Trying Hard to Reach Out {Seria}

[Seria Floria]

Seria sighed as Annie looked a bit puzzled and confused. "Most, if not all the people were made to stay indoors in the safety of buildings so they won't get caught in the fighting, and now, the team at the time had access to broadcasting material, so they could get the last laugh," Seria said. "I think this is something bigger, really. The island we're on may have something of interest for this criminal group and that's why we're tasked to defend it."

Seria scratched her head in thought. "Probably, there's someone with a kind of silver tongue, I suppose. That's all I can come up with."

[Annie Prince]

Annie shook her head, finding everything about the topic troubling. She preferred it when things added up to something that made sense, which this Team Origin simply refused to do. Insofar as any pattern was visible, there was nothing good about it, only suggestions that something was deeply wrong somewhere on this island.

Changing the topic abruptly in hopes of getting these thoughts out of her head, Annie asked Seria, "Aside from all that, how do you like life here at the academy so far?" It was a pretty transparent subject change, but she hoped that it would make enough sense that the other girl wouldn't be too disoriented.

[Seria Floria]

Seria sighed as Annie shook her head; it was clear that the girl was somewhat troubled by it all. Apparently she was trying to make some logical sense of the matter but had reached an impasse, opting to instead abruptly change the topic. Seria decided just to run with it. "Academy life is fine, I suppose. I'm making new friends as such, and one of those friends is someone I find myself quite close to, so I feel that, I am enjoying my time here despite all the bad things that have happened," Seria simply said.

"Et tu, Annie? How are you doing? Are you also enjoying your time here so far at the academy?" Seria asked innocently in return.

[Annie Prince]

Annie smiled again when Seria mentioned that she was making friends, even close friends. She liked the idea of friends, though she was not terribly good at making them. Being around people who could do things like that made her feel hopeful that she could find friends as well.

Then Seria asked how she was enjoying her time at the academy, and Annie composed herself briefly before responding, "I like it here very much; everything is so much more interesting than back home. It was a little overwhelming at first, but now I enjoy it. And I even find myself doing crazy things like going out to sit in the commons, hoping to speak with someone..."

[Seria Floria]

Seria smiled in return when she saw Annie become a fair bit more cheerful. Perhaps this was the way to go. Soon the Water dormer composed herself and responded positvely, saying that she did enjoy her time here quite a lot due to how interesting the activities were. Seria could relate a lot - it was a bit overwhelming but after some time to settle in things would certainly get better. Then she mentioned how she was doing crazy things like... Doing exactly what it was she was doing right now. "Well, you are talking to me right now, I do believe that's a start," Seria said softly and warmly, smiling.

"You seem like a nice person; I'm sure if you went ahead and were a bit more proactive in finding people to chat with you'd be quite popular." Seria continued.

[Annie Prince]

Seria's comment about Annie having the potential to be popular caught her by surprise. The idea was fairly foreign to her; she was only now learning how to go out and find people to chat with! Annie had become a bit too used, perhaps, to the idea that her reputation preceded her and precluded most friendships. But she had no reputation here. No one except for her brother knew what she had done and what had been done to her, unless she told them. She knew all this, but it was still surprising to be directly reminded.

It was hard to think of something appropriate to say. Annie managed to keep her head well enough to say, politely, "Thank you. I'm afraid I'm... still learning."

What else was there to say? She struggled with the thought, petting her Swinub's back for something to do in order to cover up how much she didn't know what she was doing.

[Seria Floria]

Seems like Seria caught Annie in a daze, but she was able to recoup herself and respond by saying her thanks and that she was still... learning? Seria became her curious inquisitive self again as she smiled and nodded. "Hey, sorry if it's turning a bit awkward, but... I am quite intrigued by your character, you know? Something about you strikes me as beautifully mysterious and now I just find myself wanting to learn more about you as a person. Of course, if you're uncomfortable with talking about it, you don't need to share," Seria said, smiling.

"Not to mention that aside from your intriguing personality and character, I can't help but mention that you do look quite stunning." Seria tilted her head, Annie definitely reminded Seria a little of Amanda.

She really missed Amy. Like, a lot. She shuddered upon recalling her.

[Annie Prince]

Annie was very confused by Seria's comments about her being "beautifully mysterious" and someone she wanted to learn about. Annie was perfectly aware that she could be mysterious, and she even liked to be, but that had never attracted anyone towards her. Why would it?

It was hard to think what to say, but Seria's openness persuaded Annie to try to say something.

