First meeting! (Stella/Diana)

Getting into this city had been a good distraction for Stella. After the last time she had left the City of Lights, it was nice to be somewhere safe. She had provided all of her paperwork and had made her way into the city. Walking among the busy streets she almost felt relaxed. realizing alot of the danger couldn't get her in here. It felt similar to the City of Lights but at the same time, here, she could melt into the background. No one really knew who she was and frankly she doubted if they would even care.

Making her way to a small Ramen shop on a corner she would enter taking a seat closest to the window. The weather was a little melancholic to match the red heads overall feelings as she watched the rain pitter patter against the window of the shop. Taking a look down to her menu, she would make an order before allowing herself to get lost in the rain drops tapping against the glass In a slow rhythm. She watched the constant moving life of the city as she sat quietly to herself.

After parting ways with Meninas in Tokyo a day or so ago Diana had considered boarding the first flight out of Japan to return to her home state and start working to earn back the money she had spent on the trip, but after thinking about it she decided to extend her stay in Japan for another day or two. She had traveled to a place named "Karakura Central" and had presented her passport at the gate. After the document was closely scrutinized by three different officials she was permitted entry and passed through the gate into a place that was larger than she had expected. While it was certainly not as large or diverse as Tokyo, it had a comforting feeling that reminded Diana of the suburbs of her home city in a certain way.

Diana's self-guided tour of Karakura Central had been disrupted by an unexpected rain and to avoid getting wet she had darted into the first building she could find, which turned out to be a shop that sold ramen. It was small but comfortable and it felt inviting despite there being other patrons present. Clad in a purple shirt with khaki shorts and black tennis shoes, Diana would certainly stand out because of the color of her favorite t-shirt, but she did not care about that minor detail. She was handed a menu with all of the shop's offerings and took it over to the left of a redhead who was already seated. It seemed that the other young woman was preoccupied with something, but that was OK because the blonde did not demand attention the instant she stepped through the door.

"Hello there." Diana calmly greeted the redhead once an appropriate amount of time between her arrival next to the stranger had elapsed. Once the pleasantries were exchanged Diana would ask for permission to sit next to her. If that permission was denied the blonde would simply go and sit elsewhere to read the menu.

Stella would simply nod a greeting to the blonde as she looked back to rainy streets. Hearing the question would jolt her back to the present. She wasn't sure why she was acting so rude. As she would nod gently shed speak out to the blonde. Her voice being rather quiet as she answered.

"Y...yeah, sure."

Why was she being like this? She wasn't ever like this to new people. Especially ones who are willing to engage in conversation first. Had she really allowed that green haired demon to effect her like this? To the point she's not even able to be herself? Pushing past that thought, she would take a deep breath before speaking more. Trying to awaken her old social butterfly self. Her voice slightly louder but still somewhat quiet.

"My names Stella, what's yours?"

Having been granted permission to take a seat next to the redhead, Diana quickly and quietly did so. She set the menu down on the tabletop in front of her, then pulled the chair out with a minimum of noise and quietly lowered herself into it. Finally she moved her seat up to the table as quietly as she could, making only a few quiet sounds of wood scraping on wood floor to let anyone know that she had even moved the piece of furniture. Once she was finally in place Diana turned to face the other young woman, who had introduced herself as "Stella." The blonde made eye contact with the redhead and maintained it as she introduced herself.

"My name is Diana." Diana calmly gave her first name to Stella in her usual to-the-point manner. After giving her name the blonde stopped talking and waited patiently for the latter to reply, maintaining eye contact to let the other person know that they had her undivided attention. Right now Diana was not even thinking about what kind of ramen she was going to order because her focus was solely on Stella. As a matter of fact food was far from her mind due to curiosity as to what she would learn from this meeting. The meetings with Doku and Meninas had given her a lot to think about and this encounter might have something new for the blonde to learn about the world outside of the woods she had grown up in.

Waiting on her food, Stella figured she should talk the person. She'd briefly consider asking her if she's a part of the vandenreich as she could tell the blonde was a quincy. Stella didn't know everyone in the city, but she had never seen the blonde anywhere else before. This is probably the first time that they are even meeting.

"Victoria, you're a quincy right? You atleast feel like one. Would you happen to be a part of the vandenreich, or are you unaffiliated?"

Stella asked as she wondered. She didn't want to leave it up to question as this could potentially be a new person to go on missions with. Someone who may be able to help her out on her journey of becoming stronger. Wanting to try to make more connections in the VR this could beba good thing they met here. Even if she wasn't Tha just means she may have another friend outside the City of Lights.

