In the Blue Season [CLOSED]

"Oh, you want to see me in a dress? I didn't realize you were that kind of person." he said and Serenity's smile dropped, "Ah, but I'll have to decline. In case there is a stalker out there, I'd rather not photos of me in a woman's nightgown in your home get out. That and I'm sure it's not my color." She tilted her head to the side. "Did you just accuse me of being pervy?" she asked so bluntly it didn't sound like a joke at all. She put her hands on her hips and got a little sassy on him. "I'll have you know that I would never do any such thing..." she told him quite seriously, pointing up at his face, her finger a very short distance from the tip of his nose, "... unless it was a maids outfit of course, and unfortunately I'm all out." Serenity brought her arms in, giggling happily, before turning toward the linen closet to find him something to wear. She was having a lot more fun than expected.

"Actually... Do you just have two more dry towels? I'm sure my clothes won't take too much longer to dry—or at least my pants won't. I'd much rather sit around with just my pants on than wait on my whole outfit to be dry." he said and Serenity looked back to him. He didn't seem like the type, but she had to ask. "Are you shy?" she asked seriously, "Someone like you didn't seem like the type to be shy, but are you?" She walked back toward the couch, seeing the blanket she had given him before there. Picking it up, she nuzzled her cheek into it, enjoying the softness like she had before. And then suddenly, she shot him a glare. "Strip." she said in a demanding tone. She walked up to him and held the blanket up as far as she could above her head. The only thing he had left was his boxers. "I don't have any more towels that are bigger than something you dry your hands with or wash in the shower." she told him, expecting him to be doing as she asked while she had the blanket up, "Take the underwear off and we'll wrap this around you. I'll have the underwear dry in no-time! Hurry, hurry!"

"Vincent Arklight are you curious to see what's underneath them."

Serenity was stuck for a moment. She wasn't sure whether he was asking that seriously, or whether it was another way of teasing, but she felt obligated to answer. "Well... Uh..." she stumbled over her words a bit before saying what she meant, "I can admit to being slightly curious... I've never actually... well... seen one... before." The only reason she was able to come up with the courage to spit that out is because she held the blanket up between the two of them. Not hearing any movement, she slowly lowered the blanket to look up and see his blushing face. All that did was make her blush too, but she pushed out the thoughts when she looked down. "Hey! I asked you..." she lied, she demanded, "... to strip! Just drop them and take the blanket, please!" Even her polite words sounded demanding. She was practically pouting at him. She was cold too, ya know! In fact, it didn't take her long to start shivering again. Great, she was likely going to get sick. "D-Don't m-make me d-do it f-for you!" Serenity said glaring semi-playfully at him, at least it looked that way with her face. She didn't exactly have her own anger face, yet. It was always more of a pout than anything. "C-Cause I will." she reassured him with a convincing lie and a pout. She then raised the blanket again, creating the barrier of fabric between them so he could change. She was being impatient now because of the cold, but she could tell that he was the stubborn type. If she didn't give him a few quick demands, pushing him to do what she wanted, and not giving him the chance to retaliate, he'd stay in his wet clothes and get sick.

"I honestly want to believe you're lying about that..." All she did was give him a more serious look with slightly more narrowed eyes and bam, he folded. "Don't peek. If you do, it'll be 5,000 gold coins. I'm not cheap." he said and she tightened her grip on the blanket to make sure it wouldn't accidentally fall from her grasp. "I won't!" she promised and happily waited for him to get done, "I don't have that kind of money, so you don't have to worry." Was she joking? He probably couldn't tell. Unfortunately, her plan to prevent the blanket from falling out of her grasp was working well. The water from the floor must have played a part in it, but a few moments later, she felt a sudden pull on the blanket. "Eep!!" she said as her arms were pulled quite harshly down. As her arms were pulled down, so was she. The difference was, she fell to her knees, not on her back like he was.

"Oh... m-my..." Serenity's eyes shot open wider than they had before. Her body tensed up like a stone statue, but a moment later shot up into a sitting position on her knees. "Oh my goodness. Oh my goodness. Oh my goodness. Oh my goodness. Oh my goodness. Oh my goodness. Oh my goodness." she said over and over and over again before a trickle of blood dropped down her nose. Though her body straightened, her gaze was stuck on his... magnum. Feeling the tickling sensation of heavy liquid drop toward her lip, she was pulled from her trance and covered her face. "I only said I was curious! Cover up, please!" she tossed the blanket toward him, got up, and darted into her bedroom with a racing heart beat. She closed the door behind her and leaned her back up against it. She stood there for a few moments and tried to calm down, repeating 'oh my god' thousands of times in her mind.

