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It wasn't very rare for a preteen to go off by themselves, she supposed, but for Nina, it was still a rather new thing. She wasn't uncomfortable about that aspect of today, but the thought seemed to pop up in her mind. It felt like yesterday that she was so close to her guardian, so eager to meet new people... but now, she just wanted to get away from everything, whether or not Ephron knew where she was. Was this what they called "rebellion?" Or did such a thing ever really apply to a kid that had gone through so much already?

No, she didn't feel like a special case at all. She tightened the scarf around her neck as she approached an area that others seemed to be avoiding, trying to remain under the radar of passing glances. Her steps were hasty and she kept her eyes low, still rather uncomfortable with her new, older appearance. True, now her body seemed to fit her intellect better, but the fact still lied that she wasn't used to it. It didn't help that, nowadays, trust fell a little short with those she didn't know. Her ears seemed to be pointing back, tense and ready to catch the sound of any sudden movements around her. She didn't know these people, after all.

But nobody wanted to approach her, and fewer came down the sidewalk at this point -- all for the better, in her opinion. She stopped, glancing around once she noticed the concrete had become more well-worn and, here and there, broken with the emergence of tree roots under the path. A playground? she queried, spotting the jungle gym and swing set. That's when she noticed the building she had passed just moments before, and realized why there didn't seem to be anyone here -- an elementary school house, closed for the summer. She couldn't help but grin at her fortune, taking a quick glance around to make sure that nobody was around to tell her that she was breaking some sort of trespassing rule.

Nothing was in her way from hopping onto a sand-dusted swing, but as of this moment, all she did was sit there. So many thoughts swimming through her head, they always seemed to get in her way. She grumbled, "Couldn't I just forget about all the problems for once?" She kicked at the ground with a thick foot, unaware that someone else may have been in the area before herself, or perhaps passing through.

Nina's guard had been down before she had even hopped into the schoolyard for a peek, but now that she was comfortably seated on the swing, it was almost non-existent. She had no idea that Llujah was there, until he was nearly next to her. She could blame it on the fact that her mind was a madhouse of thoughts, or even that the summer heat was getting to her more than normal, but it didn't seem to make her feel any better about it when she finally realized the other spawn. Jerking at the sound of his voice, her scarf was immediately up to her nose to obscure her look of frustration, once she caught a glimpse of the other kid. With everything that has been happening, how had her defenses been left so wide open? What if this kid was here to do harm? Then what would she have done?

"It is now," she replied with a slight wave of her hand, as Llujah had already sat down on it, "But I wasn't waiting for anyone, no." Maybe that was too much information to give up, she grumbled mentally, her barriers rising again. It wasn't that Llu really seemed to pose a threat or anything, but right now, she felt that she couldn't be too careful. She didn't know this spawn, and therefore didn't know what... she?... was capable of. True, she knew that not everyone was as psychotic as Cody, for example, but she would rather not take the chance.

Large hands held tightly to the chains of the swing she sat on, Nina started rocking a little, feet always touching the ground. She didn't know what to add to the conversation when she was as tense as she was, or if this other spawn even really wanted to talk. Maybe she could just wing it, "What brings you here?" That probably left things a little too open for herself to reply in turn, though, a thought that didn't spring to mind until after the words had already left her mouth.

Well, she had to admit, the kid was friendly, at least. The mellow attitude that the pink-haired spawn was displaying allowed Nina to relax a little, but she couldn't seem to get herself to do away with the barriers, not yet. Mildly she thought about the term 'breaking the ice,' and with an inward smirk, figured that she probably had a thicker coating of it than the average individual, whether she wanted it or not. At the very least, it was only the two of them here right now -- she would probably have been much colder if there were more people around, just because the situation would have been that much more uncomfortable.

She nodded in response to Llujah's answer to her question, finding it to be rather similar to her own thoughts. She fiddled a little with her feet again, then decided to start using the seat for what it was made for, if only just a bit. She knew she weighed much heavier than just about anyone else her age because of her genetics, so knew that swinging too high was a bad idea. Keeping close to the ground was good enough for her, anyway. Besides, when she swung backward, she was able to get a better look at who she was speaking to without having to look the kid in the face. Seemed rather normal for a spawn, what with the tail and the horns, until she noticed the tiny wings sprouting from his hips. That's an unusual place for them, she managed to muse to herself before the swing brought her forward again. On second thought, she didn't really run into very many spawn that had halos, either. At least she wasn't the only one with strange features...

