Sorry if this doesn't make any sense. It's taken from a RP that a friend of mine and I do. Reviews are absolutely epic and make me verrry happy… Just so you know… I write faster when I'm happy. (Or bored… Like now… hmm…) Well, enough chatting. Enjoy!

Lillianna ran through the forest at top speed, jumping roots and boulders, trying to get way from her pursuer. She never saw him, but she knew he was there. Why me? I didn't do anything, did I? This guy's been watching me for five days now, and chasing me all day. Maybe I should stop and talk to him. No! I should keep running. The mental battle went on for at least five minutes until, SMACK!!! She tripped over a root and landed in the dirt. Through her daze she could feel a sharp stabbing pain in her left ankle and could only listen as her pursuer came up to her. It was dark so she couldn't quite make him out, so as one last resort she exclaimed, "I've fallen and I can't get up! Please, kind sir, help me!"

Quinn stopped next to the fallen girl, looming over her in the darkness. It was a perfect night for thieving. But no, he reminded himself, tonight I am Quinn. Quinn the 'kind sir.' as the girl put it. He chuckled inside his head. To the girl he said, "Give me your hand. Why did you run? I mean you no harm." Well, mostly no harm. He amended silently.

Extending her hand, Lillianna stood up with the man's help. She tried to put some weight on her left ankle. She hissed in pain and staggered. "I'm sorry, I always assume to much. I thought that I must have done something wrong. Arggg! My ankle hurts. I wasn't watching where-" She stopped and realized that she was rambling on and on. "I'm sorry if I talk too much I only talk this much when I'm embarrassed and-" Lillianna blushed a deep red. Just tell him your sorry and shut up! "Sorry." Lillianna hoped he couldn't see how red her face was.

Quinn chuckled as she babbled on. He knelt and placed his hand on her ankle. "May I see?" He asked her gently when she was done speaking, looking up at her face. He tried not to smile as he noted the fact that her face was a very nice shade of red. "I can't heal you but I'll be able to tell if it's broken or not. I usually find it helpful when running in the dark to look at where I'm going instead of looking over my shoulder. If you're being chased then your pursuer will either catch you or not catch you, depending. It makes it a lot easier for them to catch you when you're sprawled on the ground because you tripped." He commented dryly, watching her with a slight smile on his face.

Lilliana blushed a little darker. How and why can he make me blush so? Even I, of all people, have seen way...way ... She lifted her eyes to his face. Dang, he's cute! Lillianna got immediately lost in his perfect golden- Snap out of it Lilli! She told herself. "Y-yeah, sure, you can look at it." Lillianna slowly lifted her skirt a few inches above her ankle. It was bleeding where the root caught her. She flinched slightly, hoping he wouldn't notice.

He smiled at her and then knelt to examine her ankle. "You're bleeding. Here." He picked her up and carried her to a rock not far from where she had fallen. He set her down gently and stepped back, removing his flowing black shirt and handing it to her. "Tear strips off of it. Does this hurt?" Quinn asked as he lightly pressed on her ankle.

Lillianna flinched again, "Yes," She groaned, "Yes, it really hurts. By the way, my name is Lillianna. If I may be so bold, what's your name?" She asked, tearing his shirt into strips like he had told her to, hoping that he couldn't see the fear in her eyes. She didn't like being hurt, especially not in the woods, at night, alone with a perfect stranger.

He grabbed one of the pieces of cloth and his canteen off of his belt. Wadding the up cloth, he soaked it with water and started cleaning her ankle. "Lillianna. Nice to meet you." He chuckled. "You may indeed be that bold. My name's Quinn. Your ankle isn't broken, but I do need to put it in a splint." He looked up at her face, searching for something.

Lillianna put her hand gently on the back off her neck. The spot there had heated up a bit. No, no, no! It can't happen now! Her look of fear and pain increased slightly. Now she knew he could see it. Lillianna tried to calm herself down.

Quinn looked intently at her ankle, cleaning it. He glanced up as she shifted, looking at her face as she placed her hand on the back of her neck and grimaced. He looked back down at her broken ankle, cleaning it efficiently.

"O-oh okay." She stuttered. After a few seconds she had finished ripping his shirt up into equal strips and set them down on her lap. The pain in her neck got dangerously close to unbearable. Clutching her neck with one hand Lillianna handed the strips to Quinn.

Quinn looked up at her. "Are you ok? Did you hurt you neck when you fell?"

She grimaced with the pain. "No, I didn't hurt my neck. It's ... well ... a curse." She stared at the ground. "When I was born my parents were murdered and Evil Queen Jaina cast a spell on me that, when I came of age, would activate and," She looked at the man crouched in front of her. She felt like she could get lost in his beautiful golden eyes. She continued softly, "Would kill me." She felt a small tear run down her cheek, slowly followed by a few more. She bowed her head again. "I never even knew my parents." Lillianna started really crying.

