19 | Female | Lesbian

Ellie raised her eyebrows as Dyra had looked away, only she had began speaking about Ellie's freckles. She couldn't help but chuckle at how awkward Dyra was being, but she could appreciate the fact that her unappreciated freckles were in fact being noticed. "Well thank you, Dyra. Which apartment complex? I live in the Northern Apartments. Yeah, I've been there. Not in a while though, I'd normally go there for birthdays and stuff. Nothing too fun, though, right?"

Ellie took notice to how she grew nervous. In a way, Ellie was as well. This was Alyssa, but she knew it wasn't. Same face. Same hair. Same eyes. But another person living inside of her. She sighed softly, letting the thought disappear as Dyra spoke of change in appearance. "You could do whatever. You should be glad I'm the only person whose noticed you. Like I said, her dad was the main target, but she, too, became a target 'cause of the business. You should be fine in this part of the city," Ellie inhaled looking around before her eyes landed back on Dyra. "But it's best to take cautions, yeah?"

Ellie smiled about the whole style and the color black of her interaction. "Flattering me on the down-low, huh? Well, come one, don't be ashamed of it. I appreciate all the love I can get." Ellie smiled more, leaning back slightly in the chair as she crossed her arms across her smaller chest.

Ellie raised her eyebrows at the freckle talk. She nodded, biting the inside of her cheek as Dyra kept talking. She didn't mind it, honestly, it distracted her from the fact she was talking to what Alyssa once was... That was a new way to look at it. "Defining features, am I right? Freckles are one of those things that I find to be hit or miss, but uh, I could give two shits less, honestly. I got a pretty girl sitting in front of me, what else do I have to worry about?" Ellie replied, shifting slightly in the chair before she began finishing the cookies.

After swallowing, Ellie nodded. "Nah, you're fine. But one question - how long have you been around here? I mean Alyssa is - was - popular. Popular with the news, locals, everything. She had people approaching her from left and right. Especially before she left." Ellie explained, beginning to remember one of the first times Ellie learned of her popularity. She wasn't a celebrity at all, but she might as well be considered one. Alyssa was so up her own ass with the media. Ellie scoffed at the thought, only to turn her attention back to Dyra.

It wasn't often that Ellie would sit here with a stranger that looked like her ex. She assumed not a lot of people would, but for the moment, she had nothing better to do. Well, besides deliver the coffee to her mother, but nonetheless, she was in fact preoccupied with actually socializing and not being a dick. That was a first for Ellie, and maybe it was the fact that this Dyra looked like Alyssa? That sounded so bad in her head, but it was the only explanation she could come up with.

Dyra ‘Dire/Malva’ Malvina Gowan | 19 | F | Les | T.E.R

Dyra was glad when Ellie didn’t seem to mind her nervous ranting, and she smiled. “I’ve been here for around two months now, though I’ve had the body longer. The body had apparently been living in a big house and all that, and it was just way too stuffy for me… So I sold it and moved down here, closer to my brother. Right now I’m living in the Ancino Complex.”

--

She paused for a moment, wondering on what way she should be changing her look. She definitely wanted to dye her hair and cut it a bit, maybe she could do platinum blonde with sky blue highlights? That would be nice. And then she could cut it to be a curly bob- She had always loved that style.

--

She took a sip of her coffee before speaking again. “Hey, Ellie… Do you know any good places to dye your hair and cut it? I could go and do that today, kind of as a one year anniversary of my second body celebration or something.”

--

Yeah, that idea was nice. She could do it after work before her classes start, that way she would still have time tonight to bake some cookies or something too. She still wouldn’t have anyone to invite and all, but at least she’d have a new look and sweets. Maybe she would invite Evan, he would probably still love to see his twin sister, even if they weren’t technically twins anymore. And if this conversation went well… Maybe Ellie would want to come over too? Maybe, she seemed nice enough to Dyra. Evan would totally tease her though.

