She was waiting anxiously for his response; her temper shattered easily under pressure and she experienced a strange sensation of misplaced serenity. Her smile turned wry and strands of lilac fell into her face, briefly hiding her troubled expression. She searched the nearby shelf until her hands grabbed onto a black dressing gown; she suddenly felt exposed and uncomfortable and swiftly hid her features underneath a layer of silk. Her eyes began to wander the room, tirelessly searching for something to focus on (something that wasn’t him) and they eventually found his sword. She wondered if Finn would be afraid to hear the truth, he was human after all.

Finn approached her, he closed the distance again and this time the vampire did not shy away from his touch—instead, she returned the favour and embraced him. He was soft spoken, his words were sweet and she almost melted away. Seira’s body rested against his and her small hands traced his bare back. She waited until he stopped speaking and quietly enjoyed the silence; she had heard enough and thoughts began to form in her head, but the vampire ignored them. Seira felt safe with Finn and his trust would certainly be worth the sacrifice she had to make, but she didn’t like gambling with her identity and safety.

”There is nothing I want more than for us to trust each other,” she whispered, fingertips still grazing his skin, ”but how can I believe any of the things you say to me, when you barely even know me.”

Seira’s cheeks blushed scarlet, the petite girl paused her caresses and looked up to her lover—tears were now rolling down her pretty face and she even sobbed a little. ”You don’t even know that I’m not a human,” her voice took on an almost hysterical note before it broke and she turned away from Finn, crawling across the carpet until she reached the wooden bedframe. Seira was afraid; she feared that his words would lose their meaning when he found out that she was not like him. She found it difficult, almost impossible even, to believe that he had feelings for her in spite of hardly knowing her, and the vampire could not help but imagine that what she experienced was what being lied to felt like.

”You are saying that I don’t have to tell you anything—yet you’ve been pressuring me into telling you about this book for the past twenty minutes,” she seemed upset and her voice was shaking, ”it’s like you are teasing me, pretending that you are giving me a choice when you know very well that everything I do and say now will decide over how you are going to feel about me from now on,” she hissed and grabbed a pillow from the bed, angrily throwing it across the room and against the bottle of whiskey. The alcohol spilled onto the table and seeped through the pages of the book, until the writing became indecipherable.

As she spoke, she hit upon a point that he had long since realized. Since the end of their first encounter, he couldn't help but focus on the fact that he knew nothing of her. He knew her name, and he had gotten a glimpse at her personality. At her raw strength that surpassed the limits of her dainty figure, and of her defenses that were certainly erected for a reason. He had gotten to know who she was, but he knew absolutely nothing of what made her that way. As she brought up that point, he couldn't help but physically cringe as if she had just struck him. He wanted to change that, but now that he was trying his best to, she was reeling away.

How long had it been since she had someone she could give way to? The words between them were bricks and the emotion in her voice the mortar. With every new defense she was putting up he felt himself struck with her intent, and he couldn't help but get confused. It was a confusion that made him shut down his attempt to reason her words, and instead to go on with his own intent. She spoke once more, and her words struck him in a peculiar sense.

She wasn't human.

The tension in the air fizzled, and with those worse came a stillness to the chaos. She was not human, and those worse seemed like a knife to her own heart. She had given him her confession, the worse thing that she could have done. She had felt fully exposed now, and it seemed certain that she viewed this as the end. As she moved away again, he couldn't help but stare at her with confusion. She seemed so helpless now, nothing like the woman whom he had first met. She was going through a meltdown, and he felt as though this was the most raw he'd ever see her. This could be the moment in which they secure how they would move forward, and yet Finn couldn't understand the severity of the situation.

As she threw a pillow without a care of its direction, Finn heard the shattering of glass behind him. His eyes were instead focused on her as her came over an knelt in front of her. He didn't get close enough to grab her again, this time instead giving her some space. He looked at her for a second, and then sighed. His lips were slightly curved upwards, a look that would likely anger her further. Instead of allowing her the chance to continue though, he began.

