Because of a Sandwich...[Rei]

[Nala]

It was getting harder and harder to breath as Nala Fled through the mushy swamp land of Thames. On more than one occasion she nearly tripped out of her own clumsiness as well as the difficult terrain, it was more difficult to walk let alone full-out run here. She held tightly to the large sandwich in her hand, squishing it slightly, but keeping it together. Three sickly looking goblins were following after, almost chomping at her tail at the smell of the cooked meat in the sandwich, they were hungry, but she wasn't about to give up the last sandwich to monsters. What was she doing here though? How had it happened? Well... going back to that morning...

"Oh, Ragas, pleeeease! Please, please, please, pleeeease!" The oldest of Nala's three brothers, Ragas, rolled his eyes and stared down at her long and hard. No matter how anyone looked at it, he gave the very impression that he was not wanting to go through with whatever the smaller girl in front of him was asking. Running a hand through his short spiked hair, he heaved a heavy sigh, "Nala, it's dangerous." Big, round blue eyes stared up at the taller man pleadingly, with her ears pressed back against her head and her tail drooping sadly, Nala gave the very picture of a sad dog begging for something at the kitchen table. "It's better than me going out alone, right? Right??" Still, the eldest groaned and rubbed the back of his neck. Ragas was a large man that sported a sword and shield, taking up the guardian role, he was also the most protective of his little sister. What she wanted was to go with them this time on one of their adventures outside of town to get some experience with fighting monsters, what he wanted was for her to stay in their shabby, temporary home. She had argued about it a lot before, but always gave up in the end, thinking she'll just go along another time. Yet this time she was more insistent, the last time they had had dinner, Leroy got sent back to the cathedral after falling in battle to a monster that crept up behind them out of the blue, the other two almost followed since he had been the healer. There may not be a permanent death here, but she wanted to make sure her brothers had every edge in battle, and that meant having her there to help.

Seeing the edge of Ragas's eyebrow twitch in deep though, Nala slowly began to perk up, her own tail swishing slightly from side to side. He was coming to a decision and didn't look too happy by it at all, which was exactly what she wanted. Taking in a deep breath, he slowly nodded his head in approval, "Alright, you can come... but you have to keep back out of any monster range and stay in sight, alright?" Squeeing happily, Nala jumped up and threw her arms around her brother's neck, thanking him over and over again. She was going to be joining their little group and help out rather than stick around doing chores and cleaning. She wasn't a housekeeper anyway! She wouldn't get anywhere cleaning up the house, or making beds! Giving him a big 'ol kiss on the cheek, she fled down the hall to tell the other two that she was going to be coming along. Of course, they had a say in it as well and were protective, but Ragas was like the leader of their makeshift group. By convincing him to let her come along, the other two would most likely follow his lead.

Of course, just as predicted they begrudgingly accepted the course of action, keeping a close eye on her once they were equipped and ready to head out. The three had explored the swamp area the other day, so picked back up there with her. It was mucky and full of mush, but full of life in the trees, vines, they even saw other players in the distance fighting monsters now and then. They kept the distance though and didn't bother them, not wanting to come across as a PK group or go looking for trouble in case they ran into one. Things actually went rather well. They fought a few snails, killed an alligator together, but after the alligator they stopped to camp and eat some lunch. That's when they attracted the monster...

Her brothers had all scarfed down their sandwiches as she made them, but she had just been about to start on hers when they ambushed the temporary camp site for the food. She tried to keep close to them, but got separated from her group and ended up where she was now. Running through the swamp, trying to double back and return to her family.

"NooOooOoo!!" Letting out a loud scream, Nala tripped and fell over a root sticking up out of the ground, cursing her bad balance to begin with as she tried to turn around, keeping her sandwich close. Fumbling for at least one of her rapiers, she tried to get it out, but the monsters were already starting to attack the fallen target.

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Word Count: 872

[reilin]

Rei Lin had be pacing back and forth in his room for sometime trying to figure out just what exactly he was missing, of course he was finally going to go out and train to get use to combat here since the other day he had basically spent it talking to Kris, Nala and Okami, three people he had met on his first day of coming into the game. Here he sat in his little room staring at the bed or more specifically his clothing, it was all there. Cloth shirt, Cloth pants and no shoes and socks so why was he feeling as if he had forgotten something? He began to ruffle his heavy set hair in annoyance as he fell to the ground and rolled around screaming to himself," What is it!!! What is it that i am missing, Grahhh come on come on," his rolling stopped mid way as he looked at the ceiling and immediately jumped into the air and scuttled over to his drawer. In the top one there was a single pair of red bandages, these were what he was missing!! His favorite red bandages that made him feel like a martial artist master, grabbing them quickly he would roll them over his forearms until it reached his wrist and smiled," Now i can get dressed....thought i had threw them around after almost passing out here," rolling over to the bed he would quickly grab the rest of his clothing and put it on, smiling and walking out of the door to start his new day.

