Io placed the cut kale into a large bowl, letting the green leaves dry after their cold water rinse. The garlic was next, two cloves were pealed and then minced, before she was rinsing the blade in the sink, and humming along to the music streaming in from the living room. She bustled about the kitchen with a familiar drone, not entirely paying attention to what she was doing but aware enough to not cut herself. This was all routine, a ritual performed almost daily after her studies. Feed herself, then she cleaned up and made a cup of tea prior to settling down on her large, over stuffed couch and doing her endless homework. Io was a good student who did little else in life. There was no time for boys, hardly any time for her few friends and preferred the silence of her familiar rooms.<br/><br/>So when that voice came ringing from her back, Io’s mind automatically jumped to the conclusion that it was from some new, crazy song that had somehow ended up on her music player. She turned with wide, eyes and the intentions of turning off when she was greeted then with the faint smell of smoke and… something else she didn’t recognize. It was spicy yet sweet like cinnamon, and seemed to be coming from the man standing before her.<br/><br/>Io blinked, dumbfounded, her initial reaction to the stranger’s presence was to try and explain it away. She glanced at the kale and the healthy leaves and had no reason to blame it on the greens. Even her garlic was mold free and had only been picked up at the market yesterday morning. Wide eyes returned to the man and at the same time, she stepped back in confusion before glancing around the room for some hidden answer.<br/><br/>The knife remained momentarily forgotten in her hand.<br/><br/>“Wha’ the… who the bloody<em>hell</em>are you? Ge’ ou’ of my loft!”