Run or Fight (Open)

[Claira]

Claira slowly opened her eyes as the sun began to come over the horizon. Stretching a bit, she peered out of the small room she rented for the night that over looked the district. The smell of wood burning was in the air as well as the scent from the river. Walking back to the bed, she grabbed her black scarf and her pieces of armor. Putting them all on, she heard a knocking on the door. "Miss. It's time for you to leave unless your going to rent the room again for another night." Sighing to herself, she walked over to the door and opened it. "I thank you again for letting me stay her last night. I may come back to rent the room again for tonight. But if you don't have a room for rent by the time I get back, I'll seek another place then. Good day kind sir."

Walking past him, she walked down the two flights of stairs and was on the ground floor. No one else was inside the Inn. Walking out, she saw the streets began to get busy. 'Can't stop the flow of trade.' She thought to herself. Merging with the flow, she began to walk south, heading towards the produce section of the trading area. As she walked, she noticed a few men shifting their glances towards her. It didn't dawn on her right away until she past one of them and saw an Insignia on the older man's cloak. It was the slavers that took her when she was a kid. Keeping her eyes on the flow, the older man's hand grabbed her left arm and said, "We finally found you Raven!" Yanking her arm out of his grasp, she kicks him in the knee making him fall tot he ground yelling and rolling. "GET HER!" The other men began to go through the crowd to get to her. Claira began to run, avoiding to hit people as five men chased her with swords, axes and one Lance. 'Man, this is surely not my day.' She thought as she kept running at half of her speed she could keep avoiding contact with anyone so she doesn't lose her current speed. Her eyes scanned the area for a way to get out of this situation and saw it. To her right was an alley. As she came up to it, she slid out of the crowd. It felt like her heart was pounding inside of her chest ready to explode. Looking back to see if she was being followed into the alley, she ran into a wall. Looking infront of her, she saw that it was a dead end. Then the voices came. "I saw her run in through here. You, run around. Make sure Raven doesn't escape." With her back tot he wall, she pulled out her Iron knife and got ready. three men walked slowly to her. two swords and an axe. The alley was now crowded. 'If there is a god or a divine mother, please send someone to help me.'

[Jude]

Jude flipped a coin gracefully between his dirty fingers as he whistled, walking lazily down the busy street. The morning was bustling, and he'd just finished up a job during his off time from The Mountain and since he didn't know where Mel was at present, the pink-haired boy figured it would be best to find something to kill the time. Since work was slim and he didn't have many friends in this area, perusing the streets looking for trouble sounded like the best idea.

Actually, for Jude, looking for trouble didn't happen often-- in a few steps, trouble always found him. It was always three steps ahead of him. The red-eyed boy had learned to wing it, to be okay with his circumstances, to adapt. Ryuzaki had taught him that much, if anything.

He watched with his red orbs as the coin flipped through the air, and then as he caught it in his gloved palm. His ungloved hand rested gently in the pocket of his dark slacks, and his heels clicked quietly against the ground as he walked. He was careful to avoid running into anyone, but wasn't so careful that he didn't maintain his dominance on the path. He wasn't sure what he was looking for, but anything at all was a welcome shift away from being used like a rag doll by his friends so far. Sighing almost angrily, Jude wondered what sort of place he could find that would serve him a drink so he could forget about the headaches Mel had caused him. Or the ones Jabal had induced when he'd been thrown onto the ground in the cave. He muttered something under his breath as he crossed onto the next street, but was immediately surprised at what he'd seen.

Armed men casually drawing weapons in the street? Nearly sprinting down as they chased someone down? Was this seriously happening? "Gods damn it," Jude breathed, shutting his eyes to push away the discontentment. "I can't have one easy day. I just want one! That's literally it! Gods..." He quickened his pace a bit, to see what was going on. The townsfolk were screaming, the town guard talking amongst themselves in an effort to decide what to do or who to follow. There was a much larger group than they'd originally realized, and they seemed to be... organized in some fashion, as if they had a mission to attend to in the town streets...

Jude's eyes lit up. Could it be a criminal? A fugitive? Maybe Ryuzaki was here, after all. Or at least, he could find something or someone to point him in a better direction. Once his pace was effectively a run, Jude quickly closed the distance between himself and the armed men. They'd turned into an alley?

"Oh, COME ON!" Jude shouted angrily, like a small child. His voice was gnarly and angry, older than he was himself, but displeased like a child nonetheless. A shakedown? Of some girl armed with a knife? This couldn't be real. This could not be happening.

