He snorted and walked toward his bed. I followed him, keeping a safe distance.
“Wait. Are you perhaps feeling guilty?” I taunted with a smirk.
The kin stopped, putting his cloak back on and buckling it tight. He then turned to me, his face even more serious than normal. His amber eyes were blazing.
“You need to be more careful,” he repeated. “You are small, and weak. Stop being foolish and getting yourself into danger when you know you cannot save yourself.”
I blinked.
“There will not always be someone around to protect you,” he said.
With that, he tore his eyes away from mine and disappeared out the door. As it slammed shut, I stood in the middle of the room and stared at the wall. I felt an overwhelming wave of the emotion rise in my throat.
Leaving my room, I walked over and knocked on Rio’s door.
He opened it, and he was not wearing a shirt. Quickly I averted my eyes.
“Can we talk? I mean, if you’re not busy,” I said, looking intently at a nail in the doorframe.
“Of course. Come in,” he said.
I tried to look at everything but the half-blood’s naked torso as I walked inside. He shut the door behind me and leaned against it.
“So,” he said. “What’s on your mind?”
I looked into his eyes, concentrating on them instead of his pale, tattooed chest. It was a little easier to maintain eye contact since he was not wearing his eyepatch for the moment.
“Did you hear any of that?” I asked, gesturing to the room next door.
“All I hear from you two is muffle-muffle-muffle, just in different tones. What happened? You two fight? Do I have to beat him up?” Rio cracked his knuckles. “’Cuz I will. I kind of want to. Can I beat him up?”
“No! No,” I said, waving my hands. “Not really. I just… I wanted to ask you something, I guess.”
“Shoot,” Rio said, walking over to his bed and sitting on it cross-legged.
“Am I a burden?” I asked.
Rio chuckled, then abruptly stopped. “In what way?”