The Encan teen explored the Farmland in quiet, passive, calm. She had had a rough last few weeks or longer. She placed her left hand on her right shoulder and flinched. That werewolf really got her good. It'd take a few more weeks, maybe longer, to heal completely. The teen sighed as she prepared to take a bit of rest and relaxation with her pet, a young and playful Snow Vulpix named Winter; for obvious reasons.

Winter stretched her pale blue front limbs and let out an adorable yawn as her owner and friend found them a nice open field to lounge in. She didn't want to accidentally ruin the garden, so she chose an empty section of the farmland that hadn't been tilled for gardening. She plopped down in the soft waist-high grass, Winter climbing into her lap and wagging her six tails.

Farmer Jim approached with a tray in hand. He expressed his gratitude for all the times she had helped him in the past, and offered her a tray with tea and cabbage rolls for her; a bowl of water and cabbage leaves for the white fox kit. The Encan thanked her host graciously and took a bite of her cabbage roll as he walked away. She had placed the water and cabbage leaves to the side for Winter to reach.

The little Snow Vulpix gingerly sniffed at the leaves with curiosity and distrust of the strange vegetable that looked like lettuce yet had its own unique aroma. As Rinni Faithe sipped her tea she heard a gagging grunt followed by quick lapping of water. She turned to look at her companion to discover a hunk of cabbage partially chewed lying on the ground. Winter was drinking the water at high speed to remove the nasty taste from her tongue.

"Poor Winter." The girl giggled. "Don't let Jim see you do that. You'll make the poor man cry." Rinni then returned to happily eating her cabbage rolls and sipping her tea; while Winter promptly sat upon her hind haunches looking annoyed.

Well, one thing the Encan was not expecting was a rustle in the grass a few meters from her own position. The six-tailed white fox stood up, her fur bristling with her ears in alert position as she growled lowly in the direction of the intruder. All Rinni wanted was to relax and enjoy her breakfast. Was that too much to ask? She reached behind her, placing her hand on her bow. She felt more secure, knowing it was there and that she hadn't accidentally left it at home. As a strange man popped up out of the grass, she felt her hairs stand on end in tiny little bristles known as goosebumps. Winter began to yelp and snarl at the stranger in front of them; the teen looked horrified. Why was a man hiding in the grass? He had to be up to no good!

The smell of alcohol tickled the fox's nose, and she didn't like it at all. Her growls deepened, back arched, white fur bristling and quivering. The stranger cursed as he noticed them. About a second after he spoke, Rinni threw the bowl of cabbage leaves at his face. Rather he managed to dodge, block, or not she quickly followed this up by rising to her feet and drawing her bow on the male. She drew back the string, prepared to defend herself if he'd try anything. As usual, an arrow made of her own mana materialized, ready to be launched at this stranger if he did one thing she didn't like.

"W-who are you? What are you doing here?" Rinni demanded nervously, her heart pounding. She really didn't want a fight. She just wanted to relax. Why did all the weirdos always manage to find her? The bow quivered as she trembled. The shaking was a mix of fear and lack of desire to harm a potentially innocent person. As she stood over him, she managed to get a good look at him. He was young and attractive. Great. Not another hot guy. Her face flushed in embarrassment, and she shook her head in an attempt to hide her reddening cheeks. "Answer me, or else I'll... I'll shoot."

Rinni was very confused by this young man's calm resolve and snarky responses. If she was anyone else in any other situation, she'd probably fire the bow. However, she was Rinni Faithe. A B-Rank Ranger with morals. He wasn't threatening her, he had simply surprised her as she had no idea he was there previously. As he casually revealed he was drinking, in a very 'isn't it obvious?' tone, she blinked in confusion. Her eyes went to her tea then to him.

"Drinking?" She repeated dumbfoundedly. It was at this moment she spotted the empty bottle and blushed in the embarrassment of her own innocent ignorance. "Oh."