"No, no, no, no, no! It's not your fault." she said when hearing him apologize. She placed her hands and forehead against the door and sighed. She felt so awkward, but it wasn't an image that was leaving her mind any time soon. "It was an accident... They happen. I'm not mad or anything." she explained through the door, "It's just a little new... I guess. I'm sorry." Her apology was just as sincere as his, though she almost sounded upset. She felt she may have offended him and she didn't want that. And then another image of the big gun flashed in her mind again. "Mm..." she groaned and sat down on the other side of the door and leaned up against it, probably about the same exact time he did the other side, "I didn't offend you or anything, did I? I didn't mean to, if I did. I just was really surprised. It was just... so... big. Nice though... I think. I don't know!" Serenity grabbed the sides of her head and leaned forward, her head being put between her knees.

"Well... now you can't say you haven't seen one." he said after a good ten minute silence, causing her head to come back up rapidly. Her cheeks immediately blushed a deep red again. "I think I'll waive the fee of 5,000 gold coins." he continued and she got even redder. Backing away from the door, she opened it up rather quickly, not knowing that he was also leaning against it. "Hey! I said tha-..." she blinked a couple times as she watched him fall back toward her. She was sitting on her knees again, so as if set up by some mystical force that they could not control, his head came landing right into her lap. "I said I don't have that kind of money, so the waive would be really nice." she said to him, brushing his hair from his face, "I told you I don't have a job... I wouldn't be able to pay you." She looked down to him with a smile, like the past twenty minutes hadn't even happened. "Now I think it's abo-..." her eyes caught hold of his lower area again and she narrowed her eyes, "I told you... to take them off and wrap yourself in the blanket. Now that I've seen it, I really will do it for you." She looked down to him quite seriously, pretty much waiting for him to get up on his own and do it.

Serenity was definitely relieved when he said that she did not offend him. That pulled a lot of the awkwardness right out of her mind. Serenity wasn't ashamed of the body, male or female. Sure, it was not something she had ever seen before now and her curiosity was definitely raised by all of the teasing, but to her there was nothing to be ashamed of. It was an accident, that was it. She would leave it at that. The only thing she would not leave alone was his reluctance to get out of those cold shorts! It seemed she was able to get the point across this time though. He sat up from her lap, stood, and then walked into the living area. She sorta crawled forward on all fours, peeking around the corner to make sure he was doing as she asked. He was and her intention was to turn away, but her eyes were drawn in by his physique. She looked him up and down, more closely this time, and noticed the lowering of his underwear. Her cheeks blushed a bit, for the on hundred millionth time, and she was about to close the door when he caught her watching him undress.

"If you don't want to catch a glimpse of it again, I recommend you shut that door." he said and her eyes widened along with her blush getting worse. "I... Uh. Sorry!" she said and scuttled her way backward, moving back into her room. She stood up and sighed in relief, shaking her head a bit. What was coming over her? She'd never do something like that before! A little encounter at the lake and suddenly this? He was a charming man, dashingly handsome, kind, funny, and willing to help her without her even asking. The company was also refreshing. Yes, that had to be it. She was just not used to the company and enjoyed it when it happened. Deciding she should also change her clothes, again, she stripped down and tossed all of her wet clothing into the basket with the one's from before. She didn't have much else at this point, excluding her pajamas, so she chose to put them on. She just felt really guilty that he would likely be uncomfortable tonight. Still cold, but now in dry clothes, she brushed her hair out, and then walked out of her room feeling much more refreshed. "A bit more comfortable?" she looked to him, asking in a sweet tone, "I think it's about time we eat. Anything you like?"

This was going to be so embarrassing!! As she stepped out, she knew this was too much. The outfit she had chosen was a black, frilly night gown. The straps were merely tied ribbons that, if untied, would collapse the entire thing, revealing her bust. It only came down about two inches past the bottom of her butt and was quite revealing in the back. What was she to do?! She was used to living alone, not having guests! All of her other clothes were dirty, in the wash, or worse that this one. In fact, the reason she chose this one over three other options she had was the fact that the layered frill that fell elegantly over her large bust was blocking the obvious signals that would give off her being cold. "Well aren't you outdoing the fashion competition." he said and she lowered her head, looking down at her gown. She crossed her arms over her stomach and glanced toward the bathroom door, as if there was anything there to look at. "I-It's really all I have. I don't usually have people around, so I don't have to worry about what I wear." she said, an embarrassed blush creeping onto her face. To get the focus off of her clothing, she asked him if he was more comfortable.

