"Uhh.. can I do something for you bud?" Luna quirked her eyebrow as she stared back at the male gangster that was standing near her. He was staring like there was like no tomorrow, and was clearly not paying attention to the task at hand.

If she was given the opportunity to drop out of this mission she was assigned to, she would do it in a heartbeat just to get away from the creepy bastard with the eyes of a hawk, but it was too late for that as they were already heading into phase two.

She had been invited to join in on an organized crime of some sort - but more than anything else it was a planned hit on a rival target.

The person that had invited her specifically informed her that he couldn't do it alone, plus he was a loyal connection of hers so she couldn't turn down the offer. She didn't bother to wait for a response from the guy and walked away instead to discuss more important details with the person behind all this. His name was Lord Farquaad, and it had a funny ring to it and would often make her giggle whenever someone mentioned his name, but it was just one of the things she liked about him. Other than his great sense of humour though, he was.. filthy rich. Luna didn't really care how much he had in his pockets though. It was more like she envied him for it, but it would never get past the point of jealousy. It actually motivated her to keep hustling in this new life of crime she was living. She was still an assassin in training, but the shooting range had been teaching her well or so she thought.

This would actually be the first time she'd actually get to be up close in a shooting mission, a real one. 

Her gun was holstered at her hip, and she wore a bulletproof vest under her favourite brown sweater - but she felt silly wearing it. Lord Farquaad just had to intercede of course, and his chest vibrated as he let out a deep chuckle.

"You can take that off, ya kno. You're on the mission with people who know their shit. You'll be fine." He reassured her, before patting her on the back a bit too hard and shortly apologized after with a silly smile on his face when he realized the pat on the back was a bit too much.

Luna had a slim frame, and she was quick on her feet - but she was also extremely skinny for her own good - but she was trying to get more meat on her bones lately. Progress was slow, that's all. She laughed with Farquaad, and let out a nervous sigh as she took the bulletproof vest off. She felt secure with it on, and couldn't help but feel more terrified than before without it. This was her first time on a mission like this though, so maybe she had a good reason as to why she was so fearful of what was to come.

"Alright. Well, you're the boss and you're more experienced than me on this." She was hesitant, but she nodded in response to his words of assurance.

No doubt that everyone else that was standing around in the dark, isolated warehouse knew what they were in for except for her. She still considered herself a low ranking criminal, or a noob on simpler terms, but maybe this whole mission could be a lesson learnt for next time. This could also be an opportunity for her to put her wacking and stealth techniques to the test, but she wasn't that confident in herself just yet. She was hoping for something out of the ordinary to happen for some reason though.

Maybe she could learn the hard way, which was the best way - in her own pathetic and useless opinion! 

The group went over the plan again as Lord Farquaad called all the criminals to huddle in a close circle.

"Alright, so simple and quick. Lets keep it that way because I don't want to hire five janitors like last time to clean up the shitty mess we made. We finished the job, but we left so much potential evidence for the coppers. Eh, it's in the past now but lets not fuck this up," his eyes quickly darted to Luna as he played around with the toothpick in the corner his mouth, which he took out so he could speak clearer to her, "don't worry, alright lass? You'll be fine. Just stay close and behind. You'll be needed as the lookout. You'll be watching out for potential people that may get in the way of our plan, so if anyone - anyone at all, gets in the way.. you shoot. No questions asked."

He held the toothpick in his hands as his eyes locked seriously with hers. Lord Faarquaad was determined and hopeful for her efforts, but was also feeling tense at the same time - only because she had never been in this sort of situation before. However, after a brief conversation with a trusted friend of his, and giving a recommendation - he knew even without meeting her yet, that she'd be a valued addition to the team.

Luna was of course hesitant to accept the job offer at first, but after a pep talk with the friend that recommended her - she decided to step into a field that she had been training specifically for. Luna thought of herself as a contender, except she wasn't really competing with anyone. That guy from earlier was annoying though, but at the end of the day they were all here for one goal so she had to get along with him no matter how irritating he would be. 

"Mhm... mmkay. I hear you, boss. So - who's driving there?" 

