Going with the Flow

01: Guilt Trip

       The sun was high and beaming down on Linkon City. Normal life went on per usual. Everything from the cat café being filled with its lunchtime patrons for lattes and Kitty Cards, to the antique store with its weekly exhibition of rare wares from across the globe. City life was a daily hustle and bustle. And for the most part, things ran smoothly. Until they didn't.

''Dammit...!! These fluctuations keep bouncing around, I can't get a clear read on where this thing is coming from or even going!!'' I find myself by the edge of the city out of reach to most people, but apparently where some Wanderers like to appear. My eyes dart around, trying to see for myself if I make out a movement pattern, but it's utterly useless. Its movements are way too fast, even for my hunter's watch. The only thing the watch is telling me is that it's a Class E level Wanderer, which...is really no threat at all. A baby could probably take the thing out once it could spot it. The only thing I'm concerned about is the Protocore it drops. Why? Because it's a ''specific color that's not like others''.

''I swear to Jeeb, Rafayel better compensate me VERY WELL for all this trouble, JUST for a stupid Protocore's COLOR of all things!'' I grit my teeth in frustration, having wasted a bunch of time chasing a pitiful Wanderer. How the hell can it be so weak, but SO fast? Finally, I pick up a stable fluctuation. Maybe even IT is getting tired. After picking up the signal, it makes its appearance. Before I can even get a good look at the thing, I whip out my pistol and blast it to kingdom come, watching it as it fades into nothingness, the Protocore falling slowly to the ground. ''Huh...is this what he calls a color unlike any other? It just looks like blue to me...''I pick up the diamond-shaped object and slip it into a baggie strapped to my hip. ''Well whatever...at least the job's done. Now I can give it to him and go home.''

I make my way to the rideshare point in front of an office building and climb into the car that's waiting for me, slumping into the back seat with a sigh. After a friendly greeting and a little small talk with the driver, I gaze out the window and watch the city zoom by while he drives me to my destination. The music playing from the car's sound system is a smooth, relaxing jazz. Perfect for the atmosphere as the sun begins to set on the horizon, the sky transforming slowly into orange and yellow hues, with a scatter of reds thrown about. It reminds me of one of the paintings I saw back at Rafayel's that's stowed away in the corner of his studio. I'm not entirely sure why it's not on display like much of his other paintings that's in clear view, but I'm pretty sure there's a reason for it that I'm not aware of. My mind wanders around until we finally pull up at Mo Art, Rafayel's studio and home. I thank the driver with a tip and slide out from the back seat, gently shutting the car door and making my way past the gates of the estate.

Arriving at the front door that's slightly ajar, I slip myself inside, furrowing my brow at how he just carelessly leaves his door open like that. Before I even get a chance to announce my arrival, Rafayel looks down from atop the tall ladder he's sitting on in the living quarters and greets me with a waving paintbrush in hand as I stride across the huge room, making my way to him and in front of the large canvas he's working on. ''Hey there, Ms. Bodyguard. Long time no see'', he says playfully. I huff at him, still peeved about the time it took to retrieve a single Protocore.

''Yea, yea...Don't give me that. Do you have ANY idea how tiring that was?'' I puff my cheeks out at him, mimicking himself when he becomes a pouty baby.

''I'm sure it was. But trust me, it's very well worth it'', he exclaims with a slight smirk. I raise a brow at him but don't refute his claims at all. Instead, I take the Protocore out of the baggie and toss it up to him carefully, since he hasn't even begun to make his way down from the ladder yet. He catches it and gives it a few go overs, admiring the color and gleam of it from different angles, a beam of what's left of the light from the window behind him happening to catch one of the angles as he twirls it in his fingers slowly. Being a well-renowned artist, Rafayel has a very peculiar way of obtaining the paint he needs for his works. Instead of simply going to a store and buying acrylic paint like normal people, he extracts the color from objects, much like he's planning to do with the Protocore, somehow. He once told me how he obtained a certain other shade of blue that he needed from one-thousand conch shells. I didn't understand his methods at all, but he's the artist, after all. And he makes a lot of money from his works, so obviously he knows what he's doing. ''Hmm...There's quite a few pieces I can incorporate this into. Maybe even mix it with a little Trypan Blue or Mulberry to get just the right hue that I need...'' I listened to Rafayel as he pondered to himself aloud on how he would use the colors, most everything he said was going over my head. Not just because I didn't get the thought process of an artist, but I couldn't help but notice how much of his figure was bathed in the soft, setting sunlight. The way the light illuminated his face and hit his soft jawline perfectly, his cotton candy-colored eyes glistening with a brightness as they grazed over the Protocore, his peachy skin shining upon his exposed neck and chest with his slightly unbuttoned shirt, even the way his purpleish-gray hair seemed to magically sway as it bathes more in the light. He was a living art piece himself. For a moment I became entranced as he's hugged by the heaven's sun but snap out of it, seeing as though I didn't even get a 'thank you' for all the effort I put in. 

