He didn't really know when it had started. What he did remember, though, was how. He recalled the first time he had seen her: a young woman with her black hair tied to a ponytail, well-dressed in her neat blazer and straight-cut knee-length skirt—a salarywoman who looked like she often kept to herself. She stopped to watch him play briefly against the other Transients in the court, and none could match his speed and agility as he scored dunk after dunk. The crowd cheered from the fences and the bleachers, rooting for their favorite stray dog. Unlike the rest of them though, she didn't stay. She simply moved on.
He dismissed it as nothing initially. Passerby watched the games all the time. Nothing new... Until she had come by again a few days later. Just like the first time, she stayed to watch him win, but was gone as soon as he did. For the next couple of weeks, she became a frequent sight to him from across the fence, yet never with the throng of admirers sitting and cheering.
Always in that stuffy corporate getup, always watching... Always coming and going like the wind.
One day, things changed.
Gone was the business attire he saw her wear. Instead, she had a red letterman jacket with beige sleeves. Denim shorts up to half her thighs, a mere sports bra under her jacket, and red canvas shoes firmly planted onto her skateboard as she cruised down the pavement.
As she breezed by the court, her long hair billowing behind her, she briefly glanced at the crowd, the players... Him. For a fleeting moment, he thought he saw her smile softly, before she left as quickly as she had come. And he knew she was the same person, because she had the same scent as the salarywoman he had always seen.
His curiosity was piqued, admittedly. He didn't know what might have caused the change, but it was a nice look on her.
He didn't have to wonder long.
Some time after one of his games finished, he remained at the court, just laying on one of the benches as he scrolled through his phone for his potential next prey for the evening. He heard the chain-link gate creak, and when he caught a whiff of the newcomer's scent, he sat up, seeing her standing right there. She had a plastic bag on one hand and her skateboard held under her other arm.
"Well, well, well..." Q'ursha gave her a bemused grin. "For once you've decided to reach out rather than scurry off for once."
Her shy smile widened slightly. She was still the quiet type he took her for, but she certainly held herself with a bit more confidence now. "I... Wanted to bring you something."
"Oh?"
She came closer, handing him the bag she held. Peering inside, Q'ursha was greeted by the welcome sight and warm smell of a nicely packed take-out bento.
"I wanted to say t-thank you," She explained, unnerved but willing herself to continue, "I'd been going through a few things in my life, and well... Let's just say I just became very inspired by you enough to want to turn things around with myself. Now... I feel like everything might be alright."
The explanation was vague, for certain. But the gratitude in her eyes was genuine, and Q'ursha wasn't about to turn down some good food.
"I'm not one to waste not, want not, especially with my kind of lifestyle." He set down the package on his side. "Thanks."
Satisfied with herself (or perhaps feeling her inherent anxiety starting to overthrow her newfound self-confidence), she started turning away to head to the gate.
"I should be going though. Have a good eve—"
She stopped when she felt him stand, his six-foot-five figure easily looming over her five-foot-two, and she found herself looking right up at him. Leaning his arm against the pole of the basketball hoop, Q'ursha gave her a smirk he'd often save for his nightly prey.
"Hey, now. It ain't like me to not return the favor just like that." He crowded her with half his body, and even that felt more than enough to block her from moving anywhere. "I don't have anything but my ball and my phone, but..." He bit his lower lip suggestively. "I do have something real nice I can give you to pay you back... Something that's sure to satisfy us both."
His words sank into her quite easily. She's not unaware of the rumors about the stray dog of Arakawa: in someone's bed one night and then someone else's the next. There's no denying that he has an attractive body either...
But she smiled and just shook her head.
"That's... Kind of you to offer." Despite how intimidated she felt by his dominant aura, she willed herself steady. "But if it's repayment for the food you'd like, for now I'd personally want to get to know you more... If that's alright."
Q'ursha blinked. People usually said yes right off the bat, and they'd be off breeding through the night like it was no one's business. But here she was, asking for something a little more substantial than a one-night stand.
His expression softened into something gentler.
He'd be lying if he said he didn't find this rather refreshing.
---
Cooking up more stories like the two rib racks I had last night 😋🍖
I'd say this encounter the Summoner has with Q'ursha happens some time before she meets Arc. He remains a constant, friendly presence in her life, as she does with his. However, they never really become anything beyond that because their beliefs in love vastly differ.
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