Grimmore: Kindred Spirits

"Hell yes," she wastes no time in saying. Does he really think she'd stick around when she's made it clear she doesn't want to be here? She might still have some fondness for her, but it's not enough to make her stay if she's suddenly given free reign.

That instantly clarified everything. She was here against her will, she couldn't leave because of "legal contracts and stuff," and her employer - the woman at the head of the church - was dangerous. This probably had something to do with the fact she was a demon which meant he, too, was in danger.

"Thank you for answering my inquiries, Miss Runi."

"You're welcome," she says. She gives him a big grin, then turns her attention to the rest of the people present in the room. They're all looking in direction. It definitely isn't because of the conversation - they were speaking quietly and vaguely enough that an outsider listener wouldn't suspect anything.

The real reason, however, is sitting right across from her: Cornyx.

Any decent city relies on the tourists that arrive there, but Cornyx stands out among even the more unusual of Grimmore's visitors. It's not for any particular reason. He just does. She's starting to suspect that word is going to spread about the newcomer she's taken under her wing, which means it's only a matter of time until she figures out that she's found the source of that aura. Shoot.

She turns her attention away from their impeding doom and instead focuses on the rather cute waitress that's stopped by to take their order. Her name's on her tag - Heli - but she's a regular at the church these days, so Runi doesn't even need to check.

Cornyx, too, could feel the eyes on him, and he'd never liked attention - he'd been raised from an early age to learn that any attention meant negative attention and that got him hurt more often than not. Prison had only served to reinforce that. His senses sharpened and his heart rate picked up slightly but he didn't look in the direction of those who gazed at him and tried to take it in stride, focusing on his menu and letting Miss Runi address the waitress. Normally he'd do it just to be a gentleman but the last thing he wanted was to have more attention drawn to himself than he should.

"Hey, Heli," she says, giving the waitress a warm smile. "Could I have one of your steaks? You know, the way I always have it. I know it's only midday but I'm absolutely starving. And I'll have a glass of milk with that, too. The usual."

Heli gives a curt little nod before turning her attention to Cornyx.

"An-and the same for me, th-thank you," he said with a small nod and a polite smile.

Heli nods, her gaze lingering on Cornyx as she goes to turn around. Runi lets out a little sigh under her breath when Heli finally leaves; she had been terrified that something would go wrong. Apparently, it hadn't, but there's still a chance that either she or Cornyx will mess up and ruin everything.

He closed his eyes for a moment. Around him, there was a noticeable temperature drop, but it wasn't severe - no frost or ice formed. He was silent as he reined in the demon in him that awoke with his fear.

She's admittedly a little spooked by the sudden drop in temperature, but she doesn't let Cornyx know that. The poor guy's probably getting nervous from all the funny looks. She had her fair share of hers back when she first came to Grimmore, so she gets his discomfort. Still, him going and showing his demonic features thanks to his fear wouldn't be a good thing.

She reaches a hand across the table and grabs onto his, giving it a tight squeeze to show that she's there for him. "So, Cornyx," she says, grinning from ear to ear in the hopes it'll make him smile, too, "what brought you to Grimmore in the first place?"

His initial instinct was to recoil at the physical contact, but he stopped himself. Runi wasn't going to hurt him. Not of her own volition, anyways.

"I had nowhere to go but I needed to be somewhere else than where I was, so I wandered, and after some time I stumbled upon this place," Cornyx explained.

"I remember when I used to do a lot of wandering," she affectionately reminisces. Some of it was honestly quite miserable, but there were a few perks to it that made her want to do it again after being stuck in Grimmore for so long. "I think that's something that people like us do a lot - we don't have a place to call our own, so we try finding one by searching."

Cornyx nodded in agreement. "Truer words were never spoken, Miss Runi. It's unfortunate that so many of us fail to find a place - or unwittingly stumble into the wrong one."

She gives him a smile. "So what was your old home like, if you don't mind me asking? I haven't been out of Grimmore for a long time, and I'm curious to see what the rest of the world is like."

"Uh..." He wasn't sure how to answer that. Truth be told, he hadn't really had a home since the orphanage, and the closest thing he'd had coming to Grimmore from prison was a few hotel rooms and sleeping under a bridge more often than not. Cornyx laughed a little awkwardly. "Well, t-t-t-to tell you the truth I-I actually h-haven't r-r-really h-had a home in a l-long time. I-I came here r-r-r-right after I w-was r-released from prison." He didn't mention the fact that he had lived somewhere for nearly six months before Evelyn died, and that was when he'd started going on the move again.

Her gaze softens at the sudden return of the stutter, and the words that it accompanies. "I'm sorry," she says. She reaches across the table and grabs onto his hands. She squeezes them firmly in the hopes that it'll make him feel better, before leaning back in her seat as Heli returns with their drinks.

"Thanks," she tells the waitress. Heli gives her a small smile - they are part of the same church, after all - before returning to the rest of her duties.