found herself watching Satori as her new friend spoke, "O-oh. That's g-good. I h-haven't read that a-author. I-I hope the r-report goes okay...."
She trailed off, looking down again. Stupid. She didn't know what to say next. She wanted to say something cool and awesome and interesting. And she was just coming up blank, "Um....you have really pretty hair."
....That wasn't any of the things she had been going for.
-
"Oh of course numbers! I'd love to have yours. Friends are few and far between here." She frowned slightly. Satori was sort of spacey and not really noticing how closely the girl was watching her. She had a tendency to look away after speaking not wanting to connect eyes too much, make the other person nervous.
"They are kind of scary, but hey just think of it like this. At one point they were like us." She motioned to Lamb and then to herself her expression bright. "they were nervous, afraid of their mentors, not sure if they were going to pass. They're the people who will understand us the most. Even though some of them might be a little out of touch.
As Lamb looked down Satori looked at her, noticing little things. She could just feel that she had a good heart. That she was a sweet girl. She hoped that wouldn't change throughout the program, get colder like some of the Pilots she had seen. Of course, Satori hoped the same for herself.
Satori jumped when Lamb complimented her. She even blushed just slightly.
"W-well thanks." She grinned the red on her cheeks growing darker. "Sometimes I think about dyeing it or just cutting it all off. I just like it too much." She flipped the ponytail over her shoulder playing with it for a second, not even really thinking that it was odd that the girl commented on it.
-
The friend comment had Lamb blushing and her heart racing. She hadn't had many friends outside of the ATC and she hadn't made a single once since she had arrived here. She dug into her pocket, pulling out her cell phone. It was a pretty yellow color with a case that was covered in flowers and swirls and butterflies. She pulled up the option to add a new contact and shyly handed it over to the other girl to add her number, "I-I can call y-you. S-so you can have m-my number."
Satori's comment got a nod from Lamb. But she couldn't imagine the Pilots as anything but the frightening cold monsters she had met. They frightened her on a very deep level. All of them screamed predator. They were the hunters and Lamb was a rabbit. And she was terrified both that she would become like them and that she wouldn't be able too become like them and end up in TRIM.
"O-oh! Don't d-dye it!" Lamb shook her head, "I-it's such a p-pretty color. T-though I-I think you would l-look pretty with shorter h-hair. Y-you have the f-face for it."
-
Satori took the phone smiling at the case despite herself. She had always despised girly things on sight because of her mother in law. She always felt those things were so fake when it came down to it. For some reason though it was suddenly endearing to Satori with Lamb doing it. The whole thing just fit her so well, it was like she couldn't even question it.
Satori saved her number and handed the phone back to her with a grin. "Call or text me. Whatever's clever." She grinned wider. She touched her hair when Lamb said somethign about shorter.
"You think I do? Really?" She ran through different ideas of short styles of hair. Nothing looked right the way she imagined them surrounding her face. Then she just got into some ridiculous ideas of styles.
"My hair has always been long, cutting it would be like loosing some of my tail." She glanced down at her tail laying on the bench seat. "Of course sometimes I think that might be a good idea too."
-
Lamb liked pretty, delicate looking things. She was a girly-girl through and through. Any attempt on her part to go for rough and tumble or badass would just be sad. She took her phone back, flushing happily that she had a friends number.
She nodded her head, pale cheeks still tinged pink as she carefully put the phone away, "Y-yeah. I'll d-do that l-later. T-thank y-you..."
Lamb nodded her head as Satori talked about her hair, blush getting darker and her nervous trembling picking up again. She had done it again. She hadn't meant to insult Satori or anything, "Y-your hair i-is p-pretty n-now. I-I just....I d-din't m-mean a-anything....I.....y-you are r-really p-pretty now..."
-
Satori looked up quickly when Lamb start sounding nervous again and stuttering and calling her pretty. She put her hands up showing the palms like she was saying she meant no harm.