            ''Hmph-mmn...'' I clear my throat and tap my foot while looking up at him, breaking his concentration so he could focus his attention to me and my obvious dissatisfaction. He shakes his head a couple of times and looks down to me, just as I'm folding my arms. ''Oh...what's up?'', he asks, tilting his head slightly like a lost puppy.

     ''Don't 'What's up' me! You haven't even thanked me for chasing that freakin' thing down! It literally took half a day for it to be still long enough for me to get to it, and I almost sprung my ankle trying to keep up with it! You didn't even ask if I was OK, either!'' I glared at him, spouting to him how upset I was, but all he could do as I let him have it was gaze back at me with those mesmerizing eyes. Those eyes that one could very easily get lost in. What made it even worse is that as he gazed deeply at me as I spat my words up at him, his eyes never left mine. Not for a second. It's as if he was hanging off of my every word even with how volatile the tone sounded. It was hard to stay mad at him this way. I wasn't even THAT upset to begin with. The task was easy enough, it just took a lot longer than I expected, and I had something else planned for the day. I just wanted to make him feel guilty. But with how he's looking at me like that...Should I be the one to feel guilty instead? It's obviously a trap. He's trying to make me feel bad for yelling at him, but I won't falter. Probably. ''I thought that my client would care a little for me more than he's showing, but maybe I was mistaken.'' I huff once more at him before adverting my gaze from him entirely. I walk a distance from him and the canvas to go stand over by the rather large and highly styled lounge, keeping my back towards him. Somehow, I could still feel his gaze upon me, burning a hole into my soul even when I can't see it. My ears twitch at the sudden sound of him shifting his body to move down the ladder, each step squeaking a bit as his feet press down on them. He didn't say a single word, only the sounds of his movements flooded the spacious room. Finally, I heard his feet hit solid ground, but I didn't turn around. I fixed my gaze to the door instead. 

       Thud. Thud. Thud. The sounds of his footsteps reverberated throughout the room as they became louder the closer he got to me. I could feel the air shift around as the gap between us became smaller, until finally he stood directly behind me. I felt his presence, but still didn't turn to face him, keeping my arms folded tightly to my chest. 

         ''Ms. Bodyguard...'' He leaned closely to my ear, close enough to where I could feel his warm breath, his lips almost brushing against the shell. His voice was low, as if he spoke deep from his chest. My body couldn't help but shudder and I started to feel goosebumps immediately form on the surface of my skin underneath my clothing. ''...You're right. I should've checked on you the moment you walked in. Are you OK? You didn't get hurt, did you?'' He leaned even closer, if that were even possible, still without touching my ear. I flushed slightly, his words drowning my ear canal and his voice filled with bass traveling from my ear down to my lower regions. Shit. I gotta keep it together. ''Hmmph.'' I huffed at him again, keeping the angry act up. I know what he's doing. I know EXACTLY what he's doing. He's patronizing me. Both he and I know that the pathetic Wanderer I took care of couldn't even harm the ghost of a butterfly. It's ONLY saving grace is that it's really fast, and apparently even that doesn't even keep up for long. Nah...he's trying to lead me on. Make me take the bait, make me think that he's only here to serve me, only for me to fall directly in his grasp and have the upper hand. Just like last time. But I'm not falling for it. Not this time.