Going Down? [Metro]

[Nala]

Pouting at him, Nala wanted to insist that most of that wasn't actually his fault or that she thought of it in a good way. Like how he threw her out of the tunnels! He could have just left her down there all on her lonesome with whatever had been attacking them, saving his own skin instead of hers too. Not only that, but she had been completely lost down there anyway, so she would have either starved to death or died by monsters anyway because she doubted that she could see enough or be calm enough to find a proper exit. Well... maybe not starve to death, she doubted that could happen in the game, but it would still be really painful not to eat most likely! The ice cream hadn't been his fault either. All he did was order it, it was the waiter that dumped it all over her, not him. Unfortunate circumstances! That was all it was! Now if only she could get him to see it this way too. at was highly doubted though as she let out a long sigh.

"But Metro..." Bringing her knees up in the chair, Nala hugged them tight against her chest, effectively curling up into a ball in the seat as her fluffy tail wrapped itself around her ankles. It didn't seem like he was going to give in at all, but maybe she could end up saving the day somehow so she got up and crawled under the covers regardless, poking her head out on the side that he was laying on."Weeell, there are a few things that I'd like to know. Pausing for a second, she tried to think of what to ask him first. Might as well try and go in order, "Um, let's see. First, why do you have two hair colors? How did you make sure nothing is green? Why were in you those tunnels? How come you didn't just grab my arm instead of tackle me? Do you often go to festivals like that? Is that usually how you greet that man at the front desk? Do you live here all on your lonesome? Aaand- Please, at least lay at the foot of the bed, won't you?" Taking in a long breath, she let it back out as she finished. It was a lot of words to fit. That last question had just come up to her since she still didn't want him to be left sleeping on the floor. While she still couldn't explain away the reason him tackling her like that was for the best- yet -she could still try to persuade him into his own bed. It'd continue on about her idea of him acting like an adorable puppy that would sleep at her feet when beckoned~

---

Word Count: 467

[metroexibit]

Metro figured he would start his way back through her questions. He didn’t like the idea of sleeping at the end of of a twin sized bed. His chest and head would be the only parts of him still on the bed. So he walked over to the lantern hanging in the middle of the room and turned it off. Then he walked over to the bed and climbed in and laid next to her. He laid on top of the blanket and made sure not to touch her. He had his back turned to her when he said “yeah I do live here alone, If you haven’t noticed I don’t really play well with others not to mention when you don’t know what to do just stick with what you know right? Living on my own has kind of been my thing since I was a kid. Yeah I do actually, iv never really talked to the guy at the front desk except when I first rented the room. Iv lived here almost since we got trapped in this game. So I guess we kind of I don’t know have a special bond I guess. He has saved my life on a few occasions but he never says anything about it. He’s a good guy at least that much I can tell. No, I don’t really like people much so festivals aren’t really my thing. In all honesty I only went today because I was with you. Otherwise I would’ve just walked around it and came here. one because it was in the heat of the moment, two because you did attack me remember? And three because I just love tackling strangers.” He said the last sentence with a joking tone and chuckled at the end. “I was in the tunnels doing a favor for a friend. He lost something down there and asked me to go retrieve it. Thing is I never got that chance because I was to busy saving your fox-tailed ass.” Again he laughed after saying the last sentence. “you could say it was fate we met tonight if you believe in that sort of thing. Last but not least, my hair has always been naturally blue. The doctors didn’t know why and I never asked. I always liked my blue hair and as for the orange in the front that was an accident. I was playing in my moms bathroom one day and I knocked over some body and it got in my hair. Eventually I cleaned myself up but the bottle apparently permanently changed that one spot orange. The ridicule I got was insufferable but it was worth it because it looked so cool. Now if that’s all your questions princess ill see you in the morning. If you need anything don’t be afraid to wake me up. I wont bite I promise.” After he said the words he closed his eyes but he couldn’t fall asleep. The first time he had ever had someone stay over at his house and it was a girl. He couldn’t not be at least a little bit happy about it since he never really had a friend he was close enough to do that sort of thing with. It was a nice change from being alone all the time.

[Nala]

She could feel a yawn coming on, but tried to hold it in, suppressing the urge as best she could. Then the next thing she knew, the lights had suddenly disappeared. Blinking a few times, she was blinding for a minute before her eyes started to adjust slowly to the sudden darkness. It seemed to draw out the yawn even more, her jaw parting widely, letting out a gush of air. Given the lack of sight that he hopefully had too, he wouldn’t have seen it. She was always afraid that someone would stick their finger in her mouth whenever she yawned because that’s what her brothers did to her when she was little.

