Her recent entry into the world of crime was purely out of desperation for food and shelter after she escaped from her foster home. It started with her helping herself to the coins the blind beggar's along the street had collected. Soon she was already stealing food from stores, someday it would be a fruit, or on a good day it would be bread. 

The first time she pickpocketed someone it was another guy in baggy clothes who she had deliberately barged into while he was counting money in his purse. It was messy and he had noticed her but by the time he raised an alarm she had already disappeared down an alley. Over time her methods grew more subtle and she barely raised an alarm when nicking a purse off somebody's pocket. Until that fateful day...

It was mid evening when she was taking a stroll on the street when she noticed a rich prospect taking the corner.He had a suitcase in hand. Quickly she hastened behind him to catch up with his strides and slowed down when she was close the distance between them creeping smaller with each stride. She was almost there when the voice spoke out from behind her.

"There's nothing in it."

She turned quickly to find herself facing a  man,  in the mid thirties if she could guess smiling at her. He was ordinarily dressed and was eyeing her with particular interest. The man she was stalking had also stopped in his tracks and was looking at her in a fit of annoyance. 

"Its a decoy my lass. I know how these areas can be, especially after the many rumours of pickpockets and thieves." 

Kiera could say nothing but there with her feet rooted to the ground as the man she had been following pinned her hand behind her. 

"Where do you work. If you work at all?"

She just shook her head. "I don't. I ran away from my foster home."

He man seemed a little amused by her reply. "Do you know how to do household chores?"

"Yes.....Sir."

"Good. I've been looking for some staff for my Motel. Its The Aprios, I assume you've seen it."

She had. She had infact stolen from it once but she didn't dare mention it. 

"I also own the building beside it. That's where you can have a flat, provided you pay an allowance out of your wages."

Kiera did a double take on the offer. This man was promising food and lodging both? What else could she find better. 

It are these thoughts which drift through her mind as she walks down the narrow corridor of the first floor of The Aprios to tend to one of the rooms. The guest had just moved in and had called upon her for assistance. When Kiera arrived at the door of Room 103 she found it ajar. Her knock was answered by a faint Come in. 

Kiera brushed her hand over her skirt to smooth the creases in it and tucked her shirt self consciously. Attending someone for the first time always got her nervous.

please do jump in if you want. :)

The cold shower washed away the grime and blood from his skin. If only it could take away the feeling of guilt and anguish in his mind. The past few days were rough on him. His partner had been re-assigned, his friend was found murdered and worst of all that madman Lucius was possibly coming for him. He stood underneath the shower for a few more minutes, letting the water trickle down his body. It had a soothing effect on his cuts and bruises.

Stepping out into the room with just a towel draped around his waist he looked around for Leora. She had left to gather some supplies for them and had been gone for well over half an hour. He started to worry, the woman was an enigma to him. He was still unsure about trusting her with his life but she did get him to this motel safely.

After walking over to the window, he slightly parted the curtain and peered out into the street below. Not many people were out and about at this time of the day. Dusk had set in and the street lamps were being lit. An elderly couple holding hands passed by but there wasn't any sign of Leora. He was relieved to see that there were no suspicious characters hanging around. The Aprios was an inconspicuous motel, a perfect place to lay low for a while.

He grabbed his vest which was draped over the chair and tried to slip it on. "Ahhh" he groaned in pain and let it drop to the floor. This feeling of helplessness was foreign to him and he cursed at the pathetic state his body was in. As he was about to pick it up, he heard someone knock at the door.

"Come in" he mumbled while his back was towards the door. Bending down, he picked up his vest and added "It's about time Leora, where the heck have you been, what took you so long." 

Strider turned around slowly and grumbled about how difficult it was for him to put his clothes on when he noticed a stranger at the door. She was staring at him and he realized he had just a towel on him. "Who are you" he finally managed to ask.

When she pushed the door open, the sight in front of her made her gape with bewilderment, then quickly remembering he was a guest she regained back some of her composure. The image of the man covered with bruises and cuts wouldn't leave her mind for a while. She looked at him again fighting the instinct to not notice he only had a towel on.

"Welcome Sir. I hope you are enjoying your stay. Do you require anything?" , she took out her little notebook and was prepared to write down anything this strange man needed. She felt strange asking him if he was enjoying his stay, even to her naive eyes it was apparent that there was something wrong with this client. What had happened to him? She would keep her employer Mr. Ingrad informed about this client of his.

​​​​​​Kiera realized she had barged in at a very inopportune moment and looked at the floor in a moment of embarrassment. "I'm sorry for the interruption Sir. I just wanted to check if I could be of any use." The tone of her voice suggested she was more than prepared to leave once her work here was done.

"Do you work here?" he asked while sliding a hand through one sleeve of his jacket. It looked as if she was frightened of him and he couldn't blame her. The scars zigzagged throughout his body much like a grotesque painting.

"By chance have you seen my friend Leora. She is" he paused trying to come up with a fair description of her. "She is a rather large woman. One would not miss noticing her", he struggled to get the other hand around and through the sleeve.

"I'm sorry to ask this of you but could you help me with this", it was a plea for help. Something as simple as getting dressed was a tedious task for him. "Please, I'm afraid I'll open up my wounds."

He watched her make her way towards him cautiously. A faint smile crept across his mouth which soon disappeared as she tugged on his vest. "Fffish" he groaned in pain as she helped him don his jacket.

"You are free to clean the room now. I don't think I'll be staying the night" he stated and went into the bathroom after grabbing his pants from the cupboard. A few minutes passed and he stepped out of the restroom fully dressed.

The switchblade was on the drawer which he quickly pocketed. His gun was hidden in the desk drawer, pulling it out from there he holstered it and turned to face her. "Is there a place nearby that I can stay. I can't stay in one place for too long. There is someone dangerous coming after me", he saw her face turn pale. "You know what forget it. Thanks for the help miss..."

"I work here yes " , she answered his question meekly. When he proceeded to describe his accomplice to her Kiera just shook her head. "I am sorry but no, I didn't see anyone like that on the way up". She studied his ensuing expression to see if there was palpable concern for his friend .It was starting to become evident that this man standing in front of her was in murky territory but she didn't push her luck with any further questions. After all she didn't want to risk losing her job to being cocky. 

Then came the strangest of requests she had ever received from a guest. Her cheeks flushed a deep shade of red with visible embarrassment at first then as she struggled to get the man into his clothes it gradually faded away and her attentions were focused on helping someone in need. When he returned from the restroom after getting completely dressed she smiled back at him more comfortably note that the uneasy tension in the air was gone and he wasn't a strange man with a myriad of bruises but looked completely ordinary.

It didn't last long though. Kiera could barely utter a word in between his hurried questions and the revelations of someone on his trail that all she could do was stare back after him in dumbstruck silence.

He waited in vain for her to provide her name but then the door crashed open as Leora barged in unannounced. "You need to get out of here. Now!" she growled at him. He had never seen her this animated and it worried him.

"Are they here already? How did they find us Leora?", he grabbed his small leather briefcase from beside the bed and threw his coat over his shoulders.

"Leave that here" she said pointing to the briefcase " It will just slow you down."

"No way" he started to protest but stopped when he saw Leora glowering at him, "Alright fine" he dropped his case and turned towards the girl who was huddled near the corner.

"The name is Strider", he thought about giving her a false name but decided against it. "Could you help us miss. Do you have a place nearby where we could hide out for a couple of days."

From his pants he fished out his wallet and he thrust a few dollar bills towards her and begged "Here take this. We just need a place to lay low for a couple of days. Please." From the corner of his eye he could see Leora acting restlessly and knew he didn't have much time left to make an escape.