"A little bit more of a breeze, but I am thankful to be out of them. You look to be more comfortable than I ever could be in this situation." he said, causing her to blush even more. She tightened her arms around herself once more, lowering her head and looking to the ground. She sort of pulled herself in, turning her toes into each other and sort of fiddling with them together. Her hair fell in front of her face, hiding the shyness that she obviously felt. Trying to move the conversation on again, she asked him about food. "Anything I do not have to go outside for. I'm pretty sure that cold rain really wouldn't feel too good down there. Whatever is made, I'm afraid I won't be participating in its creation. I'd rather not have to rush you to a hospital while I'm completely nude." he said and she ended up giggling a bit. "Not the best cook, huh?" she said and moved over to the fridge. Her back was to him at this point, and she was completely unaware of the fact that when she bent over to pull out the left over stew, she revealed a cute pair of pink lacy underwear.

"I forgot about picking some things from the garden, otherwise I'd make you something fresh." she said as she pulled out a large pot and set it on the stove. She took off the lid and turned the fire on, pulling out a ladle to stir it a couple of times. "Would you like a roll or two with it?" she asked, repeating the action she had before and pulling a bag of rolls from the lowest shelf in the fridge, "I don't usually put anything on them and I baked them myself if you want to try." She set the rolls on a metal board and walked over to the oven. Turning it on, a small fire immediately lit up and she set it inside. "These are only supposed to be in here for a little bit, so don't let me burn them, okay? Ten minutes max..." Last time, she put the damn things on a wooden board and came out of the bathroom to find the entire thing on fire!!! It was only luck that she had a bucket of water ready for the entire thing, otherwise she would have been screwed and so would her house.

"Let's just say I once burned cereal after pouring milk into it."

Serenity froze and had to repeat that line in her head a couple of times before it fully registered. She looked over to Alain and then turned her body fully away from him. She brought both hands up to her mouth and over her nose and just began to laugh. She couldn't help it. Burn cereal? How did one do that!? Heat usually was not involved in the process, and even if you wanted it warm, it shouldn't have been that bad. He wasn't lying though, no matter how unbelievable it was. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry..." she said, wiping a few tears of joy from her eyes, "I shouldn't be laughing. It's just too funny." Serenity sighed out the rest of her urge to laugh and went on doing what she was. She remained unaware of the nice view she had given Alain and started warming up the food. "It's fine, it's fine. I think we had more important things to do than worry about cooking meals." he said and received a cheerful nod from her in reply before she asked whether he wanted some of her homemade rolls, "I don't believe I can decline that kind of an offer." She could only smile more. She began humming a little tune while getting things ready and only stopped when asking him for the reminder.

"I'll try to remember. I don't exactly carry a watch, and my time management is pretty poor at times like this." he said as she began walking toward him. "Well that's okay. I just don't want to almost burn the house down again." she explained as she sat down on the couch next to him, "So, while we wait, the only thing I have to do is talk... I don't think reading while I've got a friend over is very polite." She curled her knees in under her and sat on them, not really caring about the condition of the couch like most people would, "So, what is there to talk about? Favorite color? Food? Hobby? Book? Vacation spot? And your favorite type of music? Go!" Serenity threw all of those questions at him pretty quickly and waited excitedly for the answers, hoping that she'd remember them all.

"Erm... considering you've seen all of my clothing and then some, I think it's safe to say my favorite color is yellow. Food... haven't really thought about it. I don't cook myself, but I do have an odd liking of seafood. As for a hobby... does repairing my house count? I don't read much, so I can't say too much on that. As for music, I don't listen to much. Although I do play the guitar occasionally. What about you?"

