Welcome to Gaia! ::

Since seeing a squire being forcibly corrupted and returning from her home planet, Chailee had a lot of questions building up in her. She was confused and scared while also being excited and curious. It was a very odd mix of emotions. At times her fear would over ride anything else she was feeling and leave her crying while other times the excitement or having visited her home planet seemed to bolster her and not let the fear overwhelm her.

To put it bluntly she was a bit of an emotional mess.

She didn't know who else to turn to except Tony. So far he had, in a way, been a rock for her to depend on and go to when she felt herself drowning. She felt bad for relying on him but what else was she suppose to do? He was the knowledgable, warm, inviting and usually very easy to find.

But today she had struck out.

After finally motivating herself to crawl out of bed and not sleep the day away she had headed off to the library. Normally Tony was there but for whatever reason he was currently out. She had been told to come back in an hour or so. She really wasn't interested in going home so instead she scoped out a section in the library that had quite a few books on space, asteroids, planets, and other various space topics. It didn't take her long to choose one about asteroids and comets before taking to the main desk to check out.

With the book in her arms Chailee headed outside of the library. Not wanting to go too far away she opted to round into the small alleyway between the library and the next building. Funny how I've gotten use to being in alley's now that I don't even question seeking one out for solitude.

Finding that the building next to the library had a sort of ledge going around was a great discovery as it made the perfect seat for her. Perching on the cement she leaned against the brick behind her and sighed. Besides the sounds of cars passing by and the occasional passerby it was a relatively quiet spot and rather secluded since she had situated herself fairly far back.

With the book in her lap she flipped it open. It wasn't a large book by any means but it had quite a few depictions of different asteroids and comets which she found rather interesting when she had flipped through it in the library. She hoped there would be some good information that might be useful now that she had visited her planet...well...asteroid.

Chailee was absorbed in her book. So much so that a lot of noise around her was just being completely filtered out without her realizing it. She was reading about what most asteroids were composed of and how many of them were located in the main asteroid belt when the sound of a solid door opening caught her attention. If it had been an easy opening Chay probably wouldn't have noticed but whomever it was that was struggling with the door made enough odd noise to break through to her.

Glancing up from the book which had ended up being held in her hands instead of her lap Chay stopped dead. "Merl...." She slapped a hand over her mouth dropping her book in the process in her surprise. She couldn't let on that she knew who he was. What if she somehow let it slip her senshi name too? Oh that would not be good news.

What in the world was he doing here right now? She slowly let her hand fall from her mouth before bending over to pick up the book which has mercifully closed during it's descent, saving the pages from being bent or torn. Carefully, she tucked the book on her lap with her hands clasping the top of it firmly.

That's right. He did say that Tony, well Camelot, had set him up in the library. Oh no. What do I do? A regular person would probably run away in fright but I can't hurt his feelings like that!

Chailee's answer was to awkwardly and hesitantly smile at him.

Chailee blinked as her mind raced to try and figure out a way to not make this whole encounter any more awkward than it had already become.

"Um...ok...I mean. I won't scream or anything. You just startled me."

She sat there for a moment, her eyes never leaving Merlinite as he stood there in broad daylight. Well...as broad as daylight got in a shaded alley. It was actually interesting to see him in natural light. The natural light almost seemed to soften his appearance and not make him look as menacing despite his poor attempt at trying to intimidate her. To be honest though, his lack of intimidation was mainly because she knew he wouldn't really hurt her. She hoped.

"So uh. Are you going to a convention or something? That's a really neat costume."

Annnnnd she mentally face palmed herself right as the words left her mouth. Surely she could have come up with something better than that. Well it was said now. Maybe it would work to help relax him a bit. The poor guy almost looked like a deer in headlights. Mind, a much more menacing and dragon-like deer.

"I am Chailee by the way." She stood and took a few tentative steps towards him. As much as she knew this whole meeting could cause problems for the two of them if she let anything slip, she was still really intrigued and somewhat excited to tempt fate.

Chailee was ready to take that last step forward to shake Dennis's hand. The thoguht hadn't even crossed her mind that it obviously wouldn't feel like a costume piece and would most certainly feel real and that she would have to react accordingly.

Dennis solved that problem though when he retracted his offered hand and stepped back from her.

"Hmm...yea I bet having a tail and a wing is awkward. They look good though. Very life like!" She smiled broadly all the while chuckling to herself inside. "I bet you'll win a contest there...er...that is if there's contests. I've never been to a con before but I heard they're a lot of fun and a lot of people dress up. I've seen pictures though! Some of the costumes are just amazing!"

