(Open) The girl in the corner

[Ivory Lavay]

In a strange way there was a certain relief to being back at Beacon. Even though her time in Atlas technically was her homecoming it felt foreign. Somewhere along the way Vale had become her subconscious new home. So, it was a genuine relief to be back for the introvert. Unfortunately, given her nature, and how easy it was to close herself off the girl had reverted to some old habits. Namely and most relevant to this very moment the discomfort around crowds.

As Ivory left the cafeteria and looked for a place to sit, she saw a couple people she recognized. Though at least for the moment none of her true friends. Then again, those people could be counted on one hand, so this wasn't a terrible surprise. Standing there she'd balance the try while trying to tug a bit at her skirt. Even with the long leggings beneath she just didn't feel comfortable in the shorter outfit. Naturally, adding yet another level to her discomfort. Luckily as she scanned the room the young huntress-in-training was able to find a nice spot off to the side.

So quickly scurrying to the side and hopefully out of most people's sight Ivory would settle in at one of the far corners. She would lay her scroll and a novel next to the tray. Her eyes would gaze over towards the device. The back of her mind was screaming at her to reach out to some of her friends. However, another and far more irrational side was screaming back that they had probably moved on. After all who would want to really hang out with a weird little thing like her anyway. With those disconcerted thoughts in mind Ivory would flip the scroll over and start eating her meal.

Unfortunately, as she occasionally looked up from the lunch Ivory would see the dining hall filling up more and more. People started to encroach on her personal space. Mind you this space was far larger than anyone would have reasonably assumed. A sigh would leave her lips as she had really hoped to enjoy a little bit of her book after the meal. Though at this rate if any more people entered, she'd be forced to relocate.

[Azure Teardrop]

Never before had Azure been in such a pickle as he was at the moment, being unable to secure a spot for him to eat in the dining hall. He had originally planned to just barge into any barely full table, hoping to get some exciting stories from the other students, or at the very least enjoy a meal in good company. Unfortunately, neither seemed to be the case, as he continued to walk past yet another table without any seat to spare.

His interaction with Ax felt like it happened so long ago, and yet it had only been but a couple days since. Azure also thought of just tagging alongside her if he wasn't able to find a table to sit at, but no matter where he looked, there was no sign of her anywhere... that he could recognize, anyway.

Thankfully, holding onto the tray wasn't really an issue, so he could take his time in that regard. The real problem, however, was that if he were to spend so much time looking for a place to sit, he would have to rush through his meal, and that was something he didn't like to do. Meals were to be enjoyed, bite to bite, after all.

... Classes were another problem, of course, but he considered them second in priority.

In the end, Azure was able to spot a mostly empty table, that seemed to be home of a lonely girl that appeared to be worried about something, and given the fact that she had holed up so far into the hall, she probably wanted as much solitude as possible. A shy one, perhaps?

Well, even if that was the case, he wasn't the kind to just ignore a chance to meet an interesting person, so without thinking it twice, he made a beeline for the girl's table with absolutely no attempt at hiding his intention whatsoever. He stopped by the seat right next to her, catching the girl at one of her spare looks at the entrance.

"Ya waitin' for someone, or perhaps ya scared that someone might come take ya alone time away, girl? ... Just kiddin'." Azure said while smirking a bit at the girl, albeit not really in a mocking way. "Mind if I take a seat, though?"

[Ivory Lavay]

Starting to pick up the pace of her eating the introverted huntress would end up accidentally dropping one of her utensils. Regrettably for her whatever germs it may have picked up were about to be the least of her concerns. After bending over to grab it she would look up and be greeted by a boy. "Oh, umm..." She would initially stammer as he made his first comments. As much as Ivory really wanted to chase him away, she thought about what her encouraging friends and family would say. Of course, she had actually been on a much better and more sociable path, but her hiatus from Beacon had really set her back. Naturally, none of this mattered as she had now been just silently staring at him for entirely too long.

"H-hi... umm, S-sure..." She'd just end up blurting out while scooting to the side a little and looking away. Fortunately, her nerves had caused her to miss the details of what Azure had said word for word. So, while he would be spared her anger Ivory would instead slip into just pure embarrassment. Using her long silvery hair to try and hide the blushed cheeks that had overtaken her pale face. Eventually, she had to say something else or else this guy was going to think that she was just irredeemable strange. Then again it was most likely too late for that. Though she would try all the same. "I umm... I wasn't waiting for anyone. I umm... I just usually like eating by myself." That was a total lie, and as her eyes quickly scanned the room, she really hoped that they might fall upon one of her few good friends.

Alas it would seem that Ivory was simply just stuck on her own now with this guy. Though as she was just about to start eating again, she looked at her fork that had been on the floor and sighed. "It's just not my day..." Looking up to Azure she'd look even more nervous as she asked. "Y-you umm... you didn't happen to grab an extra fork did you?"

[Azure Teardrop]

Although her words were sincere, Azure was pretty sure there was more than just a bit of reluctance in them. However, it definitely wasn't something to do with him, was it? Or... Could it actually be that her appearance intimidated her into accepting?