Jumping, she felt the bed move in the dark, turning over on her other side, she squinted her eyes to try seeing if it had just been that it sunk down on one side or some strange thing like that. Nope, that wasn’t it. Instead, she saw a dark lump form with a fuzzy head- Metro. Wiggling her toes, she supposed that there really wasn’t that much room down there for him to lie down. Yet it made her nervous to be staying right by his side in the same bed as him, even if he was being kind enough to let her stay under the blanket while she was warm under it. She kept coming to cross roads here. While Nala wanted to take care of him and let him be under the covers, she didn’t want to be under with him because she was just too shy around the male species. If he had been female, she wouldn’t have any problem snuggling up against his back under the blanket to keep warmer in the cool night.

Curling back up in a ball, she simply laid in bed for awhile, listening to his answers. She couldn’t try dozing off to the sound of his voice from worrying about him being cold, but she wouldn’t be able to sleep anyway if he was so close, it was a lose lose situation. At least it made sure she paid attention. But Metro… he sounded like he lived quite a lonely life. Even if he did seem to have a friend of the man at the front desk, that didn’t seem like much. Not that the guy would be a bad friend or anything, it was just that, he should have at least a few friends. “I see~” She went along and giggled at his joke, truth be told, she thought the first one was funnier than the second. “Well, I’m sorry you had to save me, I’ll try to do better next time.”

Letting out another weary yawn, she curled up a little tighter. A few minutes passed in complete silence, it was a little eerie, being in a whole new environment along was creepy enough on its own, she missed her familiar place.

Scooting closer, Nala hugged Metro from behind, pushing the blanket that was keeping her cozy over to cover him instead with the action. She wasn’t sure how slow or quick he fell asleep, so she talked in a hushed whisper just in case he was asleep, “I hope I don’t wake you but… I have a warm tail to keep me warm, at least take the blanket if you won’t take the bed.” With that, she turned back over to her other side, tugging at her tail a little to bring it around and hug the soft fur. It wasn’t a blanket, but it was indeed warm enough to take the bite out of the cool air.

---

Word Count: 604

[metroexibit]

He blushed as he felt her lift the blanket over him. He had never been this kind of situation before and it felt so wrong but yet so right. It felt wrong because he just met this chick in the sewers no less just a few hours ago and now he was letting her sleep in his bed half naked. Yet it felt like this is how its supposed to be. He felt a warmth in his heart, that had never happened before. Since he was a kid he never planned on getting married, having a family, and growing old. He didn’t even plan on living past the age of twenty-seven just because he hated the world he was born into but now it was like a spark had been lit in his soul. A sort of light at the end of a very long dark tunnel that hes been walking through blindly since he could remember, “had this girl really done such a thing in only a day?” He thought. It might just be that he was so lonely and tired of being alone his heart latched on to the first girl who was actually kind to him. He didn’t want to think that way because if he did then that made him a bad person. Just because he wanted to rule the world by any means necessary doesn’t mean he doesn’t have a heart. He felt as she rolled back over. He felt bad for her even if she said she had her tail. The room was drafty and on a cold night like this the room could drop to fifty degrees easy. He figured she must have been freezing. He then did something he wouldn’t have thought to do in a million years. He rolled over to his other side and grabbed the blancket. Then he put his arm over her side to cover her up. “sorry my room get rather freezing at night sometimes and id rather not send you home with a cold.” he said as his voice sounding a lot more exhausted that even surprised him. He knew if she rejected the offer she would then have to sleep on the floor and be miserable the entire night. He hated to think of her grouchy and rather bitchy due to lack of sleep. From his “vast” knowledge of women (his mom) when there tired due to lack of sleep they tend to be less then reasonable. With the long day he had and a cute girl sleeping next to him he fell asleep in no time. He dreamt of a meadow filled with flowers. He stood in the middle as he looked around and saw white flowers spread out as far as the eye can see. The air filled with white pedals as the wind flew over the earth. He looked up and saw her in the distance so he started off toward her. She turned and ran but he continued to follow her. When he reached the spot she was the scene changed. He was now in a burning building with fire blazing all around him. He could hear her voice call out to him but he looked around and couldn’t find her. Her voice echoed through his mind as she said “metro why didn’t you save me! I trusted you and you let me die!” the words sank into his soul. He sprung up out of bed huffing as he tried to catch his breath. He looked out the window and saw darkness. It must have been the middle of the night when he awoke. He hopped he had not awoken her with his sudden burst out of bed.

[Nala]

Even though she did feel a bit cold now and then, Nala would never admit it to him, or to herself. Being a bother was absolutely the worst thing she could do, so she didn’t want to be any of that to her generous host. Besides, the think fur was enough to keep her satisfied with the temperature. It wasn’t like she was some sort of reptilian-like creature that might die in the cold.

Just as she was thinking this, Nala felt a warm arm wrap around her protectively. Almost as if in instinct, she leaned back against the arm, enter the warm space behind her. It was so much better than laying cool and alone in the drafty room, it even served to make her more tired despite how uncomfortable she was with the new environment. No one said she wasn’t good at adaption though. It wasn’t just people that she was able to become more familiar with quickly, it was also sinking in that she would have to start getting use to different places. Most of the good homes around Elder Tale were already taken after all, she needed to find a good place to stay where she wouldn’t be around many people to bother them all the time.

