Sweet Tea With Extra Sweetness [Inanna, Reida]

She was glad that Reida was trustworthy, well she trusted her anyway. Her new friend and been nothing but nice to her and was really friendly. Though even though she trusted her friend she put her fingers together a little nervously. She definitely was sharing a secret which she held a lot closer to her chest than how much weight Reida placed on her sweet tea recipe.

"Do you think.. It's okay to be scared, Darlin'? I get really scared... at the thought of being alone."

Inanna asked tentatively, she pushed the tips of her fingers together. A bit timid to just out her fear like that. The idea of waking up and everyone being gone, or that she'd wake up one day and she'd just be invisible where no one could see or hear her.

There were a great many secrets that Reida could have expected to hear from the lips of a little girl like this one. Maybe something about her friends, or a secret game they liked to play. But the words that came out instead struck Reida right down to the core. How could it not, after all? It was every bit the same fear that Reida felt, and her smile fell a bit as she wrapped her arms around Inanna in a motherly embrace.

"I think that's perfectly fine, sweetheart. Ain't nothin' wrong with bein' scared, especially not when it's somethin' like that. I'll tell ya another little secret. I get scared'a the same thing."

Reida hated living with that fear, and she hated the idea that a little girl would be going through it. She didn't know what Inanna had gone through, but Reida didn't want a child to have to worry about all the terrible weights of the world.

"I know it's weird and silly. I got my mum and I have some friends but I don't want them to disappear even if I have scary dreams sometimes. I used to think freedom was just doing what you wanted so I went around a lot by myself but then I met Alex and I learned that I don't wanna do things by myself. I want everyone else to be part of that freedom too."

She said while hugging Reida back, she sounded like she didn't like it either. Who could like being alone though? People that liked being alone were alien to her. Did she have bad dreams as well? Inanna reached up with her hand to begin to pet Reida's head in return for all the petting she'd received up to this point as well.

Even if she wasn't Twinkle Vanilla right now, she still was her in spirit. Protecting people's freedom, and happiness with her love and friendship.

"You mean it, Darlin'? What do you do when you're scared?"

Well, Reida didn't want to tell Inanna the answer to that question. A lot of the time, she'd just run away from it right into the bottle, but that wasn't something a good role model would ever say. What else would be a good answer? Smiling a touch more at the pet from Inanna, Reida spoke reassuringly, confidently. A part of her felt like she was about to cry, but she wouldn't shed any tears right now. She refused.

"I think about everyone in my life. Even if they're not with me right now, I'm not alone. I've still got 'em in my heart with me, right? And I'll see 'em again. That's enough to get me through 'til the next time I'm with the people I love."

Of course, she knew she might not see all the people she loved for a very long time, but that wasn't something Reida intended to bring up here. She'd come to terms with it, but she didn't need to tell Inanna about that.

"But if that still ain't enough, sometimes I like to sit by the ocean and listen to the waves. They're soothin'."

Inanna wondered if that's how her mum felt too. She was really old and she must miss a lot of people from her past, right? Even a couple of days being away from people she cared about was hard on her but other people seemed to have an infathomable amount of time.

"You're really tough, Darlin'. You're a lot tougher than me, you know. I wanna be tough like you."

She kept up her doting, it was like she was hugging and petting her mum when she came back from work and sat down for a little bit though Reida certainly did not have ears to play with or purr like she did. That was fine though, she didn't mind if it was just something that they shared in common since it made it more special in her eyes.

"I like keeping a diary. You should keep one if you haven't got one already, Darlin'. I always find myself feeling better when I write what makes me sad in the diary, it's like penning it down helps me. I dunno why."

Reida couldn't imagine a single thing worse than a sweet young girl turning out like her, but she wouldn't say that openly. If she wanted a role model, then Reida would give her one.

"I bet you'll be mighty tough one day, too. Ya got plenty of time to grow. Maybe even tougher than me."

Inanna's attentions were perfectly welcome, and Reida was all too happy to enjoy this little moment. She'd have to invite this girl over again some time.

"A diary, huh? I'll have to do that. Used ta do that when I was a little girl, but I think you're right that it'd be a good idea if I started doin' it again."

"You mean it? You bet. I'll become really strong and I'll protect everyone's freedom and their smiles. Even your's, Darlin'."

Inanna assured her with a small squeeze to her hug, big grin and all. The teenager being perfectly content to spend time with her new friend and definitely planning to have a sleepover sometime. Maybe her mum would wanna come with her and Alex?

"Yeah, a dairy is real good. It's also nice to cry sometimes, you know. It's bad to cry a lot but every once in a while it's good to let it all out instead of bottling it up. It's not good to do that."

"Even mine? That's mighty sweet of ya, Nanna."

Reida thought about what Inanna had offered for her advice, and she had to admit, it sounded about right. She hadn't quite let herself cry in a long time, and she wasn't going to with a child here. That was a lot to put on a little girl, wasn't it? But maybe when Al came home, she'd let it out again.

"Yeah, you're right about that one. Ain't good to keep it all inside. I'll try'n find somethin good to use as a diary next time I'm out."

Of course she'd do that for Reida. They were friends after all and even if they weren't, she was a magical girl. Anyone who wasn't evil or trying to take away people's happiness was deserving of it. So Inanna leaned back and made some space between her and Reida, a big grin on her face while she leaned back.

"Good. You said we had to wait for it to set, right? Do ya wanna lay down on the couch while we wait? We can wait for the red guy together, watch TV or I can tell you a story? Mum tells me really good stories, you know. I bet you have some pretty good ones too."

Inanna said with a note of anticipation. She'd really came here for sweet tea and wasn't expecting to stay or learn as much as she did. The danava was quite satisfied with the way it turned out though, getting a new friend was always a win in her book.

"Sounds good ta me, I love hearin' stories. I think I've got some good ones myself, but I'd like ta hear yours."

Reida liked letting Nanna talk, and she certainly seemed to enjoy sharing. Of course, she'd also be all too happy to share any of the stories she'd told a long time ago if Nanna wanted to hear. Really, it was up to her.

"It'll take some time to steep, yes'm, so I'm sure we've got plenty of time. I bet by then, Al will've come home, too."