--

She wouldn’t ask just yet about her coming over though, since that may seem weird or rude or something. But she hoped she wouldn’t have to resort to inviting only Evan over and then getting questioned about why no one else was coming. Or worse, she’s too awkward with her twin and something happens to him because of her…

--

But she wasn’t going to focus on that right now, not when she was having a conversation with a nice, dare she say beautiful, woman named Ellie. She hoped she didn’t ruin this interaction… Especially with how nice it was going so far, it would simply be a shame at this point.

19 | Female | Lesbian

Ellie raises her eyebrows, surprised. "I'm surprised I haven't seen you around until now. Guess it was destiny, huh? Yeah. I assume that the body was a dead one, right? Still intact enough to be fixed up and sold as a Skin?" Ellie didn't even bother calling her Alyssa anymore - she figured they were past that point. "Ah, family. That isn't too far from where I live, just an easy three-mile jog." Ellie scoffed with a slight smile on her face.

Ellie couldn't help but continue to observe her, but she looked away before she could catch her.... Unless Dyra already had, but that wasn't the point. She huffed, her eyes wandering for a moment as more people came in, in which Ellie simply shot them looks and finally, her attention was ripped away from the others and back to Dyra as she spoke of getting her hair cut.

"Not too far from here, actually. I've gotten my hair cut there for years. Agh, what's the name?" Ellie thought for a moment. "Oh! Strands is what it's called. Open a couple of years ago, my mother insisted I went there to support the 'locals' or whatever." Ellie informed her, shifting in the seat slightly as she looked away, thinking for a moment.

Dyra made her feel comfortable. Ellie wasn't one to feel like this so quickly, but again, it could be the fact that she knew the comfort of Alyssa. A completely different person from Dyra, but she felt like that's what happens when you see a familiar face. Ellie could only think that was the reasoning. But, Dyra, separate from Alyssa, seemed like someone Ellie could get along with in most instances. Maybe besides the fact she seemed a bit more soft, at least looking at it from a relationship stand point, but as a friend, she was good. Ellie doubted this newly found friend would go beyond that, but she could be wrong. Besides, Ellie couldn't predict the future, could she? No, she couldn't.

"Best thing about Strands, you don't need to make an appointment. They're quick and good at what they do over there. I wouldn't mind tagging along. And don't even dare say anything - I'll pay. For the coffee incident, yeah? It's the least I could do." Ellie spoke, bright eyed as she waited for her response.

(Short, my bad ;-;)

Dyra ‘Dire/Malva’ Malvina Gowan | 19 | F | Les | T.E.R

Dyra smiled when Ellie mentioned Strands and the fact that they didn't require appointments. “Oh wow- They sound absolutely perfect!"

--

She paused, listening to the rest of what she had to say, before going to offer to pay, only to be beaten to it. For a second, she considered protesting but decided against it as she thought of an idea. "Fineeee, but you have to tell me your favorite thing to get from the bakery. Also, before I forget, when should we go to Strands? I have work soon, but I’m free for like, two hours after that. And since I'm only a part timer, I’m off at lunch.”

--

Dyra smiled, she would definitely be bringing Ellie whatever her favorite thing from the bakery was. No way was she going to back down from doing something in return for telling her about Strands and for paying for it.

--

She paused her drinking for a moment to study Ellie again, though this time her mind was wandering. It was weird, she’d thought that Ellie would still be uncomfortable given how she looked like her ex. But she seemed fine. Maybe it was because of how long it had been since the two had separated? Dyra wasn’t too sure, but she hoped it wasn’t for any bad reason that Ellie was comfortable.

--

And then her mind wandered to Evan. What would he think about Ellie? What would Ellie think of Evan? Sure, Ellie had dated a girl so she was at least bisexual, but what if Ellie was anti-trans? Dyra knew people like that. And Evan… How would he react if she was? Poorly, probably. He’d probably storm out of whatever room they were in and go take a walk… She hoped he wouldn’t do anything drastic, but how was she to know if he would or not?

--

She didn’t want to take any risks… But how was she supposed to ask her? She wasn’t even sure if the two would ever meet. Or that the topic of him being trans, ace, and gay would ever come up. And she definitely didn’t want to seem weird or something by asking such a random question.

