"Lately?" said Asuma with a wry slashing smile, long legs stretching out to accommodate her swift pace; for a little lady, she moved fast. "Last place I bunked down was West. Before that was North-West. Before that was South. How long've you been brawling in the streets?"

He wasn't quite ready to think about the West yet, letalone share it with a stranger. Mysterious curves or not.

"And you're welcome," he added belatedly, digging a hand in his pocket to pull out a ragged--and now slightly damp--carton of cigarettes. Metal clicked as he flicked steel against flint and won himself a spark.