The walk around the market was surprisingly fine this time around now that he knew where he was going and also due to the fact that he was not going to bump into someone unexpectedly. Knowing these things he would look around for a moment before bringing up his map and studying it carefully," Lets see what is a good area with low-level monsters. Hm...Let's see i guess i will go to the swamp, its closer and has a good variety of different low level monsters," nodding to himself, he would quickly make the map disappear and begin to grab some provisions from the market while he was still there. Grabbing a couple of fruits and even a canteen of water, the young monk sat out on his journey to the swamps.

Rei soon had left the comfort and safety of the market and city as he stopped to look around at the many trees that soon encased him," So this is what the outside world looks like...it looks like a real forest, even the grass beneath my feet feels like the gentle touch of the real thing," he was more than ecstatic as he pushed onward while taking every little detail in, he was certainly in his own little wonderland. As he continued to walk forward the sound of rustling could be heard, at first being a little to far away to consider it as good or bad but whatever it was....it was following him.

Rei had been walking for what had seemed like minutes and according to his map he had finally made it to the interior of the swamp. Well it was very...well swampy to say the least. The various willow trees and murky swamp water gave it a neutral feeling of ambiance and the smell gave him a sense of the country back in the real world. The shuffling could once again be heard from behind him, but as he turned around there was nothing there," Okay whatever it is that is following, it wants something from me...let's just hope it's player friendly," he thought to himself as he continued to move forward.

Rei could see some stable trees around and wondered if they were any good for climbing to get a good look over the surrounding area, well the only way for him to actually find out was to check it out. Jumping into the air he would grab one of the branches and vault himself on top of it, smiling to see that it was not only sturdy but also able to maintain his weight. Taking this as a confirmation he would begin to move through the trees by swinging from branch to branch and this went on for three trees before he landed on the ground and heard a loud scream coming from in front of him," someone is in trouble....well i wanted to test my skills out so i get a chance," smiling he took off towards the screams direction without haste.

His brown eye continued to stare forward until he had jumped from a group of shrubs and slid to a stop, seeing someone on the ground and a couple of monsters starting to attack her. Remembering something he had read about his own class, Rei ran and jumped into the air coming down with a swift and fierce kick into the ground," Ha! Take this, Aura Kick," with a loud yell his foot would strike the ground.. From this attack the ground would rumble and wave of blue aura from the shockwave would expand, hitting the monsters and because of this the monsters would turn and face him," Hey...get up and run while you can i will take care of as many as i can okay," he said and smiled as he ran towards the monsters. Now that he had their attention, he would make sure to save the girl no matter the cost.

One of the first monsters to run at him jumped into the air ready to snap at him and gnaw at him like a good dinner, Rei jumped out of the way and threw a right hook at the monster aiming for its side and sending it into another one who would try to attack him while he wasn't looking. Luckily he would catch his balance and initiate the next attack on the other monster running at him, sliding in and performing a crescent kick to knock it to the side. While the monsters were trying to get up, Rei moved over to the girl and would look at her," Are you alright? They did not harm you did they," speaking quickly he would stand up and move in front of her to protect her from the monsters.

WC:1062

[Nala]

Having more than just a moment of doubt, Nala thought she was about to fall prey to the monsters that were chasing behind her, but no, instead she ended up being saved at the last minute. In fact, she even knew her rescuer! Standing before her in his armor, equipped wit nothing but hand wrappings as his weapons was Rei the wolfy monk she had met the other day. The best part was probably that he leap from the bushes in the nick of time and disrupted their attack with one quick kick to the ground, talk about saving the day. At first, all she could do was sit and stare at this sudden turn of events, shocked that things like that happened outside of movies and books, then she registered the words he threw her way. Run... right.. that was what she was suppose to do, she needed to get out of there, and go- well, actually she had to go through them. Her brothers were behind her, not ahead, she had to get past the small group of goblins in order to reach them where it was hopefully safe once more.

