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Alyssum was wandering through the halls of the Academy, debating what she wanted to do. She'd already thoroughly cleaned out Kraken and Dragon's tank and have given them lots of love and attention. Her homework was complete. She didn't really know anyone well enough to seek their company, nor did anyone seem to know her well enough to seek out her company. It didn't bother her since she was perfectly fine with alone time, but it was one less option on her things-to-do list. She could always have gone to the common room and tried to read or something, but a walk had sounded more appealing.

She paused by one of the first-story windows, open to catch the pleasant breeze that had been blowing today. She managed to wiggle up on the window sill and admired the pretty plants below. Maybe she should go outside for a stroll?

[quote"Koiasi"]Wasn't sure how you wanted to start off, so just tried to leave it open so I can have Alyssum run across Sasori at some point.

Alyssum had always been tiny and petite for her age, but when another freshling, oblivious to her presence because of a load of books, ran into her, oblivious to their presence as she stared outside and debated what she felt like doing, scattering books everywhere, she puffed up every bit of fur on her body until she almost looked like the fluffy variety of Bakeneko. She almost launched herself straight out of the window, though it was probably thanks to that that she didn't get any books landing on her feet. As it was she felt one clip a bit painfully against her leg.

She heard someone utter a soft cry of pain. Alyssum pushed herself carefully away from the window sill, stepping very delicately onto some books and quickly shifting her feet to the floor before putting her full weight on them. Starting to calm down from her scare, she took note of the other freshling for the first time. She was still learning the other races, but those wings and tendrils were entirely unmistakable markers of Geist and Chimera. Though typically not one for speech, Alyssum felt like she had to say something.

"I'm okay," she said in her soft voice, the kind that was barely above a whisper. "Are you hurt," she asked, feeling like it was probably more of a possibility. Geists were kind of sneaky and hard to pin down sometimes. Not personality-wise (at least not always), but just in the way their bodies seemed to move. Chimera had those wings though. No telling how they might hold up against a barrage of books.

Alyssum thought about it for a moment. She didn't feel like any part of her had been hurt. She lifted the leg she remembered the book hitting and gave it a quick looking over and shook it a bit. It was a teeny bit sore, but in a few more minutes it probably wouldn't even be that. The worst that had happened was the scare of all those books suddenly running into her; her heart beat was still a bit rapid, thought that was also calming down.

"I'm fine," she said softly, quite positive of her own statement. She did notice the other freshling rubbing their head though. Had a book hit them? Probably; there were books all over the place, and she hadn't noticed until the impact had already happened. Alyssum tilted her head slightly, feeling some concern. "Do you need to go to the nurse?" Wow, this was probably the most words she had said aloud in a long time. It felt quite strange.

Alyssum noted the little nervous ticks, the nibbling on fingers and increased rate of speech. She could hardly blame Sasori since she'd likely be equally rattled in a similar situation. She tried to keep her own aura calming and project a feeling of.....calm? Whatever than nice, inner feeling was when you were in a good mood and doing something you liked. She hoped it would reassure Sasori and make them feel a bit less embarrassed or anxious.

"Alyssum," she responded in answer to the inquiry of her name. She bent down and began to gather some books on the floor. There were quite a few, and it would be nice to help Sasori pick them up rather than making Sasori do it all on their own. It also occurred to her that her usual silent nature might be a bit more disconcerting to Sasori if they were feeling embarrassed. Usually quietness was seen as grumpy or antisocial behave, and they might feel like Alyssum was actually angry or something. She paused and mentally gathered herself to make words.

"I was looking at flowers, and not paying attention. It's also my fault you fell." Since she usually was quite observant, Alyssum really did feel that way. If she'd been watching her surroundings as she always did, she would have hopped up into the window sill or moved aside or something. She might have even tried to say something, though moving was easier than speech for her.

Alyssum returned the smile with a shy one of her own. Together she and Sasori made quick work of gathering the scattered books. She looked down at the neat pile in her arms, then at the neat pile in Sasori's arms. It was pretty clear to her now why Sasori had run into her. Never mind any claims to klutziness, this was just a whole lot of books! It was a wonder she'd even been able to carry all those books, never mind trying to see past them.

Alyssum shuffled her feet against the stone floor, fingers hesitantly lingering against stiff spines and compressed paper. "Would you like help carrying these," she asked. Her voice was even quieter, feeling shy for making the offer. She didn't want to intrude, but handing off all those books and making Sasori carry them on her own just seemed like bad manners.

Alyssum smiled quietly in acknowledgment of the thanks, then followed along behind Sasori. It was pretty quiet, only sound between them being the gentle tapping of their footsteps. Alyssum didn't really mind the quiet since that was her natural inclination anyway. Sasori didn't strike her as a chatter either, though she did wonder if her own silence was off-putting to the other girl. It was the main downfall whenever she tried to make friends, since most people equated silence to brooding.

They hadn't gone very far when Alyssum began to recognize the direction they were heading. "Are you in Eldritch too," she asked, breaking the silence with her soft voice. At least she thought they were heading for the Eldritch common rooms. She didn't really recognize Sasori, but that wasn't too surprising; she wasn't in the common rooms all that often, and spent most of her time in classes with her head down and her hair covering her eyes.

Alyssum nodded in response, though she wasn't sure if Sasori had seen it or not. She herself was mostly keeping an eye on the ground in front of her, what with her hair partially obscuring her vision, not wanting to trip and drop the books. They'd taken the tumble well, but she knew they could tear or get damaged from falling.

"Yes," she added softly, just in case Sasori hadn't seen the nod. She wondered how long Sasori had been attending classes. It was a little embarrassing that she couldn't pinpoint her own classmates. "I spend most of my time in my room," she added quietly, feeling like she should explain just in case Sasori had been around a while and just had never noticed Alyssum until now. She did spend a lot of her time trying to be unnoticed. Maybe she should work on that, participate a bit more. She would never learn how to interact if all her time was spent with salamanders.

Ah, that would very likely explain why Alyssum had never seen Sasori, even considering how infrequently she left her room. Mostly she was out in the evenings, towards the last hour before freshling curfew, so pretty much everyone in the common room lived in the dorms. She was mildly envious of Sasori, but it was an easily brushed aside envy. She might rarely talk or interact, but she'd still had a choice in coming to the Academy. Sure it was a bit scary, but she'd been more curious than anything. There were always days when home seemed better than adventure, but she didn't regret her choice.

"I like reading in my room. It's quieter," she said softly, since there was nothing she could really say on the parent front of the conversation. "My salamanders keep me company, and don't mind if I'm quiet," she added, evening smiling a little at the thought of her precious Dragon and Kraken.