Breaking the Ice

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[fieldbox=Liam Wright, #7f68d1, solid]
Liam sighed in relief. At least she would stay the night. He didn't know why he was glad, as she had tried to kill him earlier, and although she didn't have a reason now, someone could always hire her again in the future. Which also brought up the question, why him? Sure he was a shifter, but he hadn't caused anyone harm... The only times he shifted was to run through the local forest. He didn't even hunt. And now he had a target on his back...

"I hope so... I'd hate to leave all my clients without a therapist," Liam sighed. He did care about them, and him getting murdered wouldn't help them recover. "I could throw yours into the wash if you want, you can wear one of mine..." At least she wouldn't leave with the gunshot wound she had only just stitched up...

Roxy began to lick Vere's hand, seemingly warming up to the stranger. She leaned into her hand, panting lightly, with her tail wagging. Once the assassin moved her hands back to her lap, Roxy moved closer to lick her more. Liam ran a hand through his hair, a little embarrassed. "Sorry about her..."
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Vere hummed softly, not really paying attention until he said she could wear ons if his shirts. "If you're alright with it, then I suppose I could." Her eyes moved back over to Roxy, who by this point began licking at her. She chuckled softly, moving both hands to beggining petting the dog since she seemed to like it. A genuine smile tugged the corner of her mouth up and she chickled softly once more, eyes moving from the collie to the male she should have killed but didn't.

"No need to be sorry of her, I once owned a dog too, I know how they can be." Her eyes moved back down to Roxy as she scratched behind her ears affectionately. After a minute she stopped and just let the dog lick at her hands as she pleased. "Now, you wouldn't mind getting me a shirt, would you? I'm starting to feel cold and would much rather not sit here shirtless for much longer..."
 
[fieldbox=Liam Wright, #7f68d1, solid]
Liam hesitated, but nodded and went to his room. Digging through his drawer, he found a smaller shirt that he no longer wore. Taking a deep breath, he began heading back out. Smiling softly at the sight as he came back, he tossed the shirt towards her. "It might be a little big on you..." Roxy stopped licking her hands as he came back, and instead bounded towards her owner. Liam chuckled lightly, but remembered he had to stitch up his own wound.

Sitting down on a chair in the kitchen, the shifter took the kit and began to stitch close his wound. He gritted his teeth while the needle went into his skin, however he took the pain much easier than he had expected to. Soon enough, his wound was closed and he grabbed a washcloth to get rid of the blood. Once that was done, he sighed softly and placed it in the sink before heading over to the couch once again. "I uh, I'm sorry you got shot." He had no idea why he was apologising, but it felt like the right thing to do. Had he walked past her, he likely would have been dead, and this whole thing wouldn't have happened.
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Vere continued to play with Roxy while Liam went to find her a shirt, she pulled it on quickly once he returned, the corner of her mouth twitching up slightly when she noticed Roxy had gone to torment her owner. The shirt was big on her, because despite having some muscle and being trained to kill she still wasn't the tallest out there and she wasn't very big body type wise...

Vere had settked down and begsn planning out tomorrow and how she would leave here, only to stop when Liam spoke. Her eyes moved up to lock onto him and she frowned at the shifter. "There's no need to be sorry, I should have done a more indept background check on my client, and also shouldn't have spent as long simply observing you." She walked over to him to inspect his stitching, if she wasn't gonna kill him she might as well make sure he doesn't die from infection or else getting shot would he a waste.

She moved back to her original sest and sat down, tucking her legs under her and letting her head rest on a pillow. "You might want to be more careful though, just because I have no reason to kill you anymore doesn't mean he won't try to kill you himself, or send someone else after you." Why he wanted this shifter dead she didn't understand or know, but it wasn't her job to ask questions.
 
[fieldbox=Liam Wright, #7f68d1, solid]
Liam stared down at Roxy, petting her and playing with her ears. She seemed to be enjoying it, her tongue sticking out as she panted. The shifter smiled, always enjoying time with his dog. When Vere spoke, his eyes darted up to hers. At least she was professional. It helped to be detached from one's job, but it was hard for Liam himself. He saw a lot of himself in the clients he took, and that definitely wasn't a good thing.

"I suppose so. Had I kept walking though, you would've killed me right?" At least, that was how he saw it. There was something in his eyes that was hard to place as he said it. The shifter watched as she walked over, a little wary but he knew she had no reason to kill him any more. He had done alright with his stitching at least, despite not having much experience in it.

"I suppose so. Though there isn't much I can do if they send someone after me," Liam said with a forlorn smile. "I don't really like fighting. If anything, I'd just want Roxy to be safe." Roxy let out a whine, and looked over at Vere before padding over. Liam chuckled lightly. "She's a bit of a needy dog..."
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Vere nodded in response. "If my client hadn't gotten involved you would've ended up dead, even if you did walk me 'home' I would have killed you on the way there or in my hotel room." Her response was blunt because that's the kind of person she was, blunt. She wasn't going to tiptoe around the topic, it was obvious now that she had been minutes away from killing him before. "Which is why it baffles me that you actually decided to help me instead of saving yourself, but I suppose that might have something to do with you being a therapist." Vere tilted her head to the side, eyes watching him unwaveringly.

