Crime & Charisma || Crow & Aylin
TIMING: A few months after Crow arrived to town. PARTIES: @corvidaecrowââ and @onlyaylinâ SUMMARY: Crow happens upon Aylin after heâs stolen something, and the two hit it off. WARNINGS:Â None!
Crow was normally very good at getting in and out but this shopkeeper had been rather persistent. Sure he took a few things here or there from the shelves and stored them in his jacket but it was nothing the store owner would miss terribly. If anything Crow needed it more then they did. The problem came when the store owner followed him out shouting after him and drawing more attention than he wanted. Crow took off with the man barely keeping up and shouting about him being a thief. Heads were turning his way but luckily he was putting more and more distance between him and the man who was quickly running out of breath. Everything would have been fine if he hadnât bumped into some girl. âFuck.â He grabbed her arm to stabilize her then dragged them both into the alleyway. He was quick in tossing his jacket into the shadows, âSorry.â was all she got before he pinned her against the wall. He was doing his best not to touch her as he hid his face next to hers. The store owner soon arrived and looked around confused as to how such a tall person could disappear. They looked into the alleyway and saw a couple standing there and couldnât help but curse at losing the thief, taking their hat off and smacking it against their knee before skulking back in the direction of the store. Once Crow thought it was safe enough he pulled himself away from the girl and went to retrieve his jacket from the ground.
Aylin had gone to return a few books to the library, and she, for once, had decided against borrowing too many more, instead just choosing a couple that easily fit into her bag. Sheâd sent Ceyda a quick text, asking what dinner might be that day, when someone suddenly bumped into her and promptly pulled her into a nearby alleyway, the only thing keeping her from screaming was his quick apology, though that still didnât do much to stop her heart from racing, and she bit down on her lower lip as hard as she could without actively drawing blood. âI - itâs -â she shifted, moving her face towards the side, glancing over at the person whoâd been following the person in front of her, doing her best to focus on what she could see, hear, and smell. âItâs fine,â she finally replied when they went to go and grab their jacket. âYou okay? Youâre not like, on the run from the law, right?â She offered a stifled laugh, ânot sure if my aunt would be thrilled if I was helping someone escape, though also the police can be questionable, soâŚ.â she drew out the âoâ before taking another steadying breath as she finally focused on the tattoos on the otherâs arms. âIs it too presumptuous to ask your name after all that?â
Crow pulled his coat up and shuffled toward her he pulled out a couple of packaged cupcakes from his pocket and offered it forth as repayment for helping. âStole. For dinner. No choice.â He muttered as he waited for her to take the treats. Crow didnât like leaving a favor unpaid. It made him feel like he was ungrateful for the help when he wasnât. Though he wasnât sure the girl would want stolen cupcakes when she seemed so concerned with whether or not he was a criminal. Not like he could help it though. Itâd been a few months since he came here and no one would hire some kid without an ID, so he had to steal if he wanted to eat. Not like a stranger would know that, then again his slightly dirty appearance might have given it away.Â
Crow paused at her asking for his name, he hadnât been out of the cult that long but It was fair to tell her he guessed. If she didnât want the cupcakes he could at least answer her question. âCrow. Donât tell others.â It was better if she kept quiet. He didnât know if his former family had tracked him to White Crest or not but keeping his name of the lips of as few people as possible would at least make it harder for them to pinpoint him here. Or so he hoped. He didnât know if Sigas could track him or not then again if the demon could it would probably have hounded him to death by now. Still better safe than sorry.Â
She shook her head at his offering, âno, Iâm really all good - and sometimes Iâve gotta be specific about the types of food I eat, soâŚ.â Aylin let her voice trail off. âBesides, itâs yours, and I donât really know you, so I think itâd be like, super rude to take food from you.â She pressed her tongue against the roof of her mouth. âIâm not going to tattle on you, if youâre worried about that.â She scrunched up her nose. âI donât do that.â Granted, sheâd not had the proper and âstandardâ schooling experience that some books told her about, but Aylin liked to believe that even if she had, she would not have been the sort to tell on others. That didnât seem like the sort of thing that helped, and there was nothing she valued more than helping others.
