Tea Time! [Traeh]

Mae sat down on a chair, drinking tea outside the Chagall Café. Today had been a quite slow day for the pinkette. Nothing interesting had been happening recently, with Charles working for the vast majority of the daytime, Mae had nothing to do in order to pass the time. And sitting outside the café eating a blueberry muffin, and drinking some tea while reading the second volume of Sgt. Frog was actually quite relaxing. A nice change of pace from everything that had been going on recently. Every now and again, Mae would put down the book to drink some of her tea or take a bite out of that delicious-looking muffin that she had ordered. Good times...

Tia was awesome. The little husky pup was always so hyper and energetic that she would just love to play literally anything at anytime. Traeh had come to adore her whole heartedly, but this couldn't be said the same about her brothers view of the matter. Although as much as he found the pup annoying, it gave Traeh an excuses to leave the house to give Tia a walk, which her brother always accepted just to get the pup out of his hair. Which in Traehs opinion was a win-win situation.

Today was a fresh day, it was warm but had a nice breeze to it which felt heavenly on top of the beating sun. Tia yapped happily from her leash as Traeh wondered what she could do on a day like this. Thinking about it, she was kind of thirsty... Maybe she could find a nice café around here, not that she'd know which ones were the nice ones yet... But she could always give it a guess by the outside appearance. Being the Brit that she was, she could tell if somewhere served a good cup of tea from first glance.

As it just so happens, just after this thought had popped into her head, she noticed a café just down the street. She hadn't considered it yet but she hoped they wouldn't mind having dogs there... They'd probably be fine with it if she stayed outside, Tia was never that much trouble anyway. As she approached she couldn't help but notice the familiar pink head of hair that sat outside the very café... Mae, wasn't it? She would approach the café and smile towards the girl.

"Oh, hey Traeh-chan!" Mae looked up from her book, and smiled at her friend. "Getting used to Azores yet? Come on, have a seat why don't you?" She said happily, nodding towards the chair in front of her. That's when she noticed the small dog that tried it's best to keep up with it's owner. "Oh! You got a puppy! Hey there, buddy." Mae stretched out a hand for the little rascal to investigate. "What's it called?" she asked, looking at Traeh again. The dog grabbed almost everyone's attention. "So, how've you been? I haven't seen you in a good long while." Mae took another bite out of her muffin, putting the manga book down on the table.

Taking up the offer and taking a seat opposite Mae, Traeh was glad to see her friend again, and this time in a more relaxed scenario. "Yeah, thanks, I've gotten to know the local area rather well now. I only managed to get lost a few times." She'd smile whimsically as Mae would notice Tia who had just managed to catch up with her. "Oh!" She began, lifting the pup up onto her lap. "This is Tia, I only got her very recently, but she's already stolen all my love for her." The pup would yap excitedly as Traeh ran her fingers through its fur. "I've been fine, thank you. Definitely gotten way more used to this place than I was at first, its good to see you again." Tia then jumped off of Traeh's lap, scampered around the table and pawed at Mae's legs. "Hehe, seems like she likes you. How've you been yourself?"

"Hehe, I'm glad you've gotten used to it. It took me a while to get my bearings straight here. I got lost a bunch of times myself during my first couple of weeks here." It was thanks to people like Sharaku, and Hyde. As Traeh picked up the little pup, Mae couldn't help herself but to gush. "Aaaaaaww... She's so adorable." The pinkette smiled happily at Tia. "Can I per her?" She asked. The little puppy looked so gosh darn cute. She couldn't keep her hands off of Tia for much longer. "I've been good... Ayane has seen better days though... The place she used to stay at... kinda burned down to ashes... You know, when the Volcano on Malstu Erupted? She used to live there..." Poor girl, loosing her home like that... "She lives in the refugee camp currently, so she's safe and sound, thank god." If the merging of the worlds kept up like this though... Mae wasn't too fond of how things were developing... Something needed to be done, and fast.

"Yeah, this place is very interesting. Still haven't explored everything however, met a few pretty cool people too!" She would notice Mae's attention fall upon Tia again who was sitting with her tongue hanging, wagging her tail excitedly and staring around curiously. Then the small pup would notice Mae herself and stare at her with wide brown eyes. "Of course you can, she's very friendly." Reacting to the approaching hands, Tia leapt her way into Mae's lap and gave out a happy little yap as she stared up at Mae.

