It had been a year since he’d come back to Ataiyo and he slowly breathed in the scent of home.  How strange it was to be here alone without the fear of a surprise attack from one of his brothers or a fellow pupil of the Shadoka School.  All of them had been sent there at a young age to be sized up, see if they would be of any use to them.  Each of them had been and he knew his mother would have a few curses for him if he didn’t pay some sort of visit.  No one ever truly stops being a student, not when you have a lifetime to continue learning. 
 
The familiar smell of frying oil and freshly grilled meats and vegetable filled his nostrils comfortably and already his mouth was watering just imagining having a taste of food from home.  On the go it was hard to have a nice home cooked meal, or even anything authentic to his upbringing, and his stomach was homesick.  Sometimes he thought about coming back and settling in here, but he knew it could never be.  His life was one that would constantly be shifting.  To be honest he was surprised that his parents stayed in one place for so long.
 
Vampire hunters gained many enemies from covens and drew danger to their loved ones like magnets.  Some saw his family’s stationary lifestyle as arrogant, but he saw it more as confidence.  But he was still young and didn’t want to test that boundary.  Aside from that, any place he stayed included Minasé and he’d never plague a place with him.  If not for his parents knowing as much as they did about holy magick there would have been a lot more misfortune in his childhood than there already had been.
 
A young girl in her apprenticeship to become a tayuu walked past them: her beginner robes flapping behind her as she made her way through the streets.   “I’m sure she’d taste sweet!”   His eyes halved, ignoring Minasé and shaking his head as he walked towards the market.  It was the middle of the day, every place he went was crowded with bodies trying to get this or that and the close proximity was a bit too much for him so soon; being far too used to keeping people at arms’ length, both physically and mentally.
 
Music drifted to his ears and he followed the strumming sound as if it were leading him away from the crowd and into safety.  A semicircle of people had gathered, their bodies blocking him from seeing the performer and he politely waited in the back until a person would move.  It took him a few minutes of patience but finally he made it close enough to look over peoples’ heads, lips parting at who he saw.  The girl from the lake, Holly, it was her and the lute he had bought to replace the one he’d broken. 
 

It was strange, seeing her, knowing where she was while she stayed unbeknownst to the fact.  In some ways it felt wrong and his cheeks burned at the memory of their last encounter.  She had grabbed him, pressed her lips against his, and in fear he’d instantly teleported away from her to safety.  Safety for her.  What were the odds that she would be here on the same day that he decided to come back…?

Holly had been in shock as the boy teleported away from her. She figured she had pushed too much and made her way back to the surface. Dried and dressed she took her possessions and made her way towards Ataiyo. She had always had a good crowd there. She could get room and board and not have to think about a silly boy and how much he was afraid of her.

Her brown hair trickled down her back and sides as she opened a gate. She went through it and finished the long walk to Ataiyo. It was one of her favorite walks and the route there was as busy as ever. She took her tambourine he bought her and played it. A melody left her lips and travelers tipped her coin as she went.

Finally once she got to the city she changed to an outfit much like that of a dancer. Making her way down to the streets she took that tambourine and she played. The song played loudly as she danced and she sang. Her eyes were ever enchanting as they met each and every person who dared stop to see her. They threw coin in her pouch that she left open near her. She sang of Arri, she sang of her mother, she sang of love.

The song was coming to an end as she slowed the beat of the tambourine. Her eyes connected with Naota and she humphed as she shook the tambourine at him and began to dance again. Her song this time was a somber one as she slowed and waved her body delicately to the sound of the music.

It wasn't long before someone interrupted her and took her pouch of money. She set the tambourine down and started to get into an argument with him. "That is my money. I need that coin!" The man threw it at her only to pick her up and start to walk away.

"You would fetch more then I would get out of that petty little sack little girl." He was much stronger then her as he took off.

His eyes averted from hers when she shook her tambourine at him.  She wasn’t too pleased, he couldn’t really blame her when he was honest with himself.  After all: he had just abandoned her there with no word or warning.  But…she’d gotten too close, too intimate, he couldn’t stand it, not that quickly.  That guilty pit only grew deeper as her song shifted.  Her family was so lovey, so touchy and at ease to do so, it had to be a strange contrast when put up against him.  Maybe people like them weren’t meant to mix and mingle.
 
Her voice caught his attention and he looked back up in time to see her mid argument with a man that had her purse of earnings.  Already he was urgently though still politely weaving through the last two rows of people to get to her, to pull them away from each other, but before he could she was flung over his shoulder.  Instant rage.  His heart spiked to a dangerous pace and his eyes bled into crimson from their soft emerald.  To say he grew protective of people quickly was an understatement.  But as much as he wanted to give the man a good strike to the back of the head, he knew that it would only make him just as much of a brute.
 
