[PP-Floor 2] Night Terror, with Teion

[Ryo 0]

Ryo picked up the book that Teion had tripped over and thunbed through it's pages. It could teroarts held no answers but this one could be different. He didn't look from his book as he spoke. 

"When you first lost your sight, and we're flailing about, I at first thought it to be a bit funny." Ryo said, his tone of voice changing though his voice was more gravelly than before, due to his health reaching bear the red. "But, when. I couldn't speak I got worried, even more so when. The poison I'm inflicted with speed up and knocked me over."

"You became worried about me. As I you. You called out for me but I couldn't respond, I didn't respond." Ryo said, clutching the edges of his book. "The way you sounded, when you called for me. The fear in your voice, the fading hope that I would say something do something. It," Ryo stopped short to turn the page and simultaneously rub one eye. "It tore me to pieces." He said. "Teion, I-" Ryo started, but couldn't finish his sentence. He just tried his best not to start sobbing into his book. "This job all just my fault. If I hadn't, if I hadn't tried to force you into my life then none if this would've happened to you." He said, his breaths coming in short bursts.

[Teion 0]

Teion's feet carried her across the length of the room. She reached one end and turned on her heel, beginning to pace in the empty space of the potion shop. The reality of the situation was starting to loom over her, and she was beginning to doubt that drinking more potions was going to get them anywhere with however much time they had left. She half-listened to Ryo at first, but Teion stopped in her tracks when he made mention of the poison he was afflicted with growing worse. She froze and looked over to him, brows narrowed in troubled confusion while she listened to him continue reflecting on the incident caused by the last set of potions.

As his voice grew shaky and his violet eyes began to glisten, Teion felt a sudden tightness in her chest. The twinge of pain was different than the strain she had felt thus far that had been caused by the poison. Her jaw clenched, her hands curled into fists at her sides. Her shoulders raised an inch and she bristled with a stint of anger. Unable to keep her eyes on him any longer, Teion turned her face away and glared at the dark floorboards in front of her. "You were there, weren't you?!" She shouted, a moment passing before she continued in a lower volume.. "...Stop blaming yourself. You're doing your best in this shitty situation. Unless you're secretly masterminding this whole thing, then neither of us are to blame!" She growled.

[Ryo 0]

Ryo tossed the book onto the counter. Teion was right. He could hate himself later, right now he had someone to save. "Right. Now, if that note had any inclination of the truth. The cure should be in here, but we're getting nowhere with just drinking those potions." He said, looking at the bookshelf of potions. They had only drunk about six altogether leaving nine-teen more to sift through. They could drink all of them, but the effects being seemingly random something bad could happen or even kill one or the other. Ryo thought to himself. There was no pattern to the potions, nor any descriptors. The books were useless unless you were an alchemist, or a higher level cook. He slammed his hands down on the counter in defeat, unable to think of something. Except that was just what was needed to be done. Ryo heard the sound of wood sliding. He looked down underneath him at the face of the counter. A secret compartment had been made, and a small box was displayed. The box was much newer than it's surroundings as if it was placed recently. Ryo grabbed it and opened it, and was taken aback by what he saw. Another note, on top of a small vial. The note simply read 'Found Me'. Ryo knew that this had to be the antidote, who else but the NPC would write in [censored] comic sans.

Ryo looked the box over, looking for a second vial but to no avail. The only cure was inside the tiny vial he held in his hands. Ryo swallowed, knowing what had to be done. He stood up, placing an elbow on the counter. "Looks like whoever owned the place wanted to make this a speakeasy," Ryo said. "Found the motherlode over here." Ryo said, placing the tiny vial on the counter for Teion. "I bet you dollars to doughnuts that this is the cure." Ryo said, giving Teion a convincing smile. "You drink up, there's a few further in the back of here." Ryo said, kneeling down pretending to reach for more. 

[Teion 0]

Teion's anger subsided when Ryo seemed to pull himself together. She shook her head. Should they search elsewhere in the shop? Just go ahead and try more random potions? She was spending too much time doubting herself and just debating what to do. Ryo's hands coming down on the counter cause her a small start, and the woman looked back to him with a curious brow raised. She watched as he seemed to discover something, her eyes searching for a moment until he stood up straight and placed a vial on the counter. They shifted between the glass bottle and Ryo's smiling face and she paused before slowly walking over to the counter. She reached out, hesitating before she took the potion in her hand.

