She was probably supposed to stick to her own turf and that idea was only emphasized by how few she'd seen outside of their respective zones. These zones being Miator, Le Rim, and of course Spica. Now Shion didn't have a problem with Spica, none at all. It was a wonderful place and Duran was there too. Yet somehow the girl just couldn't resist the urge to check out the other schools even though she had yet to visit even half the places in her own.

Todays target was a pond in the Lulim turf, something that Shion doubted was actually there until she saw it herself. Yeah fancy schools had fountains and lots of green or big buildings everywhere but a pond? Ridiculous. At least that was the idea until Shion found herself stumbling out from a pack of trees right onto the winter touched banks of what could only be called a pond. The thing was huge! Frozen, but huge! Huffing little white puffs from her mouth thanks to the exertion, Shion nearly slid down to the lake's edge in her excitement. Actually she did slide, painfully and onto the ground at that. Her bottom meeting the hard frozen floor with a wallop of an impact leaving the girl to roll over and gripe in pain. She wore her uniform, it's white appearance only saved by the thick long coat that kept her warm. Yes, a teacher did yell at her for it. No she did not take it off afterward and yes she did run away at full speed.

That was one memory Shion was only too happy to push from her mind, her brain buzzing with excitement over much more important things. Steadly the girl got back up to her feet, red eyes finally noting the lack of life. There weren't even birds thanks to winter's bite and the surface of the water looked as if it had been lightly coated in some powdered sugar. The tree were bald, leaving their naked forms to fight off the snow that gathered on their limbs and roots. Paths had been cleared for travel and the benches were free of snow, well most of them. That showed some signs of life.

Life that the pinkette spotted far too quickly. Like a hawk eyeballing a mouse, the girl spotted another just off to the side of where she was. There was a silence before the first year began to charge straight toward the individual, stopping just barely short (sliding more or less) right to where the girl was. "You. Are. ADORABLE!" The girl gasped, both hands on her reddened cheeks with an expression like she'd just found a kitten or little chipmunk.


Tag: Isuzu Aotori

Winter was an interesting time for her - it certainly fit her mood most of the time, and the cool, crisp air was surprisingly refreshing. Add to that the lower volume of traffic outside of the school buildings and it was the perfect time for the second year girl to slip away to a nice quiet hidey-hole and write in peace. The school didn't seem to mind too much, considering she was still recovering from her attack - she kept her grades up, and didn't start any real trouble. Missing class now and then was fine as long as she caught up and didn't get herself into trouble.

Of course, some might think her too frail to be outside during this kind of weather. Clad in a heavy wool dress, the spindles of dark blue covering her snugly, Isuzu Aotori was quite comfortable as she trudged down to the lake - a place she quite liked to sit near and just relax. With thick stockings, and a blanket to sit on, she had no trouble finding a good spot underneath one of the larger trunks, blocking out the wind as she settled in to do some writing. As her hand whisked over the page with her favourite ball-point pen, time seemed to fly by for the blue-haired girl. At least until a voice snapped her out of her working trance.

Almost jumping at the noise, Isuzu's cheeks flared to life, a bright pink flush filling the otherwise pale skin. Trying desperately not to let her panic show as she reigned the nervous reaction back in, the Lulim girl blinked and tried to look at the newcomer, not recognising her at all apart from the edges of the Spica uniform underneath a long coat. Despite appearing calm besides the flush in her cheeks, Isuzu was quickly trying to figure out what the heck was going on - she had never been called adorable, or anything close to that. Very much unsure of what to say in response, the blue-haired girl eventually spoke in a quiet voice. "Hello...who are you..?"

The Spican was completely in her own world as she stared at this 'adorable little koneko-chan'. The girl's pale features that made her look more like a yuki-onna were taken in more like a small white kitten in Shion's red eyes. The little flush of pink that rushed to the other's face only encouraged the pinkette in her fawning. Delicately yet quickly she made her way till she was only inches away from the other girl, crawling when she was on the other's blanket before sitting back on her legs. Her hands kept tucked between her knees for the warmth of her dark brown coat. There was a fuzzy ruffle on the hood that rimmed far along the edges to just cover her face and neck. Her hood was down now but the fluff tickled at her cheeks when she squirmed to hold herself back. "Shion. Mikaboshi Shion at your service!" The girl giggled, her own face red from her excitement.

