"your experiences lend strength to your choices then." Cinead observed, rotating his cup of water with his fingertips. He lifted his eyebrows. "that is a strength for your choice of career."

A fleeting crinkle around his Hazel eyes portrayed his humor at her reaffirmation of the humorous nature of his choice to be a microbiologist. "strange indeed. Millions of tiny organisms aiding the world for good or for evil... Nothing, no being, can exist without them. We can mold them into medicines, create terrible weapons with them... It's fascinating. I found it hard to believe that creatures so seemingly insignificant could impact life so greatly." He dropped his gaze to his hands, studying the skin that covered them, the small details of hair and creases... He hadn't thought very highly of human intelligence before either.

Anna finished off her sandwich and put away the empty container. "Thank you. Heh, right back at you too." She nodded, taking a sip of her ginger ale. She watched him contemplate bacteria and couldn't help but smile a little more at how fascinated he seemed. It was a no-brainer that he was passionate about his work.

"The smallest and seemingly meaningless organisms turned out to be one of the most important things to every living thing on this planet. It really is ironic when you think about it." She chuckled. "In this dog-eat-dog world, where the survival of the fittest happens, the weakest can make or break you easily." She realized both of them were done with their lunch and wondered what would happen next. Should she ask for his number? Invite him to lunch tomorrow? She wasn't quite sure.

"Agreed." Cinead said as he finally lifted his eyes from studying his hands. "there are many things in this world that can surprise you when the knowledge is yours." He mused, Idly wondering what Anna would think if she knew The sort of creature that she had just had lunch with. That, above all else, was a piece of knowledge that he must prevent from ever occurring.

Fighting off the urge to grimace, Cin found himself glancing towards a clock on the sandwich shop's wall above the counter, sighing softly as he registered the close to the lunch hour. He had another couple of classes he had to attend before he could escape for the day. Maybe he would take the opportunity to go someplace remote tonight, stretch his wings... "well Anna. I must say, it has been a pleasure making your acquaintance." Cinead said sincerely, looking back towards the woman across from him. "it was a fortunate opportunity that you chose today to drop your belongings on my legs." He teased, eyes bright with amusement. "unfortunately, I must bid you farewell for the time being. My next class starts soon and the professor hates it when students walk in late." He once again offered a hand. "I hope that we may have the opportunity to meet up again."

"Yeah, I'm sure there's so many things that are out there. Some may right under our noses too, eh?" She thought over the possibilities. She was mainly thinking of sea creatures that lived in the far depths of the ocean.Anna noticed him check the clock and knew he would probably have to go soon. It was nice to chat with him while it lasted. "It really has, Cin. It was great to meet you. Maybe I can have your cell number?" Anna hoped they could possibly meet up again for lunch or something. She stood up and shook his hand. "I can say I've met the largest Microbiologist in the world~." She teased lightly.

Her teasing earned another crinkle around his eyes, the briefest of smiles that flashed teeth, before Cinead nodded his head a few times, his hand going to a pocket in his messenger bag to retrieve a slim phone from within that he then offered to Anna. He barely knew how to use the thing himself, could just manage phone calls and the occasional text message, And was constantly baffled and in awe at the myriad of icons on the screen that responded to a touch of his finger. He was much safer letting Anna do the technical work of entering a new contact. "go ahead and enter yourself into my phone. My own number should be listed at the top." He offered, Barely remembering in time that he needed to scan his own fingerprint to unlock the electronic and pressing his thumb against the button at the bottom of the screen.

Anna nodded back and waited for him to get his phone out. Hers was already in her pocket for easy access if needed. She went into contacts and typed in her name and texted herself a 'Hi, this is Cinnead.' She felt her phone vibrate and nodded to herself. "Here you go. We should meet up for lunch again sometime. I promise to to throw the contents of my bag all over you this time either." She joked lightly. She had been a bit of a electronically inclined girl. She loved how technology had advanced this far and usually knew a lot about the features of her devices and how to fix certain problems.

Excepting his phone as she returned it to him, Cinead quickly nodded in agreement. "I think that sounds nice. Especially if you promise not to throw things at me." He laughed Saufley, returning his phone to the pocket on his bag and finally getting to his feet. Stretching briefly, Cin finished off the last of his water before collecting the rest of his trash and discarding it in a nearby garbage can. "good day to you Anna, till next we meet." He said in parting, stepping to the front door and holding it open for his new friend.

Friend. Was Anna now someone he could consider to be a friend? The thought was interesting to consider, different. He had yet to make very many friends... The idea of befriending someone was not repellantt to him, but nor had he gone out of his way to draw closer to any one human. But now, meeting Anna, something deep within him told him that things were about to change, For better or for worse. His nature was drawn to her, found her interesting, and that was bound to alter him irrevocably...

Anna nodded along with him, laughing a little at his joke. "It was by accident! Gosh!" She pretended to groan. "I'll text you my schedule later and you can text me yours so we can figure when next time will be, ok? I'll even make sure not to being too much stuff that day to make it less likely that it'll happen." She joked. Anna blushed a tiny bit as he stretched, and took another sip of her half-empty bottle. "Bye, Cin! It was nice chatting and bumping into you!" She chirped as she walked out.

