Teres stood and hovered like someone trying to still muster the courage to speak when a girl with very dark shining obsidian hair breezed past her into the room and chirpily spoke, first to the others and then to her. The girl’s aura was bold and springy and seemed to draw the attention of everyone in the room as did her happy flowing speech.

[color=Mediumpurple]“Morning Erik, exquisite as always. Maddy, you're always the cutest little button here, we shouldn't spend our time having spats, right?” [/color] She moved in front of Teres and smiled, [color=Mediumpurple]"Hi! I'm Sarah, I've been here the longest so let me know if you need anything"[/color]

A grin reactively spread to her features and as she was about to reply when the other girl, Maddy, spoke first "Let her sit down, Sarah.  The others will be here soon and if we are all not seated then we will fall behind schedule.  You know we don't have that long to eat."
Maddy seemed to blush as she drew attention to herself and quickly went back to her food, though Teres didn’t notice that she was soon punching herself under the table or the slight tone of confrontation that had come across from her when speaking to Sarah.  

[color=DC143C] “Teres”[/color] she said introducing herself to Sarah and Maddy, but at that moment the door opened once more and one of the nurses entered guiding another girl into the room, the sounds of raised voices preceding them. Not wanting to stay in the way Teres moved into the dining room area as the pair made their way through, it becoming quite clear that the thin girl was very distraught and tearful and Teres felt herself becoming quite uncomfortable as she decided it was best  to simply sit down and see what was happening. 
As she was about to take a seat she watched as Erik (she was pretty sure that’s what Sarah had called him anyway) stood and went over to the nurse that had been hawkishly watching the thin girl and trying to get her to eat with a rapidly hardening expression. 

[color=00a651]"Would you leave her alone? Can't you see that she doesn't want you forcing her?" [/color]He said forcefully with a concerned tone as he stood up to the nurse. [color=00a651]"All she needs is for you to back off and be kind to her. Or is that something you nurses and doctors can't handle?" [/color]

She watched then as he directed the nurse away and sat himself beside her, taking a few moments to whisper what she assumed was a reassurance to her before then helping her to eat. Where moments before she had been flat out refusing to taste so much of a morsel there was now an empty spork. 

[color=00a651]"Fantastic Calla!" [/color] Erik said with a glance towards the nurse who had been watching them from the side.
[color=00a651]"See? Just kindness- Calla can do this without you forcing her." [/color]

He turned to face Teres with a somewhat embarrassed expression as he said [color=00a651]"I'm sorry I was using your chair, I didn't expect to have a new person with us today. I thought they finally added a little comfort to this place." [/color]

He flashed her a dashing smile and added [color=00a651]"I am Erik, by the way. You can use my chair instead, it's clean promise." [/color]  He gestured over to the seat he had previously occupied. 

Teres quickly sat where he had motioned as she introduced herself for the third time trying to return her best smile, thoroughly impressed at how he was composing himself. Her head was now swimming with the range of new faces and everything that was happening. She couldn’t help but guess at why each of them might be here, what kind of conditions they might have, though she did her best to push those thoughts down and to the back of her mind as she turned her attention to the food before her. Fruit, wholemeal and other such tidbits, low fat spreads and a selection of rather unappetising looking cereals were spread around the large dining table and she frowned slightly as she surveyed them and her medication was placed next to her in a small plastic cup.  

[color=DC143C] “Delicious...” [/color] she said sarcastically somewhat to herself as she took the pills and swallowed them quickly and without further complaint. She mostly listened to the others, feeling still like the outsider looking in despite the fact that the others seemed far from a unified group. Her mind quickly wandered and she found herself wondering if any of them were here for trumped up reasons, if they too didn’t really suffer from whatever ailments they were being treated for like her. With the exception of maybe Calla (who had made it clear enough why she was here in the short time they had spent in the same room) and the guy who she had seen feeding and talking to his puppet in the corner, she couldn’t particularly hazard a guess at why any of them might be here. Her eyes kept going to Erik, both as he was still helping Cella and also as she just found her gaze drawn to him for some reason as she wondered why he might be here. 

She would have spoken to him but the puppet guy had just moved from where he had been sat on his own to the seat beside Cella and Erik, so she instead turned her gaze over to those on the other side of her and addressed Maddy and Sarah. 

[color=DC143C] “So you’re my roommates?” [/color] She asked trying to sound upbeat despite the headache that was already rapidly descending upon her and her plummeting mood as she thought again about the fact she shouldn't really be here in the first place.  As she spoke she mildly stabbed at the piece of toast and banana that adorned her plate, her appetite still not much though she was slightly hungry after the long trip yesterday. She idly flicked a few crumbs of bread from her plate as she spoke, mostly an absent minded habit as she flicked her gaze back to Erik every now and then as she spoke, finding that she hoped she would catch him looking at her.