"Oh hon, I didn't take it as an insult." She gave a laugh and her expression said 'it's silly if you think I did'. "Don't worry." She grinned and started putting her books back in her bag. She should really go pick up on reading more of these books. She didn't want to leave she wanted to sit with Lamb. She started packing her books anyway, they were all over the table. She did it very slowly though.
"I should probably get back to studying," she looked at the other candidate reluctantly. "Though I don't really want to." She pouted. "Maybe we can do a study date sometime?" She grinned at Lamb, happy to finally make friends with someone that could maybe eventually be a real friend, not just one that was there because they were desperate.
"Maybe later this week? We can do a bag switch and see if we have to read any book that are the same. Maybe we'll have a class together?" Satori smiled and nodded at Lamb.
-
Lamb nodded awkwardly, face still flaming. She really didn't want to mess things up and she kept feeling like she was going to put her foot in her mouth. The sight of Satori packing up saddened the girl a little. She had been enjoying their time together, but a glance down at the clock on her phone told her lunch would be over soon.
"Y-yeah. I-I have a c-class after lunch." Lamb fidgeted with her own tray, collecting the leftovers to the middle, making it easier to carry. And it let her linger longer with Satori.
The blond girls mention of a study date had Lamb beaming at her, face lighting up in obvious pleasure, "Oh! Yes! T-that would be n-nice! I-I hate studying a-alone. M-maybe after c-class sometime. J-just t-tell me w-when your f-free."
-
Satori couldn't help but smile at Lamb. That girl's smile was so contagious! She was once again surprised that the girl didn't have many friends. It almost didn't make sense to Satori. Of course Lamb sort of hid herself so maybe that was why. Satori wasn't sure but she was glad to change that for the girl.
"I will call or text you as soon as I know." She picked up her bag and started to head out. She wanted to go by the food line first to pick up something portable to drink and eat. A little snack! She grabbed herself a couple pieces of fruit and a chocolate bar from the vending machine. Then a very caffeinated soda. She was on Marshal study time now. Something that required a lot of caffeine.
After a couple days of way too much studying on books no one else was assigned Satori got tired of being in her room by herself again. Plus she was missing her new friend. Quite a bit actually. She picked up her phone that was in a black and yellow case and started to text Lamb.
What r u up to? Study date tonight?
She set the phone back down half watching it while she waited. She sort of felt like she was texting a boy about a date or something. It was an odd feeling. A very odd feeling. She shook it off though and went back to reading while she waited glancing at the phone every so often.
-
Lamb was at her desk, working on a project. At times like this, she could almost forget where she was, it was just like school. Lots of homework and Lamb liked to do as much extra credit as she could. It helped give her some edge to avoid being TRIMed and it helped her avoid the other candidates.
She was rather afraid of most of them. So many of them seemed unhinged and a few down right terrified her. She had seen them do some awful things to other candidates and been picked on more then enough by them. So Lamb tended to hide. Besides, she liked small, dark places.
When her phone gave a small beep and vibrated loudly, Lamb made a frightened squeaking sound, startling. Blushing, she was glad her room mate wasn't here to have seen that. Grabbing her phone, she read the message, smiling happily.
Lamb
5:03pm
Text: nothin. where u want to meet?
-
Texting was quick and easy. A Very convenient way of communicating. It lacked so much for Satori though. It was hard to sound too excited without completely raping the common language, hard to express emotions and tone. Of course she could always type out 'Yay I am so excited' but in her head she tended to read things like that in monotone because it was a text message, and then it just sounded...rude, sarcastic, or sometimes amusing.
She picked her phone up quickly when it vibrated, excited to see the quick response. She grinned. Yes! She could see her new friend again. This night was going to be much better than just sitting doing homework by herself. Satori started to type her room when the door slid open and her roommate walked in looking in a foul mood as usual. His eyes were narrow as he looked at her, well she had to deal with it he was all out glaring. He had this whole I'm a human and hardly anyone else is complex. It was really annoying.
