"Let me get this straight," I said, keeping my voice as even as I could, though there was certainly more than a little bit of emotion just begging to seep through. "Farlan pestered me for weeks about joining the group. He badgered me and badgered me and badgered me and when I finally expressed interest in it and agreed, you gave me a hard time about it and forced me to go steal my own gear! You made me prove myself."

"Mm-hm," he hummed absentmindedly, clearly prompting me to continue, which I did.

"I had to prove myself," I reiterated. "You made that crystal clear. And I did, and only then was I allowed to even learn to use the gear."

"Glad to see your memory isn't going."

I went on without even bothering to dignify his words with a response. "And all Isabel has to do is ask politely?!"

He let out a thoughtful sort of noise, considering it. "Maybe you should have tried that."

"Oh, please," I huffed. "It wouldn't have worked and you know it. I think you're just going soft." I got a swift flick to my temple for that one. "Ouch!"

"I am not going soft," he protested right away. He glanced at me sidelong to say, "And that didn't hurt. I know it didn't... Right?"

"It didn't," I assured him, though a frown still lingered on my lips. "But if it isn't that, then what is it? She's fiery, anyone can see that. And she seems like an incredibly sweet girl."

I nudged him with my shoulder as we walked, intending on teasing him. The way I saw it, he deserved it. For one thing, Isabel got an easier task to join the group. For another, the damn man just flicked my head! So, this was all due diligence, in my eyes.

"What, are you sweet on her or something?"

He scoffed, as though offended at even the idea. "Hardly."

"So, what was it, then?"

"We have an extra set doing nothing more than gathering dust right now," he explained, and I fought the urge to scoff at such a stupid reason. "And there was something about the look in her eyes. She wanted to..."

"To fly," I finished for him with a smile, finally getting it. Honestly, that was all he needed to say. I wasn't upset she was joining, just confused at the changing of his standards. "I swear," I continued, "you have this tough, hard front you show everyone but you're just a big old softie. You just don't want other people to see it. But it's too bad, because I do."

He rolled his eyes. "Shut up."

"For what it's worth," I said, "it's not that I disagreed with your decision. I think she'll make a wonderful addition to our family."

"Family?"

"Is that not what we are?" I asked. "Aside from Isabel now, I'm the newest one to the group but you two welcomed me in your own... special ways. And to me, it feels like a family. We're a team, sure, and a crew or a... a gang as Farlan likes to call us, but we're a tight-knit group like a family."

"I see." There was silence, for a moment. "What did you want to talk about?"

"Oh," I said, reminded of the very reason I had asked him to come out with me and that was, of course, about this morning. "Right. Yeah. Um... It's about this morning, but there's something else, too."

He looked at me sidelong, one of his eyebrows rising up, a clear indication that his interest was piqued. "It sounds important."

"I think it is," I said, almost letting my nerves take over. I allowed the words to gather in my mind, taking a quiet moment just to find the nerve I needed to speak. "Firstly, about this morning, I'm sorry."

"Sorry for what? Making a mistake?"

"Yes," I pressed. "I almost ruined the whole job and it would've been a week of intel, tailing, reconnaissance, and hard work wasted. And for what, me slipping?"

"That part couldn't be helped," Levi argued.

"Yeah," I started incredulously, "but at least if we fail a job, let it be for something out of our control, like a... I don't know, like the guy we're tailing suddenly having a change of heart or something so we don't have to go through with it - you know, like the one last week. But because I slipped? Levi, isn't that such a stupid way to-"

"Amaya," Levi said, cutting in firmly, taking me by surprise in more ways than one. He let go of my hand to step in front of me, making me stop dead in my tracks. Suddenly face to face with him, I was hit with the full force of his intense gaze. "You're not getting it. It was out of your control."

"But you were so upset," I said, "I... I just thought..."

"Thought what? That I would be more upset about a job getting ruined than about your life being threatened? You're an idiot if you actually thought that. All you did was slip. I don't care about that. But if that man had seen you, you'd have been dead in an instant. We're lucky Farlan was there to have your back, and that he was close enough to help."

"I know," I said quietly, and I could hear in his voice he lamented not having been in Farlan's place. Leaving it to someone else, leaving it in someone else's hands... He was beating himself up for it, but he was focusing on what we were talking about all the same.

