A/N: Finally chapter 2 in the bag! Thanks for the review! (see that's singular review. There's a problem with that ppl!) Enjoy.

Disclaimer: I don't own.

Drunken shouts and heavy footsteps woke the girl from her slumber. It was a shattering of glass that drove her from her cover. Three men were stumbling over the bridge toward her, all but one clutching a beer bottle. It seemed the third had thrown his, hence the shattering glass. Raucous laughter grated against her ears and the beerless man focused on her.

"What'da we harve her, boyzzz?" he slurred. He leered at her, showing yellowed teeth and nauseous breath. The girl turned to walk away, disgusted and a bit afraid, when she realized that she'd left her book behind. She whirled back around, only to be face to face with one of the drunks.

"Looky here, I think she likezzz me!" He grabbed her arm, a scar above his eye wiggling up and down with his brow. Now very much afraid, the girl tried to pull away. The grip only tightened. "Now thaz not vvery nizzze, girrrly," the scar face growled. "C-mere and say hellosss to uss gentlemen." He ignored the girl's protests and thrust her into the third man with an elaborately patched coat. He reached for her, and the girl thrust an elbow into his stomach.

"Oof! Whyya lil chit! Yell pay fer that un!" Stars shot into the girl's left eye as a heavy hand met its mark. She gasped in pain, then leapt onto the drunk, clawing at his face, survival on her mind. "Argh! Geroff! Get er off me!" Patch cried, but his friends only laughed and looked on, utterly amused and intoxicated beyond belief. Finally getting a grip on her, Patch shook her and raised another hand to strike. She tensed, eyes shut, waiting for the blow, which caused her not to see a shadow streak from the nearby ally, turning very solid as it collided with poor, drunk Patch. The girl squirmed from his grasp and fell to the street, scrambling away. From a slightly safer distance on the bridge, she turned to watch. A dark figure rolled from his momentum, leaving Patch in a heap. Then he sprang up, grabbed her wrist, and hauled her to her feet.

"Come on! We gotta move!" And with that he took off, the girl fighting to keep up with him. They left Patch and his two companions far behind to ogle after them.

Three blocks later, her rescuer finally stopped and turned back to her. In the dim light of the street light, she gazed wearily at him. He was a good head taller then her, with longish dark brown hair and a solid build. He wore a long black coat, but beneath it was a simple pair of jeans and a striped shirt. Out of his back pocket, a mask hung, black with a long beaked nose.

It was his expression that took her breath away. Dark eyes sparkled beneath his fringe of bangs and his mouth seemed to naturally quirk in mischief.

"You okay?" he asked in a mellow tenor voice, hints of a natural mocking tone were well buried in concern. The girl put a careful hand to her eye, wincing at the soreness. Definite shiner coming in.

"I'm alright." she replied mildly, glaring and cautious. Her life did not entail her to greet strangers warmly. Even if the do save her... "Thanks," she added grudgingly. He raised an eyebrow at her.

"The streets are no place to wander at night. Why don't you run on home?" he said, parental tone heavy.

"What I do and where I go have no business with you," she replied stiffly. She marched past him, chin high.

"They do if I'm going to have to keep saving you. It'd be a bother if I had to keep following you." The girl froze and spun to face him. If looks could kill, the boy would've had no hope.

"Well that's a relief for you then because I DON'T need rescuing!" she shouted, then added a quiet "again," at his raised eyebrows. "Just who are you anyway?" The boy swept an elaborate bow.

"Scipio the Thief Lord, at your service, signorina." (a/n: signorina is 'miss' in Italian I think.) The girl eyed him in disbelief.

"Thief Lord? You can't be more than 16," she pointed out. Scipio scowled.

"And how old are you? 10?" he shot back, looking her up and down, making her very uncomfortable. (a/n: lets pretend I know how old she is)

"For your information, I turned 15 last week!" An angry and embarrassed flush colored her cheeks. The 'Thief Lord' lounged back on a pile of crates.

"I told you my name. Tell me yours." His question caught her off guard and her blush deepened when she realized the answer she had to give.

"I don't have one," she said defiantly.

"Well that's no good. We've gotta call you something."

"We?" she asked, pretty sure that they had been alone till now. He waved a hand in dismissal.

"You'll meet them later, don't get off topic." He stroked his chin thoughtfully, fingering a beard that wasn't there. "Hornet." he stated simply, looking pleased with himself. The girl snorted.

"Hornet?"

"Well, yea. I saw the way you went after that drunk. You certainly have a stinging personality. And, your hair."

"My hair," she said blankly, ignoring his other comments.

"Yea," he said, as if it were obvious. "It's long and almost pointed, like a stinger." She shook her head in amazement. Boys. She rolled the name around in her mind, amused. She could live with it. Nodding, she stuck her hand out briskly.

"Hornet it is." He shook the offered hand and smiled. 'Hornet', as she was now to be called, felt her stomach flip. Great smile, she thought dazedly. Scipio looked at her a moment, then frowned a bit. He shook his head and, without warning, turned and began walking away. Startled a bit by his odd behavior, it took Hornet a moment to realize he was leaving her. "Hey, where are you going?" Looking over his shoulder, Scipio looked a bit surprised that she wasn't following.

"To the Star Palace."

A/N: They have names! You wouldn't believe how hard it is to write when none of your characters have NAMES. I tried to come up with some nicknames (heh, Patch). I think I might have put skip and hornet a bit too old, but o well. Remember, R&R!