Quinn drew back. It was never his job to deal with the crying women. No that was for their boyfriends to do, he tended to be the one that made them cry. A little help? He silently asked the small tattoo on his back.
"Take her in your arms. It usually helps. Though that might be yet another of the things that is different for you." Thanks. That was really not helpful. Quinn hugged her tightly. What now?
"Follow your instincts." The voice hesitated. "I would also try to find a healer named Sable. She might be able to help." Help what? Her or me? The tattoo didn't reply. "Shh... It'll be ok." Quinn said, gently stroking her back, feeling her tears on his bare chest.

Lillianna continued crying, but slower and more quietly now, until she stopped completely. In his arms, for the first time ever, she felt...safe. She calmed down and just sat there, he was warm and she didn't want him to let go. What should I do now? Oh please help me! She cried out to the tattoo on her other ankle.

"Just slowly move away, you don't want to offend him by holding on. And then maybe apologize to Quinn." A soft but firm voice replied. Lillianna obeyed and then said, "Sorry 'bout that. I just haven't cried for a long time. And... Thank you." She gave him a small hug and drew back again.

"It's all right Lillianna. I don't mind. If it helps, I never knew my parents either." He reached into one of his pockets and pulled out a cloth, unrolling it and removing a bundle of slim metal sticks a little longer then finger length and sticking them back into his pocket. He handed Lillianna the cloth. "Here. My handkerchief." He took the strips of cloth from her and started, gently but firmly, wrapping them around her broken ankle.

"Thank you, Quinn. You're a good man." Lillianna spoke sweetly. She laid down on the rock and fell asleep.

Quinn watched her sleep for a few minutes, and then he got to his feet and walked away from her until he was out of her hearing so that he didn't disturb her. "Asim?" He asked/called. A man appeared in front of Quinn. Asim was a little shorter then his master but not by much. He had blond hair, pale skin, and unsettling purple eyes. There was a slight lilt to his voice as he answered Quinn.
"You called?"
"Of course I called. What did you mean? Why do I have to find Sable? Who is Sable? I've never even heard of a 'Sable'."
"To find Sable. Because it will help you. Who do you think I would send you to when you've just met a girl with a painful curse on her? Of course you've never heard of her. Most haven't. Better that way. She really won't like it that I told you about her."

Lilli stirred when Quinn left. Well, now that he was gone she could talk to Katrina (aka Kitty). She sat up and whispered her name, and then a young lady appeared in front of her.
"Yeah?" Kitty spoke cheerfully, but not loudly.
"I need you to do some scouting for me. Quinn has gone off somewhere and, I'm not worried, but could you find out where he is?"
The woman pondered it for a while, and then said, "Yes, you are worried and yes, I will find him." Then walked away humming 'Quinn and Lilli sittin' in a tree K-I-S-S-I-N-G'. Lilli blushed and threw a rock that hit Kitty square in the back.
"Don't you even think about doing' that!" Lilli whispered harshly.
"Fine, fine! I wasn't gonna!"

Kitty looked around until she spotted Quinn talking with another man. He's kinda cute... "Snap out of it, Kitty!!!" Lilli yelled in her head, causing Kitty to trip at the sudden noise. She landed with a thud and looked up at the two men who had been talking. Awww shoot!!! They caught me! She mumbled a few cuss words before dashing back towards Lilli.

Quinn and Asim looked up sharply as they heard a thud. The young woman got up and ran back toward Lilli. Asim made a dive for her and caught her ankles, tripping her before she could get back to Lilli. Asim quickly got to his feet moving to her head, he twisted one of her arms behind her back, pinning her to the ground. Quinn walked over.
"Who are you." He demanded coolly.

In response, Kitty uttered some rather colorful words before speaking a little louder.
"And I thought you were gentlemen." She said sarcastically. As quick as she could, using her legs for leverage, she flipped over and was now sitting on Asim. With her hand free now, she offered it to Quinn and spoke sweetly,
"The name's Katrina, but Lilli calls me Kitty."

Quinn shook her hand and, while Kitty was distracted, Asim drew a knife and held it to her stomach.
"Get off." He growled up at her. Quinn turned to Lilli.
"Who is she?"

Kitty looked down playfully at the ticked off man beneath her.
"Make me!" She giggled.

Lilli put her head in her hand and said,
"That's Katrina. Yes, I call her Kitty. She's my Tattoo." Your gonna get it! She laughed in Kitty's head.

