Private Finished A Safe Haven in the Forest

Ria's mind felt light, and so did her body although her muscles were tense and heavy and wanted nothing more than a massage and hot shower. But Ria suspected they could get neither, not until tomorrow.
Ria could very well tell that Ain was holding in the outer signs of pain, because she was doing the same. But after that spar there was no way Ain wasn't in pain, and even if he wasn't Ria worried. She always worried for those she had come to take notice or care about. Ria was surprised that she worried for Ain. It wasn't the kind of overbearing worry Ria felt towards her family, but something new. The kind of worry where Ria just wanted to ask if Ain was alright, if she could help. But she didn't, since Ain had chosen to keep the physical pain in like Ria.
She only hoped she had caused him just physical pain and not mental.

It was Ria's intention to let go of Ain's hand as soon as he got up. But instead he kept holding onto Ria's hand and lead her towards the house. On the way there Ria swiftly scooped up her tank top.
This prolonged contact wasn't enough to make Ria blush, but it was enough to make her flustered and make her pulse elevate slightly. She wanted to put her top back on and cover all the excess skin she was showing, now without a reason. And on top of that the sweat was drying on her skin and making Ria chilly. It was strange to be without fur.

As they entered the circle of light surrounding the porch Ria squinted slightly and somewhere at the back of her mind made the notion that the light reflected from Ain's hair was somehow beautiful.
But as Ain opened the door to his house and gestured for Ria to go inside she hesitated, standing firmly on the porch and looking from Ain to the open doorway.
"I can't possibly spend a night inside the same small cabin with you. We barely know each other. I'm not-"
Ria stopped talking when she heard a monster growl somewhere to her left and she spun her head only to see two gleaming eyes midst the trees. They looked at her hungrily, and Ria could feel a chill run up her spine as her instincts told her to go into shelter. Ria was brave but she wasn't stupid and she turned to observe Ain with a stern look in her eyes. If he truly wanted to do something to her, indecent or malevolent, Ria would've sensed or felt it. And if he was just a very good liar Ria could keep her empathy linked to him all night and strike him down at the first sign of danger. Ria turned on her empathy.
"Very well. But I will excuse myself when the sun rises. Thank you for offering me shelter."
Ria stepped inside cautiously and observed her surroundings. The house looked proper and interior was practical and clean. As far as the males of Ria's species went they weren't able to keep a living space this clean, so Ain earned some respect from Ria because of that.

Truthfully Ria did trust Ain, surprisingly much when you considered the short time they had known each other. That was exactly why Ria acted so suspicious, because she didn't trust her own opinion and tried to compensate for her own lack of catiousness. She didn't want to act stupid even if Ria believed Ain wouldn't harm her. She had to show Ain that she wasn't naive.
Ria felt curiosity from Ain and honestly could not decipher what in this situation could make him curious. Ain was a mysterious person, and that make Ria slightly restless. But not uncomfortably so, something in his silence and soft demeanor was calming.
Not that Ria would ever admit it.

As Ria stepped inside she immediately put her tank top back on. She was starting to smell the sweat from both her and Ain, but it didn't bother her too much. It was a familiar scent to her from all her years of relentless training. Ria sent a look at Ain, the man was still shirtless and now that the sparring session was over Ria was very conscious about it and had to concentrate on keeping her eyes above his shoulders or on the surroundings as he walked around lighting lanterns. Ria saw the cabin better now, and it felt cozy. She had lived in similar conditions back home, in rather small cabins surrounded by forest. Ria felt strangely at home, although this wasn't the treetops and the surrounding forest was filled with monsters that were very much so capable of killing her in a heartbeat.

Ria had taken note that the bed, blanket-less, looked unused but when Ain fetched some blankets from what seemed to be a storage she didn't expect him to put them on the bed. Ria frowned, although she wanted to blush, and stepped bit closer, raising her hand a bit in protest.
"I cannot take your bed, where would you sleep? I can stay up through the night, or at least sleep on the floor."
Ria said this but there were bags under her eyes, she had come to the forest straight after work and all that social interaction drained her. Just looking at the bed made Ria want to yawn. Thankfully she stifled it and pulled her hair free from the hair tie. It fell in heavy blonde waves over her back and Ria shook her head a bit so it spread out. It had been on a ponytail for hours now and Ria had just about had it with the feeling on her scalp.

