Stopping in front of the blonde girl, Alice extended her hand with solemn seriousness. "I'm Alice Grey," she said.
"Alice," Kaiden corrected mildly from behind her.
"…Alice Ashborn," Alice amended without missing a beat.
Alexandra stiffened for a heartbeat before timidly reaching out, clearly terrified that the girl might accidentally crush her hand without even noticing. Her grip, however, was gentle. "I-I'm Alexandra!" she said quickly, forcing herself to smile. "You can call me Alex… or Lexi, if you like. Nyx often calls me those."
"Sure," Alice shrugged. Clearly, she thought of this interaction as a duty to perform, and it showed.
But then Alexandra's eyes suddenly sparkled as a soft, hopeful light broke through. "How about I make you a hot chocolate," she suggested, voice warming, "and we grab a blanket each, and you tell me some tales?"
