She was still trying to get a grasp upon proper etiquette; it hadn't occurred to her that it might not be the best, most polite thing to traipse along behind someone. When the muscular woman started, Rio shrunk back, a bit ashamed. If Mati was anything like the blonde fay she'd met several days ago, she would scold her, as Yumiko had done. But it seemed that the two strangers were very different from one another. The earthen werewolf only gave Rio an answer, still shaken from the shock of having a little child come up behind her. Rio saw that she must have been moving more quietly than she first thought. Her silver-purple eyes traced the contours of the bags, trying to put the objects and their names to one. But nothing was familiar, it appeared to her.
The stranger (who did not smell so much like a stranger) misunderstood. She thought the Marino child was calling her by the name of someone else; Rio hurried to explain, always soft and gentle. "'Signora' is just what I call ladies, Mati. I call boys "Signore" as well. I'm sorry." She was afraid that Miss Church would look down on her, afraid that she'd unknowingly insulted the beautiful woman. She sighed abashedly, smiled meekly, and studied Mati from beneath long eyelashes. Maybe she could make things better. "My name is Rio." That didn't seem enough, somehow. "Rio Marino. And it's nice to meet you"
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