Welcome to Gaia! ::

She took his sip as a signal, perhaps something like permission, to begin, raising the burger to her lips and testing a bite. It was an interesting flavor, not too unlike the lean steaks she would occasionally prepare. Her gaze lifted to meet Liam's when he began to speak, and she considered her response carefully, ignoring Fleur as she squirmed in delight at her human's feet.

"I am unsure, to be quite honest," Aila lowered the Miltanburger, the edge of it hovering over her plate, delicately suspended from small fingers. "There are those that are kind," such as Sorano or Emilie, "as well as those are cold," such as Nyx or Kunai, "and those who are quite suspicious," such as Isadora or Mau. "In short, I find it difficult to become accustomed to the overwhelming number of people I am prone to encounter in a single day. I feel I have lost the privacy of isolation that I held in such high regards before joining. I am unsure of how to adapt to this.

"Ah, but please excuse me," coral eyes turned down, finding a sudden interest in her meal. "You did not ask that I prattle on about personal worries and inefficiencies. I am sorry."

"Mmmm," was her vague reply, a sound that could be uttered even as she sipped on her own shake. The friendlier people were often unsettlingly so, chatting about this and that and prying into all sorts of details that need be known by none. She was growing accustomed to such lighthearted, inconsequential conversations, but so many individuals were so curious...

Aila's eyes widened as she saw the ketchup go under the table, and she rose slightly from her seat in mild alarm. "Ah! You needn't--"

Fleur's exclamations brought an end to the girl's objections. Liam's hand and the ketchup-covered berry it contained would soon be greeted with the happiest Ivysaur mouth in the world as it opened up and enthusiastically engulfed the the offering - and the hand with it.

Aila's face blanched only briefly at Liam's display of his hand swallowed up by his sleeve, and she fell back to her seat with a sigh when the fabric was pulled away. "I am sorry," she said, eyebrows turned up apologetically. "She does not know manners. I must try harder to right this." She peeked under the table to glare at Fleur, who munched happily, even obliviously, on the berry and condiment.

Hand sanitizer, she could fulfill that need, could she not? She glanced around the cafeteria, seeking some kind of dispenser or packets. There was something standing near the forming point of the line, if she recalled correctly...

"A moment," she excused herself, rising and starting off at a pace between walking a jogging. She weaved around other Rockets and found a plastic box affixed to a short stand, just the right height for the average person to reach out with minimal effort and take one of the sanitizing hand wipes being dispensed. Aila took three for good measure before returning to the table and offering them to her company. She would regret if that was all she could do to apologize for her pokemon's actions, though.

She nodded in acknowledgment of the given thanks and returned to her seat. She, too, noticed as she did that Liam had cleared his plate. Aila had not quite reached the same degree of completion in her own meal, but it was true that she was no longer hungry and did not foresee feeling so in the immediate future. Taking all things into account, she decided it best to agree to adjourn.

"Yes, it would seem so," she said, organizing her waste neatly on the tray. "I must thank you for your company, and for your toleration of Fleur despite her... shortcomings."

She made motions towards standing before a thought struck her, "You were a trainee until recently, were you not?" Either that or he was a grunt who made frequent visits to the trainee racks until recently, and Aila hoped for the sake of her impression that the latter was not the case. "In a few weeks I will be undergoing the exam for promotion to grunt status. I thought perhaps..." She trailed off, averting her gaze to a confused Fleur as she began to emerge from under the table. Was it not completely unbecoming to ask such favors after just meeting a person? But this Liam seemed reliable, perhaps even trustworthy, and his performance in the simulation earlier spoke well of his skills. In short, Aila could think of no one else to whom she could turn.

"...Would it be too forward of me to ask for your assistance in preparing for this exam?"

"Yes, I shall do so." The idea of visiting another's quarters so unceremoniously was almost as nerve-racking as that of the exam itself, and it likely showed in her expression and tone. She would not, however, deny the assistance after soliciting it on her own will. "My thanks to you," and a curtsy to augment the sincerity of her gratitude. "I will be sure to come by your room, then. Perhaps some time next week?"

Aila moved a few steps away from the table and beckoned Fleur to her side before offering another curtsy to Liam. "Thank you again for lunch," she smiled. "I... suppose I shall see you later, then." The slightest trace of pink rose to her cheeks at her own words; it felt indescribably strange to part with an individual with a spoken appointment to meet again. She was so used to entering the lives of others' only once before disappearing altogether, and while she was well aware that she would be seeing her coworkers at least relatively frequently, it had never before been so concrete a concept.

Such a strange boy, she mused as she turned to leave. Strange, yet somehow innately interesting. She found herself looking forward to sharing in his company in the future.