--

She took another sip of her drink to try and clear her thoughts, relishing in the flavor of the cookie crumbs. It was definitely some good coffee, that was for sure. She wondered how they made it, could she get the recipe? Then she’d be able to experiment with different types of cookies and flavors and everything! Could she find a way to put cupcakes or ice cream or both into it? That would be so cool!

--

She smiled at the thought, grinning wildly. She would definitely have to ask them about the recipe eventually, these ideas were way too good to pass up. Should she open her own café? She could do bakery type stuff with it too. Lots of cafés did that, after all. She wouldn’t be too weird. The hardest part would probably be funds and finding employees for it anyways.

Ellie Ryan Miles
19 | Lesbian | Female

"Yeah. Got a buddy over there who can probably give you a discount, honestly. He knew Alyssa, but I'll have some shit to explain to him in the meantime." Ellie stated. Sorta defeated the whole "I'll pay for you" deal, but hey, she had to save money somehow, right? Ellie worked as a bartender, usually taking on ten to twelve hour shifts. Today she was luckily off, another friend of hers working in her place.

"No, you already bought me cookies and replacement coffee. Least I could do, right?" Ellie said, in which afterwards she took a sip of her own coffee. With the technology they had, the cups were automatically heated cups, and would be opposite if you ordered, say, an iced coffee to keep the beverage cold. Small, digital thermometers were within the cup, displaying the temperature on a small screen that could be adjusted if you swiped it with a finger. Crazy, she thought, looking back up at Dyra.

"They're open to five, I think. Should be fine when you're off, don't ya think?" Ellie replied, furrowing her eyebrows before she went back into thought, as she assumed Dyra did.

Ellie was half-tempted to just leave for the sake of dropping off the coffee at her mom's house, maybe seeing Alex, her younger sister. But with a slight huff, Ellie stood up and asked the barista for a pen and paper, in which the sweet lady did, and Ellie scribbled down her number. She had rather messy handwriting that was still legible, but she got in trouble with a lot of teachers with 'messy handwriting'. Ellie returned, folding the small paper in half, and sliding it over to Dyra.

Ellie sniffled slightly after taking another drink of the coffee, feeling the warmness of the cup transfer to her hands. "Take it, call me when you're ready. I can meet you at the bakery or here if you want, whichever you prefer. I could care less," Ellie offered, taking notice of that shit-eating grin on her face. Ellie grinned her self, only to raise her eyebrows.

"What ideas do you got brewing in that brain of yours?" Ellie asked. To be fair, Ellie would have some rather concerning ideas, mainly consisting of life-endangering things, but she figured that Dyra's thoughts were less problematic than Ellie's own.

"You know, I wasn't expecting to be sitting across someone else in my ex's Skin, but I don't think it was a mistake." Ellie said, trying to keep some sort of conversation going. She would like to get to know Dyra more, regardless of the Skin. She could care less at this point, to be honest, and normally, Ellie would've left by now. She didn't. Ellie felt fine, but she could tell there was something about herself that was unsettling.

For all she knew, Ellie could only be talking to Dyra just because she looked like Alyssa. Shit. What if that was the issue? What if that assumption about herself was in fact just that - a fact. Ellie exhaled, biting her lower lip as she awaited a response.

Dyra ‘Dire/Malva’ Malvina Gowan | 19 | F | Les | T.E.R

Dyra stared at the paper that had been slided over to her, nodding at what Ellie said, her ideas still brewing in her head as she stared at the slip of paper.

--

“What ideas do you got brewing in that brain of yours? You know, I wasn't expecting to be sitting across someone else in my ex's Skin, but I don't think it was a mistake.”

--

Dyra bit her lip, looking up at Ellie, catching her worried and almost guilty look. “Well, I’m glad you don’t think it was a mistake! I was just thinking about how I should totally ask for the recipe of this coffee so that I could learn to make it myself. And then open up a café plus bakery that sells coffee that somehow has ice cream, cupcakes, cookies in it all at once. Of course, there’d be other types of coffee than just that- But that would totally be the special. The hardest bit would be funding and finding employees. But if I was able to do that, then I could totally open it. Do you think it’d be popular? It sounds like fun to me.”

