The same as her, this stranger? Rena almost snorted at the thought. No, it was obvious to her and everyone else, for sure, that Raven was nothing like her. This guy was relaxed, and friendly, and just aggravating, actually. Hmm, maybe that was what they had in common? Their equally abrasive personalities, just in much different manners? While Rena pondered a bit upon this, her expression faded into one of serenity and a bit of absentmindedness. She only vaguely could hear Raven's words as he said something about not being with any guilds and whatnot. His words faded away as Rena contemplated whether either of them were free, despite their status of not being affiliated with much of anyone or anything.
The girl snapped out of her trance as the stranger took on a bit of a darker tone to his voice, and watched as his posture became less relaxed and much more serious. Hm? What's up with him?, Rena thought irritably, and was about to say something when his words hit her. He questioned whether she was actually mistrustful towards him, and was speculating that she was, in reality, afraid? The girl's eyes narrowed and she opened her mouth to respond, but her biting retort was abruptly stopped in its tracks when the next phrase came.
Rena glared at the person sitting next to her, who had actually shifted around and seemed to be completely relaxed right now, since he was in a position similar to what someone taking a nap would assume. Just as the girl finally formulated a response after being interrupted yet a third time, the guy began to talk again, saying something about a great view from a cliff in Hargeon Town. No way. This was not happening. Rena leapt to her feet, her temper skyrocketing immediately. AISH, THIS GUY! She couldn't get a single word in! He simply continued to break up her train of thought and concentration, and when we she tried to speak he would interrupt.
It was getting to the point where Rena could no longer stand him, so she grabbed her katana in a fit of annoyance and bashed the stranger over the head with the sheathed sword. Violence is always an option and often the answer.
"Huh?" Raven looked up when Rena jumped to her feet. He could practically taste the anger in the air, and had to wonder if he'd pushed the wrong button. It went from wondering to mild regret as she grabbed her sheathed blade and brought it down on his head. Rather hard actually. That was going to be a lump, he just knew it. It was his fault for resisting his reflexes. Also his own temper flared, but instead of acting on it he just sighed.
"They say resorting to violence is a sign of immaturity," Raven said matter of factly as he rubbed his head where she'd whacked him. Despite obviously feeling the pain, he felt no real amount of regret after the fact. However, now Raven felt the need to remind her that she couldn't just lose control all the time. Even though she probably knew and didn't care. And even though he was such a powerful wizard... he hadn't owned up to it. Yet. "That's twice now you've attacked me. What if I was some great and powerful wizard who could smoosh you in an instant? You have to be more careful."
"Well, that seems like a true statement considering the fact that I am very immature. And I don't even mind that. I know I'm angry, and I'm just acting on that anger. It'll get me into trouble soon, and it already has in minor ways. I don't intend to change any time soon though." Upon watching Raven rub his head, she didn't feel any sympathy. All she did was mutter something about how he had deserved it.
His second comment made her pause, if even for a second. Yes, he was definitely right. And he probably was some powerful wizard, but at this point Rena didn't really care. And also... "The first time I attacked your coat, not you. That kind of Swanfire desires to cleanse, not devour human flesh. Basically: I was aiming at that jacket because it seems that the art of washing clothes has not yet been discovered not introduced to wherever you have just come from. And by the way, you're right in that I should be more careful. I ought to be more careful. But I don't have to. I don't have to do anything."
And with that phrase lingering in the atmosphere, Rena stuffed her katana into her pink sat hell, stretching the fabric as much as possible. Then she hefted it over her arm and stood firmly with her opposite hand on her hip. "I have to leave now, anyways. But I hope your head hurts." Rena stomped away with absolutely no clue of where she was going. The girl hadn't really meant the last sentence, but it was to deter Raven from following her.
"Sure, I'll wash my clothes in the dirt since that's all that's around those trails," Raven shrugged and stood up. She was right that she didn't have to. It was her choice. However, he was tired of people being stubborn and not changing and it hurting other people. A lot of other people. "I literally got into town less than a couple hours ago and hadn't made it to an inn yet."
"You know," Raven didn't hesitate to follow after her as he walked. Though he linked his fingers behind his head after making sure his sunglasses were pushed up. His coat trailed behind him slightly at the pace they were walking at, but had no problems keeping up with her since his legs were longer than hers. "I think you care a little more than you let on. Since that didn't really hurt all that much. If you want to hurt someone, you should mean it."
Rena had ignored the fact that it was nearly impossible to wash clothes while traveling around Fiore in some ways besides taking the train. But unfortunately, it seemed that Raven was not going to let her get away with saying things that made no sense whatsoever. Rena had no intention of apologizing for speaking carelessly anyways, so she ignored his first statements just now.
However, she had noticed that he stood up in between the statements, and mentally groaned again. He was going to follow her, wasn't he? The girl picked up her pace, but gritted her teeth as the stranger simply continued to walk with her, talking the entire time and maintaining a relaxed position. But his words seemed to be meant to provoke her, or...
Rena paused in her walking and turned around. She just had this feeling... "Why should I mean it? What's wrong with doing something just because I want to? What if I don't want to do it all the way in case something doesn't work out? I feel like you disapprove of me smacking you and not aiming to kill you or something." The girl ignored the part about her caring. She didn't feel like lying some more today.
"It's not that," Raven shook his head slowly, though his tone took on a slight tinge of sadness. The poor girl was tragedy waiting to happen. That thought, mixed with previous memories made Raven kind of sad. But he shrugged that off as he folded his arms against his chest. It was a signature move of his to prevent fidgeting. "I'd prefer it if I didn't have to come kick your butt for killing people needlessly."
"...Yeah, you sound almost exactly like us a few years ago..." It was spoken more quietly as Raven's gaze shifted to the sky. The clouds were drifting by slowly, and one was starting to cover the sun, granting shade to Dawn Town. Instead of the normal aloof smile, his face seemed pretty neutral. "I can tell you the what if. But as you are right now, you'd probably tell me you're okay with it."
Rena frowned. "It's obvious that you don't understand what I do and don't do. I don't kill people for no reason. I can control myself, you know. And I would prefer that too, anyways." Rena smiled just a little bit and watched him shift around, crossing his arms in front of him in an effort to stay still. She did that sometimes too, but would focus on deliberately moving around in some ways to prevent herself from playing with her hair or smoothing down her skirt.
Dang it girl, you have to get your act together, Rena thought irritably. She opened her mouth to say something ornery, but stopped once some more words drifted out of the stranger's mouth, seeming a bit sad and a little regretful. Rena actually stopped to listen when Raven continued, his expression less set apart than she had come to be used to. Then, with a deep breath, the girl replied, "I'm not okay with a lot of things that I pretend to be. But yeah, I'd probably tell you that I am. Raven." She paused and then said her next words with an apprehensive look. "... Thank you."
And with that phrase lingering in the air, Rena took off at a sprint, dashing around a nearby corner and into an alley before running away as fast as she possibly could manage.
Raven watched Krisa carefully as she spoke. Then she admitted what he already knew. That she would say she was okay with it, but that she wouldn't actually be okay with it. It's was a reminder to Raven that if he opened up a little, so would other people. Part of him wanted to go ask Kotone how to bond with people. She knew how. But that was probably bad idea.
"..." He watched Krisa take off and rub the back of his head slowly. He hadn't meant to make her run off. Part of him felt bad. All of him felt responsible. But for the time being he knew that running after her wouldn't help. So he sighed and started walking after her while murmuring to himself. "I understand better than you know..."
So he walked, following her scent. She would easily put distance between them for the time being, and he wanted to see how she was doing by the time he showed up. So he wasn't super eager to just throw himself out there. At least at first. He didn't want to see any more people walking down the path he had if he could help it.
Unknownst to Raven, Rena had actually made a bit of a loop and was now looking for Raven, doubling back as soon as she got out of the alley way. The girl was curious, and hey, she didn't always have to run away. This guy was kind of interesting, so she wanted to see what he would do. He'd been following her for awhile now, or at least threatening to or acting determined to... and she wanted to see whether he was a liar.
Rena suddenly spotted a flash of red hair, moving past another building at a leisurely pace. The girl peeked around the corner and saw Raven whispering something to himself, and she leaned forward, pricking her ears to listen, but only caught the end with the phrase "...better than you know" before she decided it was too risky to stay out in the open like this.
Then suddenly, the girl realized that the guy had disappeared. She ran out in the direction of where he she had last seen the stranger before he vanished. "Geez. This guy..." Rena huffed. Just then, she realized that she was standing in end of the alley that she had ran through before. Was he... following her? But from this far away, at this slow of a pace? Oh dang, since she stopped and he was still moving... Rena panicked and dove into the next alley over. Sheesh, she wasn't being very careful today.
Raven continued following her scent a his pace. But it quickly became apparent that they were looping in a circle. He frowned as he walked trying to figure out why. She was running from him after her feelings got the better of her. So she wouldn't be looking for him... Would she? Of course, even if he found her again he didn't know what he'd say to her.
He let out a sigh and turned around. Knowing his luck, she would at the exact same time. But there was a solution to it. He would simply get the high ground. So instead of going down the alleyway, he simply climbed up to the rooftops. That's when he caught sight of her, hiding in another alleyway. So he moved from buiilding to building quietly until he was on the building above her.
"I see you like moving in circles," He said, the aloof grin returning in full force. Of course, because of the alleyways his voice echoed a little. So even though he was above her, it might not seem that way at first.
AISH, THIS GUY! Rena groaned out loud as she heard the easily recognizable voice of Raven bounce all around her, originating from... where? The girl poked her head out around the edge of the dumpster she had squeezed behind. Now, the location of that troublesome guy... eh? Rena narrowed her eyes, scanning the entire alleyway for a trace of the red-haired stranger. Nope, nothing to the left. Right was clear too. Just to be safe, Rena checked behind her and even right under her feet, in case he was a pervert or something and was hiding in the ground. The guy was a mage, after all.
Just then, it became painfully obvious where Raven was hiding when a bird flying over decided to go to the bathroom, and white speckles decorated the girl's light brown hair. Rena gritted her teeth and stared directly up, glaring at the guy, who was grinning at her from the top of the building she was pressed against, trying to hide form him.
"You can't know that for sure. Maybe I hate circles and triangles are my type. I have something to do in this area and didn't want to run too far away. Not that I was running away, anyways. And what are you doing up there? Come to think of it, how were you following me? Are you a dog or something, tracking by smell? I saw you on the streets far behind me, so it couldn'tve been by sight...
Raven flinched slightly when the bird pooped on Krisa. Well... that was unfortunate and not what he wanted. And of course she seemed to be back to being angry. Which from what little he could tell was her normal state of being. Well, it was likely that was only the case because of her mistrusting mind trying to keep her trusting nature in check. Maybe. All he had was guesses right at that moment.
"If you like triangles then why go in a circle?" Raven asked keeping his aloof grin up. He jumped down, bending his legs on the impact. Standing up, he pulled out a handkerchief and offered it to Krisa. He worded it in such a way that it was unbelievable, but not denialeither as he continued. "Tracking you by smell? That'd be kinda weird if was true don't you think? And imply you need a bath."
Rena regarded Raven a bit warily. "I never meant to go in a circle, you know," she grumbled, backing a bit away as the guy jumped down. She ignored the proffered handkerchief and let her satchel slide down her shoulder to a position where she easily snatched a white hairbrush out of the inner pocket. Letting go of the bag completely, it clattered onto the ground, but Rena simply lifted her hands up and began to brush her hair out. The hairbrush removed anything dirty from her hair and was a nice way to have clean hair without washing it every single day. She couldn't go around with bird-poop splattered hair, after all. Wiping it out only did so much.
After the girl was finished, she addressed Raven's second set of statements. "So did you or did you not track me by my scent? I'm a liar, remember? I can spot when a question is being dodged. And if it's true, there are some weirder things. If you are a dog, then it wouldn't be very weird." Rena paused. It had almost seemed like she'd made a joke, and that was no good, so the girl scowled and hurriedly snapped, "And I do not need a bath! If I smell right now, it's because of you standing next to me."
"Did I?" Raven repeated the question and swayed back and fourth slightly. He tapped his cheek thoughtfully as he glanced upwards again. He forced himself to stop though. How long had it been since he just acted like a kid? ...Had he ever been able to just act like a kid? He felt old again and needed to stop. "Are you sure it was smell? I could have like, watched your aura, or just been an expert tracker! Or asked the birds. They're always watching people."
"But, joking and teasing aside..." Raven shrugged, the aloof grin still ever present. He let his arms fall back to his sides and straitened up slightly. Though he did take a moment to make sure his sunglasses were pushed up on his face. He didn't want his eyes scaring her off after all. He'd learned his lesson before and wouldn't outright deny it. "In this case I did sniff you out. And don't worry, it wasn't some kind of stink. Each person just smells different because each person is unique. I could probably pick out the difference between identical twins if I met both of them."
Rena mentally slapped herself as the guy acted as though he was deep in thought or was imitating some sort of old man with a bad memory. Just as she was about to say something again, Raven continued to speak, giving other ways that he could have tracked her. All were unlikely, although the aura watching was less unbelievable than the others. However, the way he spoke obviously got the point across that he was simply messing around and none of these were actually serious options or ways he could have followed her.
Again, right when she opened her mouth to speak the guy cut her off, becoming serious but still had that infuriating grin situated on his face. He did stop the acting though, and pushed up those sunglasses. Why? What was wrong with his eyes? Rena was a bit curious, but didn't say anything. She was determined to find out, though, and came up with a plan of attack as she listened to him explain that he had, in fact, followed her by scent, and also that she didn't need to take a bath. But honestly... she was sure he wasn't human at this point. That or he had enhanced senses, since he was some kind of a mage after all. Maybe his eyes hid some kind of secret.
Moving as quickly as she could, the girl leaned forwards and snatched the guy's sunglasses off of his face. She was really curious as to why he kept making sure they were always in place, and a good place to start finding out why seemed to be to take them off. Perhaps his magic might be revealed too, like whether it was simply enhanced smell or whether he had different vision as well.
