"Hi. Name's Eren Elijah Idril. How can I help you?"
Eren asked as he stared at Sara with a genuine smile plastered over his face that couldn't be faked or wiped away. He was about to take the red-haired girl's hand in his. His expressions were filled with greed and passion as he was about to touch her hand with the tip of his fingers.
But…
Slap!
But Alephee slapped Eren's hand away before looking judgemental. To her, Eren looked like he was about to steal a daily wage worker's hard-earned money.
'Don't freak her out at your first meeting, Eren. Remember, she doesn't know you yet.'
Eren clicked his tongue and looked at Alephee annoyingly. But he also knew she was right. Retracting his hands from the table, he sighed. He placed them over his lap as he sat, clenching into his fists. It was apparent he didn't trust his own hands to not pull off the same stunt when nobody else was paying attention to him.
Sara didn't notice the banter between Eren and Alephee for these few moments. She seemed lost in her thoughts.
"Mending of the heart…"
Sara mumbled to herself as she replayed Eren's poem in her head. She couldn't help but be intrigued by them and their meaning. She forgot to answer Eren's question. And she also forgot why she was here in the first place.
The red-haired girl looked at Eren fascinated before asking him.
"That… that was a very impressive piece, Expert Eren. Mind telling me how you came up with it?"
Eren's eyes lit up when he heard Sara's question. He cleared his throat before answering her in a voice laced with all the humbleness he could muster, which wasn't much, to begin with.
"Keke. I am glad you liked it, Sara. It's nothing much really. It's just something I made in passing. I have an entire collection of such pieces if you are interested.
Some of my creations are more profound than others. One would really have to listen with their heart and soul to get the meaning behind them.
I am not a singer. But perhaps I can read them to you when it's just the two of us? I don't know. Just saying."
A solitary thought of being with Sara filled Eren's eyes and voice. He stared at her with adoration in his eyes and voice. He didn't pay attention to Alephee's discouraging stare and carried on before sighing dramatically.
"*Sigh. I am an artist, Sara, a true artist who is not meant to be caged by this world's restrictions. Sadly, people don't care about art and poetry these days. They are so focused on themselves that they forget the beauty of life happening all around them.
But you… you are different. And I'm glad I met you. I found my audience in you. Let's get outaaaaaa_ouch!
What the fu…"
Alephee pinched Eren's arm when he didn't pay attention to her hints. They both sealed their ranking status to avoid hurting Sara in any way. As a result, Alephee's pinch turned Eren's skin red. Angry, the former looked at the homunculus and demanded an explanation.
"He is indeed an outstanding artist, Sara. His artworks at Grim Pillar Town are making headlines in Edinburgh these days."
Alephee wanted to control Eren's actions so he wouldn't freak Sara out with his overenthusiasm. But the latter took that remark personally.
"Hey! It's on them. Not me.
And you know what? Art can be anything. I don't need to justify my artistic expressions just because they are an eyesore for some people who don't understand art."
Eren said while rubbing the area where Alephee pinched him earlier. Alephee's displeasure could be seen on her nose. She narrowed her eyes at Eren before speaking privately again.
'I told you to keep your hands off her for the time being and you took it as a free pass to trap her in your web of words. Wow. Have you no shame or patience?'
Eren scrunched his nose and smirked at Alephee before responding.
'Patience? Shame? I ate them long back. They weren't as tasty as people claim to be. Ugh.'
Alephee sighed when she realized Eren could not turn off his "game" in Sara's presence. It was as if his entire being was coming up with words and placing them in his mouth, making him say those things with unparalleled conviction. He was like a kid in a candy shop with a pocketful of Eddies to back his picks.
Sara was bewildered by the behavior of two entities accompanying her at the time. She could tell that the two had a lot of chemistry together– like siblings who always fight and support each other all the time.
Still, Eren's words worked their magic because they were spoken with unshakable intent. They made Sara smile as she responded.
"Expert Eren…."
"Drop the "Expert" part. You can call me Eren."
"But…"
"I wouldn't listen to your requests until you called me by my first name."
"That… that would be a little…"
"I'll press charges of treason against you if you don't call me Eren."
"What? I… That's… that's blackmail. And it doesn't even make sense."
"Call me Eren then. Simple as that."
"Er… Eren."
"Keke. That's more like it. We are off to an excellent start."
"Hehehe."
Sara couldn't help but laugh at Eren's way of getting what he wanted from her. This was one of the friendliest forms of bullying she had ever come across. She looked in Eren's direction with a light smile before speaking up.
"You… you are so different from what I imagined you to be, Ex… I mean, Eren. To be honest, I would love to listen to your poetry sometime."
Sara took Eren up on his offer in the end. Despite everything said about the butcher these days, he gave her positive vibes. And she trusted her instincts.
The blind girl tucked her red hair behind her ears and took a deep breath before voicing her request.
"That being said, Eren…"
