It felt like an odd time to be asked on another date. And there was little point trying to argue it was anything else. Their flirtatiousness may have been joking for the elf's sake, but it came naturally enough to both of them, unless Markus was a particularly skilled actor, which Valerie did not believe to be the case. Honestly, she couldn't tell if the distraction from the thought of risking her life later in the day was welcome, or if she'd be better off putting it aside. Her childhood instructor in swordplay came to mind, urging her to focus on the matter of life and death at her hands, and not on anything else. At the time it had been her brothers and friends watching, but she could just as easily hear him now, warning her not to let her wild heart get in the way of what she had to do to survive.

"I had fun, too," she said, smiling back, though she withdrew her arm from his, hooking her thumbs under her belt instead. She hesitated for a moment. "I'd... yes, I'd love to do it again, once this is dealt with."

She found she couldn't stop herself, but she wasn't really sure why she wanted to. Was it poor timing? Valerie wasn't sure if there was ever going to be good timing, at least not as her old life stood. Markus was no proper match for a trueborn noble girl, likely no one out here was. But then, Valerie was not in that life anymore, and it was yet unclear when or even if she could return. And for the moment she was still trying to learn how to navigate this new life.

For the moment, she could focus on supplying herself. Her rucksack was a little light, with not enough food for more than a few days on the road. Come to think of it, she didn't really know what she'd need for being in the wild a prolonged time, having never taken a contract that required it.