Blushing heavily, all thoughts of cold were seeped out of her as she let Metro hold her. Despite how edgy he could be sometimes, he had a sort side that could keep her held gently and without causing harm. It was nice and she felt cared for, under protection in a way. In fact, Nala even managed to fall asleep while in Metro’s embrace after the whole ordeal.

Just a couple hours later though, and that was right out of the door. Everything. She couldn't tell what was going on, but there was a sudden jerky movement in the bed, as if someone were fleeing without warning. Freaking out, she flailed in the sudden cold, feeling suddenly lost and alone. Utterly confused, she sat up and tried to look around, "Wh-Who, what!? What's wrong?? What's happening??" Was there a burglar? Were they being robbed?! She had no idea as she eventually looked to Metro tiredly and rubbed at her eyes, seeing that he was up and the reason she was now shivering in the cool air, "Metro..?"

---

Word Count: 388

[metroexibit]

She had woken up, he saw her jump up like he did. She looked him confused and said his name as to ask whats wrong. “u-um sorry I didn’t mean to wake you, I had a nightmare is all no need to worry. go on back to sleep everything okay.” The gold air helped clear his head if only just a little bit. He looked up, closed his eyes and fell back into the bed. He extended his arm over to her side of the bed as she got into bed. He pulled her close again and tilted his head so that his forehead was touching hers. “I’m sorry I didn’t mean to wake you.” He knew it was a dream but why it scared him so much was behond him. For the first time in a while he heard blue and red eyes talking. They too apparently saw the dream he had and were arguing over it. “oh come on let the kid have some fun for once, we have never had a girl like us before. Just let it last a little bit longer if not for me for metro.” Blue eyes tried to convince red eyes but then red eyes replied “you saw the same dream I did and I know for a fact that shes going to get in our plans for world domination. If not completely stand in the way, she just has to be here and be a distraction. Have you ever thought that maybe those punks who keep trailing us sent her to get close to us? Shes bad news and shes going to hurt him, I know it.” metro was amused by the idea they they were debating over whether or not this girl stays without even asking metro. Well they can go somewhere else with those accusations, she could stay as long as she liked. They weren’t going to mess up the one real chance at a relationship hes ever had. He will probably have a chat with blue and red eyes in the morning but for now he just wanted to focus on going to sleep.

[Nala]

“Oh” Covering her mouth, Nala let out a sleep yawn before looking toward the window. It was still pitch black outside, so likely they had woken up in the middle of the night, no wonder she still felt so tired! Though her thoughts were blurry from her only being half-awake, in the back of her mind she wished that she had the ability to just wake herself up to try talking to Metro about his dream. There was no way she would be able to do that at the moment though, half of her thoughts didn’t even make sense to her, she didn’t want to see what came out of her mouth.

Laying her head back down against the pillow, she soon felt the elf flopping back into bed next to her. She thought he would just curl back up on his side so she started to snuggle into the blankets, but instead, she squeaked as she found herself being pulled against him. Too tired to fight the suddenly close quarters, her tired mind just accepted it. Her three overgrown brothers tended to do the same. Pick her up, snuggle her, ruffle her hair, play with her fuzzy ears, one time they even tossed her to each other, making a game of pass the Fox Tail! Obviously when the youngest boy missed and dropped her in the grass she gave them such a glare that that game never happened again. Sometimes she could swear that she was the oldest of the four instead of the youngest.

She was still in la la land from being woken up in the middle of the night, but just a tad more awake from being pulled against the elf. In the between state, she reached up to run her hand through the boy’s hair, trying to calm him down from whatever worries he might have had over the nightmare. “It’s okay Metro, it was a just a bad dream. Inner fears, my mother use to tell me, just think of something you’d rather dream about… like fares wheels, or treasure hunting.. or catching a huge fish… or l… l…” Nala’s voice had steadily gotten softer and softer as she went on about her thoughts of what a good or fun dream might be about, but that was as far as she could get before sleep took ahold of her and she fell asleep in Metro’s protective hold.

---

Word Count: 404

[metroexibit]

