Would you take in a stray?

Azzurra had begun to doze off a bit, at least feeling safe in the fact that Erys' bungalow was in a different part of the island than the one she had been sharing with Balth. At the very least she didn't think he would come looking for her here if he was looking for her at all. After how she had left and what she had said to him she wouldn't be surprised at all if he didn't want to be around her and she wondered if perhaps that was for the best. With that in mind and her exhaustion quickly starting to catch up with her, she was beginning to have a hard time keeping her eyes open while she watched the sunset, contenting herself to simply laying out on the shaded porch and making this her bed for the night.

However, before that could happen, a voice pulled her back to the present and she blinked open her eyes to see Erys walking toward her. She hurried to sit up, fighting off her drowsiness with an embarrassed flick of her ears. She felt like it would have been one thing for her to see him coming and greet him or for her to sleep here through the night and wake up before he got here in the morning, but for him to find her like this made her feel self conscious even through she had begun to run out of options. All of her choices and her way of life had always hinged on Balthier. Now that he was suddenly gone it felt like the rug had just been pulled out from under her and she wasn't sure how to get back on her own feet.

"O-Oh, Erys! Sorry, I um..." she stammered, giving him a shy smile. She was just about to start making excuses and apologies when he came up to her, helping her get up so that she could sit on her haunches in front of him, and asked if she was okay. Even though she had experienced his thoughtfulness first hand already, it somehow still caught her off guard. She hadn't been fully convinced that he could really be that kind, but here he was, concerned for her and inviting her inside after finding her sleeping on his porch uninvited and unannounced. Answering whether she was okay or not was far more difficult than she was prepared to do so instead she focused on his second question. "If you don't mind..." she told him softly, her face flushing a bit as she glanced down with embarrassment. "I'm really sorry to bother you. I just... I was looking for somewhere to sleep tonight and I found your bungalow again."

She followed him inside and immediately felt safer being in the warm, friendly space, even though her cheeks flushed a bit when she glanced toward the bed and was reminded of what had brought her here before. She settled to one side uncertainly for a moment, feeling as if she owed him some kind of explanation for why she was here, but not really knowing where to start. "I told my brother that I slept with someone else," she admitted after a few moments, looking down at her paws. "I didn't mention you... I didn't want him to retaliate at you." She fidgeted for a moment before she went on, adding, "He disappeared for a couple of days after that and then just showed up again last night. He was very drunk. I... I ended up leaving after we fought again and I slept for a while at the back of Chimera's estate, but... I don't know what to do now. I don't want to live with him any more." It felt like so much to open up about all at once, but he had already seen so much of her and knew more about her than pretty much anyone else outside of Balthier. She had never really had a friend before and she had never been close to her other siblings. It had always just been her and Balthier. Now... Now she felt like Erys might be the only one she could turn to.

"Azzurra"