Welcome to Gaia! ::

Lattice wasn't sure how she got to the garden-like area but here she was. It was quiet and it soothed her desire to suddenly panic and run off to never be seen again. She walked along the cracked pathways as her bare feet shuffled over the rough stones. Lattice didn't like shoes they felt unnatural and weird upon her feet and even sandals seemed too confining and so wherever she went she was barefoot.

She couldn't quite see where she was going but she could make out shapes for the most part and right now nothing was obstructing her path.

The ghoul took a deep breathe and just reveled in the quiet. She missed her sister and she missed home. Lattice wandered over to a small bench and moved to settle onto it. Perhaps if she thought positively it would improve the outlook of so many things that currently seemed dark and dismal to her.

She hadn't been in this part of the school before; however, she somehow managed to discover it on her stroll and decided that a change of scenery might help her clear her head... She had been pretty much avoiding the Reaper Dorms - yay deja vu - since her return to school and she wasn't sure that she should be doing that... After all, the last time she did that, it didn't end end. She sighed, running a hand through her hair, poking at the roll of tiny spikes on her head before sighing again.

For someone who liked to give others advice, she wasn't very good at giving herself advice to follow.

Staring at a flower growing on a bush by the side of the path, she paused, spacing out as she reached out, gently touching the petals on the (thankfully not poisonous) flower; she was so preoccupied with her own thoughts that she had completely missed the other ghoul who was on the same path as she was.

For the moments that she was alone it was rather nice not that she didn't welcome company in fact it was wonderful that someone came along because homesickness was now setting in making sadness swell up inside her before she had any chance at stop it. The sound of someone sighing pulled her away from her thoughts, thankfully, and she turned her head toward where she heard the sound.

"Hello?" She uttered softly toward the sound, she could make out their shape and various other tidbits but not much else. Her vision only got her so far with the mask on and without it she was completely blind, it was a blessing and a curse to be able to see as much as she did now only to know that sooner or later it'd be taken from her and all she'd be able to see is ink.

Lattice shifted a bit to stand bowing deeply out of respect, "I didn't realize anyone else was here," she murmured softly in a voice that was soft and almost monotone.

It took her a moment to register the noise she just heard as someone talking... And that someone talking was addressing her. She blushed lightly, looking up from the flower to a ghoul she had never seen before; it was like she had been running into new faces nowadays!

... Not that she minded it, of course.

"A-ah! Hello!" She returned the greeting with a small smile, brushing back her bangs as she dipped her head, "No need to apologize! I wasn't... Paying that much attention either." She paused, studying the ghoul standing before her; she was pretty sure she had heard someone mention a ghoul with her description before, but she couldn't remember who. Realizing that she had been staring, she quickly redirected her gaze elsewhere momentarily before addressing the student again, "Ah, I'm Lizzy by the way... It's nice to meet you. Are you new around here, by any chance...?"

The ghoul tilted her head as she straightened up and listened to the other as she spoke. She sounded friendly enough and so she seemed to feel a bit more at ease thanks to it. At least she wasn't hostile that would probably have been horrible for one of them if not both. Lattice offered a slight smile and nodded to the other as it was said to not apologize to show that she heard it.

Lattice took in the name committing it to memory before she nodded a little, "Y..Yes I recently got in. My name is Lattice. And this i--.." She stopped herself with the sharp reminder that the second person she might have introduced wasn't there. That's right Needle hadn't gotten in...

The ghoul cleared her throat a little, "I'm Lattice," she stubbornly started over her introduction. She wouldn't fail her sister by giving up. She promised.

"It's nice to meet you, Lattice," She nodded, returning the smile; although she had noticed the ghoul's slip, Lizzy wasn't sure if she should bring it up despite her curiosity... After all, Lattice seemed determined to carry on her introduction despite the slip, so it was probably nothing that important. She paused momentarily, not quite sure what else to say, since their meeting had started out on a rather awkward note.

"So... Uh, how are you finding school so far?" She decided to carry on the conversation with a generic question she often asked the school's newer students, "I know the classes hadn't started yet, but are you settling in well?" She felt like the school's welcoming committee sometimes.

"Nice...to meet you too," Lattice returned softly. The ghoul scolded herself for slipping up like that. How could she convince Needle that she was trying her hardest when she messed up on introductions so easily? Lattice pressured herself to do better in order to make her Sister proud. She shifted and fretted in the awkward silence until Lizzy spoke again capturing the Engraver's attention once more.

She nodded slightly, "Yes...a friend of mine that I made before being accepted has helped me get settled," The ghoul replied softly she smiled lightly, "he's worked very hard to make sure I am happy and comfortable here."