She rolled her eyes at him as he dropped his books on the bed and walked to the bathroom. So damn rude. Ugh. The attitude of some candidates.
Your room maybe? or Library?
-
Lamb was already packing her stuff up, ready to go meet Satori somewhere when her phone beeped again. Ready for it this time, she didn't squeal, though it still made her heart pound. Flipping open her phone, she read the text and chewed her lip lightly.
Lamb
5:07
Text: either. u want meet my place?
She added her room number and hit send. Then gasped, dropping the phone to her desk and started to frantically clean her room up. It was normally very neat and organized, but Lamb desperately wanted to impress her new friend.
-
Satori smiled at the phone when the message came back. Oh thank the dragons, they could meet in her room. That would work out so much better. The last thing Lamb needed was this idiot mean mugging at her too. Satori started dumping her different books into the pink bag. Oh that's right, today she may be rid of it's horribleness! That made everything even more awesome than before.
Satori
5:09 p.m
Sure! I'll be over shortly.
She finished packing her bag and left with the middle finger behind her back to her roommate as he mumbled something mean under his breath. She knew she should probably be a model scorpion tailed being ad meet his judgement with love and understanding. Satori couldn't quite process this though. She'd have to do that later on when he learned a little bit himself.
She headed down the hall checking her phone every little while or so to see if she was remembering the number correctly. Probably a little more than was really required. She was getting silly and starting to check every time she passed a door. She smiled when she finally got to the one that was right. After triple checking her phone and the time she nodded to herself. It had been about fifteen minutes sine the last text message. Hopefully Lamb would be ready.
Satori stepped forward and knocked on the door.
-
The knocking startled Lamb as she finished straightening the last of the mess. That would be Satori! A quick survey of her room had Lamb starting to panic that now it looked sterile and unlived in. But there was no time for that.
Rushing to the door, Lamb pressed the button to let her new friend in, blushing slightly as she smiled at the other girl, "H-hi. C-come on i-in." Stepping out of the way, Lamb, fidgeted with the bottom of her uniform shirt, unsure what to do now.
"Uh...what s-subjects did you want to w-work on f-first?" Lamb's cheeks flushed darker as she spoke. She sounded like an idiot. She should say something cool, but her mind was totally drawing a blank.
-
"Hey there." Satori lifted a hand giving a small wave as she looked over Lamb's shoulder into her room. Her eyes widened. It was so...clean. Her eyes turned back to Lamb seeing how nervous she was. Satori wandered in trying to appear as small as she could without seeming like she was.
"You're so organized." Satori said with something like awe. "Marshal would be so happy if I actually kept my side of the room like this." She shook her head is disbelief, "I can never make myself clean on top of studying." She smiled looking around the room. She started to think about what subject after Lamb had asked her. She thought tapping her chin as she looked around. She kept looking for something out of place, but there wasn't much.
"Hmm, any ideas? I know we both have that one history class." She pointed out as she slung her bag off of her shoulder slowly. The thing was damn heavy.
-
"I-I find that an o-organized r-room helps me f-focus." Her stammer was more pronounced, highly nervous with Satori over. She wished she had cool posters or something put up. Mention of Marshal made Lamb glance about nervously. The way Satori talked about him made him seem frightening. He was always pushing her. Lamb didn't know how Satori didn't break under all that work. None of the other candidates that that shoved on them.
"H-history is fine." Lamb gave her friend a small smile, flushing slightly, "Um, d-do you want the bed or the c-chair?" She motioned to her pile of books stacked on the desk, "M-my notes and books a-are over there."
-
She weighed the advantages of the chair versus the bed. The bed, while comfortable would make it harder to focus. The chair however would be...irritating to sit in, with the tail and all. She also had to make sure she didn't puncture the damn bed, looking back and forth once more she pointed at the bed.
