Tegan and Taj- An awkward romance

Rasera listened quietly, wanting to say something that she knew Akar still cared deeply about his sister and she knew it was true. She had been with him for so long that she picked up on a least a few things. She had to bite her lip when she heard them starting to fight, feeling like she really had no place stepping in. She looked up when Canice came up the stairs and put his hand on her shoulder. When he entered the door way she turned, poking her head in to ensure that Akar was unharmed. She looked a little guilty from her eavesdropping and stayed behind Canice unsure the details they had been fighting over other than her but that didn't excuse her.

Rasera listened to Canice, finding his accent a little odd but for sure something she could understand. She found herself liking the man, and could tell that he probably was the voice of reason between the two, Tsuna and Akar. She nodded giving him a small smile of thanks for explaining to her when he didn't have to. She could tell that Tsuna just didn't like her for reasons of either her looking like Vesperia or that she thought she was trying to take her place. When he left them to give them some space, Rasera slowly walked over to Akar and placed her hand over his on. "Are you alright?" She asked, not wanting to upset him further.

Even if Akar had said he was alright, she scanned his body checking for injuries. When she was pleased that he was in fact telling the truth and not trying to make her feel better she relaxed in his arms, resting her head against his strong frame. It felt so natural for here to be there. "I'm fine, I am worried though that my presence has upset her..." She admitted with a mumbled, starting the overly obvious. Of course if someone showed up getting buddy buddy with their childhood friend who had looked like their sister but wasn't...She'd be a little cautious as well.

"Lets go look for your horse and make sure she got home before you give me a tour. You're terrible at keeping the worry from your voice." She teased, leaning up and placing a soft kiss on his lips. To help show that she was in fact feeling better and that she had no anger towards him for the events of last night.

Rasera could not help the smile on her face, she loved being with Akar. He was protective and and so completely gentle with her and he made her feel special. She easily walked with him back to his room and accepted his cape, even if she wanted to say that she should be wearing it for the same reasons. Though, his scent on was it and she loved the smell of him. Spice and woods, she had determined and she took a long slow inhale looking around to see if Tsuna would pop up anywhere. She didn't want to anger the girl further...

When outside she took note of the drizzle of rain and sighed, it seemed like this part of the country rained on and on forever. She looked up to see a distant look on Akar's face for a moment before he sent out a loud, long whistle which she assumed was for finding a certain horse. As they waited in the silence she shifted herself to leaned on Akar just gentle enough to show she was there. "You look so sad..." She said knowing losing his sister and unsure of where she had been for so long had darkened his memories.

Rasera listened quietly, offering her comfort in silence as he spoke and she watched as he pulled out the painting. He looked so happy, a wide smile on his face that Rasera wasn't sure she had seen before. She might never see it again, being so carefree and happy comes with innocence and after the attack there wouldn't be any of that. Perhaps after his sister was found and they were away from the war she could try to bring the smile to his face more often, to ease the lines of stress on his face. She loved him, ever beat in her heart was for him and she could do no other than to try and make him happy.

She leaned into him, waiting for the sound of hooves along with the soothing sound of the rain. "You'll find her one day, Akar, I know you will." She tried her best to comfort him, holding onto his side a little more tightly. "And I am sure she is alive and well." She added, in case any depressing thoughts had come to his head about finding out his sister had died.

Rasera felt the happiness in relief in Akar and she was more than happy to have been of help to him. When Sorrahkin came into view and trotted up to them, Rasera went up to her, patting her wet fur with one hand. "I'm happy you didn't leave me all alone with him." She teased, looking back to Akar playfully as she kept a hand on Sorrahkin despite her hand and arm getting wet from the rain. "Who knows how long it would take for him to drive me crazy." She whispered to the horse, loud enough for Akar to hear.

Rasera would go with Mask to put Sorrahkin somewhere drive and safe and then turned to him, her large blue eyes looking up at him with love. "Would you like to show me around now?" She asked, pulling his cloak in closer to his body to keep her warm.

Rasera squeaked when Akar had ran to her, laughing happily as she was spun around. Once everyone was situated in the stables she looked at each horse he had explained and nodded. They were beautiful horses and it made her miss the horses that had been on the land with her adoptive father.

As they walked inside a slow grin came to to her face. She didn't see him being the rich type and it certainly wasn't anything that would draw him to her, but he really did seem like the traveling type. That might have been since she had met him they had been on the road or traveling somewhere, never really resting. When she noted that was room was closed and look to Akar and stopped. "Whats that room?" She asked, her innocent blue eyes staring up at him.