When he openly called her out about her weapon, she glanced at the bow in her hand. She had drawn it instinctively and had completely forgotten she had it in her hands at that moment. She looked back toward him as he raised his hands in calm submission. A sign of a truce. She lowered her weapon, replacing the bow into the strap on her back. Everything had happened so suddenly, she had to think back on how things went this far.

After realizing what she had actually done to this poor man, her blush deepened and her tone of voice changed from nervous threats into timid apologies. "I'm so sorry about the... uh... cabbages. You scared us and I uh..." She had no good excuse for her actions. "I was a bit... ok... a lot... out of line. I'm sorry. Again. Uh... yeah. My name's Rinni. Who are you, exactly?"

The six-tailed fox continued growling at the stranger until the young woman hushed the creature. When the man asked what exactly winter was, the Encan turned her attention toward the newcomer who was still sitting in the grass for some reason. Maybe he was drunk and unable to stand or something. She never drank, she was still underage, so she wasn't sure how this worked. And frankly, he was the first drunk person she ever met. "Oh, her? That's Winter. She's a Snow Vulpix. Don't mind her. She was just scared."

Realizing she was being rude, Ok, to be honest, she crossed that line when she threw cabbages in his face, she quickly offered him her hand. It wouldn't be polite to leave him sitting on the ground when she was in the position to offer him help, after all. If he accepted her aid, she would respond by pulling him to his feet. The redness never leaving her flushed cheeks.

Once the young man was on his feet and standing proper in her view, she found herself able to get a proper look at him. He was tall and attractive. It was intimidating to the teen who stood no more than 5'4" in height. From her perspective, she imagined he must have been at least 6 feet. He was the literal definition of tall, dark, and handsome. He definitely had the dark bit down to an art. His very demeanor had her feeling nervous. Having nothing else to do with her hands, she found herself wringing and twiddling her fingers while rocking up and down on the ball of her heels. She bit her lip quietly as he introduced himself. Even his introduction seemed to lack any emotion or thought process. She found Ko to be off-putting and intriguing at the same time. It was so confusing.

On the one hand, she felt compelled to get far away from this man. That something about him wasn't right; potentially dangerous, even. But on the other hand, she was curious and compelled to get to know this stranger. It was good to have friends, and she had so few growing up. Now that she had the opportunity to spread her wings, she was trying to be more open to social interactions. It wasn't easy, however, as her shy and often awkward personality tended to earn her a slot in the wallflower corner.

Still, she sensed her cuteness wasn't going to win this one over. He obviously preferred tough people. So, she'd try to be strong. Bold. The total opposite of what she currently was. She watched as he interacted with Winter, who responded by smacking his hand away with one pale blue paw and retreating behind Rinni's leg. He spoke to her. He was awaiting a response. Her cheeks were flushed with a mix of embarrassment from earlier and shyness in the presence of this attractive, young, and dark stranger. She struggled to formulate words, trying to not sound like a dumbass.

"It's a um farm." She squeaked.

Mission failed.

'You had one job, Rinni...'

She quickly attempted to recover from her very obvious (and useless) reply. "Marigold. We're... we're in Marigold. In the farmlands." She was quite obviously avoiding eye contact as she peered up at him through her eyelashes. If he would try to meet her gaze, he'd notice how quickly she would turn her eyes or head away in an awkward retreat attempt. She rubbed her right arm with her left and stood there in awkward silence. She wasn't the greatest at social situations. She really wished he'd make the first move. It'd make this easier to move on from.

The smirk of amusement on the young man's face hadn't escaped Rinni. In fact, the way he was looking at her only served to embarrass her more. She wanted so badly to find a hole to crawl into and then pull the hole in behind her. She glanced up at the tall, dark, male who looked down at her with mocking eyes; at least that was how she interpreted his gaze. Their eyes made contact only briefly as she quickly looked away, strands of hair falling across her reddened face. She slowly reached with her left hand to brush the strands aside, only for more to take their place. Maybe it was for the best. Her hair could hide her humiliation for her.

