Backed Into a Corner

by **Amilyn** on January 17th, 2016, 12:00 am

91 of Spring 510AV
Somewhere in Southeast Sunberth

Amilyn rubbed her arm hard, feeling the bruise underneath twinge at the pressure and eyeing the people around her much more warily than she had when she'd first arrived only fourteen days ago. Granted she had good reason to be cautious, originally, but the last few days had shown her several more and she'd decided that full-blown wariness edging into suspicion was a much more appropriate mindset. It was a huge change from living in Zeltiva, though, and she was still in the midst of adjusting, which meant she sometimes didn't pay as much attention as she should have.

At the current moment, that inattention meant she'd somehow managed to end up in the maze-like back alleys of whatever section of Sunberth she'd wandered into, a place she'd most definitely resolved not to enter until she'd gotten much better at finding her way around and much more confident in her fighting skills. Unfortunately, here she was, still shiny-new to Sunberth and likely just glowing with how easy a target she was. Roughhousing with her brothers couldn't match up to an actual fight she'd learned, as evidenced by her panicked flailing against a wavering drunk several days past.

In all honesty, though she'd seen several fights break out in the streets, she hadn't exactly stuck around to see the conclusions, so she hadn't expected that no one would step in and bring it to a stop. Oh, she'd read that Sunberth was lawless, no authority over the people had lasted for as long as anyone could remember (none who weren't magical, at least), but personally experiencing it made it true in a way that only reading about it...couldn't. Theft ran rampant in the streets, as did fights, and it apparently wasn't all that unusual to come across a dead body. Amilyn had barely glanced at some of the bodies lying in the alleys before walking off, almost afraid to know whether they still breathed.

All of which meant that, upon realizing where she was, her first reaction was to take a deep breath and set her back against the nearest wall, giving her a clear view down both sides of the alleyway. At the same time, she unsheathed one of her daggers, a precaution that she hadn't expected to need when her parents had presented it to her five days before her departure, but that was proving handy now that she was here. She almost let herself slip sideways into auristics, that odd focus where auras were bright, cloudy, visible things, but forced herself to stay; she wasn't very good at it yet and it took away from her usual awareness. Most importantly, though, Sunberthians killed magic users and she wasn't interested in courting death so soon. Or, well, any more than she already was, at least.

A glance down either side of her showed a clear path as did a glance up, so Amilyn cautiously continued on her way, trying to put her feet down quietly and keep alert. She kept her back to the wall as best she could, though it slowed her down immensely, but she figured it was better to force them to approach her from the front than to get stabbed from the back. An attack from the front, at least, gave her a chance to fight back, whereas from behind, she was almost certainly dead.

The alleys she turned down were oddly empty, which was almost more unnerving than if there'd been people hanging around because with people around, at least, she could follow them back out to the main street, but that wasn't the case, so she forged onward. At points, she would hear the sounds of people just on the other side of a row of buildings, but then the alley would curve away and only split off once she'd gone several chimes without hearing anything else. Every once in a while, she'd run into a cat or a rat, usually after it'd scared the shyke out of her, but the animal always darted off and disappeared. Not that they could help her in any way, but these encounters always sent her heart racing and frequently made her wish she'd known reimancy, if only so she could toss fire or lightning at the little shits.

It'd been about a Bell and a half or so since she'd first realized that she was lost when Amilyn started registering the smell of fish and salt, a familiar smell that she associated with the ocean. On the one hand, she perked up, unwinding a bit and picking up her pace, feeling tension slide right off her shoulders at the scent. On the other, it meant she wasn't paying as much attention to her surroundings as she should've been, so the next rat that startled her actually caused her to jolt and spin towards the sound, the rodent bolting right past her foot. Distantly, she registered the animal passing her, but her attention was more focused on the wall beside her, where a big, black shadow continued to grow, even as she stared.