"Seira, that changes nothing between us." His words came out with an incredulous laugh, the situation seeming absolutely wild to him at this point. Not her behavior, but rather the oddity of the two that he could now see first hand. "I spent my entire life growing up away from civilization. I didn't meet my first human until I was already fully grown." His idea of fully grown was different from most. While many would consider 18 adulthood, Finn considered it to be 12. That was the age in which he could officially begin hunting on his own and utilizing the strength that adulthood brought, and for him that was what made sense.

"Human or not, that means nothing to me. You are you, and that's who you have been since the moment I met you." With that, an almost amused laugh escaped his lips. "I mean, my family are actually dogs. Imagine how mind blown I was to come through Fiore and discover that I wasn't the only human?" As he said this, his smile began to change. It was still prevalent, but now more of understanding and comfort than any sort of amusement.

"This must be... Hard for you," he said after a pause, realizing how much this confession meant to her. "I'm not exactly good with words and tiptoeing around things but... Whether or not your human doesn't matter to me. You're you. That's it." His words were concise, and with that he maintained his slight distance. He was within arms length if she chose to reach out to him, but he'd not force himself into her comfort zone again. Not until she was ready.

It was barely visible; a faint curve, leading upwards and placing a soft smile on his sweet face — when she saw it, the vampire paused. Seira’s heart skipped a beat and the arch of her body fluidly collapsed against the bed’s frame.

”Finn, you—” she choked on the words and swallowed them, her lips were tightly pressed together. She looked pale (now more than ever) and when he spoke, his words filled her mind and silenced the chaotic buzzing sounds created by fear and anxiety. Everything became quiet, and Seira was finally able to listen. He was no stranger anymore, but there were still many things she did not know about the man she cared so much for. Finn’s bizarre, if not absurd outlook on life and society was off — so much that she had never considered that this was perhaps why their relationship could become exactly that.

A relationship.

Seira’s identity crisis had its roots elsewhere, however, and although she involuntarily projected all of her doubts onto Finn, the human was by no means at fault or the true cause of her hysteric behavior. She was having difficulties admitting to this new ‘lifestyle’ and after her painfully long transformation and disaster after disaster, the vampire became obsessed with the idea of growing stronger and better, which in turn led to excessive feeding behavior. Seira took more than she needed — far more — and whereas a vampire required blood approximately once a month, she fed nearly every day to keep her spirits high.

He proceeded with his story and the details Finn mentioned made her laugh; she chuckled thinking about Jake and how ridiculous their relation to each other was, but it was still very much real. ”I guess you are right,” she murmured, quickly wiping away her tears with the back of her hands. ”I wasn’t always like this, somebody forced this on me without my consent,” as she began to tell her tale, the vampire crawled back into his arms and hugged him, with her head resting against his chest. ”It’s been only a few months, but my entire world turned around and everything has changed.”

Finn’s calm temper and his words of support lifted a heavy weight of her shoulders and she felt at ease again. Letting him into her heart had never been a mistake — for all she knew he might be the only human in this country who could actually understand her, and never once during his speech did his body language indicate that he was lying or feeling uncomfortable with her around. ”It’s very hard, not because the changes are irritating or confusing, but because I no longer know if I truly am myself still—” she held her breath for a moment and looked up to him.  

"That's why I'm looking for answers."

She felt weirdly motivated and Finn’s positive (yet completely unexpected) reaction had improved her mood significantly — she was feeling chatty. ”I don’t really know how to explain this, so I figured I might as well just show you,” she said and took a step backwards to recreate the safe distance between them, this time for his sake. Furthermore, Seira (more or less unconsciously) positioned herself between Finn and his sword; the vampire still secretly feared the weapon and her survival instincts ensured that she was prepared in case she had to be. ”Oh, and please don’t make any sudden or hectic movements,” she begged him and turned around — the vampire bared her fangs and while her violet irises turned scarlet, the sclera surrounding them became black.

