When Ryan mentions someone watching them, she doesn't get a chance to respond before the waitress arrives with their food. They sort out the order and feed Vixen, which proves to be another adorable thing the fox does, and she's completely forgotten about the plan Ryan came up with. When he prompts her to follow his lead, she frowns, not sure what he's talking about. Again, before she can clarify, Ryan is in motion, spilling food by colliding with the waitress before booking it out of the tavern.
Leaving Lauren sitting there, blinking in confusion. Once the waitress has cleaned up the mess, with plenty of help from other patrons grumbling about rude customers, she's startled by an unfamiliar voice.
"Well, that was something, wasn't it?"
She turns and sees a very attractive man smiling at her. She stares for a moment before realizing she should answer. "Oh... uh... yeah, I don't know what got into him all of a sudden." She says sheepishly.
"That's alright. Mind if I sit?" He says, indicating the chair Ryan just vacated. "The name is Akoda. I was just passing though town on my way north."
"I'm Lauren. We're heading north too. It's been an interesting trip so far!" Lauren says, smiling.
"I'm sure. You don't look like you're from around here?"
"Oh, no, Ryan and I aRe from... pretty far from here. This place has been, well, shocking, to say the least."
Akoda chuckles. his warm, rolling laugh makes Lauren want to hear more of it.
"Sounds like you've been having quite an adventure. I'd love to hear about it." He says, seeming to be genuinely interested. Lauren hesitates, but there's really no reason she should keep it secret. She starts to tell Akoda the whole story about where they come from and how they came to be here. She leaves out the part about sleeping with Ryan, of course. Akoda listens with interest, asks questions, and seems to enjoy the tale.
@Snoopy The Pug