Rystelle Member

Her phone's volume now on again, Sophia heard the text jingle go off. She set her coffee on the ground and checked it. Seeing Tim's message she frowned with worry. She remembered yesterday when he appeared to be having a panic attack and wondered if something similar was happening again. _Be right there._ She quickly texted him. _Stay calm._ She shoved her phone back into her pocket, picked up her coffee, and made her way up to Tim's apartment. Shoving her coffee into the crook of one arm Sophia used her free hand to knock on the door to Tim's apartment. "Tim?" She called out, worry apparent in her voice. "It's Sophia. I'm here. Are you alright?" She waited nervously for him to answer the door.

The appearance of Ragna's brother had caught Lydia completely by surprise, but even as he and Ragna clashed she had her bow trained on the demon named Baal. Ragna seemed to be able to easily hold Baal. However, when Lydia heard the demon call her Ragna's girl, she almost wanted to loose an arrow into his head anyway. But then the demon was gone and she and Ragna was alone again. She put away her bow and the unspent arrow and they continued on. "What can I say? Your smile won me over," Lydia said with a heavy note of sarcasm in her voice in response to Ragna's question. Then she sighed and more honestly added, "What was I supposed to do? I'm just one person, even if I am half-elf. I don't have the power to take on an entire demon army, or any army for that matter. Yes, I could have simply left you there and ran away on my own, or even killed you and left, but then I would still be being chased by an army of demons and I would have even less answers than I do now--which there still aren't many answers. Besides, you hadn't killed anyone so there was no reason for me to kill you. And I mostly just figured that a single enemy was easier to deal with than a mass of them. That, and you at least appeared genuine in your word that you wouldn't let harm come to me if I went with you. Besides, whether you're full-demon or half-demon, dwarf, elf, or human, anyone can be a good or a bad person. I decided to find out what you were. Any further questions?"

Sophia snerked and then burst out laughing at Tim's sudden correction. With anyone else she would have overlooked it, but knowing Tim she was sure that he was utterly freaking out about the winking face. His awkwardness was just too adorable and it just made her want to hug him. _No problem. X3 Mistakes happen. Gotta get back to work. See you in a few hours!_ Sophia sent her last reply, finished off her lunch, and tossed the garbage in the dumpster. She then returned to work, humming happily to herself. The two hours seemed as if they couldn't go by quick enough, but soon Sophia was free. She sent him a text saying, _Freedom! Meet you outside!_, then made a coffee for herself and the usual for Tim. With the drinks in hand she head outside to wait for him in between the cafe and the bakery.

Sophia's grin seemed to spread even wider than before. She was sure that to anyone who stumbled upon her right now she might look like a mad woman. But Sophia didn't care. Tim had texted her and they were talking and going to hang out again! She couldn't wait for work to be over. _Sure thing!_ She replied. _Just let me take care of your jacket, ok? It was my fault you lost your other one, so I'll pay for this one. No protesting! Would you mind meeting me here at the cafe in two hours? I'll have your usual coffee waiting for you. Promise!_ Sophia sent her reply and once more eagerly waited for a reply as she finished wolfing down her lunch. Not too much longer left on her break. Then only two hours left on her shift and then she'd be free to hang out with Tim.

Sophia felt her cell phone buzz in her pocket for a moment. Her grin seemed to widen as she thought of who it might be, but she couldn't stop to answer it now. She was still busy with work. Ten minutes later, however, Renee appeared with lunch. Grabbing her portion Sophia gave her mother a hurried kiss on the cheek and a 'thank you' before eagerly scurrying out the back door to sit outside and eat. Pulling up an overturned milk crate Sophia opened up her lunch, balancing it on her lap. She picked up her fork and ate with her left hand while with the right she pulled out her phone and scrolled through it to find her unread text messages. She found the one she wanted and started to read. "Yes!" Sophia exclaimed excitedly to herself when she saw the text was from Tim. Unable to help it, Sophia beamed widely until she almost resembled the Chesire Cat. She quickly added Tim to her list of contacts and then started to reply to his message. _Hi, Tim! ^.^_ She greeted happily. _Doing good. At work right now. But I'm off in two more hours and would love to hang out! What would you like to do? How are you, by the way?_ Sophia sent the message and turned her attention back to eating, though she waited with giddy anticipation to see if she'd get another text from Tim before she had to go back to work. This time, however, she planned to take her full thirty minute break.