Petro was a wonderful friend if it wasn't for him Lattice would surely have been lost and very distraught by this point - at least even more so.

"Ohhh! That's good to hear!" She grinned, giving a nod as she clapped her hands together in front of her, her fingers intertwining; it was nice to hear that someone was already helping Lattice to settle in - the ghoul seemed (so far) like the type to warm up to things slowly and she knew how big of a change coming to school could be for many people. It was also nice to know that one of her first friends in school happened to be someone who sounded like the reliable and helpful sort of gentleboil; it would suck if she ran into someone mean!

"Who is it?" She couldn't resist asking out of curiosity, tilting her head; she wondered if she had maybe met this 'mystery boil' before... Not many boils came to mind, though; just the two who she could safely describe as being 'reliable and helpful', together with 'a gentleboil'.

... That was sort of depressing.

Lattice was slowly becoming more at ease with the other ghoul her posture relaxing a bit and even a small faint smile appearing on her lips and staying there. She tilted her head at the question and wondered for a brief moment if she should mention the name without the boil's permission or was that perfectly alright? The hesitation didn't last long before Lattice said, "Petro, perhaps you know him?" She asked softly with a slight tilt to her head. She couldn't see why people wouldn't know Petro! He was very sweet, helpful, and gallant. He was someone that could truly be trusted.

The ghoul fell silent for a moment before she offered up, "W..would you like to sit and talk with me a while, Lizzy? I do not...have many friends yet and it is lonely here without my sister," she said softly finally admitting to the other ghoul that there was someone else that often accompanied her despite Lattice's best attempts at putting on a brave face.

It wasn't like Lattice was going to break down crying or talk only about her sister but she was at least be honest about her feelings and intentions. It didn't seem like Lizzy would use these feelings against her.

Lattice nodded a bit, "We ...wouldn't hear of it otherwise," she smiled lightly, "if he hadn't gone on his own my sister and I would certainly had made him go kicking and screaming if need be," she assured softly. The injury was just too serious to just let him walk it off or even attempt to. She blinked behind her mask as Lizzy sighed and then listened to her words.

"He is..a warrior through and through. That is all there is to it, he has pride. I admire him for it. Not many can carry on with that mentality," she replied. Lattice shrugged a bit, "My clan is somewhat similar in mentality ... beauty is pain."

She got pierced upon her arms for this motto and never once regretted it.

"I'm glad he has friends like you and your sister to look out for him," She smiled, shifting in her seat as she frowned, trying to find a way to hug Lattice which would not end up with her being impaled by one of the needles sticking out her arm. In the end, she stood up, bending over the ghoul and putting her arms around her neck, careful not to put her arms too close to the needles, as she pulled her closer; it was quite an awkward way to hug, but the thought was there at least.

"He is... And I guess what you said does make sense," She looked sheepish as she released Lattice from the hug, returning to the seat beside her. She couldn't help looking surprise at her comment, however, staying silent for a while before speaking again; while hesitant, she was also curious, "Beauty is pain...? What do you mean?" Her gaze briefly went to the needles in her arm; Lizzy had originally thought that she might had came with those, but... But what if that was not the case? What if they had to be... Inserted?

Lattice blinked at the words and then chuckled a bit, "Right now it is more like he's looking out for me since I am here on my own right now," she replied softly. Lattice's heart felt achy for a moment until suddenly Lizzy managed to hug her without injuring herself. The ghoul stilled before she leaned into the show of affection careful not to suddenly move her arms or anything. This felt nice, if she makes more friends like these then everything will be alright.

The ghoul nodded lightly, "Yes...As long as he gets help when it is important," she said softly almost missing the contact after Lizzy had released her from the embrace. It was nice and comforting. Lattice lapsed into a thoughtful silence before she held up her arm, "We are pierced with needles each time we achieve a new level of skill in our art. The beauty we give and create is our pain."

It was how Lattice saw it, any how.

The words she used told Lizzy that Lattice was not used to being alone, and it was sort of... Heart wrenching. She could understand loneliness, after all; when she enrolled, lots of students already knew each other and it was hard to 'fit in' for a while... Coming here while leaving someone (probably dear to her) behind at home, and not knowing anyone must feel even worse.

"Well, you have Petro and me now! And I'm sure you'll meet others soon," She nodded, taking her hand again, staring in silence at the ghoul's arm. She winced, wondering how much pain they must go through, although she was pretty sure Lattice did not see it the way she did... Which was fine, really. Spending a year in school had opened her eyes up to all the different cultures and ideals that existed, after all.