He awoke the next morning at six in the morning. He awoke to a message from someone he once knew. After reading the message he snuck out of bed trying his best not to wake Nala. He used his <hide walk> ability to quite down his movements as he put on his armor. He grabbed his sword and bow along with his quiver and walked out the door. He headed out the front door of the inn and started for the outer wall of town. His jog turned into a sprint as he ran down the street taking a few turns along the way. He reached the arch-way on the west side of town. He slowed down only a little to look around to see if anyone was there. No one was so he sped back up to his original speed. He ran along the path into the forest. He jumped over fallen trees and past the meadow grove. The path made a right as he went but instead of following it he made a left into the denser part of the forest. He then quickly climbed up a tree and bounded from branch to branch making very little noise as he went. Eventually he came across a lake surrounded by dense forest. He jumped down from his tree and walked up to the edge of the lake. He had his cloak on with the hood up with his <hide walk> skill still on. It only took him about twenty minutes to get here and since he needed to have it on the entire way here it made his muscle ache more and more with each passing moment it was on. He needed to hold out a little longer untill he could turn it off. After a few seconds of waiting he saw a figure emerge from the forest on the other side of the lake. He recognized the person and turned off his skill. They both walked to the left side of the lake to meet up. “I didn’t actually think you were going to show up.” Said the other figure in a older male voice. He too had a cloak but was also wearing a white mask with a red slash across one of the eye slits. “if it wasn’t so pressing I wouldn’t have bothered.” Replied metro, red and blue eyes were both on edge in the back of his mind. “So how is that little cutie you took home with you last night?” the figure said with a small chuckle. Metro grabbed the man by the shirt and shoved him against a near by tree. He shoved his arm into the guys neck as he drew his sword and pressed the point of it against the man’s gut. “how the hell did you know that you bastard.” Metro said the words as he pressed his arm harder against the mans neck. “Get your hands off me and ill tell you, damnit metro your killing me here.” the man replied as he felt metro slowly release the presser on his jugular and fall to the floor. Grasping at his own neck the man said “the people you told me to keep an eye one. They said something about how they saw you walking around with some cute blond. They said they were going to go talk to her or something.” Metro flipped his sword around in his hand and placed the blade on the guys neck. “if I find out you are lying to me I will hurt you so bad you’ll feel it for your next three respawns.” He pulled the blade away as he sprinted off back into the forest. His arms and legs hurt due to the obsessive use of his skill but he hardly cared at the moment. He just wanted to make sure she was okay.

He heard red eyes in the back of his mind say “what do they want with her? Leverage maybe, but we have only known the girl a day.” As blue eyes replied “maybe she was a spy all along and there just going to meet up with her to get debriefed and don’t deny that that’s not a possibility.” Metro knew it might have been but he couldn’t think of her as someone who would betray him. “God what do they even want with me, I take out one of there biggest players and they start hunting me like a dog? I doubt I’m worth all this trouble.” Metro thought, blue eyes then replied with “because you have the means to take over the world metro, if you succeed they will be done for. They ether need you on there side or dead and you already made it clear you were alone on this. You probably aren’t the first person they have gone after and probably wont be the last.” Metro figured that he was right but he hated the idea that his actions might be the cause of someone hurting Nala, if she didn’t know them that is. He ran through front arch and down the street. He knew they couldn’t hurt her inside city limits but if they trick her into leaving the safe-zone. He turned the last corner and headed straight for the inn.

[Nala]

Still tired from being woken up in the middle of the night, Nala didn’t notice Metro’s quiet retreat from the home. It was colder though with only her own body heat to keep her warm, at first she scooted into the warmer spot he left in her sleep, but that eventually went away as well. A few minutes after he left she stretched out, blinking into the early morning light as the sun peeked over the horizon. She had no idea where in the world she was at first, it was a strange place to wake up in. She was so use to waking up in a large bed and house, now everything was shrunk down. Yet… with just her here, it felt okay.

It was clear that the little apartment wasn’t meant to hold four people, but with just one or two, it felt perfect. Everything was close together and nearby, easily reachable. It felt so much better this way, and she could actually reach things now. She couldn’t help but wonder where Metro had trotted off to though. Maybe some urgent call? He hadn’t bothered to wake her up and let her know he would be long, so she would expect him to come back sometime soon instead of by the end of the day. That only left her with the question of what to do with the time she had before he came back.

Sitting in a chair, she looked around for a few minutes, pondering before the perfect thought came to her. Since Metro went out to eat at other people’s restaurants, she assumed that he didn’t have the cooking skill himself, so had never had a home cooked meal.

Smiling broadly, the Fox Tail jumped up and hurried over to wherever she might find a kitchen, whether it would be in the apartment, or downstairs. She had plenty of ingredients she had brought with her in thoughts that she would never be returning to her home with her brother’s again except to visit. Using them now, she cooked up a typical breakfast- eggs, bacon, bagels, toast, she even made her own jam, hopefully he like strawberry.

Going back to the table in his room, she laid out the breakfast for him and made herself comfortable in a chair, waiting for him to return and see his reaction to the surprise waiting for him.

---

Word Count: 398

[metroexibit]

He ran down the road to the hotel. He was frantic at the thought that someone might have tried to get to him through nala. He could never forgive himself if something happened to her because of him. He ran to through the front doors when he saw the old man sitting behind his desk. He ran up to the desk and asked “d-did you see anyone weird or a-asking for what room I was in?” he was gasping for air at this point after running all that way and back. He nodded his head side ways as a non-verbal no. He thanked the man who gave him a worried smile. He would have to talk to him about his situation and ask for his help later. He ran up the stairs and down the hallway. He stopped in front of his door. He put his hand on the doorknob and waited a few seconds before entering the room. To his extreme surprise he saw Nala sitting on a chair next to a full course breakfast. His face suddenly flashed between surprise, fear, and happiness. He wasn’t expecting a breakfast, instead he figured he might find her gone or at least still sleeping. It was seven in the morning and as he looked out the window he saw the sun begin to rise in the distance causing the sky to start turning a dark blue.