"If the job succeeding meant that your life would be sacrificed," he said slowly, slowly enough that there was no way for me not to understand, "it wouldn't have been worth it. Get it through your skull. That's why I was upset. You kept spouting nonsense about the good of the job and apologizing for it when neither of us cared about that."

Huh.

"You're sure? I really thought you were upset with me."

"I was upset that you were more concerned about a job, about the money we would lose, than about your own life." He sighed and shook his head. "It doesn't matter how much money we're offered. No job is worth losing your life over, Amaya."

"Oh," I said quietly. "I'm sorry."

"Stop apologizing," he said firmly. "Never give up your life for the good of a job. You got it?"

"Got it," I responded. "I uh..." I trailed off, laughing a little. "I was about to apologize again."

"You're a moron," he said, and it was obvious in his tone and in his face that he was messing around, that he didn't mean it. "But what else did you want to talk to me about?"

"Ah, that," I mused. "It's really important to me, but I don't know how to word what I'm about to say, so don't be too hard on me."

A confused and almost concerned knit formed in his brow, and I was grateful that we had made it to a quiet part of the city. We hadn't quite yet left our neighborhood, but we'd gone along one of the roads that sloped gradually upwards and at this hour - the twilight - it was rather quiet.

I wanted to take advantage of this time, and of us being alone. All the feelings I'd been feeling were so confusing, yet so strong, and they only seemed to grow with each passing day. I couldn't ignore the rapid beating of my heart whenever I saw him, spoke with him, and even noticed him looking at me, which was something so incredibly simple, but elicited such a response out of me every time. It was difficult enough to ignore such things already, but as all these feelings got stronger and stronger, it only got harder and harder.

I had a feeling that I knew what it was, because the very culmination of all the feelings that I felt could only be...

I knew what the word was, but I was out of practice saying it. It was a deceivingly, deceptively simple thing. But if I chose to say it today, or if I even could, it would be my first time saying it to someone not in my family, someone who wasn't my father or brother or grandmother, and...

Something about it was terrifying.

"Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," I assured him. "It's not that there's something wrong, it's just a... scary thing to think about."

To his credit, Levi was silent. He was waiting patiently for me to speak, and I wasn't sure if he knew just how much I appreciated something so simple. I took the time, brief though it was, to gather my thoughts as best I could. There were so many, so many, and I just wasn't sure how to word it, or how he would respond, or even if I could possibly say all that I needed to say in a coherent, concise way...

I figured I found a good place to start.

"It's about you and me," I said, a sheepish smile slipping onto my lips. "Us, I mean. That's the word I was trying to say." Levi smirked, and I wondered if I looked as frazzled, as flustered as I felt. I must have, if he was looking at me like that. I reached out and took one of his hands between both of mine, looking into his eyes for any hint that he was uncomfortable. But there wasn't one, and so I smiled surely at him.

"You're a very interesting man, Levi."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"To put it simply," I said, "you're unlike any other man I've ever met. So many people down here are selfish, indulgent, belligerent, and just... awful. But you aren't. You're the most selfless man I've ever known and despite how strong you are, you're still good. You're a good man, Levi."

"Am I?" He asked, his voice not quite hesitant, but clearly disbelieving in my words.

"If you're implying that you're not a good man because you've hurt and killed others, don't bother. Because you only ever do it to people who have done wrong by others. Never have you killed an innocent man, and in no way have you ever done anything to make me question how you value human life."

"You don't know how I grew up," Levi said simply. "You have no idea if that's true or not."

"Maybe not," I said, "but if you were raised to kill simply to kill, or hurt others for the hell of it, it's clear that you've grown past it. You have this incredibly strong moral code and even now, if you hurt someone outside a job, it's because they've threatened someone else or something like that. Besides, that'd be like saying that I'm not a good person."

"Who told you that?"

"Oh, ha, ha. Very funny. Still," I said, looking down at our joined hands as though that might bring me some courage, "you're a good man, and though I'm not exactly sure how to say it, I'm done ignoring what I feel."

"And what is it that you feel?"

"Well," I said, "whenever we talk to each other, even now when I don't know what the hell I'm going to say, it's as easy as breathing. And when I look at you, I find that I want to know how you're feeling and what you're thinking and then when you look at me, I lose sight of all that and my heart starts to beat really fast."

