It was rare that Belinda ever felt at a loss for words. When she approached relationships, be they friendships or otherwise, she was always the one who know what to say to direct the conversation. That being said, this was one of those isolated moments when she was absolutely flabbergasted. When Lida complimented her name, as well as her appearance, she giggled unabashedly. The joyful sound came to an almost croaking end when the other woman reached out and brushed a tendril of hair from her face. The cool touch was unexpected, but not unwelcome, much like the trail of dirt that was rubbed across her cheek and into her hair. She had experience similar incidents with T.J. when she caught him working in his garden, but the butterflies in her stomach never fluttered with quite as much fury as they were in this moment. Belinda should have felt badly at that thought -- she had only broken up with the man yesterday -- but that was the way she always handled transitioning from one “relationship” to the next.
Belinda was indeed caught -- hook, line, and sinker -- on every word that came out of Lida’s mouth. Though she hadn’t realized it yet, her mind was already formulating the next opportunity she would have to come back and visit this garden of wonders. Did she have plans tomorrow? No, and even if she had, they were nothing that couldn’t be pushed out of the way for the sake of spending more time here. And would Lida be interested in coming out with her? At any given moment, Belinda could name five or six meetings or rallies for environmental causes. It would be an absolute tragedy if someone tied to Earth, with such an immaculate garden, was not also interested in preserving the world at large.
Her heart fluttered a moment when Lida moved to wrap her arm around her, but she fought the pounding in her ears to truly listen to the words the woman spoke. Belinda silently shook her head, then answered that no, she hadn’t heard of any Elemental Guardians before. There was an audible gasp as Lida continued. All at once, Belinda felt like the strong hand of fate had slapped her in the face. Since she was a small child, she had devoted her life to the service of Earth, and now, here she was, speaking to someone who claimed to be one of Earth’s chosen few. Had she been drawn to this place on purpose? Belinda knew in her gut that it was so. Though she had moments before looked at Lida with admiration, her face was now full of wonder, as though she were looking upon an angel. “You can be chosen for such a thing?” Belinda licked her lips and considering her next words carefully, terrified that she would ruin her chances at such an amazing future. “What determines if you’re worthy?”