“umm, whats all this for?” he said as he walked over to the table. He pulled out the other chair and stared down at the food in front of him. No one had ever made food for him outside of restraints and pizza places. His diet as a kid consisted of whatever his mother brought home on the off chance he neglected to die in his sleep. So seeing someone go through all the trouble to feed him is foreign territory. “iv never had someone cook for me before. Ill pay you back for all the ingredients, you didn’t have to do this.” He said. He had to admit that it looked really good. He felt bad that she must have been up for quite sometime all by herself in someone elses home. He picked up a fork and started to eat. His face lit up as the favors mixed so well. It wasn’t restaurant grade food but the fact it was made for him made the food taste all the better. He was starving from his run this morning and proceeded to almost inhale the food in front of him. When he finished he looked up at her and blushed in embarrassment. “S-sorry, It was really good thank you.” He then got up and walked over to his armor stand. He took off his armor and placed it on the stand as he said “you know, I could get used to that kind of cooking.” He laughed then continued “if anyone knew about this they would think we were a married couple.” He smiled and proceeded off to the bathroom. “im going to take a shower okay? If anyone comes to the door don’t answer it until I get out. Im expecting someone and it would be akward for the first thing for them to see is a girl in my room.” He said the last sentence in a joking tone but the meaning was there. He was only expecting anyone who came and knocked on his door a the enemy.

[Nala]

Smiling widely, Nala was happy to see the surprised that came with Metro’s face as he returned to his home. She loved to know that she could make others happy with her skills in cooking. That had been part of the reason why she took it up as a career choice, to bring people together over a hot meal and fill them up to a happy belly, their personalities’ hopefully following suit. The other part was because she just loved creating delicious and sometimes beautiful pieces to be consumed.

Giggling as he sat down and immediately started wolfing down food, she started to nibble on her own plate, starting with the toast and strawberry jam. It was probably just that she was bias to her own cooking, but she thought that it tasted better than usual. Maybe it could have been that she was eating it with someone new this time? Either way, she liked having a one on one sit down to eat with someone else for a change. Stabbing at her eggs, she popped a bite into her mouth then took a drink of water. She wasn’t a brewer, so she couldn’t make any sort of fancy drinks for him, but hopefully that wouldn’t be a problem.

“No, no, you don’t need to repay me or anything! I made it to thank you for saving me and letting me stay the night with you. I know it might be a little strange having some random girl around that you don’t know, but I promise not to be a bother much longer.” That was how she saw her stay here. She was a burden on the boy who had saved her and taken such good care to keep her safe and warm at night when she had nowhere else to go.

A second small chuckle came at the thought of someone coming in and thinking that they were a married couple. She wasn’t sure who he might be expecting, but nodded to agree, “Alright, see you soon then.” getting up when he did, Nala started to clean up the dishes and wash them so he wouldn’t have to. Though in truth, if anyone knocked on the door, she wouldn’t be rude, she would answer it and invite them in, she’d even offer them a snack while they might wait for Metro to come out of the shower.

---

Word Count: 398

[metroexibit]

As metro showered he closed his eyes and imagined what would happen if this girl actually did stay around long. He liked having someone else in the house. It made it actually feel lived in. He knew that he would have to tell her eventually that he was being basically hunted down because of his goal to take over the world. He didn’t see a reason for it however, its not like he was going to be over bearing toward the populous. If anything he was going to be a reasonable ruler. He would listen to complaints and work to fix them. Every now and then he might execute someone for doing something bad but only to set an example of them. He finished his shower and dressed himself. He wore a blue tee with jeans. He always liked jeans, never really understood why but he did. Maybe it was because of the blue color or maybe it was because he would rather have long pants then shorts. He walked out with a towel in hand while rubbing his hair dry. After a minute of that he took it and tossed it in a basket at the end of the room. \

“Hey, mind if I ask YOU a few questions? Seems only fair since you asked me some yesterday.” He went and laid down on his back on the bed and continued without even hearing her answer because he was going to ask them anyway. “Why were you in the sewers? Is there anything I should know about regarding your past like if someones going to come knocking on my door because you stayed here last night? Why not just leave this morning instead of cooking me breakfast?

[Nala]

It didn’t seem to take Metro too long to get in and out of the shower. Once she was finished cleaning up the dishes, Nala made the bed then set herself to try tiding up anything else but… there was nothing. His place was so clean and tidy. Flailing her arms, she let out a tiny squee, it was so nice to be in a small house that actually stayed clean! It gave her nothing else to keep herself busy, but she was okay with that. Sitting herself back in the chair at the table, she opened her menu to find that her brothers had been sending her messages all through the night and morning.