There was a very tall, muscular, and quiet man standing in the corner of the warehouse. He seemed to be the sort of person that preferred to be alone and not disturbed while he was juggling whatever thoughts were in his mind. She could understand that. She had the same sort of personality, and she quite liked having precious time to herself. She got things done quicker when she was working on her own. Nothing against group missions like these, but she had preferences too when picking what things she would involve herself in.

Luna hadn't noticed him before, but as she looked closer in his direction - she was finally able to get a clearer sight of his face. His face was surprisingly handsome.

You ask how it was surprising?

She didn't know either or maybe she just wasn't used to finding a man she was physically attracted to during her time working for someone. When everyone was so busy in their duties, it was often hard to set aside time for matchmaking and similar things to that. The man looked up from the ground, and took out the lit cigar from his mouth as if he was unbothered with all the smoke that he was casting in everyone's direction.

"I'll drive." He spoke articulately, and Luna kept her eyes on him when he started walking from his corner to the entrance of the warehouse.

"Ya'll coming?" His voice echoed across the big and empty warehouse they were hiding in.

Luna stepped forward, not wanting to waste any more time and she was finally close enough to him to say a few words.

"Hi. Didn't see you before. My name is Luna - nice to meet you." The man raised his eyebrows slightly at Luna's direct approach, and he puffed out his chest as he looked her up and down.

"Anyone ever told you how short you are?" 

It was Luna's turn to raise her eyebrows now as she was indefinite to the reasoning behind his remark.

Could it have been an insult?

She was always given comments about her shortness, but she thought the trend had died now and people had come to accept it. However, Luna didn't have time to act hostile towards him because that would mean starting off on the wrong foot.

Instead, she shrugged playfully and ran a hand through her bangs before she pursed her lips.

"Ummm, yes actually. And I've gotten used to it now. You're really tall. How's the weather up there?" She was hoping not to let out a giggle at her own silly remark, but she was pleased to discover that he was amused by it as well.

He didn't seem mean or anything unless this was all a front. For now, Luna let go of the negative thoughts about him and just decided to go with the flow. He seemed amused with the whole situation actually, and thought of him as someone who was unfazed with everything. Luna felt like she was in a place of comfort with him. All of a sudden it was like all her worries from before had been washed away, and now she just wanted to get to know him.

The other criminals started chanting to each other about the mission before all of them started walking out of the warehouse. Some were holding onto weapons, others felt more talented with a knife, but Luna's primary role for the evening was to be on the lookout for any potential passerby's. Sadly there were no other females on the job, and she wished there were - but she understood that the OC had to be planned very quickly. 

She was known for doing things last minute. Maybe that's why she was recommended. Luna laughed inside her head as she walked beside the driver to the shiny, black van.

"What's your name?" She broke the silence once again. He looked back at her just before he was about to hop into the drivers seat and spoke in a haste manner.

"The name's Ratatouli. You're Luna, yeah?" He raised his eyebrow and waited for her response. A wide grin was plastered on her face and she nodded as she felt special that he had remembered.

A terrible past experience of forgetting her date's name suddenly entered mind and she gulped slowly, desperately trying to push the thought out of her mind. It was a mistake, but by the end of the night they laughed it off. Thing is, after that interaction - she never heard from again. Understandable, considering that she'd leave her date too if he forgot her name.

In this case, she didn't think it would be easy to forget his name anyway.

"Ahh. Right. Cool. Well we're off now. Get in the back." He asked her politely, but shouted to the others that were fast approaching the vehicle. Luna found it funny that he was soft with her, and a completely different person to the others - but it was the advantage of being kind. Treat others as you would like to be treated.

There were seven other people on the job including the boss, and they all finally lifted themselves up into the van. No one bothered to click their seat belts on so Luna's cheeks went red when she realized she was the only one that had done it, but safety first right?

After another quick recap of the plan, Rataouli quickly sped away from the warehouse and checked his surroundings carefully before turning into the roads. Before that, he had given a reassuring look to Luna. In the short amount of time that was spent chatting to her, he felt a duty of care to make sure she was protected at all costs.

Luna sat back in her chair and received the quick glance, before smiling softly and nodding. 

