#Leah'sHouse – June 23, 2018

Leah gives the kind old man her thanks before stepping out into the cold chill of theAite air. Wrapping her arms around herself, she skips through the thin layer of snow with an exaggerated chatter of her teeth, eager to escape into the warmth of their quaint home. She stomps in place just outside of the door for a moment to clear a bit of the snow from her boots before hopping inside. "Daaaaaaaad!" she shouts as she gets to

Tara gives Jasper a small wave as always before following Leah to the door. She's careful to do all she can to get rid of the snow on her boots through a combination of stomping and brushing. After that she follows inside, stopping briefly mid jacket-removal and blinking as Leah loudly announces their presence.

Leah moves on to removing her jacket once her boots have been delt with and set beside the door and the door itself closed. "So..." she begins, casting a glance Tara's way with a small smile. "That was... fun." she probes, clearly hoping for some input on Tara's part to get a feel for whether or not she enjoyed the evening out. "Right?"

Tara studies Leah for a moment, her expression almost blank as blue eyes dart around slightly as if searching her face. "I like Pixel." she says after a few seconds of silence, a faint hint of a smile briefly crossing her lips before disappearing.

Leah snickers to herself. "Yeeeeah. He was sooooo adorable!" she practically squees, big jovial smile plastered across her face. She takes a few steps further into the living room to toss her jacket into her father's vacant seat. She takes a position at the edge of the couch and looks to Tara once more with a small shrug of her shoulders as she buries her hands between her knees in an attempt at warming them up. "...You and

Tara 's smile briefly returns more clearly as Leah comments on Pixel, but it once again fades. She follows into the living room after finishing with her outerwear, arriving some time after Leah since she takes the time to hang her jacket by the door. In fact, when she does arrive in the living room she stops, furrowing her eyebrows as she hesitates for a moment, her gaze falling on Leah's jacket. It almost looks like she might go

Leah's lips contort into a flat line as Tara shows a noticeable lack of enthusiasm for Sofia compared to Pixel. As her messy bangs fall into her face, she scrunches up her nose and blows a puff of air at them in a failed attempt at clearing them from her eyes. But a swipe of her cold hand does the trick. "Ooookay." she hums. "So Pixel-..." she gives a big, over-the-top, toothy smile Tara's way. "Sofia?" her expression shifts

Tara blinks, starting to look uneasy. She takes a seat, and her gaze falls as she shakes her head. Her brow furrows slightly as she struggles with how to explain herself. "She's nice to me..." she says, sounding as if something else is supposed to follow, but nothing does.

Leah gives a small nod as she coaxes out a response. "...Buuuuuut." she adds for Tara. Learning to 'speak Tara' has been a process. The girl doesn't offer a whole lot. It requires reading body language. Noticing slight changes in facial expressions. Knowing when to push and when to be patient. And the knowledge of what Tara has been through often makes it difficult to identify where the boundaries of discussion lie because, at

Tara seems a little dismayed but the prodding, eyebrows furrowing a bit further as she continues to struggle with how to voice her thoughts. This isn't exactly her strength under the best of circumstances. "Why did we go there?" is the question that finally arrives, seemingly out of the blue, as her gaze returns to Leah, hints of worry in her expression as she looks to her for an answer.

Leah furrows her brow at first, seemingly both caught off guard and confused by the question. "We-... uhh-..." she begins before trailing off into silence. Her smile dissipates as she finds herself realizing just how sad it makes her that Tara doesn't even have an understanding of a concept as simple as.... hanging out with friends. She bites down on her lower lip as she gets lost in that thought for the moment, green eyes

Tara listens closely as Leah speaks, furrowed eyebrows lingering for a while, but partway through Leah's words a few small nods follow. This is quickly followed by her gaze darting out across the room and a hurried, almost anxious "Sorry.", without any real explanation as to what she's apologizing for. Not... the easiest to follow conversation.

Leah is quick to tilt her head to the side, confusion once more taking over her expression. "For what, sweetie?" she asks, "You don't have anything to be sorry for."

Tara 's answer comes quicker this time, her attention returning to Leah as she speaks. "I didn't know what I was supposed to do." she explains. Sort of. There's obviously more on her mind, judging by the almost distracted look on her face.

Leah's confusion only seems to worsen, her brow further furrowing. "...Do?" she asks. "Sweetie, you weren't supposed to do anything." she explains, the slightest hint of a chuckle escaping with her words. It's not that she finds the situation humorous. It's the sort of uncomfortable chuckle that works its way into a conversation when one isn't quite sure what to say. "Just-... relax a bit and have a good time, you know?"