”I’m a vampire,” she said nonchalantly and turned back around, forcing a toothy grin to reveal her unusual assets, ”and an alcoholic, but you probably figured that one out already.”

As she made her way back into the sanctity of his arms, Finn let out a comforted sigh and wrapped around her tightly, though not enough to cause discomfort. This had been an ordeal, but it seemed that they had come through safely on the other side. While he could tell she felt relieved to a degree, and that alone was enough to warm his heart. She had been through a lot, and was obviously not keen on letting people too close. Yet here he now stood, within her inner sanctum. His hand want up to her head and slowly stroked down her hair, playing with the strands that got tangled upon his fingers.

She felt so delicate in his touch now. A flower freshly bloomed, her tears like dew dripping from her eyes. The gale force winds of what had just occurred had threatened to uproot her only just prior, and yet now here she was. She had pressed through. He was confident that she'd have been fine even if he weren't here, but he was glad that he had been. Having seen her that way, for him, gave him an appreciation for who she was. He did not have to suspect her being like other people. He did not have to look for ulterior motive, because she was completely bare for him to see. It was beautiful in a way he didn't know existed, and he was once again captivated.

Seira was in a way an adventure. She gave him a new path to take every time they met, and as rapidly as their relationship had evolved, he couldn't help but feel like he was still only breaching the surface. For a man like him who always looked for the new and the incredible, who pushed himself for change, she was absolutely perfect. She was a maze of life and he was allowed to glimpse inside. He felt entranced by her, and as her words came out slowly he hung on each syllable. This was his opportunity to know more of her, and he would embrace it.

A part of him wished to speak out in response to her every sentence. As confirmation that he was listening, that he cared, that he was trying his best to understand. More than that though, he relished in his own silence. The longer he stopped himself from speaking, the more she seemed to go on. A part of him felt guilty at the joy he felt from hearing her go on about her life, and about how her voice carried her words. It was the calm after the storm that made him truly appreciate this blue skies.

...it

Words echoed in the back of his mind, drowned out by the present as if they were never said at all. She locked eyes with him for a moment, and for that moment time froze for him. It was eternity held within a single moment, and how sad it was when forever was naught. As she pulled away and stood, he watched her. His face had formed a smile that screamed of being content. He was happy right her, and as she spoke and turned away, he found himself curious. What was she going to show him?

Say it.

The words echoed again, after having screamed themselves so loud within his mind that he was given no choice but to acknowledge them. She was being brave, why couldn't he? She was going out on a limb, and as much as he pushed for it, could he have blamed her? She was given no true guarantee that he would have reacted positively. She knew him once, and yet she quite literally just trusted him with her life. Could he not to the same? Could he not stand out on the abyss and gamble with himself for her sake? He was an adventurer, and his life was a risk. He constantly put it on the line, and it was never a definitive thing that he would make it back. If he kept telling himself later, what if that was it? What if his forever became nothing? He hated the feeling of losing but a moment with her, how would she feel about losing an eternity?

As she turned around and showed off the change, his heart stopped. It caught him off guard, though his face showed now fear or disgust. It showed shock. His jaw dropped slightly, eyes got wide, and his back straightened. As she spoke, he couldn't help but give out a slight chuckle. "Well only one of those things might be a problem, but we'll get to your drinking later." It was witty despite the circumstance, and for that one moment of charm he was relieved. Relieved that it might comfort her if only for the time.

Standing up, he slowly made his way closer. His hands went forward, and gently they began to map the contours of her face. Before long he pressed forward and pressed his lips to hers. He had spent time searching for the words to say, but he couldn't find any that would make it seem smarter than it was. He wasn't an intelligent man per se, not in the traditional sense. He was bad at math, and he knew little of philosophy or poetry. He was smart in the ways of people, but that would not help him here. Instead he'd do what he did best, and rush right in.

