Alyssum sat in the shadows of the underground bunker, in the quietest corner she could find. Well, she would have been in the shadows if it hadn't been for her pets. Once they'd let students back into the dorms the first thing she did was go and get all her salamanders. The little amphibians all perched or clung to her, according to their natures. She was trying to hardest to keep the shy ones soothed. Kraken in particular was always shy, but some of her salamanders were more aggressive and didn't take well to being startled. Alyssum didn't want to be out in the crowds and have her salamanders freak out and start fires. It was a good thing she was inclined to stick to the sidelines anyway. Marimo, her little slime, was perfectly content to keep by her side, and needed less reassuring. The slime was even helping her out by distracting her more adventurous salamanders.
Alyssum sighed softly. She should probably be terrified right now, but for some reason she just couldn't feel it. It was like the concept of danger was just too abstract for her, even now. That was how she'd always been though. Very calm, very rational. Cold, some said, or even robotic. She just couldn't help it. So much of her world was pure observation. When it came to feelings or interacting, she just froze up and didn't know what to do. She liked to think that she'd gotten a little better lately, but it was hard to change the well-established ways.
It made her wonder what she was going to do when she left school though, if she found fitting in so difficult. Surely she wasn't the only one who'd had some social troubles before now. And it wasn't like she didn't have any friends at all. She loved being around Sasori and Sariya. It was comfortable. Alyssum sighed softly, stroking the rubbery-smooth skin of Kraken. Life wasn't always supposed to be comfortable, and that was the problem. What kind of skills did she have to offer, to make up for her shortcomings. She was good with salamanders, but was there a job with that? She liked reading, but that wasn't exactly a job. Maybe she could get a job around books though. Book stores, libraries, something. Was being a tutor a job? She did well enough with classes that maybe she could do something like that, if she was able to keep her grades up. She'd have to ask a teacher, perhaps when this was all over.
Alyssum was distracted from her thoughts as Griffin made a slight hissing squeak by her ear. Apparently Pixie tried to climb up the shoulder Griffin was perching on. She plucked up Pixie and the territorial Griffin settled a little. That was something else she wondered. Did she want to go back home, when school was over? The drier climates would probably make the move tough on her pets. But where would she go, if not back home? They'd looked at maps in class before, and Alyssum still remembered how overwhelmed she felt at big the world really was. She sighed softly. Marimo leaned against her leg and make a soft sound of inquiry. Alyssum smiled and pet the slime carefully.
One thing at a time. Get through this crisis first, because there was no point in thinking of the future when things might change suddenly. And then, once things got a bit calmer... She would try to find the path she wished to walk down.
