She held the colonist's mouth from behind as his lifeblood spilled around her knife. Something felt wrong. This was far from the first person she'd killed, but the others had been training accidents, targets, people that wanted to hurt her. This was a witness. An innocent.
The knife shook in her hand. Distantly, she registered clattering metal, a heavy thud, followed by a second and an impact. Something warm splattered on her foot. Her face felt cold. Wet? It felt like there was something in her eye-
She rubbed her face. Coppery tang filled her nostrils as blood soaked hands found most of the moisture around her eyes. Why were her eyes watering? There weren't any irritants in the air, no gunsmoke or bright flashes to cause this. Her ears perked as she held her face in her hands. Her face was soaked, breathing difficult to control. Exertion? No, they didn't know she was coming, someone was sobbing, but who? There shouldn't have been anyone else in the-
oh
It was her.
She was crying.
Artificial chill crept through her veins, starting in the base of her skull and spreading out to the tip of her tail-
This is not optimal. The target is still out there.
Tears still streaming down her face, she grabbed the knife.
There was work to do.
She took off into the night, trailing blood and tears.
The sobs had long since died out.