A Song of Fire and Ice

Raven stayed quiet, leading her around through to the room he was staying in. He opened the door, letting her in before stepping in and closed the door behind her. Then he let out a sigh and shrugged. "I tend not to carry much. I travel a lot so I don't have much to mess up a room with."

He walked over to the kitchen and pulled out some glasses. He turned on the faucet and began filling them slowly letting his mind work. She wasn't working with the criminal. That much he could write off as fact. Could he trust her? Maybe. She was a fellow Dragon Slayer, even if she was a bit misguided. When he finished filling them he walked over to the small table that sat near a couch and set down one of the glasses.

"Feel free to make yourself comfortable," Raven shrugged before setting his glass on the nightstand. They'd both just been fighting, and so water would be good. But he didn't touch his as he flopped back on the bed. Then he gave a wry grin. "Fighting a Dragon Slayer is so messy."

"We're both covered in dust and stuff from the explosions," Raven decided he'd try to keep things light hearted for the time being. If he could avoid a fight with her, that would be better for their whole not getting caught plan. He made no move to get up from the bed, feeling oddly sore after that clash. "I should apologize though. I made the assumption that you were with him based on my training and experience. But... I was wrong."

Unlike Raven, Kotone hardly moved, even when she was handed the glass. Why did she feel so awkward? It wasn’t like she could even stand the guy, and he hadn’t flirted or anything. She knew she was being dumb, but even Kotone couldn’t help how she felt a lot of the time. Actually, if she were being honest… especially Kotone couldn’t. Façade or not, Kotone still felt the anger she displayed so readily and easily. She didn’t thank him when she was handed the water, and she didn’t move when he told her to make herself comfortable. She just stood there in the man’s inn room feeling far more awkward than she knew she should.

She looked down at herself when he said they were dirty from the explosions, letting out a sigh. Now she wanted a shower. Rough and tumble as she was… she couldn’t deny how much she liked the feeling of cleanliness. “So you did exactly like I did,” she corrected him, not really picking a fight but not admitting she was wrong either. “See? Understandable, at least.” She shuffled a bit, but remained standing. She didn’t want to sit on the futon couch, or on the bed next to him. Both felt awkward. That left her with… well where she was standing worked as well as anywhere else.

"For someone so gun ho you sure are being shy," Raven shrugged from his spot. He closed his eyes and visible relaxed. Unlike Kotone, he didn't feel like being awkward or shy. And so he wasn't going to be shy, meek, or quiet. Well, quiet when she was speaking maybe.

"So what brings the famed hero to Cerulean if you weren't after the thief?" Raven asked as he sat up. His tone wasn't mocking or condescending. He was simply curious. And it wasn't like him to make fun of someone's disposition. She dug her own grave getting proclaimed a hero.

After asking he stood up and downed his glass of water before wandering back into the kitchen. He was hungry after expending as much magic as he had. While it wasn't anywhere near his limit, it was more than he usually dished out. So he began pulling ingredients out for a steak he had stashed away for a rainy day.

Onions were also quickly pulled out. The problem with them was his enhanced senses, but they added flavor he liked to the food. Of course, the steak wasn't the only reason he pulled the onions out. He knew what Kotone was, and he knew about dragon slayer senses. He'd share the steak if she was hungry, but she was going to suffer a little for letting the thief slip by. Not that he'd tell her of course. To her, he was a normal human who knew little more than rumors about her and her magic.

Kotone shrugged at Raven's shrug, not sure why he cared so much that she wasn't talking. After all, most people wanted her to shut up once she'd lost her temper. This man was confusing, and there was something off about him that didn't quite make her feel any better about being alone with him in his inn room. Yes, she'd never been in a room alone with a guy before, at least one she wasn't also trying to fight. It made her feel on-edge. Why, she wasn't quite sure. She'd never figured she would be.