Her heart and mind raced at the sight as she automatically readjusted her grip on her dagger, trying to get a better grip so as not to lose it in the very-likely possibility that there was a fight. She didn't know how the person managed to sneak up on her when she'd been checking behind her as she went, but she wasn't entirely surprised; she may have a penchant for thievery, but these people had been practicing it for years, at least, which meant they were likely much, much better than her.

There was a split-second where she tried to decide whether to confront her stalker or let them think they had the jump on her, but the tension and silence of the last Bell and a half had frayed her nerves badly. She suddenly spun, swiping out with the dagger in her hand, only for the person to catch her wrist and use her own momentum to slam her into the wall. Her breath escaped her in a whoosh and she groaned at the impact, just barely catching the person laugh under their breath at her over her sudden need for air.

"Wha's a li'l kid doin' wanderin' 'round the back alleys by 'imself? Di'ncha get told s'dangerous out 'ere?"

Word Count: 1058

"Common" | Grassland Sign | Nari

by **Amilyn** on January 17th, 2016, 9:24 am

Once she'd caught her breath, Amilyn twisted to set her back against the wall and eyed the man who'd cornered her, glancing down to spot her dagger not that far away. The man, who stood a bit taller than her and had broad shoulders, followed her gaze and kicked the weapon out of her reach, smirking at her glare.

"Can't have you handlin' blades, kid. What if y'hurt yerself?"

"Then it'd serve me right," she retorted sharply, crossing her arms and trying to subtly get a grip on her other dagger. "What do you care if I've got a blade, anyway? S'not like I'm going around stabbing people with it."

He sneered at her. "Clearly, yer new 'ere, kid, so lemme tell ya somethin'. Only people tha' can keep a weapon can have one. Can't keep it? Don' deserve it." He shrugged with an edge of mockery and false nonchalance that irritated her.

She glowered at him. "Fine. Got it. Lesson learned." Hopefully, he would leave now, so she could pick up her dagger and continue trying to find her way back to the main street. No way was she listening to this dek licker pretending to give advice. She'd just have to make sure no one else managed to sneak up on her. Which meant she had to get better at being stealthy herself, get better at noticing people trying to be stealthy, or get used to using auristics in a city that hated magic.

Amilyn warily eyed the man who had actually begun crowding closer into her space, tightening her crossed arms and trying to lean further into the wall. All three, she decided, as she watched him look her over with a glint in his eye that made her want to stab him. Better to have some overlap than missing spots, so working on all three of those methods was probably a good idea.

"Was there something else you wanted?" she asked flatly, getting a better grip on her dagger. She wasn't quite as good with the weapon in her left hand as she was with her right, but any sort of being armed was reassuring at the moment.

"And if I said there was?" He leered, leaning even closer to her. She was very uncomfortable by this point, which, along with long-frayed nerves, meant she wanted away from here yesterday.

She bared her teeth in a sharp smile, eyes squinting at the width of it. "Then, you clearly need a trip to Sahova."

She'd barely gotten the sentence out before she was kicking as hard as she could between his legs, aiming for that one spot that always at least stopped every male she'd ever seen hit there. He backed up, curling in on himself as his face paled, and he choked on whatever he was about to say. She didn't give him a chance to recover, unsheathing her dagger and stepping forward to slash at his face, which opened a wound from cheek to eye. He screamed, one hand going up to clutch at his face while the other remained where it was, and staggered, trying desperately to see through the blood pouring down his face and one ruined eye. Amilyn swung her right elbow into the side of his head, throwing her entire weight behind the blow, and he crumpled, probably unconscious.

Her panting sounded loud in the sudden silence as the echoes of the man's screams rang in her ears. There was blood on her clothes, not a lot, thankfully, but still enough that it was probably noticeable to anyone who looked. Her legs were suddenly shaky and she almost lost her balance when she turned to pick up her other dagger. Resting one hand against the wall as a guide, Amilyn wobbled over to where her second dagger lay on the ground and carefully leaned down to pick it up, transferring both blades into a single hand as she turned back to the man she'd knocked unconscious.