She listened as he spoke and only looked away when he mentioned Roxy, a ghost of a smile graced her features for a moment before vanishing again. "I'm afraid I can't help there unless you want to hire me to kill him before he can get to you. Though, I doubt anyone will need to hire me to do that since I'll be going after him myself soon." Vere moved until she was laying on her back, folding her arms under her head and giving an inaudible sigh. "The most I can do is offer protection for tonight, I do owe you for helping me anyway."
 
[fieldbox=Liam Wright, #7f68d1, solid]
Liam just smiled, as if he already knew the answer. So perhaps her client showing up was a blessing in disguise, but he didn't quite see it that way. "I don't think me being a therapist had much to do with it. You were about to be hurt by a strange man, it was the least I could do." Of course it wasn't that simple, no where even near simple. "You could've killed me earlier, couldn't you have?"

"I have no money to hire you, anyway. I work cheap," he admitted sheepishly, shrugging before wincing. "Most people with mental health issues are homeless, and I want to help them. It's a lot more difficult than I thought, though," he said with a sigh. Roxy moved closer, before licking her face. Liam didn't appear to notice however, more lost in his own thoughts. "Thanks though. I appreciate you not killing me, and protecting me tonight."[/fieldbox]
 
Vere managed to keep a neutral expression on the outside but on the inside, her heart warmed at hearing his words, it was a weird feeling so she tried to push it down but... It made it even harder to understand why her client wanted this man dead, he hadn't done anything wrong, he was a therapist for christ's sake, a therapist that worked for cheap because he wanted to help as many people as possible. Vere was brought out of her thought process by Roxy licking her face, which made her chuckle softly and scratch behind the dog's ears. "I know it isn't much, but I think what you're doing is great. I don't know why somebody wanted to kill you, but if you're helping people even in the smallest amount then keep at it." Her eyes moved away from Roxy and locked onto Liam, she decided that this once she would let herself come out of her shell, just a little bit. It was highly unlikely she would see him again after this, and after awhile he would probably forget her.
 
[fieldbox=Liam Wright, #7f68d1, solid]
She seemed like a nice girl, Liam thought. A bit blunt, but she seemed to care. How had she gotten into this whole killing business anyway? He looked over at her once she spoke, blinking a little at the sight before smiling. "Thank you. Your words do mean a lot to me. I don't know either, maybe I wronged him in some way, but I guess I'll never know. Not many know I'm a shifter anyway," he shrugged. Perhaps the man had seen him in one of his runs through the woods. He rarely shifted at home, though sometimes he did like to sleep in wolf form.

Liam checked the clock, noting that it was getting late. "Did you want anything to drink, or did you just want to sleep?" He asked, already standing from his chair. He wanted to have a shower, but wasn't sure how exactly it would work with his stitchings. He didn't usually get injured. "You can take my bed if you want, I'm happy to sleep in wolf form," he offered. It would definitely be more comfortable than the couch.
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Vere hummed when Liam spoke, watching him as he spoke. She shook her head when he asked if she wanted a drink. "I'd much rather just get some sleep, but thank you for the offer. I'll also sleep on the couch too, I've slept on harder surfaces so it won't bother me." She shut her eyes and hummed lowly, rolling onto her side and stuffing one hand under her head. She was a very light sleep, most assassins were it was something they were trained to be, especially when in unknown territory.

"Goodnight Liam, I hope you rest well." She spoke, her voice a step lower than it had been before. She let her body somewhat relax and began to slowly drift off.
 
[fieldbox=Liam Wright, #7f68d1, solid]
"Good night, Vere," Liam murmured in reply. It seemed that she was completely fine taking the couch, however Liam was worried. He nudged Roxy back to her bed, giving her a light belly rub, before heading back to his room and stripping. The shift was fast, as he had done it more than a few times before. In his place, a black dire wolf stood. He was smaller than actual dire wolves, however far, far larger than normal ones. Trotting out of the room, he headed out to the living room. He let out a low grumble, before curling up near the dog bed. He would sleep here tonight, as a just in case. Closing his eyes, he began to drift off to sleep.
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The night passed by without any issues, thankfully, and Vere woke up early the next morning and was wide awake instantly. She went to collect her shirt from the washing machine and took off Liam's shirt, which she was still wearing. After putting her shirt back on she got a drink of water and then did a quick check around the house, making sure there were no unwanted guests before heading back to the living room.

Vere stood in front of the front door, checking she had all of her weapons and everything she needed. After checking over herself several times she sighed and reached towards the door handle, preparing herself for the journey ahead of her.
 
