She pursed her lips. He would be able to tell that his presence affected her decision. "I don't know.. I don't know if people would like that."
"I'm not staying," he said bluntly. He rubbed the scar on the bridge of his nose instinctively. "I have work to do elsewhere. I literally could not care less if you stayed or left."
He managed a small smile, the first one she would have seen from him. It transformed his face, and for a moment she would be able to see a rare sweetness in his expression. "They're not all *squee!*s. You just got lucky enough to get me your first time."
The smile quickly disappeared and he straightened up, frowning at her as if she had done something wrong. "Good luck with your friend," was all he said before he began to walk away.
He glanced back at her out of the corner of his eye, not stopping but not hurrying away either. "What?"
There seemed to be a bit of amusement in his voice and his gaze flickered to her. "Well, first the net and now this."
"No," he agreed, weaving through the crowd, his brown cloak heavy on his shoulders. "But it was my choice to save you, which was a gracious deed, was it not? So, therefore, you owe me."
She nodded. "I definitely owe you, but still.." She shook her head, realizing she was still following. "Anyways, thanks... Rowan."
He froze, stopping in the middle of the crowd before turning to face her, his brow furrowed. "How do you know my name?"
She gave him a small grin. "Perhaps I'm simply magic. Don't worry, though," she teased. "I won't tell."
He frowned at her disapprovingly, not charmed by her smile. “My name is for my friends only,” he said sternly. “I don’t plan on seeing you again, so there’s no need for you to use it.”
He squinted at her, seeming more uncomfortable with her friendliness than her hostility. “What are you doing?”
