a friendly visit [nell]

[serena]

Being around Nell was almost like having another older sister. Of course, Serena and her own sister did get along very well, but it was always nice for a change of scenery, and going to the Dale residence was just the thing. Serena liked to think that she and Nell were quite close, or as much as they could be despite the age difference. They had similar interests with some things, and Nell was quite kind, which was always a good trait in a friend. It was so easy to talk to Nell- or at least, not really talk per se, but... it was easy to be around her, she supposed. Serena didn't have to speak to Nell in order to feel as though she was having a good conversation. That didn't mean that Rena didn't miss being able to speak, however. Every day that went by, she would remember more and more what she had been able to do with her voice and what she could no longer do- she would think of how much she missed it and how she wished she could find a way to recover it.

But now was not the time for such thoughts. Standing casually in the kitchen, Rena only had thoughts for her friend, her second big sister, really, and even though thoughts or writing or eye contact or facial features were all she could give to Nell or anyone else that she was 'conversing' with, she would try to be happy with it. For even so, she could still be around people. And even so, she was a Water! It was in her personality to be bubbly and happy. She liked being around others and certainly wasn't the type to be sad all the time. Now that she had such a good life, minus the fact that she couldn't speak (which made for many a paradox and a rather strong sense of irony for many reasons), she was rarely unhappy.

Serena grinned as she looked about the kitchen, happy to be here once again visiting amongst friends. It was a weekend; one would have to assume such a thing anyway as she would have been in school otherwise. And so on such a weekend day as this she stood with a happy smile, though inevitably in silence.

(( ooc: i apologize for the crap post. i didn't want to just keep rambling forever for your sake XD ))

[NELL DOE DALE]

Though she was twenty-years-old and a student in college, Nell had no qualms with high schoolers. She hadn't realized that there even was a social taboo about it until one of her classmates mentioned it and asked how she related to them, how she could have conversations with people labelled as juvenile. The Earth graduate had easily shrugged it off. She could relate to people in general. Admittedly, the girl over her house now, she couldn't relate to as well. Being mute was an experience they did not share, but that didn't mean Nell was any less empathetic toward her. She didn't make it obvious, but she was always careful with Serena. Making sure that she kept her eyes on her just in case she made in slight gestures that substituted a spoken word, whether it be smiles or hand gestures. Though she knew that the girl wouldn't matter if she sidestepped or something. Rena was nothing if not warmhearted and nice, not to mention out of this world adorable. It was overwhelming to Nell, honestly, she just wanted to scoop her up and cuddle with her like a teddy bear. Course, she was not going to speak this out loud. No better way to look like a creeper to an underage girl.

Since coming back from the honeymoon had been a great race to play catch up, Nell had been dressing down even more than usual. Which was saying something exceptional. Her hair had been thrown up into a clip, and she wore a Giants sweatshirt over jeans. Even the weekend was jammed pack for her, in terms of schoolwork. Of course she always made time for her friends, any free time she had on her hands. It was more difficult with Serena, considering as a high schooler she had longer days, but as she had this bright, autumn afternoon to spend with her it didn't seem so bad. And she was up for doing anything, though there was a few things around the house she needed to finish up. That didn't mean she would be a bad house guest and completely neglect her friend while she went around doing whatever she needed to do. She may not have grown up with the best of parents to raise her, but she knew about manners, and was a generally courteous person. Not that it was really hard to show courtesy in a mansion where she could pull the illusion out of thin air just by smiling and saying, "Yeah, I'm rich." Of course, she wasn't the one who was rich. It was the Dales.

I'm one of them now, aren't I? It was a pleasant thought. She had a family now, a real family. Honestly, she had always thought of her friends as family. Serena, for instance, was her little sister. She felt responsible for her in the ways though a big sibling felt responsible for watching out for her younger sibling, hermana menor. Add to that the fact that Serena gave off a "look after me, I'm cute and squishy" vibe, and Nell couldn't help herself.

