Welcome to Gaia! ::

Aria was always a little wary of restaurants, because although she was on Earth and things were different here, she generally wanted what she ate to have as low of an energy cost as possible, and she still staunchly refused to eat animal products.

Lemonade would be fine, though, she thought. “Strawberry flavored, please,” she told the person taking the orders.

“I was not used to the weather on Earth either,” she said. “The seasons? I had only read about it in books before, but I love to watch them. The next season, fall, is my favorite.”

It was cooler than summer, but there would hopefully still be enough warmth for Sylvie to enjoy.

“Fall is orange,” she said, “And red, and yellow. The leaves fall from the trees. There is a comforting smell to it. The humans carve faces into pumpkins and put candles inside to make the mouths light up.” She nodded as she spoke of each of these things, but she began to smile as she added, “And it is the best time to find mushrooms.”

That was, of course, the most important part.

“When our planet failed, the elders created an artificial world to live on until the senshi was reborn,” she explained. “It is called Velencya. It is different from Earth. Quieter. More organized. There are few resources, so we are careful, but we share what we have.”

“Yes,” Aria confirmed, and since the senshi did not ask for more details, she did not provide them. Even with someone who was not one of the humans, she did not think that she should say that Velencya was running out of energy and dying.

Instead, she said, “About a thousand years. I never saw the planet Velenia, but some of our elders were born there.”

She also did not think she should say that there was no way for her to get home.

“Only a handful of us are on Earth, researching,” she said. “Most of my people still live there.”

“Thank you,” she said. She did not know if there was anything she could ask for immediately, but in time maybe having a friend like this would be useful.

The lemonade came, and Aria sipped at it, only to immediately blink and then turn her head to the side, puckering her lips. She had never had lemonade before. “Sour,” she muttered, but then, after a moment, she took another sip. It was different from Velencyan food, and also from the simple dishes she tended to make with mushrooms and vegetables and grains, but that did not mean it was bad.

Just strong.

“I do not mind Earth,” she said, then paused. “Except for the humans. Sometimes they are violent, and thoughtless, but other times they are kind. It is confusing. I plan to remain here for some time, though.”

She did not mention that it was because of her friend the horse.

“What do you think of Earth?” she asked. “Will you stay here, if you are able to fix your world?”

“I would like to come back here with you,” Aria decided, “In the winter. To try these drinks that are warm.”

After all this time on Earth, she still almost only drank water. Trying something like this felt different, and enjoyable. Like research, even if she was only researching what kind of sensations these beverages would have in her mouth.

She also enjoyed being here with her new friend.

“I look forwards to that. To enjoying Earth together.”

A moment passed, and she added in that stilted, shy tone, “Thank you for coming to talk to me.”