She made her way back over, taking deep steady breaths as her brain started working properly again, and crouched down beside him, wiping her blades clean on his clothes before sheathing them. She rummaged through his pockets, cleaning him out of all his Mizas (four Gold and three Copper) and adding them to her own money pouch, before she pushed herself upright and tried to figure out which way she'd come from. Neither path had any distinguishing features and she hadn't been paying any attention towards directions during the fight, so Amilyn grimaced and picked a direction, hoping that it would lead her closer to the main path.

Several chimes later, she was once again hopelessly lost and more than a bit grumpy because of it, but she was also certain that she'd ended up continuing forward, instead of backtracking. For one, the smell of the ocean was getting stronger the longer she walked. And for another, she could actually hear the waves crashing against the shore. She was also...somewhat grateful that the alleyways weren't empty anymore, even if it made her edgy and anxious to have to pass by the people lying here and there. Every person was treated to a wary look and they, in turn, shot her suspicious looks as she edged past them, both sides balanced delicately on a knife's edge.

When she found herself facing the ocean, Amilyn only sighed explosively and ran a hand through her short, strawberry-blond hair, rolling her shoulders and tilting her head back in frustrated exasperation. She'd now been lost for at least two Bells and that didn't seem to be changing anytime soon. At least, she was getting a feel for Sunberth's back alleys, though she would've much rather preferred that it'd occurred later in her time here.

Moving up to the very edge of the path, she eyed the distance to the water, wondering whether she could reach it so she could at least try to get the blood out of her clothes, but she couldn't tell just by looking. Crouching down, she reached for the water that was just outside of her reach and only sea spray met her touch. She pulled her hand back and rubbed it into one of the visible bloodstains, hoping to use what little moisture she had managed to get to start getting the blood off.

The sudden appearance of two shadows caused her to pause in her movements, but several rapid blinks caused them to disappear. However, she had a definite feeling that she wasn't alone anymore and strained her hearing, catching the thump-thump steps of two pairs of boots. They felt like...the man she'd fought earlier, all arrogance and swagger, clearly confident in their own power, which was a bit odd to know, but something she'd worry about later when she wasn't starting off at a disadvantage.

Word Count: 1144

"Common" | Grassland Sign | "Nari" | Thoughts

by **Amilyn** on January 17th, 2016, 9:25 pm

They didn't bother trying to hide their movements as they got closer and Amilyn carefully unsheathed one dagger. She'd definitely learned her lesson about swiping backwards and this was an entirely different situation anyway, but first, she had to get to her feet and away from the edge.

She shifted her weight, glad that she had only been crouching instead of actually sitting on the edge, and listened for the people's approach, the sounds of their boots coming closer and closer. Her nerves were stretched thin once more as she tracked the two men. Eight steps now. Six...five...four...three...

Amilyn threw herself backwards and to the left, rolling back onto her feet to take in their position's as quickly as she could. Both men were spinning around to face her, so she kicked out at the closest one's legs, causing him to drop as the other said something in surprise. She didn't notice, except to register that he had said something, and kicked the man again, this time in his left shoulder, which had him grabbing at it with a curse. The other man took another step back, eyes narrowed as he surveyed the situation and angry.

"You petching little bastard..."

That was all the warning she got as the second man took two steps forward and kicked out at her, catching her right in the chest and knocking the wind out of her as she fell onto her back. Scrambling to catch her breath, she blindly kicked out again and connected with something painful, if the swearing she heard was any indication, rolling to her right to get some distance from the two men and the edge. She had to tuck her feet under her when she stopped and she was still heaving great gulps of air as she fought down the urge to choke and cough, but she was once again facing the two men, both of whom were on their feet and scowling furiously at her. There was a thrill of vicious satisfaction when she noticed one was holding himself a bit lopsided and gingerly trying not to move his shoulder, while the other was barely putting any weight on one leg, though both were clearly trying to hide their wounds as much as possible.

Neither side made to move as all three combatants sized each other up, the tension in the air hovering on the verge of breaking. And then, the man with the limp gestured back at the city.

