"Because you aren't staring at me like everyone else! You appeared to be easy to approach." She exhaled all of the smoke from her lungs. "There! I said it!"

For some inexplicable reason, I understood the ogle she was referring to.

"Do you have anything else to say?"

"I'm sorry," she said softly before stepping on the cigarette. "Recently, things have been rather stressful. Two packets are insufficient..."

She took a cigarette from the nearly empty package and held it out to me. "Would you like one?"

"You know smoking is bad for you, right?"

She inhaled after lighting it, oblivious to what I had just spoken. "That's how I deal with the crazy around me. Don't take that away from me."

"If you insist..."

Her gaze dropped to the ground as she spat, "You should leave now. I doubt you'd want to talk with someone like me."

Yes, that appeared to be the best course of action, but I had the impression she was concealing more.

"May I have one?" I asked.

"Eh? But you just said—well, whatever," she said while raising the cigarette she had just smoked toward my lips. "Here."

I glanced at her tender finger, then puffed in, only to burst out in a fit of coughers a second later.

"This is awful," I sobbed as I pounded my hand on my chest. "How are you capable of doing something like this?"

I couldn't understand smokes. Absolutely not. That was confirmed by what happened just now.

She stared at me in astonishment before bursting out laughing at my anguish. "Are you aware that these cigarettes have hardly any nicotine?"

I didn't care about her giggle. My thoughts on the matter remained unchanged. Smoking was a waste of money and time.

"Why are you smoking them in the first place?"

"That's—" she hesitated, pondering her next words.

My doubts were correct. She was definitely hiding something. It was merely a matter of determining what. I had to poke some more.

"You're not working in one of the brothels here, are you?" I kept going with the momentum I gathered.

Her presence was distinct from that of the other women surrounding us.

"I'm not that kind of worker," she admitted after a long pause, "but I still have a job around here... It's just not the type you're picturing."

I wanted to learn more about her.

"What's your name?"

"You still haven't told me yours," she mocked, which seemed fair given how I had dodged her query previously. Maybe I was being too persistent. I wasn't too great at conversing with others, so improvisation was the only thing I could rely on.

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"It's Douglass," I introduced myself.

"Douglass," she repeated, imprinting it into her memory. "Mine's Lavender, but everyone calls me Lave. It's just a pet name, really..."

Gray was also short of Grayson. That coincidence made me smile a little.

"What's so funny?"

"Nothing," I replied, dismissing the thought. "Do you mind if I call you Lave as well?"

"Everybody does it," she grumbled, taking another puff from her cigarette. "It'd be strange if you called me something other than that, Douglass."

Right, now I wasn't Gray, but Douglass. I had to be careful not to postpone my responses just because I wasn't used to being addressed that way. Ethan taught me that much.

"Come with me," Lave said as she snatched my hand.

"Where are we going?"

"I haven't seen anyone my age in a while, so let's hang out together... Only if that's okay with you... I'm sorry, but I'm not sure how I'm supposed to act..."

That shyness following her blunt demeanor was something else. As I discovered more about her, the picture of a seductress she tried to project began to fade.

"So," I said as I matched her pace. "Are going out on a date?"

I'd like to keep this date as brief as possible since I had other matters to attend to, but I shouldn't mention any of that aloud. I scratched my chest, verifying I had both, the bracelet and badge.

"A date?" Lave asked as she gave the matter a deeper thought. "I'm not the type to go on a date with someone I've just met, but I'm willing to make an exception for you, Douglass."

"I'm honored," I replied. "But I'm sure you say that to all of your customers."

"No," she shook her head, then drew me in closer as she threw the cigarette away. "It's just you. I have some time before work, so let's have some fun, shall we?"

If I were to ask about the work she mentioned, I'm sure Lave will retreat into her shell and refuse to speak about it to me. I had to be cautious, or some of the questions I say may have the opposite effect.

"Fun?"

What kind of fun could you have in the Underworld? Unless she was referring to...

"Uh-huh," she nodded as she wrapped a lock of her ash-brown hair around her finger. It was of medium length, falling just above her shoulders, further making her stand out in comparison with the coquettish styles the other women had. "There aren't any games nearby, but there should be a way for us to have fun if we look for it."

"What do you have in mind, Lave?" I asked, having a bad feeling about what she was alluding to.

"Some of the men visiting this place have been pretty nasty to the girls around here. How about we play a joke on one of them?"

I almost exhaled in relief as I realized it had all been a misunderstanding on my part. Oh, and please remind me not to get on her bad side...

Despite that, a frown appeared on my face. "Are you certain that's okay? Wouldn't we get in trouble?"

"That's why you must learn to select your target carefully. That's what my mother told me."

"Your mother?"

What does her mother have to do with this?

"Ahem," Lave coughed, dismissing the subject as she stuck her head around the corner. Then she pointed toward the drunkard laying on the ground between the cracks of two buildings, next to a dumpster. He was out cold, there was no doubt about it. "Do you see that guy?"

"I'm not blind." I let go of her hand and crossed my arms, leaning above her. "Yes, I do see him."

Lave retrieved a journal out of her pockets. It was roughly the size of my hand, so it was no surprise that it managed to fit in there. No, most importantly, what surprised me the most was the fact that her gown had pockets.

"Have you ever played treasure hunt?" asked Lave, unaware of my ongoing dilemma.

"I did," I replied, recalling the times I've had with those siblings. Not only that, but I also remembered scavenging around the outskirts of the 4th District with Logan. I was an expert at that game if I do say so myself.

"We're going to give him the scare of a lifetime," she said, her lips curled into a malicious sneer.

According to what I've heard, certain horrific monsters imitated human sounds to attract their prey. Perhaps Lave was just that. Who knew what kind of heinous crimes she was capable of committing with that innocent expression on her face...

I wasn't into harming others, but I still replied reluctantly, "Sure."

She seems to know a lot about the Underworld, so she might be worth the risk, I reasoned.

Of course, I hadn't forgotten about my deal with the elder. I wasn't going to break my word, but as long as it didn't take too long, I was willing to follow Lave's lead. My conversation with her hasn't been particularly fruitful up to this point, but she may open up to me more if I offered my assistance.

At least, that's what I hoped would happen.