Kire shrugged at his retort. “I’ve learned to hold my liquor much better. But I suppose that’s not what you meant,” she said, raising a brow. “And you’ve seen what I can do already.” Technically that was true, and technically he hadn’t asked [i]how[/i] she was doing these things. She followed him in silence after that, though, pondering at what he meant by not doing anything else anymore. Trusting his word on an ability he didn’t wish to disclose? Kire smirked. [i]Keeps his cards close to his chest, as usual.[/i] For now, it was enough to get his admission that there was something else he was capable of, even if he wasn’t specific about it.

When, later, he held out his hand to her as they stood beneath the tree, Kire hesitated for a moment, her hand hovering over his. With a huff, she instead wrapped her fingers around his forearm, where his sleeve covered his skin. “Ready.”

Having already anticipated how the cold dark would feel, Kire did her best to steady her nerves, even as, just as he had warned, they were taking longer than it did when he had pulled her through the last time. It took concentration for her not to hold onto him tighter out of instinct. When, finally, they stepped out into the light, Kire let out a breath she had been holding. [i]That smell.[/i] Immediately, she recognized the salt tang in the air, but she also was familiar with the smells and odors that accompanied the poorer quarters of a port city.