Or worse, Minasé would see his chance and take it.  He’d be lying if he were to say that he didn’t use their combined speed and strength to his advantage at times.  Moving fast enough to be a blur, he caught up with them with such haste that, to him, everything else moved in slow motion…though really that was his senses picking up on every detail.  The fabric of the man’s clothing, how her hair fell in shaky streams with his strides, his eyes as they slowly moved to meet his.  He could hit him.  He wanted to, but he didn’t.  Instead, he slide his arms around her and teleported them away to the dirt road he’d walked on to bring him here. 
 

His jaw was still locked and his blazing eyes kept a constant glare in the direction of the city as he set her down on her feet.  “If not her, some other girlie you know.  We should go back, feel the inside of his skull.”   It was tempting.  Too tempting.

The brunette was beating the brute's back and screaming at him as she tried to reach up and smack his head. She was a fighter. "Just wait until I get down from here I'll make sure you regret the day you picked me up you giant asshole." She yelled and beat him more and all he dig was readjust her and keep going.

However, in a few moments she seen Naota there next to her. He slipped his arms around her and she clung to him. She was happy but also at the same time still hurt by him. She clung to him for a long time after he set her down. Finally she stepped back from him and sent her hand across his face.

"You just left me there in the lake like a damn fool!" She yelled at him as her face turned red. "Then I get kidnapped and you just happen to show up." She didn't like coincidences but she stared at him and took another step back from him. She didn't want him to leave. "You didn't have to save me. You made it clear how you felt when you left me." She was hurt as she crossed her arms and looked away from him.

A harsh slap hit his cheek, summarily snapping him out of it promptly as his head went to the side.  He slowly raised a hand up to his face and felt the heat left there by her hand as he looked back at her: eyes back to their natural green, albeit wide from light shock.  Now there was a new heat filling up his face, some from embarrassment, some from guilt, and again he was looking away from her as his hand fell from his face.  “I didn’t mean to leave you.” He paused, choosing his next words carefully, “I meant to since I left, but it wasn’t planned…it wasn’t my intention from the beginning.”
 
His eyes closed, but only for a heartbeat, “You don’t know me, you don’t know things about me or you’d understand why I did what I did.” He found it in himself to look back at her again, “As for helping you, I know of your strength.  Upon our first meeting I watched you pull a tree up from its rooted spot.  It isn’t about having to rescue you: it’s about doing what’s right when you see a wrong…”
 

This was too much, there were too many things that the two of them didn’t know about each other.  Perhaps this was why his mother had told him to stay away from women…Not that it mattered, men could cause the same reaction, but he hadn’t been barred from them so he was more comfortable around them.  More easy and calm.

Holly stared at him and huffed a bit. "You won't let me know you and you have no idea if I would understand or if I would help you." She stared into his eyes as he stop and found herself liking his personality. He was humble that much was for sure but she knew that back at Vila.

Crossing her arms the Rosenite calmed down and sighed. "And now I don't have any money."  This time of the year made her shiver a  bit as she moved to hug herself and break the little breeze that was about. "Thank you for saving me but don't leave again." She moved her hand to poke him in the chest.

"Nothing you can do will scare me away. I've seen enough bad in this world to be afraid." That was why she was so stubborn and kind. "You see a lot being the daughter of a healer. From the wounds to who causes them. Demons. Humans. All of them act alike. My mother isn't just a goddess who does good from a hiding place. She is a healer and a herbalist. She goes about and delivers babies. She helps those who need it."

Staring at Naota she gave him a smile. "Just like you need it. You are so jumpy all the time."

The corners of his lips tugged into a small smile when she poked him, but it was so small and brief that even he barely noticed it.  In getting her out of the man’s grasp he had completely forgotten about her money purse and his shoulders went down.  He wasn’t sure how much she had saved in it, but he’d try his best to replace as much of it as he could…and hopefully find that man.  But that was a much less pressing matter right now: money first, man later. 
 
His eyes studied hers for a moment and then moved away, contemplating starting a conversation he really didn’t want to have.  “I have reason to be jumpy, and while I’m glad that you have more understanding than most would, the knowledge that you’ve seen so many horrible things makes me even more wary.”
 
One day he knew she’d find out more about him, whether he liked it or not.  But that day wasn’t today and he didn’t want to talk about it if he could push it away for a later date.  “Have you ever been afraid of bringing others in danger before?  Not danger from some outside source, but danger that came solely from you?”   Even if he couldn’t explain everything to her, maybe he could help her understand more of his own fear.  It wasn’t much, but it was a start.
 