"I think the bed will work better for me." She dropped her book pack on the bed with a soft thud. She put her hand out to feel the bed first, not sure why she expected it to feel differently than hers. Lowering herself on the bed she carefully made sure her tail was in the safety zone and started to unpack the bag.
"That lady, the one who teaches this class." Satori adjusted her posture straight and raised her voice slightly and gave a slight accent. "She is quite stiff, uses quite a variety of large words." Satori crumpled and started laughing at herself. She grabbed a pen and her notebook, sliding the text along with it.
"And she just had to assign more of this text." Satori stuck her tongue out in disgust.
-
Lamb watched Satori sit, fascinated. Her own tail was quite small and didn't really ever get in the way. Other then having to get her pants custom tailored. She took a seat in the chair, still watching the other girl. Satori really was so amazing. Pretty, smart, confident.
The impression had Lamb giggling, "You s-sound just like h-her! She always walks like she h-has a rod strap-pped to be back too!"
Pulling her own notes over, which were all efficiently organized by class and subject, "I l-like the b-book actually. I-It's dry, b-but it's r-really interesting." She flushed a little, ducking her head.
-
Satori was very pleased that Lamb liked the impression, they should all be able to mimic their teachers! They saw them enough.
"Ah well see, when I read...I like easy exciting stories. Stuff like this..." She flipped through the pages of the book to give an example. "...I just...it doesn't stick. Of course the motivations here make it much easier to focus." She coughed and opened her notebook flicking through pages of scribbled notes and scribbled doodles to find where she had left off. Pilot Royal Blake, Satori wished she would burst into flames, had assigned a page of questions related to the text. Annoying, vague-ish questions. Of course.
"Did you start on these questions yet? I finished the reading...I looked at these questions though and took a nap." She pointed at the paper turning it towards Lamb. It had about twenty questions on it that were just for the chapter they were working on.
-
Lamb nodded, "Y-yeah. T-this stuff can be hard to g-get through. B-but it's interesting." She kept her head down, feeling shy. She liked Satori and the other girl seemed to like her, but Lamb still felt so nervous.
Her ears twitched slightly as she took the paper, "Oh, y-yes. I s-started them." Lamb liked to get her work done soon. She was terrified of the Pilots and failing and as she wasn't doing very well on her physical work, she worked extra hard on her studies.
But the questions were killer. Lamb hadn't been able to get through all of them. Blake was a hard teacher and Lamb wanted to do a good job, "I-it's like w-wading through q-quicksand. H-how did you w-want to tackle them?"
-
"Well, I think the one that just made me put the questions back in my notebook and give up was the one about..." Satori's eyes scanned the sheet of paper. She was aware of the other girl's nervousness. What candidate wouldn't be? Their emotions were all over the damn place, constantly. She just wasn't going to point it out. She knew that always made her feel more awkward which probably wouldn't be any different for Lamb.
"Oh!" Satori's eyes lit up as she found it. "This one." She turned the sheet around again pointing it out rather superfluously as she said the number. "Question four. The strategy the Pilots used in this battle I can't quite pronounce." Satori laughed afterwards. "The author lists the different kinds earlier...but I couldn't quite wrap my head around which one it would be."
-
Lamb nodded, leaning closer. She was still nervous and tense, but it was getting easier. Satori was so nice, so friendly. It made Lamb happy being around her and she hadn't had much luck making friends at the ATC.
"Yeah. That one was a hard one. It's a trick. I almost got it wrong." Lamb flipped open her book to a highlighted page, "See. Right here it explains it." She slipped into study mode, going over all the various points, showing Satori the places she marked in the book to back up her explanation.
-
"What a jerk! Assigning trick questions." Satori leaned in to listen, happy Lamb had had trouble with same question she did. Lamb however had found the answer, and pretty expertly. Lamb also seemed a little bit more comfortable as she explained it. For a second Satori got distracted and looked at Lamb instead of the book then quickly looked back. Book work must have been a comfort zone for her.