"I can't say that I've met many people like you," Annie admitted. "At least, not many who would act like this towards me." Especially...

Annie did not quite blush when Seria complimented her looks, but she was certainly more inclined in that direction than normal. "Stunning" was a very strong word, and not one that Annie had much thought to hear anyone associate with her. Her first thought was to deny it, but that might be poor manners. Instead, she smiled a bit uncertainly and simply said, "Thank you."

[Seria Floria]

Annie seemed reluctant at first, but eventually admitted that she didn't meet many people like Seria, at least many who would act quite positively towards her. It seemed she didn't have too much confidence in herself. Then again, neither did Seria. She could relate. Before Seria could excuse herself and apologize for being weird and quirky, Annie smiled and simply and finally finished with a 'thank you.' Seria smiled back and nodded. "I'll be glad to be a good friend of yours," Seria said. "Especially if it can help you to see the good things about yourself; well, I can say I can somewhat relate, I didn't think many people would be interested in befriending me either."

"Didn't let that stop me from trying, though!"

[Annie Prince]

The outright offer of friendship came as a surprise, but it was certainly a good surprise! Annie's smile grew more confident, and she thought she might even feel Zlatan purring in her lap. She certainly thought that this Nature Dorm girl was very interesting company. Perhaps they might grow into being better friends...

"I didn't go out looking for friends until one caught me by surprise. I didn't get along well with Tanya at first, but it turned out after a while that we could be pretty good roommates and friends. And after that, I thought I might be able to talk to someone..."

Seria was obviously more outgoing than Annie. That was interesting to note.

[Seria Floria]

Seria smiled. "Ah, that's right. Tanya's your roommate. Bundle of energy she is," she commented on Annie talking about Tanya. It looked like the Water dormer though seemed to be a little bit more confident now. "Anyways, yeah, it's good that you're trying to go out and try to talk to other people. I mean, you're talking to me right now, which is a start!" Seria said, smiling and giving Annie a friendly pat on the back. Seria wanted to help the quieter girl to try and gain a bit more confidence in herself. Perhaps it was because she reminded her of Amanda in a few ways.

Was she projecting?

Maybe.

[Annie Prince]

Annie couldn't help grinning when Seria made that comment about her roommate. "Bundle of energy," that certainly described Tanya in a nutshell, which was why it had taken Annie a bit to get accustomed...

Of course, making friends made her vulnerable, but it was starting to sink in with Annie that being vulnerable could be okay sometimes. Some of the people here--in fact, pretty much all of those with whom she had interacted--were safe to be a little vulnerable around. Annie didn't quite trust them implicitly yet, but she had the sense that she could come to do so, at least for some of them.

"It's true, I am talking to you," she admitted with a joking smile. "Do you think I should do this more often?"

[Seria Floria]

Seria nodded and smiled as Annie did eventually admit, that they were chatting amongst each other right now. "Sure, I think you should do this more often, but I also think you can deserve to be a bit more choosy with who you want to talk to. You might attract someone you don't like, so you should try to be a bit more confident in yourself." Seria said. If she, Seria herself, was confident in something, it was being helpful. "Well, I mean, I did come over to talk to you of my own volition, right? It shouldn't be too hard for you to do the same to someone else you want to make friends with, right?"

At this point Seria was just trying to simply be logical about the whole thing.

[Annie Prince]

Annie's joke had evidently gone right over Seria's head, but that was all right. The other girl managed to say something pleasant and helpful anyway.

To be sure, Annie was aware that not everyone would be good to talk to. She had more than enough experience with people who weren't. But she took Seria's point: she would have more control over whom she spoke with if she were to approach others. That was a good idea.

Annie nodded slowly in response to Seria's suggestion. "I'm sure I can do that," she mused.

In Annie's lap, her Swinub yawned widely as it woke up.

[Seria Floria]

Seria smiled warmly as Annie nodded slowly in response to the suggestion posed by her. Seria hoped that with this exchange perhaps she could help Annie to become more social somewhat. After all, it seemed like such a shame that someone like Annie didn't have that many friends. If Seria could help Annie to become more of a warmer person to approach and talk to, then that would be a victory.

Mentioning that she could do that, the Nature dormer soon observed that the Swinub that Annie had been grooming for the past while now slowly began to stir awake. The Swinub yawned cutely as Seria took a look. "Your Swinub is very cute," she commented. "What is his name?" she asked as she took a cursory glance again at the Swinub before facing Annie once more.