Life Fount: Course Correction

“Just hand over your silver and I’ll let you go,” explained a thin man, his voice scratchy.

The woman he was threatening struggled against the heavy arms locked around her. The bulky man was not about to let go, “But I have a family to feed!”

“Look, you can hand it over willingly, or we can take it from you,” said the man, who was not about to let the woman go.

“Let her go,” said a young girl calmly from behind him. He turned and found a rather small girl shrouded in a hooded cloak standing in the shadows.

“Well, what do we have here? Shouldn’t you be at home cooking food or something little girl?” the thin man taunted.

Again, the girl said just as strangely calm as before, “Let her go. Right now. If you know what’s good for you.”

“Or what? You’ll knit a sweater for me?” the man laughed, approaching the girl, “We can have a little fun with you too.”

A small little half-smile crossed what he could see of the girl’s face, “Actually, I can have a little fun with you,” She raised her head slightly, silver eyes flashing for a moment, “You should have done what I asked.”

Uninitiated by the girl, the man continued approaching, laughing at the girl's taunts. Without a second’s warning, he found himself face down on the muddy ground. He got up quickly, the little girl laughing strangely at him tripping on something he couldn't find. Infuriated at the girl's disconcerting laughter, he jumped at her but didn’t go far. Floating in mid-air and unable to move, his eyes shifted around wildly, a sound of shock escaping his throat. The little girl approached where he floated, an outstretched finger wiping some of the mud from his cheek. The calm in her voice sent shivers down his spine almost as much as the evil little grin across her face, “You really, really should have done what I told you to do.” Her hand reached back, unsheathing a glowing blue broadsword from its massive scabbard on her back that the man hadn’t seen earlier. She lifted the thing with surprising ease considering her apparent age. The man heard his compatriot try to run, though the other man’s footsteps stopped suddenly with a thud. The girl looked at the woman the two men had tried to mug, “It would be best if you left. I don’t care who you tell.” The girl looked back at the man, the evil little smile returning to her face as the woman ran. Almost casually, the girl impaled her sword into a nearby boulder with ease in plain sight of the man and sat down on the back of her feet, her face very close to the man’s face with her arms resting on her legs. The big man floated up next to the thin man, his face badly bruised and cut from being thrown into a tree.

The girl reached up and gently stroked the thin man’s cheek with the back of her fingernails. “What oh what should I do with you. Killing you would be very effective.” The girl paused, one of her fingernails drawing blood as it sliced into thin man’s cheek. The two men had no doubt that the girl could kill them without so much as a second thought or a single hint of remorse. “Though,” she pulled her hand back, resting her arms across her legs again, “that would set a bad example wouldn’t it? Killing criminals that is.” She paused, staring into their eyes. “Lucky for you, I also believe in second chances. Although, if you do it again... well... What would be the most horrifyingly painful way for you to die?” She paused, staring straight through the eyes of each of the men. “Those are defiantly interesting ways to kill someone.” The girl said reflectively, almost as if she had seen the images in their minds.

The girl stood, sliding her glowing broadsword out of the rock and sheathing it back into the scabbard on her back. The sword was purely for intimidation, and it worked too. “If you do it again, I will kill you, exactly how you imagined.” The two dropped to the mud suddenly. When they looked up, the demon-girl was gone.

---

[[Gonna try to post once a week till someone joins in. As it is, I have no idea where this is gonna go, so feel free to add whatever you want. I've mirrored this thread at BlastRPG. I don't know yet if I'm gonna try to keep these mirrored threads synchronized. If I do sync them, I'll add a "Sync: [Month] [Day], [Year]" to the top of this post.]]

Not long after the sun had set behind dark storm clouds, a young woman tightly wrapped in a thick cloak to keep herself at least somewhat dry, pounded a fist on a drenched wooden gate, rain thundering against the mud around her. After few minutes of pounding, a small panel opened in a man-sized door in the gate and two eyes looked around through it. Seeing the girl, the panel shut and the door opened, “You shouldn’t be out and about Miss - there are dangerous animals that lurk the woods at night.”

The young woman replied with a small laugh, “I think I can handle myself against anything you’ve got.” Her hand rested on the hilt of a dagger sheathed at her waist for a moment, before she continued into town.

The watchman raised his lantern to get a better look at the young woman as she walked down the muddy street. He turned back to his shack when she vanished into the darkness and pouring rain, quickly forgetting the woman.

--

The young woman quickly stepped inside the local inn to get out of the drenching rain. She looked around, waiting by the door as the water easily slid off her oiled cloak. No one would notice that the water was falling off a little faster then normal. It was a little trick she had learned not long ago. She brought her hands up to her hood, letting it fall back, revealing her smooth face and black eyes. She then pulled her sleek black shoulder-length hair out of the folds of the cloak before moving further into the tavern. She quickly took up an empty table in the corner, resting her pack on the floor by her feet. The place was surprisingly full for such a stormy night. There was probably some sort of local celebration going on, whatever it was. First rain of the season, someone’s birthday, first baby in a family, killing of a boar - from what she had seen in the towns she had been to so far, she figured people would celebrate over anything. Any excuse to get completely drunk.

Her eyes scanned the bustling tavern, passing over two men hunched together at a table alone, the bigger of the two with scars covering the side of his face as if he had hit a tree. A barely-noticeable smile flashed across her face before vanishing as she continued looking around at all the people. A big woman stepped up to her table, “Can I get you anything, Miss?”

The young woman replied, “Do you have Ginta? It’s a bright yellow fruit drink.” The big woman nodded. The young woman pulled out a silver piece and handed it to the big woman with a warm smile, “And call me Sura.”

The big woman took the silver piece without a second glance, putting it in a little pocket, “I’ll get that right to you, Sura.” The big woman moved on to some of the other tables before vanishing back into the kitchen.

Sura crossed her arms and listened to the conversations in the tavern, leaning forward on the table as she patiently waited for her drink.