Celeste Academy - Fourth Date

 Please consider listening to After A Date, the first in the Celeste Academy OST, while reading the following text.

Carida sits on a quiet bench in the shadow of a lecture hall, just outside Professor Brown's window. 

Flocks of students pass by in either direction, many heading to the dining hall for dinner while other, more adventurous diners make for the experimental wing of the culinary building. A few smile or nod at Carida as they pass her by, although she doesn't make any move to get up.

"Nice memories, huh…" Carida mutters out loud. It's been several days since Carida's date with Natalesca, but her words still ring around Carida's head. The only one listening is an apathetic caterpillar that's inching across her shoe. It doesn't appear to have any helpful advice. 

Carida has certainly made her share of nice memories by now: Aurora's rings, Lexa's books, and most recently, Natalesca's adventures. Does everyone who dates Natalesca go through such a trial? That's probably the case, she decides. It's hard to imagine Natalesca being anything less than her true self. She's sent Carida several pictures since their date, mostly selfies or pictures of her meals. Carida can't help but smile at them. She's sure Natalesca will have plenty of nice memories to look back on.

It's hard for Carida to believe that she's already a quarter of the way through her search. This time, less than a year from now, she could be sitting on this very bench next to her beloved… She wonders, is Natalesca thinking of her right now? Is Lexa, or Aurora? There's no Attunement that can answer that question. Still, any of them could be The One… Just that thought gives her the shivers, and she quickly glances around to make sure nobody noticed.

Then Carida covertly pulls out her phone. There's a growing bundle of Wondr notifications at the top, because she's been swiping them away without checking, in order to let her social battery recharge. Now, she flicks open the list of pending matches and scrolls through. Has she always had this many people swiping right on her? It certainly doesn't feel like it. There are three in particular that catch her eye.

Sylvie, 24

❤ catnaps, dogspotting, and superhero movies

Greetings, humans. My name is Hans the labrador and I'm going to tell you why my mom is my favorite human being: she shares table scraps, she lets me sleep on the bed, and she always brings me along on adventures.

Psst, Sylvie here: my specialty is animal communication attunement. Right now I'm looking for a more human connection. Must love dogs (and all other animals).

Hazel, 26

❤ Bergamot, lavender, chai

Hellooo, lovelies !! My name is Hazel and I'm studying botany🌱, in particular medicinal plants. Not an Attuned, but I create my own tea blends 🍵 and do my own tea readings. Today, they told me that I would be very successful in endeavors of 💞love💞. Shall we have a chat and get to know each other?

Leah, 21

❤ Quiet spaces. Inspiration.

Violinist, pianist, flutist, and more. Aspiring AND inspiring composer, and future distinguished Celeste Academy alumnus. Searching for my muse… Send me a message if you want a private concert :)

Head Witch Note: This post and the date to follow is written by Josh Kaplan! Founder of our studio, director of Heart of the Woods, and co-writer on HotW and Highway Blossoms.

We're also extremely excited to announce Yuuki Rafflesia joining Studio Élan as an intern! She's going to be creating the soundtrack for Celeste Academy, which we'll post publicly on our Youtube.

Thanks for following along so far! We're so excited to show you what we have in store for this little series! - minute

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