^^Isa above

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I made sure Isa had left for work before I left the house. Not only would she fuss over me leaving with my injured leg, but I also didn't want her to know about where I was going. I made my way through the familiar back alleys, lost in thought. I knocked on the door of the warehouse, and it opened up a second later.

"Tala! You haven't visited in so long, and now I get two visits in two weeks! I'm glad you're here. Come in," Ced exclaims when he sees me. I walk in behind him, and he turns to me. "Where's Isa, the girl you brought here last time?" He asks.

"She's at work. That's actually what I came here for. I need advice," I reply, a little nervous about telling Ced. Not because he isn't trustworthy, but because talking to people, opening up, isn't what I'm best at.

"Oh," Ced says, his smile fading into a concerned look. "Well, come into my office, and we can talk."

We sit down in chairs in his office, and he looks at me expectantly. I start from the beginning.

"So, a couple days before you met Isa, I had a job. It was relatively easy, to kill two traitors to the East side gang. So I do it, and in the alleyway outside the gang house, a girl sees me. She's scared out of her mind, but I know I can't kill her, because she was just in the wrong place at the wrong time, which wasn't her fault. So I knock her out, and take her back to my apartment, to scare her so she won't snitch. I do that, and I tell her I'm taking her back to her house, because you know as well as I do that I'm far from the worst person she could have met that night. But it turns out she got kicked out of her house, and her friends all turned their backs on her. She had nowhere to go, so I let her stay with me.

And as the days went by, we got closer. Isa is afraid of being alone, because of something that happened before she got kicked out. That's when I took her here, to train her a little, so that she could come with me on some of my less dangerous outings. She became Shadow, and is pretending to be my apprentice. All this is fine, but as we've become closer, I've realized. I like her. More than I should," I explain.

Ced thinks for a moment before speaking. "First of all, can I say that I'm surprised the cold-hearted killing machine known as Scarlet Wolf has emotions other than bitterness, determination, and hate." I shoot him a glare for that. "Second of all, I don't see the problem with this. You're in love. Nothing is wrong with that. If Isa loves you back, great. If not, you'll get over it eventually."

"First of all, it's not love. It might be, but right now, it's just feelings. Second of all, there is a problem. I'm an assassin. By killing so many people, I've made many enemies. If any of them found out that I have feelings for Isa, or as she'll be known, Shadow, that extend beyond trainer and trainee, they could hurt her to hurt me. She could be my downfall, but more importantly, I could be hers. She never asked to be dragged into the mess I call my job. If she gets hurt because of me, I would never forgive myself, she's already almost broken. I don't want her to shatter completely."

Ced smirks at me. "Not love, huh?" He asks rhetorically. He smirk falls. "But for more pressing matters, I see your point, but you've kept in the shadows for a year without my help, and for years more with it. As long as you two are careful, you guys should be okay. I think this will be good for you. It'll distract you from your end goal of bitter revenge."

"Hey! It's not bitter, it'll be fulfilling."

"Revenge is either bitter or petty, and neither one turns out well."

"Then why did you help me?'"

"Because I knew you would go out for revenge anyway, and so I trained you so you wouldn't get yourself killed. Plus, I saw your potential. But that doesn't matter. We're getting off topic."

"You're right," I sigh. "I just don't want Isa getting hurt."

"I know, and I know you'll protect her, and from what I saw the other day, she can protect herself."

I smile. Talking to Ced made me realize that I was being a little paranoid. "Thanks, Ced. I should go, though. I don't want Isa to come home from work and be alone."

Ced smiles back. "No problem, Tala. Come back to visit soon, and bring Isa with you! I want to get to know the girl who's managed to melt your heart."

I roll my eyes as I walk out of the door of his office. That man acts so much like a dad it's almost scary, given that he's a criminal.