Bait [Amelie]

    For one, Amelie thought that it was nice to see that some things just didn't change; The Great Moving Library was one of those things. Sure, it seemed a bit... different than usual, but that wasn't because the structure itself had changed; it was the people that populated it, more or less.

    Or, at least that was what she thought. Had the brunette become so estranged from her previous team that she didn't recognize the Library's current occupants? For some reason, it seemed like none of her friends or acquaintances were there today; Alice, Haru, Ayumi, Yukiko, Syre, Miyu, Carlos, the Doctor, or even Naoko.

    Where could they be at the moment? Oh well; that much was a non-issue at the moment. While having a chat after all this time with them would've been undoubtedly nice, that wasn't the entire reason for her presence.

    Even though it was a good part of it.

    While wandering through the foyer while considering whether she should visit on another occasion or just spend some time here in hopes of finally getting to see anybody, Amy stumbled into a pretty interesting sight.

    A sleeping Syakomon, calmly resting atop a pillow. An adorable picture, to say the least! Even if it was one that she wouldn't disturb, at least for now. The good say? She could kill two birds with the same stone.

    Making herself comfortable, the teenager just sat in front of the clam, patiently waiting for... pretty much anything to happen while admiring the digimon's majesty.

Thankfully, Amelie's patience eventually paid off. Despite the fact that the Syakomon hadn't dared to open her shell to the brunette —both figuratively and literally—, she seemed like a pleasant digimon. For the teenager, that was what counted the most; everyone could make a good impression if given enough time, after all.

The question that was begged to be asked? Well, that was exactly how much time the whole thing would take. For now, the only certainty that Amy had was...That she was uncertain on whether she was talking to a kid or a squid, ironically enough.

"Hey there." Was her greeting of choice. "My name's Amelie, but you can call me Amy; I used to live in this place some time ago, but then I decided to move elsewhere. What's your name? Are you new to The Library?"

Good enough for now; truthfully, the brunette was intrigued by the Syakomon, but she also didn't mean to overwhelm the obviously young and sleepy digimon.

    For a second, Amelie stared at the clam, utterly dumbfounded her clai[/i]ms. Obviously, she wasn't very sure on how to answer, at least until... a critical detail was revealed.

    "Auntie... Koko?" She parroted while the voice of a certain bean resounded within her head, mostly regarding how heretical was a certain clai[/i]ms girls loving other girls. "Don't tell me you're Titania's daughter? Not to offend or anything, but how did a fairy like her manage to have you as her daughter I didn't quite expect something like that."

    Then again, the fact that the identity of Nereid's other parent was a mystery. But that was a non-issue at the moment; slowly, the brunette approached the Syakomon and began to slowly pet her head. "Nereid, huh? I like that name; nereids are supposedly water nymphs that guided seafarers every now and then. At least according to the Greek myth; chances are that nothing of that actually happened."

    Was any of this relevant? Unlikely, but having a small conversation with a newborn was bound to have that effect. "You have too many epithets. Mind if I just call you Reid? That sounds a bit easier to remember."

    Funny how the little Syakomon had more epithets than months living, probably. "I can agree on you being very pretty, though!" She didn't know why, but Amy had a strange affinity towards aquatic digimon; she just found them cute. "But the truth is that how tall a human can be mostly depends on their parents! Mine were a pair of tall noodles, and I'm sure that Yukiko's were something else at the very least. But you surely don't want to be bothered with that kinda stuff."

    She made a small pause before adding. "How have your first days of life been? I have met a good deal of newborns, but most of them were reincarnating and that stuff. Not the most entertaining thing to watch when they happen to be assholes reviving for the twentieth time, if you ask me! Has it been fun?"

    Well, that took care of the brunette's query quite handily. It seemed like Reid's second mom was none other than Mizu-chan, Betamon extraordinaire. The logic behind how Frog plus Fairy equaled Mollusk was a bit on the iffy side, but Amelie wasn't going to think too much about it.

    Not in a world where cats became angels. That'd be silly.

    The other good news was that the Syakomon wouldn't have to be addressed by her many epithets, instead choosing a four-letter nickname; Amy liked them. They were short, cute, and easy to remember.

    "Don't know what a noodle is? Maybe I could show you at some point, but you're more or less right!" Nevermind that the edible version was way better than the one used to describe tall and scrawny people. It was funny how, this early into it, she had managed to ask a pretty heavy existential question.

    And ask for chocolate, while she was at it. Luckily, both could be answered! "I think that both are equally likely, but that more often than not, newborns from two parents tend to be entirely new digimon, even though I've asked myself a couple of times if it's possible for them to 'inherit' at least a few of their parents' memories, you know? It'd be confusing as heck, but it makes sense, considering they've shared their data and that stuff."

    While explaining that not-very-solid, Amelie was taking care of her Infini-Store, searching her insides for something until... she found it! A milk chocolate bar of a brand named after Cielo's waifu a certain king of Sparta. She took care of its box, and after tearing off more or less half of its tinfoil wrapping, handed it to Nereid.

    "Happy early Valentine's, I guess! Just make sure to tear the rest of the wrapping before eating the second half of the wrapping before eating the rest of it. You don't want to eat that." And, after a pause, she added. "What do you think about Valentine's Day? Ain't it nice that pretty much everyone is either spending time or searching for their soulmates with fervor? I like the day."