She had been out in the living room getting her pig, Winston, out of a fight with Pablo, the cat. Of course, the pig was just staring at his opponent who nipped at his hooves. "Not even the dogs act this bad," she scolded Pablo, as she picked Winston up. Which she regretted in hindsight, seeing as he kept getting fatter and fatter. She hauled him into the kitchen, though, setting him down near his food bowl. "He needs to go on a diet," she shook her head, joking. He was growing just as he should, much smaller than a normal pot-bellied pig. Rooting around in cabinets, Nell questioned her friend, "Would you like anything to eat?" casting a look over her shoulder to see the yay or nay response from the other girl. It was, expectantly, the first question for Nell to ask of anyone, especially when they visited her home.

For Nell herself, she got out a container of leftover Chinese which had served as her studying cuisine, and got a fork to eat it cold. Despite being a health nut with other people, her concern for her own body could be horrifyingly lacking. "I have to feed the birds in a bit, you wanna help?" That was something she knew that Rena enjoyed. The Dales had a room full of them, different shades and breeds and sizes. It had been her request before they had gotten completely shitfaced. That's where their dogs and Winston had come from, as well.

[serena]

Serena loved being in the Dale residence- or at least, she loved it now that Nell was there. She wouldn't have stepped foot in it otherwise, of course, but that didn't matter. She was very fond of Nell. Nell was kind, and considerate, and not to mention extremely empathetic. She was a wonderful, well rounded person, and though she had made a mistake (namely, marrying a Fire), Serena wouldn't judge her for it. After all, it was quite possible that Nell had not had experience with Fires as Serena had. Yes, it was also possible that Nell's husband, Josh, was not all that bad, but Serena would never believe it. She had too much of a past with Fires- namely her father- to ever be able to trust them or even like them. Yes, it was rather prejudiced of her to hate them so, but she did it with good reason, no? Perhaps, and perhaps not. She would always see it that way, though- that is, that she did so with good reason.

She couldn't help but smile as Nell had to break up a fight between two of her pets, a cat and a pig. Serena loved animals, and though she definitely had a preference for and harboured much more of a knowledge of birds, she still loved all kinds of animals. She loved being around them, and loved people automatically if they were kind to them. After all, animals were very important too! They deserved to be treated nicely, and Rena definitely did that, if not more.

Finally, the pig and cat were separated, the cat scolded and the pig put near its food dish, and Nell returned to the kitchen, asking if Rena wanted anything to eat. The small brunette shook her head 'no', but smiling thankfully anyway. She wasn't hungry, but it looked like the pig was, which brought her back to the thought that Nell was right- the pig would probably do well on a diet, or could use one at any rate. But then again, weren't pigs supposed to be fat? Was there a certain line to be drawn with their weight, though? It may be something worth researching at some point, thought Rena as she watched the pig interestedly.

Though she wasn't hungry, Rena was a bit thirsty. She looked up at Nell, signing with her hand for a drink, smiling as if to add 'please'. Even though she wasn't sure that Nell knew sign language, her friend was so good at detecting what Rena meant that the young Water hardly ever had to worry about being understood. Nell was so patient, too- in all, she had so many good qualities. She was such a lovely person to be around.

Speaking of wonderful- or thinking it, rather- Nell then mentioned feeding the birds and asked if Rena might want to help, a question to which Serena responded with much enthusiasm. She grinned practically from ear to ear and nodded vigorously. Even though she had her own bird sanctuary, she always got so excited thinking about feeding or being around birds, no matter whose they were. It was definitely a passion, and it was the only one she had left now that she lost her voice.

[NELL DOE DALE]

Living as she did now, it was hard to remember that she had never had pets in her life before coming to Canada. Her first pet had been given to her by Josh, the cat that had been going fisticuffs with Winston. And now she lived in a mansion full of wildlife, from dogs to foxes and everything in between. They had a pond slider out back and when the season was right, Nell liked to keep butterflies around the garden. The bees came of their own accord to pollinate everything. She was thankful for all of it, that she could have things now that she never had in her past. She was thankful every day. And she knew that she had Josh to be thankful for because if it weren't for him, she didn't see how she would have gotten through every obstacle she had faced. She liked to think she was strong on her own, but she knew that she had needed Josh when she had stood trial, when she had been diagnosed with clinical depression, all the times when she had broken down because sometimes her past was too much for her to take.

