With his head slumped against the headrest of the passenger seat, Ren had his eyelids closed over his tender eyes— smiling comfortably with his hands resting over his abdomen, as the warm breeze emitting from the SUV's air conditioning vents blew gently against him. Tapping his foot softly against the carpeted floorboard— in rhythm with the heavy bass backbeats there were in the background of the song the car's built-in cassette player— Ren felt simultaneously both exhausted and invigorated at the same time; the clashing of the two diametrically opposed emotions leaving him clear minded and content.
'First impressions are everything… That's how the old saying goes. And while there's always an exception to that rule, today certainly was a prime example of just how true that proverb is. I've only been here for less than a day… Even so, I confidently can say that I now see the appeal that this place has,' Ren thought to himself with his heavy eyelids opening up slowly; catching Naomi glancing at him with an enigmatic smile gently across her lips, before quickly darting her eyes forward toward the dirt road that her headlights illuminated brilliantly.
'Everything's so much more different out here than how it was living in Arcadia… Life here's as slow as you want it to be, and everyone I've met today are all genuinely cooperative and supportive of one another… It's not a 'dog-eat-dog' world out here, that's for damn sure… Seeing it all for myself, it's… It's comforting… Knowing that you were in such good hands… And it all makes me wonder just how differently things would have been for the two of us if— by some miracle— we would have grown up here together instead,' Ren thought aloud in his head; as if he were speaking with his sister directly.
Letting out a longful sigh under his breath, Ren reached up to scratch his eyebrow with one finger while allowing his imagination to flourish while staring out through the front windshield; the sea of stars that shared the night sky with the gorgeous full moon had him envisioning what it would have been like to stargaze with Vivine, with their parents still by their side. '… It would have made for a beautiful memory, huh Vivi?'
Coming to a slow stop with a cloud of dust forming behind her two back tires, Naomi grabbed a hold of her leather shift knob before putting her SUV into park. Not wanting to mess with her car's ceiling lights, the lawyer chose to turn all of them on by simply opening up the driver-side door and gently kicking it open with the heel of her leather dress shoe. "Hey kid, do me a favor and open up the glove box; I need you to hand me the notebook that's inside of it," Naomi instructed casually in her deep voice; watching Ren leaning in toward the dashboard to do as he was told, as she took her favorite pen out of her blazer's breast pocket.
Using the dome light in the center of the car's ceiling to help him sort through the thick stack of various folders and manila envelopes that the woman had stacked neatly into her glove box, it took the young man a few moments to finally get his hands on the black-and-white patterned composite notebook that was tucked at the very bottom of the organized paperwork. "This one?" Ren asked with an unsure tone in his almost monotone voice, as he raised the notebook up toward Naomi.
"Yeah, that's the one. Now go put everything back exactly the way you found it; I had it like that for a reason, you know," Naomi said with an annoyed scowl on her face, as she took the notebook from him before flipping it open to the first available blank page.
Hearing the sounds of the focused woman scribbling away the tip of her pen against the opened page of her composite notebook, Ren let out a mildly irritated sigh underneath his breath, as he did his best to remember the way Naomi had all of her documents and stationery items organized. "… The least you could say is 'please'," Ren whispered to her with annoyance in his voice— just loud enough to be heard by the lawyer's keen ears.
"Nah, I'm good; thanks for the suggestion though," she sassed back sarcastically; pausing her writing to stare back at Ren, who was moments away from saying something about her attitude. However, the sly smirk and playfulness in her gray eyes that met his gaze was more than enough to let him know that she was just playing with him, and caused him to stare silently at her before letting out a soft chuckle. "Please. And thank you. With whipped cream and a cherry on top," Naomi added with her smirk growing into an amused grin; feeling entertained by her own sassy comments, and continuing to smile even as she went back to writing in her notebook.
By the time Ren had gotten done with his assigned task, Naomi had finished her own self-appointed task. Clicking the end of her pen to retract its metal tip, the lawyer slid the writing tool back into her breast pocket, before quickly tearing out the page she had written on from its dotted lines. "Here, take this with you when Karrah picks you up tomorrow morning; you're going to need it," Naomi said, as she handed the curious young man the sheet of paper.
'Karrah's picking me up tomorrow? Since when?' Ren thought confusingly to himself, as he read through the list of tasks that Naomi had written out for him to get done; all of them included an empty checklist by each assignment, and a bulletin underneath them that had an address of where he needed to physically go. "I'm grateful for what you've done for me, Ms. Yoshimura… So forgive me if I sound entitled when I ask this, but… Why aren't you picking me up instead?"
