Falling Leaves

Her eyes continued to stare at the direction he had bounded off to - despite his rambled talking and lone figure fading a long time ago

... She had not expected that

And with his own response at it, she doubts it was a conscious action on his part

"... It's... odd...", she mumbled to herself, taking a bit more seconds to stare into the distance before she ultimately snapped herself back to focus. Well, at least they were already halfway in clearing up this part of the town before he bounded off as a panicked mess. Admittedly, she's a little guilty that she had pushed for him to lend a hand in this little endeavor - despite this afternoon supposed to be one of their laid back, usual lunch dates

The farmer was a good sport about it too. Nodded with that nervous smile of his though it was already a vast improvement from the scared smile he sends her way and engaged in small talks as they started picking up the fallen orange leaves into old sacks. They had stepped into a rather comfortable rhythm, their idle chatter moving from one random thought to another, the crackling of the dry flora accompanying their voices. She believes she had been the one saying something, maybe it was that invite of the red-head to smack some sense into her fiancée, but caught up in what she was doing, she had not noticed right away the sudden closeness. Until she had accidentally bumped her shoulder into him. She looked up, about to apologize when the serious look on his face caught her off guard

Usually, on this distance, he was already a panicked mess, backing away. But he continued to stare, and she stared back

He raised his hand, his eyes clearly looking at something and she watched him out of curiosity. Fingers brushed her hair, she kept still. He mumbled a soft, "Leaf... in your hair...", she hummed. He pulled back to show the culprit caught in her blonde locks and she took it from his hand. A quick 'Thank you' was caught in her throat

Not sure why

Instead, she turned her head away and whatever comfortable atmosphere had befallen them broke like a dam and his high-pitched and quick stutters of apologies, of missed schedules, some promises to see her again dropped in between and he was - zooming away

The instinct to gave chase nearly toppled her but her feet wasn't in the mood to cooperate

A thought now popped in her head

Had she been too close for his liking? He had started to slowly be comfortable around her but that couldn't - 

"Need a hand?"

It took a bit of her willpower to stop herself from flinching, the voice unfamiliar. When she turned around to meet the new person, she did not bother to hide from him the hesitant step she took back. And no doubt he noticed, let his eyes fell down to her feet before flashing a grin. Maybe it was out of amusement, maybe it was an attempt to make himself look more friendly - whatever his goal for it was, she continued to take careful steps backward till she felt a lot more comfortable

His ears twitched

Yes, his EARS

Silver as his hair, the same color as the swishing tail behind him

He waited, humming to himself as he swayed side to side

She took the moment to compose herself With the rattled scene earlier with Colin, now this - she sure had a busy day

Then... "Sorry", she offers to him, "You caught me off-guard"

The half-beast It's what Aquarius told them about, the name they used for those half monster and half human chuckles, hands on his hips, "Well, I do have that effect on people"

Something tells her he did not mean the near scare he had caused the poor blonde. He was a well-known singer in this world - him and her partner that is. And they were trying to have a peaceful vacation thus their choice of appearance here in Mystique Town - soon after the news spread of the surrounding barrier weakened. That was the story she heard anyway. She lets the leaf in her hand finally join the others in her half-filled sack

His long whistle pierced the air between them, "Patrol, right?"

Her head tilted, and he forged on, "You have to be, judging by the way you seem too rattled. We were made to promise not to talk about monsters, only patrol was made aware of them. I'm betting that's what made you jumpy"

She could not help but narrow her eyes, asking him to continue. There was nothing stopping her from denying the accusation but it really was true - he caught her off-guard, she flinched and stepped back because having distance between them would help her calm down. But it wasn't done out of malice - 

"Warned to look out for monsters yet having never seen one in person, you can't help but be complacent", he flicks his hands to himself, the coat on his shoulders flicking at the motion, "And then when proof falls into your lap, can't help but be rattled, huh?"

The truth in his words was nothing she was going to deny, but she did not appreciate the tone he used nor the way he delivered it

"... Are you antagonizing me?"