Somehow, this young man that stood in the shadows, completely visible to the werewolf in front of him (though he would be unaware of that little detail) had managed to both creep her out and insult her in the same instance. His eyes caused chills to run down her spine, making the girl quiver visibly. However, his words, though calm and melodic, triggered something within her.
It seems a bit past your curfew, Little One.
Little One? Seriously? Again with this? Just because she was a young, shy, teenager of five four did not give people the right to talk down to her like that. Curfew my ass. Rinni Faithe was an adventurer, not a child. I mean, sure she hadn't adventured a lot... yet... but she was working on that. She just had to get by the parents. And after his previous statement, she wasn't about to bring up the little detail of why she was late. Gods forbid she give him more fuel to harass her with. But even so, she could feel it boiling in her. The rage she felt when Lucian upset her back at the Guild.
No. Not now. She couldn't afford to lose her temper on someone who needed her help. Even if he was a jerk. Even if he deserved to be put in his place. It was burning within her now. The desire to attack this poor soul. He couldn't know, of course, how dangerous it was to trigger this child. How could he? He knew nothing about her. Her small chest began rising and falling with each heavy breath as she struggled to maintain control of herself.
'Don't attack him. Don't attack him...'
She looked around for something, anything to distract her. Her blood was boiling from the simple agitation. Is this what it felt like? How on earth did Lucian deal with this? He should have attacked her back then, but he stayed so calm. Yet, all this man did was imply she was a kid, and she started to lose it. As if on instinct, she bent down and scooped up the six-tailed fox, hugging the small creature close to her chest as a divider between herself and the stranger.
She imagined ripping his throat out.
No. As the newest member of Penumbral Guard she definitely could not do that. She was supposed to help people. She couldn't go off and kill her own client. Was that the right word for it? Either way, he needed help. She was here to help. Even if she didn't trust him. Her thoughts were interrupted as he introduced himself, and mentioned something along the lines of waiting for others. Just how tough of a job was this, exactly, that he felt it'd take three people?
Now slightly calmer, the Encan managed to respond to him in a calm tone that implied all shyness and pleasantries were aside, for now. It was obvious by the look in her eyes that she didn't like him one bit. Still, she didn't abandon him either. Unless red flags would rise making it obvious she shouldn't help this man... she was going to stick by him until he no longer needed her (or until she could no longer tolerate him). The little fox growled low at the man now known as Leo.
"Oh, trust me, I'm up for the task. You said you need someone familiar with Marigold, yes? I grew up here. Seeing as it's my home, you won't find anyone more familiar than myself." She interjected plainly. It was then he removed his hood and introduced himself. He was young, maybe a few years her senior. Not sure who he thought he was, judging her age when he was barely an adult himself. "I'm Rinni. This is Winter. So, what exactly is it you needed help with? If I recall... the paper you posted mentioned recovering your stuff? Are we talking bandits or something?"
She cautiously moved closer to the man, so as to talk without raising their voices. Now in front of him, the first thing she noticed was his height. He was tall and slender, causing her to crane her neck slightly in order to look up at him. That was awkward. She really wasn't comfortable around people taller than 5'7". This man had to be at least five ten-ish. She clutched Winter tighter, causing the fox to yip and squirm. She didn't mean to hurt her. She just didn't trust herself right now.
Especially being so close to Leo.