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The students woke up to rain that October morning, and many of them were upset that it was not going to let up until the next day. It was boring, dreary, and after classes everyone felt miserable. This was why, not long after dinner time, Strelitzia started to brew some tea. She pleasantly hummed to herself as the rain beat down on her window. As the kettle was warming, she went over to her Chirithy -placed ever so kindly on her dresser- and picked it up.
"It's the perfect weather for a tea party, Chirithy." she happily told the toy. Strelitzia gently used her hand to brush off some of the dust that collected on the toy, and started to walk over to her table. It took a little bit of careful manipulation so the toy could sit up properly at the table. The young woman admired her handiwork with a grin. She placed her hands on her hips as she turned to Chirithy.
"Now to invite our guests." she proudly declared.
Too bad that pride immediately diminished the moment she knocked on Anora's door. The wait for Anora to open her door was the worst part. Usually it didn't take Anora this long to open her door…
When the younger Vulpes student opened her door, she looked at Strelitzia with a weary expression. Seeing Anora nearly made Strelitzia's heart stop. It wasn't because she looked any more adorable than usual, it was because something felt… off. Like she had been screaming or crying before then. Suddenly, Strelitzia felt like she had interrupted something important and was now stepping on something she shouldn't.
"I… I wanted to invite you to tea." she quietly told the younger. "Tea and muffins on a rainy day like this always makes me feel better. So I thought, maybe you'd like to…?"
Anora only stared at Strelitzia -for a quick moment, she brushed one of her eyes with her wrist- before giving a small nod. Strelitzia offered a gentle smile in return.
"Bring Chirithy with you." she added. Anora nodded in agreement before slowly slinking back into her room. Strelitzia waited for a moment, debating if she should wait to see if Anora would come or not. But she shook her head and went back to her room to wait. It was a good thing too- the tea kettle was whistling.
Anora shyly entered Strelitzia's room as the older was pouring the tea into the teacups. The older didn't even register that the younger hand arrived until Anora was arranging her Chirithy at an empty spot.
"Oh, Anora!" she remarked when she noticed her. "You don't like anything in your tea, do you?"
The younger of the two shook her head, taking a seat at the table without a word. A small hum escaped Strelitzia's lips- should she say something to Anora? Something just didn't feel right. Once Strelitzia had prepared the tea, and given Anora and herself a banana-nut muffin, she took another look at Anora. At that moment, Strelitzia had an idea, and she reached over to her Chirithy to manipulate its head.
"She's been waiting all week to invite you over!" Strelitzia made her Chirithy say in a high pitched voice. She then quickly tried to shush the doll.
"Chirithy!" she admonished, "I told you not to tell!"
Anora looked up at Strelitzia; a small raise of her eyebrow indicating that she had no idea what the older was doing. Strelitzia was just glad for some sign of life. She decided to go on with her little ventriloquist act- if only to see if Anora would continue to respond to it.
"Gosh, you should have seen the way she cleaned her up room just for you!" Strelitzia made her Chirithy say. "She took out all the flowers that are common allergens, she took a whole two hours selecting tea she'd think you'd like. And the muffins! They had to be freshly baked! 'Just buy them from the store in those little prepackaged thingies' I told her. But 'no!' she says, 'they have to be warm for a raining day like today!'"
That got a small smile from Anora. But still, something wasn't right. The corners of Strelitzia's mouth twitched before she couldn't take it anymore.
"Anora?" Strelitzia quietly said, "Is something wrong?"
Anora didn't move for awhile. Her eyes avoided Strelitzia's worried gaze before they fell onto her Chirithy. The younger of the two flinched for a second -deciding whether or not to move- before she reached for Chirithy.
Using the same high pitched voice from before, Anora made the stuffed creature say, "She's mad at Ephemer. Like, super mad at Ephemer! You don't want to know what happened Strelitzia- you just don't."
Strelitzia blinked in surprise.
"What happened?" she wondered out loud without meaning to.
Anora looked at her Chirithy, and in turn, she made it look at her as well. She gave it a small nod, then made the toy turn to Strelitzia.
"It all started yesterday, when the two were celebrating their two month anniversary."
"Yeah?"
"It all started out fine- Anora bought them bento boxes and he found a way to get her into his room. Not for funny business, honest! After they ate and talked for a bit, Ephemer said something that confused Anora. He said 'I don't know if I can make you happy anymore.' Let me tell you Strelitzia, poor Anora's heart almost stopped right then and there!"
"I can imagine..." the older student murmured. "It's one heck of a conversation starter."
"You bet it was! Poor Anora- she asked him what he meant, and then he just shut down on her! He didn't explain, he didn't even so much as look at her. Ephemer caught himself not long after and said it wasn't anything. But today! He hasn't talked to her at all today! She's wanted to talk to him all day, and he hasn't answered her texts or walked in the other direction when she saw him. And all because he can't take her to new places for their dates? It's so… silly!"
"That just means that he really loves you. He wanted everything to be perfect-"
"She doesn't want him to be perfect!" Anora's Chirithy declared. "She just… She just wants him to be there for her. That's… that's not too hard to ask for… Is it?"
Anora looked over at Strelitzia. Her eyes well blurred over with tears, and a single tear streak ran down the side of her face. "Is it?" she once more asked in a broken voice. Strelitzia didn't waste any time getting up from her seat to go over to Anora. She did hesitate in placing a small hand on her back.
"Have… Have you told anyone else about this?" the older questioned.
Anora's Chirithy shook its head. "Just me." it sadly replied.
Strelitzia recoiled, casting her own Chirithy a wary side glance. Sure, she would say things to the toy for some catharsis every now and again. But the big stuff -like having someone she loved ignore her- she always tried to talk to Lauriam about. Did Anora really have no one older to look up to on campus? Or at least some sympathetic ear to rant to when time came? Did Skuld not count? Anyone from Pyra's study group?
"You don't have anyone else to talk to?" Strelitzia found herself asking. "Not an older friend, or… or someone that isn't Ephemer? Some times Ava will listen to students when they have something on their mind."
"All she has in her cousin." Anora made her Chirithy said. "But Kieran has a job. And a fiance. And… and he's just so far away..."
Strelitzia shrunk a little, suddenly feeling out of place. This wasn't her department.
"Do you want me to get Lauriam?" she suggested. "We can meet in the cafeteria or something. It might be a bit late, but he'll drop everything if you need..."
Anora shook her head. "This is between me and Ephemer." she decided. When she looked up at Strelitzia, her eyes were red and threatening to release more tears. But there was a smile on the corner of her lips. "He can't avoid me forever. I've got the spare key to his dorm."