Savior

The air was cold around her, the wind whispering through the rocky terrain jutting up toward the sky on both sides of her. A mourning cry echoed over the land, tickling her ears ever so slightly. She stopped in her tracks and stood alert to pinpoint the origin of the sound. She felt her heart thumping in her chest, hard, like a hammer on concrete. She looked off into the distance only to see a dark pair of wings on the horizon...Just a lone Rakk calling out to find other drifters in the twilight sky. She breathed a sigh and gripped her gun tighter in her frigid fingers. This place had her spooked for some reason or another, mostly because she had no idea where in hell she was.

This place was cold, and unforgiving, her teeth refused to stop chattering and she wasn't even positive she was going the right way to exit this monstrous canyon. The walls on either side of her forced her to continue in only one direction. There was no shelter here and nothing to build a fire with as far as she could see.

Maya kicked a snow drift and cursed under her breath. How could she have been so careless?

Many hours previous she had been busting into a grand bandit camp filled with prominent and promising loot. It had looked practically abandoned, easy prey for a vault hunter of her status. Her bullets had cut the air like knives, the bandits fell one by one. She easily took her pound of flesh, each enemy falling at her feet. Her gun still smoking she had looked upon her plunder grinning with pleasure, bodies on the snowy ground, red over white, and a hefty sum of money, ammo and eridium was hers for the taking. She grabbed as much as she could, and came to the last container, resting far from the camp, on the cliffs edge. Overcome with smugness from her successful raid, she did not consider the unsteady ground it sat upon. The moment she drew closer to the container the entire cliff had given way with an ear shattering crack, sending her sprawling down into the belly of the canyon. She had escaped the falling boulders with minor scrapes and bruises...but her hurt pride for her stupidity left her very injured.

"How do i manage to get myself into these messes" Maya growled lowly her eyes searching the seemingly endless cavern walls for any hope of escape...or somewhere to sleep for the night.

The sky was growing darker and darker as she walked and her heart began to sink lower and lower, she had to find some sort of shelter for the night or she might freeze to death. She quickened her pace to a full on sprint leaving behind the caution of waking whatever creatures may lay ahead. The wind was cold through the cracks in her lightweight armor, and her feet felt heavy and tired but she knew she couldn't stop now this was no time to let fatigue get to her. She pushed herself onward, faster and faster her lungs felt like they were on fire from drawing in the freezing air. And finally as she rounded the corner she saw the canyon mouth beginning to open into a clearing, she saw mountains and terrain other than enclosing cliff walls.

She stopped for a moment to breathe and sighed delighted and relieved. She thought this canyon was never going to end! She trudged forward dragging her heavy feet, the gun on her back beginning to feel a lot heavier than she remembered and the one in her hand sunk to her hip. Maybe there would be a place to rest soon she thought hopefully as she passed into the opening and came upon more barren landscape, snow opening to ice and ice opening to a freezing sea on her left, and large mountains to her right. She groaned...she had hoped for a small cave nestled in the cliffs or something of that nature but the odds weren't looking so hot. She continued on a while, nearing the edge of the mountains, and then she saw it.

A bullymong cavern. Her eyes lit up and she immediately stood up straight. She prayed it to be abandoned...seeing as there didn't seem to be much signs of life. She slunk toward it, gun at attention now, trying as best she could to surround herself with caution. She got to the base of the cavern and looked up. Of course she would have to climb up into it. She groaned.

"This couldn't just be easy could it" She muttered.

She raised her foot and steadied it on the icy rocks, secured her gun at her side and clutched the rock with her hand in preparation to lift herself skyward.

And that was as far as she got...

It all happened so quickly.

