"Of all the people I've ever met in the field, it's hard to think of many I'd've liked to run into less."

Leliana laughed as Antros stiffly took the seat across from her. The door squeaked shut.

She couldn't stifle the smile. "And yet here you are, sitting at my table. You can't resist me."

He scowled at her brazen reply.

"In the collective fifteen minutes we've known each other, I've witnessed three deaths and lost over five hundred silvers. Honestly I'm impressed, but you can't blame me for being cautious. It'll be easier to dodge a bullet if I see you aiming"

She liked the way he glowered when he spoke. Like his face realized how monotonous his voice was and wanted to place emphasis on the words anyway. "Hey, hey. I only killed one guy, don't pin those first two on me. They jumped on their own, I wasn't even close." She shrugged, finishing the rest of the warmed brew in front of her.

"So did you pinch enough for me?" He waved his hands over the empty dishes.

"No! I paid for this, you.." Her nose scrunched up for a second, "whore's ass."

He held back a smile.

"Where'd you get the cash?"

Leliana crossed her arms and stared at a fat guy licking a stack of plates. "I earned it, basically."

Gravelly laughter erupted from Antros and he relaxed visibly, uncrossing his arms to wave the waitress over. "I'm surprised to see you here though. I thought you were heading South last I saw, figured you'd head to Bolton or Chadwick. Barley's not really a good place for petty thievery."

"Petty thievery? That makes it sound small and weak. That stone your boy yanked was hella heavy and you should've seen the moves I put on to get it. Petty would've been something like surrounding the first team with guns and just demanding it." Her narrowed eyes glared pointedly at the mercenary.

He smiled good naturedly. Well, she thought it was a smile.

"Alright, alright, fair enough. Creet was a slag sucker to be sure. But he was financing my trip to Triad, so I'd rather he sucked a bit longer at being alive instead of feeding scavengers under a bench." Coins clinked as he dropped them into the Innkeeper's pocket. She dropped a plate with a steaming mountain of vegetables atop, next to a glass of clean water.

Leliana flipped another coin at the woman and asked for a second beer. It wasn't the best she'd ever had, but it had something of a spicy and sweet aftertaste and she was into it. The smell of the wood fire and the din of the others eating in small common room had an invigorating effect on her appetite. She was looking forward to drowning it. "I don't really have a direction. I had a bit of a...strict upbringing, Now that I'm free I just wander around looking for things to get interested in. What about you though? You're the only guy I've seen more than once out here."

He waved the question away with a handful of purple broccoli. "I'm a bodyguard, I go where the work is. You have a knack for stealing from my clients. It's not unusual for me to brush up against gangsters more than once."

He stared into a fire across the room as he worked through a mouthful of food. Leliana finished her second cup and looked around suspiciously. Her gut was calling her attention, and not for more beer.

"I've spent a couple cozy years around this place," Antros turned back to finish a thought, "but truth be told, the cannons popping off at all hours is almost as bad as the mosquitoes nowadays. So where'd you grow up? It's pretty uncommon I run across a professionally trained ass kicker with no affiliations."

Leliana looked away from the balcony above him for a moment to answer. "Oh, a small place over the mountains. You probably wouldn't have heard of it. Also, I watched those cannons kill some freaky lizard thing outside town. They probably don't just shoot off randomly. You have any luck finding work in this place?"

"Just because they're useful doesn't mean I can't hate them. And you killed my last paycheck, I'm not about to tell you who I'm working for two days before I sail out of here. Meet me in Triad and I'll tell you all about it."

Sail

Leliana felt her breath catch as she eyed him. "You got a job on the flying boat!? Scat and slag take me with you!" She smacked the table for emphasis.

"No."

"C'mon I'll be good. I promise."

"You give that ship a wide berth until it takes off, you hear me? They've paid half my fee already. If I see you skulking around I might have to kill you."

She was incredulous. "I don't want to kill the boat, are you crazy? That's the coolest thing I've ever seen, I never even knew you could sail a boat in the sky. I just want to stand at the top and look at the ground."

"I have no interest in being murdered after I finally get a way out of here." He finished the food on his plate and drained his cup. Then he rose.

"Killing you in an enclosed space in the middle of the sky on a vehicle I can't operate would be suicide. Surely you can't think I'm that stupid." She reached into the canvas bag behind her, sliding the hunting knife from its sheath.

"I don't know anything about you kid. Sorry, but I'm not hiring, and I don't trust you enough to let you that close to the captain." He did seem mildly apologetic, which she appreciated.

She smiled and narrowed her eyes.

"If I can protect you right now, will you think about it?"

He glanced around skeptically. Everyone was absorbed in their own world, nobody was even looking this way. "Protect me from what exactly?"

Tss

Tss

Tss

He jumped back as the table smoked and sizzled. Leliana dropped the bag hiding her blade and glanced up.