Goddesses preserve me, I felt like a young girl again.

Weeks back, when I had spoken to El's ghost at his grave about this, it had been doubly so, but I wanted nothing more than to hear his advice on this. I mean, he'd loved Ellie, and Ellie had loved him so. He had clearly been well-versed in this, far more than I was and that was simply because... I'd never felt this way before. El would've had his friends, his family to talk to, but me... I had no one.

Who was I supposed to talk to about it? Farlan? He'd only tease me the whole time. And Mason would probably just shrug and tell me that he knew nothing of the subject, either.

"Truth is," I said earnestly, "I feel a lot when I look at you, Levi. I've had a hard time figuring out what it was, because it's not the same as what I felt for my father and brother, and it's not the same that I feel about Farlan and even Mason. It's different and for a while, it scared me to even think about it. But I'm not scared anymore because I feel what I feel and I don't think it's going to go away."

"You're doing a lot of talking about the feeling, and not telling me what you feel."

"Right," I replied, summoning my nerve to just say it. I took a deep breath in and released it slowly. "I..." I let out another breath and looked down, embarrassed. "Wow. This is harder to say than I thought."

"Oh? I thought talking to me was easy," he snarked, making me laugh.

"Asshole," I said with a laugh. I gathered my courage again and looked into his eyes, and once more I was struck with how patient he was being. "Levi, I like who you are as a person, a lot more than I thought I would upon first meeting you. But beyond that, I... Levi, I love you." My words faded out into silence, and as the silence stretched on and on, my heart sunk lower and lower. My smile, small though it was, fell away from my face and I frowned. "Ah... I'm sorry, you don't need to say anything and I don't expect you to reciprocate my feelings or anything like that, so..."

His eyes never left my own. He looked confused, understandably so, but there was also a hint of what appeared to be hesitation, and perhaps some sadness. And that had my heart falling further into the pit of my stomach. But when I took my hands from his, he was quick to take one again between both of his, holding me in place.

"Don't, uh." He cleared his throat. "Don't go. I don't..."

I should've known. And to think, I thought he might feel the same way. It had seemed so obvious, at least to me. Levi, the clean freak, willingly holding my hand? Levi, the stoic man, doing what he could to help me feel better when I needed it? Levi, who cared for me so, and expressed it in his own funny ways...

Or so I had thought.

"You don't feel the same way," I said softly. "I understand. Excuse me."

I took my hand from his again, and turned to walk away, but he was in front of me once more, keeping me from progressing. "I didn't say that. But I did tell you not to go anywhere."

Sure, he was right, he didn't say that he didn't feel the same way. But right now, he wasn't saying a whole lot of anything. I wondered briefly if it had to do with the fact that I sprung this on him so suddenly that he was having a hard time coming up with the words to respond, but that would mean... that would mean he...

"I don't know how to love someone," he admitted, his voice quiet. "But everything you said you felt... I feel the same."

Everything seemed to stop, for a moment. "You mean you...?"

"I think I love you, too," he told me quietly.

"Ah. I, um..." It seemed that I was rendered speechless. Huh. He took my hands in his again and I suddenly found more words to say. "I don't know what to do. I've never felt this way before, and truthfully, I'm terrified, but I knew I had to say it. The only examples I had of it growing up were only through stories, and whether it was my real mother and father or El and Ellie, it all ended in tragedy, so..." I swallowed hard, hoping my excess emotions would go with it. "I don't want that to happen to us. You know?"

"I get it," he responded. "I never saw it, and I didn't know what it was until you... until you said it."

"I don't know how to, and I don't know what to do," I told him, "but with you, I'm willing to try, if you are?"

"I am," he said. "But only if you don't do that nasty, mushy shit."

I laughed at that, even as he sneered at the thought. There was a lightness in my chest now, a weird fluttery feeling but I found that I wanted to hold onto it for as long as I could. It really was love, then?

"Isn't that what love entails?"

"I don't know," he muttered. "But we somehow found it while walking around killing people."

"True enough," I said, considering it. "I feel better having said it, but I think that maybe it'll be a good idea to wait a little bit before trying to explore... all of this."

"What do you mean?"