One of the armed men turned around to face him, grunting loudly, almost as if his goal was to scare Jude away... What kind of joke was this? And why did his days always turn into such events? He raised an eyebrow at the man, stepping back a bit, his hand on the grip of his dagger that rested at the back of his waist. His eyes darted back and forth between the girl at the back and the man in front of him.

He spoke loudly enough for her to hear, though with a tone that was mostly unsure and confused. "Hey, uh... Look..." He was obviously displeased, in no mood to deal with this sort of thing, whatever it was. "I don't know what you did, but you'd better get the hell out of here if you don't want trouble. Seems like--" he shifted his red eyes back to the armed man in front of him, "--they want you for something. Any ideas? Did'j ya kill a man? Steal a jewel? These guys look serious."

[Claira]

Watching just two of the men coming closer to her. She saw a pink haired man talking with the third Slaver standing in his way. Well, she thanked her blessings since the Axe wielder was the one standing in Jude's way. But it was odd to hear him talk to her as he looked back at her and back at the men. Shaking her head, she simply said to him for a reply.

"I was a former slave that got away ten years ago. They've been tracking me."

One of the sword users came in at her. Side stepping, she moved her body out of the way to see the heavy looking sword hit the wall behind her. Taking her left knee, she knees him in the stomach making him hunch over a bit. Sadly, she took her eyes off the second sword user. This man rushes her, smacking her back into the wall using his buckler shield then punches her in the face. Falling to her knees, Claira began to cough and spat out blood. Shaking her head, she spun the knife in her hand and dug her blade into the stomach of the guy who punched her. The mercenary yelled in pain as he looked down at the thief. Raising his left arm, he back hands her using the buckler shield making her skid across the ground. Again, she coughed and spat out more blood.

Reaching behind her, she pulled out her Iron dagger. Slowly standing up, she heard the man charge after her. With her body lined up with the axe wielder. Claira had to time this. When he was in striking range and was still running, she would dive right into the mercenary's legs. Making the man fall forward and landing into his one partner who was playing guard. The first attacker stood up and took out his sword. "Bitch, your coming back with us....dead or alive now."

[Jude]

If it wouldn't have gotten him killed, Jude might've massaged his temples for the headache that was forming. "A, um, slave? Excuse me? What?" His voice was mock concerned, but honestly confused. People just... Tracked slaves through cities? In the open? The illegality of it all was startling enough, but as the man Jude faced lunged forward with his lance, he didn't have much time to think. "Woah, easy there!" Jude shouted, side-stepping the thrust with catlike grace. "Easy, easy! Let's uh--SH*T!" Jude quickly leaped backwards as the man came in for another thrust. Sighing angrily, he drew his dagger. This was not a fight they could, or should, win-- not in these circumstances. The second one of them killed another, the town guard that was quickly approaching would apprehend them both. That spelled bad news for all parties involved.

And now, unfortunately, Jude was a party involved. He bit his lip. Where was Mel when he needed her? Probably picking a godsdamned leaf or something somewhere.

It wasn't long before Jude heard the gulp, the faint noises coming from behind him, and then fall. Quickly turning, side-stepping another lance blow, Jude looked behind him. Yep, she'd done it. Against all odds, against all rationale, against literally all that could be thought of as intelligent at the time... She'd killed one of them. And if he wasn't dead, he would be soon. He sighed again, throwing himself backwards to avoid another lance attack. This wasn't a battle he was going to fight.

Then the last man approached her menacingly, threatening the best he could. It was remarkable, Jude thought, that these people could literally just do this in an open forum, in a public space. The courts would have a fit with this madness, Jude figured, but he'd be long gone by then. At least, he hoped so.

"Okay, no. No, no, no. That's not how this is going to work. No." Jude sheathed his weapon and, using the inertia he'd created from side-stepping backwards, threw himself out against the wall, kicking off of it twice. He placed his body between the woman and the man with the sword, spinning his weight around in the air. Right before he landed on the ground in front of her, Jude decked the guy right in the mouth. A perfect shot, though he was sure his knuckles were now broken. As the man flew backwards, hopefully unconscious, Jude looked first to the bloody body at his side and the lance-wielder charging forward. The town guard wasn't far behind.

He turned to the girl. "Look, I don't know what your story is, and frankly, I don't give a sh*t. You need to leave. Now. They'll throw you in jail, kill you, or worse, for your involvement here. Just how things work. Now let's go."

The red-eyed boy looked at her fiercely. He wasn't sure where they'd go, but the wall behind them looked low enough to vault. If she was smart, she'd hop over it-- if not, she'd face the guards. Either way, Jude was about to high-tail it out himself if things got bad. It's what he was best at.