The girl kept a stoic face despite the color in her cheeks which only further intrigued the pink puppy. Of course being one who was unable to hold back her urges, Shion ended up making a squealing 'awe' before reaching to hug the poor, innocent Lulim girl. Yes she just disregarded personal space in favor of 'cute'. But that wasn't the worst of it. Oh no, Shion wold progress to rub cheeks with the slightly shorter girl before giving her a peck on a cheek all while cooing "Oooh, you're so cute! How do you manage this? I just wanna squeeze you and hug you." Along another assortment of gushing and tail wagging. In short she'd do everything to make the other girl feel incredibly uncomfortable all while doing so both innocently and unknowingly.

There was a pause somewhere in all that gushing where Shion did manage to ask the sensible question of "What's your name?" Alas there something like 'cutie' or 'kitty' at the end of that. Even Shion couldn't quite distinguish what the words coming out of her mouth were.

As if by instinct, Isuzu closed her book, the pen sliding into its slot at the side, hiding her precious writings away from the eyes of the world. One less thing to worry about when the girl got closer, making it very hard for the blue-haired girl to push down the feelings of panic. Strangers getting very close, very quickly, put her on edge quite easily, and she really hated showing weakness of any kind. Keeping her stoic expression in place as best she could, the Lulim girl nodded lightly when the girl introduced herself, putting the name and face to memory. Whether that was into the 'people to avoid' section or not was still being decided at least.

It did teeter towards 'yes' when she suddenly found herself being hugged, her cheek rubbed and even a kiss on her pale skin, heating her already warm cheeks further. This girl apparently had no regard for personal space, something that Isuzu tended to treasure most of the time. Very nearly squirming in the girl's grasp, her blushing deepened further as she tried to remain calm and polite. "U-Uh, what are you doing? We only just met...could you please let go of me?" Being held like this was starting to prod at the edges of some very painful memories, even if it was done in a much less menacing manner this time. Physical pain was an issue too; the scar across her body twinged as she was squeezed, making her wince a little. "I-I'm Isuzu Aotori..." Finding herself at a loss for words, the blue-haired girl tried not to look indignant about the very cuddly girl pushing her way into her private little bubble, whilst she focused on not freaking out. As it was, her breathing had already shallowed a little, becoming somewhat more frantic. Before long, if she was still being held, Isuzu would likely not be able to keep up the calm facade.

Somehow, someway, by some very magical miracle Shion managed to get herself to let go. She cleared her throat, backing up enough to put at least a foot between (as that was most she could handle after finding such an adorable creature). "Ah yes, sorry 'bout that. I absolutely love cuteness you see? Couldn't help myself." The Spica girl said unimaginably calmly. And it wasn't just her tone but her entire posture seemed to just harden against the energy she just expended. Though the calm atmosphere that returned was shattered in mere seconds as the girl buried her face in her hands and wiggled about going off on how cute the other was.

Now Shion didn't let go because she noticed the girl's discomfort nor the pain that was evident in the girl's wince. Of course she didn't even notice the girl moving against her, too busy cuddling and gushing on the other's red face. It was even redder now which made it harder for her to keep herself from clamping onto this girl who named herself Isuzu. Aotori Isuzu was it? A name that was already permanently embedded in her brain. She clapped her hands together while giving an approving nod. "Nice to meet you Isuzu-chan." She already didn't bother to check if this madam was a senpai already, totally forgoing respect for more 'cute'. Not to mention she was referring to her by her first name which already showed that this one wasn't about to go all formal after that hugging session. That and if this one was indeed a senpai than just calling her that would feel like having punched adorableness right in the face. It wouldn't happen. Ever. "So what are you doing out here Isuzu-chan? Writing a book? Oh you're from Lulim so you could also be drawing... uh, what's it called? Manga?"

It didn't occur to the pink puppy that she may have been out here in the solitude to get away from people. And even if it did the idea would have quickly been shot out of her head faster than her last math class. Or english. Or history. In any case, Shion managed to keep herself straight, her face cooling to only a slight red thanks to the cold. It was almost frightening of how poised she managed to keep herself, at least it would have been if it weren't for that clear puppy look she gave the other girl. You could just see a fluffy tail wagging behind her and the sheer amount of willpower it took to keep herself from glomping again.