Suddenly in an explosion of snow and rock the great beast burst from its unseen sleeping quarters just to the left of the cavern she was seeking refuge in. It's roar buckled her knees and made her ears ring. She had no time to think, no time to react, she hurrdily reached for her gun but the beasts flailing arms were quicker. Its strong front legs made direct contact with her abdomen, hitting just perfectly in the weak spot of her armor its massive claw dug into her skin ripping it spraying blood down her abdomen and onto the rocks. A loud crack echoed off the cliff and she was sent flying to the ice hitting hard on her shoulder. Maya winced in pain and shock as she tried to collect herself and find her feet. But as she tried to rouse herself to standing point a sharp pain ripped through her body causing her to give out and fall back to the ice. She had never felt pain like this, she knew immediately that the wound was very serious, she could feel the warmth of her own blood seeping through her armor but she had not the time to access her injuries. She fumbled to her side for her Jackobs pistol and realized that it had fallen a good thirty feet from her. She grabbed the Dahl SMG off her back and raised it to defend her crippled body just as the monstrous full grown Bullymong flung itself from the cliff arms raised to crush her. She squeezed the trigger and unloaded hell upon it as it came for her, spraying the air with whizzing bullets. It roared in pain and blind anger as its body took the full impact of her weapon. But the bullets seemed to only anger it further. It reared up savagely and smacked the weapon out of her hand. Maya gasped and attempted to pull herself away from the raging beast, but it was no good it was coming for her with intentions to kill. She was far to weak to use her infamous powers against it. She was helpless under its wrath. This was it. Killed by a stupid bullymong, she thought to herself. Of all the crap i have been through THIS is what does me in!? She closed her eyes and held her breath waiting for the final blow, she could smell its rank breath in her nostrils, feel its drool sliding down her exposed arm. It's rumbling growl reverberated deep inside her broken chest, seeming to shake the ground beneath her as well. And then suddenly it made a sound she was not prepared for, a yelp sharp and high and then a gurgling moan that seemed to stagger off into the air. She felt something warm and wet splatter her fallen form and she opened her eyes for just a second.

Blood.

It was blood. But not her own blood...

Fresh warm blood painted her otherwise yellow and black uniform.

She gasped and looked up to the bullymong's frozen form, its jaw seemed slacked. And its eyes were fading of life. Gurgling blood seeped from its jaws before its muscles went limp and it slumped to the ground life escaping its form. She looked at the giant form mouth slightly agape, head whirling in pain, eyesight dizzy and fragmented. She looked up suddenly, the realization that she was not alone was suddenly apparent.

Through blurred eyes she saw a figure, dark and slender, standing atop the fallen bullymong. With a clean swift motion he retracted what looked to be a glowing sword from the creatures back slinging blood upon the ice. She could not make out a face, hardly any detail at all, the pain was making her eyesight fail miserably. This unknown figure could be the end of her, but she had no fight left, and with that her eyes fluttered closed and she fell back upon the blood stained ice.

Her head was fuzzy, her eyes slowly opened to slits, the low light made her head spin and she squinted at it.

Wait...light?

Her eyes shot open and she looked at her surroundings, she was in a room, wood walls and an old broken window with only shards of glass left in its frame. And in the corner on a bed of stones was a crackling fire the source of the light in the dirty little room. Maya struggled to sit up and crippling pain burned through her nerves like lava.

"AGHH!" She yelled and clutched her side.

She laid down on her back wincing in pain her teeth gritted tight.

"Do not move. Still yourself. You will only make it worse" Came a voice from the other side of the room.

Maya's head snapped in the direction it had come from.

There in the doorway, was a man...well she thought he was a man, his voice sounded male, but a sleek black helmet over his face kept her from further identifying him. He tossed some broken boards into the small fire and it leapt and swayed eating up the offering. He entered the room further and Maya shied away scooting as far as she could until her back hit the wall behind her, again racking her with searing pain.

"FUCK!" She gasped loudly.

"I told you not to did not listen. You are only injuring yourself further." He said lowly as he knelt just feet from Maya's crippled form.

"Who the hell are you, and what do you want!?" Maya snapped eyebrows furrowed teeth gritted.

If she had had fangs she would have been bearing them.

He had never seen such a wild woman, she was more beast than she seemed human, aggression being her first reaction.

A large red exclamation mark shone in front of his face plate in alarm.

"Seeming as I did save your life, I would have thought gratitude would have been in order first. Apparently not" He said leaning his elbows on his drawn up knees.

