[ This is complete madness. The youkai, eyes darting between the two, feels the way one does when a bear is staring down at you while fishing. There is pure fear in his gaze, sweat beading down his scales; there is no clear answer. The tall man with a powerful presence does not lean onto his companion, as he describes her, for support. Rather, he completely overrides her. The little woman in pink and red blinks rapidly, her expression falling, and then turns to look at him with a thin, puckering expression— why? She makes no attempt to stop him in his assertion, either.
Eventually, that sour expression cracks, making way for a smile, as if she understands something in his words that the youkai cannot.
He nods to Van Zieks. Aerith, with no clear respect, raises a hand to slap Van Ziek's arm with the back of her hand. It's a light smack, at least. More of an attempt to keep his attention on her, really. ]
Aww, you do care.
[ Somehow, she picks this out of his words. Whether it's over his job, or genuine care for the public at large, she doesn't elaborate. This seems... to be enough for him. The fish holds his staff out, to Van Zieks.
Satisfied, Aerith nods. With an agreeable tone, she adds, for the little fish man: ]
He's right. We can't escort you. But I can promise we'll be on the ground with you, the same crowd! And if anything goes wrong, you can trust us to do everything we can to stop it.
[ Hand over her heart, she beams. ]
So trust us with this, for now. We can take good care of it. [ And once again, if only because it garnered a reaction the first time, Aerith turns to Van Zieks, brightly smiling. ] Can't we?
no worries at all ❤
Eventually, that sour expression cracks, making way for a smile, as if she understands something in his words that the youkai cannot.
He nods to Van Zieks. Aerith, with no clear respect, raises a hand to slap Van Ziek's arm with the back of her hand. It's a light smack, at least. More of an attempt to keep his attention on her, really. ]
Aww, you do care.
[ Somehow, she picks this out of his words. Whether it's over his job, or genuine care for the public at large, she doesn't elaborate. This seems... to be enough for him. The fish holds his staff out, to Van Zieks.
Satisfied, Aerith nods. With an agreeable tone, she adds, for the little fish man: ]
He's right. We can't escort you. But I can promise we'll be on the ground with you, the same crowd! And if anything goes wrong, you can trust us to do everything we can to stop it.
[ Hand over her heart, she beams. ]
So trust us with this, for now. We can take good care of it. [ And once again, if only because it garnered a reaction the first time, Aerith turns to Van Zieks, brightly smiling. ] Can't we?