[fieldbox=Liam Wright, #7f68d1, solid]
Liam was a somewhat deep sleeper, and only awoke once he heard steps heading back into the living room. With a wide wolf yawn, he stretched out his limbs and stood. Roxy barked at Vere, already awake, and bounded over with almost too much energy. Liam shook out his coat before wandering over, nudging Vere at the waist before curiously tilting his head as if to say, leaving already? Yawning again, he trotted into his room to shift back and change. Meanwhile, Roxy seemed to want to play, bounding over to grab a toy before prancing right back and dropping said toy at the assassin's feet.
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Vere had been hoping she would be able to sneak out unnoticed, but nevermind as it seemed both Liam and Roxy were awake now. The assassin sighed inwardly and knelt down to pet and stroke Roxy when she bounded over, her eyes darting over to Liam in slight alarm when he nudged her waist and then looked up. She met his gaze and gave a soft frown, watching as he left the room before turning to Roxy once more.

She smiled as the Colie brought her a toy and shook her head softly with a slight chuckle, bringing a hand up to scratch behind the dog's ears before standing up. "Sorry, I can't play now Roxy. I have to leave." She spoke softly, scratching the dog behind the ear once more before turning back to the door in hopes she could leave before Liam came back to the room.
 
[fieldbox=Liam Wright, #7f68d1, solid]
Roxy whined sadly, her ears lying flat against her head. She nudged Vere again, letting out a soft whimper. She gave the assassin large, brown puppy eyes, begging her to play, before grabbing the toy again and walking forward.

Liam finally exited the room, running a hand through his hair. He'd changed into a shirt and shorts, however his hair was still messy and he looked tired. When he noticed what his dog was doing, a blush spread across his face. "Uh sorry... Roxy, come here." Immediately, the dog dropped the toy and raced towards him, almost leaping at him with a happy bound. After he had calmed her down, he looked at the girl. "I can make you a cup of coffee, before you go?"
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Vere's resolve faltered a little at Roxy's pathetic but adorable display. She sighed and shook her head, looking up when Liam walked in. She watched as he turned Roxy's attention away from her and sighed happily, turning back to leave only to pause when he offered her coffee. She rolled around the idea and realised she shouldn't, she had already stayed too long and potentially put this man in more danger than he was already in, but... It had beencso long since anybody had cared about her or offered her anything, especially something as trivial as coffee.

She gave a soft sigh and turned back to face Liam. "I... I shouldn't..." Vere started to decline, only to pause and then sigh before giving a small smile and nod. "Well, a coffee would be nice... but it'll have to be quick." She stepped away from the door and walked over to Liam and Roxy. Vere couldn't help it, she was so lonely, the life of an assassin was horrid and it wasn't like she could just leave or anything.
 
[fieldbox=Liam Wright, #7f68d1, solid]
Liam smiled, relieved that she had accepted his coffee and yet nervous at the same time. What if he made a bad coffee or something? He hadn't had this kind of thing for a long time now. Well, he hadn't exactly had someone try to kill him either, so today and last night were definitely firsts.

Striding quickly into the kitchen, he began brewing two cups of coffee. He kept glancing over at the assassin, hesitating as he tried to figure out how to make small talk. Roxy barked again, padding over and nudging Vere with the toy. She really wanted to play, dropping the toy at her feet and began to prance around excitedly.
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Vere followed Liam into the kitchen and stood back as he brewed coffee, looking down when a toy was dropped at her feet once again. She chuckled and leant down, picking up the toy and beginning to wave it around just out of Roxy's reach, encouraging her to try and get it. As she did this her eyes would occasionally slowly drift over to Lism, curious to see if the male was going to try and talk to her. She wouldn't mind if he did, she didn't have 'friends' so having one would be nice...

but then she reminded herself that it probably wouldn't work out and things would be best if she forgot about him once she left, it hurt to admit but she knew she was right.
 
[fieldbox=Liam Wright, #7f68d1, solid]
Roxy yipped happily when Vere picked up the toy, her tail wagging enthusiastically. Once the assassin began to wave it around, she jumped for it, growling happily at play time. Liam watched with an amused eye, glad that someone was taking a liking to his dog. However, he was still nervous as he still couldn't think of anything to say. What was meant to be a normal conversation starter in this scenario? He couldn't ask what she did for a living, he knew that already, and he couldn't ask if she lived in the area as well. Wracking his brains for something to say, his cheeks grew heated until he finally said the first thing that came to mind. "Uh, so how did you sleep last night?" Glad it was a legitimate question, he hid his sigh of relief as he finished off making her coffee.[/fieldbox]
 
Vere smiled at the happy dog, occasionally letting the dog get closer to the toy before pulling it away. After a few momemts of this she let Roxy get the toy and started a game of tug of war, watching the dog with a small smile. Turning to look at Liam when he spoke. "I slept as well as I usually do, thank you for asking. How anout you?" She normally slept terribly, too many nightmares to haunt her dreams, so taking the topic off of her as quickly as possible would be hest. She didn't feel like growing attached, not today and not ever.
 
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