His helmet offered no form of emotion, just a black shining reflection.

Maya did not know how to read him, no eyes to look upon and decipher his intentions. Did he mean harm? No...he would have let the bullymong kill her if he had meant to hurt her. Maybe he had something to gain by holding her captive. She narrowed her eyes at him, clearly his comment had done nothing but upset the wild animal.

"Why?" She growled.

"Why should you thank me? Because normally thats what one does when another saves them from being mauled by a bullymong. Clearly you are not of the normal category." He said his voice unwavering.

Maya bit her lip and shook her head.

"Not that. Why save me? What are you to gain?" She hissed at him.

If she wasn't hurt she would have already pinned him to the ground and put a knife to his throat. It was almost like he was toying with her, and she did not take to that at all.

"Does one have to gain anything for saving another's life. Is this the norm now? Always an eye for an eye?" He said tilting his head to the side.

She almost felt like under that helmet he was smiling at her, silently snickering at his new toy.

"Cut the crap. Get to the point. What do you want with me" She barked.

Her anger was bubbling up to a hot boil.

"I guess saving a life is no longer a deed to be trusted then? Such a pity. Since i am being genuine." He said getting up and standing before her, towering above her.

Maya simply watched his body move as he did so.

He moved with cat like grace, slow swift motions, each one precise.

He was taller than her, by at least a foot, and slender in build but his muscle definition was apparent under the leather clad armor. She sensed he was fast and she sensed he was strong...well one would have to be to take down a monster like that. He was done up in lightweight armor much like her own, only with more leather than she took to liking. The clothing was dark to the color and looked worn with many battles, he had been rough to his outer ware.

She relaxed her body just slightly as she looked him over, observing his every inch, deciding whether or not he was being genuine about saving her life due to decency alone...or if he had more planned. His stance was tight, leaned back slightly, long slender legs holding him up, shoulders pushed back as he turned to look through the shattered window. He said not another word, as if he was letting her have her thoughts and wonders about him without interruption. The silence settled over the room like heavy fog, dense but somehow not completely unpleasant. It had been a long while since she had even been in contact with another human being...assuming he was human underneath that dark helmet. At least a couple of months she had gone without. Not like it really bothered her much being on her own, she often times preferred it as such. But every once and a while...even the hardest of shells crack. Even the toughest of souls yearn for another's company from time to time. The nights do get cold and long, and being left alone with your own thoughts day in and day out tended to get tiresome. Having someone to share in them wasn't always a curse...

He didn't look at her for a long time, this man...thing...whatever. He just stood staring, as if dazed or off in thoughts somewhere far from here. She was now hesitant to speak wondering what was going on behind that mask.

"You have a deep gash on your abdomen. You will need time to recover. A few days." He said suddenly his voice dropped like a hammer in the silence.

His tone was not happy nor sad...just somewhat neutral. Not swaying more one way nor the other.

She cursed under her breath and groaned. Of course this would happen now... She would be stuck even longer on this god forsaken glacier.

How in hells name was she supposed to cope with a severe injury such as this. She needed water...and food. And this was ok as far as shelter went but god it was cold, and all around just a nasty little hole in the wall.

"Sorry...I'm not used to people helping me" She said suddenly her voice rough and really anything but apologetic.

But it was an attempt at it and that seemed to be enough for him.

"You are a vault hunter. It is not something you are accustomed to. A fighter and loner you are." He said bluntly as if skipping right over Maya's apology.

She narrowed her eyes at him and looked from side to side as if pondering how to answer that.

"What's it to you." She said sharply.

Oh dear the animal was bearing its teeth again.

For the first time she heard him sigh.

"You are so defensive. Do not bother. It's good to see a fellow vault hunter. " He said nonchalantly.

Her eyes widened and her lips tightened in shock and confusion. A vault hunter! So that was this guys deal...she had kind of wondered why he was wandering around this barren landscape...but she supposed he must wonder the same thing of her. Must have been a clue in to the fact that she was also a fellow vault hunter. The only ones crazy enough to find themselves way the bum fuck out here. He turned and she assumed that he was making eye contact with her, she felt her insides being observed as he faced her. Blank, black shining helmet concealing eyes of some sort because she could feel them boring into her. Searing holes in her makeup, observing her every labored breath, every slight painful movement, contemplating the next words to string together to follow up his coming forth to being another hunter. She shifted her eyes to the floor, it was very un-easing not being able to see his eyes.

