#(nothing spring has to actually give away; kaz can acquire it discreetly u3u)

[greedbent]

@howthesleeplesswander || surprise starter for human!Spring! 〔´∇｀〕

“Didn't I tell you to be more careful?”

And if Kaz had startled the poor girl by his coming up behind her with no word of warning or semblance of a greeting before delivering harsh judgment . . . Good. He slid in easily at her side, matched her pace in a heartbeat, and kept on walking with the nonchalance of this being entirely planned between the two of them. The hour was late, but the streets remained—as ever—loud and bustling with the night life of the Barrel: distant clattering of coin in the gambling houses, cacophonous whooping and hollering of tourists hoping for a lucky break after hours of emptying their pockets (too inebriated now to care about their losses), an entire collection of drunkards wandering the dimly lit paths (with a few simply tucked away in corners quite possibly whimpering into their knees over their life choices).

Simply put: Not a place where this particular woman should be. Looking like she did. Young. Fair. Pretty. Wide-eyed. Innocent. Gullible. So out of place Kaz almost wondered if she had put effort into it, as if she'd found a manual on all the ways to appear the easiest target and followed it to the letter.

She might as well just be wearing a sign.

Even if Spring had flinched and briefly stumbled over herself, Kaz continued with nothing more than a pointed look back at her: Keep up. Don't draw more attention. As his own gaze kept a vigilant watch over their surroundings, he pinpointed any set of eyes turned their way. Her way, specifically. And the less than respectful whistling from a small group of the aforementioned drunkards (the ones who were high off the intoxication rather than low and miserable) as they watched Spring pass was what brought Kaz closer to her side.

“You shouldn't come here alone,” he reiterated, choosing at that moment not to announce that he'd already . . . persuaded a few pickpockets off her tail mere minutes ago. “Especially at this hour.” Kaz pursed his lips, made a quick move to steer Spring down a quieter street. “What the hell are you doing? No one has a dying need for flowers so urgent you'd have to make a delivery in the middle of the night. Or have you just had a spiritual calling to a new profession?”

“Spiritual” was not the right description for the “profession” implied here.