Rion looked into her garnet eyes and responded,

"We aren't changing our plans. Before, the feast was both a meeting place for the group leaders and a trap for the Ruler of Purple; now, instead of a trap, it is a place for the tribe to share their sorrow and move forward."

The hut fell silent for a moment until Dora laughed.

Listening her laugh, he furrowed his brows and asked while scratching the back of his head, "What are you laughing at?"

She looked at him with a smile and replied, "Vice Lord had already guessed that you'll do that, so he already made all of the preparations... I just found how spot on he was, funny."

"Marin made all the changes... that's good," he mumbled under his breath and asked, "So? Why are you here?"

She inched closer to him and answered softly, "I just came to check on you."

"I am fine," he said with a genuine smile stretching across his face.

She let out an embarrassed cough as she continued, "And to tell you that Vice Lord has made a significant change in the feast tomorrow."

He gave her a deadpan look, and she looked away, her cheeks reddening slightly.

"I-I should've started with this one, huh..." she squeaked while fidgeting her fingers with one another.

Rion's gaze moved to her fingers, and he commented, "You should have, yeah..." he looked at the hut's ceiling and teased, "For a moment, I thought that you came just to see me."

His Zone unfolded, and he focused on how she would react.

Surprisingly, instead of bickering with him, she lowered her head and mumbled, "I didn't want to do something like this..."

'What is she talking about?' He wondered and inquired further, "What do you mean?"

Dora's head stayed low as she continued, "Others had told me about me but I didn't come here because of that."

'What?' Rion frowned and mumbled, "What did they tell you?"

Until now, he hadn't focused on her face, but his curiosity had reached a level that he couldn't control anymore. But just as he checked her face, his heart skipped a beat.

'B-Blasted hell...' he breathed inwardly and turned his head towards her like a rusted machine.

Short hot breaths left Dora's lips as her heart beat wildly, an extremely obsessive light flickered in her eyes, and her face was red in both embarrassment and shame, but she cared about nothing but answering HER Rion.

She stammered with trembling shoulders, "W-Well, someone told me that when a man is stricken by grief or sorrow, he becomes more... active..."

He blinked, closed and opened his mouth a few times before he just lowered his head in defeat and asked, "Who told you that...?"

"Mira..." she answered in a low voice.

'That little...' He stopped himself from finishing his thought and looked at her with saddened eyes.

He could sense her heavy emotions, but he didn't want to make the move.

'I am pathetic,' he cursed himself and his lips parted as he spoke, "Dora... I..."

Dora's shoulders trembled not in thrill, but from the weight of his next words and before he could finish saying them, she mumbled, "I-I can wait..."

A teardrop rolled down her face and splashed onto the ground.

Rion, who had his Zone active, sensed that teardrop as if it were his own, and his expression darkened.

"I am sorry..." he mumbled in a heavy voice.

"It's fine..." she responded softly.

The air turned dull and heavy as both of them fell silent.

Silence continued to stretch until Dora wiped off her tears and forced a chuckle, "Ha-haha..."

She turned her head towards him and continued, "I forgot to tell you what change Marin made."

"Mhm," Rion gave a faint nod but he didn't have the strength to look at her.

"W-Well... He is going to hold the group leaders meeting this evening instead of during the feast... he wants it to be solely for the people we lost yesterday."

"I see..."

She reluctantly looked away, bit her lower lip to the point of bleeding and stood up to leave.

But her feet didn't move.

She stood there for a few moments and said, "Your mother had told Arok to create fabric clothes for you... she said you always wanted to have fabric clothes instead of the fur and hides when you were younger..."

Rion finally lifted his head and responded with a forced smile, "I used to, yeah."

She looked at him with a drop of blood rolling down her lips and tears rolling down her eyes and asked, "I think it will look good on you..."

Rion suddenly felt his heart twist, he felt as if he was about to lose something very close to him, and before he knew it, he was embracing Dora in his arms.

He dug his head into her shoulder as if shielding her from someone that he couldn't see.

Dora froze and mumbled weakly, "R-Rion?"

Rion tightened his embrace around her, and she yelped.

She looked at the back of his head from the corner of her eye. She lifted her trembling arms and wrapped them around him.

A few minutes passed as both of them felt the warmth of each other's embrace, and Rion spoke, "I love you so... so much, but... I am scared. I am scared of becoming negligent. I am scared of losing you because of that negligence, so I want to be strong..."

His grip tightened around her, his eyes gleamed with a dangerously obsessive light as he breathed, "Even stronger than Father if that's what I need to do to keep you with me... Forever."

However, hearing those words didn't make it easier for Dora; instead, it made her remember what she was hiding.

"I-I see..." she mumbled while tightening her arms around him and cried in her head, 'Why did I have to be there? Why me and no one else? WHY?!'

"I love you too..." she said. "I'll forever be with you once you are ready," she lied.

A beautiful smile that looked joyous but actually held nothing but hopeless sorrow stretched across her face like a fake diamond.

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