Private Finished Yes Or No?

Ria had meant her observations about Ain's aura as simple banter, bit he nodded and shook his head anyway and made Ria smile slightly. Ria was aware she was in a way crowding Ain with these questions and reminded herself to be more careful. But when Ain indeed did shake his head when Ria asked whether he had had the coating since childhood nodded absently, in her thoughts. So it wasn't hereditary or genetic, where had he gotten it? It was a rather unpleasant aura, maybe it was a summoning ritual gone wrong, fae-related or perhaps even a curse. All the options she could think ran through through Ria's mind.

Ria turned to ask Ain her third question just when he got close to her. It surprised Ria and her eyes widened a bit, but she didn't move away. She, however, did tense a bit only to relax a second later when Ain patted her shoulder, and Ria wondered why such brief, small touch could feel so...big. Ria's ears went a bit pink under her thin fur and she cleared her throat and nodded.
"So you want to know about my coating. Well, I've had it since birth, it's a passive ability I have no control over. It's mostly there for self-defense, I have no knowledge of why I have it."
Ria kept her tone steady but her ears drooped a bit when she talked about it. Ria didn't hate this ability, rather it had mostly been useful for her. But it had also excluded her, and made her an outsider in her own home. It kept people away, hurt them, when Ria didn't wish it. So to say she wasn't bitter, at least a bit, would be lying.
Ria's coating flashed blue for a second before returning to its normal see-through state.

Ria shook off her sadness and unpleasant memories and concentrated on the now again, concentrated on Ain. Which wasn't hard, since the man was now next to her. If Ria willed it she could reach out and touch him very easily...
Ria mentally punched herself, those thoughts were not meant for this situation. For any situation.
"My next question is...exactly how old are you, in years? Please show in fingers so 1 finger equals 10 years, and 10 fingers 100 years."
Ria blinked a bit and frowned slightly, this wasn't what she had wanted to ask. She had wanted to ask about how Ain had acquired his aura. But...somehow Ria wanted to know this. So she didn't take it back.

Ria had not had any suspiciouns or theories about Ain's age, she had quickly learned that on this island you should never believe in outward appearance only. So Ain could be 6 years or 1000 years old for all she knew. So Ria mentally prepared herself for any age as she waited for Ain's answer. And the answer she got was not as bad as she had expected. 300 years. Ria's village's oldest resident was barely 200 and couldn't stand on their own. But Ain was 300 and looked Ria's age, perhaps bit older. It hit Ria harder than she wanted to admit, and her ears drooped just a bit. But she tried to quickly let it go when Ain patted her shoulder. Suddenly she wasn't sure if she wanted to share her age with Ain. But she had promised Ain an equal exhange and that was what he would get.
"I turned 20 years this January."
Ria admitted with a slight sigh, somehow being close to Ain felt a bit harder now. There was a strange churning feeling in her stomach, but she ignored it.

Ria took a small break from questions to listen to the forest surrounding them. She experienced a small but sudden flash of homesickness and she hoped the leaf trees would turn into tall, tall pines whose tops whisper in the wind. Naturally that wouldn't happen.
"Was your dimension anything like this one?"
Ria asked suddenly and spontaneously. She looked at Ain with a slight tilt of her head, that made one of her twintails almost fall on her face.

The fact about Ain's age remained within Ria as an uncomfortable knot within her chest, that made it bit harder to breathe. Ria had experienced a similar feeling when her grandparent had died and Ria had not let herself cry. But this was different, no one was dying and there wasn't any particular reason for Ria to be sad. She was so confused but had to stay focused, as Ain shook his head as an answer to his question. Ria nodded slowly and thoughtfully. She was curious as to how Ain thought their worlds were different, but he wasn't able to explain it to Ria. He couldn't talk...

"Do you miss it? Your dimension."
Ria observed Ain's facial expressions, at this point she was just asking these questions out of personal interest for Ain. Who could blame her, Ria finally had the chance to find things about this mysterious individual.
"Also, are you able to write, or read?"

When Ain removed his shoes as well Ria couldn't help but straighten her legs for a moment and glance at their feet, side bu side. Naturally Ria's feet were much smaller. Ria frowned slightly, and debated putting on her human shape charm. Ria had been using it a lot these days, since being larger was more convenient. But in this situation Ria didn't need to be as large as Ain. But somehow it felt better to be closer to his level, look more like him. Ria's ears flicked a bit and she straightened her back and drew her legs in, sitting crosslegged on the grass.

Ria saw clearly how Ain changed when she asked her question, how he seemed to light up. Ria knew that feeling though she didn't show it, when you thought about your home and it alone can clear your mind and make it lighter. But gradually Ain's expression went more sullen, and Ria frowned slightly, concerned. Ain had the strange ability to make Ria concerned under a second just with a change of expression.
Ain did not nod or shake his head, just frowned, and Ria let it go. Somehow she had the urge to pat Ain's shoulder, or even hug him, but that was out of the question.

Ria watched with confusion and intrigue as Ain pulled out what looked like a map, and a pen. Ria's ears perked just a bit when she thought he would write something for her. Just the thought of hearing, or seeing, Ain's own words was enough to distract Ria from even taking notice of what was actually on the map. She was much more interested in Ain, though she would never say that outloud.
Ria looked carefully as Ain tapped one of the words, which was an unknown language for Ria. He set the pen on the paper and apparently attempted to write. But the result was unintelligible and Ria frowned. She looked at Ain in confusion as he shrugged. Did this mean he literally couldn't write? He couldn't speak and couldn't write and had an aura that made people afraid of him. It was like all these traits combined were designed to push people away from him. Ria could hear oieces click in her mind and she observed Ain with a serious expression.
"Ain, are you cursed?"

Curses were one of the many things Ria studied in magic theory, she knew how most worked and that was mostly the reason how she had deducted that Ain was cursed. But when he actually confirmed it with a nod Ria's eyes widened just slightly and she observed Ain in a new light. He was cursed, actually cursed. Ria knew that there were a lot of people with curses on the island, but this was the first time Ria had met someone cursed personally. In a normal situation Ria would've been reserved and suspicious, because people rarely got cursed for no reason. But Ria found it hard, maybe even impossible, to develop any kind of distrust towards Ain at this point. She looked at him, telling herself over and over again that he was cursed, he could be dangerous, he shouldn't be trusted. But an impenetrable wall of trust was already up in Ria's mind, and she had no idea where it came from. But apparently a curse was not enough to take it down.

Ria, regardless of her own inner conflict, observed Ain, and how he averted his eyes. For a moment that gelt like an eternity Ain didn't look at Ria, and just looked at the treeline in his thoughts. Ria wanted to know what he was thinking, but dared not to use her empathy. She had abused it enough in Ain's case, enough was enough. So she sat and waited until Ain looked at her again. From her face and eyes Ain would find nothing but hints of concern, confusion and even fascination. But nothing that rejected him. Rather, after the two looked at each other for few moments, Ria raised her arm and touched Ain's arm, giving it a light pat.
"I have hurt you with my questions, I apologize. But it seems your curse doesn't matter to me. Even I do not know the reason why, but I won't reject you because of it. Rest assured. Does your curse block all ways of communication?"