"We live in such close quarters with Farlan, and Isabel now too," I said, and the steady blush that bloomed on his cheeks told me that he took another meaning to my words, and I panicked a little, heat rushing into my own cheeks. "Not that I mean we'd be doing anything like that! Just... they'll tease us to no end if they know, and the track record for people loving each other down in this city isn't great, so..."

"You want to wait until we reach the surface?"

"Yes," I said. "I really believe we'll get there soon, and with the promise of an actual future..."

"I get it," he said. "I'll wait for you."

"Good," I said. "Thank you. I want to love you freely, I do, but here... Something about living in filth doesn't strike me as the place for a good romance."

"No," he agreed, "I guess not." He cleared his throat. "We should start heading back. Right?"

"Already?"

"What, is there something else you want to say?"

"No," I answered, "but could we walk around for a little while longer?" For the first time, he seemed nervous by the prospect of such a thing. "We don't need to," I said softly to him. "Only if you want to."

He linked his fingers with mine and started pulling me along, and I did what I could not to laugh. "Let's go," he said in an aloof sort of way. "Before I change my mind."

—

Days Later:

"Alright, Isa," I said cheerfully, standing before her proudly. "Before you can learn to fly, you have to learn how to put the gear on. Are you ready?"

"Yep," she chirped happily. "I've been ready for days now!"

"Well, it should be clear by now that Levi is quite particular about cleaning," I said. "It's important that you can clean to his standards if you're to live here."

"I think she gets it," Farlan called from his spot on the couch, earning himself a stern look from Levi who was seated cross-legged at the kitchen table with a fresh cup of tea.

"Hush, you," I said sternly, sending a look of exaggerated seriousness to him. "Are you the one teaching her? No? Then stay quiet." Isabel giggled and I gestured to the coffee table where not only were my own straps, harnesses, and belts were laid out, but so was hers - the second set of gear that I had stolen. "You're lucky I thought to steal two sets of gear, Isa. Maybe it was fate."

"Whoa," she said, excitement finding her eyes as she looked at me. "You stole these?"

"I did," I said. "My set came straight from the MP's armory. Yours... off the back of a soldier we ambushed."

"Wow! You're incredible, Amaya!"

"Thank you," I said honestly. "But we'll make a thief of you, yet. With me teaching you, you'll be there in no time."

"Don't give her any ideas," Farlan called once more. I rolled my eyes before leveling an even look with him. "I still get nightmares of you getting caught during that job, you know. So much could have gone wrong, and you wanted to play the hero."

"You're sweet," I said to him with a smile, "worrying about me like that. But you seem to forget I nearly put you two fools out of a job. Besides, I wasn't playing the hero. That day... I was."

"Alright, alright," he huffed. "No need to bring up that you nearly ran us out of house and home."

I smiled in a self-satisfied sort of way, then turned back to Isa. "So, I'm sure this all looks terribly complicated."

"It sure does."

"It's not so bad when you get used to it." With that, I started leading her through it, helping her slip the belts around her legs on, then her hips, and tightened them accordingly. "How's that feel?"

"Uh," she muttered, "good? I guess?"

"Not too tight?"

"No," she said.

"It's important they're fitted properly," I said, helping her thread her arms through the belts for the top half. When the harness was firm against her back, I buckled the straps that go across the chest, explaining as I did. "This strap goes here," I said, adjusting my own so that it fit comfortably yet snugly.

"What? Across my chest? Here?"

I laughed, seeing her stretch the belts across her breasts. "No, no. Not there. The men can get away with putting it across their chest wherever, but the point is to allow for complete, free, easy movement, and if the belt is there, it won't be comfortable. Set it higher, about here."

I helped her adjust it, and though the furious blush didn't leave her cheeks for quite a few minutes more, she relaxed once everything was in place and the gear was all on. "This stuff is heavy," she muttered, looking down at herself. "And how come we don't have cool swords?"

"We didn't think to steal any," I told her as I led her outside. "We have our own weapons, anyway. Who needs a sword when I've got a knife that makes it more personal?"

"Damn," she said, impressed. "You're super cool!"

"So are you," I said as I closed the door behind us. "I mean, you tried breaking through the stairway just to save a bird. I don't think I'd ever have the courage to do that."

Isabel became bashful then, laughing a little to offset it. "You're just saying that."