"Go on. Get!"

Both Amilyn and the other man stared at the man with a limp, who only gestured at the city again, as though Amilyn was some feral cat or something. She would've been...almost offended at the treatment, if she wasn't so bewildered. Slowly, she straightened up, watching both men carefully, but Man-with-a-limp only scowled at the both of them.

"Ain't worth the effort to rough 'em up. Kid's got 'least a knife and's already gotten inta one fight t'day." Man-with-a-limp nodded at her. "Tha's blood on 'is clothes, innit?"

Other-man raised an eyebrow at Man-with-a-limp and turned to look her over critically this time, his gaze lingering on the spots of blood on her clothes and the naked dagger in her hand. He had to double-take at something, examining her incredulously as Amilyn began to feel uncomfortable.

"What?" she finally snapped, sounding defensive and not liking it at all. Her dagger's grip was reassuring in her palm, as she shifted her weight. Maybe she should run while they were distracted...

"Yer a girl?" Other-man sounded a bit strangled and Man-with-a-limp's head snapped to look at her in surprise.

"What of it?" Running was really sounding like a good idea, right about now.

The two men exchanged looks, glanced at the blood on her clothes and the dagger in her hand, and shrugged.

"Nothin'." Man-with-a-limp gestured back towards the city. "Still ain't worth the effort."

Amilyn warily took a step back and then another. When the two men only began to look irritated with her, she spun and bolted, diving right back into the maze of back alleys that she was really hoping to find her way out of soon. Sheathing her dagger as she ran, it wasn't until she'd taken several random turns, backtracked a few times, continued onwards, and gotten herself completely and utterly lost again that she paused to catch her breath, listening for the sounds of pursuit or, well, anything out of the ordinary. For a certain definition of ordinary, at least.

Checking herself over, she winced as she finally registered her muscles' complaints, trying to stretch and rub them out while she kept an eye on her surroundings. Surprisingly, things were actually beginning to look familiar, though she wasn't sure whether that was because she was confusing the alleys with each other or because she was actually beginning to learn the different paths. Regardless, she headed in the reverse, hoping that if she followed the alleys that looked familiar, they would lead her back to the main street. Amilyn was very ready for this day to be over and to just fall into her bed after a bath and a bit of scrubbing to get the blood out.

Apparently, the day wasn't done yet and Kelwyn was still having fun at her expense, as the sound of voices reached her ears. Angry voices. She tilted her head. Angry voices arguing over someone who was lying on the ground and whose face was bloodied. There was a sinking sensation in her stomach and Amilyn briefly debated the intelligence of peeking around the corner to confirm her suspicions, before she began to edge closer, inching a single eye past the corner to reduce the chances of the group of people seeing her.

Her stomach felt like it'd fallen to the floor as she grimly realized that she was right and this was the alleyway that she thought it was. In fact, there was the man whose face she'd slashed, still unresponsive as a woman propped him up against the wall. There were...three or four more people hovering around him, gesturing to each other and talking in heated tones, but they spoke softly enough that she couldn't quite catch what they were saying. The hand gestures were also a bit distracting because they...weren't quite right? Or, well, they didn't match what she knew of them, though she reflexively continued trying to read them anyway.

Word Count: 1076

"Common" | Grassland Sign | "Nari" | Thoughts

by **Amilyn** on January 17th, 2016, 11:52 pm

Clearly, she wasn't going the right way, if she ended up back here, so Amilyn pulled her head back and quietly trekked onward, randomly picking her turns once more. She kept particularly alert until she couldn't hear the echoes of angry voices anymore and then calmed down a bit, just enough so that her poor nerves would get a chance to relax.

She passed through another of those irritating alleyways again, the ones where the sounds of the main street were just on the other side, and tossed a frustrated glare at the buildings standing between them. If only they weren't there, she would've found her way out long before now and wouldn't have had to deal with the three men who'd thought she looked like a good target.