She wasn't sure what was wrong with her. She'd been awkward around strangers plenty of times in the past due to her shyness, but never had she been as bad as this. What was it about Ko that made her lose all common sense? He was tall. Really tall. That was a bit intimidating to the much smaller teen. He was dark, everything about him screamed predator. Everything about him had her senses screaming for her to run. But at the same time, he didn't seem like a threat. I mean, if he wanted to harm her he would have already, right?

And he was cute. Very cute. The girl flushed and shook her head of the thoughts she was receiving. Was this what a crush felt like? Was this dude her first crush?! She refused to accept that crazy idea! They had only just met no more than 10 minutes ago! There was no way she could have any sort of feelings for him! She doesn't even know him! No, nope. Definitely not. Besides, there's no way a guy as cool and as hot (two words that should not go together yet somehow do) as Ko would ever be interested in a kid like her.

'Gah! In the name of all things holy, get a grip, Rinni! Now is not the time to think about romance! You got better things to do! Get those teen hormones under control, girl!' She mentally scolded herself. "Right. There's no way he'd even be into me... so stop being weird..."

She paused and turned pale at the realization the last line was spoken out loud instead of in her head. She silently prayed he hadn't caught that. In her distress, she barely heard him ask her about her bow. She looked up at her, her big brown eyes widened like a deer in headlights. "Oh! Th-this? I haven't dad this too long. I bought it a while ago. I loved the look and feel of it. To be honest, I have very little practice using it. I did do archery stuff with my dad and brother when I was a little girl. So, my aim isn't too terrible. I guess."

A low growl emanated from the white fox, her furs bristling as she stared angrily at Ko's hand. Rinni glanced in the direction her pet was growling, wanting to learn why the Snow Vulpix was upset. She never growled for no reason. It was then she noticed the cause for alarm. Ko's fingers brushed lightly against the hilt of his sword. The girl became tense for a moment until he dropped his hand eliminating any thoughts of being a threat. The young woman relaxed again, though she still felt shaky on the inside. Like she had a beehive buzzing inside her.

Her tea and cabbage rolls sat abandoned, probably cold by now. She appeared to have forgotten about her breakfast. As all signs of hostility disappeared, Winter opted to curl up in a ball and fall asleep, leaving the two alone. Since Ko had asked about her weapon, she thought it'd be polite to return the favor. She gestured toward the holstered sword and asked, "What about you? Have you had that sword long? Are you good with it?"

Ko had appeared to not have heard her slip up; or, perhaps he had chosen to ignore it for her sake. Either way, Rinni was grateful. She let out an automatic sigh of relief as she listened to Ko tell his story. She quickly regretting asking him as she noticed the finality in his tone and realized, unlike her, his parents (or in the very least his mom) was dead. She felt instantly like she were the bad guy at this moment. It was obvious, to her at least, that this was a rather touchy subject. She looked up at the tall, dark, handsome man that towered over her, sorrow in her eyes as she thought it only polite to apologize. It seemed insensitive not to.

"I'm so sorry, Ko. I didn't mean to bring up any sad memories. I-I had no idea..." She spoke softly, gently, as if comforting a child. She then tried to place herself in his shoes. She couldn't. It was hard to imagine what life would be like for her if her parents died. If she lost her brother. The very idea of that reality was painful, and it made her realize how fragile human mortality really was. One second you're there, happy, smiling. In a blink, it's over. The thought caused the girl to visibly shudder, goosebumps running up her arms.

Ko proceeded to mention his skills with the sword, somehow keeping calm and seemingly emotionless the entire time. She wondered how he did it. How could one person keep that kind of pain suppressed to the point that their very person feels cold and heartless? Rinni always saw the good in people. She knew, deep down, there was more to Ko than what he let show. No one was that cold. Even so, she couldn't help but feel she had offended this man left and right today.

First, she threw cabbage in his face. Then, she drew her Arcing Bow on him. After that, she acted like a nervous, awkward, nitwit. Now, she brought up sad memories of his mom. God, what she must look like to him. In her mind, she could only imagine him looking down on her like the stupid child that she was. Trying so hard to prove she's grown up and capable of taking care of herself; proving the exact opposite when encountering a pretty face.