As he pulled his lips back, he would wrap his arms around her waist and press his forehead to hers. His eyes would open and lock with her own, and for a moment all was lost in the world but her. They were different now, but they still were hers. They still had that life, and spark of mischievousness. "I have something to confess too," he began, looking into her eyes and hugging her body closer to his.

Say it!

"I think I'm falling in love with you."

Seira’s nervous murmurs fell silent; she talked too much when she felt anxious and Finn’s disturbed expression muted the vampire’s voice — instead, a look of concern crept across her face. She retracted her fangs immediately, and although they were usually significantly longer, Seira had reduced their size to appear less threatening.

He made a light-hearted comment on her drinking habits and with that, a heavy sigh escaped her lips. ”I don’t think there’s any way to fix that,” she said and broke into laughter; she felt at ease now, Finn had reacted positively to her revelation and although there were still many questions left to be answered, she no longer feared that he would abandon her — or worse.

Finn was, once again, the one who chose to close the distance between them and this time Seira no longer avoided his presence. He was always careful when approaching her and no matter how often he moved to her side after she had fled across the room, he always made sure to keep a safe distance between them. He respected her privacy and understood when not to break down the walls she put up and she appreciated how considerate he was. Seira never wanted him to feel as if his touch was unwanted though, and when he reached out for her she gave in immediately and snuck a kiss onto the back of his hand.

"This means a lot to me, thank you for understanding."

He pushed forward, kissed her and Seira’s body responded naturally; her arms wrapped around him and her lips melted against his — for a moment everything was absolutely perfect. Finn was perfect. Seira was quick to suppress unwanted thoughts and as a result, the vampire promptly became more sensual and straight forward in her approach, slowly nudging her lover towards the bed. She’d almost forgotten about the book (and their little fight) already and remained distracted when he pulled back to speak again. Instead of paying attention to his words, she planted small kisses along his jawline, down to his neck and responded with a half-hearted ‘mhmm?’ when he adressed her.


What? — Seira held her breath and the eyes returned to normal; her nails dug into his skin and although her mouth attempted to form words, she was unable to speak. She became quiet and her bottom lip trembled — tears were welling up in her eyes. ”You are going to make me cry again,” she whispered and cupped his cheek with one hand, gently tracing the outlines of his flawless face with her fingertips. ”I love you too,” she pressed her lips against his, content with knowing that their feelings for each other were mutual.

Seira was exhausted; the past conversations had worn her out and she was perfectly happy with spending the rest of the night in bed — with him — if he allowed. She knew that he had many more questions (and that the initial one regarding the book had not been answered yet), but whether or not they were going to clear those things up right now was up to him.

She had seemed to allow herself to be lost in the moment, which in itself was both good and bad. It was good that she had seemed to break away from the stressful situation in which they had only just been in, but it made him wonder about a lot of things. It seemed obvious that he wanted to know more, but he would not push it tonight. They had both gotten upset, and they had just dealt with quite a lot. Him being understanding did not at all mean that he was not needing to know more, but that wouldn't be pressed upon tonight.

His words seemed to catch her off guard, but the feeling was certainly reciprocated. It made him laugh, an act made of complete joy rather than any amusement. She acted, and he returned the action without any sort of delay. For the moment there was only positivity, unaffected by the outside world in any way. The two of them had finally found themselves an island in which there could be bliss.

As she seemed to want to push Finn to the bed, he decided that it would be best to allow them some reprieve. The questions of today could wait until tomorrow, and he was perfectly alright with waiting to ask them. He wanted to get to know her, to truly understand the woman known as Seira. There was no rush to do it though. As excited as he was for better knowing her, he was content with simply exploring her slowly. He'd get to the point in which he was more comfortable asking questions someday soon. Why press the new now though?

And so he allowed himself to be pushed back, still in her room but now in their domain. The night would be allowed to melt away, and the morning permitted to come in peace. They would embrace the new day with a new perspective on one another. Only then, once they had rested and allowed themselves some reprieve from the nights drama, would they begin trekking upon new ground.

