Position: Earth

Luckily for Keon, the creature was still weak. Though his senses were still returning, his primal disposition of self-perseverance conquered all, and he managed to throw her thrashing body off of his own before her gnarled fingers could sink into his face. Though she hissed in pain, she quickly recovered, and turned back on him swiftly. Touching the thumb of one hand to the wrist of the other, two blades snapped out above each of her clenched fists, protruding from what had appeared to be simple sleeves.

"Wait!" he cried frantically as she tensed to dive at him again. He clenched his eyes shut, expecting the worst. However it did not come; there was only silence. He felt an object brush his lashes and opened his eyes, only to find the point of a keen blade uncomfortably close to his cornea. It was hot, hot enough for him to feel the heat emanating from it, and an aura of white surrounded the blade.

"A Radia blade?" he whispered. He nervously shifted his eyes up to the tense and unblinking face at the opposite end of the extended arm.

"Aye," said the girl as she tried to repress her heavy breathing, but made no move to lower her weapon. "Are you alone, man." She spoke the Imperial Dialect, with a scarce hint of a lingering accent.

"Y-yes..." She brought the other blade up to his throat and he flinched again.

"Do not lie to me," she hissed, "I know that Humans live in their packs." The girl drew her ivory face closer to his and squinted. "Perhaps..." she considered with a slight roll of her tongue on the word. "Perhaps you are not human?" She lowered her arms cautiously and allowed herself to blink. The strange, white membrane was visible for an instant. In one swift movement, she rapidly moved away from him. In the time he managed to take a breath, she had moved and now stood in what served as the open doorway to his home.

"You are hermit?"

"Sorry?" Keon questioned, at a loss.

"You are a hermit?" She repeated, this time correcting herself. Nevertheless, the question sounded more like a statement this time. She continued surveying the lightening forest outside, waiting for an answer.

"Yes... I suppose so. There aren't really many others left-"

"I know that," she snapped, turning to him with her brows low over her eyes, "but certainly there were others in the city." Her hands idly slid over the planks supporting the entrance, and she began taking in her surroundings again.

Keon blinked hard, but said nothing.

"How far have we traveled, hermit?"

She was looking at him again, her stare smoldering. He pondered her words, before carefully replying,

"Nearly fifteen miles southeast of the city I figure..." Her eyebrows shot up before he even finished the sentence. It was the most human he'd ever seen her look, but he remained puzzled. Realization suddenly dawned over his face and he exclaimed,

"Imperial Units!" He found himself comically slapping himself on the forehead, "my apologies, um, let's see, that would be about nine-"A harsh sound stopped him mid-sentence, and he looked up from his finger counting. Her mouth was open, and her teeth were showing, but the look in her eyes was not altogether unfamiliar.

"You're... laughing?" It was not a hearty laugh, and her face returned to seriousness in all but a second, with only a hint of ease upon her brows.

"Do not fret so much hermit, I know my conversions. I am not about to disembowel you for a simple mistake."

Despite her words, Keon still appeared ill at ease.

"I am not understanding though, why did you bring me here?" She continued, seeming not to notice his discomfort.

He asked himself the same question.

"The, erm..." he faltered. She imagined he was asking himself the same question. "The city isn't really a safe place to be, especially for anyone who is injured..." She scowled at him in a way only she could.

"I can still manage to defend myself can I not?" She retorted. Then, seeming to drop her offended manner, "Regardless, that is not what I was referring to," she turned her body to face him completely, her wrist blades still extended, "I want to know your motive, hermit. What do you expect to receive for healing me?"

"I- I expect nothing..." he stuttered, swallowing hard. "I suppose, I mean, I had hoped you would spare my life for doing so." He wrung his hands together, hopeful he hadn't said the wrong thing.

She bared her teeth in what may have been a grin.

"Do not joke with me. Though your ways may be different, I think you can understand why I would not want to be in your debt. If I owe you something, I would have you tell me now."

"Debt? No... of course not." He clasped his hands together to stop the nervous fidgeting. "Just, I mean, I guess just take it as my welcoming you to Earth." He began to rock on his feet.

"Do you mean to say you felt obligated to save me due to your social responsibilities?" She spoke as though she read the line straight out of a book.

"No! I mean, well somewhat I suppose. Not many beings have the ability to heal, and you practically fell at my feet in the middle of a very dangerous area-"

Again, he heard that oddly menacing cackle. She swayed slightly, as though her own laughter might knock her over. Leaning against the wall, she spoke mockingly,

"Heh! Let me get this right, you think we have some sort of intertwined fate then?" Her laughs slowly faded to heaving gasps as she spoke, and she fell to her knees. Keon went to approach her, but she held out a cautionary hand, keeping her head low.

"You poor hermit," She said, so quietly he hardly understood it.

"Sorry?" She lifted her head and squinted her eyes, her lips trying to make a friendly gesture.

"You really have been alone too long." Long trails of red poured down from her nose, and quickly drenched her attempted smile in blood. She wavered for hardly a moment, and then collapsed awkwardly on her side.

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What do you all think of nameless girl? What about Keon? Should he trust her?