As he spoke he moved his hooded jacket from himself, rolling his shoulders back to get it off completely and held it out to her.  He was tempted to move it around her shoulders but didn’t trust himself too close to her just yet, “Here…Until we can get all of your earnings back.”   His eyes softened as he slowly routed energy down his arm, through his fingertips, and into the fabric of the jacket he was holding out to her.  It was something small he would do sometimes when desperation took hold: add warmth to his clothing that would stay.  This would hopefully keep her from shivering too much and keep her warm…
 

His thoughts drifted to home, how warm and large it was: plenty of room, plenty of security due to its inhabitants.  If not for the sternness of his mother and father he’d have no hesitation in bringing her there, but right now he didn’t want to have to worry about the flurry of questions he’d get later from bringing a young woman there with him.  All of them would get the wrong idea.  Maybe the guests’ corridors…Well, if it came to it.  

It was almost like they had a staring contest going as they studied each other. "I'm sure you do but I am much more stubborn than you will ever know and I will find out about you." She gave him a humph and then a gentle smile.

Listening to him she thought about it. "Not really danger but." She blushed a bit and looked up at him. "I didn't ever want someone to love me because of who my mother was. To try to gain her good graces through me. It might be a sort of danger at least to myself." She looked at him and then smiled. "I'm not scared though. You can try to hurt me but you won't."

She watched his jacket and smiled at him once more. "You are very sweet." She took the jacket and found it warm as she snuggled into it. "You smell nice." She chuckled a bit as she turned her nose to the collar and smelled it. She looked back up into his eyes and giggled. "Will you stay with me while I'm in Ataiyo? I may have a place we can go.. Not the best but clinics are known by my mother and usually have a free  bedroom for travelling clerics.. will you stay with me?"

She knew with how jumpy he was that it was a bit of a guess on if he would stay with her or not. "We can talk more there and out of the wind." She had no idea he was from here and this was her best idea for a place to stay since her earnings were stolen.

He hadn’t known her long at all, but already he knew she was speaking the truth about her level of stubbornness.  It wasn’t a bad thing, but it certainly would make things more complicated when it came to trying to keep her at a safe distance as he did everyone else.  Part of him didn’t want to though.  It was a constant intricate dance to try and maintain friendships while not allowing himself to get too close to anyone other than family.  Hell, even with family he was starting to drift more than he wanted to admit…He needed to figure out a way to fix this problem.
 
Everything she said though, that was something he had no experience with and it pulled at his heart to think of her own insecurities with friendship or any relationship.  People could be so cruel and he knew that, using people had to be one of the harshest things someone could do to another person.  Being led on in any way.  Honestly if it had ever happened to him he was unsure of whether he’d ever trust other people again.  That kind of thing tended to stick with you whether you wanted it to or not.
 
When she wrapped herself in his jacket he tried not to get distracted by the intimacy, intimacy without him even having to touch her.  She was so very friendly and easy with expressing herself that he hardly knew what to do or say and merely averted his eyes and smiled.  But the thought of them sharing a room was out of the question.  Visit with her there perhaps, but not stay there for the night.  The thought of her being there alone when she came from such a big family, and…had just been robbed, would bother him for the rest of the night though.  That much he knew.
 
He chewed on his bottom lip, hesitating for only a moment before speaking, making sure to get the words out before he could stop himself, “You could always come with me.  I’m actually from this corner of the world, my family’s estate isn’t too far from here…I could even drift us there.”   So long as he knew the place, could envision it, he could teleport himself or anyone with him there. 
 
“It’s warm, there’s plenty of room…There’s people there though, if you wouldn’t mind it.”   Her family was so vast that he doubted it would bother her, but he still couldn’t help but warn her.  After all: these would be strangers.  When he was honest with himself, they barely even knew each other so he wouldn’t have been offended should she decline.  He at least wanted the offer to be out there for her, should she want to take it.
 

“Most of the time I can manage to be given peace while I’m there, no one would bother you…” That he’d make sure of for certain.  At this time of year he doubted that any of his brothers were back for a visit, and even if they were he could usually get them to understand when a moment was serious and when it was all right to joke about.  Their mother would be more than enough without them added in.  Maybe it wasn’t such a good idea to suggest there.  Minasé’s silence didn’t make him feel any more confident about his decision being a good one.

Watching him she blushed and laughed for a bit longer. "I would like that. I don't mind people since I live in a temple. Though this means I'll have to take you to my home next. Though I technically have two homes." 

It made her feel safe being with him even though she knew she was strong enough to fend off most people. She hadn't been prepared to fight against that man and had actually put her tambourine down. It had been bad timing and she wasn't at all okay with doing magic in front of her customers. 

"It will give us more time to take definitely." She gave him a smile and laughed. "We can go whenever but I'll have to get a new instrument again. We have to stop meeting like that. I lose an instrument every time we meet." She teased him as she pulled the coat closer to her. "To tell you the truth I am not use to the winter months. Normally I head into the desert regions this time of the year but something is Parvpora sang to me."

She blushed a bit and looked at him for a long moment. "It is sort of funny that I would run into you twice." Looking up at the sky she began to hum a little before laughing. "We can go now. I am cold thanks to being in my dancing outfit. I should really invest in something more warm for these months. I hadn't even thought about it when I crossed over."