She folded her arms, raising an eyebrow playfully. "Fair enough." *** She stared at him, before looking back at her table. "A sandwich." *** Xavier watched her thoughtfully. "Places to be?"
He gave a small nod before looking over his shoulder. "I gotta head out, little darlin'. I'll see you around." * * * He blinked. "Excuse me?" * * * "I'm very busy," she replied primly.
She offered a small smile. "I'll see you." *** She folded her hands primly, looking up at him seriously. "You owe me a sandwich." *** "Busy exploring?"
He whistled lowly and started to move down the aisle, Logan trotting after him faithfully. * * * "You barely know me. What if I were to poison it?" * * * "Always," she replied raising one eyebrow. "Why do you ask?"
She watched him go with wide eyes. *** She leaned back in her chair. "Then I guess you would have to figure out how to repair these yourself." *** "I'm curious," he answered easily.
He didn't look back, turning the corner and disappearing. * * * He frowned before looking over his shoulder. "Do you have the materials or do you want me to go find some?" * * * "Hm. I'd expect no less, Egg."
She grinned. "That depends on how good you are at making them." *** "Where are you heading off to, today?"
He squinted at her before pointing at the bag he had given her. "Work on the hearts. I'll be back." * * * She raised an eyebrow at him playfully. "Out. Deep in the woods. Why do you ask?"
She grinned, turning back to her work area and starting on the first one. *** He pursed his lips "Can I come?"
He left her, going out to the market. * * * She blinked in surprise. "You want to come out to the woods with me?"
She looked confused but shrugged. "You're welcome to join me - I wouldn't mind. Are you done with your business here, though?"
He followed her out, his expression relaxed. (Zoop!) About a week later, wanted posters were starting to be posted. Heart thieves were the targets. Some familiar faces showed up. This included a short description of Athena, a sketch of Scarlet with her face hidden but eyes showing, and a very brief description of Xavier, that was partially inaccurate.
Athena was quietly disposing of these posters when she found them, but she mostly moved around at night now. She interacted with very few people. Burke didn't really notice; he wasn't a particularly observant guy. He only came to town if he needed something, so it didn't really cross his mind. Ellie did notice, however, and she began to avoid any situation where she might potentially run into Xavier. One afternoon, she opened the door of the bar slowly, peeking her head in to see if he was in there before she entered.
Cyril still took the night shifts, guarding the streets and watching for those wanted. Scarlet kept her eyes down during the day, quietly selling her items. This happened less and less, however, as she began to just stay home more often. He wasn't there. Ever since the posters started going up, it was as if he had disappeared.
Burke came up to her one afternoon. Logan came up and sniffed her hand. "Heya, Starlight." * * * Ellie breathed a sigh of relief, entering the bar.