The next morning Sophia returned to work. As always she was her normal cheery self, though today she felt as if she was practically floating on cloud nine. Her co-workers did not fail to notice and Ginger, one slightly older girl, gently nudged Sophia in the ribs with her elbow, grinning as she asked, "What's got you so perked up, Sophia? Did you get a booooyfriend?" Sophia laughed as she flipped the switch on the espresso machine to stop the milk steamer. "Noooo," she replied, drawing out her 'O's similarly to Ginger. "But I do have a new friend! We hung out yesterday. He's kinda bad with people, but he's a nice guy and we had fun." Ginger raised one eyebrow, her expression one of amusement. "So he's a potential boyfriend," she stated more than asked. Sophia rolled her eyes at Ginger's prodding. As she continued to finish off the drink she was making she replied, "I'm not even touching that subject with a ten-foot pole." Clapping her hands, Ginger excitedly exclaimed, "So he is!" "Ginger," came a warning tone. But it was not Sophia from whom the warning her come, but rather her mother who stood behind Ginger with her arms crossed, a slightly annoyed look on her face as she tap-tap-tapped her foot. "Don't you have some work to be doing?" Instantly Ginger snapped to attention, all but saluting. "Yes, ma'am!" She spouted quickly before hurrying off to do her job. "Thanks, mom," Sophia said with a smile as she finished the drink she was making. "You're welcome, sweetie," her mother said as her features relaxed once more and a smile crossed her face. "I know how Ginger is though. She's a good worker but sometimes she likes to gab a bit too much. I'm about to go pick up some lunch for your father and myself. What would you like?" "Anything is fine, mom," Sophia replied. "Chinese it is then," her mother said. Sophia smiled and watched her go as she took the drink she had finished to its table. As she went onto the next order she began to wonder if Tim would show up that day, or even send her a text or email or something.

Seeing that he was struggling to find his words, Sophia went over to her new friend. She placed her hands on Tim's shoulders and gave him a reassuring smile. "Don't worry about it," she gently told him, trying to soothe his anxiety. "Just take your time, ok? We can hang out whenever you want to--so long as I'm not at school or at work. I don't want you to push yourself too much at once, Tim. You did a lot today, but you did well. Just relax for a while and take some time for yourself. Here, I'll leave you my phone number and email so you can get in contact with me whenever you feel like it." She borrowed a pen from him and wrote down her cell phone number and email address on the receipt from the bakery and handed it to him. "Call me, text me, or email me whenever you like," Sophia said. "I might not always be able to respond right away though, but I will reply as soon as I can. And who knows? If you text or email me you might find it a little easier to talk. Alright, I'll get heading out now. I did have fun today, Tim, and I hope you did too." She then gave him a light hug and then stepped back toward the door. "I'll see you later," she told him, giving him another smile before shutting the door to his apartment, leaving him alone once more. Sophia walked next door and retrieved her car, then head home to her apartment. Her head was buzzing with the day's events: the park and its strange happenings, watching a movie at Tim's place and getting to talk to him some. It had been a strange day indeed, but a good one. And as Tim had predicted Sophia now wondered why she had been so freaked out about what had happened in the park anyway. Now that her shock and fright had worn away, she was left feeling giddy with excitement. Upon returning home Sophia emptied out her backpack, putting everything away in its place, before finding something for dinner and then hopping in the shower. Afterwards she jumped on her computer and started to play her favorite MMORPG, calling Ally when she appeared online and relaying the day's events--making sure to leave out several details such as the weird happenings at the park and some of the initial awkwardness between her and Tim. Eventually she went to bed as she had work early the next day, and she fell asleep wondering when she might next get to hang out with Tim.