After the affection would die down, Traeh was shocked to hear what was said next. "Oh god, Ayane lived over there? Shesh... That must be rough for her..." She tried to imagine what it would be like for that to happen as a waiter approached out of her knowledge, but for all it was worth she couldn't even consider what that would be like, to lose your home like that and everything inside. "God... I hope she'll be alright, at least she is safe now." Then a new voice spoke and startled her.

"Well, that's understandable. It took me a long time before I actually got to see everything..." Mae said casually. "I'm glad to hear you're getting new friends. It's such a shame you got here at a time like this though. You know, with the whole school situation... But hey, at least you get a lot of free time to explore and get used to the island." It sure had taken Mae a while to get used to Azores. Miyazaki didn't exactly have a lot of things in common with the islands, but thanks to her friends, she had managed to adapt to this new place relatively quickly. "She's so adorable." Mae said, having to resist the urge to squeal, as she petted the cute puppy.

"Yeah, she did..." Mae's expression darkened a bit. "She's doing fine for now at the refugee center, but... yeah." The girls couldn't possibly imagine the bone-chilling fear that Ayane had felt the moment the volcano had erupted. "She's lucky to be alive..." Was she really safe though? If Mae's suspicions were correct, this was another world merging with their own, just like what happened to the school...

"Well, I'll have a refill of my tea. And you, Traeh?" Mae asked her friend, as she gave the waiter her now empty cup. "Earl Grey, please. Sugar. No milk."

"Yeah, it kinda sucks, I was quite interested to see how school life was over here in comparison to what it was like for me back home. I bet it's very different." Although, who doesn't enjoy having free time off school seriously? "Uh-huh, I've spent a lot of my time just wandering about and well, getting lost." She'd smirk as Mae began to pet little Tia. "But now at least I have that little bundle of fluff to help me get lost." Which she sure did take up a lot of her free time now, which wasn't necessarily a bad thing.

"God... That must really be terrible for her..." Everyone on that island must've been terrified, losing their homes and precessions like that. Let alone some families must've left that place without someone... Traeh shivered at the thought and tried to shake it off of her mind. It truly was awful. "Well, at least she got out of there... I guess. She's save now, at the refugee centre, right? Where is that located?"

Oh... Erm... It had only just occurred to her that she didn't really know what they even served her. She decided to just ask for something simple. "Ehm, just a regular coffee, and one of those muffins." She'd request, pointing at Mae's muffin. "P-please." She would quickly add in. "Most certainly, girls." The waiter would reply as he headed back inside the café.

"It's interesting. A good three quarters of the student body are transfer students or exchangees." Mae shrugged. "It's a bit jarring at first, but you'll get used to it, I'm sure." That was one of the best parts about Zela... It's diverse student roster. "I've gotten lost a good number of times here during my first couple of weeks here. Don't worry though, you'll get used to the place eventually." Mae giggled as the genty scratched Tia behind her ear. "Yeah. She's adorable. What does your brother think about her? He... doesn't exactly strike me as a guy who likes cute things..."

"Yeah... She's there right now." Mae's expression darkened slightly. "It really is horrible... And she was hardly the only victim... A ton of people lost their families and homes in that disaster." The Primordials would pay for this. Mae would make sure of that... "I'm worried for the future... If this keeps up-" She stopped herself. There was no need to make Traeh worry about that kind of stuff... "Nevermind." Time to change the subject...

"So... how was life like in Britain? I've never been to England... or Europe for that matter. Heck, the closest I've been to Europe is Azores." Mae asked curiously. "Is it worth visiting on a holiday or something?"

"Huh, really? That many people are transfers?" That was surprising, so this must be quite a hot spot for people moving into then... But what about all the people that already lived here? Were there just not many of them, or were the schools just huge enough to fit everyone... Or maybe all the people who were born here move away when new people come... Regardless, that was quite a large amount of people to be transfers. "Well, at least I wont be an odd one out when school finally starts back up again." She'd smiled at Mae as she gave little Tia a good scratch behind the ear. "Heh, well. He would of preferred if I came home with an older dog, to put it bluntly... Although, it is helpful, as it gives me an excuse to leave the house more often and he'd actually agree just to get the dog out of his hair."

Mae put her fears into words, those poor people who've lost so much out there... It was just horrible to think about. Traeh would just nod along, listening to everything Mae had to say on the subject without giving much back out, to be honest she'd prefer it if the subject was dropped which was why she wasn't talking much. Eventually she found the opportunity. "Don't worry yourself over it Mae, you don't need to tell me everything. I can see it upsets you, let's just talk about something else."