He finally got up, asking what brought her to Cerulean, if not to catch some petty thief. "I travel a lot," she told him finally, shaking her head and trying to not think so much about trivial matters. "Why, can't a girl just feel like staying in town for a few days?" Of course, by then, he was chopping onions. Badly. Kotone’s eyes already stung. The precise way he moved the knife told her he knew how to cook. It also told her he was doing that on purpose. So that was how he was going to be, was it? Fine. She would tough it out and not give him the satisfaction. Kotone stood in her spot, eyes watering and stinging, but she refused to acknowledge it aloud. Yes, like he’d wanted it was torture, but she wasn’t about to show it.

On the bright side, she’d stopped feeling nervous. He’d rather be a jerk than the type of person she figured might go after a thief. All hero-y and whatnot. The handsome part hardly mattered when she could barely stand to be in the same room as him, and it hardly mattered in the first place, considering she wasn’t the romantic type. Kotone, mostly out of spite, decided to go and sit semi-casually on Raven’s bed, trying to act like the onion wasn’t bothering her to the best of her ability.

"I never said you couldn't," Raven said as he finished up the onion. In truth, his own eyes burned more than hers since he was at ground zero. But oh well. He moved on to some garlic, and there was a pepper off to the side waiting for the knife. "I was just curios. There's no need to defend yourself when I'm not attacking."

"Still, it's a funny co-incidence that we both came here simply because we're wandering," Raven mused as he moved the garlic to the onion bowl and grabbed the peppers. They were just simple bell peppers, nothing to hot since he was going to be sharing most likely. "I didn't find out about the thief until after I got here."

He fell silent as he diced up the peppers. His mind was torn as he glanced at Kotone. Despite brattiness, part of him wanted to get to know her. Not just because she was cute, but because she was a fellow Dragon Slayer. She was the first person in awhile who might be able to relate to him.

After all, he was part dragon. And that meant she was too, right? Being friend with the humans was good and all, but he could never truly trust them. How could he when he had to keep his heritage a secret? At the same time though, he'd lost people and had been abandoned. Part of him didn't want her in his room at that moment so he'd stop wanting to make an attachment he'd regret later.

Everything Raven did was attacking to Kotone. Not directly, maybe not even on purpose, but he, like just about any other adult was a threat, though not in the same way most people thought of threats. Everyone was someone you could potentially get close to, and she didn't want that, no matter how much she sometimes did. Those who she was even remotely close to, like Taiga or Roejaster, were accidents. She wouldn't admit they were friends, even to herself, but she did end up respecting some of the people she talked to, despite everything.

The fact that Kotone had stopped being so hostile overall made Raven likely to be another accident if he didn't make her too mad first. Those she left on friendly terms with were likely to get at least a halfway friendly greeting as long as she didn't have anything against them at the start of their next meeting.

“Who blows into town looking for some petty thief?” she asked Raven casually, looking matter-of-fact in her statement, shrugging for emphasis. The moment Raven looked away, she wiped the burning tears from her eyes that she’d been holding in to the best of her ability. The onion was fading quickly, at least. “I’d be more surprised if you were here for him, since you don’t live here.”

Kotone found this man curious as well, though why, she wasn’t sure. He was certainly judgemental and presumptuous for someone who couldn’t understand dragon slayers or what they did. She was there to protect. It was the sacred charge her father had left her with. She was given her power because she was supposed to use it to be a hero to people. She had always strove to do as her father had asked.

Kotone didn’t want to be hungry. She also didn’t want to be dirty. She felt disgusting now that he’d pointed it out, and despite saying nothing, she didn’t ask him about the food. She wasn’t so desperate she had to ask her rival for food. Unfortunately, her stomach disagreed loudly with her decision. Sid might have as well, had he not found a spot to sleep the moment the action was over in a corner of the inn room.

Soon onion, garlic, peppers, and butter were sauteing a pan. It sizzled quietly and let out an aroma Raven found pleasing. He began sprinkling in some dried herbs, and stirred them into the vegetable mixture frying in the pan. At Kotone's comment he turned and looked back at her with a curious glance.

