They both stood there staring at the plain wooden door that separated them, both speechless and blush red. Ryan stood there blankly with his hand on the door, but the only thing he could think about were those icy blue eyes that met him on the other side. They were burned into his vision along with her brilliant white hair. He hadn't noticed last night, but her hair was long and went down to her waist, reaching to the base of her pure white tail. Her tail was beautifully long and fluffy. The base of it met with her pristine white skin that was smooth, delicate, and obviously from a higher class. His face turned an even deeper shade of red as he thought about her curves, and the beautiful shape of her body. To his relief, his thoughts were interrupted by the sound of frantic shuffling on the other side of the door. He straightened himself up and cleared his mind as well as he could, though his face still showed hints of his embarrassment. He gently knocked on the door with the back of his hand and waited for a response. The shuffling stopped but no reply came. He did not want to, but he knew he would have to be the one to speak first.
"Ma'am," He said, hiding the nervousness in his tone, "I apologize about that. I did not know you had regained consciousness, or else I would have knocked first." He waited for an answer but the only sound he heard was footsteps getting further from the door. He sighed before speaking again. "I truly didn't mean to scare you. I found you in the woods being attacked by those demons and I brought you here. When you are," he hesitated for a second, thinking again of her body, "decent, will you be willing to talk?" There was a moment of silence before he heard the footsteps slowly approach the door, and to his surprise it slowly creaked open. Through the crack of the door look one of her blue eyes, investigating him up and down. The crack was big enough he could see her white fox ears pointing downwards, and he could tell she was uneasy.
"Sure, we can talk." She said quietly as she opened the door to let him in. Everything about this girl surprised Ryan, for he was not expecting her to have such a soft and calm voice. He walked into the room and stood in the corner away from the door. He knew she was nervous and the last thing he wanted to do was make her feel trapped in a room by a man as big as him. She closed the door behind him, but stayed close to it, making sure she could escape if need be. She looked Ryan up and down again, inspecting everything she could of him, and he did not interrupt her. He could see her face was still showing signs of embarrassment on it, though she was not hiding it as well as he thought he was. He found the blush in her cheeks cute which got a small chuckle out of him, which drew her attention to his face. There they were, those blue eyes staring straight into his again. He was about to break the silence when she beat him to it.
"So you saved me from those demons then?" The girl questioned, suspicion heavy in her tone.
'Yes I did," Ryan said with a gentle nod, "and I'm glad I got there when I did. If I was a minute later then you would have been dead." He watched her face shift from a confused and embarrassed expression to one of reluctance and suspicion. He barely noticed but she shifted her back foot after he said that, like she was getting ready to run.
"Why did you save me?" She asked harshly. Now he was truly surprised. He has had to deal with angry people before, ones who were angry with him because they were injured or grieving, or those who thought they could do better. But he has never had someone question why he saved them, like he should have let them die. This put him on edge, he could tell there was something more, a bigger question hiding within it. Suddenly he remembered how the demons turned to white ash, meaning someone summoned them and sent them after her. He stood up straight knowing right now the best thing he could do is tell her the truth.
"I saved you because I'm an Exorcist." He stated bluntly. "Its my duty to protect the people who live in the world our Creator made. That is why I saved you." She stood there for a moment taking his words in, trying to detect any hint of dishonesty. After a moment the relaxed her body and her ears began to stand up a bit more. A smile spread across her face as she looked back into his eyes, this time without hints of fear and suspicion, or embarrassment or hesitation, but with joy and gratitude. The mood in the room quickly shifted along with hers and he felt less tense.
"Then thank you Exorcist, I owe you more than you could ever know." She said with a big beautiful smile. He stood there for a moment, wide eyed at awestruck. Never in his life had he ever looked at someone and felt his chest lighten. Just like the night before, he was entranced by her beauty, her soft voice, and the way her tail happily swayed side to side.
"So where did you bring me?" She asked him with a smile and light tilt of her head.
"This is the village of Leheath, a little down the way from where you were attacked." Ryan told her while recomposing himself, trying not to let his embarrassment show. "This is the Drunken Bear tavern."
"I've never heard of Leheath," she said with a puzzled look on her face, "must be a small village." She thought out loud as she sat down on the bed. Ryan could tell she had fully relaxed, and he had too. With a smile he made his way across the room to the chair by the table. It creaked as he sat down in it, drawing her attention. She stared at him before letting out a small laugh that she tried to hide. "Must happen to someone of your size a lot." She managed to say through giggles. Ryan sat there for a moment before lightly chuckling himself.
"More than I would like to admit." He said with a smile.
"So what were you doing in the woods that late at night?" She asked him while looking down at her feet, noticing how dirty they had become.
"I am on a journey," Ryan told her while leaning in, "one without a final destination in mind."
"Oh, very mysterious." She teased him with more giggling. Ryan's face turned a bit red again from the teasing but he brushed it off.
"No, nothing mysterious," He said while waving his hand in the air, "just journeying around and helping people. I don't like sitting around waiting for an assignment, I'd rather go find it myself."
"So you've been all over Terran then?" She asked with excitement in her eyes.
