Private Finished A Safe Haven in the Forest

Ria could feel Ain was glad, although she did not understand for what exactly he was glad for. She tilted her head slightly in confusion and looked up at Ain. She made an absent note that his eyes were pink, similar to hers. Why had she not noticed that before?
Thankfully Ain didn't feel offended or sad by Ria's statement, rather he felt understanding. Ria nodded her head a bit as a thank you and some hair fell to her face. Ria swiped it behind her ear and stifled another yawn.

Ria, as Ain leaned a bit closer, wanted to back away slightly but she resisted the urge. And even if she hadn't Ria was standing her back against the kitchen counter, no backing up for her. Ain wasn't feeling hostile or indecent things so when he nodded, and lightly tapped her shoulder Ria didn't flinch or react. But she did blush just slightly from her ears, when Ria realized Ain still wasn't wearing a shirt and ignoring that from this close was quite hard.

"Then...without further ado I think I need to rest my eyes. I need my strength for returning in the morning."
Ria carefully walked past Ain to the bed and unfurled the blankets he had set on it. She sat on the bed, crossed her legs and leaned her back against the wall so she was facing the room and could see every part of it. Ria wrapped herself in the blanket and set a pillow between her head and the wall. She was going to sleep while sitting, so she could jump right into action if needed.

It didn't take long for Ria to start drifting away. She merely leaned her head against the pillow and could feel her mind preparing to shut down. But before it did Ria sneaked a glance at Ain, who had also closed his eyes while sitting down on the other side of the room. This situation was very strange for Ria, something that had never happened to her before. Well, something similar had happened but that situation had been completely different and void of this strange tension between the two parties. It had started as a simple outing to find something to punch. Ria had found that sometjing but she would've never expected to end up spending the night with the man she had helped not that long ago.
You could never predict what life threw at your face next, huh.
And with that thought Ria drifted to sleep.

Ria's internal clock woke her up from REM sleep when the sun rose, but she kept her eyes closed and kept snoozing while listening to the surroundings. She heard Ain move around, and when he started making breakfast Ria opened her eyes slightly and looked at him. He didn't need sleep but seemed like he needed sustenance. And speaking of sustenance, Ria's stomach felt hollow and it was beyond rumbling at this point. Ria needed to eat something before she left, and she was grateful to Ain for providing her food. Well, if he was making food for her as well. Maybe he just ate a lot.

When Ain stepped outside Ria stood up, her muscles aching. She started stretching her legs first, bending down and reaching for her toes. Ria basically folded in half and her forearms were almost against the floor. She was in that position when Ain came back in, with his shirt on thankfully, and Ria straightened and turned to nod at Ain.
"Morning. Thank you for making food. That is if it was your intention to share it."
Ria cleared her throat a bit. She had not noticed yet but she had a bedhead and her hair was all fluffy and messy.

Ria frowned when she saw Ain cover his mouth after looking her over, most probably to stifle a laugh. Ria didn't have empathy link to him now but she was pretty certain she knew what he was laughing at. Ria reached up and felt her hair and just as she had thought, her hair was a mess. Ria let out a combination of a groan and sigh, her hair was always a mess in the mornings.
Ria looked over to the bathroom Ain showed her to, it was clean and practical like the rest of the house. There was no way Ria was going to do anythinh else but wash her face, even if the bathtub looked tempting. This was not a place to take a bath, not in a million years.

Ria squinted a bit at Ain when he smirked at her as a reaction to her words. Was what she said really that funny? Was he amused by the fact that Ria thought Ain was going to share his food or perhaps bynthe fact of himself eating all that food? In any case Ria did not get the chance to ask before Ain passed her on his way to the kitchen and...brushed her hair with his fingertips.
Ria was too surprised to react and just stared at Ain for a moment before her ears slowly reddened, the blush spreading a bit to Ria's cheeks too. Ria turned around, entered the washroom and washed her face rather aggressively. She tried to forget how Ain's fingers had felt on her hair. Ria was disappointed in herself, she should've reacted by grabbing Ain's wrist and holding him in an elbow lock. But he had made Ria lower her guard. It was dangerous.

Ria didn't bother trying to undo the tangles in her hair and just tied her hair in a fluffy ponytail. She would shower and maybe sleep some more back in her dorm room. Her first and day's only lecture started at 1pm, Ria had plenty of time.
Ria exited the washroom and saw that Ain had set her a plate with food. Food that looked delicious in this situation. Ria walked over and sat on the chair. Before she started eating Ria looked at Ain and nodded again.
"Thank you for the food, and shelter, once more. Few people would do this for someone they barely know, especially someone as difficult as me."
With those words Ria started eating, again sniffing first and carefully tasting before swallowing. But there was no poison and Ria ate with good appetite. In all honesty Ria usually ate much bigger proportions but at the moment she was content with just taking the edge off of her hunger. She had a big storage of food in her dorm room.
After finishing eating Ria took a breath and stood up, taking her plate and glass yo the counter just like yesterday with her tea mug. Then she turned to Ain.
"I'm going to excuse myself now. Thank you for having me, I'm sorry to have boyhered you."

Ria observed Ain's facial expressions, he looked like he wanted to say something. He had that expression a lot and though Ria was curious out of respect for his privacy she didn't use her empathy. Also, Ria didn't feel unsafe with Ain anymore, or at least not as much, so using empathy wasn't necessary anymore. To her mind Ain had proved himself to be trustworthy.
But Ria unexpectedly felt slightly disappointed Ain couldn't speak, she somehow wanted to hear his voice.

Ria still felt bit uncomfortable under Ain's mute gaze, but she was getting used to it. And when he offered Ria a hand to shake she smiled slightly and reached put her own hand, giving Ain's hand a firm and strong shake. But her smile slowly vanished and she frowned slightly as she let the shake linger.
"Would it be okay if I...visited in the future as well? I would rather not stay the night, but you have proven to be a sufficient sparring partner."
The words left Ria's lips before she could stop herself, and she looked surprised at herself. She actually wanted to see Ain again, the thought of him alone in the middle of the forbidden forest somehow made Ria sad in an irritated way, she didn't want it to happen.
Ria blushed just slightly and cleared her throat, finally letting go of Ain's hand.
"Nevertheless, I need to leave now."
Ria headed to the door, turning her face from Ain out of embarrassment. Somehow this situation and this man were both something so new they confused Ria. She needed to return to her dorm room, to reality.

Ain's warmth lingered on Ria's hand as she opened the door and was greeted with cool, sunny morning. Ria stepped out and took a deep breath, the freshness in the air calmed her nerves and cooled her still slightly red cheeks, and made Ria feel alive. She had grown up in the treetops, surrounded by nature every day and hour of her life. This place was quite nice and Ria was in her element, if you excluded the monsters. Although Ria welcomed danger now and then, unlike her brethren.
Ain escorted Ria to the edge of the clearing, on the side that Ria had also entered yesterday. Before stepping into the shadows of the trees Ria glanced at Ain, still feeling flustered from earlier.
"Farewell. I...I will see you later."
Ria waved slightly and jogged away, preparing to sprint through the woods. But before she did Ria looked behind her one last time, taking in the sight of Ain watching her leave. Ria, suddenly confused, turned her head back and started running at full speed, her cheeks flushed again.