[Evil Tink]

She couldn't help but jump as William called out for her to wait. Well, she was, but out of sight. She had to make him think she was gone. She would love to answer his question, just for the opportunity to speak with him. She longed for it, but it was dangerous enough that she was still standing here. She started to get a dreading feeling, and she was usually pretty accurate with her fore-sense.

She clenched her fist, gently pounding it on her mouth, trying to keep herself from answering. He had to believe she was gone and leave. He had no other choice and neither did she. No matter how much she didn't want to, she'd have to drop him like a dirty rag and get away from him. Her entire body was tense as she supplied herself with the answer to his question, Because...I...love you.

Her eyes widened slightly. She had never bluntly admitted it to herself like that. It..surprised her to say the least. She quickly regained composure, glancing towards the ally way, remaining rooted at a comfortable 4 feet from the edge and out of sight. Even if she couldn't tell him that, she could at least tell him he was wrong. Right? She did care about him, and he mattered more than anyone else to her.

Christ Artemis..stop being so indecisive. She took a few deep breaths, preparing herself for what she was going to do next. Within a blink of the eye, she was standing a few feet from William, stiff as a board..she just..wanted to talk with him..even if it was so brief as this. Besides, most slayers operated alone. Maybe she'd be lucky for once and wouldn't see the likes of another until she was a safe distance away from him in London. Right?

Before too many seconds passed by, she jumped back, holding up her hands slightly, perhaps to aid him in deciding to not attack. After a second she put her hands down, clenching her skirt again, "You're wrong. I may be 'your enemy' but no matter what, I will always care about your well being. Perhaps you could care less about me, but, like I've told you, I just simply can't lie to you. I'd rather be chopped to pieces than lie to you William." She turned a bit as she brought her one foot back, preparing to turn and run if necessary.

[Honor]

William didn't flinch when she was suddenly standing before him. He didn't feel like he was in danger in her presence, though he knew the opposite to be true. He closed his eyes, taking a deep breath as she spoke. Her words felt like knives to him, stabbing into heart over and over again. She couldn't lie to him, and he stood here lying through his teeth to her.

"For the love of..." He trailed off, running a hand down his face and looking more tired than he ever had. The blood from his wound was on his hand now, but he paid it no attention. There were far more important things to think about at the moment.

"You should not care about me Artemis." He began, his voice filled with more venom than he had intended. It was hard to make himself believe he didn't care for her when she told him that she cared for him, and the anger in his voice was directed at himself more than her. "You should hate me and want me dead. Caring for me is-" His voice cracked there, much to his dismay. He needed to be strong. "It's wrong." He said finally, then his eyes glinted with a new fire. He raised his now bloodied hand for her to see. "This should be the only thing that matters to you." He said in a whisper.

[Evil Tink]

Artemis was going to interject, but then he showed her his bloody hand. She had forgotten he was injured. She didn't move a muscle, her gaze aimed at his face. She forced her vision to tunnel, trying to avoid seeing his hand. The smell was irresistible. She forced herself to ignore her instinct to grab him and bite him. She had to prove him wrong. She had no other option now.

She reached up and grabbed his hand, gently, with her right hand while her left went for her pocket. She pulled out a white handkerchief, bring it to his hand and swiftly wiping it off. When she was finished, she dropped the cloth and moved away. "Not all of us are homicidal beasts, Will. I was hoping your rational mind would let you see that, but I suppose I was wrong...for once."

[Honor]

William didn't move when she came toward him. For a moment he wondered if she would try an bite him. He also wondered if he would fight her off if she did. He doubted he would be able to. It was one thing to pretend that he could, to raise a weapon he knew he would not touch her with and to threaten her with it. It was another thing entirely to hurt her with that same weapon.

He felt his hand relax under the touch of her hand, though a cloth separated them. He couldn't help but smile slightly, it was a bitter smile, but still genuine, unlike most of his expressions toward her had been. "Come on, Art, not tempted? Perhaps it's full of myself to say so, but I think I'd taste fabulous." He teased in a familiar way. Not matter the circumstances she was still Artemis and he was still William, and he would react to her as he always had.

Then, realizing what he had done he pulled in a sharp breath and looked away. "Of course I see that! I..." He squeezed his eyes shut. "I see exactly who you've always been to me. My problem is that I can't make myself see you differently." He pulled a knife from his belt. "You believed I'd actually hurt you with this? I'm a better liar than I thought." He said, shaking his head.

[Evil Tink]

Artemis raised her brow slightly as he spoke. While he was right, his blood smelled fabulous, she wouldn't admit it to him. "Then stop trying to Will. Either way," She scoffed slightly, "you could never hope to hit me with that thing. I'm far to quick." She flinched a bit, but not at the knife.

She might be making progress on Will, but now, she would always have to keep her guard up. She would always have a level of trust with him, but there was still the fact that he was a slayer. However, at his last sentence, she couldn't help but feel a touch of anger towards him. He could lie so easily to her. Of course he could; he was trained to.

