The Steps We Take

The sun sat bright in the morning sky which was bathed in a light orange that was slowly fading to blue, a light breeze cooling the busy townspeople of Onibus as they went about their summers day. Izar locked the door to his new home, purchased not long after the mission he took on with his two friends. He slid the key into his pocket heading to his destination, the Guild, where he would no doubt find the person he was looking for. He reached the guild in record time, this most likely being due to the fact that the home he now lived in was much closer than the dingy shack he had previously resided in. He entered the guildhall, taking only a moment to find her sitting in the same secluded spot she often sat in, absorbed into a book.

He made his way through the people who crowded the guildhall, careful not to bump into someone, knock anything over, or trip on something. He stopped when he got to the edge of the crowd, wondering how to approach her as their conversations here normally all began in much the same way, her being cold and him trying to justify him being there. He took in a deep breath as he decided to try to approach her in another way, one he had seen another couple approach each other once before. He wrapped his arms around her, leaning forward to rest his chin on her shoulder. He knew he would have to speak quickly, lest she instinctively hit him, "Good morning Akumu. I've noticed that you have a tendency to be a bit cold whenever we start a conversation here. So, this time, I thought I'd warm you up a bit first. Is it working?" he said in a playful tone that he hoped would prevent her from either getting the wrong idea, hitting him, or both.

Akumu was rather engrossed in her reading, having picked up a new book on the librarian's recommendation and finding it just as interesting as they had so enthusiastically explained it to be. So, when Izar had near silently approached, from behind her no less, she had had no idea he was even there until his arms wrapped around her and he rested his chin on her shoulder. She tensed, snapping her book shut with her thumbs still between the pages. She exhaled sharply, both to get rid of her nerves and from her general annoyance for being snuck up on despite knowing there was no imminent danger around her anyway. "Good morning," She begins, slipping a bookmark in between the pages, setting the book aside, and bringing her left hand up to rest over his. She has her gaze down towards the book in her lap, though she sees Izar's kind smile out of the corner of her eye and it becomes increasingly more difficult to tell herself to stay turned away from him. "And if it isn't working?" She asks, her coy tone carrying across a challenge as she traces indiscriminate patterns on his hand. As Izar had said he had a hard time reading her before, she hoped what she did was enough to keep things lighthearted, as she knew this wasn't one of her strong suits.

He felt her tense up when he wrapped his arms around her, something he expected to happen but the sudden action scared him nonetheless, half expecting to catch a book to the face. Luckily for him, she responded with a greeting, quelling any fear of being hit that he had previously harbored. The feeling of her fingers tracing patterns on his hand sending a shiver up his spine, a slightly flirtatious tone to her words as she spoke, though, he couldn't help but notice the challenging undertone that accompanied them. He tried to look at her face for any hints on how he should proceed, of course finding it impossible to read, even after the time he's spent with her. Regardless of his own inability to read her, he had plenty to work with in regards to figuring out just how he should go about interacting with her based on the things she has been willing to tell him. He took a moment to think about how he should respond, moving his head down a bit to kiss her shoulder, tightening his grip around her ever so slightly, before bringing it back up to speak, " I suppose I would apologize and let go, but the question is whether or not that's what you want?" He said in a bit of a teasing tone, sending the question of what he should do back to her in hope that she would answer it.

The feeling of his arms around Akumu was no less comforting and warm than the times before, settling her mind and stopping the world around her for the time it lasted. The tight coil of her muscles slowly dissipated and Akumu curled her left hand around Izar's, her right hand lifting to do the same. She sighs contentedly, resting her head gently against his. "If I wanted you to let go, do you think I would be holding on?" She asks in return, squeezing his hands lightly. "What has you so bold this morning anyway? Trying to soften me up?" She adds, only half serious as she turned her head to peck his cheek.

Izar couldn't help but widen his smile at her response as her head rest gently against his own, "You wouldn't," he says, closing his eyes and enjoying the moment feeling her hands squeezing his own. When she brings up the question of his boldness, he can't help but curse a woman's intuition. He was indeed being much bolder that he would normally dare to be, but he never thought she'd catch on so quickly. Her tone was only half serious so he felt there was a strong chance he could possibly play it off as he was not ready to ask her just yet. After she pecks his cheek, he returns her gesture before speaking. "There's nothing wrong with a man showing affection to his girlfriend or vice versa, is there?" He says, pecking her cheek one last time before gently letting her go and moving to her side. "That being said, I do have time later this evening if you're still interested in learning how to cook? We could call it a date if you'd like?" He said with a wink.

Akumu smiles, humming in affirmation, continuing to softly caress his hands. She waits for and listens to his response to her latter two questions patiently, staring fondly down at their hands, thinking of nothing in particular. "Of course not, forgive me for looking for an ulterior motive," She says, reluctantly letting him move to her side afterward. At his proposition, Akumu nods. "I was going to go over to the shelter this afternoon. I know I promised to bring you, so if you are free, I would love if you would accompany me. After, you can teach me to cook." She suggests.

"It's nothing to apologize for, I completely understand why you'd think that way. I know I would be a bit surprised if you were to suddenly become so affectionate. To be completely honest with you, there is something I want to talk about later, but I promise it's nothing bad or anything like that, just a question." He said, feeling a bit bad for her having apologized when she was at the very least half right, stopping himself before he said too much. He exhaled softly to calm himself a bit, "Yes, I would love to accompany you to the shelter. I have been looking forward to meeting the two cats that I am competing with for your affection," he said in a joking manner with a slight chuckle. "You pick up on things quickly, I'm sure you'll be a master chef in no time," he said, a warm smile adorning his features. He leaned down to place his elbows on the table, resting his chin in his palms as he let out a pleasant sigh. "Yes, I can see it, less than a week from now, me trying the first meal you've prepared all on your own only to find that you have already surpassed me in the culinary arts. You can see it too, can't you?" He asked, his gaze traveling to meet her own.