‘Goodness, I’m fine guys’ She read the frantic messages, but didn’t answer all of them since they all pretty much said the same thing. They wondered where she was, how she was doing, if she found a warm place to stay. Technically the answer to all of those would have to be no since she had actually just stumbled upon somewhere to stay for the moment and had no permanent plans as of yet. Instead of tell them that though, she told them how she was staying with a friend and would visit them soon enough. Hopefully that would calm them down enough not to go around searching for her.

Ironically that was very close to what Metro asked when he came back out and flopped on the bed, “Oh, um. Well some of my family is here and I kind of just left them recently… they might look for me, but I’m pretty sure I reassured them enough that they won’t go out of their way to look around. As for why I was in the sewer I maaay have accidently fell through a floor in a building while searching for a place to stay.” she blushed at this, not liking to let people know just how clumsy and unlucky she could really be. “Why I cooked you breakfast instead of leaving… well. I kinda like it here and thought it would be rude to leave without at least letting you know that I was going. I wouldn’t want you to worry or anything. Oh, plus I like to cook for people! It’s a great way to bring people together and put smiles on their faces! Don’t you agree?” Really, she was just an innocent little thing. Not wanting to make anyone upset or worried. “Y-You didn’t happen to want me to leave did you? Cause, I can if that’s what you’d like…” She would do it too, she would be sad about having to go, but she wouldn’t inconvenience Metro.

---

Word Count: 447

[metroexibit]

Her words echoed in his mind like sound through a cave. Did he want her to leave? No, of course he didn’t but did he want her to stay? Probably if he had more time to think about it before he blurted out the words “you can stay as long as you’d like.” He froze after saying the words but quickly recovered. He got up and walked over to nala, grabbed her hand, pulled her out of the chair she was sitting in and hugged her. The hug wasn’t long enough to cause akwardness but it wasn’t brief enough that it didn’t mean anything. It was to reassure her that he meant what he said. If she wanted to stay he wouldn’t stop her and even welcome her. He needed this in his life, someone to hold dear to him. When he thought about it in the long run he figured it would slow him down a bit on his quest to world domination and she would be targeted by so many people to try and get to him, but each and every time he would be there. He would protect her till she decided to leave. He felt the same way about everyone who is and will follow him. He needed to keep up the image that he didn’t care about the death of all the faces he eventually had to send in to battle one day. For if people knew they wouldn’t fear him. He needed a few things to rule this world and fear was one of them, but he also needed respect. That he would earn in time but for now he would have to earn his respect one person at a time. When he pulled back from the hug he said “you are welcome here anytime you want. No bother at all, think of it this way you’d have a place to sleep and I’d have someone to come home too.” He smiled and turned as he walked over to his bed and sat down.

“just know whether you decide to leave or stay my doors always open to a friend.” He looked her in the eyes and smiled.

[Nala]

Jumping slightly, Nala squeaked as she was brought into this sudden hug after asking if she should go or not. Admittedly, she had half expected Metro to act as if he could care less what she did, not embrace her and basically tell her that he wouldn't mind the company. Blushing lightly, she leaned to the hug slightly, letting her head rest against his chest, she was indeed comforted by the action. When he left her to go sit on the bed, she stayed where she was, grinning happily that he would be accepting of her if she wished to stay. She had lived all alone before, once she headed off to start her cooking classes, and it hadn't been very fun. She was use to having just a few people around to talk to and go places with, even if she didn't like big crowds of people, she really would prefer to have someone else around.

So she smiled back and nodded, "I would love to stay to welcome you home, hopefully you won't mind coming back to a prepared meal as well, cause I like to practice my craft~" Some of these practice runs ended up in failure from her trying to make more complicated dishes than her level would allow her too, but it was still fun to see what she could or couldn't make. "Oh! I'd get my own ingredients too, you don't have to worry about that!" Having him provide her with the things she needed to make the food as well as a place to stay was too much, she wanted to repay Metro for letting her stay. She doubted he would accept her paying rent, but she at least subtly would attempt to repay him in other ways.

Then, as she went to sit down next to Metro, she heard a knock at the door, "Oh! You're guest!" Still standing, she decided to go on to answer the door, thinking Metro wouldn't mind since he was already out of the shower. "Hello th-ERE!?" In the doorway, someone snagged onto her arm and dragged her out into the hall, likely not the guest that they had been waiting on. Flailing at the fox-napper as he picked her up and fled with her tucked under his arm around the waist, she glared up to see one of her brother's instead. "What are you doing, put me down you big old bear! I told you I was fine!" The guardian wasn't about to stop his hurry down the hall though, "You're just brainwashed! What in the world were you thinking, staying with some random guy!?" She tried to grab at his feet to trip him but she couldn't get a good enough grasp, "He's a good person, now put. me. DOWN!"