She was completely unaware that Rena had a problem with this man. It didn't process right when any of her friends expressed any problems with Josh. He meant everything to her, and it surprised her when others didn't see how much she loved him. Her father had been the worst, he had even been hesitant to walk her down the aisle, though admittedly that was his uncertainty with her age. Twenty and married, she couldn't be happier. This wasn't throwing her life away, this was her happiness. Had she known about Serena's views on her marrying a Fire, she would have been confused. She didn't know about the other girl's past, and as far as she knew Josh hadn't done anything to wrong her. Ignorance was bliss.

Even though she had limited knowledge of ASL -- she knew turtle, and that was it -- she could understand from the motion that Rena wanted a drink, and did one of her favorite things ever since moving into the mansion. "I love these kinds of refrigerators, you can just get the ice and the water from the door I mean how cool is that, ay dios..." She was mostly talking to herself, because she couldn't ever get over everything she knew about now. Like the fact that there were toasters with four slots. And pool cleaners. Luckily she had been living in the mansion long enough to grow accustomed to a lot of the grander things, even though it could unsettle her sometimes. She was good with assimilation, because it seemed her entire life was the process of fitting in, both into Canada and the Academy. Nell gave the glass over to Serena, and finished up her Chinese.

Rooting around in the cabinets, she finally found what she'd been looking for. She found shot glasses and said to the girl, "Follow me," in a whimsical voice after she finished the glass off. Nell made a stop at one of the closets to get the bag of food before heading to one of the rooms paneled in windows. Inside, a variety of birds flitted around, but there were also cages for them, for they needed a place to go. She handed Rena a glass and filled it with food. "I always love feeding them this way," she told her. "Though watch out for two of the sparrows, Huginn and Muninn. They're mean." And named after Odin's crows, but the couple had a habit of being dorky with their pet names. Nell held up her own glass and the Cockatiel flitted down to perch on her hand. "This is Cher. Say hi Cher." The bird was too busy with pecking at the food so Nell just smiled at Rena and said, "We'll wait. You good with yours?" The birds were pretty docile, except for the two she warned about. But there were a few in every bunch.

[serena]

Serena gratefully took the water from Nell, glad that she understood her so easily, and drank it quickly so that they could hurry to see the birds. If she could spend her entire life around birds and music, she would still be happy regardless of anything else she supposedly 'missed out on'. As it was, she pretty much did just that. The only difference was, of course, that she did not have a voice to contribute to the music with. Not any more. That thought still depressed her- she had loved singing so much, back when she could actually do it. And many had said she was quite good at it, too, though that was not the reason it pained her so much not to be able to do it any more. She didn't care if people liked her singing, though that was always encouraging and certainly made her happy if they did. No, she was always more so happy just when she could sing. It expressed freedom and emotion and... it was lovely, all music was. And so were birds, who expressed nearly the same thing.

She hurried behind Nell as they headed to see the birds, signing a quick 'thank you' for the water before they started off. Nell was much richer than she and her sister, or at least, she was now that she had married into the Dale family and moved into the mansion. Because of this, it was doubtless that she had more of a variety of exotic birds, or at least more birds than Rena did, in any case. Rena wouldn't complain, though- assuming she was able to do so without her voice, or at least mentally- she was just happy to be around birds, no matter what shape, size, type, colour... no matter what. Birds were birds, and Rena loved them. She loved all animals, but her heart would always be more so open and strongly loving of birds than any other animal.

She couldn't help but grin as she watched them all once they entered. She listened intently to Nell's warnings of two of the birds in particular, and nodded to show she understood. She smiled at Cher upon being shown her, and nodded again when Nell asked her if she was all right. She wandered further into the room, the smile never leaving her face as she held out her own glass of bird feed and her other hand for them to land on if they so pleased. Pretty soon, a beautiful little dove flew cautiously over and perched itself on her still fingers. Gently, she guided her hand back toward the glass, making the cautious bird ruffle its feathers a bit anxiously with the movement. Even so, it stayed, and began to delicately nibble away at the feed. A few other birds, realizing what was in the glass in Rena's hand, flew over as well, landing around her and even one on her arm that was holding the glass, all looking intently at herself and at the food. Rena didn't mind. She was more than happy to stand there for a thousand years, if only it meant being around the birds and Nell.