"Yes, I've been from the Kitsunese harbor town of Imosuru to the port city of Tegu, and pretty much anywhere in between." He replied with a little more pride than he intended. It was unusual for Ryan to talk about himself in a proud manner, but something deep inside him really wanted her to be impressed, and that she was.
"Really?" She shouted with childlike excitement as she jumped up and stood in front of him. "What's it like out there? How big is Terran really? What type of people have you met?" She asked in rapid succession, not giving him a chance to reply. She was ecstatic and wanted nothing more than to hear his tales of the world, until they were interrupted by a low growling sound coming from her stomach. She hid her face from him as it turned bright red, and he did his best not to laugh.
"I'll tell you about it later, for now we have other priorities." He said with a small laugh as he stood up and began walking towards the door. "We can get you something to eat here at the tavern."
"That would be great." The girl said, her embarrassment fading as she began to follow the Exorcist. He was about to open the door when he looked over at her and stopped. Ryan had not noticed until now but her kimono was too ripped up and was exposing too much. He could see her outer thigh and hip on her left side where one of the demons tore into her side. The tear in the kimono was almost enough to reveal her inner thighs, but luckily for her there was enough silk left to cover her. There were multiple small tears throughout that revealed her pristine skin along with a larger tear at the chest that showed more of her chest than she would like. He turned his gaze away before his mind could begin to wonder and his face turned red.
"I think we need to get you something else to wear first." He told her as he kept his gaze away from her body. "Your kimono is torn in peculiar areas, and is beyond repair." She went completely still as her ears shot down. She grabbed her tail and wrapped it around her waist to hide her hips and used her free arm to cover her chest, all while holding her head in shame. She turned to face away from him silently, her embarrassment could be felt in the air like a thick cloud. Ryan let out a small sigh and took off his coat, placing it on the bed next to her. "Why don't you put that on for now. I know there's a tailor in the village, and I'm sure she'll have something there for you." He said with a small smile, trying to brighten the mood. That was never his specialty though, it was always his brother who knew how to lift the mood in the room. He was a natural at reading people's emotions and knowing what to do to lift their spirits, but Ryan was not. Ryan was a pessimistic soul who looked at all the negatives before the positives in life. But he knew he had to try his best for this poor girl though, whether it was out of pity, the kindness of his heart, or something else, he was not sure, but something was pushing him to help her. He turned around and opened the door just enough for him to squeeze through. "I'll be in the hall when you are done." She nodded as her ears picked up just a little and picked up the heavy coat. Ryan closed the door behind him and leaned against the wall next to it. His mind was racing all over the place, jumping from how beautiful her smile was to how mysterious her circumstances were. He still had no idea who this woman was or who would be after her. But every time he thought about her situation and how uneasy it made him, his mind would be clouded by thoughts of her wonderful smile and her beautiful hair, or how every time she got embarrassed how adorable he thought she looked. That was something he would never admit, not to his brother, nor his sister, and especially this girl. He knew if his brother or sister heard about this they would give him hell till the day he was buried, and surely they would find a way to bring it back up in Paradise. He shook his head while a smile formed, thinking about everything his brother would say if he were here now.
The girl stood there, red hot with embarrassment still covering herself and clutching the coat tightly. How could she let a total stranger see her in such a state, let alone get herself in this state to begin with. The past few days for her were such a blur and the thoughts of all the horrible things that happened to her overwhelmed her mind. She began to regret the events that led her up to this moment, as tears formed into her eyes. If only she fought back a little harder against those demons, then maybe they would have killed her and freed her from her nightmare. She clutched the coat tighter to her chest as she tried her best to hold back her tears, when suddenly a scent hit her nose. It was a rough smokey scent, one that was reminiscent of a burning bonfire, but had an undertone of aged whiskey. There was another scent in there that she could not quite describe, but it brought her warmth and comfort. Her mind turned to thoughts and memories of the last two years, when she would sit against the wall in her garden and listen to the people walking freely on the other side. How she always yearned to be one of them, not confined to a room and a garden, forced to wait till the time was right, whenever that would be. She vividly remembered a crisp autumn day, when all the leaves in her garden began to don their orange hues, she was drinking a lavender tea she had made herself. It was missing the sweetness she loved because her kitchen had run out of sugar, and she would rather die than ask her captor for more. She remembered sipping her tea and listening to the people walking about on the other side. Most who walked by were the maids and advisors who would work with her captor, but every once in a while there would be an exorcist or priest walking about and talking of the world outside her garden walls. This day there were two young men who sounded like exorcists, and it grabbed her attention. She heard them joyfully talking, one congratulating the other for something she could not hear, and then talking about tobacco. The upbeat sounding exorcist went on and on about the brand he had, about how the greatest of the great all smoked it. His childlike joy and confidence in this claim made her giggle, for even she knew tobacco alone would not make someone great. She remembered hearing the other young man say exactly what she was thinking, and both the men laughed. She had yearned for someone she could talk with in such a manner and enjoy laughing without a care