It took a moment longer for the thought to register properly, but once it did, Amilyn froze and ran over the thought again. If only the buildings weren't there...

She turned to face the closest building and eyed it critically, trying to see if she could pick out a way to climb it without making herself some handholds. Finding a possible path up, she stepped forward and grabbed one, pulling on it to check whether it was sturdy enough to carry her weight. The makeshift handhold shifted a little and then held, even when she threw almost all of her weight on it. Tentatively, she grabbed another, pulling on it until it seemed to hold her weight and then committed, reaching for a handhold higher up.

She slowly made her way up the wall, testing each hold by gradually putting her weight on it until she was confident it was stable before shifting her whole weight. About halfway up the wall, though, one deceptively sturdy hold crumbled when she pushed off it with her foot, making her reflexively tighten her grip on her handholds and try to shift her weight back to her left foot. Her right foot scrambled for another hold and found a tiny one in the wall itself.

Amilyn held on for a moment, resting her head against the wall as she waited for her racing heart to slow a bit, and took regular, deep breaths. That was way too close and she was high enough that falling would probably hurt. Once she'd gathered her remaining strength and her heart had calmed some, she continued on, pushing through the shaking in her arms.

By the time she made it to the top, she could barely gather the strength to pull herself up and she resolved to just...sit there for a while. A few chimes passed and Amilyn pulled her feet up, so as not to give people as much of a reason to look up, while she caught her breath and took a moment to rest.

What a hectic day it'd been and the sun didn't look all that close to setting yet. Honestly, she was all for heading back to her apartment and sleeping for the next few bells because between the tension of being on her guard for almost three bells straight, the two fights she'd gotten into, and the climb that she'd just finished, she was aching all over and exhausted.

She let several chimes pass in unmoving silence, just enjoying the sunlight and the sounds of people in the street, before she began carefully picking her way over to the side facing the main street. Settling herself down with her legs crossed, she watched the people walking past, making note of interesting or entertaining things.

There, for example, a young teenager was apparently trying their hand at pickpocketing one of the gang members and getting smacked across the face for their failure. Over there, a woman lured a drunk-looking man into an alleyway, though whether for services rendered or to rob him blind, Amilyn couldn't yet tell. There were two or three people running around with packages and another handful who clearly had an objective, and she watched the former weave through the crowd, while people merely parted for the latter.

And, leaning against the side of the next building over, was a teenager watching her consideringly with a glint in her eyes that Amilyn was beginning to get very familiar with. Three bells' worth of frustration and anxiety, leftover fear and adrenaline, and the very beginnings of a vicious or vindictive edge had Amilyn meeting the teen's gaze with a challenging stare. The teen was clearly taken aback for a blink, but she grinned, sharp and cutting, and waited patiently for Amilyn to make her way down.

The climb down went much faster when Amilyn didn't care so much about falling and the moment one of her handholds crumbled, she dropped, landing in a crouch and spinning to watch the other teenager, who hadn't budged from her position against the building. With a jerk of her head, the stranger slipped into an alleyway, one that Amilyn didn't recognize at all, but she only hesitated for a breath to make sure she wasn't going to get ambushed.

She was fully prepared for a fight to start as soon as she turned the corner, but the stranger had stopped well out of arm's reach and was waiting patiently for her to appear.

"That was you, right? Who ruined Alvas' eye and left him in the alley?"

Amilyn blinked at her, thrown off by the unexpected turn of events. "Does it matter?"

"Not really." Stranger shrugged. "Was only curious 'cuz he was still alive. And y'got blood on you, y'know."

Amilyn nodded cautiously. "I know." She considered the stranger's comment. "Is he not s'pposed to be?"

"You think I know?" Stranger returned incredulously and Amilyn shrugged. Stranger seemed to be more familiar with Sunberth than she was, so who knew? It was entirely possible.

Stranger snorted. "Figured you were new."

"It wasn't obvious?"

Stranger hummed. "No, it was, but you ain't so bad at it."