Pulling herself up was probably the only thing Nala did as requested, other than that she shook herself free of any dirt briefly then proceeded to pull out one of her rapiers. While the male species was still something she needed to get use to, she would stand and fight with Rei rather than keep back and hide, "I-I'm sorry, but I can't run!" Holding the weapons out in front of her, she took a stance that was sloppy, but aggressive. The first part of the fight she missed out on, but she at least wanted to do what she could to help with the next. "I'm fine... muddy, but alright. I can get the attention of two of them if- if you take on one." She had been protected for so long, she wanted to stay behind Rei, but that wouldn't be very effective. What she had in mind for, she needed the monster to look away from Rei and whatever monster he would pick to fight.

Backing away, Nala moved to the side, going around the group that currently had their attention on the one that had attacked them. They looked her way, but only the closest to her broke away from the group to go after her and the sandwich. Seeing the monster turn its attention to her once again nearly made her freeze up, but she kept the urge away, refusing to be a deer in headlights. Once she had gotten off to the side, the Fox-Tail held out the one sword, taking a deep breath, she started to dance with her weapon and lunch in hand, casting Pacifying Dance. As the monster chasing her came to a stop, she swirled around in a small circle to see that the other two turned their attention to her too, captivated by the enchanter. While she couldn't do much in terms of damage or help with her low level, she could at least keep Rei from taking on three opponents at once... momentarily. The spell wouldn't last very long.

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Word count: 535

[reilin]

Rei stood there for a moment and eyed the goblins as they began to pick themselves up and start to get their bearings, although his prime concern was on..Nala? His eyes went wide for a second before he smiled and nodded to her," I honestly did not expect to see you again after yesterday Nala, but i am glad you are....okay. If you are hurt let me know," his face showed a small tint of red, it wasn't known but sometimes he would become shy around the opposite sex...like he was nervous around them. Now wasn't the time for it however since he had a friend to protect and not only that he had to teach these goblins a lesson. Retaking his stand he would look over to Nala one more time before responding to her in a comforting smile," I will do whatever i can to help you out okay, but i will make sure to protect you no matter what," knowing that they had a plan, Rei would leap into action and tackle one of the goblin's, its teeth gnashing about as it tried to bite him. Rei would keep this one occupied while Nala did what she needed to do to keep the other two busy, or until he could finish this one off and move on to another one.

Rei quickly pinned the goblin down before pelting it in the face with his right fist four times, slowly watching as its health went down with every strike although as he continued to strike it he wouldn't know that Nala's plan was already in effect keeping the other two from attacking while he had continued to fight the goblin. After a couple of more punches, Rei would have successfully beaten the first goblin, but now the other two remained and he did not know how long Nala's plan was going to be in effect.

Rei had only one plan in mind to make sure everything could be a success and it was something like fighting he had not tried yet. On his hands a light would begin to glow before a small sigil appeared on them, his Sigil of Aquarius was now in effect and granted him a little more Agility so that he could close the gap on the remaining two goblins and hopefully deal some heavy damage on them. As he took off towards them, he would aim for the one on the left as he aimed a well timed right elbow to its back. when the hit had connected it would have sent the goblin flying and to the ground while Rei performed a low crescent sweep kick to knock the other off of its feet. Once done he would finish off the one that he had just attack with a swift ax kick to its head, all before jumping to Nala's side and smiling," Are you okay? Your plan worked like wonders Nala, and look we only have one more to go," he said with a smile as he looked at the last Goblin.

Word count: 514

[Nala]

Truth be told, Nala hadn't even thought her skill would work on the creatures they were fighting, they looked all mean and scary with the way the stumbled along and groaned, but perhaps they weren't as high level as she expected. Her suspicions were even confirmed when she saw Reilin take down two the creatures himself. At least she could make a good distraction with her apparently mesmerizing movements. The one that she was finding mesmerizing however was the monk. The way he flipped around the swampy battle field, going from enemy to enemy with a fury of blows, she found it to be something she could watch for quite the while if given the chance. That wasn't why she was still around though! With two of the monsters taken down during the short duration of the dance, Nala stilled and the remaining goblin looked like it was gathering its bearings since the target it had been on before had switched locations.

Wanting to be like Sir cool with his flips and beat downs, Nala bravely held out her rapier, aiming it straight for the sickly creature. While she did return the smile given to her, she just couldn't help but take a little step away from the guy who was fighting and protecting her so well. Close distance to strange men still made her fidgetty, even if he was a kind soul that possibly saved her durable life. "Don't worry, I'm alright! I'll get the last one for us though!" The other grusome creature was lumbering toward them now, not in melee range just yet, but too far for her to get her enchanter spell off. 'I can totally do this' she thought, mostly to herself, but a few words were also mumbled under her breath, more for motivation. Just like a boss, she charged forward to the creature and- ... face planted right into the muck. "Gah!" This really wasn't the type of terrain she should be having her first real fight in.

