(OOC: fun fact, miyoshi means beautiful flavor lol)

She took a small hit to her pride accepting the help and wondered if others might perceive it as comical that a girl with prosthetic legs was pushing a girl in a wheel chair. Miyo didn't mind, it worked right? That was the point. "The cafe is that building over there with the glass front." She pointed, not knowing if the girl already knew that or not. Being pushed was better than being carried, she put her hands in her lap, toying with the water bottle. She felt a little special getting wheeled around, like a princess or something.

Inside was the clean white Spica theme crowded with girls of various ages, and the cute costumes of those working in the cafe. When they found a table, she could sense they stood out a little. She wasn't going to get all embarrassed about it and ruin a good time with a potential new friend.

"Two ice cream sundaes please," she said confidently to the waitress who took the order and hurried off. "So..." She said searching for a topic, "I guess I'm new to this, I mean, I can't remember really what my life was like before Astraea Hill, so my friends, everything, I have no idea. Sorry if I forget some kind of ettiqute." She smiled, "How long have you been going to Spica?" She asked, shooting in the dark. Maybe in a few minutes she'd bust through the small talk and say something unexpected. After all, what could go wrong?

(Really~? Lol )

Raiko tried not to think much of how they must look as she wheeled the girl towards the Spica café. Here were two girls with crippling afflictions on their legs and one was pushing the other in a mobile chair. Had she been an onlooker, she might just have found it the slightest bit humorous, though probably a little more heartwarming than anything. It was kind of uplifting to see one person with a disability help another, she would admit. Miyoshi soon pointed out the glorious glass building, and the blonde found herself reminiscing her old room back at the hospital in Washington. There had been one large window in that room that overlooked the bustling gray city below. Often times at the frustratingly difficult first stages of her recovery she would curl up in a sulking little ball on the small foldable chair beside it and watch the slow motion drone of life outside the imprisoning white walls. It had been the only real thing she enjoyed about that cramped black room, and now that she thought of it, she kind of missed the view. Especially when a late summer's intense lightning storm would illuminate the raining sky.    

The two soon entered the crowded café and the blonde instantly noted the distinct Spica theme; a regal white décor. She assisted the brunette to a nearby table and almost fell flat on her face when taking a seat due to one of her metallic prosthetics catching on the edge of the chair. A nervous chuckle rose from her throat as she caught herself. How embarrassing! Hopefully no one saw that little slip up... She brushed a few loose strands of vanilla her out of her face, endeavoring to appear nonchalant but failing miserably. She had to start working on that.

When the waitress scurried up to the table to ask for their order, she marveled at the brunette's confidence. Even she herself, a true extrovert at heart, became sort of tongue tied when speaking to strangers, whether they be fellow students or people whom one was required to speak to such as a waitress in this case. It made her smile a little. The girl soon inquired how long she had been attending Spica, and she could not help but chuckle softly before answering. "I just transferred into St. Spica's a few days ago." She thumbed her chest and offered a sheepish grin. "You are actually the first person I have met here besides the nuns of Spica."  

For some reason that last part came out a bit quieter than she would have liked. She wasn't exactly sure why, but gave another abashed grin to fill the very brief silence that ensued. "And as for forgetting etiquette, it is completely fine. Ah, I hope I do not come off as rude by asking, but you really don't remember anything before you woke up at Astrea?" She kind of wanted to inquire a little more, but did not want to make the girl uncomfortable. It seemed like a sort of sensitive topic, and she was the type who did not desire to push too much into something someone really did not desire others prying into it. It was none her business, anyways. Though she could not help but naturally be curious. Leaning back a little in her chair, she patiently awaited for the girl to answer, hoping she had not offended her.

"Ah well," she said, "not really, I know what I've been told, they say there was an accident, but I don't remember, I remember my family and I remember always wanting to come to Spica. The accident happened right before I was ready to transfer in. Apparently my parents bribed the school to accept me as a student when I was twelve, even though I was in a coma. The nurse tells me she used tho dress me up and make sure I looked nice while I was asleep so I'd look more like sleeping beauty than sleeping death warmed over," she paused to see if the joke worked.

"She says there's rumors about me but I haven't heard anything, it's a big school." She paused and switched subjects back to her past, "I don't know, I have this weird feeling in my gut though that it wasn't an accident. Whatever it was, it's like it happened to someone else, and that's not me anymore. Does that make sense?"

She figured it was safe to turn the question around, "what about you? I mean, if it's not too personal." It was then the ice cream arrived and Miyo took up a spoon. It was nice to talk to someone who understood, the more they spoke, the more she started to notice a sparkle of friendship somewhere inside her companions green eyes. She took an extra moment to study her gaze, such a pretty shade of green. She forced herself to look at her ice cream to keep from staring. "You have pretty eyes, by the way..." She said, turning a little pink. Offering compliments always embarrassed her for some reason, but it was true and tended to make others feel good so it couldn't hurt to say something nice, even if it made her blush.

So barely anything was remembered before the incident that caused her coma? Raiko pondered what sort of incident would cause such a devastatingly long coma. It must have surely been something pretty bad, and not something to be remembered. Of course it could have been a physical accident as well that had caused it. Though something inside of her speculated that not to be the case. What could have happened?  The blonde shook herself from her grim thoughts and chuckled a little at the mention of sleeping beauty. She found it kind of sweet the nurse took such care of the girl while she was out.