"A hidden potion stash?" He dropped back down after she questioned the odd discovery, but she tried to shrug it off. As Ryo seemed to be retrieving another vial from some hidden compartment beneath the counter, she pulled it closer to her and went to remove the small cork. Ignoring a slight feeling of unease, the girl downed the contents--a tasteless liquid much like the first that had left her avatar sparkling. Within seconds, the burning sensation that had been clinging to the back of her throat vanished. Her breathing began to normalize, and she no longer felt quite so light-headed. Her eyes traveled to the corner of her user interface, and she noted the absence of the small icon that had indicated her poisoned state. A small sigh of relief passed through her lips. Her health had nearly reached the red, but after a few seconds of watching the bar for any movement, it seemed to have stabilized.

[Ryo 0]

Ryo heard the cork pop off of the bottle and stopped moving. His face hung inside of the false cabinet for some time, the grim realization settling in. He was going to die. He had sacrificed himself, so that Teion may live. He watched his health bar blink, and dip into the red. Well, this had to be it. No more secret boxes, no more cure, and no more time. Ryo fought against his body, as he pulled himself up onto the counter. His skin much paler, and his hair wet from his sweating. "So, Teion." He said in between breaths, he slipped from the counter but was able to catch himself. "I'm sorry." Ryo said before his arms gave out and he fell backward onto the floor. His head bounced off of the old wooden floor, and his limbs crumpled next to his torso. He wasn't in pain, just the worlds most discomforting paralysis. He couldn't move, he couldn't see straight, and to be able to speak took every ounce of strength he had.

He tried moving his head, or his arm but nothing happened. He was far too weak to move, but he could at least hear Teion running to his aide. "Sorry, I lied," Ryo said, exasperated. "You see, there was only one of them potions hid away. So, I did what I had to do." He said, still breathing heavily. "My hp is in the red now, and I've only got a few moments left. So, I wanna say what I wanna say. Okay?" Ryo asked, his pale face still able to give up a smirk.

[Teion 0]

The sound of her name in the same strained voice caught her attention, and cobalt eyes widened when they fell on Ryo's pale face. She felt as though her heart stopped for a fraction of a second, blood running cold before her limbs finally listened to the frantic instruction her mind was giving them. She rushed to the man laying paralyzed on the floor of the abandoned potions shop. Teion knelt down beside him, hands hovering in the air in front of her as she began to panic.

"Ryo... No, nonono," She repeated in disbelief. Her breath caught in her throat again, this time due to the surge of emotion that hit her. Tears welled at the corners of her eyes, and her head fought desperately against what he was insisting as the reality. "What... D-don't [censored] around, you can't die!" She managed, her jaw clenching while the moisture in her eyes threatened to spill over.

[Ryo 0]

Ryo coughed weakly, his body didn't even have the energy for that. "Teion. Don't hate me, I don't think I could-" Ryo said, before taking in a deep breath. "Don't think I could stand it." He said, still smiling at her. This is what his other selves were talking about, wasn't it? Ryo fought for something he loved, and he succeeded in his goal. But, he paid the ultimate price. He looked up at the purple haired woman, crying over him. It was all worth it. "Hey, stop the flood works, save them for another day." He teased. "Teion. When I first saw you at the fireworks festival I didn't know what to expect. You were, just so stunning. So beautiful to be alone, and you looked so." Ryo took a breath. "So sad." He said, finishing his thought. His lips felt dry, and his body stopped sweating from lack of moisture, his body using it faster than he could produce it.

"And I thought, that there was no way that such a beautiful woman should be alone on a day such as that, y'know?" He said, his speaking going faster as to keep up with the lack of air in his lungs. He tried to swallow his saliva, only to half manage and cough the rest of it. "So I said 'Hey, you look bored.'" Ryo said, remembering the brief moment in his mind. "You were just staring at the prizes, just waiting for someone to win them for you." Ryo then remembered that he didn't manage to win anything. "Sorry, that I disappointed." He said weakly.