"You...you are a vault hunter too?...is that why you were out here?" Maya finally managed.

The animal was yet seemingly tame again, words soft.

"Yes, my mission was to find you. After the train crash, you were separated from the rest of us. The others and I have been searching for you, we had began to think you dead" He said bluntly. "I traveled here for the promise of good loot and came across your unfortunate encounter with a bullymong. Not so quick at wielding your weapons are you." He said grabbing his sword and rearranging the burning wood in the fire sending lazy sparks onto the floor.

They burned for a second and fluttered out as the wind licked through the doorway and robbed them of life.

Maya's memory of the train ride here was fuzzy. She remembered the others vaguely...not enough to recognize any of them. The explosion had happened so quickly. Maya had hit her head on a boulder as she was thrown from the train. leaving her memory of the whole ordeal very blotchy. But that was besides the point.

Maya felt her blood burn hot. How dare he accuse her of not being able to handle her own battles! She was just fine with a gun and had fought off bigger things than that bullymong! She was exhausted! Anybody in her situation would have fallen to that beast!

"I'm just fucking fine at wielding my weapons! If i hadn't been wandering this hell hole for the past twelve hours and hadn't had a thing to eat in three days i would have been fine asshole!" Maya spat at her mysterious counterpart.

"And those are fine excuses...but all and all if i had not come along you would have been long digested by now." He said folding his arms across his lean muscled chest.

Maya clenched her fist.

Vault hunter or not she already wanted to punch him in the throat. For a guy with no face he sure was a cocky son of a bitch.

But alas Maya was at a loss for a witty comeback to his comment...it was technically true. Had he not come along, she would have been dead. She supposed she owed him a slight bit of gratitude. But damn he didn't have to be so freaking smug about it. Her anger outweighed the reasoning that she was in fact within his debt so she simply scowled darkly at him and held her tongue. The floor was awfully uncomfortable she suddenly came to the realization of that, she winced and tried to readjust.

He saw her struggling and briskly crossed the room to lean down beside her. She immediately leaned away from him, uncomfortable with him being so close to her.

"We can't stay here. There is a storm on the wind. There is an abandoned ship not far from here"

"i would assume it to be better shelter than here. with the possibility of food. We will need to get you moved there quickly." He said calmly.

Well how the hell am i supposed to manage that!? She thought quickly.

I damn sure am not walking there.

"How?" Maya said sharply.

"The same way you got here. I'm going to carry you." He said.

Well duh of course he must have carried me here...all while i was unconscious!? This asshole could have tried something on me...for all i know he's a dirty pervert...hiding behind that helmet and all...

Maya looked at him with mean un-ease.

"I will be careful. Gentle. Do not look concerned."

"It's not about how freaking careful you. Just don't try any funny shit." Maya growled.

"I won't." He said and she could almost sense rolling of the eyes behind his mask.

He went to the door and kicked a pile of snow over the now weakened fire and then strode back over to the injured siren.

"I still don't even know your damn name." She said huffily.

"I am Zero. The assassin. Is this a satisfying answer?" He said shortly.

"Maya." She said in return.

A name for a name.

Zero...what an odd thing to call a name. Maybe because he had zero communication skills. His sentences were always quick and offered nothing but the fact they stated. She could tell he wasn't much for words that was for sure.

"This is going to hurt some. Just hang onto me. Bare with me" He said leaning down to brace himself to lift her.

Maya lifted her arms and wrapped them around his thin neck, her fingers touched the cold of his helmet and it almost shocked her finger pads. Her palms moved down to wrap around the nape of his neck, and she found it to be surprisingly very warm. His body heat radiated into her hands and through her arms.

Zero slipped one arm carefully under her back and the other in the crook of her knees.