When Rasera asked about the room she immediately regretted it, the happiness that had once been there was now gone. Replaced by Akar who had gone stiff, and distant sounding. She knew it had to do something with his family. A soft frown pulled down the corners of her mouth when he left her. "Akar..." She said, knowing he couldn't hear her now that he had gone. Perhaps it was a good idea to check it out...? If she knew his scars perhaps she could be there help help heal them.

Slowly, after staring down the hallway where Akar had left her, she turned and reached for the key. She pulled it down and slowly unlocked the door, opening it. Whatever was behind this door was hurting Akar and whether it was good or bad memories she thought it might be a good idea. She opened the door and wondered what she would see.

Rasera was only able to see the painting in front of her, of the entire family and she felt a deep sorrow sitting on her chest. This was his family and it had been ripped apart. She felt a lump in her throat that she swallowed to keep down. Luckily Canice had come in and scared her enough that the lump went away as she listened to him talk. She felt the sadness soon return to her as he explained what the room was and that when Akar left it had been on mad terms. "Thats why Tsuna is mad with him..." She said with some amount of realization.

"Thank you, for telling me." She said, walking over to Canice, and putting a hand on his shoulder to show him her appreciation. She gave him the key to the room, running down the hallway to where she figured the kitchen might be. There were tears burning in her eyes when she entered the room, her golden hair hanging in her face. "I'm sorry, Akar...I didn't mean to upset you..." She stayed at the door, not wanting to go in and disturb him,

Rasera could practically feel the sadness pouring off of Akar, and it was breaking her heart. When he walked over to her, he was so gentle, trying not to upset her even as he pulled her into a crushing hug. She wrapped her arms around Akar in return, turned her face into his chest and silently wept. She wasn't crying for herself, no, she was weeping for Akar's unshed tears for all the emotion he had held inside for so long. Keeping himself distanced from the pain and emotion of losing his mother, and then being helpless to help his sister. She would cry for both of them.

Rasera felt it, felt emotions that weren't hers and then she wasn't in Mask's arms anymore. She was floating in Tarz, her body no heavier than a feather as she floated off the ground. She looked below her to see Akar, but it wasn't the man she knew. He was in a violent rage, killing or hurting any he had come in contact with. She watched the bloody scene, which at the time she didn't know as a memory, in horror. She was shocked to watch Akar violently kill a man, ripping his stomach open. This wasn't Akar, it was Mask. Never before had she made a distinct difference in the two until that moment.

There were other things, happy memories of his family, friends his former life. Then the fatal day his mother was kill and his sister was taken. Then a long lonely road. There were memories of herself, feelings thoughts. Everything was hitting her like a ton of bricks and when she finally returned to herself she was shaking nearly as hard as Akar. She pushed gently at the wall of his chest. "Ma.." She had nearly called him Mask. "Akar...I can't breath...something happened..." She needed to breath, to understand what she had seen.

There were many times before this where she could tell something about someone when she touched them or sensed something else about them but never this. She was never able to know what they were feeling or thinking, even reading into their past. The normal pain she had gotten was there, wracking her body but the shock of what she had seen scared her into forgetting that pain.

As soon as the physical contact had ended so did the memories flooding Rasera's head of Akar's past. Overwhelming emotion that had been clouding her thoughts and took her ability to breath were lessened considerably as she leaned against the wall to catch her breath. Had...Mask really felt this? All this pain? She had not one clue to it, and she had been leaning on his strength since day one when he couldn't even afford to hold himself up.

Rasera brought the back of her hand to her mouth to keep from any noise leaving her. There was such darkness in him that she had not know and it honestly scared her. She knew Akar, knew his kindness and love but being around her had opened the wounds so raw on his heart that he had sealed shut. Once she got some sort of semblance of control and bent down to him, "Akar...please...please don't shut yourself away from me..." She whispered, as gently as she could, as if speaking to a hurt child. There was a wealth of love in her voice and in her face, despite her fears from what she had seen of his past. "Please..."

Rasera felt her heart in her throat, he had denied her. He didn't want her around him anymore, but she wasn't going to leave him. Not like this, and when he was better under control she would see if he still wanted her gone from his presence. She leaned in closer to him, wrapping her arms around him, despite the images that flowed in her mind. She closed them out, concentrating on the here and the now. He needed her help to at least get himself in one piece.

"No." She said firmly, holding him all the tighter as she laid her head upon his. "You are the best thing that has ever happened to me, even if you can't believe that. I love you, and if you really wish me gone from you then you can ask me to leave once I know you are alright first. And only after that." There were tears in her voice but she was going to be strong, wanting him to know she wanted to be near him.