"But ever since that day, I couldn't stop thinking about the purple haired woman I had run into. Day in, and day out you occupied my mind. Not from some sort of, male carnal lust for flesh but," Ryo said, trying to shove the poison from his brain so he could think clearly. "But in a way that wasn't. I didn't know what it was then, but I think I figured it out now." He said, smiling at the now blurry picture of Teion. Ryo's eyes glazed over, as though he was growing blind. The iris' melding into the pupils and the whites adding a more sickly yellow hue. "I must sound like a blubbering idiot." Ryo said, straining a laugh out.

[Teion 0]

She didn't last long before the tears began to roll silently down her cheeks. She had tried so desperately to deny the scene that was playing out in front of her, but each word that Ryo forced out only made it more real, and more painful. She stared, lost for words while she listened to him recount their first meeting at the festival. She hadn't expected to be alone that night, and yet that was how it ended up. Back then, she didn't think anything of it. She was used to being on her own. But that night, sitting atop a grassy hill on the first floor and looking up at the fireworks... She was glad that she wasn't alone after all.

She listened to his confession, hot tears continuing to stream down her face and pool at her chin, staining the dusty wooden floor with small, steady droplets. His voice faded, and the longest moment of silence fell before Ryo forced out a weak laugh. Teion grit her teeth. Her chin dropped to her chest, and her violet bangs hung over her eyes. "You..." She choked out in little more than a whisper. Another second, and she picked her head back up with narrowed brows, drawing in a sharp breath of air. "You idiot!" She yelled, suppressing the sobs that threatened to overtake her. Her fists clenched, and she wanted to badly to strike something to let out the sudden flare of anger.

"Sacrificing yourself?! What good is saving my sorry ass going to do?" Her curled fingers had been pressing into her knees. She suddenly reached out in front of her, taking a fistful of Ryo's shirt and the edge of his jacket in a tight grip while she pulled the upper half of his paralyzed avatar a few short inches off the ground. "What about you? What about Lowenthal?!" She demanded. Teion was furious, scared, and most of all, desperate. Her bottom lip stiffened for a moment until she couldn't keep it from trembling. Her volume dropped again, "What about...me..."

Teion's pulse raced in her chest, and her head felt as though it was spinning. She felt as though Ryo's avatar might shatter at any moment, no matter how tightly she held on. 'Forgive me, Max.' Her heart throbbed in her chest, and she pulled the man a bit closer. Kneeling over him, Teion lowered her head in one swift motion, bringing their faces together as she pressed her slightly-parted lips against Ryo's.

[Ryo 0]

Ryo chuckled. "Whoa, hold on there girl." He said, still smiling as she gripped his shirt and hoisted him up. "For a moment, I'd say that you almost cared about me." He said, giving out his best chuckle. Teion held Ryo close to herself, and Ryo could feel every bit of emotion that Teion poured out. The convulsing of her chest and she tried to draw breath only to choke back tears that streamed from her face. He hated himself now, more than ever before. He was always distant from this kind of emotion. Always meters away, safe from it but now? Now it was on top of him, smothering him, consuming him. He was going to die here, in the arms of someone he cared about. "Lowenthal was special to me," Ryo said. "And he was taken from me, with no remorse, no warning. I wasn't even there for it." He looked up at Teion, whom he could tell was having just a bad time as seeing as much as he did. "And I would die, before I let this world take someone even more important than he, from me." He said, choking back his own tears. He didn't want to go, he didn't want to die. He was scared. Not of death, but what would happen after. What would Teion do, how would everyone else react? He thought of those he had met, and those he had betrayed. Would they even notice? Would they care?

Ryo's body struggled against the poison, his muscles shaking as he moved them inch by inch. "Teion, I-" Ryo began to say as he turned his head towards hers. Thankfully, she helped him midway but what happened was unexpected. Her face came close to his own, and he could feel something press against his own mouth. Was she, kissing? Ryo opened his eyes only to see the truth of it all. Ryo moved his free arm up and around Teion's neck, wanting her closer than ever. He didn't want to be alone. Not anymore, not after this. Ryo's strength finally gave out, and his head slumped back from their embrace, his cheeks still wet with tears. "Teion, I love you." He said, his eyes closing and his head turning to the side as he spoke. His body became limp and he fell to the ground, his arm sliding from off around her neck and falling solidly onto the floor.

