Saria nodded at his response and they exchanged numbers, but it was only until after he'd left when she realized he was implying she was cute. Her face turned beet red, and it was all she could do to cover her face in embarrassment. A boy talking to her was outlandish enough as is, but getting an actual compliment? Wow. Her brother was [i]not[/i] going to believe this. When she composed herself and her heartbeat went down, she dragged herself back to her dorm.

Later that night as Saria was lazing around in her pajamas, she was on the phone with her older brother. His true name was Zarek, but he'd donned the pseudonym of "Jared." Saria told him about everything that'd happened, and it felt like she could go on forever about how happy it made her. Zarek, however, was the more skeptical of the two, and always questioned everything around him.

[color=9e0b0f]"Well, yeah, I'm happy for you and all. Just remember what I told you,"[/color] he warned. [color=9e0b0f]"Always be wary around college boys."[/color]

[color=8493ca]"Jared, I just met him today,"[/color] Saria reassured him. [color=8493ca]"I don't think he's the type who'd try anything funny. Even if he was, I know how to defend myself."[/color]

[color=9e0b0f]"Just be careful, okay? Don't take it the wrong way. You haven't sounded this happy in years, and I'd hate to see that ruined."[/color]

[color=8493ca]"I will,"[/color] she confirmed before changing the subject. The siblings tried to make their conversations over the phone sound as normal as possible. They never knew if anybody else was listening in on their conversations, so any information about their heritage had to be kept tightly locked behind sealed lips. 

The two continued to talk for about half an hour before saying goodbye and hanging up. Saria got on her desktop and surfed the web for a while before deciding to head to bed herself. 


Morning had come quite early for Saria. She never normally cared about what she wore, but she felt the need to make another good impression for Joshua. She didn't really know why. Did everyone get like this? It was completely new to her. Regardless, she did the best she could with what she had. After a shower and basic hygeine, she'd put on white button-up shirt, some snug-fit dark jeans, sneakers, and she even put her hair into a bit of a ponytail. Just that was a major improvement, but Saria regretted not bringing any makeup with her as she noticed how pale she looked in her mirror. She took a deep breath and mumbled to herself. [color=8493ca][i]"Chill out. This isn't even a date. We're just hanging out. Calm yourself."[/i][/color] Oh well. She did the best with what she had. With that, she sat back at her computer desk and awaited Joshua's text.