A Fortunate Run In

Ethan had started spending more time around the guild for reasons he wouldn't tell anyone. But anyone could guess he didn't find what he was looking for. He was on his way home after another fruitless day at the guild and noticed the sign for the bar. He realised he could always look in there. He entered to find Meinu standing by the counter crying as she was reading a small note marked with a paw mark. He wasn't that sure what was going on and approached the counter. "Excuse me....." She suddenly looked up; looking at him quizzically and then suddenly slammed her hand into the counter. "This is YOUR fault isn't it?!" Ethan was startled by the sudden outburst and didn't really know what to say. She looked at him angrily almost as if in anguish and kept going. "Whatever you did to my boss she's been in a bad mood and she keeps sending me these scary letters......" She presents a letter to him and even he froze a bit as he read, those were some threats..... She stared at him intensely and suddenly spoke again "You go talk to her in the arena and be a man already!" That last word hit Ethan right in the gut as he realised that it must have been at leasts as hard for Victoria as it had been for him. Meinu probably didn't know what she was talking about but it had helped him realise something. He just stormed out of the bar and ran all the way to the arena. When he finally arrived he found what looked like the remains of whatever factory makes the training dummies spread across the arena and there she was Victoria looking pretty pissed. She turned around and saw him but he could tell he wasn't that welcome. "Hey i've been looking for you" He cursed himself for being too casual about this again

"Hey i've been looking for you"

Him. It was Ethan. The main reason why Victoria had been avoiding the guild. She lowered her eyes automatically and sighed. She lifted her finger to indicate that she needed a second, so she elegantly, but quickly turned around, and threw the katana at a training dummy that was still standing. She hit it straight in the head, and the dummy fell. In the meanwhile she managed to calm down and turned to Ethan once again, her face calm, blank, expressionless, a true masterpiece of control of emotions. However, her eyes clearly showed Ethan a small, tiny, flame of care, love and sadness, a tiny piece of emotions that she showed to a very select amount of people. She took her hand up to her hair, instinctively, and pulled it backwards. Her scythe hung on her back, perfect, so was her appearance at the moment. There was no obvious sign that she was training.

The dummies behind her made it seem more of a dummy crime scene than a training, to be honest.

'' Good morning, Ethan. '' She greeted him calm expression, looking straight at his eyes. '' How can I help you?''

Victoria sighed at the sight of him, that's a very bad sign. She raised her finger as if telling him to wait. She suddenly turned back threw a katana straight into another unsuspecting dummy. She then swung her large scythe and hung it unto her back. If she had been training that it didn't show as she seemed well, perfect maybe? He couldn't think of another word to describ it'' Good morning, Ethan. '' She just looked him calmy with a next to blank expression. '' How can I help you?'' Ethan had come here as he was sure he could work things out with her if they just talked for a bit but the way she looked at him. She was trying so hard to act composed but her eyes gave it all away. Ethan's thoughts was a mess right now and he couldn't seem to get a hold of what to say as he looked at her. He wasn't used to this sensation, being unable to think straight as orderly as he was. He eventually managed to get a hold of some thoughts as he finally spoke.

"I'm sorry"

He had finally said it, the one thing that had been on his mind since he had realised and didn't care for what little sense it made.

"I'm sorry"

Victoria froze in place. This sentence, so simple, so short, it had made her defenses break. Her blank expression faded to reveal a worried expression, and her hand twitched in a small instinct that consisted of it being layed on Ethan's shoulder. Victoria lifted it, but took it to her other hand, taking a tight grip of her own shoulder, trying to remind herself to stay calm and don't permit him get under her skin and control her.

She looked at Ethan once again, trying to keep calm, but his expression seemed so honest she was sure she was going to lose it at some point. She tried to breath normally, and achieved it. The wind blew her hair slightly. ''What?''

''What?'' She was seemingly taken aback by his words which pretty much verified what he had thougth to begin with. He had managed to keep calm as there no longer was any doubt in his mind. He had to tell her just how he felt about all this. "I'm sorry that i didn't realise sooner..." He paused and laughed a bit at himself, acting all determined and then trying to chicken out anyways. He actually went as far as pinching him own arm as to get some stability. "I thought I could handle this casually and talk it out of the world but it's not that simple, I only considered my own feelings and didn't even consider that you probably had a harder time dealing with this than me, so...i'm sorry. He had explained himself but he didn't really know what he was supposed to do now that he had. An awkward silence set upon him as he just didn't have anything else to add as far as he knew.

