Closed Strangers

[Rissi]

10th Fall 524AV

It was before noon and a rare day that Rissi wasn’t working. Normally she tended to avoid spending too much time on the streets of Sunberth and instead favoured quick darts between buildings and shops. Today however she was feeling a little more adventurous.
Sighing to herself in the dim light of her home, she’d grabbed a couple of gold and silver miza and slipped them into her undergarments before tucking her dagger into the waistband of her pants. Then she’d checked that her backpack was empty before pulling it on. There was no point taking much with her, the paranoia she felt from how unruly the locals could be had prevented her from ever taking much anywhere with her.
Finally she was ready and as she stepped out of her front door the scent of salty water and rotting seaweed hit her nose causing her to frown. It wasn’t an unfamiliar scent, but today somehow it felt stronger than usual. Perhaps an unlucky breeze had blown it in her direction, or perhaps she had just been better at ignoring it before.
Cautiously she glanced around before shutting and locking her door, then she set off down the streets. She didn’t have anywhere in particular in mind though her feet seemed to lead her in the direction of the shoreline and as she walked, the scent of salt and rotting seaweed grew stronger and stronger causing a grimace to spread across her features.
It wasn’t too long until something, or more someone, caught her eye from a good few buildings away. Most of the locals of Sunberth were scrawny and weak from years of malnourishment and so the tall, muscular man that towered above most of the usual folk seemed to stand out for miles and the glances from people that passed by him told Rissi that everyone was noticing him.
While normally the nature of the city left Rissi too paranoid to spend any amount of time in any one place, her curiosity of the tall man was beginning to overtake that and so she began to slow down to a dawdle, her eyes darting throughout the street though mostly lingering on the tall muscular man and the few people that passed him who seemed to also be intrigued by the obvious stranger.

[Watu]

The large man was still getting the hang of this place, and if he knew better he would have only brought a few coins with him, but he wasn't yet aware that the people of Sunberth could smell money on a person and he certainly was a person that did not know the city well, he was actually approached by one of the natives of the city, an elderly man, who looked as if he was under the influence of something, the man was holding his hand in his pocket which the bigger man was unsure as to why. Then the elderly figure began approaching and the stench of the man was certainly not someone he wanted approaching, his nose wrinkled. The elderly man spoke in a deep voice, trying to be threatening with a garbled tone that made Watu think it was alcohol he was drinking that made him intoxicated. “Ye got money, stranger gimme a coin or two” The large Dhani was not fazed, even without his increased strength while transformed this man didn't scare him. Watu gently spoke in basic with a sinister accent. “Back away Sscum” his mouth hissed out the sound of the s. The man didn't look like he was going to back off, and some of the people staring backed off, while others watched, interested in the ongoing interaction.

[Rissi]

Rissi had all but come to a stop when she noticed someone finally approaching the man. She had guessed that it wouldn’t be long until someone approached the newcomer, although she hadn’t quite expected to be around when it finally happened.
Not wanting to pass by the scene, she hung back still observing the tall man but now checking to the older man slightly more often than the other people in the area, some of whom were doing the same as Rissi and hanging around to see what happened, while others were quickly leaving the area, not wanting to get dragged into anything they didn’t need to be a part of.

A slight smirk spread across the girl's face as she overheard the older man making it clear he was after money. She knew few people that carried much money with them as they walked through the streets of Sunberth. She herself rarely carried anything more a gold miza unless she knew what she was wanting to buy, though she was unsure if the seemingly new arrival to the city would have any clue about that habit.

As the tall man hissed out some threatening words, Rissi couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow, uncertain as to whether he was oblivious as to what Sunberth could be like, or whether he was actively looking for a fight. Either way she was prepared to watch and wait to see the outcome, and perhaps scrounge a few things from whatever was left behind.

Not wanting to be close to anything, she moved to the side of the street, looking over a building while keeping the two men in the corner of her eye. She would pretend to be scrutinizing the shoddy workmanship of the building as she paid attention to almost anything but the building itself, after all she didn’t want to miss the chance to snatch up anything that might have been dropped in whatever would ensue.

[Watu]

“Now young man, you should respect your elders!” Called out the old man, drawing a short blade from his pocket, it was more of a mere scrap of metal than a proper knife, but Watu now realized what the old man was doing with his hand in his pocket, and backed away for a moment, staggering slightly at the surprise. “I was happy to take a few coins from you but now I think you need a lesson!” Watu was not amused and his eyes lit up with anger, towards the old man, towards this confusing place he was forced to live in, and he thought back to his training in taking down foes, not a lot of it went through the forefront of his mind as most of the training applied to his snakelike forms, but he did secure his stance continuing to glare at the old man. “You do not want thiss" he growled, trying to force as much menace into his tone as he could and while the old man was shaken, arrogance or inebriation stopped the threat from taking any root, He lunged and Watu grabbed at him trying to put his free hand into a hold but only managing to push his wrist away, avoiding the knife.

[Rissi]

Out of the corner of her eye Rissi saw the glint of metal and a brief grimace spread across her face, it was pretty common to see people carry some form of weapon and she had half expected to see one but it was always an uncomfortable sight to her, seeing one drawn at least. This time she was somewhat glad to see the taller man move backwards. He may have seemed a bit cocky to her, but at least he seemed to have some common sense.

Hearing the tall man speak again, Rissi couldn’t help but notice the drawn out ‘s’ and she furled her brow, briefly turning her head towards the two more directly in time to see the older man lunging towards the tall man, brandishing his knife, only to be blocked, his wrist being pushed away. Rissi’s expression changed to one of curiosity and a slight smirk spread across her face as she made a mental note to try to speak to the tall stranger, if she was able to at least.

She was half tempted to approach the two an attempt to break up the fight though she was struggling to read their expressions and gauge their intent. Still she allowed herself to slowly start walking in that direction, her hand reaching under her shirt to rest on the hilt of her dagger for ease of access. She was aware that nobody else in the area would interfere, unless one of the gangs came out to play, and she knew that she was likely about to make a very risky decision but ultimately she was interested in seeing how things would play out in the time it took her to get close enough to actually do anything.

[Watu]

The old man looked on in surprise, his eyes were angry, this person actually wasn't intimidated by his weapon, his eyes analyzed Watu who was staring back silently and he tried to throw the knife with a smug look on his face thinking the thrown dagger would take him down. Watu had noticed the intention but it was a bit too late, he managed to dodge the blade hitting his chest where it had been but it had cut his arm instead, and he found himself lunging towards the old man who had just tossed away his weapon, Balling up a fist and punching him with his entire body weight, one moment had passed after the old man had stopped after the strike, cried out in pain and decided that falling on the ground would be better than another hit. Watu looked around, wondering if anyone would step in. his annoyance and anger turned to worry of the repercussions if anyone else where to join in.