The van moved quickly along the Philly road and the night skies hovered over them in their travels.

Luna was still seated behind Ratatouli, and she was holding onto the silver heart necklace wrapped around her neck. She had never been a religious girl due to never actually getting the time to read the bible, but she was saying a silent prayer to herself while they were only a few minutes away from their destination. The reassuring glance that she had gotten from Ratatouli had calmed her down, but not for long as she was back to her nervous manner.

She wasn't sure if her legs were shaking, but she could definitely tell she was on high alert from how fast her head was spinning.

Farquaad seemed to notice this as he was seated not too far from her, and he quickly shouted out to the back if there was a bottle of water lying around. This van hadn't been cleaned out for weeks so he was hoping that maybe someone left a bottle of water behind on their last mission. A few men quirked their eyebrows at Farquaad's request, but they shrugged anyway and began to search at their feet for any water. This may have been a humorous side mission on finding a bottle of water for Luna, the girl who couldn't contain herself, but Farquaad was growing worried over her nervous body language. He knew all too well that nerves combined with adrenaline rush right before a mission could make someone slip up, or worst - commit a horrible mistake.

"Any luck?" Farquaad's voice echoed throughout the van, but all he got in response where a few head shakes.

He sighed hopelessly and gave up, turning his back to attention as his expressions softened. He said the words he was hoping not to say, but needed to for the sake of her safety. Farquaad had vowed his friend to protect her, and he would do so. 

"You can sit this one out, Lun. I don't want your nerves spreading to my boys." He was trying to make a joke out of the situation and he winked at her in a cheerful manner, but it didn't seem to work as her expression turned into a look of guilt.

Luna's eyes flickered open and she was facing him now, about two seconds from having a mental breakdown - and here he was, making a joke out of it. She wasn't offended if that's what he thought, but she wasn't in the mood to laugh at a joke or two. Nonetheless, she appreciated his thoughtful words and decided to just go along with it because she couldn't even trust herself at that moment.

"I'm sorry - I really am. I guess I really messed up my chances of proving myself, didn't I?" Her tone was bitter yet sweet, which Farquaad found hard to read.

Luna wrapped her arms across her chest and put her head to rest against the cold window of the van. She had made it clear that she wanted to be alone, and not be socially involved. Luckily for her, Farquaad seemed to have developed a soft spot for her, so he let her acrimonious tone slide and nodded slowly before clearing his throat.

He was sitting next to her now, and he didn't feel like moving again - so he sat back instead and gave her one last look. Her head was turned away, or down more like it - and he was hoping that she wasn't crying.

There was pain inside her heart. She felt undeserving, pathetic, and weak. Who knew a recommendation would turn out to be one big fat lie? The words she wanted to let out couldn't even be found, as self-deprecating thoughts kept on floating around her head. 

This situation would have turned out differently if she just listened to her first instincts to not go, but then again - everything happens for a reason. She wasn't crying, but she placed her arms over her eyes to as a shield from all the pressure that began to surround her.

The air around her was cold and seemingly dull, but all too quickly - she felt the warm feeling of someone wrapping their muscular arms around her. Her body stiffened at the contact and her eyes were wide, but not visible.

She was still looking down and was scared to look up to see who it was. Farquaad?

She didn't catch him as the affectionate type, but someone who was better comforting her through words.

The thought that it could be Ratatouli entered her mind, and her cheeks instantly flushed. She was right.

It was Ratatouli.

Luna's chest rose up and down slowly as she tried to slow down her breathing. If he found out the impact of his actions on her, Luna would feel completely embarrassed. Not about being seen with him, but how she would start to look. A hormonal girl that would instantly melt at his touch? She shook her head and kept it down, but the urge to raise it was brought to her when he whispered to her in a comforting manner.

"Don't worry. Farquaad offered to drive. I think you were too deep into your thoughts to realize he had asked me to come sit next to you. You don't have to look up or say anything right now, okay? Just want you to feel safe." His words came out like butter as it rolled off his tongue, and she found it oddly comforting to have his chest vibrate against her as he spoke.

Luna could definitely notice a difference in his aura from others, and for once in her life ever since the death of Pandora, she didn't want to let this stranger go.