Isuzu breathed a sigh of relief as the other girl let go, giving her at least a modicum of space to try and gather herself. Blinking once or twice as the girl went on about cuteness (yet again), the blue-haired girl began to wonder if she'd not been sleeping or eating enough, and that this was some bizarre hallucination. Why she would hallucinate a random, overly-affectionate Spican girl, she didn't know, but Isuzu was struggling to accept the reality of this strange situation.

Looking more than a tad uncomfortable, the blue-haired girl frowned a little bit when Shion took to calling her by her first name, with the childhood suffix on top; she was beginning to suspect that the pinkette had little to no concept of boundaries. Ironically, it was very much the opposite of the other pinkette she'd been thinking about earlier, though they both shared that same sense of bubbly excitement and energy. Letting the frown slide from her expression, Isuzu tilted her head a little as Shion asked her about what she was doing out here, as if pondering what to say.

"Well, I was writing some poetry actually...it's nice to get away from everyone else and come down here to write..." Doubting that the girl would pick up on the subtle hint, Isuzu resigned herself to the girl's company; she couldn't really run in her condition, let alone outrun this girl, if her current state of energy was anything to go by. Strangely enough, the girl reminded her of a puppy, with that adoring, inquisitive gaze, the cuddliness and the over-energetic ramblings. Mentally shaking her head to rid herself of the image, the blue-haired girl tried to be polite still. "And you? May I ask what you are doing out here?"

"Poetry huh? We had a lot of those back home, most of then were old historical things though." Shion chimed in with a short laugh, missing the hint just as the other had thought. But then this pinkette hardly noticed the other girls discomfort so it should have been pretty obvious that she was going to be dense at that point in time. The earlier frown however did not go unnoticed, though Shion merely gave her the most innocently shining face ever. That look remained as the girl sat there with a bubbly aura of mushiness.

Her attention did perk when the other asked her why she was out there and quite honestly, the original quest had been wiped from her mind. Shion sat there in silence for a few moments before tilting her head with one finger on her chin. "...Why indeed?" The girl hummed, trying to remember why she had come out to the Lulim turf in the first place. She pondered and pondered, glancing at the frosted lake before the memory would return. Snapping her fingers the girl finally answered.

"I came out to see the lake! Yeah that was it. I've only ever seen rivers and ponds before so I was real curious to see if there was a real one here." Satisfied with her answer, Shion gave herself a confident nod, acting like she had just aced a test or something. "Pretty amazing though, this place sure has a lot of things no other school would have. Or at least I don't think so. Never been to an actual school outside this one." She gave bluenette a toothy grin.

"Some of those old ones are really quite fascinating." Admittedly, there were quite a few boring, tedious or overly-dramatic ones, but that kind of applied to a lot of things really. Isuzu liked the style and form of the historical ones though, as they were sometimes like ballads, giving a much longer space for a story. Even short poems told stories, but longer ones were harder to make, to tie together properly. Instead though, they were much easier to tell a story, to give more detail and go out on long journeys through the world of words and imagined dreams.

Letting her passionate thoughts subside as silently as they had come, the blue-haired girl did giggle just a little bit when it seemed that Shion had forgotten why she was out here. Even a reserved, quiet girl like her wasn't immune to the adorableness (even if it was the absurd kind) of a lost little puppy-like student. It was almost like the tinkling of a bell when she laughed, amidst the otherwise quiet surroundings, and a rare event indeed. When the pinkette did eventually remember, Isuzu glanced out at the lake, nodding slightly. "It's pretty all-year around I think. Even now, when it's frozen...the light hits it and it refracts at all sorts of odd angles. It can be quite stunning to watch when the light moves..." When there was light anyway; some days seemed to be covered in a slate of grey clouds.

Turning her attention back to the rest of the conversation, Isuzu tilted her head slightly again. "Were you home-schooled? Or is this your first year...?" She was never a good judge of age, so the blue-haired girl didn't feel comfortable assuming the latter. Plus, it gave her something to talk about, since she was severely lacking in that department.

Shion had picked up that little sing song bell-like laugh the other let off. Edging this way and that, it made her feel all fidgety but that was cut short by the bluenette's description. "Kind of sounds like a rainbow doesn't it? I'd love to see it." The girl admitted with a clear hint of awe, her ruby eyes looking toward the lake to see if she could spot this phenomenon. But alas the sky was far too cloudy for that so all she got was the shades of gray that either lightened or darkened with their passing. It was an amusing sight but not as interesting as the one she just heard about. "I wonder why there are so many clouds in the winter..." She wondered aloud, shaking her head.