She thought over the whole encounter and took a deep breathe. That guy was too good. Anna could very easily see herself having a crush on him if he kept acting like he was during their lunch. It seemed that they were compatible at least as friends. They balanced each other out. At least to her.

The rest of the day Felt as if it passed by smoothly, if uneventfully to Cinead. His mind Felt preoccupied, his thoughts continuously returning to the time he spent with Anna at lunch. He realized that he hadn't felt pressure around her, and need to be something he was not, and had been able to relax and feel comfortable in his own skin for the first time since donning his human disguise. He found himself somewhat baffled by this conclusion, trying to pinpoint just what it was about the human woman that had made him feel so at ease. The answer naturally eluded him, Even well into the night as he drove to a secluded area near the Mountain range that edged the city, spending hours in the night sky, watching the stars as he flew over the dark landscape.

Morning came far too early for Cin, his jaw cracking frequently under the yawns that plagued him. But the loss of sleep had been well worth the time he had spent stretching his wings in his Dragon shape. He felt distinctly relaxed because of it. Taking a deep breath through his nose and out through his mouth, the tall shape shifter enjoyed a welcome gulp of Orange juice, the tart flavor washing over his tongue as he waited in his car at the stoplight for the opportunity to turn into the University parking lot. Not for the first time, he glanced expectantly towards his phone, sitting propped up against his messenger bag, the screen facing towards him. He hadn't heard from Anna yet and he wasn't quite sure if she was expecting him to send a message first. His mind had still been in tangles that morning when he had gone over his schedule for the day, trying to figure out where all the correct buttons were on the screen to send a copy of his schedule to her. He had eventually given up, planning on taking time before his first class began to work out the problem. Hopefully.

The light turned green and Cinead carefully turned his attention back to driving, devoting all of his concentration onto the procedure. He wondered if he would ever feel comfortable driving a vehicle, Surrounded by metal, speeding over pavement between other cars... Probably not. Lips tight, he tried not to grip the steering wheel too hard as he turned, following behind an older turquoise colored car into the parking lot. Thankfully, Cin didn't have to go far to find a space. He didn't mind the need to walk the rest of the distance, as long as it meant he could get out of the car sooner, even if that meant pulling into a spot at the very edge of the lot. With a feeling of relief, he put the car into park and cut the engine, depositing his keys into a pocket of his bag before picking up his phone. Glancing down at the display for a moment, he uncharacteristically slid the cell into his front pocket, keeping it close at hand. With a slight shake of his head, he picked up his bag, collected his drink, and got out of the car, locking it behind him as he headed towards the school.

The rest of the day went by quickly, only slowing down when she got back to her apartment and finally unwinded for a little before she needed to study. She had been somewhat distracted by her meeting with Cinead and it was starting to drive her crazy. Sh didn't know how she felt about him. It was some weird mix of platonic and romantic love and she wasn't sure where one ended and the other began when it came to him. She knew that there was a little more platonic love because they had just met and she didn't know him that well...yet. The fact that she had thought of the word. 'yet' was proof enough to heart that there was some romantic feelings in there somewhere.

She had tried to forget about it for the rest of the night to focus on school, but it only somewhat worked. Later that night, when she finally finished studying, she had jumped into her bed and went straight to sleep, resolving to start texting him tomorrow before she left the house.

The next day, she got up and started to prepare for the day. She was a little excited because they were gonna go over pregnancy in dogs and it was an excuse for her to have the cutest pictures in her textbook of puppies. She soon got out her phone and texted a simple greeting. She didn't want to make it seem like she was just dying to text him. Her text read:

"Good Morning Cin! How was the rest of your day yesterday?"

Halfway to the first of his morning classes, Cinead finally felt a distinct vibration from his phone, a muted chime accompanying it that his sensitive ears picked out. Slowing his pace, he really didn't want to run into anything or anyone by accident, he reached into his pocket and pulled out the device, Glancing down at the illuminated scream with a notification box on it informing him that he had a message from Anna. Deciding he didn't want to risk trying to text and walk at the same time, Cin stepped over to the edge of the sidewalk, leaning his back against a tree that had been placed in the center of two paths. Tapping the message icon, he unlocked his phone and almost smiled as he read the message. Carefully and slowly, he tapped out a return message, clicking his tongue in annoyance at a few of the auto corrects.

good morning to you as well Anna. The rest of my day was pleasant enough. I headed out to the mountains for a little while to get some exercise. I think it did me good. How did the remainder of your day fair?

To say that she wasn't waiting for his response was a lie. She was in her classroom when he responded to her. She had jumped at the sudden vibration but hadn't grabbed her phone faster in her life. Yeesh she had to calm down. She read his text and grunted softly to herself. She would wait a minute before she would respond. Anna didn't want to seem too eager now. Let him come to her and not the other way around after all. She thought up a good response and looked over some notes quickly. She typed it out and sent it quickly.

That sounds fun. I stayed in and studied. I have a test coming up. Maybe you could join me and a group of friends out for hiking one day then?

