Welcome to Gaia! ::

Florian was a new graduate of the Sereitei Academy. He'd spent tireless hours perfecting his Hakuda and Kidou only to find himself nearest the bottom of the list. It seemed that his inability to communicate properly and introverted tendencies made him least valuable as a teammate. The simple concept of having to rely on others was something he failed to understand. The idea was a foreign one, something that had never even crossed his mind. To Florian, you only had yourself to rely on and other people only got in the way. He knew this idea was selfish and close-minded but it was the only thing familiar to him anymore; being alone was what he was good at.

Nevertheless, Florian knew how important it was to build interpersonal relationships, especially with one's Squadmates. So here he was, in the Second Divisions training grounds. Here he could release frustration and aggression and even sharpen his Hakuda. It was a perfect fit for him. Being here however, met sacrificing his privacy and solitude. It was a bitter thing but something he was willing to get use to.

Now, as he properly entered the training structure, he noticed a beautiful young woman standing alone. She looked livid and far beyond irritated. Florian was quite curious as to why though. Were these training grounds not sufficient? Did she have standards that this place simply could not meet? How was he supposed to meet her expectations then? The assumptions were many and in fact, quite intimidating. Florian knew that he could not presume anything about her for he did not know her. What better place to get to know her than here?

Gathering his courage, Florian took several steps forward. In his deep accented voice, he reached out with broken words; "Gut- uh, aftare-noon fraulein." The normal deep reverberations of his thundering voice shook even more. He lacked surety in his English and felt stupid in front of this girl who looked so well educated, so well rounded, who looked like royalty in his eyes. "Ich- uh, I am called Florian. You are?" Florian cringed at his inferior language skills despite all his efforts. What a great way to introduce yourself to someone. He might have well just blurted out "hey I'm Florian, the resident idiot". But even then, he might not have been able to form such a high level sentence.

She was even more beautiful from the front, what a sight to behold and how surprised he had been. "Uh, pleasure to be meeting you! May I, uh, sit with you?" Florian was unsure of the foreign words that spewed from his mouth and he had hoped that she would understand. Hirimi, very pretty name, fitting for a girl of such looks. The first thing Florian had noticed about her was her size. Naturally, she was smaller than he, but that was no surprise to him; rather, she looked like a very delicate individual, someone who took each footstep lightly as if hoping not to disturb the ground. The next thing to be noticed was her startlingly red hair. It was vibrant and natural, healthy and looked well kept; not overly done or fussed over. And lastly, upon her turning around, he noticed her luminate emerald eyes. They looked like two large gems stuck into her eye sockets. Florian felt even more inferior now; he felt like a trespasser and nearly turned the other direction to leave. Something inside him told him to stay, and so stay he did.

Obediently, Florian stayed standing. He was not the time to intrude nor bring himself next to if not invited. While it had been ages since he'd be in such casual company with another human being, he had not forgotten gentlemen manners and the formalities of conversation. How he hoped right now that this were coming across. Florian wished with all his might that his speaking did not make him look like a fool in her valley green eyes. He wanted nothing more than be seen as a polite man simply looking for a meet and greet but his lack of confidence in such a situation made him feel greatly otherwise.

This was so unlike Florian too. He felt as though he'd never talked so much in his entire life. In fact, he had become so entranced by her, a woman whom he could never be attracted to, despite his undying admiration, that he became completely oblivious to his surroundings. What a beautiful place this was. The facility was grand and regal. While it lacked a touch of nature and color it was simple and magnificent in its own right. Florian hadn't even noticed the darkness of the wood floor of the dojo, or the softness of the dirt/sand mixture he'd walked through on his way in. He'd neglected the artistic looking marble outside and the many utilities for training. He had become so nervous, so removed from his comfort zone that he'd become an oblivious mumbling zombie without direction or intention and only now did he realize this, how unforgivable.

Never mind all that though, that was the old Florian. Today marked a milestone, he was going to become the social butterfly he had always wished himself to be, or at least the version that were possible for someone of his eccentricity. Here, with Hirimi, Florian would step outside of his self imposed solitude and make a friend, his first in his entire life.