Arching a sassy brow at him, Naomi quietly let out a scoff as she slowly shook her head at him. "Other than the fact that I got my own life to live? Well, I guess you could say that my obligations to this town aren't always going to revolve around you, kid— sometimes I gotta take one for the team," Naomi replied with a throaty chortle, as she leaned her head toward her right shoulder to stare back at Ren from the corner of her eyes. "… In all seriousness: if it were in the cards for me, then I'd give you a ride tomorrow if I could Ren. It's just that I have to be at the train station tomorrow morning at five, and it's already getting late."
"Train station? Are you going out of the area?" Ren asked with mild concern in his voice, as it wasn't hard for him to see from the unenthusiastic way Naomi was looking at him that something was bothering her.
"Yeah, and I'm not exactly looking forward to it either," Naomi said with a cynical and throaty chuckle, as she closed her door shut; causing the ceiling lights to slowly dimmer down to nothing. "You see, Mayor Bell and I are going to be staying a week or more at this place called 'New Marina'; it's going to be an eight hour train ride to get there, and that alone isn't even the sucky part of having to go there… Which means I'll be heading out right after I make sure you get inside of Vivi's house."
"Oh… Thank you, and I'm sorry to hear that you're not all that excited to leave town. If you don't mind me asking you by the way, what exactly is it that you're not looking forward to?" Ren asked, while folding the checklist of tasks four times into a compact square that he proceeded to slide into his side pocket. "Is New Marina a bad place to travel to?"
"Eh, it's alright there, I guess; cities aren't really my cup of tea to begin with, buuuuut— just to put into perspective— think of it like Arcadia, but only the nice part of it," Naomi said thoughtfully.
"Oh, I see… So what you're saying is New Marina is basically just one big 'San Caliburn'?" Ren asked with a soft smirking forming on his lips; feeling proud of himself, after taking note of the big grin that formed on Naomi's amused face.
"Heh, yeah; it's exactly like San Caliburn," Naomi said agreeingly; silently chuckling more to herself, all the while feeling a little less miserable in that moment. "And just like San Caliburn, there's going to be mimosas in the mayor's and I's near future; the only difference is that we'll have to wait to drown our sorrows until the judge adjourns the court; just like how Earth Mother intended… I'll tell you what, I'll call you around eight tomorrow night, and share a drink with you over the phone when I have more time to talk to you."
'Adjourns the court…? Doesn't that mean… To postpone the hearing of a case, or something like that?' Ren thought uncertainty to himself, as his knowledge of the legal system and the jargon used was limited to what he had seen on television. "I… I don't think drinking's my thing, but thank you… Oh, and if I can ask… I assume you aren't allowed to legally discuss the reason behind why you and the mayor are going to court tomorrow?"
"You assumed correctly, kid! But that's not the main reason I'm not going to tell you about it: you see, the main reason why I'm NOT going to go into detail about the case is because, quite frankly, I don't want to spend an hour or more going back-and-forth with you about work; especially not when I have to be up FOR said work in about- oh, let's see…" Naomi trailed off from her borderline rant, as she took a moment to exaggeratingly stare at the glow-in-the-dark clock posted in her center console, before whipping her head up to look back at Ren. "Six hours, kid… I've got six hours to drive home, get ready for bed, try to sleep as much as I can, and do all the other morning-routine crap that's going to ensure that I'll get maybe four or three hours of rest— AT MAX."
There was a brief moment of silence between the two, and during which Naomi made sure to signal for Ren to politely get out of her SUV, all by smiling real big at him while she bobbed her head toward the direction of the door. '… Oh. Oh, I see now; that's why she kept mentioning about having to leave… How stupid of me to not notice sooner,' Ren thought to himself with an uneasy and apologetic smile forming across his brightened face, before awkwardly grabbing the handle and opening the passenger-side door. "I… I won't hold you up any longer than I already have then. I'll just… Head inside now," Ren said in a low voice; feeling more than a bit embarrassed, as he unbuckled his seatbelt before hopping out of the vehicle.
"… How very thoughtful of you, kid," Naomi muttered sarcastically under her breath. Despite being annoyed with how long it took Ren to pick up on her social cues, the lawyer still held up her word about making sure he made it inside his house first; rolling down the passenger-side window after he had closed it shut behind him, and watching his lamp-post lit surroundings diligently as he walked down the cobblestone path to his front porch.