Still not all that high off the ground, it wasn't difficult to skid to a stop when the question was redirected to her. She had to think about how she was suppose to answer it for a moment, because the first set of wording that popped to mind sounded a little rude -- 'To get away from people' could be taken the wrong way. "Too much going on right now, I just wanted to get away from everything. Guess it's a bit like yourself," she replied with a slight shrug, though the action wasn't out of any irritation.

Blinking, she shook her head at the offered burrito after a minor pause. She couldn't help but find it odd that Llujah was offering some of it to her when they had only just met, though she figured it must not have been too out-of-the-ordinary. As it was, it was apparent that this other spawn was rather outgoing, especially when compared to her. She added, as if she felt compelled to explain herself, "I-It's too warm for me to have something like that." Kicking her legs to start swinging again, she searched her mind until it came up with something that she had forgotten to mention. "I'm Nina, by the way. Nina Falco," she waved. Maybe she still wasn't the most comfortable in giving him her name, but she was starting to believe he didn't pose her any sort of threat aside from maybe being too nice, if such a thing existed.

Nina nodded slightly, but wasn't feeling up to going into detail. Too much was happening lately, it just seemed like the world was swirling faster, in a torrent where more and more things had to go on, had to go wrong. Not that life was completely bad, no, nor did it stay bad. In fact, things did tend to get better upon reflection of situations. She just couldn't handle everything happening at relatively the same time and figure it all out in her head.

With a mildly snide tone, she couldn't help but think of the quote 'We're only human.' It would be perfect in this instance, if it could apply to herself. What were they, the spawn of the facility, suppose to say to their own defense? They make a mistake, one wrong move, and it must have been planned that way.

She didn't want to get on a tangent like that in her head, though. She came out here to escape all that, after all, and even though she wasn't about to be taken into confidence by this new acquaintance, she also felt safe being able to think about all this here. Maybe it was because Llujah had indicated a relation in her own thought process, a thought that made Nina smile a little. He didn't seem the type to have much to worry about, though she knew better than to take things on first impressions, so didn't doubt it. Funny how she always felt a little better once she found some similarity in another person.

It also helped that she knew the other kid's name now, too. It was a rather unusual one, as a matter of fact, and she felt herself needing to say it aloud to make sure she got it right, "Llujah Malikov, huh? I like the sound of it." She nodded as she continued to swing back and forth in short strokes, "Ya wear it well." Though, speaking of wearing... she stopped her swinging once again to look at the other spawn, "Sure you wouldn't want a more stable place to eat?" The swings weren't the best place, after all. Though, now that she thought about it, was there really a better place on the playground?

Nina thought over Llujah's statement, realizing that she hadn't really thought about the origins of her own name. She didn't know where they had originated from either, let alone what they meant. Granted, her last name was grudgingly taken from her guardian when she was re-adopted, so it wasn't as if she had it for very long to begin with. In fact, it still felt a little weird to use it in reference to herself at all, but she knew the only way to get around that was to... well, use it. Maybe with time, it would be as easy to use as her given first name.

She almost didn't hesitate to ask what it was like to live with a Russian family, but was able to catch herself. If it was the only home he'd really known, outside of the facility, then he couldn't really compare it to any other family lifestyle. It wasn't as if spawn were often abandoned from their first home, right? However, thinking it over, if he had ever visited a friend's house, wouldn't there be obvious dissimilarities? Though that would be assuming that the lifestyle was greatly different. Shaking her head a little, she decided not to ask about it; no reason to get so personal, even if the other preteen was opening up willingly. Instead, she replied with a mere, "That's quite the family history!" As a matter of fact, she hadn't really asked Ephron about his own family lineage, and he didn't refer to it very often... perhaps she should ask sometime?