Don't worry, she heard it all! She was just stuck on one part and she had to make sure her memory wasn't flipping on her. "Where is your underwear?" she asked and stood up. She looked around and saw it, so she picked it up and took it over to the drier and tossed it in. Before she came back, she pulled out his other clothes to check how dry they were, they weren't at all. She needed a new one of these things. This one just didn't dry as quickly as she needed it to. But besides that, they were blue! She shot a playful glare over to him and closed the drier. She increased the heat on it just a little bit and increased the time by another twenty minutes. "There we go." she said as she hurried back over to the couch. She was actually getting sort of cold in this, but all of her other clothes were soaking wet or dirty. She had nothing else she could wear, without being more revealing. She could tell just by a quick tingle in her bust that she was giving off signs of being cold. That was the point of the frill on her nightgown, to hide that, so she regretted nothing.

"Well now... To answer my own questions..." she tilted her head a bit and looked up to the ceiling while thinking, "I think my favorite color is pink. I haven't thought on it too much. Most people assume green..." she said while grabbing a few locks of her own hair, "... but no. It's not. I don't dye my hair this color, it's natural." She thought about the other questions she asked him and came up with her answers pretty quickly, "I don't have a favorite food, I'm allergic to too many to try enough to point out one. Gardening would be my hobby, but it's also sort of a necessity. I don't have a favorite book because I like too many, I don't ever vacation, and I don't listen to music." Serenity sort of just shrugged it off. She felt she sounded like a very boring person, which she did. She felt her stomach sink a little bit and a moment after it let out an embarrassingly loud growl. She blushed and began to stand up, walking over to the kitchen.

"Sorry..." she said, picking up the ladle and beginning to stir the stew. It was warming up a bit, a few more minutes and it'd be done. She went over to the oven though and used a mitt to pull the rolls out and set them on the counter. "Perfect! It didn't catch on fire this time." she said giggling, "I have a habit of forgetting I'm cooking if my stomach doesn't remind me. I don't have a timer, so I don't have an alarm that goes off and it slips my mind." She put the rolls in a bread warmer and set it on the counter. "A few more minutes and the stew should be done. Then we can finally warm up!" she said, more referring to herself since he seemed comfortable. If one would touch her skin, she'd be like ice and she'd be shivering. She was just trying her best not to show it, since there wasn't much she could do about it. One of these days, she was going to go clothes shopping, but that wasn't happening any time soon, so she was stuck with what she had.

"Ah, allergies do pose quite a problem." he commented. She had a saddened expression appear on her face for a moment. She felt awkward when talking about food that she couldn't eat. It was a little funny, and unknowingly ironic, that his favorite foods seem to all be sea food, one thing she was extremely allergic to. "They're a little more than a problem for me..." she said with a sigh, "One wrong drop into a meal, I can end up the hospital or worse... And when it comes to my garden, I am only comfortable eating organic foods. I've bitten into way too many new things and ended up with a closed throat." She giggled a little, trying to make light of the situation, as if something that serious was a joke.

"Good, good. I'd offer this blanket, but I don't eat in the nude even at my own house." he said and she shook her head in reply. "No, no. That's okay. I'm fine." she lied happily, forcing her teeth not to chatter. A quick shiver ran down her spine, but she showed no signs, excluding the small bumps that forced themselves onto her skin. Serenity curled her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around her legs, laying her chin down on top of her knees and looked at him. "This house was built for me." she explained with a cheerful smile, "Queen Aranhartte decided it would be best if I was out of Arcadian record, so she had this place cleared out and the house built for me to live. I grew up on a farm, so she knew I'd be okay. I know how to do practically anything to survive out here. Some thing I do buy from the village though." She said, looking around the place. "It does get a little lonely..." she said in reply to his comment about this place being built for someone who lived alone, "I'm glad you stumbled upon the place."

Serenity stood up again, unaware of the fact that she had, for the third time, given him another little peek at her underwear, but this time from the front end. She stepped over to the kitchen, picked up the ladle, and stirred the stew. "Finally, it's hot enough." she said excitedly and pulled out two bowls. She heard her stomach let out an excited growl and could only giggle. She was finally going to be able to eat. Once the bowls were filled, she put a spoon in each bowl, the bowls on larger plates, and then a roll on each. She then walked over, looking to the ground and walking slowly. She was clumsy and she knew it, so she had to be careful. With her luck, she'd trip and throw hot soup all over his lap. Luckily this was not that day that would happen. She was able to make it all the way over and hand him his bowl. She stepped over to her side of the couch and sat down. Before taking a bite, she pulled the bowl up to her lips and took a few sips of hot liquid. She immediately stopped shivering. "So... much better." she said with a sigh and then looked to him with a sweet smile, "So what about your home? Why do you repair it a lot?" Stalker girls getting a little too much?