Not wanting to make Naomi wait any longer than she already had, Ren almost tripped on the first step with how fast he was climbing the stairs—
the motion-activated porch light making it all the more easier for him to see which key from his ring was which. 'Uh?! I think this bronze key opens the outdoor locks, and uh… This one's a- THISONE'S A CAR KEY?!VIVI HAD A CAR THIS WHOLE-Stop, focus; focus! Ummmm… Oh! There it is!' Ren declared thoughtfully to himself, as he pinched the end of the silver key before proceeding to unlock both the door handle its deadlock; his curiosity peaking, as he took a quick glance over at the enclosed garage that was attached to the side of his sister's two-story house.
Anxiously tapping the side of her leather steering wheel cover, the moment Naomi saw the front door opening and Ren turning around to face her, she couldn't help but to let out a loud sigh of relief as she began waving her hand out toward him. "GOODNIGHT KID; I'LL CALL YOU WHEN I GET HOME! DO THE CHECKLIST BEFORE I GET BACK, OR I'LL KICK YOUR ASS!" Naomi shouted from the top of lungs, so as to be heard from all the way where she had parked along the side of the dirt road.
Appreciative of the effort Naomi went through to ensure that he could hear her, Ren simply nodded as he stood underneath the door frame of the opened entryway; giving her a thumbs up instead of shouting back at her, as he knew the limits of his quiet voice. Leaning up against the inside of the white door frame with his arm pressed against it, Ren watched her with a sincere smile across his lips as she flipped a U-turn before speeding off into the night; the faint crimson light of her tail lights appearing smaller-and-smaller through the cloud of dust her tires had left behind in the wake of her acceleration.
'She's such a caring and passionate person… I can see why she was Vivi's best friend; having that sort of person looking after you is a blessing… Even if they boss you around a lot,' Ren chuckled to himself, as he reached into his pocket to take the laundry list of tasks he had been given. 'I… I should probably stay up; there's no sense in going to bed yet— not when I'm expecting a call from Ms. Yoshimura, whenever she gets home safely…'
'… I guess all there is to do is go through the inside of my dead sister's house… By myself. Goddamnit, I've been dreading this moment for so long— I should have done this ten years ago, like how I was supposed to,' Ren thought painfully to himself, as all of the happiness he had accumulated throughout his eventual day in town began to quickly melt away within his heart; leaving behind an aching guilt that he was all too familiar with. 'I'm… I'm not ready for this; I'm absolutely not ready for this…'
Stricken with a burdensome feeling of remorse and dread, Ren felt sick to his stomach as he forced himself to turn around toward the darkened entry way; the pitch-black interior staring back at him, filling him with the fear of the unknown. 'I feel like I'm about to desecrate sacred grounds— like I'm going to defile her memory with my presence alone…'
Having just wanting to go to bed, the thirty minutes he had to spend staying awake were spent painfully looking through each room that Vivine had in her house; the task of taking mental inventory of what supplies she left for him in her cabinets and drawers made him feel more like a grave robber than he already pictured himself to be. When the rotary phone down in Vivine's old office finally began ringing, Ren was quick on his feet when it came time for him to sprint downstairs to answer it. As expected, Naomi had been the one to call him, and other than telling him that she made it home, the lawyer didn't have time to say much of anything else.
Telling one another goodnight, Ren wished for her to have a safe trip with the mayor to New Marina, and that he was looking forward to hearing about her day tomorrow over the phone. Hanging up the handset onto its receiver, Ren was finally free to retire for the night upstairs. Having gotten familiar with which rooms were what throughout the entire house— including even the basement that he had no idea his sister even had in the first place— Ren decided to take up residency within one of the few guest bedrooms that Vivine had on the second floor; unable to bring himself to step more than a few feet into her private quarters.
Even though he had gone to bed with a head full of the negative thoughts that subsequently followed him into his dreams, Ren had awoken in the feeling more refreshed and energized than he ever had. Fluttering his eyelids open as he pulled the blankets closer to his body, had it not been for the blaring of the alarm clock on his bedside table, Ren would have easily fallen back asleep. It took every bit of self-control inside of him to resist the temptation of hitting the digital alarm clock's snooze button, but after letting go of the blanket to begin stretching out his limbs as far as they could go while still laying flat on his back, Ren eventually gathered the willpower to get out of bed— properly silencing the alarm, only after the bottoms of his bare feet made contact with the carpeted floor.