Still, Nala got up and took her stance back up. The goblin had closed the distance between them while she had to pick herself off and got in the first attack, knocking her for a loop at the slight sting of its attack. Her health didn't drop by much, but it dropped, so they were probably around the two's level. Fisting the opponent to death obviously wasn't an option for her, but Nala made due clean enough by slashing repeatedly at her advisory. The way she swung, you would have thought she were fighting her long lost rival, the blade swishing by a little slow, but hard and powerful. It wasn't the way the quicker weapon was suppose to be used, but she wasn't really use to using it that much either. With her slow attacks, Nala almost thought she would never get a hit on one of them, but she did. She gashed a long scar over one of the goblins, leaving him open for for multiple others while she slashed away. There was plenty of damage she tried her best to avoid, but it was just impossible to avoid it all. Deciding to add in a little bit of the monk's physical contact style, Nala swung her leg around to kick the last goblin across the face. It didn't do much damage, but it was satisfying and made her feel a bit better about being separated from her brother because of them.

Not much for combat herself, Nala held her blade high over her head, then brought it down mercilessly to the goblins head, performing the execution of the creature's death scene. Just fighting one of those things took about half of her health, but then again, she didn't have much to begin with anyway. Laughing lightly at her own thoughts, She returned to the one that had rescued her. "I... I hope that was alright? Also thank you very much for saving me!" Bowing her head to him, Nala felt a sort of gratitude toward Rei that she kinda felt she might need to make up for later less guilt dragger her around by the ear.

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Word Count: 693

[reilin]

In the midst of the final goblin being taken down, Rei felt better than ever as he looked around to see the last one standing away from him and Nala although the look in her eyes showed that she was ready to fight somewhat. Seeing that she was alright and even more so that she wanted to finish off the last goblin he would smile and nod,” Alright it’s all yours and if you need me to help you just let me know okay?,” he would have stayed in his same spot, his sigil of aquarius had finally worn off so he was back to normal for the time being. He had wondered for a short moment what had made her want to fight and combat the goblins, maybe it was because she wanted to defeat the very same monsters that had tried to attack her but her stance made that answer a little….not true. His second guess was that by watching him, it created a bigger spark inside of her and pushed her to defeat the monsters or maybe it was both.

As Rei watched Nala prepare to charge and fight the goblin, he sort of face palmed when she fell into the muck of the swamp…it wasn’t the best thing but he wasn’t going to laugh or say anything or at least not to her face. It wasn’t his place to and a rescuer would never ridicule their rescue? He also watched her health closely; the goblin had taken down a bit of her health although she was determined to finish this goblin off. With the battle finally determined he would smile and hug her almost involuntarily before stepping back and turning red,” Sorry about that I was caught in the moment of my first fight and victory against the monsters here. If you want to hit me for that…I understand,” he was looking down for a moment before smiling softly.

Looking up he would smile and look around,” That was actually a lot of fun Nala, but were you out here for training as well? Wait…is that a sandwich you are holding,” looking at her kind of confused for a moment, he would wonder just why she was holding a sandwich then again it may have been her lunch or something. Seeing as they were still amidst the swap, Rei took his time to look around and before he had forgotten about Nala’s HP,” I think you should heal the damage you have taken just in case of another attack,” so far his health was relatively fine, although he had a lot of health to begin with and only a little was missing from him so he should be fine. Although his MP had taken a little more of a hit, she should have been fine for a little while longer.

Seeing as the two of them were in good shape for the most part that is, he would wait around for her to see what she would do. If she wanted to conversate with him it would have been fine although in the meantime he would keep his guard up just in case of another attack.

Word Count- 530

[Nala]

Nala actually didn't feel as bad as she thought she would after murdering that last monster. Whether it was because it had been trying to hunt her down and kill her for a little sandwich, or the fact that it burst into pixels just like it wasn't a real living creature at all, she wasn't sure. Either way, she was happy enough not to have the guilt of death looming over her. Instead, she was a little excited, her tail swishing along happily to mirror her attitude. She had done it! She defeated a monster sort of all on her own! It had taken a little over half her health to do so, but she did it! Just wait until her brothers heard about it! ...Oh dear, her brothers. Part of her hoped that they had managed to dispatch of the other goblins that had attacked them quickly, and the other part hoped that they were taking their sweet time so that they wouldn't notice her disappearance before she returned. 'oh goodness..' The latter was highly unlikely since they were tougher than her.