Hmm, so she was curious about what it was like back over seas. To be honest... It wasn't her favourite subject to talk about. Although, if she just stuck to what the country was like, as apposed to what happened there. It might be alright. "Sarcastic. Best word to describe most things over there. Basically everyone there is sarcastic constantly, even at times where it doesn't even really make sense to be." She'd start in a joking tone. "The place its self is pretty though, I used to live out in the country side, surrounded by fields and greenery and such. Was a very pleasant place to live. If you could stand the cold that would sometimes bestow us. As for a holiday, it depends really what you like to see and do. London is a good place to go to see all the fancy monuments and what not, but if your more into going to sandy beaches and warm weather. Not the country for you."

"Yeah. Zela is massive. Most of the students there come from either Japan or America. But of course, there are exceptions. It's quite funny how Azorean Students are in the minority on their home turf." Mae chuckled. "Yeah, there's no need to worry about not fitting in. Although... I stick out like a sore thumb in my class because of... well... you can probably guess." Mae smiled sheepishly. "Well, at least he's okay with her in general." Considering how he had acted when Traeh had lost him at the station it wouldn't suprise Mae if there had been a fight of sorts... but she wouldn't poke her nose in where it clearly didn't belong.

"Well... Thanks for listening and understanding, Traeh. I haven't really talked much about it since then..." Mae nodded slowly. "Yeah. Let's. There's no need for us to be gloomy right now." She would give Traeh a smile before finishing her first muffin.

"Huh... Alright. I'll take your word for it." Mae shrugged lightly. If the pinkette ever went to London or the UK in general, she would keep this in mind for the future... You never know when you might need it. "Oh! You used to live out on the countryside?" Something which Mae had never really experienced. She had been spending most of her life in Miyazaki or Tokyo, and although the former was a quite small city, it was still far from being anything countryside-like. "Luckily, I like both. Depends on what I want at the moment. Speaking of beaches and sunshine... It's almost summer time here. I need to get a new bikini soon... my old one's at the dorms right now, And... Yeeeaaaahhh... I'm not going back there anytime soon."

"Can't wait until its open again and I get to look around it myself. Although, knowing me. I'll probably end up getting lost there too." Traeh grinned. "I hope I can fit in, I never really did back home. Dunno why, might've been me, might've been I just didn't like the people there. Who knows." It was true, Traeh never really had friends of sorts back in England. Everyone was way to sarcastic and obnoxious for her taste, she'd usually prefer to be alone. Traeh wouldn't try to point out anything about Mae when she mentioned how she stuck out. Just in case whatever she ended up saying came across as rude... "Yeah, well, he can be an arse sometimes. But I know deep down he cares about me, and he knows how happy she makes me so he tries to get along with it."

"Yup! I always preferred the country. Way more peaceful and easier to navigate your way around. Cities like this are nice and all, but I prefer the greenery of open fields to the grey of tall buildings." This was probably why she would often visit the local park she kept seemingly finding her way too. Nothing was better than getting away from those busy roads... "So, how about yourself? Have you lived here all your life or were you a transfer too?" She'd question inquisitively before realising she had said she'd get lost here too when she first arrived... So she wasn't a local... Oh well, things slipped past her mind all the time. "Hehe, yeah it's getting a lot warmer recently, its heavenly compared to back home. Can't wait to be able to go swimming in the sea." There was just something different about swimming in the ocean, with the sand under your feet than just a plain old swimming pool... It could be so refreshing.

"Yeah, the school is pretty large. I've never seen anything of that size before, so you'd do best in tagging along your classmates until you feel confident enough to find your way around on your own." Zela was a rather large school, with students from all over the world. "I'm sure you'll fit in nicely. I don't think you have to worried about that." She couldn't help bit giggle a little. "I was soo worried about that at first, so I know how you feel. And let me tell you, the students are pretty great over there. Except for a couple... There are always going to be those kinds of people in every class..."

"He cares for you at least. Maybe not the best person to have as a caretaker, but at least he does his job." Mae shrugged. "I don't have any siblings, so I really don't know what it's like to have an older brother. But hey, Ayane's like a sister to me. So I guess there's that." It really was no understatement. Ayane and Mae had basically stuck to eachother through thick and thin. And it was going to stay like that for a long time.