[NELL DOE DALE]

Nell loved birds for many reasons, and one of them was because she had always envied them as a child. One of those childish dreams, the desire to fly, had been a part of her life. She wanted to be free of her mother and the little house in New York. She had always liked them, even though they were simple pigeons. She didn't know why people thought they were so ugly or undesirable. They were cute, and they had frequented her window the most. She tried not to think of those kinds of things a lot, so she simply thought of Rena and how the girl probably had similar feelings. Nell envied her, the way she had this almost primal connection with the animals, and surely she'd understand that no bird was truly ugly. It was just a matter of personal preference, and Nell couldn't find it in her heart to hate any living creature, especially not ones like birds that did nothing but fly around. And they pooped everywhere, too, but it's not like they could help their bowel movements. She just didn't understand people who didn't like them.

She had never had any problems with her birds, anyway. She had decided to get them on a whim, really, because she just really liked them. It's how the Dales ended up with most of their pets, really. Whims and all that. They were spontaneous, and it certainly made their house interesting to visitors and friends. She hoped that they all enjoyed it. She knew that Serena enjoyed all the birds they had, but hopefully she also had fun with their dogs and the cats and her butterflies when she had them. Winter made it difficult for a lot of wildlife, and she was almost tempted to bring the pond slider into the guest bath. He had to be cold out in the lake, right? Of course, she wasn't the most knowledgeable about...most things. It took her a while to get used to having a pig and everything that went into that. She laughed as she saw the dove go to Serena, the birds apparently attracted to her and the feed that she had. "They like you," she cooed lightly.

Nell continued to feed the other birds as they came to her, ready for dinner time. She laughed at them and their eagerness, just like all the other animals come dinnertime. The pig, the cats, the dogs, the fox, they all rushed toward their bowls when it was time to eat. She supposed that food was adored universally by all living creatures. She would be more concerned if the animals didn't get excited come dinnertime, that was for sure. "How many birds do you have at home?" she quested the girl, figuring she could either sign it or flash the number with her fingers. But then again, Rena probably had a lot, so she couldn't be too sure. "I can't stop getting them, they're so nice. Even though they can get dirty sometimes, and I can't clean them as easily as I can clean the other pets. It's still nice though." She didn't mind all the care that went into pets. As a matter of fact, that's what she enjoyed. She loved caring for other things, people or animals.

[serena]

The birds were beautiful; all birds were. It was the only way to describe such a thing. Birds were beautiful, and they were free, but most importantly, they were birds - the word alone spoke a thousand others. Birds were not only an animal, but a symbol. They were a symbol of hope, peace, bliss, happiness, hard work, freedom, beauty... and so many other things. Serena could sit for days and think about birds, and yet, she would not tire of it by the end. She would probably opt to sit there longer, forever even, as long as she were surrounded by them while she did so. Otherwise, the whole situation would merely turn into endless longing.

She did not know where she would be in her life if she had no birds in it. She loved them so dearly, and took care of her own like they were so much more than just birds in a sanctuary. To her, they were. They were not merely pets; they were her friends, her family even. They were her whole world, and when she had still been with her parents and her sister was away, it was the thought of birds, as well as music and linguistics, that kept her in a good place. Her friends, her family... that's what birds were.

She felt as though she understood them, and they her. This may have not been accurate, but she liked to believe it. She felt so strongly for them. Never had she feared a bird, nor had she disliked one. She had one true hate in the world, and it would never be toward an animal of any kind, especially not a bird. That hate was fire and those who wielded it; but that was not something to think of now.

Serena grinned at Nell when she said the birds liked her- it made her happy to hear the words. She thought for a moment, trying to count all her birds in her head when Nell asked her how many she had, but ended up just giving a small shrug and a sheepish smile, not knowing for certain and not wanting to give an incorrect number for fear of forgetting a bird or two. She would feel so guilty if that were the case, and so she left the number unknown. It was a large one, she knew that much. She nodded slowly as Nell spoke of birdkeeping. She could understand that some might even consider it a hassle, but Nell was so kind, she knew that the Earth would never think that way. Rena was glad to have a friend like this. One who she could share her love for birds and animals with, and one with whom she could sit for hours amongst those and not be bored in the slightest, whether it was silent or otherwise during the time.