Live While We're Still Young (Astrid/Seria)

[Tanya Christianson]

Even when not looking for a pokemon, Tanya still liked to take occasional trips into Mother Edea's Forest. She enjoyed losing herself in the trees, with there being so many branching paths to take. It was all so beautiful that she found that she was able to calm herself while in the forest.

This time however, she wasn't alone. Dragging along two of her friends, Astrid and Seria, she wanted to show them a place that she had found during one of her wonders here. She had made not too deep marks in the trees of the forest to find her way to the area, making sure she didn't cause too much damage and risk startling the pokemon in the forest.

"We're almost there guys!" Tanya called back towards the two girls, pushing through the last bit of foliage before they eventually arrived inside a clearing. It was a pretty open area, with only a few tree stumps and flowers growing in the area. The sunlight seeped in through the trees, giving the clearing a magical air about it. As soon as she found the area, Tanya knew she had to show it to her friends.

"So, what do you think? It's a pretty awesome place, no?" Tanya asked in a delighted voice, sitting down on one of the stumps and looking at the two girls, eager to find out their reactions to the little haven she had found.

[Seria Floria]

Seria found herself in very familiar territory - Mother Edea's Forest was right where her dorm was, so it came as a surprise to Seria that Tanya had found a place right inside it that Seria had never discovered herself, even during the short time she's spent so far in the academy. It also came as a slight, but pleasant surprise that Tanya knew Astrid. Seria was, however, enjoying the trek that they had to make to get to the forest clearing. Seria really appreciated the outdoors and the wonders that nature had to offer, and this forest could certainly count as one of them. The clearing itself was quite open, the tree stumps could be used as chairs, evidenced by Tanya going off to sit at one of them.

The flowers looked beautiful, and the sunlight that seeped in through the trees and foliage did give the area a unique, almost magical ambience that few places in nature could only hope to match. "Wow! This place looks beautiful! I'm surprised I never found it, considering I'm from the Nature dorm. Thank you for bringing us here!" Seria nodded and smiled brightly, going over to a tree stump and sitting on it. "I'll be sure to remember this place for the future." she continued, now turning her gaze to Astrid.

[Astrid Sherinian]

Astrid hadn't been into the forest all that much yet. So it came as a surprise when Tanya invited her out there wanting to show her something. Well, maybe it wasn't surprise. The only time she had been out there, she'd been on a mission with Tanya chasing after a devious little fox. But she'd invited Seria along too, and that got Astrid curious. It must have been a very nice place indeed.

And so it was. Nestled within the aerial roots of the Lifebringer and several more trees growing in between was a small clearing, filled with flowers and letting in just enough sunlight to give the place a somewhat fantastical feel. "Ooh," Astrid said, looking around as she stepped into the clearing. She almost expected fairies to come floating out of the trees at any moment. Well...there probably were Fairy type Pokemon around somewhere, but the atmosphere seemed just about right for the more mystical sort.

"I like it, it's very pretty," Astrid said, making her way over to another stump and sitting on it. "Nice and secluded, too. I'll have to hope I can remember the way here."

[Tanya Christianson]

Tanya nodded vigorously in agreement with the statements that the two girls were saying about the clearing. She was glad that they found the clearing as magical as she did. Maybe her tendency to get lost was a good thing this time around.

"Don't you worry about finding it again. I made little marks in some of trees so that I was able to find my way back to this place." Tanya explained, smiling proudly as she told the girls about how she remembered to find her way here. "I'll show you guys the markings as we go back so you can come here in your own time."

Tanya took a moment to take in the atmosphere, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath. While she doubted that this was the first time that someone had found this place, she did wonder how many people had found this place before. It was such a nice little haven that she doubted others missed out on the opportunity to go to this place.

"So girls, how've you been enjoying your time in the academy?" Tanya asked, kicking her legs forwards and backwards in succession. "Personally, my time here has been absolutely amazing and while this probably sounds like a cliche, I've also met so many wonderful people."

[Seria Floria]

Seria nodded and smiled, visibly impressed as Tanya explained that she made little marks in some of the trees so that she could retrace her steps to actually get here. It was standard procedure in exploration to make landmarks of where you've been if landmarks don't already exist. They prevent you from getting too lost. Seria also had a bigger smile when Tanya said she would show them the markings as they returned so that this area would become easily accessible to them.