[Teion 0]

Her cheeks burned, her eyes stung, and her lungs were on fire. Teion's lips separated from Ryo's after a long moment and she felt the man's strength waning further. He managed a few more words that caused her heart to throb painfully in her chest once more before she watched his lids fall. Teion could practically feel the life drain from the man in her grasp, and she choked on a sharp inhale. Her sobs were audible now as her free hand slid behind Ryo's neck. She released her hold on his clothing, slipping her other hand between his arm and his side. She leaned over him, pulling his body into a tight embrace while she buried her crying face into the crook of his neck. She simply held on, her shoulders shuddering with each gasp of breath.

She had witnessed death for the first time not even a month ago. Only one player she knew had their name crossed out on the Monument of Life. But the two coming together--Ryo's life ending in her arms--rocked her core with a flood of emotion she couldn't have expected. Questions that would never be answered ran through her mind: 'Why me? Why would you choose to get involved with someone like me? Why would you die for me?'

[Ryo 0]

An all to familiar voice cried out from the top of the building. "Hon hon hon, so he went and did do it. Just as I had hoped." As Teion would look up, the mysterious French NPC would be standing on top of the roof, looking down at the couple below. "Don't you find it strange, non? That he is dead, and yet mademoiselle can still hold him." The NPC pointed out. He was right though, If Ryo really died, his body would've shattered into crystals by this point. And almost as if on cue, Ryo's body jerked, as a long deep breath entered his body. Ryo's arms instinctively wrapped around Teion, his body shivering from the entire experience. Ryo looked around, he recognized the place he was in. He was here with Teion last, when they had been poisoned by that NPC.

He could feel something soaking his neck and he looked, seeing Teion sobbing into his shoulder and look up at something quite angry. Ryo's head slowly turned upward and saw the NPC staring back at them, with that odd smile of his. Ryo understood now, at least the situation. The poison only drained him to one hp, rather than kill him. But why? Was he immune to it all of a sudden, was he strong enough to resist the poison killing him? And if so, why would the npc waste time to poison him at all. "Teion?" Ryo asked aloud, still holding onto her still terrified of the event that had happened.  "Oh good, now that he is awake I can explain." The NPC said.

[Teion 0]

Sniffles and sobs paired with erratic breaths for minute or two until a voice called out in satisfaction from above her. Teion gave a start, pulling her face away from Ryo's unmoving frame to search for the source of the taunting words. Her glistening eyes pulled up to the small ventilation opening that the players had used to enter the shop some time ago, barely able to make out the appearance of the same French waiter looking down at them with lips curled into a micheivous smile. Her brows narrowed in confusion, mind clouded and pounding as she struggled to comprehend his question. Her chin dropped back down to Ryo, his avatar still real and tangible in her arms. Had she forgotten they were stuck in a video game? This had all felt so much more real than health bars and glowing pixels.

A second later, and life seemed to surge back into the man with a sudden gasp. She felt Ryo's arms wrap around her followed by his steady trembling. Without thinking, Teion held him a bit tighter, blinking through the tears that continued to flow as the realization that he was still alive was nearly failing to process. A few moments passed, and the violette's mind went blank. It wasn't until Ryo's shaky voice called her name that she snapped out of whatever trance she had been lost in. Her chin tilted back up to the NPC looming over them with an amused expression that made Teion's stomach turn. As her emotions writhed inside of her, it was anger that took the forefront again. Her fingers curled around the fabric of Ryo's jacket, gritting her teeth before she began to shout at the artificial intelligence that taunted them.

"What the hell is your problem?!" She demanded, glaring back at the man's almost smug expression. "Does Kayaba have some kind of sick fetish for cliche dramas?" She snapped. "Is everything else not enough? You haven't taken enough people away from me, you have to track me down and pull [censored] like this?!" Teion no longer cared to hear whatever explanation the accented man had to offer. Her shoulders stiffened and raised half an inch, and she dropped her chin while her crying eyes squeezed shut. "Just leave me alone!!"