--

While speaking, Dyra grabbed the piece of paper and folded it carefully before putting it into her pocket. She would totally be saving it to her phone later. She continued, “I was also thinking about if you and my brother would get along. I’m not too sure, since I haven’t been talking to you for too long yet. But I mean, he gets along with most people, so probably.” She paused, thinking for a moment. “Hm… I don’t know if he’s still with Robbin and Revan anymore- Especially given how awkward things can be after getting a new body and all, even if he’s had it longer than I’ve had this one.”

--

Dyra wasn’t sure how Ellie felt about polyam either, but from what she’d gathered about her so far… Ellie didn’t seem the type to judge someone just because of something like that, so that gave her hope that she wasn’t anti-trans either. She thought for a moment before speaking again, “Do you have any siblings? I only have Evan, he’s awesome though, his current body technically being his third doesn’t matter- He’s amazing. Best twin someone could ever have.”

--

And then she realized that Ellie had refused to tell her what her favorite thing from the bakery was. Oh well, she’d just get them both some red velvet cupcakes with vanilla frosting. Dyra had long suspected that the red velvet mixture had chocolate chips in it, but she had never been able to prove it. But either way, it was one of the bakery’s best items in her opinion. She just hoped that Ellie wasn’t allergic to anything in it…

19 | Female | Lesbian

Ellie nodded, listening to her ideas. From what Ellie could already gather, Dyra was in fact someone who enjoyed baking and probably cooking. Ellie smiled slightly at the thought, seeing how her own mother enjoyed the two as well. Ellie never took after her mother, but rather her father before he died. Ellie took the interest in the guitar, learning some of her father's original songs and learning more popular songs. Ellie taught herself how to write music, so there were some original Ellie songs out there. "I'm sure they'd give it to you. That sounds like fun, I suppose. I was never big into baking or anything, but I'm sure what you make is good, yeah? You seem invested in it. I don't think it would matter if it was popular or not. Just as long as you're doing something you love, it's gotta be worth it, right?"

Ellie watched Dyra slip the paper into her pocket, Ellie taking another sip of coffee before she looked at Dyra as she spoke of her brother. "I mean I can get along with you, so I can probably get along with your brother. To be fair, I don't normally talk this much to people. Let alone someone who looks like my ex, but I'm putting that aside for now." Ellie paused, hearing her talk again. "I've seen people lose close ones from the new Skins. I remember being little, my mom taking me to see if we could afford my dad's new Skin. A young girl's Stone was put into some dying woman's Skin. Her parents didn't recognize her." Ellie decided to move on from the subject though, seeing that it wasn't the topic of interest. "Your brother's in a polygamous relationship? Not often you hear about that, especially around here." Ellie said.

Not too long into Ellie and Alyssa's relationship, Alyssa had tried to persuade Ellie into having a third person in the relationship. Ellie declined the thought many times, but it just wasn't her thing, and probably never would be. Ellie thought that if you loved someone, you should love that one person, not try to balance it out. But seeing others make it work amazed her, and she supported it all the way. To be fair, Ellie probably just never had the mental capacity for it. In a way it was odd, but it was becoming more and more common within the world.

Ellie nodded at Dyra's next question. "Yeah, I got a younger sister named Alex. She just turned fourteen a few weeks ago, actually." Ellie informed her, raising her brows after hearing 'twin.' Ellie knew some twins during highschool, but of course, you were able to tell them apart as they had requested new Skins. Stupid rich people, Ellie thought.

"How old is Evan? Evan's his name, right?" Ellie asked, waiting for a reply as she looked back at Dyra.

"You know, you should probably be leaving soon. Just saying," Ellie pointed out, taking notice of the time. They hadn't been talking for long, but it seemed like forever, and Ellie surprisingly didn't regret it. What a strange world.

