..inevitability of her worn-out copy finally coming unbound, she's never managed to find it in any of the bookstores or collections she's searched through.

Regardless, it's one thing that she regularly goes back to for comfort when life gets to be a little too loud. Until it falls apart, anyway.

It wasn't any sort of award-winning masterpiece or well-known, beloved children's classic. Truthfully, it was probably just from some low-volume print run of an obscure author that made it into the family collection by pure happenstance. Try as she might to find a replacement of it for the..

It was one of the first books Elle ever read that really captured her imagination about the world beyond her tiny little cage - a story of a girl learning she was destined for something greater and set out on some grand adventure to find what that something was. Naturally, that resonated with her.

This year is a little different though, given that she's presently Tural-bound. Her clinic may not be decorated this Starlight, but she *did* make sure to prepare for those gifts in her absence. As for herself? She'll still try to find a way to celebrate, whether she's stuck on a ship or not.

..the children. They aren't extravagant gifts by any means, mostly just things like homemade cookies, small toys, clothing, or other things she knows they need. But her patients are still excited and grateful for them nonetheless, and that gives Elle no small amount of joy.

elle is the dating sim character that you end up somehow maxing affection for even when you're not *actually* trying to romance her.

she just loves everyone.

HOUGH......

i don’t care if the power of friendship & hope is overdone. it fucking rules

to wear your heart on your sleeve, to love and push through the muck for a better tomorrow.

that’s the most badass thing anyone could ever do

..especially busy with work to find it in at least mild disarray. Books stashed in various nooks and crannies, never quite making it back to the shelves. A cold cup of tea that she started on, then forgot about when she got busy with something else. And her desk..? *Always* cluttered with work.

Which isn't to say that she's *not* a very skilled, knowledgeable, and legitimate physician/surgeon.

But unfortunately, the "I learned how to put people back together under the tutelage of a literal serial killer" Medical School - as it turns out - is not an accredited program. (2/2)