Half-asleep and on auto-pilot, Ren shambled out of the bedroom like a zombie as he made his way downstairs. Once in the kitchen, Ren stumbled his way over to the white-tiled counter where there his tired eyes stared longfully at the simple coffee maker that sat beside a microwave. It was only after pulling out the drawer closest to the coffee maker and seeing only a packet of opened paper filters inside of it did Ren's common sense finally kick in. 'This kitchen probably hasn't been used since before Vivi went to the hospital… Why the hell would there be fresh coffee grounds here, ten years after she passed away?'
"Guess I'm not having coffee today… Or breakfast," Ren muttered disappointingly to himself, after his groggy mind recalled not seeing a single morsel of food from last night's inventory check. 'I don't have any spare clothes either, so… I guess I don't have much of a choice: looks like I'll be wearing this outfit again,' Ren realized to himself, and let out a humorless laugh under his breath as he made his way out of the barren kitchen, and into the downstairs bathroom to use whatever was left to freshen himself up as much as he could.
Working with only a tube full of dried toothpaste, and several bottles of expired shampoo and conditioner, the only comfort that Ren had in that bathroom was its vintage nautical-themed decorum, and of course the hot water that felt heavenly against his body. Drying off with a towel that was left hanging on the rope-covered rack outside of the shower curtain, Ren had the unpleasant experience of putting his travel outfit back on, one piece at a time. 'Dear God, I can still smell the inside of the train all over my shirt! And these socks! Their crusty as hell, ugh… I… I have to get some new clothes today; there's just no way around it.'
Making sure to spray whatever he could find underneath the bathroom sink to mask the odd odors on his day-old travel clothes, Ren leaned over the white counter to press his mouth up against the faucet— taking a long drink of sink water, before turning it off and leaving the steamy room that smelled like concentrated citrus behind.
Being as ready as he could be, Ren made sure to take with him the folded to-do list that Naomi had given to him last night before taking his keys with him as he locked the front door behind him. Having made excellent time, Ren felt confused when he saw a pale-yellow mini subcompact hatchback parked at the end of Vivine's cobblestone path to and from her front porch. 'I… I don't understand; it's only six-thirty, and Ms. Yoshimura said to be out here by… H-How long has she been parked out here for?!' Ren wondered to himself while feeling dumbfounded.
With the gray overcast weather having stuck around from yesterday, Ren made sure to tuck his hands into the pockets of his gray trousers for warmth as he walked down the wooden steps of the porch. Walking down the cobblestone path, and through the fog that hovered over Vivine's green yard, Ren couldn't help but to savor the salty taste of the oceanic breeze in the air as he made his way to the small two-door hatchback— spotting Karrah sitting inside of the driver's seat, with her face buried into the screen of her handheld video game console.
From his experience with the cashier from yesterday, Ren figured that Karrah's nervous and timid demeanor meant that she would be the kind of person who would be easily startled. So instead of knocking his knuckles against the passenger side door to grab her attention and risk scaring her, Ren decided to backtrack several meters away from her yellow car before making his presence known to her.
Going the extra mile by putting a lot of thought into what the volume of his voice would have to be to avoid scaring her, Ren cleared his throat before calmly saying out loud to her, "Good morning, Karrah."
Having just spoken just quiet enough to catch her attention while making her second guess whether or not she had heard him to begin with, Ren stood where he had backtracked to and watched through the passenger side window as Karrah casually put her video game console down, before curiously looking up to meet his friendly gaze. 'Well, that went better than I expected it to,' thought proudly to himself, as he smiled back at her softly before proceeding to walk to her car to let himself in.
"G-Good morning, Ren…! Hehe, eh… S-Sorry about that, I uh… I-I should have been paying more attention to my surroundings," Karrah apologized with a nervous smile on her face, as she started the engine back up with a twist of her key in the ignition; her eyebrows furrowing, as she thought to herself, 'Didn't he have that same exact outfit on from yesterday?'
'Sorry…? Sorry for what?' Ren wondered to himself, while buckling himself alongside her as he turned his head toward her. "You don't have to apologize for anything; I'm on your time, not the other way around," Ren said reassuringly, before asking the driver as she began to turn the steering wheel counter clockwise, "Speaking of time, how come you're here so early? Ms. Yoshimura told me yesterday night that you were coming at seven."
Even the way the nervous woman drove was reflective of her timid personality, as she barely went above first gear as she stepped on the gas pedal; focusing entirely on constantly checking her surroundings as she made the U-turn. "Uh… Sorry about that, I was concentrating… W-What was it again that you wanted to know?" Karrah asked with an embarrassed smile on her face, as she white-knuckled the steering wheel while driving slowly through the morning mist that hovered above the dirt road back to town.