Her thoughts were abruptly interrupted when Ko took the conversation full circle and drew attention back toward her previous slip-up. Startled, her gaze shot upward to meet him. To her horror, he was looking right at her, and unintentionally, their eyes met. She was never one to make direct eye contact. She was too shy for that shit. But at this moment, she found herself locked in his gaze. And there it was. The deer in headlights look. Her light skin paled until she matched Winter's fur. The hairs on the back of her neck spiked. Her eyes widened in horror, as though Ko suddenly had three heads.

The little fox's left ear twitched, and one blue eye opened casually as she glanced lazily toward the pair of humans. Still no threat from Ko. Rinni looked traumatized, but unharmed. So, the six-tailed fox yawned lazily and stretched her body out across the grass in a very lazy movement much like the typical dog or cat would on a lazy summer morning. Rinni was ever so grateful that Winter couldn't talk. Oh, what she'd probably have said in this instance would make things so much worse for the girl. If she didn't look like a woman to Ko before, it was even less so now.

The poor teen had completely frozen up. She was momentarily unresponsive as her brain tried to process a witty response that wouldn't result in her digging a deeper hole for herself. Then again, she wouldn't mind having a nice deep hole to hide in. She could feel her heart thundering against her chest, vibrating her body. She wondered if Ko could hear it. Was it loud enough? Oh lord, she hoped not!

"W-what are you t-talking about? Mumbled? Y-you must be hearing things, Ko..." Well, there was an attempt. "I didn't say anything! N-nothing... nothing at all! At least, nothing about you! I mean... w-why would I...?"

'Steer the conversation somewhere else, Rinni! You're putting yourself in an entire grave at this rate!'

"Hey, uh, are you hungry? You must be hungry, right? Look at the time, it's almost lunch! Oh, and I never did finish my breakfast! Maybe that's what you heard earlier! My stomach growling!" She laughed in a very nervous, and awkwardly fake style in an attempt to steer him anywhere other than in the direction of her feelings toward him. Whatever those feelings may be.

The 16-year-old flinched at the sudden change in tone as Ko unexpectedly snapped at her. She could only faintly tell it was unintentional, it still scared her, however. So much so, she had unconsciously reached for her bow in self-defense, her fingers brushing it lightly.

The suddenly raised tone toward Rinni had also succeeded in waking Winter, who instantly positioned herself between the two mages, growling with ears drawn low as she faced Ko, fur bristling menacingly. Rinni made no attempt to calm the animal, even after Ko's attempt at an apology. The girl was honestly scared of him now. Her heart was racing at this point, and not because of a silly crush. She had no intent on a fight, but if he pushed her the wrong way she may be prompted to attack.

His smirk had widened in a way that gave the young Encan instant chills. She couldn't tell what he was thinking, but she could tell by his eyes that it wasn't good. The teasing only worsened, in fact, and she began to regret coming to the Farm today. Everything in her screamed for her to run. Her entire being was trembling. She allowed Winter to protect her only because Ko was scaring her. The teasing wasn't funny anymore. At least not to her. Her level of humiliation shifted to one of discomfort and fear. It had gotten to the point that Rinni could feel tears welling up in her eyes. She tried to resist them. She was a Ranger, not a child. She couldn't cry every time things got bad.

As Ko pushed the topic of hunger into a very uncomfortable direction, the nervous teen hoped that he wasn't saying what she thought he was saying. She unconsciously took a step back from him, her body shaking visibly. She wasn't even sure how to reply to that. And to make it worse, her gaze was still locked with his own. She just couldn't look away. She felt helpless. Winter growled lowly, not taking her eyes off the man as she stayed between them.

All Rinni could think was that she wanted him to stop. Where was Tomoe or Masado when she needed them?