He didn't care too much of what would come to pass as of now as now. He could only wait for Victoria to respond in some way as it wasn't really up to him what happened in the end. He was pretty glad as it was getting everything off his chest.

Victoria was stunned by his comment just as he would have expected her too. That's when she suddenly smiled at him, he could tell just how hollow the smile was. She had thanked him for being honest with her. That's when it suddenly started to rain, the raindrops quickly soaked his coat and blurred his sight as the drops stuck to his glasses. She said she was finished with training and the raindrops that fell upon her face looked like tears as they streamed down her cheeks. Ethan just stood there, speachless as Victoria went past him. Now alone in the arena he could only ponder on what had just happened.

He had done the right thing, right? There was no need for this to go further. So why did it hurt so much? His chest started to ache and he fell to his knees on the wet ground. He bit his lip as he tried to resist to urge to smash his fist into the ground. What's going on with him today? "DAMN IT!" In a fit of misdirected rage he finally smashed his hand into the ground; leaving a large crack in it's wake. He realised that he was just running away from his problems as usual..... Ethan "Ran" Delt...... such a fitting name. It mirrored his past self who had desperately tried to run away from all his problems. He had long cursed himself for that weakness alone and had wowed to never do so again and here he was again; Avoding the problem all together. No, he wouldn't have that this time...

He gritted his teeth as he pinched his own arm and eventually managed to calm down. He got up on his feet and turned around to the Arena's entrance. He ran straight out through the rain and followed what he believed was the quickest way to Victoria's house. Barely able to see thanks to the several drops of water on his glasses he could barely see where he was going. He had to set things straight, if not for himself then for her at least. He just went straight ahead practically blind thanks to all the raindrops and would probably not notice Victoria even if he would manage to catch up.

Ethan just kept running through the rain. The water splashing everywhere as his feet landed on the now watercovered streets. He was still concerned about his own unusual behaviour as he continued. He had made it a habit to not get too close to anyone. In his line of work there wasm't any actual need for relationships of any kind and he had taken that to mind as "That" man had told him once. The sight of that man's runied body still haunted his mind together with his last words to him. "Don't worry Kiddo, Just don't trust the wrong people and you'l be fine......" He couldn't remember who he was or what he had been to him but he had sure to take his advice to heart.

But on the other hand a person he did remembered had quite the different outlook on it all. His mother; Vaermina. It was quite sidden as he had told her what the man had told him. She had just chuckled at his comment and took to word with a gentle smile on her face. "Wise words but i wouldn't  take them to mind if i were you, You're just human in the end so making some friends would be good for you" Such conflicting advice had done nothin but confuse him as he found no particular way it would benefit him. He hadn't payed it much heed since then but things had changed as he agreed on joining the guild and now everything with Victoria. Maybe he should just give human interaction a try.

The rain suddenly stopped as his mind cleared. Taking the chance; he pulled of his glasses and wiped them off with the sleeve on his inner shirt. He thought he had gotten the most of it and proceeded down the last corner to wards his goal. He abrubtly stopped in his tracks as he saw Victoria in front of her house with her now soaked hair spread over her back. Ethan had spent most of his days preparing for the worst kinds of enemies but this girl manged to put him off guard despite all that. He stepped forward with water still dripping down his hair and coat. "You really shouldn't sit in the rain like this, you could catch a cold" He pulled of his coat now as he went on his knees and wrapped his coat around her shoulders, the coat still warm as it had just been worn and ran in. He sought to make some eye contact now as he tried to talk to her " I'm not exactly the most sensitive guy out there, heck i'm not even sure if i'm a good guy but if you're willing to give this a try then i'm in " He quickly realised how blunt he was being and how cheesy it sounded "I'm sounding like a Dork aren't I?" Perhaps this would make things harder if they went ahead with it but at least he'd be happy about it, work could come in second in some cases and this was one of them.

Victoria rose her head slightly as she noticed that a coat was spread on her shoulders, covering her up. She passed her hands through her hair, undoing it from her ponytail. She listened to Ethan without looking in his eyes. She just couldn't. She couldn't pull herself to do that. She had been powerful all her life, but she could not do that. It was above her strength.