"I've been to... Inaba once. That's the closest I've been to the countryside. I was there on a skiing trip with a couple of my friends back in Japan. It was a nice place. Sure, it's a little bit isolated, but that's the charm of it. Plus, the view you had from the top of the mountain is otherworldly. If you ever go there sometime, be sure to check it out. You won't regret it, trust me." Mae took a sip out of her cup before answering Traeh's question. "Yeah. I transfered here from Miyazaki back in February. Gosh, that's an awfully long time ago, now that I think about it." She shrugged slightly. "I actually prefer Azores over my old home... For a variety of reasons. One of them being my boyfriend. We live together now, since the dorms are... in their current state. I love swimming, and I wanna drag him to the ocean someday in either Penecia or Lunapa... Although, I'm not sure if he's fond of water..."

"Hehe, that'll be the first challenge then. Working out who my classmates actually are. I'm sure I'll be fine." Probably, she was used to doing everything herself anyway. So if everyone is even slightly as nice as the friends she had made recently, such as Mae, then there will be no problem at all. "Thanks, I do tend to worry over the smallest things sometimes for no real reason, yet the bigger more important things I'm fine with... It's weird." She shrugged. "Well, its to be expected. For whatever reason there are those people out there that enjoy just bring a prat, so it's very difficult to find a place that doesn't have any of them at all."

"He used to be nicer to me than you saw. He isn't usually that bad... Just, he was in a mood cause the trains were late and he didn't really know where he was going and what not." Traeh sighed as she pondered the thought. "He's been through a lot, and he still hasn't really ever got over it... It's harder for some more than others I guess." Thinking back, the two of them did seem like the sort that were great friends. "Heh, I've never really had a friend like that to be honest. Must be awesome to have someone who cares for you that much." She'd smile at the thought and look down at Tia who had decided to try and reach up for Mae's muffin, although failing.

"Oh, wow... Sounds like a lovely place to visit! Although, I don't know how well I'd be able to enjoy it, fear of heights and what not. I'll keep it in mind though." She'd giggle and return her gaze to Mae. "Oh cool, you're from Japan? That's awesome, I always wanted to visit Tokyo... Not entirely sure why, just seems like an awesome place to see for your own eyes." Japan had always interested Traeh from quite a young age, probably to do with all the amazing games and animes that are made over there... They were always fun to watch. "I'd agree with you, I've been enjoying my time here way more than I did back in England. It's a very peaceful place most of the time... If you... Disregard the volcano and school incidents... "And you live with your boyfriend? What's he like? Is he afraid of water? I bet you two are very cute together."

"We all have our quirks. It's nothing new, really." Mae said with a slight shrug. "And yeah, it is rather unfortunate. But all we can really do is just ignore them." There were three students in paticular which really rubbed Mae the wrong way. She had met those three girls during her first week of school. They had been saying some nasty things about a classmate of theirs... That stuff really irked the pinkette.

"I most certainly hope so. I'm usually not one to judge a book by it's cover so to speak. He just wanted the best for you. Although... he could work a bit on that attitude of his. The same could be said for Ayane..." That girl was just all over the place, emotion-wise. Which was both funny and annoying at the same time. Her mood could change in heartbeat... and Traeh had seen this herself first hand.

"Granted, we have been friends since the age of five, so it's only natural we're close. We used to live in the same orphanage, me and Ayane. We stuck together through thick and thin. Sure, we've had our arguments from time to time, but it's never been anything major." Now that she thought about it, they had pretty much been friends their entire lives. "No, Tia. That's mine. Hehehe." Mae held the muffin out of the pup's reach while chuckling at Tia's struggle to reach the treat.

"Well, Inaba itself is a rather nice place. The locals are polite and helpful. They also have an inn with hot springs and everything. I actually stayed over there while we were on the ski-trip." That was one of the more memorable things about her trip to Inaba. The inn there was less like an inn and more like a hotel of sorts. "Yep, I'm japanese. I used to live in Tokyo back in the day, when I was still at the orphanage. It's a really busy city, and as unique as it is, the traffic is deplorable. And the stress... Needless to say, I was glad that my adoptive mother lived in Miyazaki, so I could escape at least a big chunk of the big city life..." The smog wasn't exactly the best either... At least not from what Mae could remember...

"You haven't been to the other Islands yet, have you?" Mae asked curiously. She remembered it took her almost a week before she left San Malarus to see another island. Which in her case ended up being Penecia... She liked that island a lot, actually. A perfect place to hang out with friends, due to the plethora of things to do there. "Well, he's a nice guy. A little bit gullible, but it's cute, I think. I might introduce you to him someday. As for the whole water aspect..." Mae decided it would be best to keep the knowledge of Charles being a robot to herself... "Hehe..." She would smile sheepishly. "So... what about you? Have you set your sights on a guy yet?"