"Well, looks like I picked the right smart person to study with." Satori grabbed her highlighter and started to read through and highlight some of the things Lamb had pointed out and explained. This was so much better than futilely trying to find the answers she kept missing. Grabbing her notebook she started to write down her answer. While she wrote she spoke to Lamb and still tried to stay focused enough so she didn't put the words in the wrong order.
"That makes so much more sense. Ugh. Were there any you had problems with?"
-
Lamb flushed happily and gave Satori a shy smile, looking pleased at the praise, "I like this stuff. It's a challenge. A-and it's easier t-then the other stuff." Lamb hated all the physical stuff. She was decent at running, dodging things. But she wasn't very strong and was rather uncoordinated to do well at much.
Leaning over the notebook, Lamb scanned her notes, "N-no. Most were pretty straight forward. Oh!" She pointed to one of the questions, "Number 17. B-be careful when you read it. S-she worded it o-oddly."
Pushing her paper closer to Satori, the bunny smiled, "H-here. You can u-use my notes if y-you want."
-
Satori turned Lamb's paper around. Number seventeen was worded strangely. She put a finger down on Lamb's paper and moved her finger as she read along the page.
"I know this is supposed to help my cognitive skills or whatever ya call em, but this was just mean." She finished reading through and sat back for a moment looking at Lamb, a blank look on her face, then a smile crossing it as she grabbed her own notes and highlighter again.
"You're like a certified genius, totally." She shook her head at herself as she started highlighting and making some notes and folding down pages in the book. "How did I miss that one?"
-
The praise had Lamb glowing with pleasure, ducking her head shyly, "I-I just p-pay close attention..." And she didn't really do much, to intimidated by the other candidates to interact with them. And the fear of failing made Lamb driven. She had some of the highest test scores in her stage.
"I-it's the only thin-thing I am good at..."
-
Satori shook her head at Lamb.
"I bet there are lots of other things you're good at, but hey the skill you have is a good one to have here. A hell of a good one." Satori smiled and went back to making a couple notes, changing them into her...less intelligent wording that Blake would be used to so she wouldn't get a lecture, then added a few ideas of her own.
Satori wasn't unintelligent she wasn't the most book smart person in The ATC, she was almost positive this person next to her was, aside from maybe some of the teachers. Maybe Lamb could teach her what she looked for so she could see it to, then perhaps she might have a chance at passing this thing.
"How do you study? Do you mind me asking?"
-
That was a topic the bunny girl was comfortable with. Her stammer got less and less the more she talked, going over her study techniques with the other candidate. It wasn't until much later when Lamb finally glanced over at a clock that she even realized how long she had been talking.
Blushing, Lamb sat back in her chair, tucking a strand of curly brown hair back from her face, "Oh...I-I'm sorry....I s-sometimes t-talk to mu-much." Her nervousness was coming back, ears twitching in agitation.
-
Satori waved her hand at Lamb dismissively. She had been listening with rapt attention. The blonde candidate was never someone who liked studying, she liked the exercising, the running, and of course the punching. She was amazed by Lamb's dedication to the text. She wished she could feel that pull.
"No, no! You don't talk enough. You're really smart under all that blushing. If you ever need help with anything I owe you big time girl!"
-
The mention of her blushing had Lamb's face going a dark red, ears twitching spasticly. She shook her head, hunching down into her chair, "N-no, no, Not r-rreally. I just p-pay attention. That's all."
She did give Satori a bright smile in return before her ducking her head, "I-it was f-fun. I d-don't need anything, r-really."
-
Satori grinned while the girl got nervous. It wasn't that the scorpion liked making the girl nervous...well maybe a little. Perhaps Satori could help her loosen up some while Lamb helped Satori buckle down and make it as a Pilot. Marshal would be more pleased to have a candidate that passes all her classes. It would make it much easier on him as well.
"So, maybe I can teach you how to relax some! That would be proper payback right?" She wanted to pinch the brunette's cheeks she was so cute with all the blushing but she remembered the horror of that she sometimes endured with relatives when she was younger so she restrained herself from doing that.