Sitting down on the offered spot, and leaving his tray on the table, Azure turned his face around just in time to see the girl blushing, or, at least, he thought he saw a faint pink between the white strands covering her face. Why would she even blushing to begin with, though? Did she do something in those seconds he wasn't looking?

... Perhaps she wasn't being intimidated like he was starting to believe. Instead, this girl might just be a tad... awkward, for the lack of a better word. Compared to others he had seen before, however, she most certainly was doing much better. She was able to talk properly, for one!

Even if she was lying to his face, with such an obviously conflicted expression to boot.

With an inwards sigh, however, Azure decided not comment on that and instead turned back to his meal, ready to take his first bite before... the girl asked him for a fork? Even though a glance to the floor was enough to spot what he assumed was her own, pretty close to where she was sitting at that.

"Unfortunately for ya, I'm not into ta practice of takin' more stuff than I need ta eat," Azure replied to the girl, leaning down to pick up the fork on the floor, then spun it around so she could grab it. "Plus, ya have a perfectly fine fork right 'ere, haven't ya? A few germs ain't gonna be more dangerous than the beasts we're goin' to hunt, don'tcha think?"

Regardless of what she did, however, Azure still wanted to chip something else in: "Also, I want ya to be honest here: Ya really okay with me stayin'?"

[Ivory Lavay]

"Oh of course, s-sorry... that was a silly thing to ummm to ask..." Blushing a bit she'd start to look over towards the serving are. At least, until he spoke again and made that claim. "Umm..." Blinking a few times as she looked at the fork and while she was extremely far from an Atlesian snob Ivory couldn't help but cringe a bit. "Ugh, I uhh... I don't know about that people stomp around here all day and let’s face it most dorms are kinda gross and uhh... th-that umm... that doesn't even count the people that come here from working out. There could be Ringworm, mold, all sorts of ick on there."

Though just as she was about to get up to grab another fork the man spoke again, and with a sigh she'd shake her head. The introvert’s tone would drop back down to its far more standard volume. "N-no you're fine, I'm sorry if I uhhh... If I made you feel unwelcome at first. I'm just uh..." She'd pause a moment as she thought over the next words. In a very lame attempt to not make herself even worse or less friendly she'd just admit. "I do typically enjoy my privacy, b-but umm... th-this is... this is okay too."

With that Ivory would blast off in a silvery flash dropping her fork and returning with a new one before it had even hit the ground. Slightly proud of herself and the little game she had come up with the younger Lavay would smile. "M-much better! Also, I don't think anyone noticed me grabbing another one." With a slight chuckle to herself she'd take a bit of her food.

Although before she could even finish Ivory would grow again. "Oh no..." Once she had swallowed. "...I've been so rude. I haven't even introduced m-myself." Ax would have been proud of her for being a little more proactive. "I'm umm... I'm Ivory, Ivory Lavay. It's ummm... It's nice to meet you." By the end of it her voice had gotten quite quiet, but it was genuine all the same.

[Azure Teardrop]

That was a given, yes — the floor is usually not the most clean place... anywhere, really. However, as someone who wasn't weirded out by the mere idea of eating in that very floor, the girl's reaction only reinforced the idea that she was some kind of germ freak or whatever. That, or she was just the average girly girl kind of... girl?

Regardless, Azure decided to keep these thoughts to himself, even though he usually wouldn't. The fact that germs were a big deal to her, or anyone else for that matter, didn't make her any less of a fighter, if only just a bit quirky, and being quirky was fine in his book.

Then, a reply to his question came, and though her goal was crystal clear to him, all that stuttering only made her words came as reluctant and, if you were one to think deep into things, a bit regretful. Was this girl really going to become a Huntress with that aptitude...? This he couldn't keep quiet about.

"Ya really should cut off all that awkward stutter—"

Azure would interrupt himself, however, as the silver-haired girl — or at least, her presence — became blurry for what felt like a second or so, maybe even less. That wasn't what surprised him the most, though, but the fact that she began eating more earnestly than just mere moments ago. Why did her disposition suddenly change—

A clank in the distance kind of served as an answer, despite him not believing that such a thing could even be a possibility. Yet, another look at the fork she had in her hands served as proof of what she just did, for although it wasn't different from the one she was holding moments ago... it was squeaky clean.

Finally, and like if nothing had happened at all, the girl introduced herself as Ivory (Lavay), and though the stuttering remained, there was a newfound confidence in her words that no doubt made them sound more believable this time around.

A small smirk graced his features as he decided to return the gesture to Ivory. This girl suddenly became more interesting out of a sudden!

"Dunno what ya just did there, but that was one heck of a trick, Ivory," Azure began, handing out a compliment as an apologies of sorts, then extended his free hand to the girl. "The name's Azure Teardrop. It's nice to meetcha, too."

Of course, his curiosity over what she just did remained, thus he decided to act upon that desire and asked her directly: "Might I ask what ya do there? Did ya just teleport or somethin'? Cuz' I swear I saw you blurry for a split second."