Single-minded, he was, and she chuckled as she sat down next to him.

"Skinny twelve year olds don't last long on the street if they can't defend themselves. Skinny twelve year old girls have it even worse," she replied. "You probably know that pretty well. Well, maybe not the being a girl part."

That was completely true, and also not the total truth. If she'd been a street fighter only, she would be more of a brawler, and there was part of her that was. But she had been trained, and the forms were visible if you knew what to look for.