---

Word Count: 465

[metroexibit]

He was glad she ended up deciding to stay with him he definitely enjoyed her company. He also enjoyed the idea of coming home to a free home cooked meal every night. He would have to talk to her about other things in the future like sleeping arrangements, rent, and he is definitely helping with the whole ingredients thing. It didn’t feel right to have her cook and pay for the ingredients. That and he would definitely take her along with him when he went out hunting. He figured she could use the experience as well as the money if she insisted on paying. Hunting monsters for a living wasn’t the best paying profession but it suited him just fine. He then heard a knock on the door and saw as nala went to answer it. He suddenly tensed up and reached for his sword. His heart started pounding so fast he could hear it. He grabbed his sword just as she opened the door. Almost as fast as she was pulled out of the apartment he was on his feet, running at the door. He caught it before it could close and slide out into the hall way. He knew that if he used any ability on the guy or even attempted to attack him the “golem police” would show up. Last thing he wanted was that so instead he called out to the man “hey, who do you think you are ripping a girl out of a door way like that she couldv gotten hurt!” He saw the man turn around and say “I am her older brother and ill be damned if im going to let her stay at some random strangers house!” he then turned around to walk off again but metro lashed back and said “stranger? Please do you even know where she was last night? She got lost in the tunnels under town and do you know how I found her? Being attacked by a horde of crocs and guess who was there to save her because it damn sure wasn’t you. Then I took her out to the festival to forget about almost-“ He threw his hands up to make air quotation marks “dying, then when a waiter spilled ice-cream on her I offered to walk her home but guess what apparently she didn’t have a home to go back to. So I invited her over to get cleaned up then since it was late I offered to put her up in a room for the night and after she insisted on staying in my room so she wouldn’t be a burden I slept on the floor and let her have the bed!” he was furious now. Older brother or not he has no right to drag her off like that.

He grabbed his sword that was around his hip and pulled of the strap which was keeping it to his waist. He then tossed it back into his room. He started to walk toward the guy. He didnt force her to go to dinner with him, he didn’t force her to come over to his house and he damn well didn’t force her to stay with him so he wasn’t about to have some spontaneous ass start thinking things he shouldn’t. “Shes a big girl meaning she can make her own decisions now. Hell she could’ve left anytime she wasn’t it wasn’t like I was keeping her prisoner here and if your problems with me? Then get to know me! Don’t go assuming im some dog only looking to get laid.” He was a lot closer to them now to the point he could reach his hand out and touch nala. “If she doesn’t want to stay she can go… but im not going to sit here as I see her have no say in what happens to her.”

[Nala]

She just couldn’t believe how childish Ragas was being! Her thoughts were in line with Metro’s she was a full grown woman now, she could stay with who she wanted! She wasn’t that little girl who sobbed all the time because they left her all alone or kicked her out of boys’ only clubs. She was bigger now… well, sort of; she was older at least, even if she was still the same size as when she turned sixteen and tended to tear up under upsetting situations. She was getting better though! That had to count for something, right?

As she heard Metro going on about how she could make her own choices and whatnot, she could feel Ragas starting to slow down his charge through the hall. It was reassuring to say the least and eventually he came to a stop in order to set her down on her own two feet. Huffing, she brushed herself off and straightened her clothing, smacking him on the arm before wiggling a finger at him to bend over. “You big old meani, dragging me through the hall with almost nothing but a shirt on.” Flailing once more at him, she stole his own shirt right there in the hallway to put it on over Metro’s. It was bigger so covered more of her, which was what she needed out here in the open. She even fled to hide herself behind metro, not wanting to hide behind her brother since he was being rude at the moment.

“He’s right you know! I- … I don’t wanna go back with you and have you take care of me, instead, I’m going to be staying with Metro and we’ll take care of each other like proper equals! I don’t want to be protected anymore!” Her brother looked taken aback by the sudden outburst from his usually quiet little sister. He stuttered for awhile, chilly in the hall without his shirt, but he felt alright, she did kind of need it more anyway, Ragas could admit when he let his emotions do stupid things like this. “I… I just want you to be safe. I want to make sure of that myself.”

Turning to the elf, he stared the guy down, clearly not trusting the young blood with his overly trusting and gullible little sister. She got swept away so easily. Making a face though, he could see that she wasn’t about to be moved by the sole fact that he still wanted to protect her. Running a hand through his spiky blond hair, Ragas heaved a heavy sigh. “Yeah, yeah, you’re all grown up. Whatever…” He was still mad, but he seemed to be cooling off now, pacing the small hall. Then he pointed to Metro, “I find out she got into some sort of trouble cause of you, or isn’t happy about being around any longer yet feels obligated to say. I’ll be back, and I will take her back to her family.” He didn’t want to say more, in fear he may change his mind, turning around and grabbing Nala again to take back. So Ragas instead turned to go as quickly as he had left, mad and in a rage, but empty handed.