[Claira]

Looking up after the whole commotion, she saw the soldier charging in. Scrambeling to her feet, she ran towards the wall. Passing the man who saved her. When she was close, she jumped to the wall on her right and pushed herself off it to the center wall. Standing there on top of it, she'd hunch down with a hand reaching for the pink hair man. If he took it,Claira would pull him up to help him escape.If not, She'd jump down the other side. Running was on her mind as well for the law was coming. "Follow me to safety or not. Your choice mister."

After Judes choice.

Bolting down the alley, it came to a fork. Go left and your wrapping around to the street they both were on. Go right and your going behind every inn, bar and business next to the river. She had an escape route set up where she would take the river bank out of town towards Bern.

[Jude]

Follow her? Was this some kind of joke? Jude didn't even know who this was, much less if he could actually trust her or not. What he needed was to get the hell out of that city. That was really the only thing he could think that was smart. But in his present circumstance, where trouble always found him, that wouldn't be an option yet. It was either follow her, or get brutally axe-murdered by this gang of ignorant slavers. One option definitely did sound better than the other, and so, with a heavy sigh, he decided to follow her.

"I don't know what kind of safety you think you can find while you're being followed by slavers, but whatever." His voice was tired and plain, unimpressed. But as the men closed in, Jude declined the hand offered to him. "Go, go on! I'll follow you, just run!" He leaped high up the wall, using his height and superior leg strength to propel him to the top of the wall. He grabbed it firmly with two hands, hoisting himself up as he heard the crunch of iron into rock. He turned around just soon enough to see one of the men swing his weapon into the wall where Jude had just been.

Using this opportunity in his favor, Jude bent down and firmly kicked back at the man, planting a grey boot right in his face. He flew back and hit the ground with a thud, but then the guard came. And of course they saw Jude. Of course. Shouting first to the men with weapons drawn, and then to Jude, he knew he would be in trouble if he didn't high-tail it out, and damn fast. After hearing a few "HEY!"s and "GET BACK HERE!"s, Jude hopped down the other side of the wall and landed with a light thud, deciding it would be best to follow this woman to wherever her "safe" spot was.

[Claira]

Sheathing her curved iron dagger as she ran and ran to the path that broke off to the right. While running,she saw a crate of apples sitting outside of an Inn. With her cape covering her right arm, Claira grabs two apples from the top. Slowing down, her pace eventually stopped right in front of the river.

Looking left, then right. No one was around. Her body turned right and began to walk. One of the apples was tossed to Jude as she kept looking around. Controlling her breathing, she didn't want to add any more suspicion onto herself. Taking a bite from her Apple, she'd look look at Jude every now and then.

"We stay close to the rivers bank, it will lead right into Bern. I've taken this route a few times in the past. Go over to the other side of the river. Your going into one of the other few terrortorise of this Country."

[Jude]

Wide-eyed, angry, and confused, Jude obediently followed along, quickening his pace to match the girl's, then slowing as she came to a halt by the river. His confusion intensified once he was thrown the apple, though he didn't protest-- Jude took a bite deeply into it, savoring the sweet flavor, the glorious texture, and the juice that spilled out of his lips. He understood why Mel liked them so much... They could be pretty tasty, if you found a good one. Still, though, Jude needed answers. He needed food, of course, but he also needed answers.

Once she explained herself, though inadequately, Jude had to stop and take a breath. He spoke hurriedly, waving his hands frantically as he threw his apple core into the river. "S'cuse me. Woah woah woah woah, slow down. Let's take a breath. What the hell is going on here? Who ARE you?? Why are they coming after you? YOU WERE A SLAVE??" His voice was intense and loud, and his fiery red eyes stayed trained on the girl as he ranted about. There was too much going on here for him to just follow blindly into Bern. Plus, Bern was a hell pit right now. He was not going there. He'd tried that once, and it almost got him killed, and it lost him his weapon. Not again. Never again.

"There is so much going on here, you gotta help me out, come on. Look, I know we just had a mess of armed men coming after us to kill us, but uh... I DON'T KNOW WHAT THE HELL IS HAPPENING!" The waving and ranting and screaming knew no bounds. Jude was frantic. And angry. "I-I don't... know you, and while I'm happy to help stall some slavers, you gotta let me know what's happening. Also, as an aside," He raised his finger up, as if illustrating a grand point. "I'm NOT going to Bern. We'll be safe here. Er, I'LL be safe here."

[Claira]

Stopping in her place, she turned a bit to look at him as he went on and on and on. When Claira thought he was done, nope. The pink haired man began his ranting again. Taking another bite, she just stood there tapping her foot.

Once he was done again, Claira raised her hand up before the pink haired thief could keep going.

"First off. Stop shouting. they don't know which direction we went. Second, My name is Claira. