Akira smiled shyly when he said he’d be there for her. She remembered well what he had done for her up until this point. His presence stuck out more in her time with the boys than anyone else. It was he she would primarily look forward to seeing each visit to Hoja Mesto. ”Oh, this maze only enchanted never die. Akira go through maze many time since Akira adopted here.” One more right, two lefts and a final right.

They exited upon a sprawling field with grass almost chest high to Akira. In the distance, the lake glittered with a beautiful clock tower standing in the center. She excitedly pointed to the left of the lake. ”We live there. See house? Behind, Akira has place for lots of pets. Always growing. Akira keep find new pets.” Almost as quickly as her excitement grew, it faded fast. ”Lewis, back.”

Akira pressed her packages in Lewis’s arms while placing herself before him protectively. Her ears swiveled, listening as she peered into the grass. Something was tracking them, of this was she was sure. It wasn’t long at all before the distinct roar of a tiger sounded, and a tiger uncoiled itself as it sprang its attack. ”REIKA!” The child screamed as she fell under the weight of the feline.

As Reika purred, rubbing her face against Akira’s own, the foxling groaned as she curled up into a ball. There were no claw marks upon her or her clothing, no blood. Just a face scrunched in pain as she held her chest. The tiger peeled itself off of the child and sat nearby, somehow managing to look remorseful with its head hung low. She slowly began to push herself up, still clutching the healing ribs. To make matters worse, her head throbbed slightly. ”No, no, Reika. You fine. Accident. Akira be fine.”

It took a lot from Lewis not to immediately try to kill the tiger that had playfully ‘attacked’ Akira. When Akira had thrown the packages at the boy, he had been thrown off, but was more than ready to fight if he had to. No package was worth Akira’s life. However, even as the tiger pounced, Lewis felt no killing intent behind the whole ordeal. Akira was in pain, though, and that was something that the boy felt anger over.

“Back off…” he said, glaring at the tiger. “You’re hurting her.” The tiger seemed guilty enough over the pounce, but the ever cheerful Akira was made of stronger stuff than she appeared, and merely said it was nothing more than an accident.

“Here, let me help you,” he said, shifting the packages to one arm with careful balance. He extended his other hand. “Give me your hand.”

“You seem to know a lot of animals,” Lewis noted. “It seems as though they understand you, and you them.”

Gratefully, Akira took Lewis's hand as she pulled herself up with his counterweight. "Most are Akira. But Reika is Celeste companion. Raised from cub. Larka gave Celeste cub in dark time." She went to Reika and pulled her face towards the tiger's own, pressing her forehead against the soft fur of the skull. "See? Akira fine now." The tiger stood and rubbed against the child affectionately.

She turned toward Lewis with a pained smile, trying to hide the throbbing of both her head and her ribs, taking the packages back from him. "Yup. Akira fox, so Akira hear them… Most animal more smart than people think." A free hand was slipped into Lewis's own, leading him through the grass toward the house. Reika kept pace next to Akira as she fell into an awkward silence.

What does one speak about when she's trying to hide her own pain? He was trying to make more guild bases to help the other orphans, but guild politics shouldn't be the only thing they had in common. No, there was so much more to them than just the guild. Both were orphans, their parents most likely being dead. Akira looked up at him with a wide smile. "Did Lewis know you Akira favorite friend in all guild?"

Lewis could tell that Akira was hiding her pain as she tried to smile through it all. A part of him wanted to logically call her out on her bluff, but something akin to a conscious told him it would be a bad idea to hurt her pride like that. This was a strange thing for Lewis, who had up until meeting Akira, had been cool and calculating with everything and everyone. Well, except for Xeik, but that was different.

Or was it? The whole relationship that Xeik, Akira, and even Danwe had with him was something new and different that brought about a lot of complicated emotions that he had not felt before, and it made him uncomfortable. Perhaps, because he knew that these emotions clouded his overall thinking.

He paused that thought process though as Akira started speaking again, stating how he was her favorite of the Guild. ‘I’m…your favorite?” What did that mean? Did this have anything to do with the emotions that he felt for her and Xeik, or did it mean something else?

“Akira,” he asked. “What does it mean to like someone?” Lewis had an idea about the feeling. But he was unsure that it was the right one. After all, humans held a wide variety of emotions and experienced them all in different ways. Xeik abhorred violence, while Lewis almost relished in it. Was the like he got from tracking a prey different from liking someone?

“What do you mean ‘favorite’?” he asked.

Akira hummed in response to the way he restated her statement in a question with a nod. Yet, the next questions threw her into silence as she slowed her walking. She thought about the way she liked Shiloh and the guild, Lewis and her mothers. Even her father held a soft spot in her heart. Neera and the countless others she had met on her travels. Each one she like a little differently, but they all held one thing in similarity.

”Akira like someone who make Akira smile…” she started slowly, hoping she could word this right for him to understand. ”Or someone who nice, or help Akira… Friend Akira call brother and sister are friend Akira depend on.” A ghost of a smile spread on her lips as she thought about how Shiloh protected her from the group of mean boys. ”When Akira see them… Make Akira feel warm and safe.”

Now came the hardest to explain. Why was he her favorite? ”Lewis Akira’s favorite… Because I like you best.” It was the simplest way she could say it, but she continued. ”Not as brother. More than friend. Akira feel Lewis is… Safe.” Akira pulled him to a stop as she smiled up at her friend. ”But more than that. Lewis… Is hard explain, but you make Akira smile biggest.” She wrapped her arm around him, burying her face in his shirt as she hugged him.

”Akira do something stupid, Lewis…” It was for the good of the guild she had done something so dangerous. Akira hugged him tighter as she fought to keep her tears from falling. ”Went to zig-rat, Akira ran trials.” She shuddered as she recalled the way she got slapped into a wall, the way her skull cracked against it. ”But Akira no get treasure for guild. All Akira got is broken ribs.”