âI wonât tell, promise. Iâm Aylin.â She offered him a soft smile. âIf my aunt asks what Iâve done today, Iâll just say I met someone nice, but thatâll be it, is that okay?â She looked up at him, with slightly wider eyes. âIâm not going to hurt you. I donât even like to hurt bugs, so hurting a person?â She felt her body tense up involuntarily. Of course, sheâd been raised to hunt, but that was werewolves, not humans, and not helpless bugs, either.
âDidnât say you would.â Crow stared down at the rambling girl and stuffed the cupcakes back into his pocket. She was weird, everyone out here was. They all talked so much and took forever to get to the point, he wasnât used to it. Aylin in particular seemed to like repeating herself. It wasnât annoying though, but he couldnât quite think of the word he would use to describe it. Not unpleasant, not overly enjoyable. Just fine. He guessed that would have to do. Her rambling was fine.Â
Crow slipped his jacket back on and pulled his phone out, opening the contact list he slid it over; there were no numbers in the phone yet besides his own. âNumber. Will text. You can call me. If you need a favor. Will repay your help.â He wondered why she needed to tell her aunt of their encounter but didnât disagree with her suggestion. If thatâs what was normal for her then so be it. He was hardly one to judge. He had never told anyone about his day, they all knew what he was doing at every hour. His schedule had been so structured these first few months on his own were strange and uncomfortable.Â
âOkay, just wanted to make sure you knew.â Aylin sighed, briefly, âbecause the last thing Iâd want is for you to think Iâm bad, or something,â even though, she supposed, worrying about that when sheâd just met a stranger was perhaps not the number one thing that she should focus on. Still, she couldnât help who she was, and right now, that wasnât the best thing to dwell on. âGood. Good.â She bit her lip.
She took his phone and quickly added in her number, though refrained from adding in her last name to his contact, simply choosing to go with Aylin, followed by a small moon emoji. âYou donât have to repay my help, honest, but Iâd like you to text me, and maybe I can bring you baked goods, sometime? That way you donât have to worry about people chasing you around, and I love to bake, soâŚâ she trailed off. âSound okay?â
âWhy does that matter?â Crow didnât get why sheâd worry that a stranger thought she was bad. She barely knew him yet was fussing over how he viewed her. Was she doing something wrong? It was quite possible. He still wasnât used to how people socialized out of the compound. He was wondering if it was because she was talking to a stranger. That didnât make much sense, heâd talked to strangers before without any of them reacting negatively. Then again if the girl had to tell her aunt about talking to him perhaps her aunt was strict. Heâd dealt with strict adults his whole life and knew it could be suffocating. âAre you okay?â He wasnât sure what heâd do to help the girl out of her situation, but heâd definitely think of something if Aylin asked for help.
Crow was concerned for her well being but here Aylin was talking about bringing him baked goods. He couldnât really say no to food especially with winter setting upon them soon, plus her bringing food could be a good way to check on her regularly to make sure her aunt wasnât mistreating her. âWoods dangerous. Will meet in park.â He took his phone back once she was one. âCanât text often. Charging is hard.â
âBecause I always like to make the very best first impression I can.â Aylin shrugged. It was true, especially given the fact that she hadnât interacted very often with others, and the idea of coming off as rude sent knots to her stomach. âI - yes, Iâm fine! Just nervous is the main thing, and not used to talking to new people.â She offered him a small smile.Â
âThe park works for me,â she nodded, âI like it there. I mean, I like it most places that arenât the forest at night, soâŚâ Aylin trailed off, âbut it doesnât sound like you want that anyhow, being that you agree with me on the dangerous woods front.â She nodded again. âMakes sense! I wonât text you too too often, either.â
âWhy?â Crow could care less what people thought about him. Did it really matter? Then again he never really socialized outside of his schedule before. Most of his interactions were quick commands or corrections to his fighting. Perhaps he was the strange one. He was learning that life was very different from how it was in the compound. Not that he really cared if people saw him as strange, he was out to survive not make good impressions. âUnderstood.âÂ
âLive in woods. Know the dangers.â Crow explained himself, the threat of the woods kept him safe and he could defend himself well enough, charging his phone though required him to go to a cafe and buy something in order to sit and charge his phone at one of their outlets. âText when you want. Will reply slow. But will reply.âÂ


