Then, Tanya asked about whether they were enjoying their time in the academy. "Ooh, yes, I've most certainly been enjoying my time here, even though it's had its ups and downs," Seria responded, recalling to her various battles, but then recalling her chance encounter with Amanda, which might as well have been one of the happiest moments of her life thus far barring of course fulfilling her dreams. "It's been great fun being here, and of course, I've also met wonderful and amazing people too, yourselves included!" Seria blushed a little as she remembered Amanda.

[Astrid Sherinian]

"Oh, that's neat!" Astrid said, after Tanya's explanation. "I'm not really used to being out in the wilderness myself, so I never would have thought about that. I'll just have to make note of what they look like when I leave." She'd have to do this more often. She'd been surrounded by tech so long that she had to wonder what she'd do if she was just thrown into the woods without it. Probably get lost until someone found her. If someone found her. There was supposed to be a class for that too, but as far as she knew it hadn't met just yet.

Tanya went on to ask about how the academy was so far. "I love it," Astrid said. "I'll echo that, I've met some amazing people here. Especially you two. It's also very liberating. Which I know sounds like a strange thing to say about a school, but it really is. And compared to the kind of rigorous schedules I was run through before coming here, it's like a completely different world." She stopped there, noticing Seria blushing after finishing her own answer. "Hmm?" she asked, leaning over.

[Tanya Christianson]

Tanya was glad that both girls had similar opinions to her. So far, the academy was something that she just felt really positive about. She was glad that she came here and she was glad that she was learning. Who wouldn't want to learn in a place like this? It was like a little island paradise away from home.

Home. While they were still close to the Hoenn region, Tanya felt like a mile away from all of her family. She probably was going to have to write to them sometime. Tell them that she was ok and that classes were good and the students were fun to be around. Go through the usual motions in order to calm them down, since she knew how they could get at times.

When Seria had finished talking, Tanya managed to pick up the blush on her cheeks. Seeing this, Tanya chuckled evilly, giving Seria a smug, knowing look. Seria was the type who usually wore her heart on her sleeve. She practically was an open book.

"So Seria~." Tanya started, her voice alternating pitch in a teasing tone. "What's up with the blushing? Has there been an 'amazing' person in your life recently?"

[Seria Floria]

Seria nodded in agreement as Astrid shared her own experiences here at the Academy, pleasant as they were. And soon, when Astrid and Tanya both noticed Seria blushing, it was only then the latter realized she had been thinking of certainly someone 'amazing'. Seria's blush darkened further as Tanya started to tease her about it. She felt quite embarrassed, but tried to take it well as she giggled profusely. "Erm... Yeah, actually, you could say that. .. Hehe... I met a wonderful young lady, a Wave dormer like you, Tanya, who comes from Kalos... And... Ooh~ I can't go on, it's too embarrassing!" Seria giggled and covered her face demurely, turning her head away, trying to cover her blush.

She couldn't believe it, but here she was, almost daydreaming about Amy again because Tanya had asked how everything was. Hopefully nothing bad would come out of it.

[Astrid Sherinian]

As it turned out, Seria's blushing wasn't by accident. Tanya caught on quickly as well, but asked more directly what she was blushing about. Then, Seria mentioned meeting a young lady, and while she didn't state it outright everything about the girl's words and tone suggested that she'd fallen for her. But just before she could get to the good part, she stopped, giggling and turning away.

"Whaaaat? You can't leave us with just that!" Astrid said. She was genuinely curious now. She had to admit, while her own leanings were a little unorthodox, she was a romantic and a sucker for this sort of thing. Add in the fact that Seria was talking about a girl, which aligned with her own interests, and her curiosity was piqued to the point where she had to know more. "Come on, who is it? What's she like?"

[Tanya Christianson]

Watching Seria's reaction, she couldn't help but giggle along with her. She was just so easy to tease. Indeed, it seemed that she had met someone. In fact, she was even from her dorm! Though being described as a wonderful young lady, Tanya made the mental note to take Annie out of the equation. She didn't think that Annie would act like that to someone like Seria. In fact, she wondered if she was kind to anyone. 

When Astrid asked about who the girl was, Tanya continued thinking about possibilities. Well she had only met one other girl. That was Amanda. She was the only other girl that she knew and through the process of elimination, she guessed that it was Amanda. From the battle they had, she seemed like a really nice person. 

"I think I know who she's talking about~." Tanya teased mischievously, giving a cat-like smile to her friend as she articulated her thoughts. "Tell me Seria, did this girl by any chance have yellow, drill-like hair?"