Izar's short ramble caused Akumu's smile to falter briefly, partially confused as to why he would tell her he had a question and not ask her right away, especially since it wasn't a bad one. She almost pressed for more information but refrained, knowing the question would be posed eventually. However, even if Izar said it wasn't anything bad, she was still suspicious and it took quite a bit to mentally drop the topic instead of coming up with unlikely scenarios as she assumed the worst. "Alright, well, I will be waiting for this question then," she says, shaking off any doubts so she could return to her former mood. At his joke about the cats, Akumu snorts. "Haruki gets really jealous when I don't give him my undivided attention. He's not declawed and he's no little kitten either, so I would be careful." She warns, careful not to say it so seriously as to scare him, but not so lightly that he wouldn't take her advice. "Tsuki's a sweetheart though I think she'll take to you just fine," she adds. At his mention of her picking up on cooking quickly and even surpassing him, Akumu shakes her head. "That's doubtful. I'm not good at being patient, which is an important character trait when involving anything even remotely related to the arts. I wouldn't wear anything you value when I'm in the kitchen because I have a tendency to set things on fire when I stray away from the microwave," she states, hardly suppressing a laugh as she grinned lopsidedly. "But I will try, since you're willing to teach me," She affirms.

Izar felt his heart catch in his throat when he sees her smile disappear, cursing himself for being stupid. He wanted to say something that would help clear things up but knew his breath would be wasted as he had no doubt that anything he might be able to say would only further whatever thoughts had caused her smile to fade in the first place. Instead, he decides to stand, turning back around to face her fully, sincerely hoping that she wouldn't press the matter as he knew he wouldn't be able nor willing to lie to her if she did. Luckily, she didn't, continuing on to the topic of the cats he had mentioned. He nods when she gives him a warning about the Haruki, making a mental note to ask which is which before approaching either of them. He chuckles slightly with her, happy to see a smile return to her face, "If something catches on fire then we'll put it out and try again. Practice makes perfect in regards to just about anything, and I'll be beside you every step of the way so don't be afraid of making mistakes every now and again." He says, shooting her what he hoped to be a reassuring smile. He checked his watch to see that it was half past ten, "Have you eaten breakfast yet? If not, we could grab something on the way to the shelter if you'd like. I know you said you had planned to go this afternoon, but surely you must understand how alluring the prospect of seeing you cuddling a cat the size of most medium sized dogs must be." He said, offering his hand to her, "I might even have to snap a picture," he said in a playful tone with a slight chuckle.

Akumu nods, "I'm glad to have a culinary expert beside me. Hopefully, that'll help keep the fires to a minimum." She returns his encouraging smile with an assured one. At his mention of breakfast, Akumu nods again, taking his proffered hand and picking up her book before getting off her seat. "The barkeep's helper wouldn't leave me alone, said I had to try the fruit thing he made and I couldn't get him to go away. He wouldn't stop talking about the garden and everything in it so I took it just to get him to shut up." She explains, gripping her book tighter to avoid crushing Izar's hand. She exhales sharply to get over the annoying memory. "So, I just have to put my book in my room and we can go," She concludes, heading towards the exit. After leaving the main building, she gives Izar's hand a slight squeeze before letting go, heading over to the women's dormitories, returning a few moments later, book no longer in hand. She slips her hand in Izar's again, entwining their fingers and heading towards the city, following a worn trail through the forest towards the urban part of Onibus Town.

They arrive at the animal shelter shortly thereafter, the building kept close to the outskirts of the city to keep the noise down as well as have more area for the animals to roam. They first walk through the office, and after a brief questionnaire, Izar is okayed to volunteer for the day. Akumu leads him further into the building, the first section they arrive in being reserved for the felines. Most are kept in individual kennels, though some are in groups, namely being a mother and her kits. "Most of them were put here purposefully, people move, plans change, so they can no longer keep them. The staff is really attentive and I see people coming in and out all the time to volunteer, so they are well taken care of here. Just sad to see them left alone..." She trails off, sighing before going towards one of the crates. She smiles when a pink nose pokes through the holes, bumping against her finger. "Tsuki," She coos, unhinging the door and allowing a large cat to leap down out of the cage and onto the floor. The fluffy white cat rubs against Akumu's legs, already purring. Careful not to step on the feline, she shuffles over and unhinges the door next to Tsuki's allowing a slightly larger, pale orange cat to come out. "Izar, this is Tsuki and Haruki," She motions towards the cats, crouching down to pet them. Haruki has already begun to assert himself, getting close to Akumu and intercepting Tsuki's attempts to rub against her as well. "Start with Tsuki, she's easier to win over," She says, reaching over to pet the white cat, though Haruki headbutts her arm off its course, rubbing against her open hand after. "Haruki's a bit more difficult since he's so clingy but once he stops being such a big baby he'll warm up to you too." Akumu sits back, crossing her legs and allowing the large cat to sit in her lap. She gently slides her fingers through the cat's thick coat, finding knots and matted fur and carefully fixing it. "As I said before, their owner left them here as kittens and they've been in and out of the shelter quite a few times since then. I almost don't want them to find a permanent home, I'm so attached to them. I've filled out the forms to adopt them, a few times actually, but I've never turned them in. They deserve more than a part-time owner, even if that means they have to stay here."