She could vaguely remember the last time she went off without anyone knowing back when they were kids. There had been an ice cream truck down the block, her brother were all fighting in the kitchen over the last three cookies since they wanted at least one to go to the baby of the family, their parents trying to help settle the dispute, it was a bad situation for someone like her to begin with. Totally innocent in her actions, she went right out the door with anyone the wiser, strolled on down the sidewalk to where she heard the music, then got stuck. Yes, stuck. Her dilemma was that the truck was on the other side of the street, and being only four, she wasn't allowed to cross without an adult or her oldest brother Ragas. A good ten minutes passed before the ice cream truck started to play its music and drive away slowly. Gasping, the little girl broke into tears and chased it along the sidewalk, waving her arms frantically to try and get it to stop. Luckily for her, the driver did indeed see her in his mirror and slowed down to halt for her waving her over proved to be ineffective, so he came out to her, listening to her tale of woe. Trying not to smile, the man went back and got her an ice cream sandwich, taking the buttons and pretty rocks she gave him as currency. Needless to say when she returned with her prize, the house was in an uproar searching for her. Ever since her disappearing act, her three guardians had always been easily excitable when she poofs.

With her thoughts temporarily taken over by the briefed memory, Nala didn't even notice when Rei started getting closer to her until he had her wrapped up in a hug. Squeaking softly, she turned a horribly red color, keeping still until he pulled away not long after, making apologies and giving her permission to slap him. Of course, there was no way she would ever do such a thing unless it was really bad, and hugs weren't bad, they were nice... at least she thought they were nice, it was strange getting one from him. While she was use to giving her girl friends back home hugs when something goes well, or her brothers, Rei wasn't so familiar and made her blush, she couldn't blame him though. Shaking her head, she waved her hands in front of her, "N-No! It's alright! I enjoy hugs!" Besides, it was warm and she missed hugs, it reminded her of the one Okami had given her, so very excited and out of the blue.

Either way, they were out of the danger now. Looking down when he mentioned her lunch, Nala warmed up a bit more; she had completely forgotten about it. Smiling softly, she held it out to him, it was slightly squished from her holding onto it, but she had somehow managed to keep it clean. "I'll be alright, I just have to head back to meet with my brothers then we can head home to rest. It's been a good day of exploring and adventure!" Pausing for a moment, she then went on to ask, "Say, would you like to come and have dinner with us as well? It's the least I can do to thank you!" While she wasn't sure if he had other plans, she at least wanted to ask her rescuer over for a 'banquet' in his honor.

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Word Count: 774

[reilin]

It was good that she had accepted the hug and had also decided not to hit him for his unexpected actions, also finding out that she had in fact enjoyed hugs made a small smile come on to the face of Rei," That is good to here Nala, i thought you were still going to be kind of shy around me like the first time we had met...but now that you aren't hiding behind Okami you are really cute," he had hoped that his comment to her would not scare her off, or at least make her go shy around him again but honesty to an extent was a weakness of his. He wasn't really much of a talker since middle school so when he had started playing he felt as if he could actually try and reach out to others without being so withdrawn, so far it was working in his favor seeing as he had made three new friends since his first day in the game. Between the antisocial him and the now social and friendly him, Rei loved being the social one although in the real world he knew that this was most likely never going to happen.

As Nala held out the sandwich to him, he would looked at it with a smile before reaching for it slowly and taking it into his hands," Thank you Nala, but i would feel better if we had shared it instead. It is your lunch after all and i am pretty sure you are hungry as well right," as he spoke he would break the sandwich into two equal pieces, handing on to Nala if she had accepted it. Eating the sandwich silently he would listen to her talk, it would seem that she came here with family...was it her actual family or just players she had known for such a long period of time? The taste of the food here was still taking some getting used to for the moment since the last time he had eaten it went down then back up in a matter of moments....and it was chicken.

At the question of did he want to come with her and also have dinner with both her and her brothers, for a moment he would sit there silently before looking around. The frantic thoughts of dinner with a girl and her family made his head go into overload before finally he answered," ...Yes i would like to actually, it would be fun to have dinner with others instead of myself," he would now finish dusting off his clothing making sure the muck and other things were off of him before walking by Nala's side to find her brothers, and eventually get back to their place to eat.

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Word Count: 464

[Nala]

Oh goodness, she couldn’t believe he just said that so bluntly. It took Nala a fair amount of time to process what Rei had just told her… cute. She was apparently cute. She just stared at him as he took the sandwich from her, barely registering it enough that she dropped her hand to the side. In fact, most of his words were even lost to her while she just looked at him. A few did get through though; she caught the last few words about his questioning her about her hunger. In response, her tummy gave a small grumble, wanting something to satisfy her until it was dinner time. Blushing horribly, she took the half that was offered back to her and cast her gaze to the ground, unable to look at him at the moment.