Finn’s tendency to become quiet when the situation tensed up was often a sign for Seira to change the direction in which they were moving — or in this case, bring them to a halt. He could hardly resist her kisses (understandably so!) and she whispered sweet things into his ear, luring him until he gave in and they spent the night together with a little less sleep and rest than expected, but it was still all she wanted. Seira waited until he had closed his eyes and she could hear his rhythmic breathing — he had finally fallen asleep.

Her hands moved to his face, gently caressing his cheeks and hair until she was sure that he was dreaming of something happy before she removed herself from his side and left the bed. Seira’s movements were silent and she made sure not to wake her lover, but unlike him the vampire was unable to sleep. Finn’s sudden appearance was a welcomed change, but unexpected nonetheless and she still had things to take care of. Seira wasn’t exactly sure how much their relationship had changed, but if she took his confession into consideration, the human had risen significantly in ranks — at least in regards to her very own priorities.

She cared deeply for him, but there were things that had to be taken care of before she could focus on building a proper relationship with Finn. Seira spent the night preparing a few things, quietly sneaking through her house and hiding certain items she thought he might pay attention to, such as the book and the map she kept in her living room. She hated being away from him and after not seeing him for such a long time, not being able to spend the entire side sleeping next to him frustrated here even more, but she was an efficient woman — and romance could wait.

When morning came Seira put on her usual black attire (trench coat, short dress and long boots) and kneeled down by Finn’s side of the bed. She thought about leaving a note and disappearing to avoid his questions, but the woman couldn’t find it in her to do that; she wasn’t even gone yet, but she already missed him. Placing a hand onto his cheek and stroking it gently, the vampire planted a few kisses onto his lips to wake him, ”Rise and shine, sleepyhead.”

The night they shared together was reminiscent of the first, at least as far as their relative lack of sleep. The night stretched on with more life than their day had contained, and it was with exhaustion that at least one of them found sleep. Where one found comfort and rest, hugging in his arms the woman whom he had recently confessed to, the other seemed to have her mind occupied with worry. Regardless of her acceptance or disappointment with recent events, it was clear that the entire evening had shaken up her plans somewhat. When she slipped out of bed, he felt his breath become shallow. He had not fully fallen asleep, and instead only chose to not reveal this secret.

Within a few moments, his body relaxed. He was being ridiculous. The night they shared, if nothing else, had certainly proven to be intimate. He wished to move forward with this woman, not as something that was build upon tinder but rather something build upon a solid foundation. He had to trust her, and in that moment, he had made the first decision towards that faith. He would believe that she was moving with a reason, and that before long they would be able to discuss those reasons in detail. As he felt his consciousness waver, he drifted into a peaceful and deep slumber.

As night was fizzled away by the onslaught of the morning sun, Finn was bombarded to wake. Tiny kisses showered his lips, giving him the most positive and unexpected jump start to his day that he had perhaps ever had. Retracting slightly in surprise before following headfirst into her lips, he opened his eyes only as she withdrew to speak to him for the first time of the morning. A weak smile broke upon his face, his disheveled hair a sure sign that he had slept well among other things.

Propping himself up lazily onto his right arm, his left arm stretched itself over to her and found itself resting upon her cheek. Stroking her skin with his thumb, he gave her a grin that stifled his yawn. "Good morning beautiful..." His words trailed off as he eyed her body, having finally tore his gaze away from hers. He sighed, but instead of offering disagreement, he flashed her a sad smile. "So soon?"

Pulling his hand from her cheek and sitting up in bed, he threw his legs over the side and pulled her closer to him, making sure she'd sit upon his lap. As his arms wrapped around her delicate frame, his face found itself resting in the bend of her neck. "I still have so many questions though. How can I ask them if you have to leave?" Though his words showed complaint, his voice held a certain playfulness to it. He understood that she must have matters to attend to, and he didn't intend to hold her up on it. Still, there was one thing he couldn't help but wonder.