Was that supposed to be a compliment? Amilyn couldn't tell. "Thanks?"

Stranger waved it off. "You looked like you could use a fight still. Somethin' that's not so...life 'n death."

"That exists here?" Amilyn muttered under her breath and only tensed at the sharp look Stranger shot her.

"Only for people with Mizas. Resta us gotta find some other way to deal." She shot a scowl elsewhere, towards, what Amilyn assumed, was the direction most of the 'people with Mizas' stayed.

Stranger shook herself. "Anyway, you're lookin' for a fight, I'm lookin' for a fight, neither of us is int'rested in dyin', right?"

"Right..."

"You wanna beat the shyke outta each other?" Stranger grinned into Amilyn's obvious surprise. "No weapons, no bets. Nothing but our fists. Give it maybe a few chimes, then we pick ourselves up and go our own way."

"Thieves' honor," she added with a cheeky grin to Amilyn's incredulity.

"Do thieves even have honor?" Amilyn muttered automatically, still trying to figure out the stranger's angle. She could see why the other teen would offer it, but was she just supposed to take her at her word? And how did she know there wasn't someone else waiting for either of them to let their guard down before robbing them both blind?

"Am I just supposed to take you at your word then?" Amilyn asked, skepticism clear in every word.

Stranger shrugged again. "Y'don't hafta, but I coulda cleaned you out and knocked you out, 'stead of having this nice chat with you." There was a sly, secretive glint in her eye as she turned to the side. "You've got a mean kick, my friend. Any harder and you probably would've broken his leg."

A chill ran through Amilyn at the implications in that sentence and she immediately backed down, watching the stranger much more warily than she had been. After a moment to make sure Amilyn understood her, the stranger went back to being almost friendly.

"So? Wanna fight or not?"

Amilyn hesitated for one more heartbeat... "You got somewhere to stash our stuff, so no one else walks off with it?"

The stranger's grin was bright.

Word Count: 1351

"Common" | Grassland Sign | "Nari" | Thoughts

by **Amilyn** on January 18th, 2016, 2:44 am

By the time they'd stashed all their stuff in two separate locations (Amilyn was certain the stranger knew where her things were and was only, surprisingly, politely ignoring it), she was beginning to have second thoughts. For one, there was no way to know just how skilled the stranger was, but if she was a Sunberthian native, she'd likely be able to kick Amilyn's rear all up and down the city without trouble. Two, there was also no way to know for sure whether the stranger had removed all her weaponry because what was a thief's word worth anyway? Three, in all honesty, Amilyn was already tired from her previous scuffles and from the tension that filled the last few bells, while her opponent was fresh and ready to go.

Amilyn fought down a snort and shelved her worries. Fair? What was fair? Hadn't she already learned that you had to fight for everything in Sunberth? If (when, more likely) she got beaten, it'd just be another lesson on lasting and pushing past her physical limits. Anything can be a learning experience, she recalled her father saying. You just had to look at it the right way and survive to see the next day.

"Ready?"

Stranger was almost bouncing on her toes as she waited eagerly, just out of reach. Amilyn eyed the distance between them, which had Stranger's grin widening knowingly, and then nodded, immediately ducking down to dodge the fist Stranger threw as soon as she'd gotten the go-ahead. Amilyn shot her own fist forward, aiming for that spot that drove the breath out of her earlier, only to get an elbow to her back, causing her to overbalance and tipping her forward onto her face. Her hands shot out to catch herself and she immediately rolled, catching Stranger make an odd jerking motion with her leg.

There was a moment of stillness as Amilyn blinked at Stranger's leg and then looked up at her in question. Stranger only grimaced and shrugged at her.

"Reflex."

Amilyn glanced at her leg and then back at her face, trying to figure out what she meant, before it suddenly struck her. Stranger had been about to kick, but she held herself back at the last minute because of the 'rules' she'd set down beforehand. Amilyn stared wide-eyed at Stranger, who grinned at her.