Diana remained calm when she had been called by the wrong name and chose to keep the conversation going by discussing her independent status with Stella.

"I am not affiliated with the Vandenreich, Stella." Diana answered calmly and truthfully. The blonde had no connection to the organization... at one time she had considered joining so that she could get access to instructors who could help her improve her skills, but after speaking with Meninas not too long ago the blonde was now on the fence because of all the information she had been given. Aside from the matter of whether or not to join the Vandenreich Diana was also trying to determine which Quincy art to invest time and effort into. That was a complex issue with no simple answer, but it essentially boiled down to whether she should stick with Kreuzen or change direction and train heavily in Gebet.

Diana would have to think about that later, though. Right now she needed to give Stella her undivided attention since the conversation was getting interesting and Diana wanted to see where it led. Perhaps she could learn more about Quincies, the Vandenreich, or both.

A quincy not affiliated with the vandenreich? Stella felt a question bouncing around her head as she wondered why? Being in the Reich was safe paid pretty good and even had free meals for those in it. She wondered if this quincy was some natural talent who found herself doing whatever to make money. She wasn't entirely sure now that she thought back to it.

"What's keep ya from joining up with thr Vandenreich?"


Stella asks simply as she for some reason can't force the energy she used to have. Every word she speaks now is layered with sadness as she sighs. Annoyed with herself but trying to not show it to the blonde in front of her. It was so embarrassing being like this still. It's been more than a week, why can't she seem to get over it?

Stella's question was straight to the point, which was something Diana liked. It was also a good question that made the blonde think more about why she had not traveled to the City Of Light to enlist in the Vandenreich despite desperately needing training in both combat in general and the four Quincy arts in particular. Back home she had gotten by with the help of local militias whenever she fought Hollows, but she would not always be able to bank on help being close if she were out in the woods or otherwise away from other people if she happened to encounter a Hollow by herself. Therefore Diana needed to find a way to get stronger so that she could protect herself if she had to.

Having delayed giving her answer for as long as she could and still be polite, Diana finally responded to the question Stella had asked of her.

"I have reason to believe that joining the Vandenreich is a commitment that should not be made lightly." Diana answered calmly and truthfully. Her reasoning might sound lame to the redhead, but the blonde was going to stick to it. Just like she had told Meninas during their conversation Diana believed that the organization expected nothing less than a total commitment from new recruits and whether it was accurate or not that belief was a crucial reason why she had held off on enlisting. Diana was not going to act without having everything she needed to make an informed decision on the matter.

Stella would tilt her head slightly at the statement. To her knowledge it was a pretty standard militaristic organization when it came to joining. Usually you would want to know if you really want to join the organization or not. She figured that it would be better to make sure that it's something that you want to commit to. The blonde had a pretty good idea, and honestly had Stella not been in the Reich she wouldn't have went through what she did. Shaking her head trying to banish that thought.

"You're right to do so. don't rush into anything. I knew that this is what I wanted to do. I wanted to help and protect people who can't protect themselves."

Stella spoke her words as if she was testing her own resolve. She still wasn't feeling the greatest about herself. She needed to get stronger. She had to.

Diana probably sounded like she was lukewarm on the idea of joining the Vandenreich, which was mostly the truth. The blonde was not yet willing to relinquish her freedom to live and travel as she pleased. She was also not fully on board with the idea of joining an organization she knew little about. Meninas had done a good job of laying out the basics of what the Vandenreich did, but the blonde needed more to go on than just the word of a current member of the group she was inquiring about. Diana did not require an exhaustive history of the group, a list of current members, or top-secret information... she wanted the essentials such as what would be expected of her and whether or not her commitment would be for life or for a set amount of time with the option to renew if she wanted to continue serving or return to civilian life if she completed her first enlistment and wanted out.

Diana was tempted to ask Stella about those subjects, but the former could not help but to pick up on the fact that the latter seemed a little preoccupied with something. Maybe now was not the best time to ask such questions. Instead Diana chose to comment on Stella's remark on the wisdom of deferring the life-changing decision of joining the Vandenreich until she was certain that was what she wanted to do.

"While there are certainly benefits to joining, I do not want to join just for the benefits. I want to join because I believe in the organization's mission. I would want something worth fighting for." Diana did her best to better explain why she was not hurrying off to the City Of Light. What she said might make her sound overly idealistic, but right now it was the best that she could do. She wanted to give Stella an explanation that showed that the blonde wanted more than just material benefits... Diana also wanted a worthy cause to fight for.