"I'm not," I said earnestly, stopping for a moment to look at her. "I mean it." She took a quiet moment to let my words sink in, before a huge smile erupted onto her face and she threw her arms around me. "There, there, Isa."

"You're the greatest, Amaya!"

"Oh, cut that out," I said with a laugh of my own. "Now come on. Let's get you flying so you can impress Farlan and Levi."

—

Days later, I was woken up by Levi entering the main room.

Now, it might be important to consider how I could've been woken up by Levi stepping out of his bedroom if I was in my own, but the simple fact of the matter was that I had not been in my room.

No, I'd taken to sleeping on the couch in the living room because as it was, Isabel had nowhere to sleep and I wasn't going to make her take the couch or even the floor. Being as nice as I am, I let her take my bed until we got something else for her.

How hadn't I been caught doing this yet? Oh, that was simple. I would simply wake up before Levi did and start on, say, the household chores. It wasn't that I didn't want to get caught, I just knew how Levi was and if he knew I was sleeping on the couch, he'd probably have my head. Maybe. Either that or kick Isabel out, which I didn't want.

No, all I did was drop hints each day that oh, we needed to go buy her a bed! But it never happened. If these two numbskulls I was partners with thought I was going to lug a mattress and bedframe on my own here, they were insane. Even if I could, why the hell would I?

Regardless... I was woken up this morning by Levi entering the living room. "The hell are you doing?"

It'd been quite a rude way to be woken up, I had to say. As I lifted my head and opened my bleary eyes, all I could muster was a confused: "Huh?"

"What the hell are you doing? Did you spend the night out here?"

Well, I saw no reason to lie. Maybe this would expedite the whole buying-Isa-her-own-bed thing.

"Mm-hm," I hummed in response.

"Did the new pest fart too much?"

"What? No, nothing like that," I said, sitting up. "No, there's just nowhere else for her to sleep and after one night sharing the bed, I realized she's a kicker, so I've started sleeping out here."

"You've been sleeping out here... since she joined us?"

"Except for the first night, yes," I said. "Because she kicks. And I got tired of it. So now I'm sleeping here."

"You're an idiot."

"For being nice to her?"

"No, for..." He sighed. "For not coming up with another solution."

"What other solution is there? I sleep on the floor?" He mumbled something, but I missed it. "What was that? I didn't hear you."

Louder now, he said, "You can sleep in my room."

"Oh," I said, confused, "is that all? Why were you so embarrassed to say that? And where would I sleep, on the floor?"

"No," he pressed. "Moron. I meant with me. In my bed." He averted his eyes and it was all I could do to keep from throwing something at him.

"...Oh."

"..."

"..."

"Well?"

"Uh," I said, "I'd have to consider it, and..."

"If you're not comfortable with it, just say that," he said. "I just figured it would be better than you sleeping on the couch, and... it's not like we haven't done it before."

"Yeah, but that was..."

"Explain how it was different."

"It... just was."

"Stop being stubborn," he said, "and give an answer."

Deciding to be bold, accredited of course to how early it was in the morning, I smiled coyly. "Is this just your way of saying you want to cuddle?"

"Absolutely not," he answered vehemently, making me laugh.

"You're cute, you know," I said, hiding the true extent of my smile behind one hand. "But you're right, anything would be better than sleeping on this stiff-ass couch."

"Good, then," he said quietly, before clearing his throat.

I knew what he was going to say before he even said it. "I would love some tea," I said, watching as, with a nod, he hurried to the sink to start readying a pot, grateful for anything to get him out of this conversation.

—

That afternoon, Isabel and I decided to take a walk after some more training with the gear and returning it home. We didn't really go anywhere, we only shared in several fun conversations and we swapped stories. It was a good time, which was why I was not at all surprised when it was ruined by the sight of a very familiar man only a few houses away from where we lived.

Even being in the same neighborhood was too damn close for my liking, so when the man looked at me, and I slowed unintentionally in my step, I knew he knew I had caught on to his presence here and that I would have to speak with him.

"Isa," I said, "I forgot to get something. You can head home without me. You know the way, right? And you have your key with you?"

"Yes, and yes," she said unsurely. "Is everything alright?"