"Maybe not all thieves've got honor, but this one does."

Amilyn shook her head with a grin, pushing herself back to her feet and preparing to jump back in. Her upper back twinged, but it wasn't anything particularly serious, though she knew she'd be feeling it tomorrow.

"Whaddya waiting for then? We're going again, right?"

Stranger snorted and threw her fist out again, causing Amilyn to duck and get socked by the other hand that she hadn't kept track of. Amilyn was twisted around by the hit and used the momentum to throw a punch as she came back around, a punch that flew over Stranger's head as Stranger rammed her shoulder in Amilyn's gut. Down Amilyn went again, gasping for breath and rubbing her torso, as bruises that had been ignored flared back to life at the newest hit. Stranger backed off and stuck her hand out to pull Amilyn back to her feet.

"You're gonna have to attack some time, y'know," she said, once Amilyn was upright again.

"I know."

Amilyn hadn't let go of Stranger's hand and used that grip to pull her off-balance, kicking her other foot out from underneath her before she thought about it. As Stranger tucked and rolled back to her feet, Amilyn cursed and stepped away to get out of arm's reach.

"Shyke! I wasn't thinking. Shyke."

Stranger watched her with an odd look in her eyes.

"Definitely not from here," she heard her mutter, before Stranger stalked forward. "You wanna play like that, let's play."

Stranger threw a low punch that Amilyn twisted out of the way of, only for her arm to get caught for the second time that day. Her back hit something solid and then there was an arm around her throat, pulling her upwards so her feet had no leverage. Amilyn hadn't realized that Stranger was actually a bit taller than her, but this clearly illustrated it. And, with only one hand free, she wasn't entirely sure she could break out of this.

Amilyn scratched at Stranger's arm, trying to get it to come loose, but that only caused Stranger to tighten her grip. Her trapped left arm was being held away from her body and she had no leverage there, either, to pull it free. Her feet kicked almost helplessly, searching for purchase she couldn't find, and Amilyn was quickly losing air.

The memory of the man's bloodied face suddenly flashed behind her eyelids and her right hand when scrambling for Stranger's face. It couldn't be that much further behind her head and if she could just find her eyes...

The next thing Amilyn knew, she was waking up alone in the alleyway with Stranger nowhere in sight. Her throat hurt, but she figured she was lucky she hadn't been killed, though she had likely been robbed blind. Still, she had to check on her things and she levered herself to her feet, feeling every single ache and pain from the day's events. She gritted her teeth and carefully walked over to where she'd stashed her stuff, blinking in surprise at the sight of them all still there.

She let herself slip just enough to see the faintest of auras to make sure that she wasn't seeing things, but it honestly looked like it was. Cautiously, she went through her things and everything was just as she left it. The only change was her money pouch, where two of the Gold and all of the Copper Mizas she'd stolen from the first man had disappeared. She wouldn't have been surprised if Stranger had taken her due, though she was extremely grateful that she'd only taken coin. Returning everything to their rightful place on her person, Amilyn made her way out of the alley, oriented herself properly, and finally made her way back towards the Sunset Quarter.

Bath and sleep. Tomorrow was going to be miserable, but a bath, some sleep, and maybe some food tonight. After everything that had happened, she figured she deserved a full night's sleep.

Word Count: 1064

"Common" | Grassland Sign | "Nari" | Thoughts

by **Kiva** on January 21st, 2016, 4:04 pm

Amilyn

The Good Stuff :

If you have any questions or concerns regarding your grade, please send me a PM and I'll be happy to discuss it with you. Keep writing!

Observation	5
Detection	3
Unarmed Combat	4
Endurance	3
Acrobatics	3
Weapon: Dagger	2
Land Navigation	2
Socialization	2
Disguise	2
Tactics	2
Logic	2
Investigation	2
Intimidation	2
Stealth	2
Auristics	1
Running	1
Climbing	1
Boxing	1
Scavenging	1
Larceny	1
Cleaning	1

Flashback Backed Into a Corner