Turning her head back to the Lulim girl, Shion gave her another of her bright smiles. "Both." She answered simply, "I just transferred in and I had tutors back home so I didn't need to go to school." She gave the girl a wink, her smile remaining. Though she was smiling, memories of her tutored life were not pleasant ones. They all involved strict guidance and belittling rewards. She could still clearly remember some of her projects being thrown back in her face by a very upset grandmother. Of course she wouldn't let that oni-woman dictate her mood. No way. Shion was having way to much fun. There could have been deeper reasons for her decision but Shion didn't want to think hard about it or ramble on longer than it had to be in her brain. That was just plain unpleasant.

"How about you Isuzu-chan?" She turned the question toward Isuzu, "You don't seem like a first year like me, are you actually my senpai?" It was a pretty good chance that she was indeed her senpai and Shion knew this. But she still felt like asking if only for the sake of 'an eye for an eye'. It was just a thing for her, one that she wouldn't pursue too badly if she was given a vague answer.

"You could always come back here on a sunny day." Isuzu offered the suggestion as she shrugged, tempted to explain about the clouds being a result of seasonal weather patterns and a multitude of interlocking forces including sunlight and temperature, but figured that would be more than a little overkill for what she figured was more or less a rhetorical question. Plus it was more than a little bit nerdy, too.

The blue-haired girl had to admit to herself that Shion's smiles were actually kind of comforting, in their unfailing brightness. Maybe she was just being too aversive again to initial contact - she did have a problem making friends after all. Maybe she should at least try to be a bit more friendly; who knew, the pinkette might rub off on her and get her to smile a bit more. It'd be nice to have a friend she could talk to again, even though she didn't really talk much. Idly, Isuzu wondered if Shion's tutoring meant she was a step ahead of the other first years, at least the ones who hadn't also had tutoring.

Offering a small smile when it was her turn to speak, the Lulim girl nodded lightly. "I'm in my second year at Lulim. Not that I've really grown much from last year though." Trying to lighten the conversation a bit, she made a small joke (about being small, no less), as she answered Shion's question, hoping the pinkette had more to say, lest this quickly became an awkwardly silent situation.

Shion's bright and sunny smile seemed to grow at the idea of coming back again later. "I'll definitely do that." The girl grinned. She'd need to remember to keep an eye out for sunlight, especially in this season. Winter was finicky like that. It was either cloudy or cloudy. On occasion there might be a glimmer of sunshine but there would soon be a veil to cover even that so she'd need to make sure she was extra attentive. "Maybe you'll come out here with me too? If you're recommending it I'm sure you wouldn't want to miss it either." Shion giggled, only half joking.

Of course she'd love to visit the scene with this kitten-like doll. That would be like a dream come true! Oh how she could hug and cuddle her when it got cold! And what if it snowed? Shion could even lend her coat to Isuzu-chan too! So many birds being pelted out of the sky. It was almost... magical. Well, it would be if Shion believed in such things. Yeah she believed in luck and karma but magic? There was little known about it that wasn't already like science. Not to mention it sounded complicated at times like science but then the girl often overthought it more than she should have.

The Spican's face lit up at the sign of a smile on the other's face. It was so natural and yet it felt like she was witnessing something rarer than an extinct animal, not even endangered. So she was a second year which did indeed make her a senpai. How intriguing. It wasn't like Shion was going to change her mannerisms (unless she asked with lots of vigor) anyway. Though she did chuckle at the girl's joke. "Oh no worries there. I'll let ya in on a little secret. Shorter girls are a whole lot cuter than the taller ones. They can also get away with a lot more." She laughed, giving the girl another wink in the process. "Say you're Lulim... What's it like there? I've heard of the types of clubs and I've seen the uniforms but it all just baffles me."

The girl had an expectant gaze in her eye as she continued in her request, "I've always been around rigid traditions so we weren't allowed much in the more modern sense of entertainment." There was that illusion of a puppy again when the girl had finally finished, her eyes sparkling like someone was going to give her a cake or something.

This girl could really smile; it was a little dazzling, if Isuzu were to be honest. Not that she was about to say it aloud, but perhaps there might be small snippet of today's encounter reflected in her writing at some point. The fact that it had been intriguing enough so far to bear mention was certainly an improvement over the droll and depressing weariness the azure-haired girl had trudged through the last few weeks. That was one of the big reasons why she she remain convicted to talk with Shion, even though she rarely socialised well. She did however, smile just a little bit more at the pinkette's suggestion about joining her when it was next sunny around here. It almost sounded like a kind of date, though Isuzu doubted that was the intention. Still, she smiled with Shion about it, and gave a tentative nod. "Maybe I will."

