“But because of me and where the hole is, you don't think that's a good idea this time.” Mara said, following his line of thought. “I knew I should have looked harder for a place under the floor.” she huffed a little.
"I'm sure I'll be able to figure something out," Darius assured. "Besides, if you had, we'd have never gotten a proper introduction to each other." The man did his best to find a silver lining to things, smiling a bit.
Mara nodded slightly, still a little unsure if them meeting was actually a good thing. True, he hadn't done anything besides talk to her and he was reluctant to expose her to anyone else. Both of which she was very grateful for but there was no way life was going to go back to normal after this.
"Well…" Darius thought a moment. "What do you think we should do until I figure out what I need to do to fix this?" The man asked. "It might not be the best idea to just leave the hole to your house uncovered."
“Umm… I don't know.” Mara admitted, blinking a little. “You’re probably right about leaving this open… Do you have a picture or something you could put over it for now?” she suggested.
"I think I should, or something similar," Darius said after a moment of thought. "And if not, I could always go get something. You think it would work well enough as a temporary solution?"
Mara nodded. “As long as it covers the hole, it should be fine.” she told him, as she was more concerned about staying out of sight than a wayward draft.
"Alright, then. I'll go look for something." Darius stood, walking into his room. He kept most of his overflow items there, since he didn't really let anyone in. He didn't find any paintings that were laying around, but he did pick one from his own wall to take out.
"Think this will do?"
Mara nodded watching him leave for a moment before turning back to cleaning up, though she managed sweep up most of the white powder into a pile. If there was a use for it for her, she’d figure it out. “Yeah, I think that’ll work.” she said looking up at Darius when she heard him come back.
"Okay, then." The man set the painting on the couch, going to grab a few velcro fasteners. He doubted it would be a good idea to hang the picture up with a nail, seeing as it was to cover up a hole in the first place. He carefully lined everything up, peeling off the plastic cover to stick each piece in place.
Mara watched him quietly for a few minutes before speaking again. “Do you have anyone coming visiting today?” she asked a little shyly.
Darius looked up from where he was preparing the picture, shaking his head.
"No, I don't," he said, smiling at Mara for a moment. "I figured I'd be too busy doing my homework to have time for it."
Mara nodded a little at his answer even if she didn't know what “homework” was. “Then… would it be ok to ask… I mean, I know you're probably already to hang that picture up but…” she stumbled over her words, trying to understand this feeling. “Would you mind leaving it… open for a bit longer? I actually kinda like the light now.”
Darius listened, offering a sweet smile.
"Sure thing! Let me know when you're good with putting the painting up." The man set the painting upside down on the table, looking back to Mara.
Mara smiled shyly but gratefully back at Darius. “Maybe sometime tonight?” she shrugged. “Or before someone decides to surprise you.” she chuckled.
"Sounds good to me, then." Darius sat back down on the couch, legs folding and hands going on top of them.
"I must admit, I'm glad you don't want me to just put it on. It's nice, talking with you."
“You are? I mean, I wanted to keep talking to you too.” she admitted. It was really a nice feeling after being alone for so long after she moved into this house. “I bet you have a lot of questions anyway.”
"Mm, oh thank goodness. I didn't want to push to keep talking if you didn't want to." Darius let out a breath of relief.
"And I do, yeah. Just… about you, really. Who you are."
Mara nodded a little, unfazed. “Yeah, I thought so. Not every day people like us meet.” she said as she grabbed a little stool. “I’m just Mara. Other than the height difference, I’m nothing special.” she answered.
"Everyone's got something special about them," Darius said in turn. "Things we're good at, things we like." Darius turned more, arms resting on the back of the couch as he looked to Mara.
Mara shrugged as she sat down near the hole. “Yeah, I guess.” she agreed. “I guess I could say I'm good at surviving. Made it this long so far.”
"That's something," Darius admitted. "I don't think I could last for two days completely reliant on myself to figure things out."
“It’s not that hard when you grow up this way. My parents taught me everything I know.” Mara said rather plainly. “Do you have someone who helps you?” she asked.
"I have a lot of people who help me," Darius admitted. "My parents, mostly, or people I hire to help."
Mara nodded a little, feeling a small pang of jealousy at how easy it was for him to do that. To get in touch with his parents and ask for advice or she knew they could visit anytime… Both of which were much more complicated and dangerous for herself and her family. “That’s… That's good.” she said a little softly, not sure what else to say.
Darius looked up at Mara, falling quiet for a moment. He wasn't sure, completely, why what he had said seemed to affect Mara so much. He then shifted in his seat, hands folding in his lap.
Mara looked over and chuckled softly at Darius’s expression. “In case you can't tell, I live alone in here. As far as I know, it's just you, me, and your two pets.” she said, running her fingers through her hair.
"Well, it was still more than I knew," Darius said jokingly. He looked up, offering a smile.
"Tell me, do you actually like talking to me, or did you prefer being alone?"
Mara managed another laugh at the attempted humor. “Ummm… Both, I guess.” she answered with a shrug. “I grew up being taught to be quiet because that meant we wouldn't be found. But it is nice to talk with someone again.”
"Ah…" Darius looked up, nodding some. "That would make sense. If you ever want to talk to someone, I'd be open to hanging out with you." The man offered a small smile.