"-and if you would just trim your hair so it wasn't covering your whole face! It would make you look so much-" Clarine scolded the quiet myrmidon. She attempted to brush a lock of hair out of his face, but he quickly slapped her hand away.

Scowl on his face, Rutger merely hissed, "Enough, girl."

The brown haired swordsman was rude, Clarine told herself. He was quiet. He was antisocial. He was everything she grew up looking down upon... So why, pray tell, was she wasting her time on him, she wondered?

She frowned at his rejection and, as per usual, overreacted. "How DARE you touch me like that!" Now... Rutger may be numb, but that did not mean he wanted people thinking him some sort of pervert. So when Clarine's outburst caused Fir and Noah, who were sparring nearby, to turn their heads, he got up and left.

"Rutger?" the blond girl demanded, "Rutger! Where do you think you are going?" She immediately jumped up and followed him. "I demand you stay put right now!" She couldn't put her finger on what it was about him that kept her coming back. Clarine was a girl who, admittedly so, was spoiled her entire short life. She was used to being the center of attention, used to the respect that she earned from being the daughter of such prestigious parents.

As the young girl grabbed his cloak, Rutger turned and growled, "What do you want?"

"That is no way to speak to a lady!"

And his frustration finally peaked, "Oh?... Well all I see is a loud, whiny little girl." Rutger, opposite of Clarine, had always been a low-class, homeless, disrespected swordsman. He had no sympathy for so many people like the girl... But then Clarine began to sniff, then whimpered... And then Rutger could see a tear form in her eyes...

So why was it that he had sympathy for her?

"Don't cry..." He whispered angrily, to no avail. So he tried again: "Please... Don't cry..."

Rutger knew that she was milking the situation. He knew that Clarine wanted more than anything for him to give in and apologize. This is exactly what bothered him with people like her, figuring that they can manipulate people with things such as tears, money, romance, anything that they have at their disposal. By his philosophy, he would not give Clarine what she wanted...

So why, then, did he go on to say: "Clarine... I'm sorry." He refused to look her in the eyes and show his weakness and defeat. "Okay. Stop crying. Now."

Feeling weaker for having apologized, Rutger immediately turned and walked away. Clarine, satisfied, should have just accepted her victory without another word.

So why did she decide to follow the older swordsman? Because, she decided, Rutger made her feel normal. He wasn't afraid to be blunt with her. He didn't spoil her. He's the only person who treated her as a normal girl, and not the daughter of Pent. It was this reason that she admired him, and that she continued to follow him, despite his outward protest.

Rutger knew he could get away from her, she was young and meek, he was developed and much faster. To get away from her would not be a physically daunting task. But instead he chose to allow Clarine to follow him around.

So why does he act so indifferent to her? Rutger could tell himself a million times that she was a snob. He could claim that they are from far too different of worlds to ever be anything more than comrades. He could try and convince himself that they were just completely incompatible. But he knew that none of these things was why he treated her the way he does. And that the real reason he will never great her with a warm smile or a friendly 'hello' is that he was afraid to admit he may actually need her because Clarine gave him a reason to smile again.