However, the words that left Ethan's mouth next surprised her most. She immediately rose her head and looked at him, her stormy gray eyes wide open. Her jaw was about to fall to the ground. Did he just ask her out, in a way? What was going on? He had said before that that he had thought only about his emotions, which were apparently not like hers. And now this. Was he doing this out of Pity?

'' Are you asking me this out of pity?'' She asked. Her voice sounded broken, so she managed to pull herself together and pull a calm, serene voice. '' Because I am not pitiful.'' Her voice was calm, but she was not. She wanted to say yes, but she just could not. If he was doing this because she was pitiful, the n she would never do that.

She seemed surprised by his words but that quickly turned to doubt in her eyes. '' Are you asking me this out of pity?'' Ethan was taken aback for a second as he thought of her words? Was it pity? He didn't think it was but could he be sure? '' Because I am not pitiful.'' He could only agree with her. From what he had seen for himself she was as far as one would come from pitiful. He looked deep into her eyes as he tried to give her an honest answer.  "I know you're not pitiful, you're probably as far away as you get from being pitiful"

He toned his voice down as he kept talking " If anyone's pitiful it's me for not being able to speak my mind properly " He tried keeping calm but he could barely contain himself anymore "I've made it a routine to keep people at distance, i'm a prime social defect who won't trust anyone. With that in mind i said those things before" He took a longer pause in beetwen this time as his eyes just sort of screamed how lonely he actually was.

"I know trust doesn't go hand in hand with our proffesson but it would be nice to know you had at least one person you can trust by the end of the day. I wouldn't know, i've never had that. He had more to say but felt mentally beat as his legs gave in and he took a moment to breath, with his eyes still set on her. He could only imagine how pitiful he looked on his knees like this.

Victoria listened closely to Ethan's words... He had been through such a difficult life, alone, while she had always had someone next to her... She had realised then, that they need eachother. He needed someone he could trust without worrying, she needed someone by her side that would be with her no matter what.

Victoria mmoved next to him, a shy smile on her face. He was on her knees. She couldn't watch him like this anymore. She threw her hands around his neck and embraced him. Why were her instincts pushing her to do this? He seemed so lonely, so sad... She wanted to remove all his sadness, all the loneliness, she wanted to make him capable of trusting someone.

'' I... I cannot make you do anything you don't want to do. Whatever happens between us from now on, it is your decision. I won't say anything if you decide we should not be together. It's your decision, as I said.

He had spoken nothing but the truth, he knew that most people would be justified in doubting him. Maybe he just didn't deserve anyones trust in the end. He still had some doubts as to whether this really was a good idea. Doubt as well as his urge for something similiar struggled with each other and almost seemed to eat away at his very soul.

As he was stuck in conflict with himself Victoria suddely threw her arms around him and pressed herself against him. Nothing really mattered all of a sudden as she was very warm against him. The warmth seemd to fill his very being as all doubtfull thoughts seemed to cleanse from his mind. '' I... I cannot make you do anything you don't want to do. Whatever happens between us from now on, it is your decision. I won't say anything if you decide we should not be together. It's your decision, as I said. "

He could tell she genuinely cared as she embraced him. He couldn't explain it but he just knew somehow. He just let himself succumb into her presence and took everything in to her very scent. He just wanted to stay like this, what was this strange feeling? He couldn't really tell what it was but tried his best to act on it. "I'd like nothing more than a chance, just one is fine..... After all this time one's just enough....." He wrapped his own arms around her know as he tried to keep himself in check "S-so, will you please try and trust me?"

''I'd like nothing more than a chance, just one is fine..... After all this time one's just enough....." Ethan wrapped his arms around Victoria as well. "S-so, will you please try and trust me?"

The Thunder God Slayer could not move. She didn't want to, and she could not. She felt so peaceful at that moment, so normal. It had been months since she last felt like that. In her soul, it has always been a chaotic, cruel mess. But now, it was simply a feeling of peace. She wished she could remain like this forever. Not separating from him never.

'' Ethan, what are you saying? I already trust you. That night when we met, remember? There was something in me that made me trust you without doubting. I'd normally be very hostile with people I do not know, but something in me made me trust you, be nice with you without even thinking of it twice.''

A thunder sounded in the background. Victoria looked up as it began raining again. If they remained outside, they'd catch a cold.

'' Wanna go inside? If we don't go somewhere covered, we're gonna catch a cold and this would be just plain annoying for both of us.'' She pointed at her house, separating from Ethan.