[Ryo 0]

Ryo patted Teions shoulder as she cried out. "I'm alright, help me stand." He said, as his tired limbs fought to give me support and balance. Finally standing he looked up at the man above. "You. What are you?" Ryo asked. The NPC was more than that he could stalk players, change floors, poison people. He was much more than an npc but he worse the NPC crystal. None of it made sense, unless he was an advanced quest that he and Teion triggered.

"Oh hon? Standing so soon? Even after being subjected to that poison? You are strong." The NPC cried out. "But monsier you are right. I am much, much more than your standered npc." It said before it stood and jumped inside. Instead of landing abruptly like Teion and ryo had, instead he just floated downwards to the ground, landing softly. The moment that he touched the ground Ryo was ready. Ryo drew his katana and slashed at the npc. His blade however was stopped short and rested inside the NPCs hand. The immortal object sign triggered, and ryo withdrew his blade.

"What are you, why did you do this?" Ryo asked, placing himself in front of Teion. 

"You see, I am much more advanced than your average NPC." It said it's accent growing less. "My name is Doctor Stranglove. And my mission within SAO was to find the meaning behind love. A sort of secret back program, running amoungst the normal." He said. "So, why torture us?"

"You see you two were and still are compatible. Similar interests, similar backgrounds, similar dislikes. There was nothing stopping you two from loving one another, you only needed the push." 

Ryo gritted his teeth and wobbeled slightly his katana dipping. "So you force people into a situation, that makes them fall in love? That's insane."

"There is a method to my madness, non? Because you two were poisoned you chose the act of self sacrifice. Choosing to die for the one you loved." The doctor said, his voice cracking. "It was all, so very touching." He said, mocking a cry. "But it gives me a lot of data to study and to prefect." Ryo stared at the Frenchmen, who called himself a doctor. Ryo thought about what was to happen next, what was the end game?

[Teion 0]

Teion was still furious when she helped Ryo to his feet. Standing beside him, she pulled the sides of her hands roughly across her cheeks to wipe away the remaining moisture with a clenched jaw. Her eyes narrowed while they trained on the strange NPC. Fists clenched yet again at her sides, Ryo took control of the questioning before she had a chance to lash out at him again.

The more the NPC--this twisted 'Doctor'--explained about himself and his programming and his goals, the more Teion wished this whole situation would vanish. Ever since they first encountered the NPC on the fifth floor, things had spun out of control. He teased them, pushing them further. The Doctor simply raised a hand in front of him, effortlessly catching a hefty leather-bound book by its spine after Teion had hurled towards him. "Just [censored] off!" She yelled. "I don't care about your stupid mission. Take your precious data and leave me the hell alone!"

[Ryo 0]

Ryo rushed at the NPC but was still too sluggish to actually grab him. The Doctor leaped up over Ryo, and floated back down to the ground, causing Ryo to slam into the table behind him. He and the table slid for a few inches, making a loud screech as the dry table legs scraped against the wooden floor. Ryo spun around, only to clutch his ailing side. "Right, you did your damn experiment. Now what?" Ryo asked he asked with anger more so than worriedness.

Doctor Strangelove tapped a white-gloved finger to his chin. "That is a good question. One I haven't thought of yet. But, in the meantime, I can't let the news of my existence get out just yet." He said, looking at the two with malicious intent. Ryo gritted his teeth, reaching for his blade ready to try to fend off the immortal NPC. "But!" The Frenchman said, halting Ryo in his steps. "I'm not allowed to simply kill you. You all are player characters. To do so would go against my programming. And besides, you two are my greatest success story. I can't wait to tell the other. In the meantime, why not make yourselves at home? Toodle Oo~" The Doctor laughed as he leaped up an impossible amount and out the hole, he had come in.

Ryo took a few steps forward, looking out the hole and watching the NPC disappear from sight. "Dammit!" He cursed out before starting up another coughing fit. Whatever poison that had afflicted him still had symptoms. He was no longer losing HP or being negatively ailed by it, but its effects still lingered. He dropped to one knee unable to stand anymore. He punched the ground, unable to hide his emotion. "Dammit! He got away, and now we're trapped in here." He said, looking for the note. They could send for help, but that would take days. The place they were in was unmarked, and the only reason they found it was because they had the exact coordinates to it. Mailing out their location to anyone else would mean that they'd have to manual search for it. They'd be found, just not tonight, maybe not even the next day. "Teion," Ryo spoke out. "About what I said, just forget I did. I mean, I thought I was dying, and tension was kinda high. And besides, you said you've got what's his name now, so it all evens out." He said, speaking fast at first, but near the end, his speech got slower. He did love her, more than anything. But he didn't want to force that onto her. 