Ko's expression and demeanor changed. She was incredibly grateful when he broke eye contact, enabling her to look away at last. It still wasn't enough to put Rinni at ease, however. He had hurt her. Not physically, but emotionally and possibly mentally. She had been teased by friends and family before, and even bullied by strangers growing up. But no one was as scary as Ko was. His tone, his expression, everything about her was terrifying. Yet, he seemed completely oblivious to this fact. Or maybe he just didn't care. When he told her she was shaking like a scared deer, she responded by closing her eyes and wiping stray tears aside hoping he doesn't notice them.

She dropped to her knees and soothingly stroked her hand through Winter's silky soft fur in an effort to calm the fox, who was still growling at Ko. After a while, the fox calmed but still gave the young man a warning death stare. Rinni looked up at Ko as he made an awkward attempt at an apology. Part of her wanted to smile or giggle at how adorable he was in that moment. But the part that was now scared of him resisted such urges. Still, a small smile crept across her lips for just a fraction of a moment.

After a while, the girl found her voice and made an attempt to explain herself to Ko. Hopefully, he'd understand. "It... it wasn't that, Ko. I... I would gladly accept lunch together... with you..." She blushed, light shades of pink forming on her cheeks. "But now... I'm not sure anymore. I... I don't know why... I mean, we just met... and this is pretty silly..."

She paused and took a deep breath as she began to tug at her hair gently, stroking her hands through the long brown locks as a calming mechanism. Not enough to pull it out, but just enough to keep herself preoccupied as she thought of her next words. "I... I like you... a lot. I mean, more than I should. I mean... you scared me, Ko. I'm used to people teasing me. They do it all the time. But... something about your voice and the way you looked at me... I felt helpless and scared..."

She sighed and lowered her gaze to the grass as she sat on the cool ground next to her fox friend. She continued to pet Winter, who nuzzled her comfortingly in response. Looks like Rinni's first ever crush wasn't at all what she expected. She wasn't even planning on developing any sort of feelings for anyone. There was just something about Ko that caught her attention in a very new way. A way that made her heart flutter.

Maybe she was just a dumb kid.

The young lady instantly regretted speaking. But it was too late. There were no take-backs. It was all out in the open. She wasn't even sure what she was feeling toward Ko, but now that she opened her mouth and said things best kept to herself a flush of red graced her cheeks. She folded her hands across her stomach, grabbing her left wrist with her right hand in an effort to stop the trembling. Her body still visibly quivered in his presence ever so slightly. She inhaled a shaky breath then slowly exhaled as she looked up at the taller male. Her eyes met his only for a moment before focusing on other things, such as his hair or lips. Still, she attempted to keep up a facade of looking at him without shying away.

Rinni wasn't surprised that he agreed with her. In fact, she was glad he did so with such kindness. He could have easily mocked her. Bullied her into a corner of shame and humiliation. Instead, he simply agreed with her on the simple truth that they were just passing strangers. She let out a soft sigh, her gaze leaving his face as she looked toward Winter who was now calmly observing the two humans. She then began to lift her gaze back toward Ko's overly attractive face when her expression screwed up in a look of pain.

A sharp pain shot through the injury that she kept hidden on her right shoulder. Her left hand shot up instinctively to protect the injured shoulder. In an attempt to make this motion seem natural, she gently rubbed her shoulder as if rubbing out a kink and attempted to mask her momentarily visible look of pain. What was happening to her?

The pain shooting through her right arm, starting at her shoulder and ending at her elbow, was so unbearable she could barely focus on what Ko was saying. He was confessing something of an aggressive past, something about being dangerous. But his voice sounded like it was in a drum. So distant and echoey in her ears. Her heart thundered in her chest as she desperately tried to hide the pain she was in.

A tiny whimper escaped Rinni's lips, her eyes closed as she attempted to block out the pain. Her hearing slowly returned to her at the moment that he asked her a question. She couldn't tell if he was making an attempt at flirting with her or simply teasing her to get a reaction. She bit her lip, unsure how to answer that question. It wasn't in fear or shyness that she was silent. It was a mix of pain clouding her mind and a simple lack of knowledge herself.