"Brace yourself." He whispered

Slowly he lifted Maya up, readjusting her tight to his body to try and avoid the pain of too much movement.

Maya cried out in anguish and found her face pressed against the warm leather of his chest. She clenched her teeth as hard as she could until they felt like they could shatter. The pain swirled up through her body like flames, burning all of her insides to the core. The pain was so great it began to once again make her dizzy. She felt new blood starting to leak from her wound. She suddenly wondered just how bad it was, there was no way of knowing underneath her armor but for all she knew if she took it off her organs could spill out. It felt like it was painful enough to be that severe. She felt little tears of shear pain sting the corners of her eyes.

Damn it now i look like a completely weak, crying and all...shit. She thought frantically.

She blinked them away and bit her lip.

Zero was surprisingly gentle as he lifted her and proceeded out the shack's doors. The sky behind them was dark and ominous threatening to soon engulf the morning's pale light. That didn't look good at all, no wonder he insisted on moving their location. His pace was quick, and his strides were long but he walked with a smooth motion that made it slightly less painful on Maya. He walked on soft feet, like a predator on padded paws. As if he were stalking prey...

His aura seemed oddly predatory, ruthless...a hunter.

After what seemed like an eternity they came upon the old ship nestled up against the shore in the broken ice. It looked like like a much better shelter than the one previous.

Zero approached it slowly, his steps becoming slower, he lowered his stance and crept toward it...stalking once more.

He suddenly reminded her of a panther, sleek, slender and slow. But underneath that elegance was something deadly, observing the surroundings with profound intent. All he was missing was golden eyes and a long tail and he would all but be a predatory cat of the jungle. He rounded the right side of the ship without a sound, Maya could not even hear him breathing.

Then suddenly he dropped to his knees and whipped his sniper from his back, never dropping his cargo, and in a swift motion he aimed and shot toward the ships top.

There was an anguished cry and Maya saw a marauder fall limply from the top deck, until now she had not even been aware of his presence. He fell to the ice water with a splash and once again all went quiet and still, no sound but the ocean lapping at the ice like a hungry dog.

He returned the gun to its place, stood and continued to the new shelter as if nothing had happened at all. Maya simply stared at him in wonder.

What was this guy?

Clearly someone not to be messed with to say the least...

But where did he come from?

Who was he?

He was not a normal human being she could tell that for sure.

But then again neither was she...

Zero opened the door slowly, accessing every nook and cranny, but there was no sign of life to be had. He shut the heavy iron door behind him and started up the shaky stairs slowly. He followed the corridor all the way to the top level, to a large room with sealed windows that looked like a prefect place to ride out the storm.

There was a single table in the corner, several dirty magazines sprawled on its surface, a small potbelly stove set in the middle of the room and an old ragged mattress pushed up against the far wall. Maya guessed this must have been where the marauder was camping out, there was still a meal of bread and some messy looking stew set on the wooden table, and a fire still crackled in the stoves stomach.

Zero looked to the bed and looked to Maya, as if unsure to lay her down on the dirty thing or not.

"I've slept on worse." She said sighing.

Zero nodded, crossed the room and gently laid her down on the old bed. The material was worn and ragged but god did it feel soft underneath her crippled body. So much better than the hard wood floor. She felt herself melt into the mattress and let a sigh pass her lips slowly. The breath hurt her body but if felt so good to let her tensed muscles relax.

Zero on the other hand looked anything but relaxed, he went to the window and peered out searching for other enemies that may have been lurking in the shadows. He was on alert, body tense, but his form was loose. Thin and sleek and tall. Like a shadow come to life from the walls.

At least he's on my side...

She thought unnerved. She would hate to get on his bad side, he didn't seem like the person you would want to cross. The way he took down that bullymong and sniped that marauder one handed...yeah she figured she ought to stay in his favor. After scoping the landscape several times and observing every aspect of the room, he seemed to settle just a tad. Maya was relieved, he was starting to make HER nervous as well the way he was stalking around and such.