Her smile did show a certain measure of bemusement when the younger girl talked about the benefits of being short. In fact, her cheeks even lit with the faintest of blushes over the cuteness comment, though she didn't linger too much on that note, lest she break her usual rule of not showing weaknesses like emotion in front of others. "Obviously the people I talk to never got that memo, then." Smiling, to make it clear she was just trying to keep up the light mood, Isuzu nodded to confirm her enrolment at Lulim. "It's...comfortable, mostly. Less strict than the other skills, more individualised I think. We get a lot of freedom to kind of follow our own interests, but there's guidance if we need it. A lot of help from the senpais towards the lower years." She paused briefly, as if startled by her own talkativeness, before she thought a bit more about the clubs. "We have a lot of clubs, yes. Girls from all three schools join them, though some of the club themes can get a bit odd..." There were a few new ones popping up every few weeks, as if the same groups of people kept forming, dissolving and the reforming new clubs.

"Lulim's probably about as far as you can get from rigid tradition, I think. Well, up here anywhere."

She was having an effect, she just knew she was. If there was one thing the pinkette could do it was bolster her own spirits and have an even more positive attitude than what was already there. Fighting fire with fire was not a thing with her brain, it was more of just adding more snow onto a snow pile. It all just... gathered. And bubbled. This showed in her rosy cheeks and sparkling eyes. Now usually someone could escape the puppy in a girl's form if they made some excuse and ran away. Most times they'd have a little stalker until they could finally shove her off and run, other times Shion would just go on her own way. But this girl... Isuzu-chan, sealed her fate the moment a little smile slipped across her face.

"Its a date then." The Spican said smoothly, her smile still on her face. Despite her cheery nature the girl was very serious about that offer. It would certainly be a dream, and a mark on her calender; for her tonight. Oh how she already wanted to just take the second-year back to her room and cuddle with her.

On mention of the girl's height, Shion let out a soft chuckle. "Well then those people clearly don't have eye. Or good ones anyway." She waved a hand in the air dismissively, imagining those people as shadows getting slapped away. It was clear that the younger girl was getting more and more squirmy, her eyes sparkling with something dangerous yet innocent. At the same time she was clearly interested in the tale. It seemed that Lulim was an near opposite of the other two schools. Something that put the girl's head to go into a haze of awe. "That sounds so nice. I wish I could transfer over but then I'd leave Duran all by himself..." Shion hummed, "Its a good thing all the senpai are so nice, huh Isuzu-chan?"

"Oh what did you mean by 'odd'? Is there some sort of 'UFO-club' or something too? That'd be pretty odd for a school like this." She paused to think about that, trying to picture an assortment of girls from all three schools holding hands and chanting some weird hymn while spinning in a circle. She'd seen that once on TV, a commercial to be exact. Right in the middle of one of the housekeepers' favorite dramas. It was one of those rare times that she managed to catch some alone time is why she remembered it at all.

Her blush returned briefly when the word 'date' was mentioned, but nonetheless, the azure-haired girl continued to smile just a little bit, enjoying the pinkette's company at least a little bit. She was interesting enough to intrigue Isuzu without being some kind of huge drama, which was rare enough lately, with all sorts of dramatical messes going on around the campus. Still the girl had made her laugh, and for that, the second year girl was grateful enough to stay and talk with her a bit more. Shion was even kind enough to keep complimenting her, which was always an added bonus.

"Duran...?" Blinking, Isuzu chose not to answer the question that followed; she was acutely aware that not all of the upper years were nice...or even sane. For the briefest of moments, she flashed back to her attack on campus, when the older raven-haired girl had gone out of her mind and attacked multiple people, including her. Her smile dropped, and she almost looked like she was about to cry for a moment, before she snapped back to reality, masking her expressions again as her face fell blank. "Oh, probably. I wouldn't be surprised if they were. But there's been things like the Explosive Cooking club, the Mystery Investigation club, even an Animal Acting club." That one had been very strange, but oddly enough, the girls had been pretty good at what they did. One of them even reminded her of Shion a little - the one who'd acted like a puppy.