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He winked at her in an ambiguous manner, "I've seen alot, now, you should go lie down. You're free to use my room." He gave her another smile then turned towards the door again.

Catriona stood resolutely behind him. She wasn't returning to his chambers, she wasn't going to Andrea's, and she wasn't going to lie down. An unfamiliar wave of rebellion washed over her; a feeling so foreign that she was stunned and almost dazed. She stared distantly at his back before giving up her thoughts of open confrontation.
She did not, however, leave. Catriona knew she was pushing her luck but stood decidedly against the wall, almost angrily watching the heels of Pix's boots.

Catriona was too confused to react - even if she could she didn't know whether she'd throw him off or kiss him back. However, she knew those 4 words were a dismissal as much as any proclamation and, blushing again - as usual - she slipped quickly out of the room and back down to the dining hall where she sat at the end of the table for a long time, not knowing what to do.

Catriona nodded a little too anxiously, she felt, blushing further the more she thought about what had just happened.
"Just a little...flustered." She said softly, covering her eyes and hanging her head a bit. She could still see those cold eyes as they grew closer, feel his rough arm around her and smell that same, nameless musky scent.
She let out a small squeak of surprise at her own thoughts; how could she be led astray so easily by so aggressive a person? She went to fold her hands behind her neck but winced at the bruises HE had given her.
Silly girl.
Get your mind straight.

Catriona attempted a small laugh, "Oh that? Just a little disagreement. Got a little out of hand, that's all. I'm fine." Her hands dropped obediently to allow Andrea access. "I don't really feel it anymore. It's getting a lot better!" she put on a smile to convince Andrea and tugged her braid nervously to hide the worst of it. This all just made her think of Pix more though, and her conflicting emotions for the rogue.

Her head fell and her smile vanished.
"Just some man. He was very drunk..." she folded her hands in her lap and stared at them, trying to ignore the painful memories of what had happened. "He was drunk and he attacked me."
This was all true. She was not going to think about it any more, though. She tried to keep her thoughts resolutely in check but found them straying at every turn to the tall, dark haired man, analyzing her with those ice-blue eyes.

Kai had stayed behind in the meeting room with Tanner and Lucas.
Walking over to the pitcher, Tanner poured himself another glass of water and took a sip. He sat down in the chair opposite Kai's.
"It's good to see you, Kai," Tanner said, smiling. "I figured you'd be smart enough to come above too, and I was right."
Kai laughed. "Yeah, this world is so much more..." he paused to think of a good word, "Alive. It's almost as if, now I can live freely, and I'm not confined any more. But I had no idea how that felt until now, and it's such a relieving feeling."
Tanner nodded. "I felt and still feel the exact same way. It's nice up here, even if bad things happen often, the good things can usually outweigh it." A war memory tried to push itself into his head. He shuddered.
Lucas could tell what was happening, it had happened before. Whenever Tanner would think something about dark times, occasionally it would remind him of the war and he hated those awful memories of gore and bloodshed and friends dying. Lucas called it war-sickness. It wasn't just Tanner, Lucas noticed it in a lot of people. But for it to get to someone this young, who should be able to move on... Maybe it's because Tanner came from the underground city like Kai did.
Tanner successfully pushed the thought out of his mind without Kai noticing. He glanced at Lucas and then went back to talking to Kai.
Laughing, he said, "Looks like your skin's not so pale anymore, that traveling with Lucas must have worked wonders on your complexion."
Kai laughed and held out his arms to look. He was very tan, just as tan as Lucas or Tanner. It felt nice, now he fit in better. He had never thought of it until now.
Kai looked back at Tanner. "Hey, I was wondering," he said quietly. "You're coming with us on this mission, right?"
Tanner perked up. "What? Oh yeah, of course, mate! I need some adventure every once in a while, Illys gets boring if you live here too long."
Kai chuckled. "I can't imagine ever being bored of this city, it's fascinating."
Tanner got up and gave Kai a single pat on the back. "Well, it's great having you here. I'll breif you guys on how we're going to go about things tomorrow morning. But now you should get some rest."
Lucas got up. "Eh, Kai, I'll walk you to your room. Goodnight Tanner," Lucas said with his signature grin.
"Goodnight Lucas, goodnight Kai," Tanner said, as he began to collect his papers from the meeting.
Lucas walked Kai to his room and waved him goodnight. Making his way into the kitchen, he took some leftover bread the cooks made and munched on it in the dining hall.