What was this between them? Was it an unlikely friendship? Two strangers passing by chance? A teenage crush that'll end in heartache or pass like the breeze?

"I...Ah!" She attempted to respond, but the pain increased and caused her to drop to her knees as she grasped her throbbing shoulder, tears in her eyes.

The girl looked directly at Ko as he kneeled next to her. She wasn't blushing this time, nor did her heart flutter at his closeness. She was in too much pain to care. His attempt at humor caused her to smile a bit and let out a tiny chuckle as she responded in kind, "Trust me, Mr. Lesalt. This isn't me dodging your question. Though if I'm being completely honest... I don't know the answer." Her awkward attempt at humor ended with her confessing the answer to his previous question.

Winter was nudging her hand and nuzzling her with concern for her owner. The fox growled at Ko for being too close to Rinni but didn't make any move to actually stop him. The Encan noticed the young man attempting to examine her shoulder but made no effort to reveal the injury to him. At least she was calm now. No more jittering deer in headlights type deal. It wasn't until Ko mentioned taking her to a doctor that panic rose up in her once more.

"No!" She exclaimed in a voice louder than how she had been previously. Her eyes were wide revealing muddy brown pools of terror. She seemed more scared of doctors than she was of Ko. "No doctors! Please! Please, Ko! I... they can't help me with this."

Deciding there was no way Ko would drop it after such an outburst and also deciding she really would like to go to lunch with him, the teen decided maybe she should start their relationship with honesty. After all, he'd been honest with her up until now. He didn't need to confess he was dangerous or something to fear. He could have just attacked her or left her while she was vulnerable. However, he'd been so kind to her these last few minutes. Not only had he apologized, but he showed concern toward her pain. I mean, it wasn't the normal reaction nor emotion felt apology of a normal person. But Rinni was learning this was just who Ko was.

She wasn't going to try to change that part of him.

"Before you decide if you want to take me to lunch... there's something you should know about me, Ko." Rinni chewed at her lip as she uncovered her hidden injury revealing a week old scar that was in the shape of teeth marks embedded deep into her flesh. It was almost completely healed, though it would leave a permanent scar. "I was bitten by a werewolf. I... I don't know why it's hurting like this now... it never did this before. I might... I might become a werewolf because of this. If I do, I might become dangerous."

The girl displayed fear at the idea of accidentally hurting or killing someone she cares about or a random innocent person. In her mind, she needed to find a good guild to join. A group of mages who could protect her and help her come to terms with her condition. Maybe even ensure she doesn't go feral, like those two werewolves she killed back then. She did meet a good werewolf. He proved to her a werewolf doesn't have to be a killer.

She wanted to be like him. But was scared she wouldn't be strong enough to control herself when she turned. If she turned. She looked up at Ko once more. "Would you still want to be friends with me if I were a monster?"

She had expected the man to distance himself from her as soon as the origin of her bite was revealed. She expected him to draw his sword and try to kill her. Instead he reacted with mild surprise and interest. It wasn't the reaction Rinni expected; but maybe it was the reaction she needed. They had been without touching distance for a few minutes now, and yet her heart wasn't fluttering out of control. She wasn't shy or scared. She'd grown used to him like she tended to do when meeting people. It always took different lengths of time with different people, but sooner or later she'd come out of her shell. This was noticeable by her lack of stuttering, mumbling, and constant blushing.

Ko caught her off guard when he asked her who the monster was. If he was referring to himself, she couldn't see it. He was scary, yes, but not always. Not right now at this moment. He seemed kind and caring in his own way. He obviously lacked any ability of proper emotion, but that just made him and her the same: different, but the same. Where she was over-emotional, he lacked emotion. Her shyness was the opposite to his coldness. Maybe their meeting could benefit them both. Maybe they could learn from each other.

Maybe this experience would allow them to both emerge as better for it.

