Welcome to Gaia! ::

Kiri watched as Alice eagerly scurried around looking at all the books. Although Kiri had a vast collection of books at home, very few of them were really suited for children Alice's age and most of them were old. Looking at Alice made her feel that she had made the right decision in coming here. Alice had been told she wasn't allowed to run and she was being good but the way she was scurrying and wiggling suggested that she was one step from running, that and the speed her tail was going at were sure signs that she was happy.

Alice was thrilled. She loved having books read to her by Simon and her mum but she wanted sometimes to be able to read to herself. The books they read to her was really good but too complicated for her to read to herself. Some of these books looked much more possible, and they had so many pretty pictures, the books at home didn't normally have as many pictures either. She wondered if her mum had made any of these pictures. Determined to find a book she could read a bit of she started sorting through the picture books.

Alice looked around with excitement when she felt the now familar tingle which meant friend. (What it really meant was that another Eden was around but she equated that to friend anyway). Her usual habit when meeting a new Eden was to run up and hug them but when she set eyes on this new friend she got the feeling that this would be bad. She was a bit depressed that he seemed scared of her, she wasn't scary she was nice, but since he was a friend she would have to say hi somehow.

Thinking fast she picked up one of the books she had sorted from the pile, it had fun pictures and words that were just right for her (It was a doctor zuess book). Smiling and wagging her tail, but with her ears sheepishly lowered Alice offered the book to the boy without getting up.

Kiri looked on curiously from where she was sitting in the background. It was very strange for her daughter to show this much restraint and she didn't think that it would last long but it was good that it was there at all. Based on the little boys looks and Alice's reaction she guessed the little deer was another Eden, somehow every so often when they went out Alice would just zoom in on the nearest Eden and she thought that they were all friends, so far nothing had happened to mar this and she hoped it wouldn't start now.

Alice's smile grew much bigger with her success and she wiggled a bit with delight and when he invited her to read with him she wiggled a bit closer so that she could see the book better before smiling at him again. She still wanted to do something active like hug him but her experience with Alexis had taught her that sometimes restraint was best, just like with the seesaw. Besides it was a good book and it would be fun to read with someone her own age for a change.

Happily settled she looked expectantly at the book waiting for Finn to turn the page. It never occurred to her to say anything, it rarely did, she talked well for a toddler but she just didn't think much of talking. This was something that in her mum's mind made her perfect for a library.

Kiri was pleased, things seemed to be going well. Kiri tended to be pleased with any situation which made her daughter have to talk and this situation had plenty of potential for this to happen. Kiri went back to her own book, keeping an ear open for any possible words or trouble from where her daughter sat.

Alice was pleased with herself, things seemed to be going well. Something about her new friend made her feel protective and she really wanted him to be comfortable around her.

Alice didn't think the question at all silly, she was always having to ask Simon what a word was when she read books with him. She look carefully at the word in question, it was one she already knew so it was easy for her.

"Pretty." She said confidently but quietly, despite her bosterous nature Alice tended to be rather quiet when she spoke. She was also starting to worry, she should have chosen an easier book by this author, this one had lots of long, strange words in it like "Elephant-Cat" and "Bippo-no-Bungus". She didn't mind too much because she liked reading harder books but she was worried that her new friend would struggle with this book.

Kiri continued to read her book, she kept an ear open for any trouble but Alice seemed happy and the boy didn't seem upset either so she didn't expect any.

Alice grinned her big open grin back at him, pleased with his own smile. Alice was a bit confused with his method of giving a name, since he had given his name it would be rude not to give her name but he was reading now so to give her name would require her to interupt him, which would also be rude. Besides the fact that he didn't wait for a reply suggested that he didn't want or expect one. In the end she decided to wait, if he asked later or if an opportunity came up she would give her name but for now reading the book with him seemed more important.

Some of the creatures in the book were very odd and some people might have found them scary but Alice didn't find them so, Alice was a very sturdy toddler and also tended towards trusting things no matter how scary they looked. For this reason it never occured to her that other people might find things scary, after all things could sometimes be unsetting but they weren't scary.

Blissfully oblivious to the freaky creatures of Dr Seuss Alice continued reading, hoping to be of use to her new friend in the future.

Alice looked up from the book and quietly told him "Alice".

She thought for a moment, the fact that he had asked for her name suggested that she had made the wrong decision and that it would have been better to interupt his reading. To make up for this she decided to volunteer information this time. She pointed at Kiri who was sitting nearby and said "Mum. Draws" she then pointed at one of the books in her pile which Kiri had done the art for and said "Drew that."

Even if it was only four words it was unusual for Alice and Kiri who had overheard was proud that it had been about her. The book had also been one of her more acclaimed ones, she had been shortlisted for it. It was a book suited for beginner readers and was about a cute little winged rabbit and his adventures with other forest animals.

It also happened to be a favourite of Alice's and her new friend reminded her of one of the characters who had legs like his (only four of them) and similar eyes and colouring.

With an energy which didn't match her quiet voice Alice smiled and pulled the other book over from the pile holding it where Finn could see it. Her tail was wagging again and her ears were perked. She was still worried about startling him but she was starting to feel more comfortable and more energy was showing. Alice could very easily go straight from rest to full energy to rest again, depending on the situation.

She opened it to a picture of the fawn character and pointed at it. "Like you." she commented. She was proud that he approved of her mum's art, she liked it and thought her mum very clever. With the page opened she offered the book to Finn, to make sure that he knew it was fine to look through.

At his last question she tilted her head a bit with thought. Her mum did do other things but art was her job. She knew her mum read books, did some crafts, mostly with needles and practiced her archery and fencing. Her mum had explained that when the Faeson's had first come to Gaia it wasn't as peaceful as it was now and they had had to know how to protect themselves and those under them, now it was just tradition and good exercise. Still she didn't know if any of those things would interest her new friend, she got the feeling that he wouldn't approve of swords or arrows. At last she decided to just say "Art her job. She also sews, makes big pretty pictures."

This said she settled down again to patientely wait for whatever happened next.

Alice gave this some serious thought. She had gone on playdates which her mum had arranged before and her mum always went with her but she hadn't really thought about what her mum did at them. Normally she had been so busy thinking about whatever new friend she meet there, this made her a bit guilty, she was sure she would have noticed afterwards if her mum had been upset but that she hadn't worried about her mum was worrying.

This meant that it would be good to arrange a playdate for her mum as well. At the same time she would like to see Finn again, there was something nice and peaceful about him, and she didn't think that he would mind her being energetic at long as she didn't expect him to be so as well. Also despite meeting many friends she had yet to see any of them again, it would be nice to see one of them again.

"I think so. I would like that." she finally said, giving him one of her big grins. Kiri nearly stared at that, talking was one thing but she could count on one hand the number of times her daughter had said she'd like or had liked something. Normally Alice just expected people to read her body language. It was also cute the way the children were arranging a playdate for her and the mystery mum.

Alice hadn't really thought about any of that, she had been focused on making her friend feel more at ease when she had said it. It wasn't that she thought that he was slow but somehow she felt that he needed some extra encouragement and since physical contact (her usual tactic) was out that left talking.