"Oh, I was just asking why it was that you got here earlier than expected; that was all," Ren repeated himself, as he wondered to himself, 'Should she even be driving right now? She looks… Very anxious; more so than yesterday.'
"Ah…! Okay, I see, I see…" Karrah muttered back quietly, as she leaned forward from her seat; so as to peer through the fog, as to get a better look at the barely visible road. "I, uh… I-I knew it was going to be really foggy; there's always fog out here during autumn and winter… And my car doesn't have fog lights, so… I-I left really early, so I could get here safely to pick you up… I'm really sorry if that inconvenienced you."
"No, no; y-you're good, Karrah… Like I said, you've got nothing to apologize to me for," Ren replied back with an inquisitive look in his eyes, as he raised his hips up from the seat to reach for the folded up checklist in his back pocket. "If you don't mind me asking… How 'early' is early?"
"Uh… I'm pretty sure I left an hour ago, so like… I-I think I left the tavern at five-thirty? I can't say for certain— sorry about that," Karrah apologized once again; her lips curling into a nervous grin for a brief moment, before quickly disappearing as she continued to focus on the foggy road.
'Why do you keep saying sorry?' Ren wanted to ask her, but refrained from doing so out of the respect he had for her. "You're alright, Karrah; it's fine… By the way, you said you left the tavern before you got there… Does that mean that you and your father live there?" Ren asked in a soft spoken voice, as he continued to study the anxious woman's expressive face.
Taking her time turning on the curves of the road, Karrah began mumbling to herself once the dirt road had begun to straighten out; giving Ren the impression that she was more than likely repeating his question back to herself before answering him. "Ummmm… Y-Yeah, we have an apartment in the basement… B-But a lot of business owners do that in Crescent Bay! It saves us coin, a-and you never have to go far for work!" Karrah explained in a sporadic voice; seemingly worried about being judged for not having a more traditional living arrangement. "Well… E-Except for Ms. Yoshimura… She usually has to go out of town for work."
'Makes sense… I imagine that disputes that do take place here are solved through compromises and open communication; from what I've seen, I don't think suing one another is even a thing here,' Ren reasoned to himself, before thinking to ask Karrah, "Do you know what kind of cases she usually handles?"
"Uh, yeah… All of Ms. Yoshimura's civil cases are ones that are initiated by the townspeople, b-but most of the time she goes out to New Marina with Mayor Bell. But uh… E-Even my dad's had to hire her before, b-but that was only because his visa was expiring, and he needed her to help getting his citizenship," Karrah replied, as her demeanor transitioned from being her usual timid self, to becoming more sentimental; causing her shoulder to relax a bit, and for her to body to sink back into her chair as she loosened her tight grip on the steering wheel. "Speaking of my dad… He wanted me to let you know that he's got some work for you, if you're interested."
'Work? Wait… Oh… Oh, I see… I'm starting to get why Ms. Yoshimura asked Karrah to pick me up in the first place,' Ren realized to himself, before feeling the corners of his lips curling into a grin as he let out a quiet chuckle. 'I guess she wasn't all too interested in paying for everything on behalf…! Ah well, that's good; God knows I need coins in my pocket— a man can only live off expired toiletries and the same outfit for only so long!'
'… He laughed at that? Why? Why would he do that— did I do or say something funny? Unless… Unless he thinks that sort of work is beneath him?' Karrah thought to herself, as she felt her whole body flinching from how much that assumption hurt her feelings. "Oh, uh… Y-You don't have to do it, of c-course…! I, uh… I forgot that you worked in an office before this; working in food service probably isn't your thing…" She mumbled quietly, but then that's when Ren let out another throaty laugh that made Karrah immediately second guess her judgment. 'Eh?! Why is he laughing this time?! Is this some sort of a joke to him?!'
"Heh haha, ah…! S-Sorry about that, Karrah; I wasn't laughing at you. I just found the timing of the offer to be comicaly perfect; especially with how broke I am right now," Ren explained in his usual mild mannered voice, albeit speaking with reassurance that began to ease the timid woman's nerves. "Like this morning, I had to throw away all my sister's bottles of soap. You see, all of them were all expired, so I had to make due with scrubbing toothpaste and vinegar in my hair and on my body while I was in the shower."