It's a good enough excuse to not be 'frightened' of him. It seemed like he believed her anyway.

With the book in her hand she put her hands behind her back in a relaxed pose as if studying him. "Yep! It's definitely a good costume. A plus from me!"

She almost felt bad about this.

The whole situation was awkward. Hands down. But Chailee was finding herself to be more and more amused by the whole thing. A small part of her was feeling bad about putting Merlinite through this, but another part of her was enjoying it all immensely.

"The weather is so beautiful today and as much as I enjoy the smell of books I thought that getting some natural light would be good for me. And I am not worried about it being dangerous. I can take care of myself thanks to some amazing friends teaching me self defense." She grinned broadly.

"So, were you off to anywhere in particular?" She paused for a moment before feeling the need to continue on with more. Unfortunately it was a bit of an awkwardly long pause by the time her mouth caught up to her brain. "You know, to practice moving in your, uh, costume?"

I am an idiot.

Ah, such a typical young teen. Worried about what others will think about her for little missteps.

As long as the worse of her missteps -was- just awkward pauses she'd be in good shape.

"Oh! Well....you really haven't moved too much really. I mean...you've kinda just been standing in that one spot sinc eI've seen you."

Then again. She really hadn't moved too much either. It was like the two of them were frozen in their places unsure how to deal with the other in the situation. The ore she thought on it the more awkward she began to feel. The awkwardness led to her fidgeting in place until she couldn't take it anymore.

With her book still in hand, Chailee walked towards Merlinite. "Here, let me at least..." But whatever she was going to say was completely lost when she felt her foot get caught on something. She had not expected. She had been so focused on their exchange that Chailee failed to notice a piece an old, obviously deteriorated piece of brick. And of course, of -course- she had to not just trip. Nope. She completely just lost her footing. Next thing she knew she was falling right toward and pretty much into Merlinite as a squeak of surprise escaped her.

Sometimes training can only make you so graceful. Clearly, Chay had not gotten that principal down yet.

Chailee felt like an idiot and blushed because of it. Especially as Merlinite helped settle herself back on her feet. Here she was teasing him and it seemed that karma decided to hit back at her. In fact, she was flustered enough between her falling and her self bashing that she truely hadn't even noticed him using his extra limbs like...well...real limbs. Not that it would have bothered her at all, but it worked well that she had no need to comment on them.

"Uh...thanks. Sorry about that. I can be such a clutz." She attempted to laugh off the now extreme awkwardness she felt as she looked up at him. At this point there was no way any regular person could doubt the fact that the scales, claws and horns might not be real. Not at this proximity.

Oh no! What do I do now. I don't want to hurt his feelings at all. Should I just ignore it?

That seemed like a solid plan to her. Well solid enough anyway. Untillll she realized she was staring right at his wing. Ugh!]

"That um...that's even...eh...more interesting up close."

At this point Chay knew she needed an out. She needed to get away cause guilt was beginning to claw at her and if she didn't get away soon she feared she might blurt something out that really shouldn't be said.

"So uh....yea..."

So eloquent with words now too.

Perfect timing, Merlinite.

Chay nodded as she took a few steps back from him. "Oh, I getcha. Plus you don't want anyone else to see your costume before your debut it!"

Thank goodness that Merlinite created that opening. Her brain had farted. She could have come up with any excuse to get away but wasn't sure if he'd read into it wrong. Why did she have to make things so difficult on herself?

She finally turned and gathered up her book and the bag she left laying by the building. She carefully tucked her library book inside of the well worn messenger bag before flipping the flap over top and slinging it over her shoulders. "Well, hopefully we'll run into each other again sometime! You'll have to tell me how your convention went with your costume."

She smiled and waved before heading out of the alleyway. Pausing in front of the library she looked at the entrance and sighed. She sighed and brushed a hand over her curls. That whole encounter had been strange yet...amusing. Chay wasn't proud of herself for practically torturing Merlinite like that but she had been curious. It was the first itme she really got to test out the glamour that Tony had mentioned, at least knowingly. She'd have to make it up to Merlinite at some point. She wasn't sure how, but she'd think of something.

With a sigh she traipsed up the stairs and headed back into the air conditioned library. She wasn't sure if she still felt a need to talk to Tony or not, but nestling down int he library for awhile to read would at least keep her in a favorable spot if she decided she needed his words of wisdom. So Chay made herself comfortable on a floor that tended to have less traffic and made herself comfortable in a chair.

At least it was an interesting day already.