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"You're probably right. I shouldn't get so worked up over it." She noticed him staring at her now, so she said, "Why don't you come inside, and I'll call Solis in?" to try and distract him.

Why is he looking at me? she thought, looking at her overall appearance. She was slightly dishevled, and a little dirty, but otherwise looked presentable. She edged warily to the other door and called her little brother's name.

Anex appeared, her little brother toting behind her, peeking from around her waist. He looked almost exactly like her, exept his eyes were grey instead of Anex's chocolate brown. He stared up at Hiro with sealed lips, only coming out from hiding when Anex steered him in front of her.

"Solis, this is Hiro. He's going to help me work. You should say 'hello.'"

Solis's eyes widened, and after a short 'hi', he darted from the room.

After he left, Anex glanced up at Hiro with an odd expression."He told me he was hiding, because something scary was coming to the house. You wouldn't happen know what he was talking about, do you?"

"I'm not completely oblivious," Anex said, growing angry. "If you just told me the truth, maybe we could works things out." She took a deep breath to calm herself. "I'm not judgemental. I'm not sure exactly what you are, but it really doesn't matter to me." She smiled lightly. "I'm sure that if Solis talked with you he wouldn't be so scared."

Even as the words left Hiro's mouth, Solis was there staring defiantly into his face. He opened his mouth to speak, and despite the high-pitched quality associated with youth, his voice was strong and intelligent. "I don't want you near my sister. You bring bad things here."

The young boy glared at Hiro, almost threateningly, as he addressed his sister. Solis did not like this new person one bit.

"Solis!" Anex snapped at her younger brother. "What's gotten into you? Go do your homework or something."

As the boy left, Anex pinched the bridge of her nose. "You know, I could never hold another person against their will. It was a stupid idea in the first place, especially now that I know Solis is adamant on disliking you. You're free to go; all I can offer is food and a place to stay in exchange for some work. And I'm sure that's not enough to make you want to stay."

She turned to away get dinner ready.

She eyed him with a measured glance. Then she smiled, busying herself around the stove. "You're really going to stay?" she asked incredulously.

"Right, then," she said, trying to hide her grin. "Well, dinner will be ready by the time you finish. You'll be working on the new apartment to our right. Normally, they made me carry bricks, because I don't know the first thing about construction. They couldn't exactly give out jobs that required skill, could they? I'm pretty sure you'll be assigned a similar duty." She paused a moment. "Thanks for doing this Hiro."