Serenity kept up her smile as she filled her stomach with the hot stew. It was hitting the spot, she was finally able to stop shivering. Of course, it'd be better if she had something a little less revealing to wear, but she didn't. It was her fault for never being prepared for company. "Thankfully, no." he said and she giggled along with him. "It's just an older house, one built for a family. When there's just one person living there, some parts just start to wither away. It also doesn't help that it's lakefront and gets straight-line winds. I once had a golf club fly from across the lake into my kitchen window during a particularly bad storm. The guy paid for the damages, and I got to keep the club." Serenity couldn't help but stare at this man, and not just out of curiosity. It had been a long time since she had sat down and talked to anyone, but... "It's been a long time since I've met a man as good looking as you, ya know." she spouted out her own thoughts without thinking. The moment she did, she realized it and wanted to smack herself, but she played it off and just stared seriously at him, trying to make it seem like she meant to say it.

"I should probably stop complimenting you..." she said with a smile, "I don't think you need any more of an ego boost. We don't want your head to explode." Serenity was obviously being playful, teasing him about all of the jokes that he had made through the night. "I will say one more thing..." she took a big drink of the hot stew broth and set the bowl down on the table in front of them, "I met you a couple hours ago... and I feel like I've known you for much longer than that. I think that's why I'm able to say anything that comes to mind, but if I offend you in any way, please don't be afraid to tell me, okay? I don't want to make you mad." Serenity waited for his reply to that, a little nervous about it since she thought she might have offended him once or twice. But, just to change the subject, she remembered something he said. "How do you live in a house alone?" Serenity tilted her head to the side and asked in curiosity, "You seem like the type to have a wife that waits on you all the time."

"Ah, you haven't. You've practically been doing nothing but saying nice things about me—and what you've seen—since we met." Serenity's body raised in the couch a little as she leaned away from him, her eyes widening, and her face reddening. Not that again! It flooded her mind so quickly! She was never getting that image out of her head! "Ah! Shhh!" she placed her hands on each of her cheeks and looked away, "Don't keep putting the image back in my head, you tease!" And that can be taken so many ways, but Serenity only meant it in one; he was picking on her again. A quick subject change, yes! That's what she will do to make the blush go away! And so she asked about a wife and almost immediately regretted it. His silence said something that she could only guess at. Did he once have a wife, but lost her? Did she cheat? Did she run out on him? Did he even want a family, or did he prefer being alone? A wife seemed like a touchy subject, or was it the idea of an entire family? She just waited to find out.

"A wife, huh?" he said and Serenity's heart sank. Yeah, she had hit some sort of nerve with him and she felt so guilty about it. She assumed he'd make some sort of joke about the subject, but that was not hit reaction this time. She wanted so badly to reach toward him, set a hand on his shoulder for comfort, and happily tell him to forget the question, but damn her curious nature, she didn't. "I'm thankfully not married... I don't know how I'd explain this night to her." and there it was. Okay, that made her feel so, so, so, so much better. "I'd have to say that I just haven't found the 'one' for me. Or rather, someone that can handle me." he said and Serenity mimicked his words through a quick, "Handle you?" with a curious tone. "I did burn cereal after pouring milk on it." he finished and Serenity couldn't say anything just yet. There was a hell of a lot more to it than that, but she didn't feel it was her place to ask, especially after his reaction to the first question. She sort of stared at him, like she usually stared when she was curious about someone.

"That's... stupid." she thought to herself, "An attractive man like him being single because he can't cook? He's kind, seems smart... handy around the house..." she thought, referring to the garden incident, "I can tell that through the few hours he's been here... Women are stupid." Serenity still felt there was a lot more to this puzzle than he had let her know, but she'll not ask just yet. "You need to find a woman that can cook then." she spoke up after quite some time just staring and thinking about what he had said and forced out a little giggle, "If women are running off because your cooking skills are that bad, then you should stay out of the kitchen and leave it all to them, or someone you hire." Even in her tone, Serenity wanted to ask more and didn't fully believe what he had said was the true answer. She wanted the rest of the story, not the small bit he had given, but she knew it was not her place. "Anyways... I'm positive you'll find the right woman some day." Serenity said with a genuine smile and a sincere cheerful tone, "Just stop finding one's that are too dumb to cook. I bet you always find the bimbos with the huge boobs and no brains! Yep, that's it! I know it." Obviously things had turned into a joke for her. She had to lighten the mood some how!!