While she didn’t show when she was sad, or upset, she couldn’t help the embarrassment that was clearly covering her face at the moment. Taking a quick bite of the sandwich, she nodded her head at the same time, definitely hungry. It wasn’t meant to taste good, just fill the void of hunger and get them through the rest of the day until it was dinner time. She didn’t want to ruin the boys’ appetites after all, or give them the opportunity to say her snacks were better tasting than her actual meals. It was kind of funny how she could never run into someone who was hungry and give them a meal that actually tasted good the first time around. Worst habit ever!

Though she shouldn’t have been consoled by the fact that Rei could be such a flustered as herself when asked a question, Nala couldn’t help being thankful for running into someone as fidgety as she was about things. Finally able to look back up to him, she smiled softly, moving from one foot to the other. They would actually have a guest over tonight! It was a little exciting… ‘ohmygoodness! there was so much to do before they were truly ready to have guests over. There was cleaning to be done, blankets to hide, clothes to put into baskets. Oh so, so many things, gah, what was she to do!? She didn’t even have any time to prepare!

She would just have to hurriedly put things away once they got there. Turning to get a little bit ahead of Rei, she motioned him to follow after, still excited even after the realization that the house was still in a messy heap. “Great! I hope you won’t be mad if there are some things lying around, but I wasn’t expecting to have someone else joining us.” She couldn’t wait to introduce her new friend to the rest of her family, she was sure that they wouldn’t simple love him to pieces.

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Word Count: 471

[reilin]

Her reaction to when he had called her cute was over the expectations he had held for the situation, and it was enough to even make him smile in a sense. She was cute whether she was fighting, blushing or just being plain shy which was something new that Rei had just experienced. Being one to not even know how to express his thoughts to the opposite sex it was more easier here or all he had needed was that extra confidence and a cute girl to say it to...and there wasn't any offense to any of the girls he had knew prior. He would slowly eat the sandwich while looking at Nala for a bit wondering if she was still thinking about what he had said to her about her being cute..if he knew that word would have an effect on girls why didn't he know about it that this point? Well maybe he was completely oblivious to the feelings and thought process of them and even more so he did not fully understand the way they felt.

As he finished the rest of the sandwich however he would sit down if not for a moment to wait for her movements or decisions, because he honestly did not know where he was going or...what to do. The first dinner with a girl he had just met and her family sat heavily in his mind, his light brown eye moving down to look at his clothing," Okay everything looks good...and considering these are the only clothes i have at the moment," the thought of it ran through his mind as he jumped up and dusted the remains of the crumbs off, before looking to his feet...oh right no shoes.

Hopefully no one would mind the bare footed monk walking around in their house but he would make a mental note to clean them off before going in. Seeing as they were about to move, he would push forward behind her and allow her to move in front of him. As she had asked him was it okay for things to be in the order that were currently...whatever that was. He would shrug slightly before smiling," I can also wait for you to tidy up before coming in..back at my home it is a custom to wait before entering ones home," although this was said with a smile he wouldn't really hold much emphasis on it.

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Word Count 412

[Nala]

When Rei looked to his feet, Nala's gaze soon followed, she hadn't even noticed it before while they were under attack, but he had no shoes! Well, then again it wasn't surprising, he had mentioned that he was a begging player before, for all she knew, that last battle could have been his very first. She would try to remember to ask about it later along with a couple other things that were still poking around in the back of her mind, even from the last time they had met. With her in the lead for a change, she often glanced back at the boy because she was so use to looking at someone either face to face or at the back of their head while they talked. "Oh! Thank you Rei, I think I'll take you up on that." Yet another question was added to her list on what to ask the Wolf Hair when she next got the chance, which would probably be around the table. Besides that she almost felt like skipping along, the last time she had company over had been nearly a month ago when she lived alone. Hopefully he would have a nice time with them.

Besides her humming along to a tune in her head, Nala didn't really feel a need to start up a conversation since she was use to chatting while sitting at home. It didn't take long at all for them to run into her brothers anyway; as soon as they finished their own goblin beat down, they had immediately fled after her, Leroy having saw a quick glance of the direction she was chased.

