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Caela had been doing a little thinking lately. Why hadn't she seen any other Chomps or any Shades at the Academy so far? Sure, those two races weren't exactly super common to begin with, but she was a bit disappointed in the lack of adventurous spirit. Her parents were willing to send her to meet new people and learn new things; why couldn't others do the same?

...Then again, Shades were definitely not known for their adventurous spirit. Big ol' scaredy cats, seriously.

So, while going down the dorm halls, Caela spotted a freshling with very interesting hair. Once she got a closer look, however, she spotted something more interesting than his hair: his eyes. Those were Shade eyes. Four Shade eyes, to be exact. She could feel herself get giddy with excitement; some Shade had been adventurous enough to imbue with a Goblin, and then to send the child to this school! She had to meet this kid and try to pry in a bit.

Still, she managed to maintain her cool. Shades could be a sensitive folk. She approached the hybrid and waved a detached claw. "Hi there."

Oh, how cute! Though also a bit concerning. Caela didn't think that she'd been too loud. Ah, Toltec, right, it had been a while since she'd heard those clicks. She was fairly fluent, though she could only click back simple things. She smiled back and clicked a brief greeting. "Is one of your parents a Shade? I guessed from the clicking and the eyes, but I wanted to ask." She waited for him to respond first, holding back her excitement at finding a little piece of home here at the academy.

What a cutie, seriously. Poor nervous dear. "Hi, Jamie, I'm Caela," Caela said back. She wanted to pinch this boy's cheeks, but she tried to use some self-control there. "Can I ask who did your hair? It's very interesting. I met someone a while back who was looking for help with her hair, so I thought I'd get some names for her." Ah, fudge it, she was gonna pinch the boy's cheeks anyway. People back home liked to pinch her cheeks too, probably because she had markings there. "Hold still for a sec." She reached forward to carefully pinch Jamie's cheeks.

Caela smiled and nodded. "Do you know where she went? And, um, don't worry about the hair thing." She gave an awkward little laugh. It was kind of a weird thing to ask anyway. When she saw how confused the poor dear was after having his cheeks pinched, she felt bad. Not everyone was so physical, or as upfront as Chomps tended to be. "Sorry. It's just... you're a cutie. My mom said that people pinched my cheeks back at home because I was a cutie, too." What was self-control, anyway? She hoped he wouldn't react badly to being called cute. As far as she was concerned, he was cute, but some people wanted to have a different image (like Eloise, who was very concerned with her image).

"I hope she comes back soon," Caela said, nodding. "My parents are up in Above still. They wanted to send me here to 'broaden my horizons,' or something. If they wanted to see this place so badly, why didn't they just come with me?" Her face turned pouty for a moment. She wasn't really that angry at her parents for sending her here; after all, the interesting things and people she saw made up for the homesick and lost feelings. Someday, she hoped that they'd stop by to visit, at least.

The topic change made Caela grin again. "Yes, you are a cutie! It's because you're shy and sweet, but it's also just kinda something about you. I think lots of people will pinch your cheeks someday, so you'd better get ready for that."

"Yeah, hopefully," Caela mumbled, trying to stifle the wave of homesickness. The last comment deflected it totally though. While someone else might have detected a stealth insult, she didn't think anything of it, and just laughed it off. "I think there are lots of different ways to be a cutie," she said. "You have your way, and I have my way. I think, if you ask a lot of people, they'll all come up with their own idea of what it means to be cute." At that moment, she had a flicker of insight. She was enjoying talking to Jamie; she felt a genuine happiness that she was able to pull him out of his shell. It would be nice if she could keep doing this and help others feel more at home, too.

Caela gave a soft giggle at the image of Jamie finding random tails to cling around. "I hope you don't get in trouble for that," she said. "Some people don't like having their tails touched." He probably knew that already, though. The offer of a hug shocked her, and she needed a moment to consider it. "I... um, sure!" Instead of waiting for him to hug her, she stepped forward to hug him, trying to be careful with how tight the hold would be. Chomps could be just a bit too strong at times, after all. In that moment, she felt a settled feeling: if pulling people out of their shells was met with warmth like this, it was something she wanted to keep doing in the future as she grew up.

"You're welcome. If I helped you, I'm happy." Slowly, Caela pulled out of the hug. There was some sort of undefinable mixed emotion flowing through her right now, a combination of happiness and sadness that she couldn't understand or properly place. She found herself missing her parents, too. "I'm, um... going to ask one of the people around here if they can help me send a letter to my parents. Or make a really, really long-distance call." She took a few steps away, then waved at Jamie. "I'll see you around, okay?" With that, she made a hasty retreat. She didn't want him to see those little tears she felt coming on.