Welcome to Gaia! ::

It was nice when there was no class, and Kaida found herself ensconced in a used bookstore she was fond of, looking for a new gem to add to her collection. Now and again she'd catch sight of someone she'd known in school, and she couldn't help but be amused or horrified by how they'd grown up. It...was both odd and nice. And some of the whispers she heard made her very glad she wasn't in high school anymore.

Girl drama, ugh. Drama was annoying and pointless.

She sighed, shaking her head, and found herself blinking. Oh! Another Crystal girl she recognized! Kaida couldn't help but move over to the other girl, her books already chosen in tow. "I hope I'm not being a bother, but I remember when you were a freshman at Crystal."

Emiliana was glad to have a day to herself, a day to relax and breathe, to get some actual work done on the things she did to distract herself. A Junior now at Crystal Academy, she'd tucked into her studies for the most part, unable to actually allow herself to slack off, even missing her twin as she did. Today, books on windowsill gardening and one or two on music and a fantasy novel, just enough to keep her occupied for a month or two. She'd been about to go check out when a voice met her ears.

When she recognized the face, the look of relief was amazingly clear, as though she felt like nothing more was more important in this moment than the young woman in front of her, "Yes....I remember you....You were very kind to Luciana and I when we were..." Still together. Shaking her head, Emi tucked a length of hair back, still smiling, "How are you doing?"

Kaida blinked, hearing the uncertainty. "I'm doing well. I'm at DCU for music right now. Ah...did something happen to your sister? Is she alright?" That would explain why it took her a moment to recognize her. She remembered very distinctly two nearly-identical faces, two smiling girls. Hopefully the other hadn't fallen victim to the monsters that prowled the streets, human or otherwise. If she had...it had to be hard, being the twin left behind.

Her throat caught at the question, and that uncertainty was back in her eyes. "DCU is a good school." Music too. It was a great thing to go in to. Fiddling with her skirt, the girl felt the weight of the necklace that her sister had given her, "No....Luci was.....transferred." The girl had a habit of getting in trouble at school, and it had eventually gotten to the point where she was sent away to St. Magdalena's, "She got in a bit of trouble, and our Mama and papa made the decision."

Oh...oh. Okay. St. Mags' was better than having run across a Negaverse agent or a youma. "She'll be alright. St. Mags' isn't as bad as people like to make it out to be. And you two can always plan for after school. There's plenty of colleges around, and it's easy enough to find a pair, or one, that will let you live together. My best friends in the world and I live together, even though we go to two different schools." She offered the other a hand.

"Kaida Courcel. I'm happy to be an ear or a shoulder if you need one."

"Emiliana De Fiore." The other woman had most certainly just offered a little bit of relief, even if she hadn't seen her sister in almost four months. Kaida....she was so kind, and there was a gentle nature to her, one that the young woman gravitated to. Lithe fingers reached out taking hers, carefully and shaking it. God bless this woman, "Thank you...I...Would you like to go to the café? My treat." She would be more than glad to take a friend out, to just talk, "I think it would be nice to catch up and talk..."

"A pleasure to see you again, Emiliana." It really was. She'd always worried about the younger Crystal girls, especially with how demanding classes could be. Not everyone could bend and move with the flow, and some girls...well, burnout wasn't unheard of. "And if you're treating me, let me treat you." It was sweet of the girl to offer, though. It really was.

Emi laughed softly, her eyes lighting up with an honest to god smile. One of the first she'd had in ages, "I would love that, Kaida." It wasn't such a bad thing to be able to have a friend. She'd taken so much time to simply focus on her work, that friends were not something she had much of, "I'll treat you next time though." Her entire family was well off, and she and Luci oft received stipends. Emi liked spending hers on friends.

"Alright." Kaida chuckled. "Which cafe were you thinking of?" There were plenty in the area, nice little places and larger ones and chains alike. And she loved them all, each having their own charm to them. And it would be nice to catch up with a junior, especially after catching up with one of her seniors recently.

The girl seemed to think, head canting to the side, "...Maybe we could go to the little French café that opened about a month ago? I heard some of the other girls talking about it, and I would like to see if it is truly this remarkable." She seemed so happy to have a moment to spend with someone who was clearly glad to see her. "I always loved the Italian cafés as well, but we do not have many of those."

"That sounds like a wonderful idea!" She did love French pastries. "We should go to an Italian cafe next time, then. Better coffee. Though the French do know their baked goods." She offered the younger girl an arm, relaxing a bit into the same role she played with her little sisters. "We can talk classes and teachers and life as we know it."

There was a swift nod from the young girl, her arm quickly sliding through Kaida's own. She would welcome the conversational partner, "That is very true. The French are good for Pastries, English for Tea, and Italian for Coffee, but I will always enjoy the charms of every one." Laughing in delight, she shifted her books in the other one, content, "I think you'll be interested to hear about some of the changes that have been going on. There are new teachers, and the classes have gotten intense. I'm enjoying it immensely."