-
"Oh? W-what? R-really?" Lamb was pretty sure if it was possible to go redder, she would have. But the idea of getting to hang out with Satori thrilled her. Maybe some of her cool would rub off on Lamb!
"I-I would really l-like that. P-please. I-I m-m-mean if y-you don't mind...yes!"
-
Satori reached over shutting Lamb's book when Lamb agreed. The first step was to get her cute little nose out of a book once in awhile. Satori however would let that little part go slightly because of the situation they were in. They all had to have their noses in a book at least some of the time.
"Now, do you listen to any music? I find that music helps me relax or puts me in a good mood in the morning." She was going to enjoy this. Despite her happy nature it was hard for her to make friends if she was being honest. Most candidates were nervous already and if you added in a scorpion tail? Well she was just out of luck.
-
The girl jumped slightly when Satori shut the book. She had to resist the urge to open the book again. She felt almost naked. What was she supposed to say now that the homework was done?
Then Satori was talking again and Lamb felt a bit better. Satori seemed good at talking to people. All she had to do was follow her lead. Lamb nodded her head, smiling shyly at the blond, "Y-yes. I like p-pop music mostly." She rattled off a few popular artists, then slowly went quite. That was probably really lame. People always teased her because she liked bubble gum pop music. It wasn't very cool.
-
Satori smiled, she could work with this. Satori liked all kinds of music, pop music wasn't far and away her favorite. There were a couple good things about it though.
"Do you have your collection handy?" Satori knew she had a few songs from people she had mentioned but her wrist organizer wasn't going to be very loud, and she had good plans for Lamb. Part of it involved music the other part involved getting her to relax some.
-
"S-some. I didn't g-get all of it. W-when I came." Lamb flushed and pulled out a music player, holding it out to the other girl. The girl was twitching again, nervous and shy about showing off her music to Satori. She probably had a much cooler collection of music.
"It's n-not that cool or anything.."
-
The blonde took it from Lamb slowly. She was trying to be mindful not to move too suddenly Lamb was so skittish and the last thing she wanted to do was scare her away. Satori started scrolling through the iMusic not disappointed by Lamb's taste. Satori wasn't much of a music snob, any type of music could have a good beat.
She stopped on a song she had danced too before. She remembered the night fondly she had snuck out of the house through a window and took off to a club. She had gotten in easily because of her family connections. She remembered dancing with a boy. She let the memory fade away and looked up at Lamb.
"This is one of my favorite songs!" She grinned at Lamb wide. "Not that cool, p'shaw." She stood up and wondered over to the computer connecting the speakers to the iMusic. She turned it up, but not too loud. The music came through the speakers instantly and Satori closed her eyes for a moment letting the memory of dancing come over her.
She started to move slowly at first. She wasn't the most graceful dancer, but she was alright. It was hard to dance with a giant tale sometimes. After dancing for a few seconds she turned to Lamb.
"Whenever I feel stressed I put music on and dance. Have you ever danced before?"
-
Lamb felt a rush of relief when Satori found a song she liked, beaming shyly, flushed with pleasure. She had stuff in common with someone as awesome as Satori!
A little startled when Satori started dancing, Lamb had to admit she could move pretty well. Lamb always felt like a spastic klutz when she tried to dance. Giving a small laugh, Lamb nodded, "S-sure I h-have danced. I-I'm just not g-g-good at it."
-
"I bet you are really good at it." Satori continued moving to the song and over towards Lamb. She held out her hand to the other girl. She had a feeling that maybe Lamb would try to back out of the lesson. She would simply explain that Satori felt she owed her and how terribly sad she would be if Lamb did not allow her to help her relax.
She swayed her hips as she waited for the other girl.
-
Lamb shook her head, holding her hands up in front of her, "O-oh no. I-I have t-two left feet."
She really didn't want to try and dance in front of Satori. She would just looks silly and spastic next to Satori, "Y-you s-should keep d-dancing."
