Her breath burned through her lings as she ran, and her muscles screamed for her to slow down. Still, she ran on, climbing over stalls, and up onto the rooftops, knowing that she was being chased, and if she did not escape, her blood would colour the cobbles of the street below. She moved quickly, and silently, slipping into a guard's lookout post to hide, when she thought she was safe. She should have kept running however, as her pursuer burst through the canvas covering, pinning her into the corner with his epieu against her throat.

     "Well, then, it seems I've caught the uncatchable Queen of the Sea, hm?" He taunted her, causing her hazel eyes to flash defiance, as she pressed against the weapon hard enough for it to part her skin, and allow blood to seep forth from the small wound.

     "Si, you've caught me, but could you kill me? I do not fear you, Teodor. Even now, I've got you in my trap. Look down, and you will understand." She grinned up at him, as she followed his eyes down to the hidden blade poised just above his thigh, ready to enter his femoral artery. "If you kill me, you die too. So, we have an impasse. What shall we do to solve this?" Teodor moved his blade back far enough to give her a bit of breathing room, and watched her as her fingers darted to her throat, wiping the blood away from where it had nearly dripped to her clothing. He watched those same fingers then pass her lips, and deposit the blood there.

     "Well, I propose a compromise. I will leave, and five minutes from now, you may exit, knowing that I will be far off, and unable to follow you."

     "Tch! You think me so stupid? You would kill me the moment I exited this place, Teodor." She held up her hand at his indignant expression, and only continued when he'd closed his lips again. "Trust me. I know it is what you'd do, because I'd do the same to you. You and I, we don't give up contracts easily. We're too good for that. So again we come to an impasse." Teodor shrugged, and moved back, sitting in the opposite corner to face Lia, knowing she wouldn't move until he did. He sat still, and watched her, from the way her eyes sparkled in the dim light of the lookout post, to the way she bit her lip when her fingers grazed over the wound on her neck, to wipe the blood away.

     Lia felt him watching her as though it was a physical sensation, his eyes causing her skin to tingle where they slid over her. She didn't dislike the sensation, but still it caused her to tense, and put her even more on edge than before. She didn't like the way he was watching her, like a prize to be won, or a meal to be had. She'd killed every man who'd ever looked at her like that, lest they decide one day to attempt to take her by force. It was what happened next that surprised her however. He put away his blade, and leaned forward, removing a handkerchief from his pocket, and pressing it gently to her throat, where she hadn't even realized her fingers were lingering, picking, and causing the wound to bleed more. She'd pressed her hidden blade against his throat as he moved forward, but removed it as he wiped away the blood, feeling unaccountably rude for threatening one who was helping her.

     "W-what are you doing?" She spoke, trying to keep her voice level, though it was coloured with surprise.

     "I'd have thought that was obvious, Lia. I am trying to stop the bleeding here, lest you find your death from infection, or blood loss. If anything kills you, it'll be me." She was startled at the matter of fact way he spoke, and attempted to pull away, once more replacing her blade to his throat.

     "Get back. I won't let you kill me, Teodor." She watched his smile spread across his lips, and that simple action seemed to light up the gloom of the hideout, banishing the shadows to the corners.

     "Do not worry, Lia. I know that if I attempted to kill you now, we would both die. And I am not in the business of dying." But instead of backing away, he came closer, and closer, 'til his throat was against her blade again, and even then he pressed forward. She surprised herself, and moved the blade back, removing the pressure from his throat, and allowing him to come closer to her. Her eyes were trapped in his, watching his mirth sparkle there, with something else, something deeper that she couldn't recognize. He moved ever closer, 'til he was a mere centimetre from her, and her blade pressed against both throats, and any movement would injure them both, leaving matching scars. He paused there, and looked to her eyes, where curiosity and fear were evident, though she hid the two emotions in every other facility. He smiled softly to himself, and watched as her eyes widened slightly, and traced the curve of his lips.

     She seemed entranced by him, her thoughts no longer coming through as coherent sentences, and her heart beating fast as hummingbird's wings. She watched him lean forward, and watched the smile cross his lips, and felt herself lean forward to meet him, though she never consciously decided to do so. She was aware of the press of his lips, and the way that they moved against hers; soft and warm, and yet hard against her. She felt his lips part, and her own follow, and was aware of the meeting and dance of the two tongues, yet she had never consciously decided to kiss him. When at last control of her body seemed to return to her, she surprised them both, and slid her blade away, cutting through their flesh as she recalled it to his sheathe, and pressed closer to him, her eyes slipping shut and her hand finding its way into his hair.

     When at last they parted, her cheeks were flushed, and her lips were slightly swollen with blood, lending them a soft cherry colour. She smiled softly to him, and leaned forward, brushing her fingers just below his wound, as she whispered in his ear.

     "If anything kills you, it will be me." With that she leaned back from him, and bolted out of the hideout, and across the rooftops, heading to her ship. Teodor exited soon after her, with a soft smile resting on his lips, and a new scar covered by his collar. He knew he was safe for tonight, and couldn't wait for his next run in with The Smuggler, Lia De Russo.