Ida opened the door and smiled down at Bo, then she stepped toward the kitchen, leaving a timid Lissa standing in the doorway. Prosper, Mosca and Hornet looked up from the fire, smiling. Ricco's ears moved toward the door (moving his ears was his recently discovered talent), but he did not look. Instead, he stared stubbornly at a glass vase Ida had sitting on a shelf.
Meanwhile, Bo was hopping from one toe to the other in joy, biting his lips together to conceal shouting aloud. Prosper stood up and put a hand on his shoulder to calm Bo down, but even that couldn't hold it in. Bo grabbed Lissa's hand, "are you staying with us?" He looked up into eyes even bluer than his own.
Lissa's lips twitched and she couldn't help but beam down at Bo. Then she looked up at his older brother. Prosper, unsure of what to do, held out his hand to her, and she shook it. Prosper's eyes twinkled, and he said, "a pleasure. I'm Prosper, and this is Bo."
"Felicita," Lissa replied, feeling welcomed. "Call me Lissa."
Mosca was the next to come up and introduce himself, "I'm Mosca, and I can fix anything."
"Sure," Hornet said, jabbing Mosca in the ribs, "given time." She dodged Mosca's playful punch. "I'm Catarina Grimani, but don't call me that. I'm known as Hornet around here."
Just then, Ida poked her head out of the kitchen, "I have hot drinks for anyone who wants some."
Prosper, Hornet, Scipio and Mosca immediately headed for the kitchen with Bo tugging Lissa along behind them. Ricco stood firmly rooted to the wooden floor.
Ida looked out again. "Ricco? German hot chocolate?""
She didn't have to ask twice.
-----
Scipio drained his second cup of tea and set it on the table. He turned to Ida, "I'd really love to stay, Ida, but it's approaching midnight, and I have to be at work tomorrow, you know."
Lighting streaked the sky outside, thunder roared in the heavens, and wind rattled the windowpanes.
Ida looked at Scipio.
"Scipio," she said, glancing meaningfully at the storm raging outside the window, "you know I've got enough room for you to stay here. Felicita can room with Hornet, at least for tonight. You can't go out in this!"
Scipio seemed uncertain, "I don't know, Ida. I might need something from my house."
"Well if you're that concerned about it, you might as well wake up before dawn and go to fetch it, because you're going to stay here for the night." Ida said firmly, refilling his teacup.
Scipio sat down with a grin. His eyes met Lissa's across the table, but she looked away before he could say anything.
Bo took another one of his kittens from the basket beside him, "this one's named Thief, for Scip." He pointed toward Scipio.
"Why for Scip?" She asked with a laugh, avoiding Scipio's eyes across the table.
"Scip used to be the Thief Lord. He got things to sell to a mean, old man named Barbarossa," Bo announced proudly. "He helped Prop and me when we were all by ourselves, and he got me these kittens."
"Scip did that?" Lissa's eyes smiled.
"Yes, and now he's done it for you, too," Bo replied matter-of-factly. "You are going to stay aren't you?"
"I think I might, Bo," she said, reaching out to touch his blonde curls. "I think I might."
-----
The ticking of the beautifully carved wooden clock on the wall kept Lissa's eyes wide open until the short hand and the long hand pointed firmly toward the 3. Hornet was sound asleep on the other side of the wide bed. The sheets had long since turned warm, so Lissa was not uncomfortable. Indeed, she was so comfortable that her comfort prevented her sleep. She slipped out of bed, reaching for her over sized coat and the clothes Hornet had given to her, dressed quickly, and headed for the door. The door creaked on it's hinges, and Lissa's eyes darted toward the bed, but Hornet did not awaken, or even stir. Lissa was out the door in an instant.
The wooden stairs were cold and unmerciful to Lissa's bare toes. The storm continued to rage outside the house, sending the puddles in the street running together in a swift torrent. The starless night sky offered no light to see by. Lissa strained to see in the dark shadows. She stepped off of the last step and onto a thick, furry rug. That and the glowing embers of the fire were her first signs that she was no longer stepping down stairs.
Lissa put her hands out in front of her, being careful not to knock anything over. Ida's house was full of beautiful trinkets that were of no use whatsoever. A flash of lightning revealed the room for a moment, and the figure standing in it.
Lissa clapped a hand over her lips to suppress the scream threatening to leap from her throat. A red flame set her neck and cheeks afire when she saw that it was only Scipio, crouching near the glowing coals in the fireplace. He stood up, brushing his dark hair away from his face. His mouth opened, then it closed and he smiled slightly. Lissa caught her breath, trying to calm the butterflies in her stomach. "I'm sorry, I didn't know anyone was down here." She turned quickly, wanting to disappear as fast as possible.
"No one should be," Scipio said quickly, stopping Lissa in her tracks. Her mother had taught her to always wait for a person to finish what they were saying before leaving. She turned around to face Scipio, biting her lips together. Scipio motioned for her to come closer. He crouched by the fireplace again, waiting. Lissa stepped closer hesitantly. Scipio kept his eyes on her until she sat down on one of the small ottomans, looking very miserably shy.
"How old are you?" Was Scipio's first question.
"Fifteen. Sixteen, come December," Lissa replied, pulling her dark red hair over her shoulder. "And you?"
Scipio just laughed at that one. "Old enough."
"You can't be younger than twenty," Lissa insisted. "After all, you hold a job, have your own house. You can support yourself."
"That's true," Scipio admitted, attempting to be more serious. "I work with a man named Victor. It's humble business, but it's enough. I just got out of my father's house, you see. He hasn't seen me in all of the five months I've worked with Victor. I never had a good relationship with him. See, he always viewed me as inferior and too childish to matter." Scipio broke off, suddenly realizing that he barely knew Lissa. His lips formed a tight smile. "What about you? Where are your parents?"
"Dead." Lissa's voice was so low that Scipio could barely hear her simple answer. She cleared her throat and lowered her eyes, "I never knew my father, and my mother never told me who he was. I only know that I have him to thank for this hair of mine," she laughed ruefully. "My mother hasn't been around for three years now. I stayed with friends at first, but they were poorer than I was, so I left them and came to Venice. I've been on my own for a year. Stealing, begging... and rummaging though waste." When Lissa looked up again, her eyes were hard, as if she expected to read pity in Scipio's eyes. "Doing whatever it takes to survive. Venice isn't a kind city, but then, neither was the town I lived in before."
"At least you've found a place where you can be safe and happy," Scipio said, staring at the coals.
"Scipio-"
"You may be one of the privileged few," Scipio looked up into her blue eyes, "to call me Scip." He couldn't tell her how beautiful he thought the nickname when she spoke it. After all, she thought he was at least five years older than her.
"Scip," Lissa paused. How could she tell the man who had taken her to a place where she should be perfectly happy to spend her days that she wanted to leave? How could she tell him "thanks but no thanks" after he had been so kind? "I wanted to thank you for bringing me here, but-"
"You can't stay," Scipio finished for her. "That's what they all say. You know, most of these kids didn't want to hang around me at first either."
"It's not that I don't like you," Lissa told him quickly. "I'm just not used to being dependent on anyone anymore. I'm the wandering type, y'know? Despite what I told Bo, I don't think I should stay. I learned how to survive on my own, and now I'm stuck on that."
Scipio didn't take his eyes off of hers. He reached silently for her hand, grasping it in his bigger one. "Just think about it," he whispered. Then he let go and headed for the stairs.
Lissa watched him go. When he disappeared, she sat still, staring at the place where she had last seen him for at least ten minutes. At last she sighed, stood up and headed back up the stairs. She slipped back into bed, and slept well for the first time in weeks.