Reyna was only somewhat surprised at the man's answer. The Deril twins were quite popular, so it was one of the first assumptions that came to mind when there was a new face around that Reyna herself didn't know about, especially this late at night. The right place at the right time, he had said...
Well, she was grateful he had shown up when he did, regardless of who he knew or where he had come from. She wasn't completely sure how long she could stay ahead of her attacker if he had continued his pursuit after her.
As they sat there together, Reyna now more comfortable with the company, the blonde gave a slight shiver. All the adrenaline from the attack had worn off, and despite her usually comfortable coat, she could feel the night's cold starting to steep through. The light dusting of snow beneath her bottom and legs wasn't helping anything, either. The man before her was kind enough to offer his own coat, and she was sorely tempted to take him up on the offer.
"I'll be fine, really. Besides, you'll catch your death without your jacket."
Despite her words, the man was persistent, even going so far as to remove his coat and enticingly holding it between them for her to take. She hesitated only a moment before reaching for it. She might as well take his kind offer instead of ignoring it; it would have been rude to do so.
Before she had a chance to touch the material of the offered clothing, Reyna's ears caught the sound of a vehicle approaching. She turned to look down the street, just making out the blinking red and blue lights rounding the corner. There was a siren in the distance, though it wasn't from the police car moving closer to her destination.
Reyna made to turn back around when a light pressure came down upon her shoulders. She glanced to each side and reached up, feeling the soft, warm material of the coat she had just been offered. Curiously, she looked around her, expecting to see the stranger who had come to her rescue standing off to the side. Instead, she was met with the sight of her home to the left and a great pecan tree to the right, the man nowhere to be seen.
"Hello? Hey, where did you...hello?"
A soft groan escaped her attacker as he shifted slightly. Reyna practically jumped out of her skin at the movement and scrabbled to pick up her can of paint and aimed it in his direction. He remained down and thankfully didn't move again, not even when the police finally arrived and tried getting a response out of him. The sirens from before grew closer and closer, and Reyna soon found out that it was an ambulance for the injured, unconscious man who had been beat down by a strange man who had disappeared from sight.
It had already been a long night, but after the necessary questioning and a promise to come into the station tomorrow morning for an official statement, the blonde young woman wanted nothing more than to pass out for the next ten hours. She clutched the borrowed jacket closer to her body as she finally made her way into her home, making sure to lock both locks on the door. She took off both coats, debated what to do with the extra one, and settled on hanging them both where they could dry. Maybe her "Knight in Shining Armor" would be back for his coat. Maybe then she would be able to thank him properly.
The guys in R.A. were not gonna believe this.
~* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~
"Wait, hold up! You tellin' me you sprayed that guy in the eyes? Tha's pretty cool."
Reyna eyed one of the members of her art group, otherwise known as the R.A., with what could have been described as astonishment.
"Really? That whole story, and you focus on the paint, of all things?"
"Tha's what we're here for, yeah?"
"Ignore her," piped in James, one of Reyna's closest friends. He was both equal parts amazed and horrified at the scene she had created with her words, seeing both the good and the bad that had come out of the situation. "We're all just glad you're okay. You should really be at home resting instead of being out here."
"And miss this opportunity to paint a mural for the city's park? Like I would have been able to rest knowing you guys were having all the fun."
There were a few snickers here and there before all was quiet again. Everyone had on excited faces, all eyes focused on Reyna, awaiting for the next plan of action.
For the next three days, her art group would be creating a mural depicting images that would entice ages of young and old to the city's downtown park area. Just last week, several volunteer groups had helped clean up the area and refurbished the playground play areas as well as planted flowers. There was a brick wall off toward the east side of the park that had once been part of some building way back when, surprisingly sturdy despite its years of standing and quite the eye sore. Instead of tearing it down, however, the Renegade Artisans, or R.A. as they were often known as, decided they wanted to contribute to the project by doing what they did best.
"Alright, you guys," Reyna began with a clap of her hands and a bright smile, "let's clean up any loose brick and plan out a basic outline for today. We'll do heavier painting tomorrow; it's supposed to be mostly clear then, so hopefully we won't have any runs in the paint."
As soon as a plan of action was dished out, the members of the R.A. immediately set to work on clearing out any loose bricks or debris that would disturb their work in progress. They had come a long way since first joining, and Reyna was so proud of them for their dedication to each and every project.