"Lil sis!!" Even in the distance, they were loud and charged over the mucky swamp to jump the baby of the family. Squeaking as Ragas, the eldest, picked her up into a bear hug, she rubbed a hand over his short spiky hair, pushing it back. "Hah, don't worry, it's okay, I'm fine thanks to my new friend Rei! He helped me get rid of three nasty goblins that were after my sandwich!" The other two, hovering around and patting the Fox Tail happily, turned their attention over to look at Rei with raised eyebrows. "Also, he's coming over to dinner, so we'll have a guest this evening!" The trio was protective, but Randee and Leroy were at least chill enough to accept the fact that she had run into a met a random boy out in the woods and invited him over just like that. They trusted her judgement, and figured if he saved their sister, he was a good guy. The grinned at him and gave nods of approval, Leroy spoke up first with the introductions. "Hey, nice to meet you. My name's Leroy, the little squirt next to me is Randee, and the one with that strange Fox Tail we've never met before is Ragas." Leroy had a pretty good sense of human, the 'squirt' comment about Randee actually being pretty funny considering Randee was taller than him.

The two easy-going fellows offered to shake the younger boy's hand; Ragas, however, was far more skeptical. He kept Nala up off the ground for a second longer while looking over their new guest, suspicion clear in his eyes. After he did set her down, he made a point to stay by her side, not coming over to shake hands. "Yeah, hi Rei." He knew he was out voted on if they should allow this stranger to come eat with them or not, so didn't voice his disapproval. Instead he just laid a big hand on top of Nala's head and ruffled her hair, tugging on her ear lightly, "Common then, let's go get something to eat, that little scrap made me hungry all over again." Taking the head role this time, Ragas would be the one to set their pace and lead them home, walking a little quickly from the start.

Raising an eyebrow at each other, Leroy and Randee shrugged before following after. Nala smiled and rolled her eyes, knowing the way back herself, so more than willing to wait until Rei was ready to move out again or go at his pace. "I'm glad they like you. What do you think would be nice for dinner by the way?" Such a normal question for that suddenly quick encounter.

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Word Count: 746

[reilin]

Rei had walked in silence for a moment as he thought to himself about what kind of people her brothers were, he had wanted to ask her earlier were they all blood related or close family friends that were considered brothers and sister, but for the time being he would let the question sit deep within his mind as he pushed it to the side of his stirring mind. If not for a moment his ears twitched for a second as he heard what seemed liked yelling coming towards them, his first reaction was to go into battle mode but when the words registered in his mind he had eased himself and smiled- her brothers had finally found her. They were all the same race, talk about a huge family comprised  of Fox Tails and another race gallivanting around, it was definitely the first time he had seen such a large number of the race in one area..although to be honest four was not such a big number.

It seemed like a happy family reunion which Rei was pretty interested in watching and not in a creepy way, seeing as he was an only child he was always curious to see how brothers and sisters had acted around each other. He smiled if not for a moment when she had mentioned him helping her get rid of the goblins, but when the eyes suddenly went to him, he stopped smiling and looked at the sets of eyes that would look at him.

As Leroy spoke to him introducing not only himself but his brothers as well, he would nod and smile," It is nice to meet you all as well," as the two came to exchange hand shakes, he would extend his right hand and shake theirs at first he was a little nervous about this meeting but these two made his mind at ease. The last to speak had gave him a clear intentioned look, Rei could tell that he didn't quite trust him yet and somehow Rei was fine with that. He knew that some people's trust was harder to earn than others so he didn't speak on it. As the group moved, he would walk with Nala and nod before looking at her with a confused face. This was a very first that a girl that wasn't his mother asked him what did he want for dinner, so his expression slightly showed it," Uh...Honestly i am fine with whatever you cook Nala, i haven't really familiarized myself with the food here so i am open to try new things," it wasn't the best answer he could give, but seeing the current situation it was the only one he could give.

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Word Count-454

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[Nala]

Smiling softly as Rei fell into pace beside her, Nala laughed lightly at the flustered look he gave her in response to her question. If she were as bold or brave as the Wolf Hair, she would have told him that she thought that was cute as well, but this thought would never leave her mind. Instead, she reached up to pat the thick brown hair that sat over his head to show that she was having a nice time with him- even though the mucky swamp wasn’t the best terrain to be taking a leisurely stroll in. It didn’t usually take her very long to warm up to someone, and she was already feeling comfortable enough with the fellow shy soul.

Ruffling his hair slightly, she took her hand back, letting it fall to her side. “It’s not that different from the world we come from, you just need to find a chef that’s high enough to cook whatever you like~!” there were probably exceptions, some foods tasting odd or made of strange ingredients than normal, but she was pretty certain that anything could be made that they were use to alongside it. Tapping her chin, Nala tried to think of what Rei might like. Without knowing where he came from, that made it kind of difficult, but she wasn’t ready to ask him yet, she wanted to leave that for when they were all sitting around the table!

