(ooc: carried over from Infirmary: General Ailments)

Raphael's hand dropped from before him, noticing Victoria moving away to the right. "Ah, yeah. off to the right I said." He murmured, half to himself, then took a couple quick and long strides after her, closing the distance quickly, though without running.

"Hobbies?" He asked, wanting to learn more about this woman he was finding more attractive by the moment. "Or where you're from... tell me 'bout yourself... If you don't mind." He certainly wanted to keep his own mind off of a certain bit of business he still had to take care of, and found her company a much better state of mind. "and... as for where to start, the beginning is a good place." He said, passing a grin off in her direction as they walked, closed eyed.

"Hobbies?" Victoria looked back as Raphael caught up to her. There were many things that she could start talking about in that very moment, but she held herself back to prevent herself sounding like an idiot. "I love art," She smiled at him. Considering her appearance a moment, she let out a short throaty laugh. "in case you couldn't tell." She took a section of the ends of her purple hair and flipped it up in her fingers. "Mostly painting, though. I love experiementing with colours." She smile was small, but it barely hid the amount of satisfaction she got from talking about her love of the arts.

As they rounded the corner to Tricity's room she then decided to pose such a question to Raphael.
"What about you? What do you have passion about, Raph?" Her cheeks lightly flushed as she realized how the question came out. Carefully regarding Raphael, she waited to see how he interpreted her question.

Raphael smiled, noting how she flipped her purple hair for a moment. "Experiment with paint, or dye?" He asked, half teasingly, and not really caring what the answer was; simply because he thought that despite the reason for the color of her hair, it did not reduce her attractiveness.

"My... ah... passions?" He asked, missing a step, and stumbling just a moment; and completely missing the light blush to Victoria's cheeks. Recently it had been her, though he was not sure he should answer her question in that manner. "Um... Well... ah..." His own self-imposed shyness crept up. She was his current one, immediately before coming to the mansion it was merely keeping his head above water, and before that it was any skill his heart desired; though he chose to relate his most recent of passions. "You... To be honest... You are..." His cheeks blushed slightly as he fixed his gaze on the floor before him as the walked. "You'ra attractive young woman... Who I was able to help... am able to help... and it has been such a very long time since I was able to do that." He knew not entirely what he said was true, or entirely true, or the full reason he was doing what he was doing. He found her attractive, and could feel himself 'going over the deep end' over this person he had just met. "So... I'd hav'ta list you as my passion..." His cheeks a nice deep crimson as they neared Tricity's room.

Victoria's heart seemed to stop in her chest when Raphael spoke of his passion: her. Her eyes darted to the ground while he continued, her cheeks continuing to flush a deeper shade of red as he spoke of her attractiveness and how he took pleasure in being able to help her. Raising her suddenly cool hands to touch her firey cheeks, she finally turned her head only to see that Raphael was blushing too.

"I...I don't know what to say." Victoria stopped in mid-step, eyeing Tricity's room only a few doors away. Her hands slid down from her cheeks and she placed her fingertips on the back of Raphael's hand. "I'm flattered." Her brows rose. No one had ever spoken so candidly about how they felt about her since her best friend from school told her that he had been in love with her for years. That relationship never worked from that moment on, but maybe this time would be different.

Looking up at Raphael with a soft expression of a warmed heart, Victoria looked to her hand touching his and then turned her hand under his, entwining his fingers with her own. A smile couldn't help but cross her lips as the whole event began to sink in.
"Thank you." She said softly. Still embarassed, but admiring his courage and honesty, Victoria couldn't help but be moved. Shifting her weight forward, Victoria lifted herself up and gave Raphael a light kiss on the cheek. "You've been more than kind."

His fingers remained loose a moment as Victoria's hand closed on his. It was nice, a soft feminine hand against his. Certainly something he had not felt since before he was 'banished' from his home in Virginia. He smiled some at the gesture, though his eyes remained downcast, listening to her speak, and just enjoying her presence at the moment. His own fingers closing to complete a single clasped pair of hands between them. "You're welcome." He murmured in equal softness to her thanks, then immediately wondered if she could feel the heat in his blushing cheeks as her lips grazed his cheek. "My pleasure..."

"What about you..? Your passion lies where, or on what?" He asked, quietly, silently hoping. His mind certainly was well distracted from other 'duties' he had to perform, and perhaps on a permenant basis should something develop here with her. "Unless, of course, I'm... ah... bein' to forward in askin'."

"No, not at all." Victoria still gazed at Raphael even though his eyes were turned from her. She gave his hand a squeeze as she seemed to play with it within her fingers. "I suppose you could say my passion is in creating." she explained softly, starting to walk again towards Tricity's room. "I've always been the girl that stood out in the crowd, of course." She let out a giggle at the thought. "Art only came naturally to me." She turned to smile at Raphael again, hoping that he didn't feel so awkward.

The truth was that now Victoria's mind was set on what he had said to her. The words that came out of her mouth didn't match the thoughts that now swam through her head about him. Things between them had become momentarily awkward, but heated. The excitement from the moment made Victoria's heart race and she didn't want it to end. When Raphael changed subjects, her spirits dampened a little, and she could have sworn that her hands flickered from visible to invisible and back again.

Feeling her move slightly, and certainly not wanting to break the clasp their hands had formed, he moved with her. Only a few steps to Tricity's door now, Raphael sighed lightly, and hoped that Victoria did not loosen her hand from his once they arrived at their destination. His cheeks had lost their rosy touch, and he certainly was getting closer to at ease. He enjoyed her company, but placed butterflies into his stomach that no one else had.