    If one were to say that Amelie looked completely mortified at the mention of the so-called 'village with the weird-looking water', that person would be completely right. In truth, she still had nightmares with that Dokunemon.

    However... that wasn't very important at the moment. Luckily.

    "Yup! That was probably me!" She tried her best to omit the less-than-pleasant details as much as she could. "I accompanied Naoko, her ship and their digimons to check out what was there, at the petition of Ayumi. Least to say, I think we had fun. And, I wouldn't say quite precisely half of either parent, but the inherent thoughts of that reasoning are correct. You're pretty small for a newborn, Reid."

    She didn't regret making such a hasty judgment, or to give the Syakomon a chocolate bar. The kid seemed like ray of sunshine, and that was a pleasant change to the brunette, at least compared to the other newborns she had met.

    "I can leave you with a portion of what I've brought to this place. They were meant to my friends over here, but since no one is here, it'd be a shame for them to go bad, don't you think? Otherwise, I think there are some chocolate shops in the Digital World, but I don't think they're as good as Human World stuff. But don't worry! If you want any more, just ask and I'd be happy to buy some more. I frankly need an excuse to visit more often, anyway."

    From her Infini-Store, the brunette brought a bag with five tablets of different chocolate varieties and left it beside Nereid. Her answer to the previous question was no less surprising. It made Amy smirk a bit. "Call me crazy, but I think that most beings' life goal is finding that special someone. Get shipped, so to say. That's why I've been planning to arrange a surprise date to two of my best friends. I think they would make a cute couple and be happy together, and I can kinda see there's something, even though the two are kinda shy. That's why, sometimes you gotta give others a little push. Or a big push, but I digress."

    The teenager gave a small nod afterward. "Depending on where you live, everyone gets something in Valentine's day. Even single people. In a sense, that's nice." Of course, roasting others over it was still possible, but Japanese tradition was notably fair regarding the holiday.

    Amy's expression did enough at telling Nereid that she regretted most of the things that happened that day. Whether that Dokunemon found a shimmer of intelligence in the sea of the third-to-last letter in the alphabet was something she hadn't bothered to check. And that probably wouldn't... any time soon, really.

    And thus, it had begun. Reid asked about the meaning of a ship. What it was, really? Could its meaning be confined to something as simple as words? Somehow, the brunette doubted that, even though she'd do her best to explain. "This is more common the older you are, but some people feel a natural desire to fond an everlasting bond with another living being. They're in the search for mythical 'Significant Other' or SO for short. Some are lucky and find somebody fitting to be their SO, and some others are even luckier and that person agrees to form this bond with them. When the process is tentative or has been formed, a relationship, or ship for short, is formed."

    When had she said small... oh derp. That hadn't been her intention! "Sorry, I meant smart! Must've been a typo slip of tongue or something! I'm sure you'll grow big and strong in due time, anyway. Most digimon become larger than humans with relative ease."

    Ultimately, the girl was glad that her new friend liked the chocolates. At least the relationship had begun correctly! That was always something nice to see. With any luck, they would remain as good friends from now on. "How I gave them that little push, huh? Well, that's a pretty interesting story."

    Taking several seconds to order her thoughts she resumed. "Sometimes, you can just see when two people would become a good couple, and sometimes they can't see that for themselves, or are too shy to admit it, among other possible scenarios. That'd be a shame, wouldn't it? So, instead of just letting them spend Valentine's for themselves, I arranged for them to have a small date in a deserted island, and gave them the tools to enjoy a nice day on their own. With any luck, they'll realize that both like each other, and probably find happiness together! Nothing would make me happier than watching my friends attain their own."

    Right afterward, the brunette shrugged. "I just hope they don't get drunk and do something stupid, though. Or if they do, hope they won't regret it!"

    It was a good thing, indeed! The small Syakomon was a quick learner; for a second, Amelie thought about taking her under her wing and showing her the magnificence of the world instead of... her current situation, confined inside a building without any real contact with the vast expanse outside. Was that really a good way to raise a kid? She wasn't sure, but she wasn't going to question Mizu and Titania's judgment there either. If that's what they thought was the best for their kid, so be it.

    "Yeah. I've met the two of them, actually! I was there with Yukiko went to the Digital World with Ayumi for the first time as well; Mizu even tried to bite me. I'd like to think we're pretty good friends, even if... I guess we don't see each other anymore as of late. Do you know if they're doing well?"

    To say the brunette wasn't a bit guilty of that as well was a pretty big understatement. Ultimately, it took a conscious effort from the two halves of a friendship to maintain it, right? If it failed, it was because two halves weren't putting up the effort. For better or worse.

    "Pretty much! I really think they'd be cute together. And I'm not mistaken about it; it'd be a bit embarrassing otherwise!" Amy let out a good-natured giggle at her own words. "Friends, huh? That's a very good question..."

    And one that'd take a fair bit of explanation as well. "You basically get out and meet new people; talk to them and get to know them. Most of them will either be bad people or won't care about you on more than on the surface level, but as long as you persist on being nice to everyone you meet, you'll eventually find somebody who will be nice to you as well. What do you do after that? You get to know them better, just to make sure they are genuine. And if they are? You've found a true gem, girl. Good friends are hard to find, but they're worth more than their weight in gold digizoid. I can assure you of that much."

    Was that too deep for a newborn? Maybe, but that didn't make it less true, at least in the girl's vision.