It seemed friendly and innocent enough.

Slowing once again when his phone vibrated, Cinead attempted to check his message while still in motion. That went fairly well, he didn't crash into any of the other students walking by, but when he attempted to start his reply while walking, he quickly became frustrated and had to come to a stop once more. He didn't understand how everyone else managed to walk and text at the same time, he observed, watching a few of the students pass him that were indeed focused on their phones, fingers tapping away. He briefly shook his head, returning to the much more interesting task of responding to Anna.

Then your time was much more productively spent than mine. Although I didn't have a test that needed my attention, so maybe I am the more fortunate one perhaps. he hesitated as he considered the offer to go hiking. What a strange past time. Then again, humans always seemed to be doing things he couldn't quite comprehend. Maybe he would find that he enjoyed the activity of walking through the mountains instead of gliding over them. I would enjoy spending time with you and your friends on a hike I think. My thanks for the invitation. I also believe you wanted to know some of my schedule today. I have a class that I'm headed to right now and then biology for the next hour before lunch. After that I have a chemistry class that needs my attention. Perhaps that will be the one that announces a test for the end of the semester first.

Class was about to start in a minute and Cin had texted her back. She got up and went outside her classroom and read the message quickly. Ok, she now has to set up a hiking day and it seemed he had a biology class at the same time as her? Maybe they were in the same class? She would ask him then. No use in guessing when she could just ask him.

Okay, I'll let you know when we're going a bit later. I think our next hike is next week. I'm in general Animal Bio , then gonna go to general Bio before lunch. I'm done for the day after that. Who's your teacher for General Bio? We might be in the same class.

Reaching his class with a couple of minutes to spare and making his way through the room quickly, Cinead slid into a seat near the back of the classroom as per usual, not wanting to block anyone’s view buy sitting in front of them, he worked on pulling out a notebook and a couple of pencils from his bag, putting his phone on the table in front of him. He had just pulled out his course book when his phone suddenly vibrated, rattling much more loudly against the table's surface then he had been expecting, startling him into dropping his book with a heavy thunk that drew the attention of those closest around him, a few even brave enough to snicker. Cin glanced at these individuals in particular, effectively silencing they're quiet laughter and making them turn away rather hastily. With a minute shake of his head, Cin picked up his phone from the table, turning the volume completely off before checking his messages.

He and Anna might be in the same biology class? That was interesting to say the least. After a moment in which he tried to remember if he had ever seen her before in coming up empty, Cinead wrote out his response.

thank you. And I have Professor Hart for that class. part of him wanted to ask Moore, but he had to keep reminding himself that he would get his answer soon enough. Again, he found it strange how Anna was the one person who could pull out his social side.

Anna had been about to go back into her classroom when he responded to her. She looked at it and raised her eyebrows in surprise. So he was in the same class as her. She felt a blush on her face but shook her head to try and calm down. She typed up her response quickly because her class was about to start.

Welcome! :) Oh! We do have the same class! I'll see you then! I gotta go, class is gonna start. She sent it and jogged to her seat. He seemed really relaxed in their conversation, which was good.

See you soon. Cinead sent and this time he actually did smile a little.

The next hour seemed to drag by slowly, But that was to be expected after spending most of the night awake and his thoughts continuously distracted by the Mistry that was Anna. By the time the professor finished her lesson on viral mutations, Cinead Felt as if he had done more yawning then actual note taking. Rubbing absently at the corner of one eye, he packed away his things haphazardly, stowing his phone into his pocket once more. With a slight groan and yet another yawn, Cin headed out of the room, sticking to the hallways as he made his way through the science building, Keeping an eye open for a short curlyhaired figure as he headed towards the biology room.

Anna had managed to take about 90% of he notes she was supposed to during class. The other 10% was missed due to thinking about what she would do in the next hour. This infatuation was beginning to be a bit troublesome to her but, she wasn't necessarily fighting it either. She tied her hair into a ponytail and was never happier to get through this class than she was now. She had been heading to class s little quickly, not really looking for him as a precaution. She didn't want to bombard him.

He had been unsuccessful in locating Anna on his way to class and had even looked over the faces already seated or milling about within the room, so Cinead Took up a sentry position just to the side of the doorway, leaning his back against the wall. It probably looked a little silly, if the curious looks he was receiving were anything to go by, but he didn't want to Miss Anna among the crowd. Again, he found him self surprised at the intense feeling of curiosity and some sort of attraction he couldn't quite place his finger on that he felt towards the woman. Was it something to do with the shape that he currently was wearing? Or perhaps the magic of his species as a dragon knew something that he didn't... What ever the underlying reason, Anna had come into his life like a streak of lightning, The after image burned in his vision refusing to fade with time. As a creature unused to sudden changes, the idea made him slightly uneasy.

Anna had come into a room with a few minutes to spare before class started. She jumped when she saw Cinead. "I-Oh. Hey, Cin. What's up?" She offered a nervous smile. She was happy to see him but also a bit unsure of what to do. It then dawned on her that she might sit with him, they didn't have assigned seats in that class.