"Everything's fine," I said as surely as I could, with a smile to boot. "Don't worry about me, I just need to head out for a few things I forgot this morning. Ok?"

"If you're sure," she said slowly.

"I am," I said. When she started walking away, continuing towards home, I let out a breath. When she was out of sight, I turned to face the man, then headed across the street to him. "Any particular reason you're hanging around in this part of the city?"

"What," my old boss drawled out, "is a man not allowed to wander?"

"Not if you're looking to bring me back into your employment," I said, wincing as he set an arm around my shoulders and started to walk us back in the direction Isa and I had been coming from. Home very quickly left me far behind as we walked on and on. "You of all people should know I'm quite the capable young woman," I said. "If you back me into a corner, there's no telling what I'll do."

"All I ask," he said, "is for us to have a conversation. We used to have them all the time, right?"

"Not outside of your home," I said, "and definitely not like this. Those were only ever about work. And I do not work for you anymore."

"I know," he said. "You work for my enemies, now."

"Work for," I started slowly, "or work with?"

"I'm not talking about those little pests that keep my useless tenants in business," he spoke. "I don't care about them. I'm talking about the common folk, those who would have my head for the prices I set. But I could even overlook that."

"Oh, good," I said dryly.

"You're right," he said. "You are a capable young woman. Dedicated, skillful, courageous. I know that well, and you did good work for me. Very good. All I ask now is that you lend me your ear and consider doing one last thing for me."

"Does this involve putting more money into the hands of the nobles you so love? If so, I refuse. Among them they hold half the money circulating through the city, leaving the rest of us nothing. And yet they insist on continuing to raise the stairway toll."

"I can't do anything about that," he said, and I scoffed at such a blatant lie. "But there's plenty of money in this for you if you do one thing and one thing only for me."

"And what is that? Kill one of your tenants?"

"No, no," he said. "Nothing like that. I've heard rumors about a band of thugs in this area for months now, and hearing of two men and a woman with gear running around and helping the little people... I had a feeling you had a hand in it. And I was right. I've also heard they're no strangers to killing when asked."

"Depends on who is asking," I said, "and who is to be killed."

"Of course," he replied. "This is a job that should be easy for you. It plays to your strengths. You're quiet, quick, and skilled with a knife, so I hear."

"So you will learn for yourself if you don't let go of me," I said, and at that, he removed his arm from my shoulder, the oppressive weight finally lifting away.

"Easy, Amaya, easy," he said placatingly. "I know you don't care for me sniffing around your new place, but I had no other way to contact you."

"Don't you think there was a reason for that? Honestly, can't your new little goon do this for you? Why me?"

"That heavy-footed fool would only get caught," he said. "No, this is far too important to me to leave it up to that idiot."

"I see," I said. "And what, exactly, is in it for me?"

"A pretty sum of money," he replied. "Trust me, I'll make it worth your while."

"The price of a human life is a high one," I told him.

"I'm aware."

"Who would I be going after?"

"Are you considering it?"

"Do I have a choice?"

"Smart girl. Let's talk somewhere quieter."

—

"There is a bounty hunter after my head," he had told me. "Kill him and retrieve, if you can, his orders. Do this, and six months' worth of your old pay is yours."

I was given my instructions, given all the information that he had, and now, I was on a rooftop across the street from what looked like a family home but was the base for a bounty hunter. It was strange. The price on his head was not a high one, yet it was well-sought after. He'd managed to divert several attacks thus far, but something about this hunter in particular scared him, and so he hired his own. Me.

I couldn't pass up six months worth of my old pay. Money was money, and that was a sizable sum to be sure. I always had the well-being of my new family in mind, and right now, the best way of doing that was not only making so much money through one job and by myself, but by making sure that my old boss didn't come snooping around our home again.

It was bad enough he knew what neighborhood I lived in now, so he had a rough idea of where my group was centered. If I didn't do this job, and he grew spiteful? He had the money and resources necessary to tail me and figure out exactly where I lived if I was not careful, and one thing that I absolutely would not allow to happen was for their safety to be jeopardized.

He could tail me all he wanted. I just wanted Levi, Farlan, and Isabel out of it.

I was sitting in a crouch, my cloak's hood drawn up around my head, and my very blood seeming to slow as I focused all my attention on the house across the street. I wished for a moment that I had my gear; hell, I could've been done with this damn job by now if I did.