Tara 's frown returns, a few nods following again as her gaze falls to her own hands. For the briefest moment there's a hint of something almost like frustration in her face, but it passes quickly. She seems to give up on trying to express whatever is on her mind as her shoulders drop and she leans back a little in the couch, eyes staying low. It's nowhere near her comfort zone to be so outspoken. And so, an uncomfortable silence

Leah's gaze remains fixed on Tara, her smile once more fading away as she notices the discomfort. "What's wrong?" she asks softly as she scoots a bit closer, well aware that if she doesn't ask then Tara won't tell.

Tara blinks. Her frown deepens as hesitation overtake her expression, her attention focused on her own hands as she fidgets with them. "Things... are very different here." she says, almost stumbling over the words, although her voice is quiet as ever. She looks like she might have more to say, but she holds back as her gaze darts over to Leah, searching her reaction with worry in her eyes.

Leah gives a warm- if a bit sad- smile in response. Her immediate gut reaction is to take it as a compliment. Although undeniably a difficult transition for the young girl, when compared to what Tara was used to, different couldn't be anything but a compliment, right? Still, Leah does her best to gently prod for more information. To get confirmation from Tara herself. "...Good different, or-...?" she offers.

Tara 's gaze falls again. "I know I'm... supposed to be different, too. I-... I'm trying to learn." she says, sounding uneasy. Even nervous, perhaps. Tense. "It's hard." she adds, almost wincing slightly. Perhaps worried she's out of line. Speaking too freely.

Leah does her best to maintain her smile despite the pain that shoots through her chest as Tara speaks. She reaches out with her free hand, gently placing it over Tara's forearm. Just the fact that she's trying so hard causes her big green eyes to grow glassy. "You're doing fine, Tara." she assures in earnest. Sincerely. "Nobody expects you to be anything other than you. And-... and that's more than enough. I know that all of this

Tara blinks as Leah puts a hand on her arm, and she slowly starts to relax as she listens. A few small nods follow, and there's a strange mix of emotions in her face. She looks both thankful and assured as Leah hammers home the point, but there's also a faint, underlying hint of the inescapable dread that lies beneath that. The fear of hoping that it's for real and embracing it all fully. That it won't all come to an abrupt end

Leah draws in a deep breath as that glassiness in her eyes only worsens. "Thank you." she's quick to retort with. "Dad probably would've been climbing up the walls, out of his mind with worry last week if you weren't around." she says. But her appreciation goes much deeper. Tara has given her a chance to make up for past mistakes. Sure, it doesn't erase the emotional debt that she still carries for Damien. And she's well aware

Tara lets out a slight snicker at Leah's comment. It's barely audible, little more than just a noise, but her mood seems to lighten a little afterwards, and she glances over at Leah, but the final comment causes her gaze to fall again. She's really not sure how to deal with that sort of sentiment, and there's a hint of embarrassment at what feels like undue praise. Her mind veers away from that, going back to the previous words

Leah's gaze drops once more, briefy growing distant as Tara brings attention back to her temporary absense. She gives a small nod of acknowledgement but she doesn't allow her mind to drift too far. Just the slightest change in demeanor hints at what's really going on behind her green eyes before she quickly props that perky smile back up as she looks to Tara once more. "Nothing to worry about." she says simply with a dismissive

Tara is not one to prod, even though Leah's change in demeanor doesn't go unnoticed to her. She looks at her in silence until the final goofery, which causes her to pull her head back a bit, one eyebrow rising slightly.

Leah blinks a couple of times as her goofiness is met with stonewalling. She scrunches up her nose, suddenly not feeling quite as funny as she thought she was but, with a sigh, she lets it go. "Anyway!" she finally says, sweeping her comedic shortcomings under the rug, "I think you and I need to start doing a little research on what kind of pets we can get our hands on out here. Eh? Eh?" she asks with a wiggle of her eyebrows.

Tara 's eyes widen, the mention of a pet making her face light up in a way that nothing else seems able to. She's quick to give an enthusiastic nod, a smile on her lips now.

Leah's smile grows to match Tara's, her own enthusiasm bolstered by Tara's rare display of excitement. "Just give me a few days to handle some-.... work stuff." she says, deciding not to go into any of that too much, "...And then you and I will take a trip down to the market and see what we can find out. Sound like a plan?"

Tara quickly nods again. "Yes." she agrees through her smile, excitement shining through her usually reserved self.

Leah gives a quick snicker and single, stern nod. "Then it's settled. I can't promise we'll find something as adorable as Pixel-..." she explains, well aware that getting a cat to Aite would probably cost a fair few credits without the right circumstances, "...but, yeah. We'll take a look around. I'm sure there's someone at the market that could help us out. But for right now, I think I'm gonna go get changed into something

Tara gives a softer nod. "Okay." she says, although her eyebrows furrow a bit when she realizes what she agreed to. It takes her a moment of thought before she responds with a tentative "I'll look." and a gesture towards the screen, perhaps motivated by the previous conversation.