Hey, Red

Ara wrinkles her nose, sneezing and pulling her blankets up over her, her fireplace burning in the corner, a few puffs of smoke pouring out of her nose. She curls up in her bed, under what is basically probably eight blankets, her skin pale and her eyes their usual glowless dark-blue are now gray. Not even slightly gray, just. Gray.

"Hey, Red. You alive?" Zeith's voice rings through her comm and she turns over, pulling it from her bed and flicking her comm on.

"Barely. What's up?" She wrinkles her nose, sneezing again, leaving her comm on because well.. She really doesn't care. At this moment, she's honestly really glad she had her comm set over to a private Channel. She's really not in the mood to put on the bickering-with-Zeith-Ara mode on. They always do, in the main comm channel and in public together in guild meetings, they're always bickering together. Usually though, they tolerate each other when they're by themselves, whether that be drinking or like now, in a private comm channel.

"Was just wondering if you were alive, is all." He sighs. "I'm bringing you over some food, by the way. You still live at the same place, right?" Zeith asks, Ara's comm volume almost off at this point. "... Ara?"

She wrinkles her nose, sleep having claimed her for a few minutes. "Hm?" she asks sleepily, curled into a tight ball. Her dark red hair's sprawled out in her bed around her. She had no reason to braid it, so.

".. Can you maybe like.. open your door?"

"Yeah, yeah, hold on.." She shuts off her comm, pulling herself up and stretching. She throws her legs over the side of the bed, wrapping a blanket around her. It's weird, Ara not being in her armor, but she isn't for once. She's in nothing but her black tanktop and underwear, bandages wrapped around her wrists, neck, chest, and ankles. She had been fighting a few days prior to getting sick. She puts out the fire in her fireplace a little before walking through her house, the wood creaking a little.

After multiple minutes of trying to clear her head of the fog, she pulls open her door, groaning at the light. Ara's eyes adjust after a few moments, staring down Zeith who's currently standing her doorway, leaning on the frame, the rain still pouring outside like it has been, for the last three days. "Hi.." She yawns, rubbing her eyes and grabbing her scarf from the hook, wrapping it around her neck and adjusting her blanket.

"Hey, Red." He pats her on the head a few times before actually walking into her house. Ara groans, plopping her ass down into her chair and pulls her knees to her chest, her blanket still tightly wrapped around her. "Ara you look like shit."

Ara simply glares at him. "Thanks, I feel like shit too." She sneezes again, groaning and mumbling in Draconic to herself. She watches Zeith with a borderline death glare. He simply raises a brow at the drake.

"What?" He makes himself in the chair across from her.

"You never just show up at my house, nor do you actually ever really show interest in my health.. What do you want." She hisses, puffing out her cheeks like a child, her face a bit red from her fever. She sets her head on her table, sniffling some.

Zeith simply glances off somewhere in her house, the house basically just dark. Both from the rain outside and the fact that a lot of her lights aren't on. "It's dark in here.." He glares back at Ara, who is still giving him a glare that simply says 'you're avoiding the question.' He groans, sighing and crossing his arms over her chest. "Fine. I'm actually concerned for your health since nobody's heard from you in a few days and last time you did say or do anything, you were fighting in the arena again."

Ara shrugs, standing up and walking around her kitchen, making herself some tea. "How do you think I make money?" She looks over at him before hopping onto her counter, her tea sitting next to her. "I do assassination jobs for people, and fight in the ring on Sunday nights... The assassination jobs can do so much, and arena pays well. Not to mention that I have a title there to uphold, and it's also a hobby of mine." Well this is new.

Zeith stares at her, a brow raised. "I'm.. Not even going to question it, but fine. Still, some of us are concerned for you. You live here alone now, no?" She simply shrugs a yes. "Yami's gone, and you have nobody to take care of you, or at the least, make sure you aren't dead. I get a little worried sometimes."

She smirks, raising a brow as she pulls her glass to her lips. "Oh? Salty wolf's concerned for little old me?" She laughs a little, taking a drink before setting her glass down on the counter again. "Wow, I never thought it'd happen."

"What?" He asks, both somewhat curious and concerned.

"This. You actually admitting you care for me." She shakes her head, smiling a little to herself before staring at the ground, sipping her tea quietly.. The silence is almost deafening at this point until Zeith shifts in his seat, the chair creaking a little.

"Can I ask you something?" He asks quietly, causing Ara to return to reality.
"Hm?" She blinks, her glass empty, not that she really noticed.

"Why do you live here, alone?"

Ara shrugs, propping her head up in her head, her elbow on her knee. "Never really bothered with it. It's like you said, I had nobody else to take care of me, so I never really worried about it much. After Yami left, I never had anybody to look after. I don't have any other kids to worry about aside Yami and Kavia, and Kavia lives with Ele mostly, so." She shrugs, swirling around the remains of her tea in the bottom of her glass, which went empty a few minutes ago. "I have the zoo to keep me company, so, I don't really get lonely. Even if I did, people and I usually don't get along. Not just because of the whole dragon thing, not that it really helped but. When I was younger, before I was married to Meriden, I was engaged to another red Drake. Siln. God he and I got into all sorts of trouble. But when I was out, people didn't know. People thought Meriden and I were engaged, which technically, we were. But people always saw Thana, the up-tight, proper Sin'dorei wife, who took care of her spouse and would carry on their bloodline. I didn't despise it, sometimes it was nice, but when people got to see me as well.. Ara, not Thana, I usually scared them. They never really stuck around after that. Only really Ceo and Vaan did." She looks up at Zeith, who is just staring back at her with his jaw hanging, not really seeming to know that Ara when she wants to, can go five minutes without harassing somebody.

"I... Didn't know that." He coughs, composing himself again and shaking his head. "I remember you telling me one day you were supposed to be a mage, right? Why didn't you be?"

Ara laughs a little, shrugging before looking back at him. "I didn't want to be. Didn't want to pursue magic, it's as simple as that. I gave up my magical properties, instead focusing on my Draconic Magic and learning to fight with hand-to-hand combat and weapons, mostly Bows, pole-arms, swords, daggers, axes, guns. So forth."

She hops down from the counter, her blush having returned to her face, courtesy of her fever that she had otherwise forgotten about. She almost topples over, gripping the counter. "Ara, don't hurt yourself." Zeith mumbles quietly, causing her to stare back at him.

Ara simply shakes her head, smiles and speaks quietly. "I'll be alright.. Promise."
She's lying.

-

Ara mumbles, shifting in her seat before her eyes flutter open, and she wrinkles her nose.. She's instantly met with Zeith's groaning. Her eyes adjust, the fire in the fireplace having long-since gone out at this point. She apparently fell asleep next to Zeith, a book sitting in his lap, one from her library, a book filled with her old drawings.

Smiling to herself, she makes herself comfortable again, nudging into Zeith's side, her scarf still wrapped around her neck. "You do realize you talk in your sleep, right?" Her eyes flicker back open, Zeith groaning under her, his voice mostly taken over by sleep.

"Oh shush. You could've woken me up at any time." She shrugs, closing her eyes again.

"True, but you were sleeping soundly, so I didn't. Shush and go back to sleep before I change my mind."

This fucking guy.