Unable to let her go without confirming it, mostly due to his mind flashing back to tonight, his arms squeezed her body closer to him. Last night he had made a confession that he feared to be to early, and yet she reciprocated it without delay. All that was left now was to ensure their standing. "You and me," he started, his voice quiet. It didn't contain fear, but lacked the power he put into his normal conversational voice. It was as though, for just these last few moments, he clung desperately to their intimacy before she had to leave. "We are together now, right?" His voice didn't sound nearly as quizzical as it perhaps should have, but that merely spoke volumes of his confidence in his answer. Last night, the two of them had shared a moment that would be with them until their ends of days. This was his own greed, wanting to hear her say it before her agenda took her away into the unknown. Perhaps it was a way to ensure the tether was in place, guaranteeing they found their way back to one another.

”Please,” she felt her heart sink and regret tinted her words, ”don't look at me like that.” Finn’s lips curved into a sad smile and she could hear her very own heart breaking; leaning back, Seira bit her lower lip and whispered ‘screw this’ to herself, before removing the coat along with the boots.

She was unprepared for his performance and found herself unable to bear with his cute, innocent expression — it was sickening. Finn had certainly mastered the arts of puppy eyes (one of the many things Jake had taught him?) and Seira was no longer willing to refuse; instead she climbed into his lap when he pulled her closer and wrapped her arms around him. ”Remember,” she planted a kiss upon his nose before pulling back, ”distance makes the heart grow fonder,” nodding with confidence, she flashed him a sheepish smile.

Finn’s existence and the love they felt for each other mattered to her — in fact, they were the only things in her life (other than her identity as a vampire) Seira found worthy enough to offer them protection. She wanted him by her side forever, his well-being became a priority, but as per usual things weren’t going to be easy. Unfortunately, the woman still failed to understand many aspects of vampyrism and with her currently uncertain affiliation to the Phantom Lord guild, her life offered many dark secrets and other unknown possibilities that she could not keep him away from unless they were physically separated.  

To Seira’s understanding he was merely a human, fragile and delicate and very, very naive — she didn’t want to put him at risk by spending time with him, and being by his side would only expose him to unnecessary danger. The lack of magical power made him seem weak and Seira (who was completely underestimating him, of course) firmly believed that he couldn’t possibly shake his little sword at everything that there was - so she would try her best to keep evil away from him, even if that included her very own self.

"I need a little bit more time," she said while running her fingers through his blonde crown, "when I return I will answer all of your questions, I promise you that. Besides, it will give you a chance to think things through, perhaps even speak to Jake about it." Seira wasn’t prepared for what Finn said next, so instead of giving a quick response, the woman’s cheeks blushed crimson and she buried her face in his hair; her arms tightened their embrace around him as her body snuggled into his.

”Yes, we are.”

With a sigh that admitted defeat to a battle that was never fought, Seira removed herself from her coat and kicked her boots to the wayside. She had been won in by his gaze, or his words. Perhaps it was a dual front, working together to ensure he could have more time with her. Perhaps it wasn't him at all, but rather her. She was someone who was more involved with her emotions than she let on. Perhaps she had been looking for a reason, any reason, not to have to leave him yet that morning. As soon as he gave her something to work with she could jump on the opportunity. Regardless of the reason, he was grateful for it.

She embraced him with as much affection as he could ask for. Her fingers danced through his scalp and her lips found their way to his nose, causing it to wrinkle and his eyes to clench with a chuckle. She was being cute, almost overly so, though it was not possible for her to be too much for him in any regard. At least not in a way that he could imagine. She listened to him as he spoke, his words obviously being considered carefully before she chose to spoke. She was careful with him, though it was not for deception. It seemed more as though she wanted to ensure that he knew her answers were considered and confident, and for that he couldn't be happier.

