The woman was looking at the expression of Levan. His frowning and agitation were clear enough to let an indirect message to her. She did not ask but then, Levan said out loud it was Caliban. She remembered that she occasionally crossed his path. Her inner self told her mutliple times it is a dangerous one and that she should avoid any conflict with this one. But at the same time, a non-rheinlander was in possession of a Valkyrie, a ship mostly used by the Rheiwehr made the woman a bit irritated. She simply put her left hand on Levan's shoulder for no real reason.
''This man... I never personally met him but my instincts told me multiple times to avoid any conflict with this man.''
Your instincts were right. Uhm, I thought he would be the kind of person to solve this issue. Now it got even worse...
The kid remained quiet for a moment, slowly glancing over at her, noticing her hand on his shoulder.
... Lea...
Tenderly, he grabbed her hand and held it with both of his own gentle hands while giving her an apologetic glance. Levan took a deep breath.
Both Rebecca and Caliban are dangerous people. I kind of did a deal with the devil, and it backfired, because the devil turned out to be an idiot. The big problem is that a Caliban can probably track the last message I sent him to the point of origin - which is here.
He held her hand firmly, thoughtfully chewing on his mouth flesh. Coming to a final conclusion, he sighed.
I made a stupid mistake. At least I need to do some level of damage control here. Which means I need to leave again. If Caliban finds me here, it means you are in danger, and I am not willing to drag you into this. You did already way more than you needed to.
Lea was surprised that Levan took her hand. She was a bit wordless but eventually she managed to find something to say. But what he revealed to her, that Caliban could track the last comm of Levan made her confused and a bit angered and afraid. However, she managed to smile at him, a smile of compassion.
''You know, it isn’t even better if you leave. If you leave, you will fall on both or one of them. I can understand that if you stay, Caliban can find you here, I might be in danger but I doubt he will and you won’t fall on the other one. Can you show me the discussion?''
Her hand was still on his shoulder, she wished it could ensure a bit this young man. He was so young and already in trouble. She looked at him. "Stay here, let me help you. Let me train you to defend yourself as well!"
Uhm, that is a very kind offer, Lea, but no matter how much time is left, you will not be able to turn me into anything that can deal with these people. They do it for a living.
He let go of her hand and stood up.
I will not drag you into this. You are way too kind. I really do not deserve that at all. If Caliban tracks the transmission, he will come here and I do not know what happens then. I know you can defend yourself, but honestly, it is not your fight. I do not want you to get hurt because of me, or because of this really stupid situation.
Levan looked down at the floor, feeling a bit helpless. Everything got only worse by the second.
I will return to my ship and respond to his transmissions, so if he tracks them, he will not come here and instead follow the new locations. That way, you should be out of harm's way.
Not wanting to argue with his generous benefector, he moved over to the hallway, intending to put his boots back on.
Maybe it is time for little Levan to grow up a bit.
Levan was right. It was not her fight at all and he was also right that he needed to grow up a bit. But she still followed the man who just put on his boots. Her instincts acted. She kissed the forehead and hugged the young man. She put his head next to hers.
''Idiot.'' That’s what she said at first but she then continued. "Promise me one thing. Do not die without a fight first. And one more thing, do not trust the first one you meet on the spot, ja? If you need to talk or if you need help, you can contact me anytime. I know it will sound stupid even if we just met but, I will always welcome you here. I consider you as a little brother I never had."
She stayed like this a moment before to let him go. "Come back here if he doesn’t not come for you. I want to know what you will do next, okay?"
The sudden display of affection came unexpected to Levan, but it was certainly not unwelcome. He would have liked to return the hug, but he was so surprised about it, that by the time he processed it, it was already over.
... uhm, maybe not a little brother-
The boy sighed, blushing a little as he gave Lea another apologetic look.
I will provoke Caliban a bit once I left the planet, so when he tracks the message, he will see that I keep moving. You will be fine then. I am really sorry to cause so much trouble, I am definitely not worth any of it, Lea. But I promise that if the worst case happens, I will not go down without a fight. But...
Levan leaned towards her and pecked her on her lips, followed by a slightly mischievous smirk.
... if I survive all this nonsense, you can slap me for that.
Not wanting to make the moment any more awkward than he just did, he opened the door and headed out, into the cold.
It was quick. She wasn’t expecting that from this young man. Normally, she would repel him away, but he ended up his action before she did so. She was about to say that he was a fool. Not because he kissed her but also because he wanted to provoke Caliban.
He left the house and she couldn’t stop Levan. Her brain was still under the shock of the kiss. She will remember this and she promised herself that she will slap him. However, she couldn’t resist to say out loud:"You little..."
The hug and the little kiss didn't help much to keep the boy warm against the cold climate of New Berlin, but it had to do. Levan made his way through the streets until he reached the shuttle station, which lead him back to the space port, right to the Gemini Kay. It was snowing, and a layer of pulverized white crystals lay ontop of the gunboat.
Let us see how the adventure continues, Kay.
Filling his lungs with one last breath of icy air while taking in the white and wet cityscape, Levan slowly walked up the ramp to his gunboat, vanishing inside it. It was time to move on...