Ren had been deep in his own thoughts when the hair on the back of his neck suddenly stood on end. He was about to turn on his heel and assess the threat when he felt something prod at the small of his back, and his name fell from the lips of someone standing far too close for comfort. The voice… it sounded distantly familiar. Familiar enough to creep up Ren’s spine like an arachnid.
Considering what was best for him in that moment, Ren kept still, holding his hands out in front of himself carefully. Alone, he knew he did not hold the best odds of fighting someone who might potentially be stronger than he was, and even if he were the stronger of two, what would guarantee his safety? Slowly, he turned his head to look over his shoulder. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw bright golden eyes and a dark sneer. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. The aura was familiar as well, and Ren knew exactly who he was dealing with.
Tyrian Callows, the man Ren used to know as his older sister, Tai Ruan. Opening his eyes again, he faced forward, and lowered his hands to his sides. He knew better than to fight back.
tyrian grins a bit wider and slides toward ren’s side. his tail remains pointed at his back, but tyrian puts his arm around ren as well to cover it up and laughs happily. “i can’t believe we ran into each other!” he says, his voice alive with joy. “how long has it been?”
he squeezes ren’s side, claws digging into flesh. his voice lowers to barely a whisper. “play along or your death will be far slower.” he hisses.
tyrian continues to make small talk as they go on, jovially pretending that ren is an old friend he just happened to run into in the streets. he eventually takes ren to his hideout, an abandoned apartment building with the windows boarded up, and pulls him into the closed off storage room.
inside are his meager means of living: a small roll-out cot, a bag filled with dried meat and other non-perishable food, a few bottles of water, and metal polish and a whetstone for his blades. he shoves ren inside as hard as he can. he giggles.
“now then!” he licks his lips. “are you going to fight, or shall you go quietly?”