Finding the grin on her face, the doubt Kiernan had held over his move to bring her down was resolved. She hadn't seemed to have minded his playful gesture in the least. This wave of relief relaxed him as he sat there, only to find himself tensing up as she suddenly moved in as if to lean over him. Eyes widening as the distance between them closed and he felt her soft lips bush his cheek, his adolescent impulses went into overdrive. Unable to say anything for the moment, he instead savored the gesture as she leaned in to whisper to him. Wait! She did this to slow me... Eyes widening as she took off, a blush drew over his cheeks in realization that he'd fallen for a trick. Kiernan took a few moments longer to scramble back up and onto his feet before starting after her again.

This was when a mysterious happening occurred. A figure he assumed to be a bandit flew down from overhead, cutting him off as Kiernan took a quick stop. Drawing a curved blade from his side, Kiernan gritted his teeth, ready to attack when-- So he thinks I'm a bandit? Eyebrows pinching together a bit in confusion, he opened his mouth to speak when the man looked about to approach. So, taking a stance, Kiernan waited... for nothing, apparently. The man met a rather anticlimactic end as he keeled over on the forest floor to reveal Numira standing behind him. Blinking in surprise, Kiernan hesitated before sheathing his blade again. "Ya know, I wasn't quite expecting that..." He admitted, a grin playing along his lips in a bit of admiration. What could he say? He didn't see a woman pull off a stunt like that every day.

He approached the two slowly, still a tad wary of the man until he was sure he had indeed been knocked out. Looking over him seriously, he nodded in agreement. "Strange fella, indeed. How reckless." He commented, a bit amused that he had been identified as a bandit. He had been chasing her, sure, but did he look all that menacing? Kiernan didn't think so. Besides, the situation was quite the opposite. As she searched his person, he quirked an eyebrow at her, confused until she withdrew some currency. I see where she's going with this now. Smart. Chuckling, he nodded, finding the situation funny. "Yep! Those are silver catenas. Looks like our friend had a decent amount of them on him." He noted, crouching down to search for weapons briefly. If he was going to be a pest, and he may very well prove annoying at some later point, Kiernan figured he may as well do away with what he had on him. That could slow him down.

Then, thoughtfully, a bit of playfulness returned to his tone. "You know, that was a pretty low trick you played back there." He mentioned curiously, of her gesture to kiss his cheek. Sure, it had stunned him, but only because... Well, it was something he hadn't anticipated. Or known he'd wanted.