Noticing Aruna's blush only made Praxis's skin burn with it's own blush, which he wasn't used to. The feeling almost made him sick, and when she took up the berry from him he physically shook his head slightly to get it away from him. This girl could, evidently, create a lot of weird reactions from him, so he'd try his best not to let them get the better of him. He had to keep his wits about him... right? He still wanted the cloak, or the bag, right? Or was that even a goal anymore, and was she simply just interesting? He pondered this thought as he scanned for both items in consideration, suddenly realizing he could see them both with ease now, as the sun was beginning to rise. "Another sleepless night," he sighed, instinctively dropping to the ground before taking a bite.
"Zeaxanthin..." he repeated aloud. Is there a thing about you that isn't- closing his eyes seemed to halt his thoughts before they whispered the word "beautiful", but he didn't know why he cared if he thought it -- he'd enjoyed the companies of attractive women before. For someone with so much control over mental magic, you seem to lack a lot of control over your own mind... the Wolfen told himself, laughing in his mind.
He was glad she had returned the courtesy of sharing her surname, because he really did want to know it when he looked at her, and it also showed that she didn't know exactly what his abilities were. Praxis knew the name, but he was sure it wasn't from her bloodline. He knew lots of names and using memory magic allowed him to remember quite a bit, so names came naturally to him. He could recall two children from his childhood he used to play with, though they weren't Wolfen, that shared that name with her. The thought made him smile as he lost himself in his memories, almost forgetting where he was, yet somehow he found it difficult to forget who he was with. As his mind wandered, as did his eyes but this time he let them linger on her. As a Wolfen, he fought many primal urges and instincts daily, but it had been a long night and staring at her was one he was already exhausted of. He could only hope that his tired eyes made it obvious - or falsely so - that he was staring out of exhaustion. Surely she would understand, yet he played it off as if he was staring passed her.
He barely noticed he was sitting before almost taking a bite, stopping with the food inches from his fangs. Looking up to her slightly embarrassed, he again felt unable to speak correctly. "I uhh.... sorry, sharing a first meal with someone on the ground is part of an old Wolfen tradition. There's more, but.... obviously it's not..." he sighed, then chuckled to himself as he stumbled over his words as if he had never used them before. "I guess I held onto more from the Althebetr clan than I realized. I guess I haven't exactly had a civil meal with someone since I left." He remembered just then the curiosity that seem to pique in her when he spoke of his clan and past before, but didn't expand further. Wolfen had hurt her -- they had maimed her in a way he could not heal or probably understand, so talking about them was probably not high on her list of priorities.
Praxis tried to continue eating the large slice of the giant fruit, but he couldn't seem to feel comfortable. The lack of ritual must've been getting to him, he guessed, so he tried to focus on her. Meeting her eyes, he immediately launched a full-scale invasion onto the recesses of her mind to learn more about her, but halted once again. This was a habit, obviously, and it wouldn't do -- not here... not with her. He preferred to learn about Aruna through her own words, though right now she was likely reluctant to share them with him. "I understand if you want to leave," he said, not wanting to look up from the ground. "I am the reason you're still backtracked this far, after all." He decided to break his rule already as he spoke, searching her mind for her destination, but only going as deep as surface thoughts. This would be easiest while talking about it. "I don't know where you were headed, but I apologize for stalling you." He took another bite and finally relented to looking into her beautiful golden eyes once again, though they made him weak in ways he preferred not to feel. "+