She would try her best not to judge.

"I see... What 'art' do you practice though?" She had never met a ghost like Lattice, after all, and felt curious now that her 'clan' had been brought up.

Lattice nodded at Lizzy's words, "Yes I have you and Petro and hopefully other friends as well," her voice lifted a bit trying to sound cheerful and optimistic. She promised Needle that she would try to make friends and she intended to keep that promise to her sister even if she had to keep extending herself past her own comfort level.

She did anything and everything to please her sister.

"We tattoo people. We mark their skin with art - usually those that belong to a clan receive our art," Lattice explained leaving room to imagine that sometimes there were 'exceptions' but they were very few. Getting caught giving unauthorized Tattoos was often frowned upon.

"Tattoo...?" She echoed softly, blinking before her gaze moved to the tattoos trailing up the ghoul's arms; she didn't give it much thought before, but now that she knew of what her clan did, it sort of... Made more sense than someone who would get a tattoo for aesthetic purposes.

"Ah, I see..." She had never seen anyone with a tattoo - or at least, a visible one - before, but to think that Lattice knew how to tattoo! It was rather exciting,"May I ask... Who did your tattoo for you?" She gestured briefly at Lattice's arms; well, at least they looked like tattoos! She was no expert, so she could be wrong.

She nodded a bit at Lizzy, "Yes...I engrave marks upon the flesh of others, I make art on their skin," There was a lot of pride in her voice as she explained further about her work, "We can see the ink and can tell how it feels...It is a very sacred thing for us." Lattice was obviously happy to explain her way of life to someone new if they so asked.

Lattice turned bashful and shy, humility showing its face as she said softly, "I did them on my arms on my own. It is how we start to learn to mark skin by marking ourselves first. It is how we know the pain and embrace it...Not that it hurts not compared to other things." The ghoul enjoyed the pain in a way it was a sign of a work well done each time she got a needle pierced into her arm to signify her next level of skill. Pain brought good things. Wonderful things.

"But...ye..yes...I did them on my own..Sorry for the tangent," she said bashfully.

While she might not fully appreciate tattoos and had never considered getting one, she could somewhat appreciate it as a form of art. Thus, she couldn't help grinning at the pride in Lattice's voice; it sounded like her when she was talking about sewing... Which made her really happy; it was nice to meet someone else who was passionate about their work, after all, despite the different fields!

She blinked, caught off guard by one of Lattice's comments. She paused before asking, making sure she did not misinterpret her words, "You can... See and feel the ink? What do you mean?" Seeing the ink must be a very normal thing right? After all, she could see ink as well. unless the ghoul meant a different 'type' of 'seeing'.

"Ohhh, you did?" She sounded impressed as she smiled, "They look really well done to me." A soft chuckle soon followed as she shook her head, waving a have dismissively in the air, "Don't apologize! I think it's wonderful how passionate and happy you sound when you're talking about it!"

Lattice blinked behind the mask and then uttered a soft 'oh' and then fell silent a moment as she seemed to fall into a thoughtful silence before she sat up a bit straighter and explained, "We see ink even when we are completely blind. Ink always stands out to an Engraver. Ink also has emotions, feelings, things it wants and we must control it and not let it get the best of us but we must also follow its desires so we can make art with it. It is knowing when to let the ink to do as it pleases and when to take control that some of us have difficulties mastering...I know I do."

She nodded a bit looking humbled by the compliment and the impressed tone of Lizzy's voice. Lattice enjoyed being told she did good work. The ghoul nodded again when told not to apologize though she did pause. She'd been talking about herself this entire time and she knew almost nothing about Lizzy...

"What are you passionate about?" Lattice asked softly.

"You are completely blind?" It sounded more like an exclaimation than a question, and she blushed, looking down at her lap at her sudden outburst; she didn't even notice that about Lattice! Looking back up, she smiled sheepishly, "Ah, sorry about that... I didn't know." She hoped that the ghoul wouldn't think that she was being rude!

The little facts about ink piqued her interest, and she listened attentively; ink was ink to her, but then again, fabric was fabric to lots of people but she saw it different... Perhaps it was a little like that? Pausing, she then nodded, "Ah, I see... I'm sure you'll get better with time and practice!" That applied to most things, after all!

"Me?" She wasn't sure why the topic moved to her as suddenly as it did, but she smiled, "I consider myself a seamstress... I love sewing all sorts of things but my favorite has to be dresses." Her smile widened as she sighed happily, "Designing and sewing a dress makes me so happy~ There's nothing like finishing a piece of clothing and seeing how happy it makes someone else!"