He took a piece of wood from the small pile by the stove and offered it to the fire. It's glowing warmth tickled Maya's nerves and for a second the pain waned in the delight of the golden warmth. Her eyes felt heavy and the old blankets on the bed felt soft as clouds, sleep was enticing her to its clutches rather quickly. Who was she to turn it down on its advances. Nothing had ever sounded more delicious than a full nights sleep.

Zero came to the bed and she barely opened her eyes to look at his looming form.

"I need observe your wound and see if i can tend to it." He said dryly.

Maya opened her eyes further and scowled at him.

"Fine." She scoffed annoyed and tried to close her eyes again.

"I need to take your armor off." Zero added testing the fact slowly so as he wouldn't get the full teeth of the animal again.

Maya's eyes widened and her lips downturned clearly against his statement.

Take my armor off? So this creep can see me naked? Hell no.

"Over my dead body." Maya hissed through her teeth.

Zero sighed heavily as if he knew she would be difficult about this.

"If i don't tend to it, you may indeed be a dead body by morning. This i am certain of." He pushed clearly starting to become annoyed with his fierce female companion.

Maya looked at him and then the ground and her scowl turned more to a dark pout.

"Fine...just leave my chest covered." She growled.

"Of course." Zero said bluntly.

Yes of course thats the first thing on my mind is to undress a half dead woman to get a good peek...she needs to stop being so stubborn. Maybe i should have just let the bullymong dispose of her...

Zero thought to himself looking her over.

Maya hesitantly tried to unhook the back of her armor, but she couldn't manage it on her own. She scoffed and huffed in frustration.

"Let me do it. You are not capable. I am." Zero said.

"Yeah i'm sure you'd like that." Maya barked at him and swatted his hand away.

Zero stood up sharply.

"This is not going to work if you will not cooperate. I am trying to help. I have absolutely no intentions of trying to do ANYTHING other than possibly sew up a wound and make sure it doesn't become infected. I have no desire to try anything on such a stubborn savage of a woman." Zero snapped.

Maya looked at him shocked, not really sure how to react to his sudden outburst. This was the most emotion she had seen out of him in the many hours she'd been with him.

Stubborn savage...?

She was almost a little hurt by the comment. But would not dare say so. So instead she just stared at him not sure what to say...she was at a loss for words.

I guess i could have been a little more grateful toward him...but stubborn savage!? Who does he think he is to call me that...

Zero took her brewing silence to be a sign that he had quieted the animal and somewhat hurt her pride. Giving him the go ahead and continue trying to doctor her. Zero gently undid the back of her armor and peeled it forward, his hands stilled a little when he realized he wasn't going to get this thing off without completely stripping her and exposing her front. He stopped and looked up at her.

"Um..." He muttered hesitantly.

Maya looked at him and scowled.

"Well go ahead, you said you wouldn't want to try anything, since i'm so savage and all." She said clearly annoyed.

Zero hesitated a moment more, even he felt awkward doing this. Clearly she was offended by his comment and now she was trying to make him eat his own words. Tricky little thing she was...

No matter, he wasn't going to let a little thing like undressing this loud mouthed woman stir him and disrupt his otherwise cool complexion.

He tried to be as gentle as possible.

He undid the clips, separated her neck armor from her chest plate and laid it aside.

Maya stared at him unforgivingly, narrowing her eyes, a smug smile gently tugging on the corners of her lips.

Zero ignored her idiotic smile.

Foolish girl, to think you could possibly stir me.

He gently lifted her neck up a slight bit, touching her softly. Maya took note of the soft undersides of his worn leather gloves, it was warm and not at all unpleasant. She let her thoughts linger on his warm touch just a little longer than she meant to, and was snapped back to reality as he slowly peeled her front plate from her body, it stuck to her skin with dried blood. As soon as he peeled it away he could see how truly bad the wound was, he was fairly positive he could almost see intestines.

"Do not look. Cover your eyes, its fairly bad." He told her instinctively covering her eyes.

"What? Why how bad is it?" She said angrily trying to swat his hand away from her face.

"Stop! You do not want to see this. Please don't." He said pleadingly, but it was already too late.