Tim was the one back to being flustered again, but Sophia didn't mind. She knew eventually he would easily be able to talk to her without feeling so worried or awkward. "Today was fun," she agreed. "Minus all that Twilight Zone shit at the park. And we can definitely do something together again soon." She stood and pulled off his hoodie, checking its size and making a mental note before she handed it back to him. She tried to think of the next time she was free and laughed a bit when she remembered this week was the start of Thanksgiving vacation. "Hey, Tim," she said as she retrieved her shoes and started to put them on. "If you don't have any plans for Thanksgiving, want to join me? I won't make you come to my family's, of course. We can just hang out at my apartment, eat, and play games or watch a movie. If you want to, that is." Sophia wouldn't bring Tim to her family's knowing that they would all want to talk to him and question him, and possibly assume that he was Sophia's boyfriend--all of which she was sure that he wouldn't be able to easily handle. Still, she didn't want him to be alone on Thanksgiving.

Sophia flipped over the case and read the back of it even as she picked up an eclair and took a bite of it. One eyebrow went up in amusement as she read the movie's description. Swallowing her bite of eclair she said, "Yeah. Fine by me," before handing the case back to Tim. He popped the DVD in to the DVD player and turned on the tv. Sophia settled down on the couch, the pastries and coffee now on the coffee table for easy access. Finally the movie was ready to go and Tim took a seat on the couch across from her with plenty of space between the two. "Oh my god. That's why you don't sleep with your boss!" Sophia declared a little heatedly when she found out the reason Holly got fired. "Stupid girl." Sophia shook her head and then sighed. Why did imaginary people have to be so stupid? She always wondered that about characters in her video games and books too, often talking aloud when she was alone and ranting about how everything could have been fixed if they weren't such goddamned _idiots_. Nonetheless Sophia was enjoying the movie and she laughed where it was funny. Eventually the movie was over, the coffee gone, and most of the sweets eaten. Having forgotten the strange occurrences earlier in the day, Sophia was now completely relaxed. She smiled at Tim and said, "That was a pretty good movie. Do you want to do anything else, or should I let you get some alone time now?"

Lydia knew well the sensation of someone's eyes boring into her even when she wasn't looking. She knew that Ragna was staring at her. _Let him stare,_ she thought a little bitterly. _It's not as if I'm not used to it._ She was very used to it, in fact, not that she cared for it. People always tended to stare at her, either due to her beauty or due to her being a cross-breed. Humans stared at her in awe, sometimes jealousy, while elves stared at her in disgust. Now she even seemed to have a demon staring at her for some reason. The only people who never seemed phased by her beauty or her origins where the dwarves. They didn't care what you looked like so long as you had some sort of valuable skill whether it was fighting, black smithing, or even wood carving. Lydia felt most at home among the dwarves who praised her fighting skills. When not traveling or in Termina, Lydia was most often among the dwarves. It had been a while since she had visited them, however, and felt a little saddened that she had been unable to talk with Blathir for longer, or any of her other dwarven friends for that matter. Before Lydia could really begin to reminisce about the fun times she had shared with her dwarven friends, she found her thoughts interrupted by Ragna's words. "We'll go north and then west," she replied. "I'll not risk the chance of putting the dwarves in danger. I was not able to do anything for Termina, but I can at least try to do something to help protect the dwarves." She fell silent again, her mood a little soured now as she pondered the fate of Termina. She hoped that it still stood, or else that some of the people had survived. Lydia never thought that she would bring a horde of demons to the doors of the city, and felt that anything that they did to Termina was her fault. She did not want to bring the same fate upon the kind dwarves. No, she would not put the dwarves at risk if she could help it. They would take the long way. Suddenly Lydia swore in frustration. "What in the world would demons want with me?" She grumbled aloud, more to herself than Ragna. "It's not like I've crossed paths with too many of them over the years or caused them much trouble. I can't have something they want. Can I?"