---

Word Count: 541

[metroexibit]

Metro sighed in relief towards her brother letting her stay. He knew full well that he has done everything in his power to make sure she knew that she could leave whenever she wanted. That was one of the big reasons he wanted to pay for the whole rent because if she did end up deciding to leave she could just gather her things and go. He watched the guy wave them a hand goodbye as he walked back down the stairs. He was curious as to what her other brothers were like but decided it be best not to get too involved. As long as one of them was okay with it then he hoped that was enough and if not he would probably get another knock on his door. He looked at her and smiled, he turned around and headed back into the room. He left the door open so that she could follow behind him if she wished. He looked at the time and figured that it was pretty early in the morning but he should skip training today. He felt blue eyes scolding him but he hardly cared. They knew that she would have an impact on his life from now on and they were going to have to accept that as fact. He sat on his bed and waited for her to come back into the room. They were going to have to talk and set some rules and things if they were going to be living together. When she came back into the room and got situated he said “Okay well wasn’t that an umm…experience.” He looked down at his hands and continued “nala if we are going to be living together we should probably set some ground rules. I don’t care when you take a shower as long as there’s still hot water when your done. Ill take care of the rent seeing as how it would make things easier if you decided one day to leave. I am going to be going out every other day to train and every day in between are chore days so if you need something from me ask then not when training if you would be so kindly. We should also probably talk about sleeping arangments, unless you want to keep sleeping in the same bed ill look into getting something else to sleep on seeing as how im only going to be here half the time anyway. If you want to take care of food and things I am fine with that but if you need some extra coin for it don’t hesitate to ask. Oh, and I know this part of town fairly well and have a few friends in the area so if you need anything ask me and ill tell them you are coming.” He looked back up and looked her in the eyes “is there anything you would like to add to this?”

[Nala]

Truth be told, Nala was actually really surprised that Ragas let her go. He was so bullheaded, but it left her happy to be trusted by him. How he had found her though was a whole other story… maybe he had found her by the message she sent back somehow? She wouldn’t put it past him to hire a tracker either way, that would make more sense. Smoothing down a few stray strands of hair on her head, she turned around to find Metro heading back, so she went on to follow after him. It felt nice to be able say that she was returning home here.

Strolling in, Nala shut the door behind her, making a note that answering it wasn’t usually the best idea. Looking around, she decided to go ahead and stand by the window, peering down at all the people going by- she even saw her brother heading out to meet up with the other two who were just inside, serving as a backup plan if things went wrong. Well, things had gone wrong, but it was for the better. She saw him point her out, the other two looking up to see her standing in the window. She gave them a small smile and waved, but only Leroy waved back, Randee just looked at her with a face that broke her heart. She loved them, and was sad to go, but she had other plans now.

Looking a little lost, she continued to peer out the window after them while listening to Metro. Even if she did need help, it wouldn’t be likely that she would ask for it in fear of disturbing him, or in case she accidentally forgot which day she wasn’t suppose to bother him. “Oh… um. I’d like it if you would take me training with you now and then? If that’s okay, of course, and it doesn’t have to be every time! Maybe just once a week or so…?” Nala wasn’t keen on asking for too much of him, so she tried to keep it simple.

---

Word Count: 346

[metroexibit]

He liked the idea of nala coming with him into the field. The endless grind by himself was getting boring. He has probably told himself that he was going to find a way to spice it up as they say about a hundred times so far. “Sure, any time you want to just ask me. I could use the company not to mention it’ll improve on my group combat skills.” He lay down on his bed and closed his eyes. “Man, its been one hell of a morning. I think I might take a nap. If you want later we could go shopping for things. I have to get my sword sharpened and since you are going to be staying here probably going to have to buy more food and varies other things we may need. Since you are probably going to be here most of the time ill let you do with the place as you like, that sound good?” the closer he got to the end of the sentence the more tired his words made him sound. He didn’t want to sleep knowing full well this was a training day, blue and red eyes are going to give him hell for this and he is probably going to have to have to double his quota for the day tomorrow but that’s fine. He would rather her get fully situated while he was here then have her doing it on her own and having to wait to ask him later. He hoped she would go with him instead of going alone. He had no idea how well she knew this part of London and where all the good deals are and the best places to buy good things for cheap. He rolled over on his side so he was facing her while she was sitting against the window. He put his left arm under his pillow and closed his eyes. “Hey, just don’t go shopping while im sleeping okay? I want to show you something’s while were out not to mention there’s a great smithy not to far from here I want you to check out if your going to come train with me.” He also didn’t want her going out alone after hearing someone might come after her. He froze when the realization came to his mind. “what if her brothers are apart of the same people who are chasing me? Could it have just been a coincidence they showed up right after he told me someone was coming for her? And if so does that mean shes indirectly involved with them? Now that I think about it was letter her stay such a good idea?” so many questions were racing through his mind with so little answers to quite it down. He would have to be on his guard until he finds them.