[Honor]

William rolled his eyes, smiling slightly, though his expression was still slightly grim. "Oh? You doubt my incredible ability? I'm deeply offended." He said, his smile growing as he teased her. He noticed her flinch and wondered why she had done so. Had it been because he was holding the knife? Somehow he doubted that. It had to be something else.

William could feel her anger, however slight. He sighed. How could explain his reasons to her. "I... have been trained all my life to lie. Knowing what I am... well now that should surprise you." He paused then, debating whether to speak his next words or not. Finally, he gave in and spoke. "But you should know that... every lie I've ever told to you, was in order to protect you. Perhaps that doesn't make it better at all, but you should still know."

[Evil Tink]

"Yes, I doubt your 'incredible agility'." Either way, his words had little effect on her. She did believe him, mostly, but it still didn't help much. "None of this would've happened if I would've taken care of those two men before our movie. It's my fault things turned out this way, and for that, I'm deeply sorry."

Suddenly, she whirled around, her eyes turning red as she heard someone walking nearby. Her body instinctively tensed, ready to attack if need be. A random midnight person just passed them by. Not really a threat, but still, Artemis was a bit on edge at the moment. Her eyes watched the man carefully as he just continued by. It wasn't until he rounded the corner that she relaxed a bit, yet she still followed the man's movements with her eyes.

[Honor]

When Artemis had spun to watch the nonthreatening man William had walked forward, till he was less than a foot from her back. "A tad on edge, Miss Artemis?" He asked raising an eyebrow. What else was a danger to her right now besides him? "Those men... I do hope that they die a terrible death. I regret not killing them when I had the chance, but I had not wanted to upset you at the time." He said, almost as if it were a casual conversation. He shook his head. "No, the truth would have come out eventually. It never stays buried for long. It's a wonder we've lasted as long as we have." He said in a distant voice.

[Evil Tink]

She sighed, forcing herself to try and relax. "Well..there's only..one now..." She looked away, her eyes returning to brown. "You cannot blame me for being cautious. If the others found out that you're a slayer, both of us would have considerably shortened lives." She glanced around another time, letting out a quiet sigh. As William got closer, she couldn't help but tense up again. He wouldn't hurt her..right? He kind of stated so.

She turned, feeling a bit better than he was no loner at her back. "We should be going, I have a feeling that if we stay any longer, something bad is about to happen." She was curious if Will would even go with her.

[Honor]

"Only one left?" William smiled, a full smile this time. "Well, you certai.nly have been busy since..." He cleared his throat, glancing away from her.

"Yes, you're probably right. Where did you have in mind? My place? Or..." He trailed off, not sure where she meant to go. It was crazy that he wanted to go with her, wherever it was that she was going. He shouldn't want to. He should leave.

[Evil Tink]

"They found me, thank you very much. I don't know where to go...definitely not my place, I often have visitors..." She shrugged watching him carefully. She couldn't believe that he was ignoring his training. It made her happy, but she had no idea how long the world would allow it to last.

[Honor]

William nodded. "My place then. I never have visitors. Well, besides you. Slayer's tend to avoid one another, you know, just like one big happy family." He said, his tone becoming sarcastic at the end. He tilted his head slightly in a motion that would tell her to follow him and began to walk. He was tense as he did so. Would she try and attack from behind?

In truth, he wasn't sure why he was allowing himself to act like this, or how long he would continue to do so. Their predicament was something he had never expected to face. He wished he could make it go away.

[Evil Tink]

Artemis nodded slightly, picking at her nails as they walked. She could tell he did not like having her behind him, but she didn't really want to walk next to him either. She decided, to hopefully make it a bit better for him, she scurried to the side and just a tad bit in front of him, so he could watch her. "Even if I was going to attack you, which I would never; I'd never be so cowardly to come at your back."

[Honor]

William couldn't help but smile at that. "You don't seem like the type who would fight that way. I know that. It's just... training dies hard." He glanced at her face for a moment then continued looking ahead of him. "I wish I could say the same for myself, but the way I've been trained..." He shrugged. "All is fair in a fight. The important thing is to win." He glanced back at her suddenly, realizing that his words could indicate he might attack her. "Except... were I to attack you, which I certainly have no plans on doing, I wouldn't be so underhanded. You... deserve better than cheap tricks."

[Evil Tink]

Artemis chuckled slightly, really tempted to ruffle his hair, but she refrained from the action, "Hun, no matter how hard you try, you could not sneak up on me." She winked lacing her fingers together behind her back, looking up at the sky, "Many of the vampires in this city do not have the years of experience that I have; not that I'm trying to praise myself." She shrugged, maybe she was.

[Honor]

William raised an eyebrow. Her words sounded like a challenge, and he did love challenges. "Oh, is that so? You should probably know there are far more tricks in my book than simply sneaking up on my prey. You, my dear, would not know what hit you." He said, his voice playful. He was tempted to 'sneak up' behind her now and but his arms around her, but he resisted. That would not be a wise move. It was so easy to be around her, even knowing what she was. William knew he should be more on his guard, but it seemed almost... pointless. Why guard against someone who he trusted not to hurt him?