in the world, but all she had was her tea, her garden, and her ears to listen to the outside world. The smell after their laughs is one of the things that stuck in her mind the most, it was the strong scent of a burning bonfire, with a hint of whiskey. It was a strong smell, and overtook her nose quickly, but she did not hate it. In fact, she liked it, for it gave her a feeling of the outside world and what life could have been like outside of this garden. Then men started to debate about the taste, and their opinions differed as much as their personalities did. The upbeat exorcist went on about how great the flavor and burn was in his mouth and how beautifully the blend burned in his pipe, while the more hesitant exorcist talked about how it was too strong to what he was used to and how good tobacco should not burn his mouth that bad. This only made the upbeat exorcist give out a hardy laugh, telling him he would have to get used to it now if he wants to be the greatest among the great. This memory brought her joy and hope every day after. It made her yearn more for the world outside her garden with a much deeper and a brighter burning passion. She wanted to find these two men so she could see what a genuine bond between people looked like. Suddenly she was brought out of her memory back to the now, realizing she basically had buried her nose on the coat with the familiar scent. Her cheeks turned a rosey red as she quickly pulled it away from herself. She was so infatuated by the scent and the memory that she completely failed to realize what she was doing. She opened the coat up to put it on, noticing many pockets on the inside, and one pocket stuck out the most to her, for that was where the scent emanated from. She knew it was rude to go through people's things, but she couldn't help herself. She looked into the pocket and saw a tobacco pouch and a long red wooden pipe with the initials JM. When she opened the tobacco pouch she was hit with its strong scent, and she remembered the brand the two exorcists were talking about, Brennan's Wild Fire. A smile spread across her face as she smelled it, a firm reminder of her desire to be free, and how close she is to that freedom. She closed the leather pouch and put it back in the pocket with the pipe, and she began to don the coat. It was much heavier than she anticipated, and not to her surprise a bit too big for her. If she had been an inch or two smaller, it would be dragging along the floor. The girl began buttoning up the coat, and with each button she fastened, she felt warmer and warmer.
Lost in thought, Ryan was caught off guard when the door opened. He watched as the girl walked out wearing his oversized coat, forcing him to stifle a laugh. Instead he greeted her with a smile.
"Ready to head out?" He asked her, wearing a smile that held back a chuckle.
"Yeah," she said, giving him a smile back, "lead the way." Ryan turned and began to make his way down the stairs while she followed after him. When they reached the bottom of the stairs they saw the tavern mostly empty, except for the Maoanese woman cleaning the tables and a man in the corner, still looming over his coins on the table. To Ryan's surprise, Avus was nowhere in sight.
"We'll go get you some clothes and bring you back here to eat. We can discuss the plan going forward after that." He said while turning around to face the girl. "How's that sound?"
"Thats fine with me." She responded with a smile. Ryan nodded and led her out the door. The sun was high in the sky at this point, shining brightly on the village. The girl looked in awe at the beautiful flowers lining the pathways, it reminded her of the peaceful moments she had in her garden. She followed Ryan through the village, while occasionally stopping to look at the flowers. This did not bother Ryan, in fact he enjoyed watching her take her time and fawn over beautiful flowers. While inspecting a particularly vibrant rose bush a thought had occurred to her. She stopped what she was doing and turned towards him.
"You know, I have yet to learn your name." She told him with a smile, while thinking back to the initials on the pipe and tobacco pouch. This threw Ryan off guard, he knew he did not know the girls name, but to think he's been rude enough to not introduce himself. She could see the sudden realization in his face and that made her smile ever wider.
"I apologize," he said quickly with a bow, "I've been so distracted that I haven't introduced myself yet. My name is Ryan Tonoko, nice to meet you." His hand stuck out, waiting to shake hers. She was a bit taken back by his formality, but she was charmed by it at the same time. She reached her hand out and grabbed his, surprised by how rough his hand felt despite how young he looked, and shook it with grace. She stopped for a second and thought, she knew she would have to tell him a name, but should she use her real name? What if he realized who she was and turned her in? He was an exorcist after all, he would know the men she was running from. She looked into Ryan's jade green eyes one last time, judging if he was trustworthy, and when she did her worries faded away. He was standing there, sun high in the sky illuminating his face, which was rough and torn with a few scars across it, but his eyes were sincere and his smile true. It made her heart flutter for a second, as she admired the sight before her. She quickly collected herself and straightened her back.
"My name is Meridyth," she said with a big smile and blush across her face, "but you can call me Meri." Ryan was taken aback by how smooth and gentle her hand felt, and how it sent goosebumps up his arm. He thought her hair looked beautiful in the moonlight, but with the sun shining down upon her it made her look gorgeous. Her wonderful smile made his heart skip a beat as they shook hands, and he could not stop looking into her vibrant icy blue eyes once again. They both stood there for a moment, admiring the sight of each other without even realizing they were doing it, before Ryan broke the silence between them.
"Meridyth," he repeated, like he was testing how it felt to say her name, "Meridyth. I like it, it's a beautiful name." He said without thinking. Her face turned red once again, hearing him say that.
"I've never been too fond of my name." She said, while letting go of his hand. "But thank you, I'm glad you think so. I think you have a name that fits you well."
"Should we get going instead of just standing here?" Ryan asked her, ready to lead the way once again.