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Laviticus had been sitting on the outskirts of the playground, little tiny claws clasped around his plushie, letting it sit in his lap as he watched the other children play. He had been content to sit and watch the others in wonder, admiring how their imaginations unfolded as they played. Lavi wished his imagination was that great, but it was like an adult mind had been planted inside of Laviticus' mind, leaving him feeling excluded and unlike his peers.

He was so wrapped up in his own head that Laviticus barely noticed the fallen boy that approached him. Their hello reached his ears, but sounded so far away and faint that Laviticus didn't think to look. However, the second sentence came through loud and clear, almost piercing in comparison, and Lavi snapped back to reality abruptly.

Turning his head to look up at the Fallen who had approached him, blinking lucidly, Laviticus slowly smiled. A little happy that someone had finally approached him, but also a little awkward. What was he expected to do in this sort of social interaction?

"Uhm, sure ... " his voice was soft and quiet. "Please just be careful your claws don't get caught in my curls, and you can touch it as much as you'd like."

Laviticus braced himself, suspecting that the claws would be sharp and harsh against his scalp and in his hair ... but the sensation was. Actually quite lovely.

They hybrid found himself dozing off, soothed by the touch of another. How peculiar. The only time he had ever really touched someone else was when he clasped hands with his parents, or when they smooched him goodnight when he visited them at home. But those days were far and few between. This was nice ... this was. Pleasant.

"Yes, I rather like my hair ... I guess you could say I'm rather proud of it. It's just like my dad's, only more pink ... "

"My parents?" Lavi asked quietly, trying to make sure that's what his new acquaintance meant.

He thought about it quietly for a moment, letting the memories mull in his mind before shrugging a small roll of his shoulders, letting them sink forward. "Alright, I suppose? I love my dads. But sometimes they can nag me a lot ... I've never been without them, except for when I'm here at the Academy, so I can't really say. I don't really get to talk to them too much. Why do you ask ... ?" Lavi turned to face the Fallen. "Do you ... ?" he leaned in, lowering his voice to ask politely. "Were you a cache child ... ?" he posed the question as carefully as he could, then leaned away.

"I apologize. That must have seemed so. Insensitive. I guess I take my parents for granted some times ... not all of my peers have parents ... " Laviticus offered an apologetic expression, a small, sad little smile in place.

Laviticus batted his long lashes at the Fallen. He had inherited his dad's long, butterfly lashes, pale pink and long. The idea of a nickname surprised him. People often called him Lavi simply because Laviticus was too long for most people his age to really pronounce. It was a complex structure not a lot of other Freshlings could work their mouths around, and so he accepted Lavi as an abbreviated form. But the idea of being called Pip made his cheeks blush.

Pretty in pink? he asked himself quietly, his heated cheeks making the pink markings turn a deep red. He was rather flattered by this exchange of affection, and he was warming up to his new friend quite rapidly, which came as a surprise to Laviticus. He had never really connected with anyone before.

"I like the name Pip ... " he said, curling his feet inwards, toes curling within his shoes as he hugged his plushie suddenly shyly to his chest, feeling his heart flutter. "And your name is very pretty, Charmstar~! I'm sorry to hear that your caretakers nag you too ... "

Laviticus suddenly grinned widely, something he had never done before in his entire life. He felt. Eager? What exactly was this that he was feeling. This was new to him. Had he been secluding himself so effectively that he had yet to truly experience a full range of emotions yet? Surely this had to be a path altering moment for him.

Nodding his head, Pip got to his feet, dusting off his shins and calves from any blades of grass that might be sticking to his bare skin. "Yes, and truthfully I haven't the slightest ideas as to why. Perhaps it is because they feel like they know what is best for us, and assume we don't know anything simply based on our size ... " Lavi tilted his head then, pondering this for a moment before shaking it off. "Yes, please!" His voiced sounded less flat, and far more excitable. "I've never gone on the swings before!"

Laviticus stared at Charmstar thoughtfully for a moment. He had never considered that perhaps it was because adults genuinely worried for them. While Charmstar's switched consonants would have suggested he was just like all the other young freshlings around the Academy -- unaware of the world around them and not giving the bigger things much thought yet -- it had seemed Laviticus had misjudged. He had based how Charmstar had originally spoken as a sign of his intelligence, but now Laviticus could see that perhaps Charmstar could teach Lavi quite a few things. Or at least help him realize that not all his truths were the only way. This fascinated the hybrid immensely.

The hybrid glanced down with widened eyes as the boy took his hand and held it. His cheeks heated even more. This sensation was also ... nice. Laviticus had never been an openly affectionate child, simply because Likais had been so smothering in his affections towards his children ... but maybe that was about to change. At least, so long as Charmstar was around.

"My hand?" Laviticus blinked curiously. His expression shifted in to a warmer, softer one as he smiled to himself. "No," he said simply. "It's quite solid, thank goodness. It would make holding a pencil rather difficult." Lavi attempted a joke, and was actually rather proud of it.

"I would like that very much!" the child said, beaming, "That way I can learn by from your example and then I will know how to push you in return!"