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[h1][color=a187be]Xander Lee[/color][/h1][/center]

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Reyna happily finished her meal, feeling somewhat accomplished with what she had been able to write throughout her time at the restaurant. The food had been amazing as usual, only a few bites tasting off which made her worry she might be getting sick or something cause it made no sense that it would be the food if only some bites of the same dish tasted different. She certainly hoped that was not the case though since she could not afford to be sick right now. [i]’Maybe I’ll take some extra vitamins over the next few days.’[/i], Reyna thought as she slowly packed up her items and cleaning up after herself. She thanked the elderly couple on her way out, taking a simple stroll back to her place. 

She made sure to keep on guard this time, the earlier encounter from the day still fresh in her mind. She had been able to handle herself but it was always better to be safe than sorry. Many would say she got terribly lucky today and they probably wouldn’t be wrong. She absentmindedly rubbed her side softly, the groove of the bandage under her shirt a reminder that things could have gone a lot worse. Reyna shook her head gently, as if to banish the thoughts from her mind as she made her way up the staircase to her apartment level. 

Her attention was drawn to her pocket, working on fishing out her keys. She made her way down the hall, glancing up now and then to make sure she didn’t bump into a neighbor coming out or into their apartment. It barely registered that there was someone else in the hallway until she was closing in on her own doorway and noticed a man standing outside of it. Reyna slowed her pace, feeling a bit more cautious. The guy was a fair amount taller than she was, quite muscular by the looks of it, and had spiky ebony hair. She couldn’t tell much on his facial features from this angle though he did seem to be wearing a uniform which made her feel a bit more comfortable. [color=red]”Hello? Excuse me, is there something I can help you with?”[/color] 

[color=a187be]“I’m Xander, my grandparents own Lucky Star” [/color], the six foot two martial artist informed honestly as he went to hand Rey her food. He did not know if his grandmother had doubled an order because she had forgotten if it had been made again or not, so he showed up just to be safe.

Just then he heard meowing from above and looked up. This was almost immediately followed by a black smoke Maine Coon kitten jumping onto his shoulders.[color=a187be] “Loki, why did you follow me?” [/color], the fire-bender sighed as he turned to look at his cat.  

[color=red]”Oh...”[/color] Reyna bit her lip, nervously trying to figure out how to tell him that he had come this way for nothing. She gently took the bag being offered to her, feeling a bit awkward about what to do about this miscommunication. She also hated the thought of food going to waste if she were to refuse. She hesitated before speaking up again,[color=red]”I hate to say this but I actually just came back from Lucky Star. I’m sorry I ended up taking your valuable time. I would be happy to pay for the second order. It would make me feel bad for it to go to waste when I can just eat it for lunch tomorrow or something.”[/color]

It was then that she heard meowing and almost immediately was looking to the floor thinking that Jiji had accidentally slipped out earlier. Reyna’s eyebrows furrowed in confusion when she saw no such thing, her attention turning back Xander only to find a cat graced his shoulder. She had never seen this one around before and he or she appeared to be far too healthy to be a simple stray. The question on the tip of her tongue died as he spoke to the cat and she gave a soft smile. [color=red]”Yours, I assume?[/color], she teased with a light chuckle.[color=red]”May I?”[/color] Reyna asked, holding out her hand slightly as if to pet the fluffy kitty.

[color=a187be]“You can try, I found Loki as a wet and starving stray, but it took months before he let me pet him” [/color], the Asain teen informed honestly with a soft chuckle. Not long after the martial artist said that Loki jumped across, landed on Rey’s head. 

[color=a187be]“I guess that answers that” [/color], the fire-bender smirked happily as he gently gave Loki some chin scritches. With that Xander sighed and stepped back. [color=a187be]“So...Maybe I should go now...”[/color], he trailed off before looking to the stairs.

[color=red]”I found my cat, Jiji, as a stray kitten too but it was a little different for us. It seems like he just picked me and couldn’t stand to be separated from me.[/color], she smiled and proudly boasted about her precious fur-baby. She couldn’t imagine her life without Jiji in it. He had changed it for the better and there was no going back now. Reyna went to come closer, let Loki get comfortable with her scent before even thinking of touching but that never happened. The cat suddenly jumped from Xander’s shoulder and landing on her head. She hissed a bit in pain at the claws on her scalp and the awkward placement. 

Her free hand instantly went up, a soft hold placed on the cat so he wouldn’t fall off and so he felt secure enough to stop with the claws. It was not really the first time she had a cat hat but it was still as uncomfortable as the other times. [color=red]”No kidding! I didn’t expect him to do that. I just wanted to pet you, silly cat.[/color] she answered, trying to have a positive outlook even though she was a little startled with the cat. Reyna stood awkwardly, Xander giving his cat on her head some attention which put him closer to her which made her a bit uneasy with the lack of personal space. She was honestly still a bit sensitive after the situation with that mugger. 

She felt a little relieved as he stepped back and felt a bit bad that she felt that way. Xander seemed like a nice guy but she was just a little off today. He mentioned that he should be going and she gave a careful nod, not wanting to disturb Loki.[color=red]”Sorry, I didn’t mean to keep you. Oh wait....[/color], she said and set the bag of food on the ground, tucking her notebook as well as keys under her arm before carefully handing over Loki. [color=red]”I almost forgot to pay for this order. I should have known better than going to pick up. I am just a bit frazzled.[/color] Reyna stated, pulling some cash out of her wallet and handing it over before gathering the bag back up off the floor and readjusting the other items.

[color=a187be]“Alright, thank you”[/color], Xander smiled warmly as he took the money from Rey. With that he began to head out, but when he was halfway down the stairs Loki jumped off of his shoulders and ran back Rey. 

Since Loki was more of an outdoor cat the fire-bender did not really notice that he was gone until after he returned back to Lucky Star.

[color=red]”Take care.”[/color], she smiled gently with a small wave. She quickly unlocked the door, shutting it behind her and getting the food into the fridge. Jiji brushed against her feet, purring and she bent down to give him a quick scratch behind the ear to greet him. Reyna dumped the items from her pockets into the glass bowl by the door.


She pulled out her phone, raising an eyebrow as it appeared an unknown number had sent her a text message. She opened up her messages, planning to just delete it and move on when the first line caught her attention. She quickly opened up the text and gave it a read. 

[quote] [color=silver]"Uh, Hi. This is Von. We can definitely meet up sometime tomorrow? Thank you for not only holding onto my things for me, but tolerating my actions. I apologize for storming out, and hope it won't affect your judgement of me too much. I'll text you the details sometime tomorrow afternoon? We can maybe try this again."[/color]
[/quote]

She hadn’t thought about the fact that the number in the laptop bag could be a cell number. [i]’And here I go leaving a completely embarrassing voicemail when I could have just texted. Today is just not my day....[/i], she thought. Reyna put that aside for now, entering the number into her phone so it would at least show as a name, she could always delete it later but she didn’t want to accidentally ignore another message. Now that that was done, she hit reply on the message and did a quick reply. 

[quote][color=red]’Hey, I should be free tomorrow so just let me know when and where. It was no trouble at all to hold onto it for you but I hope you are alright? It surprised me that you rushed out so suddenly and without your things, I was worried something bad had happened. Anyways, just hit me up with the details when you can. Later~[/color][/quote]

That being done, she shoved the device back into her pocket and grabbed her laptop. She plopped onto the couch, starting the search she had intended to do in the cafe. Time stopped for no one and she was gonna run out of time if she kept procrastinating. This was a serious matter after all. She just hoped this wild ride she had been on would just let up soon.