Her emerald eyes widened a little when the girl next mentioned that there were rumors about her floating around. It's not like she had not expected there to be any; rumors of all kinds thrived in large schools, after all. She was curious of the possible content they contained. Hopefully they did not speak ill of the girl; though she knew there were bound to be some coiled in such assumptions. "Rumors, eh? Now that your awake, maybe they will die down a bit. That is, if any are still circulating around. And that does make sense. Whatever happened, someone else maybe could have been with you when it occurred. I know you don't remember, but that would be something to think about."    

 

The brunette next echoed the question, and before she could respond the waitress returned with their ice cream. She accepted it whilst thanking the waitress and eagerly spooned a small sugary portion of it into her mouth. It was delicious! Miyoshi then suddenly complimented her eyes, and a faint blush rose to the blonde's cheeks. She tugged sheepishly at a thin clump of her golden bangs and dropped her emerald gaze to the floor with a quiet chuckle, trying to hide the blush. "Y-You think so...? Thank you very much, Horigome-san." She paused for a moment, then picking up her spoon again added, "I think you have pretty eyes as well."

Spooning another sweet spoonful of ice cream into her mouth, she recalled the question the brunette had asked her and proceeded to answer it. "Hm, well, I didn't really even know of Astrea's existence until I came to live with my cousin in New York. She's a painter and a representative of Astrea commissioned a piece of art from her about a few months after I moved in with her, so that's when I finally found out about it and desired to attend." She glanced down past her ice cream to her prosthetics for a moment in hesitation before deciding to continue. "My cousin was the only relative I had that had moved to America that would take me after the whole thing.... You see...the plane my family and I were on had a mechanical failure - something with the engine, I think - and it crashed just off the coast of Washington. I remember the captain saying something about it and the screams of the other passengers and all the emergency sirens and the sickening feeling of the plane going down, but everything sort of went black after that. When I woke up, it was apparently two months later and I was in some hospital with the lower half of my legs amputated. Doctor's told me they had gotten crushed under all the debris and were too severely damaged to save.... I was the only one who survived the crash.... For the next two years, I struggled with learning how to walk again. There were times where I'd give up completely, and times where the doctor's couldn't even keep me away from the therapy room. Heh, I actually recovered a little before the end of two years, but they kept me longer just to make sure I was ready to be released. Though I was physically ready, they were concerned for a while I wasn't emotionally or mentally ready.... But...here I am a couple months later."     

Her firm voice trailed off when the last word left her lips and she shifted her gaze back to the brunette, wondering what she would think of the whole thing. Hopefully she hadn't overwhelmed her with all the information.

Miyoshi stopped eating, listening to a story like that was not the type of thing you could casually hear while shoving sweet treats down. This was a genuine tragedy and the brunette wanted to launch herself over the table and give her companion the tightest hug a girl with atrophied muscles could manage, but her mobility made such a spontaneous action impossible. Instead, she reached across and gave her hand squeeze with the same amount of passion she'd have put into the hug.

She looked seriously into the other girls eyes, she'd been all alone, save for the medical staff invested in her care, "From now on, we won't be alone any more. Maybe we aren't ready for whatever lies ahead on our own, and even though we only just met today, maybe now, maybe together, we can do this." She offered a smile and turned her hand squeeze into a pinky swear. Promising her friendship to the other girl in this way wasn't too strange was it? Maybe it was what they both needed.

Once that was settled, she went back to her ice cream. A friendship had just been born, and it made it taste even sweeter, now she wasn't just eating ice cream, she was eating ice cream with a friend. Physical therapy definitely wouldn't suck as much as it used to. This was going to be great, with Hopes help, she was sure she could walk again. Of course that was if she'd hadn't just freaked the girl out with her promise. Then again she had confessed that ettiqute wasn't her strong suit.

The brunette extended a hand across the table to squeeze her hand, surprising Raiko. The girl's gaze was serious, and the thoughtful words she said next brought a small smile the blonde's face. She was right. They wouldn't be alone anymore. Perhaps they could do this together. Even if it took one slow step at a time, maybe they could both pull through. Together. Smiling warmly, she accepted the girl's pinky swear, forging a friendship with the action. A new friend. Her first friend at Astrea. The thought created a sense of happiness within her. She promised herself she'd try her hardest to help her friend walk again. Yes. Even if it took sluggish baby steps at first. She was sure with work, together, they could overcome the struggle.  

"Thank you, Horigome-san." She said softly with a smile. Looking down at her ice cream, she spooned a small spoonful into her mouth and fell into light thought. This girl would be her first friend here and one of the very few she had come meet within her poignant thirteen years of life. Just the thought made her not feel as alone in the judgmental world that now she felt like an alien too. She was certain, now, the tense struggle wouldn't seem so daunting anymore. Another smile tugged at the corner of her pale lips. Perhaps the future would begin to look better. For the both of them.

She gradually broke out of her thoughts and glanced up at her new friend. "I promise I'll try my best to help you walk again. I know it will probably take a bit of a long time, but I am willing to help. No matter what." Her words were sincere, and she proceeded them with a soft grin. Hopefully with some time and work Miyoshi would be up and walking again. She was sure of it.