Asim glared up at Kitty. He flipped her off of him and she landed on her back in the dirt. He straddled her torso, holding the knife to her throat. "I think I will."

Quinn smirked. "Now, now Asim. Be nice to the young lady. Lilli knows her so she should be okay." Asim snorted and rolled his eyes.
"Oh and we've known Lilli for so long. Honestly Quinn. You're too trusting."
Quinn pulled a face. "Alright, alright fine. Have it your way." Quinn went over and sat down next to Lilli.
"Have you ever heard of a person named Sable?"

Kitty smirked and pulled out her knife as well.
"So ya wanna fight do ya?" She pushed him off and stood up. "Bring it!" She glared playfully at him and charged.

Lilli removed her head from her hand and sighed when Asim and Kitty started fighting.
"Sable you say? Yeah, yeah I've heard of her. In fact I'm her only relative that's still alive and well." She searched his eyes. "Why do you ask?"

Asim blocked Kitty's strikes and attacked with his own, drawing a second dagger.

Quinn looked down at his hands.
"Asim mentioned her earlier. He said that maybe she could help. Naturally he didn't tell me what she might be able to help with…" He sighed and looked over at Lilli. "Do you know where she lives?"

Lilli looked down "Honestly... No. She comes to me so I don't know where she could possibly be hiding." She looked back up at Quinn then switched her gaze to Asim and Kitty and sighed.

Kitty rolled her eyes when Asim pulled out his dagger. "Men and their toys!" She smirked and dropped her weapon. She whispered a spell and a long, thin, deadly katana appeared in her grasp. "Lucky me, I've got my own toys."

"Asim!" Asim glared over at Quinn.
"Now. I mean it." Asim shot Quinn a surly look but walked toward him. Kitty lowered her sword as he sheathed his daggers. As Asim passed her he slid his arm around her waist, pulling her closer to him.
"We'll finish this later." He promised, glaring down into her eyes. He released her and continued on his way toward Quinn.

"How often do you see each other?" Quinn asked Lilli as soon as he was sure that Asim was going to obey him this time, missing the exchange between the two combatants.

Kitty smiled up at him, but frowned when he let go. She sighed and ran back to Lilli. She did a flip and disappeared. Soon a beautiful black leopard formed on Lilli's ankle. Lilli sighed, "Show off! You're the reason I can't run as fast." The Tattoo took the shape of a puppy with a large pair of eyes. Lilli rolled her own eyes in reply.
She turned back to Quinn, "About once a month or so. In fact she's supposed to meet me in a cave, not far from here, tomorrow."

Asim glared at the tattoo on Lilli's ankle then disappeared, becoming a smirking, fire breathing dragon spread across Quinn's bare chest.
"Well. That's easy then. We'll just go to the cave and wait for her. Does she know about your curse mark?"

"Well... I never told anyone about it. It never hurt, except at night. And the only other person who knows is Jaina, and she wants to kill me before the curse goes off. She came pretty close too. And if it wasn't for Kitty, I woulda been fish-food! ...Very unappetizing." She gave a disgusted look, and her Tattoo morphed to the silhouette of a female warrior holding a spear. She looked like she was about to ram it through her suffering victim. Lilli sighed. You're showing' off to Asim right?
"What the heck gave you that idea!?" Her Tattoo exclaimed.

Asim, are you sure that we can trust Sable? Quinn silently asked Asim. "How closely related are you? Is there any bad blood in your family? How many family members have died?" "Yes. We can trust her. She will be able to help you two." Thank you Asim. Can you tell me any more? Please?
"No. I'm afraid I can't. Sorry."

Lilli blinked. "She's my aunt. Bad blood would probably mean Sir Haseem and Lady Amarossie. But they're on their death beds thanks to," She coughed. "Me? I cannot count the dead members on my fingers. Plus I've lost track."
"Do you really want to see Sable? She might do more harm than good." Yes, I'm positive. Besides, we've got Quinn and Asim to protect us."
Her Tattoo shaped into a heart. Shut up!

Quinn sighed. "It seems that perhaps there are benefits to not having family…"
"Liar." Am not. He disowned me. They aren't my family.
"Say that to your sister's face." Asim dared. I won't. It's none of your business anyway.
"Oh yeah? Of course its not. We're only stuck with each other for the rest of our foreseeable lives…" Shut up.
"Won't."
"So... Which direction is this cave?..."

Lilli looked up at Quinn. "Why do you say that there are benefits to not having a family? It was an accident. I didn't mean to hurt them but they attacked first."
"Yeah right!" Yeah! Right! They did attack first if I remember correctly! "If? Yeah IF, the magic word!" You know you can be so annoying at times!
"The cave is down river. That way." She pointed to the sound of running water. "If we follow the river, we'll find a cliff. Up a little ways is the cave. It might be a little hard to get to with a sprained ankle but I think we can handle it…"
"Who's we? Oh you mean Quinn, Asim, you, and me? Ha!"
"Shut up, Kitty."