"You know, you make it sound like I don't have standards..."

"Wrong." Serenity said instantly after he finished his sentence. She smiled cutely and just watched him. It was sort of fun picking on him, though he seemed to take everything pretty seriously. "I don't just date everyone that halfway catches my eye." he continued and Serenity just nodded to him. His replies did make her wonder two things. "Okay first, what exactly do you think my opinion of you is?" she asked with a raised eyebrow, leaning in toward him a bit, "You know I don't think of you as some jerk womanizer who grabs any girl he can have fun with, right? I am quite sure you've got standards, high ones in fact. Which is probably one of the reasons why you're not married." she reached out toward him and poked his nose, "And it's a good thing. I wouldn't settle for any man who showed up on my doorstep..." it sounded like a shot toward him, but it really wasn't. Serenity was sort of just generalizing. "... so why should you? People who settle for something they don't really want because they assume they can't get what they do end up unhappy, so don't you dare do it!" Serenity pulled her hand away from him, giving him a sincere smile.

"And two..." Serenity sort of stopped herself. She was ready to ask a question, but something else caught her mind and caused her to freeze. Before anything else happened, every expression she held just dropped. She turned her attention toward the window the couch was in front of and blinked once. Outside about fifty feet away, she saw a dark figure of a cloaked man. She knew who it was, and the moment she saw him, he hurried behind a tree about. "Mm..." she sort of curled in on herself, like she started to feel sick to her stomach. A worried expression formed on her face as she looked away from the window and down toward her feet on the couch. "I forgot what I was going to ask, sorry." she pushed up a quick smile that was obviously forced and tried to cheer up, "Would you like anymore stew?" She picked up her bowl and took a bite after asking him. It was still nice and warm, so it helped her calm down a bit. As she chewed, she kept a straight face and thought to herself. "He's angry with me now..." she thought as she began to shiver again, though it'd probably seem like it was from the cold.

"Oh, you wouldn't settle for someone who just appeared on your doorstep even if you saw something very private of his?" he said and Serenity didn't even think about her reply. She merely leaned in a bit more, tilted her head to the side, and smiled. "You sound disappointed." she said in a flirtatious and teasing tone, "Why? Are you interested in me?" Serenity was fighting the strong blush that was coming to her face. She didn't even think! Why did she do that?! She shouldn't have asked him that question, but she was not going to back down now. She fluttered her eyes, obviously playing on the fact that she was just teasing him, and smiled a bit bigger. She even thought to stick her chest out a bit father, just to see if she could catch his eyes glancing downward, but she decided against it. She was wearing the wrong nightgown for that; she was completely covered, so there wasn't any cleavage.

"But you're right. I'm not one to necessarily settle in that aspect anyways. I try to make sure my partner is always twice as happy I am about the status of things... but two times zero is still zero." he explained at that shocked her. Her eyes didn't really widen, but the look of shock was still apparent. She didn't know what to say about that. Never before had she heard a man say that about their woman. It was... sweet. Her shocked expression soon faded and softened into a smile that had been known to melt hearts. "That'd be nice..." she sorta mumbled to herself, before she took in a calm breath. Now, for point two, before he got any chance to ask what she had meant by that! She raised her head to talk and caught the cloaked figure out of the corner of her eye. As she forgot what she was going to ask and moved on, she realized that she too had not finished her one bowl. "Hm... I'm such a dummy..." she said and then picked her bowl back up and began to eat again.

Serenity was quiet now, her mind seemingly concentrating on something else. As she ate her food, still warming herself up, she kept looking toward random areas in the room. It seemed like she was looking at nothing, but she was in fact looking toward an energy she felt. As she kept watch on it, by the way her head was moving, it was circling the house. Serenity could feel her heart beat race as she sensed it getting closer and closer to the opposite side of the house. "What is he doing?" she thought, a bit of sweat forming on the side of her face and sliding down, "He's never been violent... why now?" Serenity almost felt like crying. She glanced over to Alain, wondering whether she should inform him of their guest, but then lowered her head a bit, taking another bite of her food. "He'll go away... ignore it." she thought, doing her best to keep calm.