[Seria Floria]

Seria blinked as Astrid and Tanya both began to get even more curious about it now that Seria had already started. Her blushing remained, intensifying, though it got worse when Tanya said she thought she knew! And it was all but confirmed when Tanya asked if the girl had yellow, drill-like hair. Her smile wavering from embarrassment, Seria nodded. "Y-y, yes! Amanda! I guess you have met her? She is so pretty, so elegant, so refined, and really kind... And I could talk with her for hours on end about traditions and history and culture and all that sorts of really wonderful stuff!" Seria started to gush on a bit about her.

"Actually, I met her at a cafe over at the Business District! I wanted to get some Ditto cake, but she took the last one before I did, so I asked her to tell me how it tasted! But then she offered just to share it with me so we went off to this really nice picnic spot she knew and chatted for a while, but as we were gonna eat the cake, her Munchlax ate it all!" Seria giggled and laughed as she shared her experience. "So we went back to the cafe, and I picked out a new kind of cake and we sorta ate by a window and talked s'more, and uh, I kinda found myself mesmerized by her? Something like that. Needless to say, things kinda followed after that!"

[Astrid Sherinian]

"Oh, I think I've seen her in passing. She is really pretty. Like someone out of a fairy tale," Astrid said. She smiled brightly as Seria started gushing. Their meeting was something that could only happen by chance, or else a bit of bad luck being turned into something good. Yet it sounded like it went so smoothly and wonderfully that Astrid couldn't help but be jealous.

"Ah, that sounds wonderful. I wish I could have a meeting like that," she said once Seria was done. Specifically, 'have a meeting.' She'd met plenty of wonderful people, but most of them had been online or through fan letters. Not someone she could have that kind of interaction with.

[Tanya Christianson]

Tanya just sat blank-faced while Seria went on and on about how her interaction went with Amanda went. So it seemed that the two of them were interested in each other in "that" way. That was fine by her. She didn't really get it, but maybe she could try putting on a good face for her. Tanya forced a smile on her face, even though the topic wasn't something she really got or understood.

"Yeah, me too." Tanya parroted in a not too confident voice, trying to sound like she was like them with relationships and stuff like that when she really wasn't. This was something that sort of just threw her in a deep end. All she knew was from tv shows and video games. She hoped she wasn't too obvious about it.

"Uh hey, so, ummm." Tanya stuttered, trying to find a way to shift the topic to something she at least had some idea about. "I see that you haven't lost your edge in battle Astrid. I mean, you kicked my ass in my first ever match here. It's such a pleasure watching you battle."

[Seria Floria]

Seria nodded as Astrid mentioned seeing her as well, saying how she really was pretty and that she was almost like someone out of a fairy tale. Honestly, Seria was pretty much inclined to agree. Though, the way Astrid carried herself amidst the conversation made Seria a little worried. She sounded a little jealous. "Don't worry about it, Astrid! I'm sure someone you like will come along eventually. I don't think anybody deserves to be alone, after all." Seria smiled and nodded, trying to make Astrid feel alittle better. Meanwhile, Seria also tilted her head as Tanya said 'me too,' though she sounded a little unsure compared to Astrid. Seria didn't get it, but she wasn't too worried about it so she wouldn't press it. Eventually, Tanya decided to shift the subject to battling.

That was okay with Seria.

"Yeah, Astrid, you're really good! I haven't won against either of you yet. But I think I'll get there. Thank you for really opening my eyes and getting me to see things more clearly regarding battling!"

[Astrid Sherinian]

Tanya's 'me too' seemed a little odd. As though she wasn't entirely sure of herself there. But Astrid paid it little mind. "Thanks," Astrid said, responding to Seria. She was right. Someone would come along eventually. Although, she didn't express that she also hoped she wouldn't be forced to keep her distance when the time came. That would be the worst thing, falling in love with someone only to never be allowed to be close to them. It was how she used to feel with her fans, awhile back. She loved and appreciated them, but every time she got to meet one in person she always worried that if she got too friendly with them that others who didn't get that chance (usually through no fault of her or their own) would start a riot.

Her manager always thought along similar lines, but that usually ended up being yet one more source of conflict.

And then, the subject was back on her, and her show of battling against Seria. "Thanks!" Astrid said. "I'm really starting to get the hang of it. I mean, I guess I had a good idea what I was doing from the start since I've seen a lot of battles while working, but I'm glad I was able to get the hang of doing it myself. Although...I think I got a little carried away at the end of the last one." She turned specifically to Seria. "Sorry about that."