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[[Tilly - Food Stalls + Lalita AND AWKWARD FAMILY MOMENTS]]

As awkward as this moment had become in such a short amount of time, the blonde girl did her best to not let her expression show how uncomfortable she was now. She stood her ground by the booth, one hand holding the front of her pinafore down. At first, she tried to interject at polite points, offering words such as "It is okay... I do not mind... I meant what I said..." though her words seemed to go ignored. In all honesty, she'd easily be quite the enabler if it was just her and Kamala. However, her words were easily drowned out by the shrill cries of Kamala and the forceful demands of Lalita.

Siblings baffled Tilly, since she never had any. So clearly this miniature shouting match was almost like a foreign language to her. The only thing she seemed to understand was that Lalita was saying her goodbyes.

"...Wait... Lalita..." Unfortunately, her manners had thwarted her out of a new friend yet again. By the time she spoke up, they were already further off. With a resigned sigh, the girl turned to the Funnel Cake booth. Walking up to the attendant, she ordered herself the first treat she'd have for the evening. "One funnel cake with powdered sugar and strawberries please..."

[[ Meridith - with Chloe, Sophie, and Lorina at the school drop off ]]

"Of course, I'll help," said Meridith with a princely smile, tapping Sophie's nose, as if making a promise. She would always be able to help Sophie. Whether it was with her homework, or with projects from school, or even one of Sophie's may attempts at making macaroni and cheese, Sophie would be there to help. She would run from her house, or any distance really, to get to Sophie and help her if need be. Her little heart swelled with the pride of upholding such a relationship with her. There was nothing like the feeling of being needed, especially in a household where she could easy drift into her room and no one would tell the difference. She furrowed her brow at the bitter thought and wiped it away, instead focusing on the one girl who made her happy, gave her purpose.

Together, Prince and Princess, they stood before Queen Chloe and the mysterious Enchantress Lorina. Meridith, still holding Sophie's hand, furrowed a brow at the girl's shy attitude, trying to offer her a lift of her brows and a gentle smile as a way of promising her own gentility. She was familiar with such shyness. If it wasn't for Sophie, she was sure she would be just as shy and hesitant to talk, so she could sympathize with the bright green eyed girl. She spoke up with the gentle bow of her head, "Lorina? It's a pleasure to meet you. With four pairs of eyes, I'm sure we can help find your friend as quick as lightning. Can you tell us what she looks like? What clothes she wears? What her name is? We'll all do our best to aid you, Enchantress Lorina." Meridith gave a gentle smile, hoping that the other girl enjoyed the game as much as she did. It was so rare for them to include others in their royal realm of pretend, but Prince Meridith enjoyed it all the same when it did happen.

As if to emphasize the point that she would help the cause, Meridith lifted up onto the tips of her toes, planting her palm against her brow as she scanned the area for another girl that looked as lost as Lorina did. It was little use, however, the crowd was so much taller than she. She looked around, trying to find someplace that perhaps she could perch upon before her eyes caught those of little Sophie.

An idea struck her.

Smiling grandly, Meridith looked at Chloe for permission, and then dropped to her knees and stabilized herself with her hands. "Princess Sophie, if we work together, perhaps we can help the Enchantress. Climb atop my shoulders and I will be your steed. Atop my shoulders, you should be able to see far across the crowd."

(( Meilei - with Priya and Lucette on the sidewalk ))

A steadily melting collection of ice cream clumps rested around the ganguro's feet. Most of it had been removed, but the dark ice cream stained the fabric instantly from a single touch. Giving an exasperated sigh, Meilei tried her best to sop up all of the lingering wetness but it was sticky and seeping through to her skin. Lucette's offer caught her off guard and she stopped what she was doing to stare. That was... surprisingly nice, but was it something that most people would do or did this set Lucette apart? It was hard to say.

"Mm, n-no..." her response was quiet, uncharacteristic, and with a couple strong wipes she corrected that behavior, "She not worth time. Wasteful to talk to her." Meilei nodded affirmatively, crumpling up that napkin and plucking another from Lucette's offering hands. "No, should thank. Is helpful." her eyes moved to the other girl, the one with the cool hair, and smiled in surprise. "Th-thank you." It wasn't often she got compliments on her hair. It was well put together, of course, but it was a good guess most of it wasn't natural.

Both of their names, Lucette and Priya, were very unique and beautiful in their own ways. Meilei couldn't help but give an appreciative murmur, even chance a smile at the short haired girl and bowed her head to both of them. "Am Meilei. Nice to meet."

Collecting all of the used up napkins, Meilei looked down at her shirt. The stain was obvious, it took up most of her chest and there were dribbles trailing down toward her belly. Jutting out her lower lip, she gave a frustrated grunt and moved to the nearest trash can on the street to toss them out. She did the best she could, but there was no easy fix for this. Returning to the two girls, the ganguro swept some hair over her shoulder and stood with her hands on her hips, as proud as she could with a giant brown stain on her otherwise white shirt. "So, what to be doing here? This Meilei's first American festive. Do... Lucette and Priya want to celebrate with Meilei? Or alone?" she couldn't be presumptuous about either of them now. In her experience, laying it on too thick would just push them further away. If she acted clingy and refused the option of them discluding her, it would just lead to negativity. Social etiquette was so frustratingly complicated when you couldn't just be honest...