Still, this was an unassuming building, which made it so very suspicious. The only way to be nondescript down here was to commit a crime.

I tensed, my very blood nearly freezing in my veins to allow me to still completely as I saw movement by a window. The movement was slight, but it was there. The hunter had brushed by a curtain.

This was a shadowy part of the city. I had no worries about the hunter spotting me, because perched as I was, there was no vantage point for him to be able to, and it was far too dark to distinguish one shadow from another.

But I still had to be careful. The instincts of a man who regularly hunted others were heightened. They were strengthened by the conditioning of his work that made him a constant target for those around him.

Whatever the price on a man's head, the price on the head of the hunter paid to kill him was even higher.

And I was not about to lose this money.

As silently as my movements would possibly allow, I crossed the street. Across rooftop after rooftop I hopped, and I was lucky the streets here were so close to each other and by extension, the houses as well. I crossed, but did not land on the hunter's roof right away. I bounded from rooftop to rooftop, making my way gradually to that of the hunter I was hunting. When I reached it, I stepped silently onto his roof, the wood not daring to even creak beneath my weight.

I scaled the peak, then slid down the other side, intending to climb into the house through a window I had seen, but my eyes caught on something far more interesting. A skylight. It wasn't a real one, of fine glass like the ones surely on the surface. It was a cut out portion of the roof with a door constructed of wooded planks. There was a handle on the outside, and surely a pole inside to keep it propped open.

But I'm sure it also doubled as an escape route.

Interesting. Very interesting.

"Let's hope you're quiet on your hinges," I said quietly, lowering myself into a crouch before the skylight. I braced my knees on the roof, ensured my footing on the peaked surface was stable, then slid my fingers beneath the wooden door.

I heaved it open, adjusting my hold on it to push it the rest of the way open slowly and carefully. Thankfully, it was quiet on its hinges, and I peeked inside. Another blessing, I suppose, was the fact that there was no sunlight to give away the fact that the skylight was open, and so I peeked inside to figure out what I was working with.

When my eyes adjusted, I could see that it opened up onto a second story landing, not a whole floor but one that was open to the first floor. This landing seemed to be a sort of living space, and I could now see a rope dangling from a hook screwed into the ceiling just by the edge of the skylight. So it was an escape route, then.

I could hear something, or more accurately someone, puttering around in the kitchen on the first floor. With the skylight left open, I grasped the edge of the skylight and lowered myself to hang from it. Goodness, this is awkward. I brought my legs back, then pushed them forward, gathering enough momentum to launch me forward. I let go of the skylight, and swung forward to grab hold of the rope. Ignoring the rope burn as I slid down, I descended to the floor below and set one foot down at a time.

The floor didn't so much as squeak with the addition of my weight and I looked around. If this was a living space, it was likely that important documentation would be kept here. No louder than a mouse, I moved across the space to the bed. I crouched down to check below the bed, then beneath the pillows. I'd seen these tricks many times before, and...

I heard the flutter of paper within the pillow. And there, tucked inside the pillowcase, cushioned against the mattress, was a bundle of documents, tied and bound. I read it quickly, confirming the content of the documents, then tucked it away against the waistband of my pants, fixing my cloak around me again.

I turned and approached the edge of the landing, peeking over the railing to look downstairs. A pan falling with a clutter to the floor caught my attention, and my heart leapt into my throat. There was a thud, and... had someone gotten to him first?!

Without any hesitation, I vaulted over the railing, landing in a crouch on the first floor. Whirling around, I saw the kitchen and the pot on the floor, and... nothing. But there was an open window, and uttering a curse under my breath, I took chase.

I leapt up to grab the top of the windowpane to swing myself out and to the dirt below. I saw the man, several paces ahead of me and turning to look at me. He matched the description my boss gave me perfectly, and since I landed in a crouch, I had an easy time reaching down into my boot to retrieve my knife.

He took off. So did I.

God, of all times not to have my gear!

Down alleyways I chased him, sometimes gaining on him, at other points offering up some space. When we broke into an empty courtyard, I started catching up on him, readying my knife in hand, preparing myself to pounce...

Only for another figure to enter the courtyard. I wasn't distracted by the newcomer. Nothing was keeping me from doing this job. Nothing. Until...

