A flock of seagulls happily tend to the discarded crumbs a group of other students left behind in an isolated part of the beach. Leif attempts to watch them from afar, though he has a small amount of crackers in his hand pilfered from the offered treats for the guests. As he's clearly debating what to do and how to approach the birds, he senses someone else approach nearby and turns.
“ Oh. Wait, Marianne? ” His classmate shows up in a surprise moment, but once he recognizes her, he realizes this might be just the thing he needs actually. Quietly, he begins to beseech of her, “ ...! You're good with birds, right? Can you help me here? ”
Once, long ago, a promise like this was made. What a coincidence that they might make good on it at yet another Ethereal Ball.
“ Can I approach them? I'd been thinking of feeding them but wasn't sure... But I've always wanted to ever since I was younger, ” he confesses, somewhat forlorn as he looks back out to the birds. That mournful quality mixes in with his eagerness at the very idea however. When he glances back, he offers, “ I'll give you my bracelet charm if you give me some advice. I promise! ”
She was just watching the birds, a common hobby of hers, frowning as the seagulls gobbled up all the crumbs carelessly left behind when Leif approaches her. She hears his questions, and at seeing the crackers in his hand her frown deepens. "If you wait long enough they may approach you and take the crackers right out of your hand, but it's not good for them."
She looks back at the birds and sighs. "Gulls are more than capable of scavenging for themselves, and leaving food for them can make them aggressive. They usually eat fish, so feeding them bread crumbs and crackers is bad for them in the long term."
Maybe she's being too negative though... "If you'd like, I'm sure we can find some tide pools and maybe you could give your crackers to the creatures living there? The gulls may eat some of them too, but at the very least they're still scavenging, and they may choose to eat the creatures that come out of the tide pools instead of the crackers..."