With a final kick-off at Llujah's agreement to her suggestion, she swung up and rolled on the balls of her feet to stand straight up once her seat swung high enough to do so with little effort. It felt nice, to feel so weightless -- it wasn't everyday she felt anywhere near it. She spun gracefully around to face the other spawn again, just then aware of how less tense she was feeling. Perhaps this meeting really was a good thing, after all? With a light smile, still hidden within the folds of her scarf, she scanned the area's equipment. Shrugging, she suggested, "The jungle gym?" With those words, she realized that the atmosphere of the area, so nostalgic and carefree, was probably also adding to her increasingly amiable demeanor.

Although she tried to hide it, she visibly jerked at Llu's compliment on her own name. Eyes twitching away, she hid her blush by burying her nose further in her scarf and spinning back around. "Th-Thank you," she stuttered, never getting such a compliment on anything other than her physical features, thus unsure of how to receive it. Honestly, it made her happy; she didn't like being looked at as a demon's spawn, she wanted to be seen as who she was, deep down. A name was a start. However, she couldn't, couldn't say this out loud. Again, too personal, but again she felt her defenses falter. Silently, she mused, Is there any point left, to hide from this kid?

Strange kid, Nina found herself musing silently with a silent snicker as she watched Llujah dance off toward the jungle gym. Perhaps the only reason why she found his behavior odd was that she had never really met anyone so... almost hyperactive. Or maybe 'perky' was the more accurate adjective to use? Either way, it kept her on her toes, though not in a defensive manner any longer. Deep in her mind, she wondered if Llu's lack of constraint on his happiness was contagious, a thought that masked a hopeful glimmer. Was it easy to keep hold of happiness, when one was determined enough?

Distracted by this question, she didn't realize that Llujah was walking back to her until he took hold of her talon-less hand. This was probably good, considering her fingers twitched in reaction to the touch; she was still unfamiliar to the effects her toxin had on others, and wasn't about to willingly test it out on him! She had to force herself not to pull her hand back, an unconscious move she tended to make without thinking when she was grabbed, no matter the intent.

Her pointed ears pulled back in surprise and unpreparedness, but she tried to brush off her startled feelings with a veil of confidence. Smiling, she mildly waved her free hand and stepped forward, "Of course I'll follow! Not as much fun, swinging by yourself." She felt a little unsure if the small bars of the jungle gym could support her surprisingly heavy weight, but she could always give it a try. If nothing else, she could always kick some wood chips around.

Standing at the base of the structure, she glanced up to examine the layout of the giant toy. "Ever been on one o' these?" she asked, having to shield her eyes from the blaring summer sun, "Ever been to the top?"

Nina watched in amused silence as Llujah climbed the blue bars, his deft movements making his ascent look so easy. He mouth tweaked into a smirk, shielding her eyes from the sun once more as the other preteen reached his objective. "Well, how about that..." she laughed; he question had been answered by show, rather than by words. She grabbed onto the nearest bar, about to swing her leg up to start climbing before she hesitated, holding it there before any further action was taken.

Instead, she glanced back up, deciding to stay put while she answered the questions. As long as she was unsure of how the weight of her body would make the bars react, she should be as careful as possible -- lingering in one spot for too long to respond would have that much more adverse effect on the bars that she leaned on. Until she was sure, she was going to try to get on and off as quick as possible. Then again, she was perhaps a little too confident, trying to make it to the top as well on he first time on a jungle gym.

"Actually," she answered, kicking softly at the bottommost bar in front of her, "I've never really been too adventurous. Places like these are usually too busy for my liking; too many little kids running around, you know?" A mild smile before continuing, "I'm not really shy, though. I guess just... kinda antisocial." Truth be told, it was probably the outcome borne of being abandoned by her first family: trust issues, which were only enhanced when she met Ephron's father. "I like it better when it's like this," she finished after a bit of a pause.

With that, she climbed onto the bar she had kicked at moments prior, standing still to make sure it could hold her weight. Weird... she mused thoughtfully, They don't look like they could hold very much weight, but they are. Truth be told, she probably weighed at least as much as someone twice her size, but the jungle gym was used to the rowdiness of twenty, thirty hyperactive kids -- Nina was no match for it. With a relieved sigh, she began to make her way up to meet Llujah at the apex. "Quite the view up there, I bet!" she huffed between bars, "See anything interesting?"