[Teion 0]

She bristled with anger, her patience for the deranged Doctor and his so-called experiments all but gone. "What other?" She hissed, but of course the NPC wouldn't give her the satisfaction of an answer. In seconds, the mysterious figure bid them farewell and disappeared through the passageway to the roof.

Teion's tight fists began to tremble, and while Ryo cursed to himself and let out another string of coughs she turned away. The woman walked a few steps forward and brought up a hand, pushing her bangs up as gloved fingers ran through her hair until the heel of her palm crashed into her forehead. She was still trying to comprehend everything that had happened. They weren't dying anymore. Instead, they were stuck inside of an abandoned potion shop outside of town.

He called her name, and Teion stopped. It was as if the exchange just a few minutes prior replayed in her mind: the color draining from Ryo's face as he lay weak and paralyzed on the ground. He said all those things about her. And then she...

Teion's open hand fell and clamped itself around her mouth, eyes wide. Oh Gods, she had kissed him. She had kissed him, and he had told her he loved her, and now here they were--Ryo was still alive, and they were trapped in a small building in the middle of nowhere. Her chest suddenly felt tight, and burning frustration was slowly replaced with growing unease. She had wanted to strike something just to let the anger out only seconds ago, but now all she wanted to do was curl up and hide away in a place where nobody could find her. The violette took a couple more hesitant steps forward to bring herself to the opposite side of the room where she turned and pressed her back up against the wall. She slid downwards, sitting and pulling her knees in close to her chest in one smooth motion. Her arms folded and rested on top of her knees, standing tall enough to cover the bottom half of her face. "...Sorry." Was all she could manage.

[Ryo 0]

Ryo forced himself to stand, long enough to grab a bit of wood and toss it onto the old fire spot. He opened his menu and started a fire. A warm and orange glow filled the dark room, allowing more detail in the room to be seen. Smoke raised from the fire and out the hole in the ceiling and into the night sky. Ryo patted his hands clean of dust and dirt and went to study the room. There was a solitary bed in view now, complete with a blanket and a single pillow. There was a large curtain, Ryo pulled it aside dust falling aside as he did. It showed a large mural. It was pretty, but nothing spectacular. Perhaps the alchemist hired a painter to make the drab, near the windowless house a bit brighter. Ryo took the curtain and yanked it off the wall. He dragged the curtains remains over to another spot in the room, away from the bed. He walked over to Teion and stood several feet back. "Hey. There's a bed there. You can, sleep there when you get tired. I guess." Ryo said, not making eye contact. "I sent a message out for help. They'll find us, but it'll about maybe a week before they do. Maybe faster if we have the fire going." He said, looking at the smoke trail that went up into the night sky. Ryo turned back and sat next to the campfire, watching tiny embers dance around and jitter out of the fire. He could understand why Teion didn't want to talk. She was forced into this situation by him. If he hadn't, if he didn't have feelings for her then the NPC wouldn't have done all of this. "If you're not going to bed, you can at least sit by the fire. It's warmer." He said, looking back at Teion. She wouldn't though. She had found another man shortly before this encounter, saved him from himself, and was maybe in love with him. Ryo stared at the fire still, wishing this entire day to be erased.

[Teion 0]

The fire came to life in the center of the room just as Teion's forehead collided with her arm. She sat curled up against the wall for a few seconds until Ryo addressed her again, and her heart slowly sank in her chest when she took in his words. A week? Would it really take that long for someone to find this place and help them escape it? She thought to her own list of contacts. The only person she might be able to reach out to was Max, but the thought of doing so caused a small knot to form in her stomach.