Ria stood with her hands on her hips as Ain walked into the kitchen and pulled out two mugs. He showed them to her and looked like he wanted to ask something, but could not say anything. Ria felt a drop in his emotional state, was he bothered by the fact that he couldn't talk? Well, naturally he would be so. Even if he had been mute his whole life or only part of it Ria could see him being frustrated about it. Ria, her guard dropping a bit, walked over to the table and looked at Ain with her normal stern look, that had little softness to it now.
"You want to offer me something to drink, correct? What do you have? I would be thankful to have nearly anything, I'm quite thirsty."

Ria regretted she wasn't a mind reader when Ain was unable to answer her objections. He simply looked at her calmly, and his emotional state didn't really offer answers. But she could see Ain had a sure look in his eyes, and Ria could tell even with no words that he wanted her to just use the bed. Ria wanted to insist back, but left it for now. There was no point in debating with someone who couldn't exactly debate back. Besides, Ria had the ability to sleep anywhere. She had learned it in her childhood when she had required some alone time and slept outside under the sky with nothing but leaves as her cover.

Ria could feel and see Ain's reaction to her, and saw him look at her hair. Ria frowned and blushed slightly as well. Ain wasn't a bad person, Ria could feel that. But he seemed like he wasn't used to company, especially female company. Same could be said about Ria, and thus Ain's rather strong emotional reactions affected Ria as well. Yes, her reactions must've been all Ain's influence. Ria didn't want to believe she was one to get flustered this easily. She cleared her throat and sat down by the table, absently stroking her hair. She rarely let it down in company, Ria's hair was rather thin and could get everywhere if she let it.

It seemed that Ria's guess had hit the mark, since Ain looked extremely happy and smiled at Ria. Ria couldn't help but return the smile, although hers was much smaller and rather tense. Ria didn't smile a lot. Smirk or grin, yes, but she rarely genuinely smiled. Jii often lectured her about it, although Ria was always able to shut her down fast.
Ria thought there was value to smiles, and that some people had more rights or capabilities to use them. Ria was by nature a stern person, and though her smiles were rare they also had weight. Thus it was strange for her, that as she observed Ain prepare some tea Ria felt like she could smile normally, like she could with Jii or Miki or any other person close to her. Ria, however, kept a serious but relaxed expression on her face as Ain handed her some tea.

Ria carefully sniffed at the tea, it had a pleasant scent. Ria blew on it a bit and tasted carefully. Instinctively Ria held the tea in her mouth for a bit before swallowing, to see if there were any poisons in it or if it caused an allergic reaction. But the tea just tasted good, Ria could tell it was for medical purposes from the aftertaste. She nodded slightly and looked at Ain. Her eyes were smiling.
"This is good. Thank you."

Ria did not mind the silence, and she was relieved because of that. She had not spent long times alone in silence with anyone but it wasn't uncomfortable. Well, the silence wasn't, but Ria did feel a bit uncomfortable because Ain was looking at her. Ria wasn't used to being the center of anyone's attention, and she kept stroking her hair nervously. The tea thankfully worked, and calmed Ria's nerves enough that she let a small yawn escape. Ria looked at Ain and observed him, it was quite late but he didn't look tired the same way she did. Maybe...

Ain, after they finished their tea, gestured in a way that Ria took as a suggestion to go to sleep. Ria frowned slightly and looked at the bed and the blankets Ain had put on it, and then she looked back at Ain with a curious expression.
"Do you not sleep?"

Ria's hunch had been correct, Ain did not need any sleep. He wasn't the first creature Ria had met that didn't need to sleep, and that thought had given her the idea, combined with the fact that Ain did not seem sleepy in the way Ria did and the bed showed no signs of being used. And when Ria had first met Ain it had been the middle of the night and despite that Ain had been out and about, not seeming sleepy in the slightest. Ria nodded and stood up, picking up her mug.
"I suspected as much."
Ria went and set her mug on the kitchen counter. Then she turned to Ain with a serious expression.
"If I can be honest, I do not feel comfortable sleeping in the same space with someone I do not know that well. It's nothing personal."
Ria looked down briefly, looking slightly guilty. Ain did not feel like a stranger and it was hard to try to remember that she had technically just met him.
"But I will not drive you out of your own home, and I would rather not risk my own safety by sleeping outside. It would help me, if you kept your distance as I slept. If you come too close I will wake up, I am hardwired like that."
There was a plead in Ria's tone now, and she looked at Ain with inquiry.
"Please?"