The more she tried to think of it, though, the more frustrated she got, only her eyebrows showing it by furrowing slightly. She didn’t want to be rude or anything by offering a food he couldn’t eat, or something considered taboo. Pouting slightly, Nala turned to Rei, wishing she could wait, but needing to know certain things about him. “Are you allergic to anything? Or have anything that you really can’t eat or don’t like?”

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Word Count: 315

[reilin]

As the two of them slowly walked behind the rest of the group and talked, Rei could honestly admit that he was having a lot of fun with his newest friend Nala even to the point of becoming more open around her. If she had seen him flustered now he would become immensely red now as she patted his head, his smile going into overdrive and if this was a cartoon a plume of smoke would come from his ears. It was the first time had any girl had done such a action and it had honestly threw him off-guard, his eyes looking around rapidly before setting on Nala and smiling," Th- Thank you Nala, and you are the only chef i know at the moment so i cannot wait to taste your food," he tried to make it to where he wasn't stumbling over every little word at his embarrassment, as much as he tried he could not help being himself around women...especially those of which gave him some attention or more than the average amount of attention.

As the two continued to walk he thought of a plethora of things the two could talk about to help them get to know each other, but he more he thought about it, the more it had begun to make him flustered internally until he had finally decided to tell her a couple of stories from the real world and hope those would suffice. He looked up for a moment and smiled as she asked him what he was allergic to, or more to the point was there anything he could not eat. Tapping his chin slightly he would look at the cute pouting Nala and smile," I am not really allergic to anything, and seeing as this is a new experience for me i will try any and everything you cook. Oh there is only two things i do not like to eat, Cabbage and Pimento beans...i dislike the both of those, although having small traces of cabbages in dishes is okay, but having a main course of nothing but cabbage will make me run away," he chuckled slightly as he walked beside her and rested his hand onto her shoulders lightly, more so to calm her down and to let her know that anything she made would be good for him.

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Word count: 394

[Nala]

Alrighty, so no cabbage or pimento beans. She could totally handle that, the things she had in mind didn't have any of those items anyway; especially the beans... she would never fix beans as long as her family was eating them. There were still thanksgiving memories she was trying to keep locked away that never failed to make her want to remove her nose just to think about. "Okie dokie, I think I know what to make then!" She wouldn't tell him of course. Having it be a surprise would just make it all that more fun to see what sort of reaction he would have at the mystery dish.

When the hand came to rest on her shoulder, it was almost funny as she glanced at it briefly then immediately blushed a bright red color. Nala might have initiated contact, but she wasn't great at taking it. At least it told her that he was becoming more at ease around her as well, so she tried not to freak out too much about the hand since it was a good thing. Smiling, she looked ahead to see they had made good time through the swamp and were close to re-entering London where their home was nestled.

Peering back over to Rei, she couldn’t help her eyes that tended to constantly wander over to his covered eye. Her curiosity kept nagging at her to ask him about it, but she kept shoving it down and trying to keep it at bay. The more she looked, however, the more and more curious she became, and she looked often. The possibilities that ran through her head ranged all over the map. Maybe he couldn’t see out of that eye, or had no eye! That would be so very creepy but she still wanted to know. It could have been blinded by an accident, or someone could be out to get him and he had won the battle at the cost of his eye! She was actually leaning more toward the last since he was seen as a hero in hero in her own eyes for jumping to her rescue, literally.

A few times, she opened her mouth to ask about it, but after each, she just ended up closing it again. With a short sigh, she just shook her head and smiled, patience was a virtue and something she had to have a lot of. At least they had managed to make it to their home, her brothers standing in a cluster at the door as they waited to watch the two approach- Ragas looking majorly unhappy still; in fact his frown looked even bigger.
Hurrying ahead of Rei, Nala ran up to hug the three, “Now, you guys be nice and keep our guest company while I clean up a little. Have fun!” With that, she dashed inside, quickly shutting the door behind her to toss clothes in her Leroy and Ragas’s room as well as clean up the general mess they tended to leave everywhere. It didn’t help that the building itself was old and decaying, but she could at least make it do so gracefully… they really needed to find a nicer place.

In the meantime, the trio turned their attention back to Rei, only two of them smiling. Leroy was the first to speak up, “So, home sweet home. It’s falling apart, but it keeps the rain out- mostly. Do you live someplace around London as well?

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Word Count: 579