Fangs and Diamonds

Emergency

Kioroh was sitting in the same spot she sat in every day, at the same time every day. She appeared deep in thought, looking blankly into the distance with one hand still gripping the pen, and the other instinctually shielding the empty paper she brought with her away from any people who might pass by. It would likely be best if she separated herself from Lekel for a bit, even if she did have the plan of talking to him.

It would be much better to avoid him altogether for the rest of his time here, however long that may be. The less she knew about him, the less he would know about her. Besides, if she was just going to constantly interview him with every interaction, well, she knew how that felt to the receiver.

Hesitantly coming out of the turbolift, the Maurian's green gaze flicked about anxiously. He had his hands wrapped around the straps of his satchel. A distant, worried look settled upon his face as he began walking in the general direction of Kioroh.

The Le'ran immediately caught sight of him, hurriedly folding the paper and putting it away by the off-chance he might walk over. She stared at him for a moment before not-so-discreetly averting her gaze from him, sincerely hoping Maurians had poor enough eyesight to not see her.

Nearly walking past her, Lekel stiffened and paused mid-step. He slowly turned around to face her, an awkward, toothy grin forming on his face briefly. It quickly morphed into an embarrassed, apologetic expression as he began to speak.

"Uh, I'm..." He ultimately ended up trying to admit to his guilt straightaway, seeing how there was no alternative way to do this. "I'm erm... sorry for ignoring you yesterday. It's not fair to you."

She was taken completely off-guard now. Why would he be apologizing for something she did?

"...What?"

Placing a hand on his face to scratch his scales, he blunderingly repeated, "I'm sorry for ignoring you yesterday."

Kioroh just narrowed her eyes in confusion, which could have easily been mistaken for suspicion. "Do you want a chair?"

Lekel uncomfortably nodded, sitting down and slouching over the table. He kept his gaze downward, praying internally that she would forgive him.

Despite her previous convictions to leave well enough alone and cease her constant analysis, the Le'ran couldn't help but study his face closely, looking for any signs of any hidden agendas of his. She only became more frustrated with herself when she could find none.

The silence between them lasted for an uncomfortable amount of time, until Kioroh finally broke through the tension.

"Why did you come back here?" She asked somewhat bluntly. "You didn't just want to apologize, did you?" It sounded like a genuine question.

The Maurian's pointed ears perked up and his eyes widened. He turned his head slowly to face her. "Uh, yeah... I did... sort of," He mumbled, eyebrows knitting in worry.

She stared at him with disbelief. Her next words weren't going to come easy for her.

"Well... I'm sorry too." She looked away uncomfortably, not really able to tell herself whether she meant it or not.

His eyes looked back to her. "Huh? For what?" He gave a befuddled look.

"You know... all those questions, I guess."

"Uh, I mean..." He looked to the table for answers, scratching his face as he did so. "Isn't that sort of how... friendships work...?"

Kioroh suddenly looked up at him with surprise. This time, she was completely unguarded.