Her statement hadn’t been said right away, that she would allow him to stay. That came later. Her discomfort of him and his magic still lingered, but as he loosened, talking to her about what he did and didn’t know, she managed to do so as well. The thought that he could be toying with her still remained, but somehow she could tell that wasn’t the case. For whatever reason, the more he spoke with her, the more this feeling of comfort arose. She could see his nervousness, as much as he tried to hide it, and read his discomfort and his vulnerability.

She learned that he was brought back with only basics. He didn’t know his name, didn’t know the way he died, didn’t even recall the magic until he was ordered to use it by the necromancer that had Risen him. He could remember two languages: Evolian and Emtirian. Tya guessed that, given his complexion, facial composition, and his hair color, it was Emtirian. It was common of them to have a slight slant to monolid eyes as well as dark hair.

She deduced all this only to have him point out the way he pronounced things- that his accent differed from her own with ‘r’s that rolled and letters that became smooth breaths- both easy signs of a native Emtirian.

She didn’t sleep that night. Instead she allowed him to have the bed, blew out two of three candles, and sat at her desk rereading a book she’d already read cover to cover at least three times.

He woke the next morning, curious as to where she kept her food, and at that question, she paused. She had no need for food, though she’d created a sack-like organ within her body to contain it should she eat regardless. It wasn’t mandatory, and even if she did eat, she was met with a consequence other people would no doubt find unpleasant--- she’d vomit ash when the food burned up and needed to be dispelled from her body.

Straightening, she looked at him somewhat nervously, then looked to the cave’s entrance. “I don’t have food.” She told him honestly, and he gave her an odd look in response. Rather than assuming she just didn’t eat, he caught the way she looked to the entrance, then nodded at what seemed to be some sort of epiphany of his own. “You hunt, then?”

A somewhat choked ‘uhm’ left her before she nodded. She didn't need to keep the secret, and yet when presented with the option to out herself, she found herself saying “yes, of course" rather than telling the truth. She knew well that it mattered little- that it may even be found intriguing by some, to be in the presence of a rarity such as herself, but her core couldn't help but flare up with fear at the notion. It just wasn't something she should do. Why? She didn't know. Her mother had always told her never to do it and while she'd yet to find the reason, there had to be one. Otherwise she would not have been so adamant with it, right?

He got to his feet, motioning for her to follow, then starting toward the curve that would lead out. Nervously clasping her hands over her stomach, she shuffled in tow, eyes cast down to watch their steps.

Her portion of the forest, or at least so she’d call it, was quite nice. It was quiet, just along the edge of a steep hill. This was the hill inside which her cave had been naturally carved (she assumed, naturally, it didn’t seem man-made). The hill itself was primarily brown dirt, with patches of grass scattered, and the trees didn’t grow up the sides of it, though there were a few small ones on the top. Some small shrubs on the sides, but nothing more. As the ground leveled, a few steps in front of her cave, the grass became greener and the trees became thick.

A road wasn’t far, but from her cave, she couldn’t see it, nor could a passer see her cave from the road. But the hill itself could, and this was why many people made their way over. In the rain, they’d hope for some crevice or alcove in its side in which they could take shelter, and with clear skies, they’d hike to the top to see if they could place the capital, ‘Also Named’ Evoles.

Not far from her home was a small stream. Tya took to it at least once every two weeks to get water so she may wipe down her outer body and clean its hair. It was a nice place to sit, and even if she wasn’t overly fond of water, she enjoyed the sound and watching the wildlife that would come to it. When Venat was out and chasing away any heavy gray clouds, she’d take books out to it, or simply sit some feet away so she could meditate in the sounds of nature.

The Man had led her out and through the oaks, moving so heavily that no animals dared come near to begin with. Tya followed behind, taking note of where they wandered so they could find their way back home when the time came. Fortunately, it didn’t seem they ventured far, or in any way she was unfamiliar with, so when he finally gave up, he huffed and allowed her to take them back to the cave.

He sat back onto her bed when they arrived, looking to the ground with what seemed to her like some childish form of shame.

Curiously, her head tilted to the side so she may look at him better, and in doing so drew his attention upward to her. She straightened, a hand resting over her stomach as she studied his expression for a moment.

Pouted lips loosened, and black brows furrowed lightly in her direction as she watched him. His question wasn’t verbalized, but the splaying of his hands and movement of his shoulders asked it well enough.

“You are upset,” she answered, motioning out to him with her free hand. He withdrew a bit, glancing downward as if displeased that she mentioned it at all. “Why?”

He frowned somewhat exaggeratedly, then his nose wrinkled and he bit the inside of his cheek. “I… failed to supply food for either of us.”

That was all? Her free hand moved to join the other, resting over it as her nails lightly raked across her skin. It seemed so trivial, to be upset that he couldn’t manage such a thing, but she supposed that food was particularly important to people. But even so, she hadn’t shown any sign of being displeased with his failure, so why should he, especially if it involved her as well. Perhaps if he was upset about his inability to feed himself, that would make sense but he’d said ‘us’.

Shaking her head, the elemental simply replied with “stop it.”

His eyes narrowed at her then, watching her skeptically as if he was waiting for her to say something else. When nothing came, he dramatically thrust his arms out to his sides. “Why didn’t I think of that?”

“Why didn’t you?” she replied, not at all catching on to the fact that he was being sarcastic.

When she clearly didn’t catch it, the skeptical look overcame him once more. “Because you’re offering me refuge and I am immediately a disappointment.”

Turning away from him to move to her desk, she just shrugged a shoulder lightly, a hand reaching for whatever book was currently on top of the tallest stack, then she said “I have no idea where you got the notion that I’m disappointed.”

He quieted at that, and as she glanced in his direction, she could see that he was watching her movements as carefully as she had been his just moments before. For once, the eyes on her wasn’t exactly an uncomfortable feeling. She was more curious about it than anything, which in itself, was odd to her. She’d always hated being looked at before her isolation, and the recent outings proved she still despised the sensation. Made her worry that, if they stared too long, they’d notice how incomplete her body still was. But when he did it, it wasn’t so jarring, though it likely should have been. He had an inherent creepiness about him that actually didn’t faze her much.

Her head tilted once again then, a hand moving idly along the back of the book she’d brought to her chest.

Why was it that he was different from others?

Rather than allowing her to dwell on that thought, The Man interrupted with sigh-laced words, asking “you’re not upset that you don’t get to eat today?”

“No,” she assured, turning her head to look at him only for a moment before circling around to the other side of her desk where her chair was.

“And you’re just going to sit and read?”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

She looked from him, to the far wall of the cave as if it would give her an answer to that question. When it didn’t, she found herself shrugging once more. “It’s what I do every day.”

“You don’t get bored?”

“I do, yes, but then I allow myself to study other things. Things that aren’t the least bit useful to me,” she shook her head, leaning forward to point out a particular one, the title of which was “Mysteries of the World”. As she drew back again, she looked at him again.

He leaned to read the title, then looked at her again. “Mysteries of the world?” he questioned, and she nodded to confirm. “What are the mysteries?”

The question caught her off guard a bit, and she went quiet as she thought it over. The first that came to mind did so as it was freshly mentioned: that of Shiratori. As her mind wandered, others popped up as well: The Gates of Eklihr which were massive obsidian carvings that were illegible until certain events happened in the world, The Circle of Cinders which was a ring of volcanoes no one could pass, the Xora Mountains which would mysteriously kill any who climbed them—there were many, and thinking of each perked her right up.

With the excitement, a thought briefly appeared in her head, and before she could move to disregard it, she found it spilling out of her own mouth: “I can tell you about them, if you’d like.”