Shocked by what she was hearing, Karrah let out a sympathetic gasp, while also beginning to crack an uneasy smile from how infectious Ren's own soft grinning lips were. "Oh God, that's terrible…! I mean, I wouldn't have guessed that; in fact, you smell more like lemons and oranges than you do toothpaste and vinegar…!"
"Oh, heh— yeah… Yeah, that's because I used some of the organic disinfectant spray that Vivi had underneath the bathroom sink to freshen up my clothes," Ren admitted with his cheeks reddening from embarrassment; his smile still present on his lips, even as Karrah's concern visibly grew on her now frowning face. "To be fair, that's what I get for coming here unprepared; my pitiful morning is completely on me."
"Oh… Oh wow, I… I-I had no idea, Ren… I-I'm so sorry to hear that… D-Did you even eat anything for breakfast this morning?!" Karrah asked; her shy personality beginning to take a backseat to her nurturing side. 'How could I have been so thoughtless?! I should have brought him something to eat from the tavern! I guess Ms. Yoshimura really wasn't overly exaggerating: he really does need coins!' Karrah thought to herself, as she began to press her foot slowly down harder against the gas pedal.
'Is she…? Is she driving faster now? Wonder what's got her feeling the need for speed?' Ren thought to himself, as he heard the hatchback's engine humming louder as Karrah's car went into second gear. "Um… N-No, not really. I actually need to make a grocery run… You know what, I think that's actually on my to-do list," Ren muttered the last part to himself, as he finally unfolded the piece of notebook paper in his hands. "Yep, it's right here… 'Go pick up groceries at the 'First Assembly of Earth Mother': they have a food pantry'," Ren read aloud to Karrah— frowning a bit at his hurt ego, before immediately shrugging it off as he began refolding the to-do list. '… At least Ms. Yoshimura took into account my current lack of finances.'
'A food pantry? Of course! Resourceful as ever, aren't you Ms. Yoshimura? Plus, that'll give him the opportunity to branch out and meet people who are new to him!' Nodding her head agreeingly to the way Naomi wrote her list, Karrah's smile returned to her lips; as did her confidence as she continued to plow through the fog at the maximum speed limit. "Hey, uh… S-Since we've got an extra half an hour to spare… W… W-Why don't you go downstairs and take a shower, once we're back at the tavern? I could whip you up a cup of coffee and a quick bite to eat, while my dad looks through his old clothes for a few outfits you could take home with you; he used to be lean and fit like you, so it shouldn't be a problem at all!"
'Huh… I think this is the most confident I've seen her since I met her. I guess she isn't as anxious as I thought she was,' Ren thought with a warm sensation of joy forming inside of his chest, as even though he had only known Karrah for a little more than a day, he still felt proud of her for coming out of her shell to him. 'I'm starting to really understand what you saw in these people, Vivi… I can't imagine ever finding people like them back in the city.'
Although the offer was extremely generous as it was tempting, Ren found himself reluctant to immediately jump on board with Karrah's idea. "Thank you, Karrah, but… You've already done a lot for me. The last thing I'd want is to inconvenience you and your father more than I already have— my setbacks shouldn't be your family's burden to bear," Ren said truthfully, as he felt as though he owed it to Karrah to be transparent with her about his feelings.
Instead of reassuring him or trying to appease his concerns, Karrah instead became eerily quiet as her comforting smile disappeared almost immediately. Looking at him dead in the eye, Karrah managed to actually intimidate Ren with the enigmatic glare she was giving him. Although she only gave him what could be universally classified as 'the stare' for a few seconds, its effects were effective enough to initiate an immediate change of heart for Ren.
"Actually, uh…! T-That'll be just fine, Karrah! T-Thank you!" Ren stammered out with a nervous expression of his own; letting out a sigh of relief, only after seeing the cashier's comforting smile return to her no longer eerie face.
"Oh, you're welcome Ren; I knew you wouldn't say no to Cerulean hospitality! I mean after all, who in their right mind would~?" Karrah asked rhetorically with her sweet demeanor returning; acting as though she hadn't just intimidated the living hell out of the fully grown man sitting beside her.
Taking in a deep breath and sighing quietly, Ren slumped back in his passenger seat; his dusty rose colored eyes staring out through the windshield with the tops of his eyelids half-closed. 'Holy shit! What the hell's the deal with all of the women in this town?!' He thought exasperatingly to himself— making a mental note to himself, so as to remember in the future that Karrah wasn't as much of a pushover as her anxious demeanor deceptively made her out to be.