'' Ethan, what are you saying? I already trust you. That night when we met, remember? There was something in me that made me trust you without doubting. I'd normally be very hostile with people I do not know, but something in me made me trust you, be nice with you without even thinking of it twice.''

He could barely believe what he was hearing. She trusted him? It didn't make sense at all but at the same time he had done a lot of irrational things as well since meeting her. "You do?" Thunder suddenly sounded through the empty streets and Izzy took to word again. '' Wanna go inside? If we don't go somewhere covered, we're gonna catch a cold and this would be just plain annoying for both of us.'' She let go off him as she pointed at her house. He knew she was right and got up on his feet again. "Lead the way" There wasn't really a reason to say no as far as he knew though he was a bit nervous for going into a girl's room for the first time. "Is it really alright for me to come in? I wouldn't want to be of any trouble...."

Victoria looked for her house's keys in her pockets, attached to her hair, on her earring, but nothing. Her keys were not there. A growl escaped her lips as she wondered what she could do in order to get into her own house. She was pretty sure that she had a copy of her house's key somewhere, but she couldn't remember where.

And then it hit her. It was on Catsu's collar. And he always threw his collar in the grass near the entrance. Without losing much time, Victoria flew to the place she usually found the collar, and, horray, there it was. A smile creeped up on her face as she took the key and unlocked the door of her house.

"Is it really alright for me to come in? I wouldn't want to be of any trouble...." She shook her head and entered, making him way to come in.

'' You won't be of any trouble, don't worry. Sorry if it seems a bit antique or has too many paintings around. I'm a fan of old styled houses and paintings, to be honest.'' She said, passing a hand through her hair nerviously.

From what Ethan saw Victoria was seemingly looking for something as she searched for something in her clothes. She didn't have any luck but seemed to remember something as she flew upwards and then landed with a key in hand. Of course, the key.

'' You won't be of any trouble, don't worry. Sorry if it seems a bit antique or has too many paintings around. I'm a fan of old styled houses and paintings, to be honest.'' Ethan felt a little at ease as she assured him it was alright. She had opened the door and made way for him. He followed her inside and took the chance to pull of his coat. It was still drenched from his earlier run as he found a hook for it. He stepped further inside as he took off his shoes. He looked around as he entered the hallway and thought it looked pretty stylish to be honest. "Not sure what my problem would be considering how nice it looks" He stood in the hallway as of now trying to shake the water out of his hair

Victoria smiled as Ethan complimented her house's appearance. She passed a hand through her wet hair and smiled brightly as he tried to shake the water off his hair too. She flew upstairs quickly, and took two towels from the bathroom. She flew back downstairs and put one towel on her head, handing the other one to Ethan with a smile.

'' Here~!'' She handed him the towel with a bright smile on her face. It has been lots of time since she last smiled like that. It has been so long.

After putting the towel over hear head and handing Ethan the other one she made him a sign to follow her to the Living room. Catsu was sleeping on one of the sofas, so she took him silently, carefully, and put him away from her and Ethan, so they could talk in peace, without having to worry they;d wake him up. She sat on the sofa and looked around.

'' So... do you want anything to drink? Anything to eat? Just tell me and I'll go get it.'' She said, her foot shaking slightly from how nervous she was. She had never, ever had a boy in her house, and even less a person she was dating. She didn't know what to do.

Ethan still had trouble getting all the water out of his hair. He could still feel how moist it was as he tried but was eventually handed a small towel by a smiling Victoria. '' Here~!'' He happily accepted it and procceded to wipe the remaining moist out of his hair. He pit it to the side as he was done and was quickly shown further inside by Victoria.

He stepped into what seemed to be the living room considering the comfy looking furnitures soread over the floor. He saw Catsu resting peacefully on the couch and occasionly turned over. Victoria picked him up and put him in the far end of the room. At least now they wouldn't risk waking him up. Victoria had taken a seat on the couch and looked around the room almost nervously. '' So... do you want anything to drink? Anything to eat? Just tell me and I'll go get it.'' He took a seat next to her but had left some space between them, he just wasn't sure what he was supposed to do. "No, that's fine. I'm not hungry" He just wasn't used to this sort of situation as it currently stood. He glanced nervously at her and wanted nothing more than to slide over to her side and feel that warmth again. Then again, he could seem strange if he did. He mentally slapped himself as he tried to think of something.