"You're probably right," Raven shrugged as he frowned and turned back to what he was cooking. Something was missing... but his mind was distracted and on other things besides the food. He looked over his seasonings trying to figure out what it was, but eventually sighed.

Letting the vegetables simmer he walked over to the window, and noted the paladins were still out in force. He supposed it was to be expected after the guildless order was put through in response to the explosion there was rumors floating around about.

"You can use my shower if you want to clean up," Raven said with a shrug as he closed the curtain and headed for the food. "It'll take me a bit to finish up the food, so it'll be a bit before I can use it. So you might as well take the first shower."

At least the man was listening to reason. Of course she was right! She nodded, feeling a bit victorious despite the fact that he was only talking about how odd it would be to come to town looking for a small-time thief. She sat on the bed as he played with seasonings and other stuff, looking a bit absorbed in his cooking. Kotone could cook, but she rarely got very fancy. She didn’t have a reason to – she wasn’t a very picky eater.

Then he suggested that she use the shower while he cooked, and acted like it was a given she would just bathe at his place. Her eyes widened for a second before she blushed. “N-now hold on!” she demanded, “Who said I was going to bathe here? I’m a lady, and I don’t just go strip where any pervert could stare at me, you know!” Yeah, lady was ironic and hypocritical. Her own self-image didn’t exactly match reality. Of course, he was probably the only one in the room, and she had no proof he was any sort of pervert. She realized rather quickly though, exactly how gross she felt. “… Fine, I’ll be quick. Don’t come near that door,” she told him distrustfully.

It wasn’t that she didn’t trust him about it. She didn’t trust him anyway. It was a luxury she didn’t really give like… anyone on purpose. It was mostly that she was still pretty nervous about being in his inn room, having been sitting on his bed, even if it was defiance. She quickly hopped in the shower, not even trying to make it warm, since she enjoyed the cold anyway. She sighed, trying to calm herself down a bit. It wasn’t like he could see through the door, and he was busy with food anyway. She could hear him working despite the noise of the running shower. Kotone cleaned herself off rather quickly, using his soap and things because she’d left her bag in the other room and wasn’t redressing to go get it.

Finally, the dragon slayer emerged from the bathroom, her hair damp and cold, and she looked much cleaner, not to mention more relaxed. She had managed to calm herself down with her alone time. The shower had been longer than she meant for it to, but whatever. “How’s it going?” she asked him cooly, drying off her wet hair the best she could before brushing it, sitting on his bed again. She left her hair down so it would dry properly. She sounded a mix of calm and defensive, like she was being purposefully aloof and guarded. "I already gave you my name, so what's yours, Blaze?" she asked him.

Raven let out a soft chuckle after the door closed. She was a strange one. Prideful until need became well... a need. Oh well, he was busy making food anyway. It was... strange, her being there. Not in the sense that they'd just been enemies less than an hour ago. Not in the sense that she was a stranger he'd just brought to his place of rest. No... it was strange because they were both Dragon Slayers. Draco hinted that there were probably others, but he never expected to run into one.

Nor did he expect to fight against one. Well, that's not true... He was told not to trust the shadows. Maybe there was a shadow dragon slayer out there that he might one day have to beat down. But still.... as strange as that was, Kotone was familiar. Something about her scent. He'd...

That's when she came out and his attention turned back her her, his train of thought gone. He turned back to her, pulling the steak off in the process. It was about done and just needed to set for a couple minutes to finish cooking and cool for people that didn't thrive off of fire and burning like he did. "It's going."

"My name?" Raven grinned as he was pulling out other dishes and such. He had to admit, she looked better with her hair down and after cleaning up. Of course, that could be said about a lot of people. "You just named me. Though, my real name is Raven."