Her blush returned and her heart skipped when Ko touched her. He had only playing poked her forehead, but that instance of physical contact made her heart flutter briefly and her cheeks became rosy pink. That was the answer? That was what got her going? Just a touch? There had to be more to it than that. And whatever it was, she wanted to find out. Curiosity drove her to find out; despite her fears. Not just of Ko, but of herself.

When Ko compared himself to a tiger and her to a lost kitten she blushed and averted eye contact. "Me? A kitten? Ko, I... I'm going to become a... a werewolf." She interjected. "I'm anything but a kitten. If I turn... I... I could easily kill you."

He continued to speak, assuring her that he wouldn't distance himself from her just because she was a werewolf. He also spoke as if he thought werewolves were not monsters. So then, what did he consider a monster?

Rinni looked at her exposed shoulder. The pain had stopped... for now. She pulled her clothing back on, covering the bite once more before looking up at Ko. Even squatted he was taller than her. It was intimidating, but she had already grown used to being in his presence. Even if he had ways to make her heart flutter that he was unaware of. She wasn't about to confess this and give him ammunition. "The longer I talk to you the less afraid I become." She threw back at him to counter his earlier statement. "I'm more dangerous than you."

Despite everything, Ko still insisted she wasn't a monster. Much less a threat to him. He argued that he didn't die easily and could handle himself if Rinni turned and lost control. Like he had so boldly stated; That remains to be seen. To be honest though, she hoped he was right. She'd rather be defeated and caged until she learns control than to injure or kill a friend. She sighed and stared at the ground completely lost for words and just hoping that she doesn't become like that rogue werewolf she had killed. Was there a difference between one born and one bitten? Could one truly turn from a bite or was that just a fairy tale to scare children?

Whatever the case, something was definitely changing in her. Was it her imagination, or were her nails growing longer? Her teeth felt sharper too... was that in her head? Was she causing these changes psychologically out of fear? How would she know when she was fully turned? Would she become a beast like the ones she killed? Would she be stuck a wolf creature for the rest of her life never to be human again? Or would she change every full moon into a ravenous beast and kill with no memory of it like so many fables she's read?

While she was lost in thought, Ko calmly responded to her statement of being more dangerous than him. He again used the 'that remains to be seen' statement he had used previously. As true as it was, it was still very dangerous thinking. He was cocky and over-confident in his own skills. That kind of thinking was going to get him killed one of these days. And she feared she wouldn't be there to save him when the time comes. Not that she had any confidence in herself. She actually had very low self-esteem. She just couldn't help but feel that whatever was changing in her body would make her stronger. Would it change who she was?

That remained to be seen.

Snapping out of her thoughts, the girl blinked her brown eyes and looked at Ko in stunned confusion. "Li... Little Kitten?!" She had repeated, her cheeks red (though it was difficult to tell if it was in annoyance or embarrassment). Perhaps a bit of both. Still, the very awkward and unexpected pet name made her heart flutter. She tried to glare at him in an attempt to be taken seriously. But her eyes betrayed her heart once more as she failed stupendously as appearing angry.

Another thing that made this entire situation difficult was the grin on Ko's face. It wasn't creepy like his smirk earlier. He was smiling like someone who had a funny joke to tell (or perhaps who had just heard one). She realized he was teasing her again. Part of her wanted to protest against his teases. The other part wasn't sure how. She could only stare at him, her cheeks flushed pink once more. At least he wasn't actively terrorizing her anymore.

She watched the man rise to his feet, and as he offered her his hand she hesitated. She was still a little scared and nervous, but for some reason she trusted him. She felt like they were two sides of the same coin. Deciding she needed to be strong and quit being a fidgeting kitten, she accepted his hand (blushing at the contact) and allowed him to pull her to her feet.

When he inquired about his previous offer, she snapped back to reality and looked up at him directly. "You... you still want to go out with me? Hangout! I meant hangout! Definitely hang out!" Her rumbling stomach intervened and announced to everyone present that she was starving. Winter tilted her head at the noise and Rinni chuckled in embarrassment. "I think... I think I will accept your offer, Tiger." She smiled up at him, and for a moment the shyness and fear were gone.