Maya looked down at the gaping wound across her stomach and felt her breath hitch. Her eyes wavered as she got a good look at the massive shredded tear in her skin, blood seeped from the open wound, oozing down onto the bed.

Her eyes rolled back in her head and she fell back onto the bed limply.

Zero cursed and shook his head.

I informed her not to look...

He sighed and dug some needle and thread from his belt...maybe it was better that she passed out, then at least he could sew the wound up in peace. Without her barking at him for one thing or another. She was a very opinionated thing that was for sure...

Zero skillfully strung the separated parts of flesh back together, ceasing the pouring of blood from its mouth. He took out some gauze and slowly wrapped it around her waist, keeping the wound from bleeding on the bed and keeping outside irritants from the tender area. He sat back on his heels and proudly admired his handy work. Perfection, of course. He replaced the items to his belt and sat her breast plate on the floor next to the bed. It fell with a soft clunk on the old wood.

Zero sighed and sat down on the bed next to the unconscious Maya.

She was much more enjoyable company when she was sleeping.

He favored the silence in her presence much better.

He hung his slender arms over his knees and scuffed the floor with his boot, then looked over at the sleeping woman beside him.

He felt his cheeks burn suddenly, and the feeling was highly foreign, but it was a natural reaction to her naked bosom before him.

He looked away quickly.

Here he was insisting he wanted nothing to do with this savage woman...and yet...she was in some ways...desirable.

It was only natural, for a male to notice the opposite sex. To peek his curiosity slightly. It was in his chemical makeup to be attracted to...that.

He swallowed hard and let his eyes wander over to her again.

She had a beautiful body, slight in figure but well muscled. Toned from the strain of travel and battle. The lands of Pandora had sculpted her well.

One of the most interesting aspects of her body were the blue markings snaking over her left side, consuming her entire arm down to her fingertips. They were gorgeous, and dangerous...he knew those markings were not just ink. Those were the clear markings of a rarity, a powerful being...a Siren.

Something that added to the mysterious woman she was.

Zero suddenly pondered her back story. Who was she...really? Where was she from. What was she about. The things that could not be obtained from simply observing another human being. He could sense she was reserved and not very open to the helping hands of others...obviously. She had some deep rooted problems buried deep within her, problems that could not be distinguished without simply asking.

And Zero wasn't much for talking of those sorts of things.

Her hair fell over her face and hid her eyes from sight.

Zero tenderly reached over and brushed it to the side tucking it behind her ear. She did not stir at his touch. Her eyelashes brushed her cheeks as she slept, dark, long eyelashes. Midnight eyelashes, making her eyes just that much more dramatic in effect. Her eyes were tantalizing when open, shining silver blue, even when narrowed in anger they were glowingly beautiful.

Her lips were unwavering, still and slightly parted. But they looked soft, and smooth. Her face was desirably proportionate. Eyes just far enough apart, nose slight and the correct shape, lips evening the entire design out. Zero went over every aspect of a female, a female that would be in demand for a male...

Her neck was a tone lighter than her face, milky subtle skin, only disrupted by several scars sprawled across the flesh.

He followed her neck down to her collarbone, thinly defined, and sharp.

And then her breasts...

She was of slightly above average size, full, well developed...they were...perfect.

Zero stood up suddenly, grabbed a shabby blanket from the bed and covered her.

He felt upset with himself for indulging in the pleasure of looking her over unbeknownst to her. He cursed himself for being so...typical of a male.

This was not normally how he acted and he was very displeased with it.

He crossed the room and knelt down in front of the fire, far away from the Siren, and the temptation.

He knew it was completely natural for any living being, but he had issues digesting the fact that he had fallen to such a low. He was not just any "being" he was an assassin, a loner, a cold blooded killer. He had no interest in women or anything that went along with them. He did not need the warmth of a female's skin, he needed only the blood of a kill against his sword. He needed only to hear the dying cries of his victims kissing his eardrums. That was it. That was all he needed to occupy his interests and pleasures.

None of this primal shit.

He growled to himself and angrily prodded the fire with another piece of wood.

He was better than such disgusting thoughts...