"Amaya?!"

I faltered for hardly a second, and yet it proved disastrous. My eyes glancing away even momentarily was just the opening that the man wanted and perhaps was hoping for, and so quicker than a flash, there was an arm around my neck, the knife wrested from my hand and pressed now to my own neck.

To think... my own knife, now dangerously close to ending my own life.

"Who sent you after me?"

I didn't answer. Instead, I looked at who called my name. I had recognized the voice but honestly, I could hardly believe it. And so when I turned and there stood Isabel, looking at me with this frightened look in her eyes, my heart nearly stopped.

The blade dug further into my skin and I grabbed the man's arm with one hand, the other gesturing for Isabel to stay put. "I asked you a question, bitch!"

"No one sent me," I hissed. "Sometimes I just feel like killing men. Is that so wrong?"

"Shut the hell up," he muttered.

"I thought you wanted an answer," I snarked. "How am I supposed to-"

My voice caught in my throat as blood was drawn. "Amaya," Isabel called again. She began looking around, searching for a way to help, for a solution, but... I didn't want her to.

"Amaya," the man repeated. "Hm. I've heard that name before. You used to work for-"

The man's voice caught in his throat as I elbowed him in the ribs and managed to shake free from his hold. I twisted and brought my leg up, kicking him in the gut to send him away from me. When he fell to his ass, I heard the clang of a blade falling to the dirt and I reached for it, only to see Isabel pick it up, pointing it - with the blade still dripping with droplets of my blood - towards the man.

"Isabel," I said, pressing my foot into his chest to force him to his back, "hand me the knife."

"I can help," she said. "I... I can..."

"Give me the knife," I said, far more firmly this time.

"But-"

"The knife," I repeated sternly. "Now."

She nodded and with shaky hands, held the knife towards me. I took it in hand and tossed it to take hold of its handle. I leaned over the man who was still heaving to catch his breath. Droplets of my blood dropped onto him, startlingly scarlet against his pale skin.

My hands were not shaky as I thrust it into his neck. With a gurgling cry of pain as blood rushed past the blade, I let out a breath and allowed myself to stand, only to lower to a crouch, then to my ass in the dirt.

I sighed and closed my eyes, letting one hand come to cup the slice in my own neck. Still bleeding, but...

"Amaya," Isabel said hesitantly, "are you alright?"

"I did what I needed to," I said quietly. "I'm fine."

"Not what I meant," she said. "That wound..."

"It's a long cut," I told her, "but not deep. It'll clot soon."

"Right, but..."

I looked up at her, seeing so much worry in her eyes but I couldn't help but be upset. "Why did you follow me?"

"I thought you might want help with the errands," she said hesitantly. "But then I saw you and that guy so I thought you were in trouble, so I..."

"You didn't do what I asked you to do," I said sternly. "That was for your safety."

"I was only trying to help but when I saw you chasing him, I... I panicked and I... I nearly got you killed. Amaya, I'm so sorry."

I took a moment to look into her eyes. She was truly, genuinely, sorry. To that end, what could I do but forgive her?

"I didn't know what to do," she continued, tears brimming in her eyes. "All I knew was that I wanted to help but all I did was cause more trouble! I just... I've never hurt anyone before, so I..."

She looked at the corpse before her.

"I know, Isa," I said softly. "I know. Let's... let's head home."

"Huh? You're not kicking me out?"

"Of course not," I assured her and she downright beamed at me, her smile incredibly infectious.

"Let me find something to cover this wound before we go back. It'll give us time to come up with a lie to explain this injury."

"We can just tell them that you tripped," Isabel said, making me laugh.

"I tripped? And almost sliced my neck open?"

"...Yes."

"I know men are dumb as rocks," I said with a smile, accepting her hand when she offered it to help me up, "but these two aren't so stupid as to believe that."

Before going far, I ripped a section of my cloak away to tie around my neck to apply some constant pressure, at least for now. It was nearly clotted, and would likely heal nicely, but it probably would leave a scar. But for now, it would do to help it clot, and I'd have a pretty little cut until it healed.

I wasn't sure if it would work, but maybe that little lie about a trip would work.

At least we had another stop to make before we had to head home. I had a bit of documentation to deliver, and a nice sum of money to pick up.