Kotone finished brushing her hair. She was in similar clothing to before she’d had her shower. A lot of her clothing was rather similar in style, after all, but at least it was cleaner, and she wasn’t stuck in a towel or dirty clothes. She’d had her bag with her belongings in it when she’d chased after the thief. Her stomach growled loudly again, and she completely ignored it like it never happened. If she didn’t want to ask him for food her stomach would just have to behave. “Yeah, I think I prefer Blaze,” she told him simply. What she didn’t tell him was she usually preferred her own nicknames over what people were actually called.

She stood up, shaking her head slightly and walking over to the counter near Raven. She leaned onto her elbows on the counter, her long hair spilling over her shoulders now that it was free. Her amber eyes regarded him curiously. She still couldn’t place what interested her about him so much, aside from claiming she wanted to not let him out of her sight until she beat him. There was actually something else though. He wasn’t bad looking, she’d said that already. But that had never mattered before. She would have to think about it. Her eyes scanned him, followed by the food he was making. Kotone was primarily a carnivore in her diet, and those steaks smelled delicious, especially this close. Her stomach protested again.

“So, Blaze,” she once again refused to act on her knew knowledge and call him Raven, “You know I’m not letting you out of my sight until I get that rematch, right?” she informed him matter-of-factly. Now would be a horrible time. She could still barely hear excited orders being barked by the Councilmen. Some other time, some other place, she supposed. At least now she had a goal for when she left Cerulean Town. It also meant she was probably going to have to find someplace to sleep outside nearby so he couldn't sneak away on her. The innkeeper here, now that she’d stopped to think where she was, was the exact one that would probably never want to see her again after icing up a good portion of his hotel in a rage last year…

Blaze was an apt name, one Raven couldn’t really argue with. He was sure it’d grow on him before too long. And it wasn’t like he could complain… he had a name before he was Raven too. Well, he supposed that didn’t count. Whoever that was died during that bandit raid. He was who he was now, not back then. Shaking his head again he cut the steak in half, and carried two plates with forks and knives to the table.

“Yeah yeah,” Raven rolled his eyes. She was persistent… and it made him wonder if that was something all dragon slayers shared in. So far he knew two who were rather persistent, including himself. But that was something to dwell on later. Instead he grinned as he sat down on the couch by the table. “I think right now though, your stomach wants to wrestle with that steak.”

That being said, he began cutting his into cubes slowly. He was hungry, but he wasn’t going to show how much energy he’d spent on her. If she wanted to follow him, fine. But he wasn’t going to give her the illusion that they were on par with each other either. Or worse, that she was better. That certainly wasn’t happening.

“So,” He continued after a moment. She was rather confusing… and he didn’t exactly want a tag along either. “Since you’re not letting me out of your sight, I guess that means we’ll be traveling together for awhile. You sure you’re okay with following some strange guy around not knowing what he does or where he’s going?”

"yeah, I guess it does mean that," Kotone said simply, not caring that he saw her tearing into the food now that she had it. The fight had tired her out, but really, she wasn't as concerend with manners with him as she would hypocritically claim if teased about it. She was a mostly solitary dragon slayer, after all. What use were manners when you spent most of your time out in the woods? Not that she didn't know manners, and she used them around people she cared to impress. This jerk wasn't one of them.

Admittedly, the food was very good. Better than what she could cook... not that she was a bad cook. She did it all the time after all. It was a bit spicy for her tastes, but then Kotone wasn't the biggest fan of spices, though she would eat them without problem. After a long pause, she addressed the rest of his statement. "What, you think I'm some helpless little girl who needs to worry about someone like you?" she stated more as a statement than a question. It was obvious she didn't share the same concern as most women. She was strong, and she wasn't intimidated by anyone, man or woman. Even the ones that actually were stronger than her.