-
"It's no fun if I'm dancing alone." She stopped for a minute and grinned at Lamb. Her rabbit ears were adorable Satori kind of wanted to touch them but she stopped herself. She was so glad to be having fun she didn't want it to get weird.
"Plus, I think me just dancing for you may qualify as something...odd." She stuck her tongue out at Lamb and started dancing again despite her previous statement. It was so nice to have a friend, or at least the start of one.
"I could try and teach you a little. I'm obviously not the best though." Satori pointed over her shoulder at her tail. "It throws off balance a bit."
-
Lamb's face went even redder at the odd comment and her eyes squeezed shut, "O-oh! N-no! I-i-it's n-o-o-ot like tha-at at all!"
She was starting to go into panic attack mode, her breathing getting shallower. She didn't want to mess everything up with Satori, but she was way to shy to dance and she wasn't sure what to do, "I-I-I do-don't think th-there is room..."
-
Satori could see the brunette starting to panic. She realized she was going to cause Lamb a mental breakdown. That wouldn't do at all. She stopped dancing and sat down next to the girl who seemed like she might start to hyperventilate at any moment. She put a hand on Lamb's and tried to catch her eye.
"Calm down hon, you don't have to." She gave a reassuring smile. She wondered how Lamb was going to survive the pressures of the candidate program. Hopefully it would smooth out that fear some, not that it such an instant reaction. Lamb was smart enough to kick the other candidates around the room, but that fear could do her in.
-
Lamb nodded, shoulder's hunched and she wouldn't meet Satori's eyes. She was messing this up all over the place and she just wanted to puke. She couldn't believe this and now Satori was never going to talk to her again!
Her hands were clenched tightly in her lap and she tried to calm down. But her heart was still pounding a mile a minute from the panic earlier. She just wished she could be cool and normal and not such a loser.
-
Satori could see she wasn't calming down at all. She was really panicking. She felt terrible about trying to push her to dance now. She shut off the music and sat down on the bed next to Lamb and put an arm around her shoulders.
"Honey, I'm sorry I upset you. I didn't mean to. I just didn't think." She sighed and pulled Lamb into a hug. She just hoped it didn't make her even more upset.
-
Lamb went utterly still at the hug, then she melted into it, squeezing the other girl tightly. She had missed stuff like this. Friend stuff, hugs, all those things she had taken for granted back home and were so hard to find here. All the candidates seemed to have ulterior motives or hidden agendas. She was just glad that Satori wasn't angry with her for her spazz-y behavior.
"I-I'm s-sorry. I-I'm just very nervous."
-
Satori grinned and touched some of Lamb's hair when she hugged her tightly. It felt good to hug someone. It felt even better to have the hug returned it had been forever since Satori had gotten a genuine one from anybody but her Dad. She hadn't even talked to him in a few weeks. She sighed and patted Lamb's shoulder.
"Don't worry! I'm nervous too. I haven't made made friends since I got here so it's so nice to have one."
-
"R-really? B-but you are s-so cool." Lamb snuggled into the hug, happy to have the simple contact. It was surprising how much she had missed this. "A-and I'm g-glad we're friends. I-I'm glad I could h-help with your homework."
-
Satori shook her head at Lamb. She was surprised the girl thought she was so cool. Satori didn't really feel cool most of the time. She felt like an outsider. She could really understand where this girl was coming from. It was so nice to have that again. She wanted to change herself into something that was important. She wanted to succeed for herself. Sometimes though it was hard to do that when she was so lonely.
"Hey, I'm not that cool hon. I'm glad you could help me too! I thought I might be a lost cause." She grinned at the girl unable to stop herself.
"So, what next?"
-
"N-next?" Lamb blinked, then gave a small shrug, "I-I don't k-know. I don't d-do a whole lot...um...I'm s-sorry." She fidgeted in her chair, racking her brain, "We...uh...we c-could go to the...um...rec room?"