As she righted his wronged brother's assumptions, Malreth smirked. This woman has spunk, even if she was previously crying on the corner in the rain.

"orange?" Mal rolled his eyes, "He's got one of those long, sad back stories. He would kill me if I told you, but I'm going to share anyone since you seem to be at the receiving end of his angst." Getting out some gauze and cleaning supplies for her wounds, he began the little trip down memory lane.

"Kynal had it all. Perfect grades, perfect girl, perfect friends, perfect everything. He was an all-star soccer player for his college who was to go on to bigger and better things. Or at least, that's what we all thought. But all of that tanked post-Valentine's Day. His girlfriend of seven years decided, out of the blue, to cancel their date last minute. We both thought it odd and I, being the kid with the degree in criminal law and having a detective knack for investigating, had to dig deeper."

He frowned. "Kind of wish I hadn't as Kynal's world came crashing down that day. His girlfriend had been seeing his best friend off on the side. He came from money. Ky and I... well, we don't. The only reason we got into college is because I volunteered a ton and got a partial ride to school. And Ky? Being the all-star athlete got a full ride based on his soccer skills." He gingerly cleaned out the cut and applied some ointment before putting down some gauze and taping on a band-aid.

"He hasn't been the same since." Looking up, he pat her fixed up leg. "And that was two years ago. He hasn't trusted anyone since then." Rising, he placed his hands behind his head. "Can you try walking on that? I want to make sure it's not too tight?"

It was around that time that a whistling noise came from another room along with a shout. "Tea's done!"

Malreth rolled his eyes again. "Aria, please do try to forgive his manners. When she left, the better side of him died. It's been a long struggle but I've slowly been bringing back the charming man he once was. He'll warm up to you eventually, especially if you promise him nothing in return. I honestly don't think his heart can take the betrayal again."

"Yo," Kynal was now poking his head in the bathroom. "If you two keep chit-chatting, the tea will get cold." His eyes flicked up past Aria. "Since the ice cream is off the table due to piss-pour weather, you can get me pizza instead."

Malreth cocked a brow before shifting his attention to the woman he was helping. "Don't suppose you want to join us for pizza and wait out this rain?"

Pouting ever so slightly, Ky glared at the woman. "You better like buffalo chicken...."