She greets him as one would greet a guest into their home -as if this has always been her home, when in fact she isn’t really sure where home is. But she can easily tell that he is not from here. The easiest indication for her perhaps are his thoughts. Listening to the minds of others is something like breathing to her. Just as some scents invade and overpower the nose, some minds are louder than others.
Up until the day her mother brought her here (and subsequently the day she met her father as well), she was little aware that she had any control over this unnatural sense. She remembers how loud the Pampas felt, how overpowering the sounds of the few minds that called this place their home.
And she remembers how she drown them into nothingness.
Valek’s mind intrigues her (what little glimpse she allows herself). He is all youth and adventure (though tempered with a sense of duty), and Odelia thirsts to know the places he has seen beyond her tiny world. He steps towards her and his scent gives her a glimpse as they exchange breaths.
“I’m from Hyaline, I came to learn about this place.” he says. It comes as no surprise that she has never heard of Hyaline. The Brilliant Pampas are a quiet place - a haven from outside politics. A sheltered place for a sheltered young girl. “And to meet you, Odelia.” he grins.
“Me?” she questions, looking down in feigned shyness, but betrayed by the coy glimmer in her dark amber eyes as she meets his gaze again. She’s young herself, and she can’t help the flutter of excitement that constrains her heart and causes the heat to rise to her soft cheeks.
“Have you always lived here?” he asks her, and she looks to the trees that guard the borders of this paradise.
“No.” she says simply, her gaze returning to his. She lets the silence settle for a brief moment, and then she laughs softly (not unlike the babble of the stream they stand over). “No, I haven’t been here long.”
She steps towards him, her side nearly brushing his as she walks past him, and then she turns her head. “So I might get us lost.” she says with a smile and a motion of her head for him to follow.