15th Ashan 718
When she arrived at the familiar door, it was strange to knock rather than fishing out a key and simply opening it herself. She wasn't even sure that the Ellune would be present and if she was not, it would be the height of awkwardness; the young woman had never gotten on with her other housemates that well, despite knowing them for longer.
When the door was pulled aside, the taller woman stood there, face splitting into a joyful smile at the sight of her fellow scholar and friend.
"Maebella! You are back!" she cooed delightedly, her voice soft as always, the gentle child of Treid feeling little need to raise her voice to an excessive degree.
The Eídisi smiled crookedly. "How very well observed," she teased as she stepped through into the familiar hallway and made her way to the kitchen without any conscious thought; it was simply habit. "How has Viden been in my absence? Anything of interest occur? Any exciting breakthroughs in your studies and research?" she questioned, partly out of politeness and partly out of genuine curiosity.
By this time, she had arrived at the kitchen table, its surface covered in various books and papers from Gara's work. A page with crude drawings on it caught her eye first, drawing a puzzled frown from her before she saw the doll. Or at least, what she thought was a doll. It had an organic look but that wasn't what clued her in to its living status; as she cast her eyes over it, it moved.
"By Yvithia! What-" she gasped, taking a startled step back, trying to process the unexpected sight, the surprise of the little living thing. It looked like a plant.
Gara laughed musically. "This is what happened while you were away. This is Leeloo, she is Tunawa," the Ellune explained. "I'm trying to teach her Common. She struggles with the sound but look, we try." She leaned low, gestured to herself and said her own name before pointing to the Tunawa, slowly but clearly saying, "My name is Leeloo," so that the little one would have time to copy her.
Maebella simply gaped.
Credit to Rose Greenwood