Dyra ‘Dire/Malva’ Malvina Gowan | 19 | F | Les | T.E.R

Dyra smiled at the encouraging words about her idea, and nodded when Ellie mentioned how people did lose loved ones to new Skins sometimes. Dyra was especially glad when Ellie didn’t seem to mind the polyam related her brother had been in, nodding enthusiastically. Dyra had tried one, back in high school, though it hadn’t worked out too well. She had handled it well enough, she thought, but the other two had clashed way too much for it to have worked out for long. In the end, they had all just agreed to stay friends and that polyam wasn’t for them. It was a fun experiment, but it definitely wasn’t something that Dyra could ever see herself doing again.

--

“Yeah, I got a younger sister named Alex. She just turned fourteen a few weeks ago, actually.”

--

Dyra made an ‘Awww’ sound and grinned, “That is so cool- I bet she’s awesome. Do you two get along?” But then Ellie was talking again and Dyra smiled at the question.

--

“How old is Evan? Evan's his name, right? You know, you should probably be leaving soon. Just saying.”

--

Dyra hummed in thought. “Well, he’s my age. 19. Technically his Skin is 20 but I’d rather not think about how he’s technically older than me now. And Evan’s a nickname, his first name is actually Evander. And, yeah, you’re probably right, even if the bakery is only a few minutes away.” She took another drink from her coffee and stood up. “It was nice meeting you, Ellie. Even with the whole coffee incident, I’ll text you as soon as I get out of work, and then we can head over to Strands. We’ll probably need to meet here, since I don’t know where Strands is yet, haha.”

((Oof so short))

Ellie Ryan Miles
19 | Female | Lesbian

Ellie simply shrugged. "Sometimes we get alone, sometimes we don't. We're pretty close though. I basically raised the kid, so," Ellie huffed.

"I guess that was maybe a stupid question. You already said you were twins... But hey, it is possible for him to just appear older cause of his Skin." Ellie nodded, in which she stood up as well. "Nice to meet you too, Dyra. I'll be seeing you in a little bit." Ellie said, grabbing the two coffees and nodding. "I'll meet you back here then," Ellie said with a smile before walking out.

Ellie made her way to her mother's house after taking a taxi. She climbed out, departing from the driver and knocked on the door. "Mama, open the fucking door," Ellie called, in which she heard the deadlock unlock and the knob turn, only to open to reveal Alex. "Oh," Ellie squinted slightly as she pushed past Alex.

"Where's mom?" Ellie asked, setting the coffees down.

"She's sleeping you loudmouth." Alex replied, her eyes lighting up at the sight of coffee. "Are one of those for me?" She asked, in which Ellie shook her head.

"For me and ma, you weren't there to ask for any." Ellie replied, sitting down at the table and pulling her phone out.

Alex sighed. "Well, I'm going back into my room," Alex replied, heading down the hall and towards her room.

"Whatever," Ellie huffed, beginning to scroll through social media.

(We can just time skip ^^)

Dyra ‘Dire/Malva’ Malvina Gowan | 19 | F | Les | T.E.R

When Dyra got off work, the first thing she did was add Ellie’s number to her phone. Then, she bought two red velvet cupcakes with vanilla frosting from her workplace. Lastly, she texted Ellie.

--

‘This is Dyra! I’m on my way back to the café now!’

--

She walked out of the bakery, bag of cupcakes in hand, and began going down the sidewalk. She’d meet Ellie at the café, and then they’d both go to Strands together! It sounded great, if you asked Dyra. It also sounded like the best way to celebrate the one year anniversary of her second Skin. Which was definitely something that’s really cool too. And she was spending it with a friend, who’s not her twin.

--

It didn’t take long for her to reach the café, taking a seat at one of the outside tables to wait for Ellie. She was definitely excited, maybe even a bit too excited. She had practically skipped over here… Either way though, Dyra placed the bag of cupcakes on the table in front of her, she wasn’t going to try and hide them. Why would she? It wasn’t like she any reason to.

--

So as she waited for Ellie to arrive so they could head to Strands, she messed with the long beach waves… She’d probably do a bob, if she were being honest. A bob with sky blue highlights… Dyra just hoped that it looked nice and tasted better.

((So short but like, better than nothing))