“I don’t really know anything about you,” Raven countered with an impassive shrug. He took a moment to savor his own cooking. If he was a cat, he might have purred. But he was a dragon slayer, so he settled for not and glanced down at Kotone. “And no, knowing about the rumors doesn’t count as knowing a person. So I ask, simply to be sure I know what I’m being stuck with.”

His tone had been light, despite what he said. It was hard to tell if he was taking the situation seriously. But he didn’t really care how she perceived it. She had attacked him when he’d been on the verge of completing a job. All because she was some hero in shining armor. Soon his bits of steak were gone, and he sipped at his drink.

Raven then gave Kotone a sidelong look for a moment. He couldn’t tell why she decided following him was a good idea. Nor could he tell if it was just a pride thing, or something more. She was a dragon slayer after all… and if she thought him a threat to her mission, she might try to bring him down.

That’s what he was going to chalk it up to. That she was a dragon slayer following a potential threat. Once she figured he wasn’t going to blow up the country, she’d leave him alone. So he stood and grabbed up his empty plate. Walking to the kitchen he started running some water to clean the dishes.

“I plan to go looking for work around town tomorrow,” He stated indifferently. He was relaxed, despite the internal conflict now in his head. He needed to ditch her, it was just a matter of how. “Since the thief got away during our battle, I won’t be collecting the reward on him. And while I doubt anything will turn up with the paladins out in force, it doesn’t hurt to look either.”

"The thief wouldn't have gotten away if you had bothered to explain anything~" Kotone chanted below her breath as Raven told her of his backup plan. Kotone didn't do mundane tasks. She could take care of herself in the wild, and didn't need the money, nor did she especially want it. "Out of town would be smarter anyway," Kotone shrugged. She'd been chased out of town more than once. She'd been chased out of this town at least once Well she nearly had... had it not been for Roejaster. People tended to remember things around here, if only for a short while.

The female dragon slayer was determined to not care what the man did with himself, instead acting completely uncaring once she shrugged. "At any rate, Hot Head, the apology meal was nice. I'm going to take the couch here tonight. Stay away from it if you value your appendages." Kotone got up from the bed, grabbing her bag and walking into the bathroom. A few minutes later, she emerged in a white tank top and short shorts. Her hair was down and she was finishing brushing her hair. She had apparently meant what she said, and didn't plan on leaving again today. "In fact, I'm tired, so I'm going to go to sleep early." And wake up before Raven, she added mentally. With that, she plopped onto the couch and turned away, determined to not talk again until she woke up. "Don't try to sneak out and abandon me. I am a very light sleeper."

He bit back every comment that came to mind as she spoke. She had a point, out of town was smarter. But money paid for inn rooms, and let him gather information easier. Plus, what he earned but didn't need went towards helping people. Money rebuilt houses, bought clothes, and other things that were taken for granted until they were lost.

He stood up and took the dishes to the kitchen once she left to get changed. Once she returned he looked over at her. She had a nice body at least, even if her personality was going to barely be bearable. Closing his eyes he shrugged slowly. She was freeloading, forcefully one might add, and she was making demands of him. It was utterly ridiculous... But he'd bear with it for now.

It wasn't worth revealing he was a Dragon Slayer. Especially to her. It wasn't worth getting in trouble with the Paladins, or the bills incurred by burning down the inn. So he stayed silent on his thoughts about her attitude. Instead he offered a backhanded wave to her as he turned for his room.

“Yeah yeah,” He said stopping in the door frame. He squared his shoulders and looked over at her for a moment. “Just make sure you stay out of trouble. I'd like to wake up in a room free of Paladins or ornry townsfolk.” And with that he walked into his room, closed the door, and flopped onto his bed.

What kind of a mess was he in now...? He didn't need a tag along. Nor did he want one. It seemed life was intent on throwing people into his life. It didn't work out before... Life should just give up on thrusting people into his life. He was grateful to Draco and all... but the dragon had ensured he was going to live a solitary life.

Even as these thoughts raced through his head however... he dozed off, and soon, sleep had taken him.