"Creating art? Painting an' the like?" He asked, ever so slightly disappointed, though he hid it well, that she had not responded with 'you' as her answer. "Do yah use other mediums as well?" He asked, eyes finally drifting from infront of them and up to her. A beautiful sight, even if he did say so himself. He had certainly had offers before, though usually from a shadier type of woman; the ones who had watched his most recent fight... his 'fans' one might say. He had not found them attractive, though several had been; atleast physically so. Victoria was most certainly different, atleast she seemed different to him. Interested in 'creating' things... not watching one man destroy another.
He smiled at her, a smile that somehow conveyed a deeper attraction of her than before.

Victoria nodded with an internal smile that she could hardly contain. The way he looked at her sent her heart fluttering so much so that she had to take in a deep breath to relieve the butterflies. She gave him a soft, coy smile only to turn her brightened blue eyes away from him.

She stopped before they reached Tricity's door, her hand pulling at his as she fell behind his step.
"Do we really have to do this now? Can't we go someplace else for a while." She could feel her cheeks flushing again. "We could...talk, get to know each other more." She swallowed a lump in her throat. "I'd like to get to know y-" She smiled as if she were embarassed to say what she really meant. "the grounds. I'd love to look at the grounds. Would you take me? We can find the telepath another time." She looked to his eyes, hoping that he would read between the lines of what she was poorly trying to say.

Raphael could read body language. It was practically a requirement in the ring, and Victoria's was becoming easier to read. "Most certainly. I'd be more than glad to show you 'round the grounds." He had been dreading reaching Tricity's room, mainly because it might separate him from this woman. "Anywhere in particular you'd like to see first? I know my way 'round pretty well." He stated simply, moving on, his hand still in her's, a slight tug to bring her after him. He had an idea of a good place to just sit and talk, provided the weather was pleasant enough.

"So... ah, what's the first thing you'd like to know 'bout the grounds?" He asked, his feet carrying him towards the next stairwell, his question not so much about the grounds, as himself. Though he chose to ask her in the same manner she had asked him. "Really... I'm fairly op-" he started, then tossed a grin her way, a grin that was not in the least bit faked, or sarcastic "knowledgeable 'bout things." He hoped his own innuendo was not thick, or subtle. Certainly he would not mind sharing some of his own secrets, at least his lighter ones, with her... and in time his darker ones as well.

At first Victoria's mind was innocently thinking of looking at the gardens surrounding the mansion. When Raphael grinned at her, the thoughts immediately changed to what he seemed to be suggesting; something of the more intimate nature. Victoria giggled at the comment.

"I'm open to learning all sorts of things." She grinned back at him, having fun with the subtext of their conversation. "I'm quite a good student." She seemed to bounce around in front of him, taking his other hand in hers and walking backwards as she smiled at him. "What do you have to teach me?" She bit at her lower lip, realizing how what she said came out. The innuendo was meant; she just second-guessed how obvious it seemed to come out in her playful words.

Raphael pursed his lips slightly, then smirked, and 'hmmed'. Flirting could be such fun, he decided. "Well." His first word well stated, and punctuated. "I've a list. I could show yah the grounds with a whee bit offa touring 'fect, as well as a bit of schooling on the physical nature of the world we reside in." He continued to smile, then tugged her hands towards him as they neared the stairs, no need for her to go tumbling, pulling him with her, he would heal quickly, she, likely, would not. "Find a quietest place 'round here, and show you the proper philosophy on history. Mine or your's, should you like to take the teacher's position." He stopped just short of the stairs.

"Or, we can mix the two. Find a relatively quiet avenue, during a tour, and examine eachother from there. Your pick my student." He said, ever so slight an emphasis in his voice on the 'my' in his statement.

Victoria smirked as she watched Raphael think. He sure was cute. She continued to smile as he told her his plan, her cheeks lightly flushing as she interpreted his words. He certainly was offering many avenues for them to go, but they both knew that they were talking about the same thing.

As they neared the stairs, Victoria suddenly felt the edge of the first step at her heels. Overcomepnsating by taking a wild step forward, she found herself tumbling into Raphael's arms, instinctively wrapping her own arms around him for stability. Letting out a nervous giggle, she looked up at him. It wasn't just the stairs that caused her to tumble into him; his words also caught her off guard.
"Sorry." She blushed at her action, trying to straigten up again. "You are the teacher, Raph, I say you lead the lesson. I'm but a pupil...willing to learn." Her words were dripping with innuendo even if she wasn't realizing how thick she was laying it on him. Where they went from there was his call.

"You know, if you wanted a hug, you could of asked for one." He stated, then stuck his tongue out at her, following that with a smirk. "Alrighty, wandering for a quiet spot it is then." He bent his knees slightly and looped his arm behind her legs, and lifted her off her feet. "Hope you don't mind m'lady Victoria." He said, then carried her down the stairs. He felt that this was much nicer than how he had previously carried her. He directed their path down the hallway on the main floor and towards a door that would take them outside. "Door please?" He asked, seeing that his arms were already full.

"Now then. Garden, courts, or pool? Certainly the quietest spot would be in the garden. So then, where to begin, eh?"

(OOC: I'm sorry to talk out of character here, but to 'Trinity's Room'?)