The sincerity in her voice had been surprising to him. The fact that Florian had been so well received by a stranger seemed to open up new doors and possibilities in his mind. This woman had no reason to be kind to him; minus the fact that he was quite possibly more physically strong than her and that he also dwarfed her by over a foot in height. Despite those two factors, Hirimi had indeed been kind to him and this was the most welcoming experience Florian had had in a very, very, long time.

"Danke." Acknowledging her invitation for him to join her, Florian allowed a brief, curt, close lipped smirk to sneak across his face before quickly disappearing. Walking over beside her, he dropped down to his butt and kicked his feet out before him. Bringing his legs close to his chest, the gentle giant wrapped his arms around his long legs and rested his chin upon his knee caps. As she spoke, Florian directed his eyes across the room, further studying the dojo. He was listening intently to her words however and noted a slight lack in confidence as she spoke to him. She seemed nervous, which he could not blame her for he was also quite nerved in this situation.

"Ja. I am a member of the Zweite or uh, you say Second." Turning briefly to make a moment of eye contact, Florian smiled toothily, his perfectly positioned and sparkly white teeth glistening like porcelain only to be quickly hidden once again. "What is ramble?" Florian was aware of her own slight embarrassment and therefore shamelessly acknowledged his own ignorance. Whatever this "ramble" meant, he was almost sure she wasn't doing it. Being nervous was one thing, being talkative was another. Florian simply thought that she was making small-talk, breaking the ice and for all purposes, Florian was thankful.

How he had wished that things had gone differently in the Academy. Looking back now only a month or so ago, Florian could now see that he had isolated himself. For what reason? Out of fear? Or disregard? Maybe it was just who he was. As much as he hated to admit it, Florian was cold and distant. Everything he knew was what he had taught himself, no one had been there for him to set him on the right path or to push him towards the right direction. No hints, no help. It was always him, just him. The realization of this made Florian consider it a sad tragedy however, it had made him who he was and in many ways, he owed many thanks to himself. No matter, Florian would never give himself that type of gratitude, he was a humble man and such ideas were as far from his mind.

"You, uh, you are Zweite, also?" Attempting to clear his mind now, Florian struck back to the conversation and began his own inquiries. Florian wished to get to know better his, quite possibly, only friend.

Florian smiled at her explanation. She had made it clear and concise and easy for him to understand. "I see. Then ramble you do not." Nodding at what he'd just made into fact, Florian in truth did not see her talking as rambling. If anything, she just seemed nervous and the situation more than justified nerves. One thing, however, seemed to bother him, her apologies. Hirimi apologized far too much, even if she didn't outwardly say it, she seemed to reach out with her curiosity and then pull back almost instantaneously feeling she'd overstepped an invisible boundary. "Why do you do that? You ask something but then you say I do not have to answer. Of course I must answer. If not, then you will never know." Florian had surprised himself at how childish his observation had been. In his own insecurity he motioned with his hand, as if waving off the thought. It lacked importance and seemed confrontational. He didn't care so much that Hirimi did this out of nature but he simply wished to understand why. Nevertheless, it wasn't important to figure out.

"I was born in Deu- Germany. I was born in Germany." Florian turned towards Hirimi, his head cocking oddly as he kept his chin rested on his knees. The woman's inquiry had piqued his interest. The fact that she wanted to know more about him personally instantly won her bonus points. So many people in this world simply did not care but she did. Even if it were out of plain curiosity, Hirimi wished to learn more about him. "I lived during what my people called the 'Kalter Krieg' or what the rest of the world called the 'Cold War'." Florian had little idea as to Hirimi's age and he was unsure as to whether or not she'd known of the Cold War. He hoped that by giving her a time of reference that she might get an idea for how he'd lived without him having to go into explicit detail.

The conversation's pace was slow and seemed to die down for several moments before being struck up again. To many people it would have appeared "awkward" and even forced but for Florian this was normal. He appreciated the act that Hirimi wasn't pushing too hard to try to keep the flow going and that she only spoke when she had something of substance to say or ask. In this way, the rather quiet and dragging conversation had depth.

Now in his own attempt to reach out, Florian brought his gaze from Hirimi's face and focused into her eyes, "tell me of yourself." There was a genuine curiosity from Florian in this instance. While he wasn't too apt to sharing his life story and pouring his heart out to this girl, he had hoped that she might be a bit more inclined. If not, he'd understand but it worth a try to get to know more about her.