"Life just seems to be more complicated when there's family involved. Why did they attack you?" He grinned. "Cliff climbing is fun. We'll be just fine." He winked at Lilli. "Yours too huh?"

Lilli laughed. "Yeah, Kitty can get pretty annoying at times." Kitty jumped off Lilli's ankle and scowled.
"I'm not that bad!"
"Whatever." Lilli said, rolling her eyes.

Quinn laughed at their antics. "Calm down ladies. There's enough of us to go around. No need to get all excited." He held up his hands in surrender as they both turned toward him. "Easy. I didn't mean anything by it. Honest." He chuckled.

The duo of so-called 'ladies' blushed, Lilli more than Kitty.
"What do you mean by that?" Kitty inquired. "I mean it's obvious that Lilli likes you. But why the heck would you even consider me and Asim?!"

Quinn grinned but didn't answer. He winked at Lilli and scooped her into his arms. Turning, he walked toward the river. "Come on. I know of a good clearing with lots of moss for sleeping on. We can get to the cave tomorrow." He called back over his shoulder with a smirk.

Kitty sighed and returned to tattoo form on Lilli's ankle.

When they reached the clearing, Quinn set Lilli down and walked over to an old tree. He reached into a hollow in the roots and pulled out a bag, fetching out a bedroll and a spare blanket. He handed the sleeping roll to Lilli and lay down beside her with the blanket.
"Sleep well Lilli." He said as he closed his eyes.

Lilli situated herself in the bedroll but found herself unable to get comfortable. She was cold. She scooted closer to Quinn.

One of Quinn's eyes flickered open for a moment before falling closed again. He was faking but she didn't have to know that. He rolled onto his side in his 'sleep' and his arm fell across her hips, drawing her closer to his warmth.

* * *

Quinn opened his eyes as birds in the surrounding tree chirruped their happy little songs in acknowledgment of the morning. He surveyed the woman next to him who was still asleep. He smirked a little. She had cuddled up to him in her sleep last night. She looked very charming in her sleep. She made a small sound and her eyes flickered open. At first she looked contented but then she realized where she was. She sat upright, glaring at him. He raised an eyebrow in question. Lilli blinked and relaxed a bit, apparently remembering the previous evening.
"Sleep well?" He asked her. Lilli nodded.
"Yes, thank you. You?"
"Mmm. I slept all right. How do you feel today?"
Lilli hesitated for a moment, taking stock.
"Alright."
Quinn sat up as well. "Good. I want to take another look at your ankle in the daylight." He moved to her feet and removed the blankets. Her ankle had swollen up a bit during the night but it didn't look too bad. The blood had come from a shallow cut a little farther up on her leg. He rewrapped it and patter her knee comfortingly.
"I think you should be able to walk on it if you take it easy."
Lilli whispered a quiet 'thank you' and Quinn got to his feet.

He walked back to the tree and got out the bag again, pulling out some dried meat and fruit. He stowed the bag again and came back to Lilli, sitting down next to her again. He handed her some of the food and began to eat.

When they had both finished he folded the blanket and bedroll, putting them away in the tree. He got out the spare shirt that he kept there too and put it on. Asim appeared at his side. Quinn glanced at him and murmured quietly to him

"What's up?"

"Just watching your back."

"Does my back need watching?"

Asim gave him a dry look.

"Alright, alright. Don't answer that."

Quinn turned back and found Lilli standing, Kitty beside her, helping to steady her.

Kitty tilted her head to the side, staring at something beyond Quinn. "Oh no!" she exclaimed.

"What?!" Lilli asked, twisting her head to face in the same direction as Kitty. "Oh no!" She said urgently, seeing what Kitty was getting at.

Quinn looked at the two women. "What is it?" He asked, following their gazes.

Kitty dropped to the ground and rolled over laughing. After a little while all she was able to gasp out was, "Gotcha!" Meanwhile Lilli put her head in her hand.
"You are such a bad fake." She kicked Kitty in the back, gently though. "Get up. We've got to get going." She limped to the river and jumped in. Popping back up she looked at the three that were still standing there.
"Well? Aren't cha coming?"

Asim took off his shirt and walked into the water, but Quinn shied away. "It's too cold to swim. Maybe I'll join you later." He smiled at Lilli and began to walk along the bank. "And I swear, Asim if you splash me, there will be trouble. That goes for the rest of you too." He said, continuing to mutter under his breath. Asim pouted putting down the water he had been about to splash at Quinn.

Please