She heard Ryo's footsteps carry him a couple of paces away and back to the fire. She waited, a heavy and uncomfortable silence hanging over them for several minutes before she willed herself to move. Teion picked herself up, wordlessly moving to the opposite side of the crackling flames and sitting herself down again. She wrapped her arms around her legs and pulled them close to her chest, lowering her head until she stared over her knees at the dancing embers.

The continued silence never lessened its tension or discomfort, and Teion found it much more off-putting than she anticipated. Another couple of minutes passed, and her lids slid closed with the tiniest sigh of defeat exiting her nostrils. "Look. I know everything got...really weird." Her eyes opened halfway to watch the flames flickering. "It's... I don't know how I feel, about a lot of things. I'm not good with words, and my emotions go all over the place. I never stick around long enough for someone to get too close. Looks like I really screwed up this time." The words she picked were meant to lighten the oppressive mood, but she couldn't get herself to chuckle along with them. "I think... You're better off staying away from me." She said plainly. "I'm sorry if that's mean of me to say. Or, I'll just shut up if you don't wanna talk about it." Her voice had dimmed as she was starting to think she shouldn't have forced herself to speak up in the first place.

[Ryo 0]

Ryo was actually quite surprised that Teion got up and moved. He watched as she sat down across the fire from him. Ryo didn't say anything, he had already said his peace. He was content with being silent for the night until he had grown tired and fallen asleep. For minutes she sat there saying nothing. Just like he had thought. He sighed, and uncrossed his legs, only to stop moving as Teion spoke. Ryo listened, always seeming to be surprised by Teion. Ryo closed his eyes. "No. I want to talk about it." He said, looking at her as he moved his feet around. "Look, all that stuff I said when I was, dying." He said, not happy to rethink about that. "I meant it. But not once did I ask for you to pick me over him, nor did I try to thrust myself upon you like some sad man who needs love to get by in life." Ryo said, explaining how he felt. "I do love you. But, you don't feel the same about me." He said, feeling down all of a sudden. "And I get that, I really do. And I'm perfectly fine with respecting boundaries, and trying to not make things weird or awkward." Ryo chuckled and rubbed the back of his neck. "A bit too late for that thou, huh?" He said flashing a smile. "And it's not like I could stay away from you. Even if I wanted to." He moved an arm around, showing off the inside of the building. "Kinda stuck here for a week or so, so gonna be pretty hard to avoid you." He said, chuckling. He rubbed the back of his neck again, somewhat embarrassed. Ryo stared at the fire for a moment, before asking another question. "Teion, what possessed you to kiss me anyway? If you feel so strongly against about me, why did you do it?" He asked, looking up from the fire and at her.

[Teion 0]

Teion shifted uncomfortably when Ryo spoke up in turn. Despite having been the one to initiate the conversion, she steadily felt more unsure about continuing it with each second that passed as he explained his side of things. She didn't have any words left to disagree with him. What he said made sense, and the acceptance of their difference in feelings he displayed, at least on the surface, caused her to feel a small sense of relief. Teion's thumb ran over her elbow while she tried to mold her thoughts into more words.

"I don't get--" She stopped herself, giving a small shake of her head when she realized the statement would have been pointless. Another tiny, defeated sigh, and she started again in a mumble, "I wish I understood all of this stuff." Her eyes closed again, and her brows narrowed in a kind of frustration. "You're right. I don't love you. I don't--" Her brows twitched and she hesitated, struggling to sort out her thoughts. Her lips pursed behind her arms and a small puff of air escaped her nose in half a chuckle at Ryo's attempted humor. "Is this the part where we draw a line across the room?" She countered.

A silence fell over them again, as Teion had given up on conversation. Ryo tugged at her attention one more time with another question, though, and his words cause her to stiffen up. She felt his violet eyes on her, and her head dipped just a little bit lower behind the makeshift wall that she pulled closer to her chest. She fought with herself for another few long seconds before forcing out a reply. "I--I thought you were dying, okay?" Her fingers started to fidget amongst themselves as she heard herself sounding a bit more defensive than she had intended. Her eyes shifted to the side of the room, staring at the mural that Ryo had earlier uncovered. "It's not like I hate you... And I wasn't trying to pity you... Aaugh, I don't know!" She was mumbling before her frustration got the better of her and she attempted to dismiss the topic with a small, embarrassed growl.