As she explained herself for needing to leave, he sat in a sort of comfortable silence. She didn't need to tell him why. Certainly she knew that, and yet she chose to anyways. She was being as considerate for him as possible given the circumstances. A weak smile had touched his features again. He was appreciative of their time together. He didn't think about the potential futures that stretched before them, each as possible as the other. Instead he appreciated the moment they were sharing together, a present that truly did feel like a gift.

As he asked his question, her reaction practically caught him off guard. The red of her face was not lost on him before she buried her face in his hair, inadvertently placing his own head in a very advantageous position. As she answered, he couldn't help himself from wanting to enjoy this moment fully. Wrapping his arms as tightly around her as hers were around him, he fell backwards in bed. This of course dragged her back too. As he fell he laughed, and as he laughed they collided with the gentle fabric.

Rolling to his side so that she was also upon the mattress, he gazed into her face and if she willed it, into her eyes. "You're stuck with me now, I hope you understand that," he teased. The day had seemed so innocent, so simple. Regardless of what would come in the future, there was no way this joy he was feeling could be dampened; At least, no way that he saw.

”Of course, I understand,” she answered with a laugh, ”you are very good at this, and I think you know that,” her hand found his and squeezed it gently. Finn was — in his own, strange ways — captivating and mysterious. She found it incredibly difficult to resist him, and she had shown interest in him ever since their first meeting. He seemed even-tempered and calm, his forgiving nature was a clear contrast to her own, emotional one and he balanced her out perfectly. Seira often pretended to be everything that she was not; cold, dismissive and apathetic, but around Finn, she allowed herself to be impulsive and sensitive — she did it because she knew she was safe with him.

When he was kind and understanding with her, Seira felt her own will shattering and her thoughts fading away. Even though her mind had been set on leaving, it took him but a smile to turn her around and make her stay and she began to realize that she was, in spite of still being in the earliest stages of their relationship, already putting his immediate needs over her own. Unlike her, Finn lived for the moment and he wanted nothing to ruin that — she understood, but one of them had to think of the future and in this case, it would be her.

”You may enter this house however you wish from today on,” she explained and leaned in for one last kiss, ”but I suggest you do not go into the basement,” a crooked smile crept across her lips and she left the bed to get dressed once again. ”Oh, and perhaps you should change the bed sheets. It’s been a rough night,” her smile turned bashful — but only for a second — before she walked across the room and towards the door, turning her back on the human as she was leaving. ”I have a book to continue, so I will be going now. Please take care of yourself while I’m gone, and don’t go anywhere where I cannot find you,” those last words of hers sounded more emotional and as she stood in the door frame, Seira allowed herself one last glance over her shoulder before she left.

”I love you, Finn Mertins.”

As she put her coat and boots back on, Finn hid his disappointment well. It was not a difficult task when the joy of their exchange still had him feeling elated. Once again they had crossed paths, and again it had been completely by chance that the two of them were given this opportunity. They had taken the most of it, and now felt themselves gripping to one another whilst the turmoils of life pushed and pulled them throughout. Their future was certainly not written in stone, but the both of them were powerful enough to fight against whatever was to come.

Right?

As her face showed minor embarrassment at her words, Finn couldn't help but laugh as he stood up from bed, arching his back and stretching his arms above his head. "Of course, leave the cleaning to me!" Her last comment brought a twinge of realization. He still knew nothing of that book, and his chance to inquire about it had been swept away from him. He'd have to make sure to do so next time, but he couldn't help but think again as to what it might be about. Despite his concern, a genuine joy overtook him at her words.

"I love you too, Seira." His words caught her as she left from the room, and he could have sworn he saw her cheeks tint pink. He turned and immediately began pulling sheets from the bed, realizing that he didn't know where the replacements were. As the sound of the front door echoed through the building, Finn stiffened as it closed. His back straightened as he looked behind him, towards the door where she had just left from. He didn't even know her last name... He had so many questions, and so many of them were still so basic. A sigh escaped his lips, and for a moment his face held a tired expression on it. Under his breath, he repeated his last five words to her again, and the faintest of smiles forced itself upon his lips.

[EXIT]