There she was just a walking down the street
She was still following him Rook noted, the small violet eyed toddler had been trailing him for three blocks, ever since he’d left the coffee house. He’d only looked back and seen her twice, the rest of it was just reflections in store windows and rainwater puddles. Rook didn’t know what she wanted from him though because she always kept her distance and hadn’t yet spoken. He would have thought he was just imagining things if it weren’t for the fact that he never saw anyone else with her that could be leading her the same way he was going. Parents were permissive on Gaia but they weren’t usually keen on letting toddlers run wild especially not in the heart of the cities where vehicular accidents were still a fairly common occurrence.
Rook wasn’t the most interesting person walking the streets either that day so he couldn’t begin to fathom just what the little girl wanted with him in particular. He also didn’t intend to ask, stopping to talk to strangers, no matter how innocent or pathetic they might look at the time, was rarely a good idea. You could get conned into all sorts of things here just by being a good Samaritan and Rook had enough on his plate right now. He had work, stabilizing his magic and keeping up with his family to keep him busy. Now was not a good time to be charged with quests and the like, it didn’t make him a bad person, just one who wasn’t currently able to help others for the greater good.
It seemed though that fate cared little for what Rook thought because the shabbily dressed girl followed him all the way back to his apartment. The teen had just unlocked the door to the lobby when there was a soft whimper and he turned in time to see his mysterious followed collapse on the floor at his feet. Reminded of his own fainting spell not that long ago and feeling guilty for letting this happen he gathered the unconscious girl into his arms. A strange tingling feeling spread over his skin as he held her but Rook could only ignore it as he headed further into the building. Sure he could tell the girl was clearly magic but that mattered less right now than getting her settled and revived. Hopefully then she’d talk to him and tell him what she wanted, why she was here.
Hours later when Zora was settled into his bed and he was sleeping on the couch Rook noted with a small smile that like his mother he seemed destined to pick up strays that literally walked into his life.