“Today, if you are available.” Kieran clarified. “Otherwise, I might have to come back tomorrow to make a payment and ask again.” He continued, a small grin spreading across his face. “12:30, sounds good.” Kieran said. “See you then.” He noticed that her face seemed a bit red, but he didn’t think much of it as he left the hospital once more. Checking the clock in his car, he saw that he had about three hours until lunch. He could go home, but it would probably be more productive to find a place to eat. He figured he needed to stay close to the hospital, so that he could bring Anabelle back to work promptly. Fortunately, a small city had cropped up around the hospital, and so there were quite a few places to choose from. He went into a few different restaurants, looking at menus and layout. He wanted to be able to talk to Anabelle without the din of other conversations bothering him. Of course, wandering around at 9:30 wasn’t the most fruitful because many of the restaurants were closed, and he had no idea how busy they would be at their prime. His decision was made when he saw a location of Genghis Grill around the corner from the square. 

It was exactly what he was looking for. The waiters came around to fill drinks, but the meal itself was something that the individual was able to build. Anabelle (and Kieran, himself) could get exactly the things they liked, the chefs would stir-fry it up, and then deliver it to the table. It wasn’t particularly expensive, but the food came out quickly, and they could stay for a while and talk, if such was permissible for Anabelle’s schedule. Kieran hadn’t been sure when she accepted the offer if she would be able to spend the afternoon with him, or if she only had a set duration for her lunch break. He knew that the lengths could vary from 15 minutes to around an hour, and he hoped that she had closer to the latter, so that way they wouldn’t be rushed.

Kieran spent the next thirty minutes wandering around one of the nearby shops, and then made his way back to the hospital to pick up Anabelle. She was standing outside the main entrance, which made Kieran’s life a bit easier, since he didn’t need to go back to the desk to ask for her. Instead of parking, he simply pulled around to the front entrance and parked the car to allow her to get in. The vehicle wasn’t new by any means, but the light blue 2005 corolla had been well-maintained. The interior was clean, largely because Kieran rarely used the car, and hadn’t formed bad habits like leaving trash in it, or trekking through the mud before getting in it. He didn’t think about the fact that he had said his injury was a car accident, and the car was clearly undamaged. Kieran wasn’t even sure if Anabelle knew about the excuse he had made for his injury—the beginning of the night having faded from his memory a bit. 

“I hope you like Genghis Grill.” Kieran said as the door opened. The radio, as usual, was off. Kieran hadn’t even messed with his uncle’s preset stations after inheriting the vehicle. He didn’t know much about music, and none of the things he had heard particularly captured his interest. “If not, we can go somewhere else…I just love that you can pick out your own food, so you know exactly what is in your meal.” He explained. Having grown up in a place where going out to eat meant that the food was some sort of mystery meat, restaurants like this one were a breath of fresh air.

-.-

Rhys could hear someone else’s words in her mind. She froze, afraid at first, but she recognized the voice. It belonged to the man behind her, the one who had stopped her from exploding before. She turned to face him, his magic ability making sense to her now. He could read minds. It was how he had known that she was unable to control her magic, and likely how he had been so easily able to press her buttons when they spoke outside of the tavern. Somehow, knowing this fact about the man made it easier for her to think about speaking to him again. Before, she had felt utterly exposed, like he knew everything about her, and she was too self-centered to realize why. Now that she had something as well, even though it was small, she felt like she could regain control of her situation, at least a bit. 

Taking another deep breath, Rhys began to walk towards the man once more, closing the distance between them. She wasn’t sure if he was still in her head, and she didn’t really want him there anyway, so she spoke to him. “I thought you might prefer your privacy. Yesterday, “ Rhys paused, and then shook her head. “Can we start again?” She asked instead, changing the topic a bit. “I’m Rhys.” She said, holding out her right hand to shake his. “I was thinking of going North, but I don’t really have a place in mind. If you would like someone to travel with, I wouldn’t mind tagging alone wherever you’re going, at least for a while.”

He might have laughed at her, or called her stupid, but if he humored her right now, then she could try to not think of him as a hostile figure. Of course, getting a name to call him by would be very helpful as well in that plight. Rhys lowered her bag beside her when he accepted her company. “I got some stuff in town this morning, if you want to share.” She offered, trying to be friendly. She hadn’t gotten anything that needed to be cooked, because she hadn’t been sure when she was going to be stopping for rest, and she wasn’t very good with fire anyway. While she could manipulate flames once they were present, it was usually by accident, and she didn’t know how to put them out with her magic, or to start a new flame from nothing. Since she had been planning to travel alone, the idea of a fire was also dangerous in terms of bandits seeing the fire in the dark, or the smoke when she started the flames. Though she had a small blade on her person, it wasn’t something she could really use to defend herself, if a group of bandits were to come upon her. 

In truth, traveling with this man would likely help keep her safe, now that she was more relaxed, and felt like perhaps she could trust his man—so long as he stayed out of her head.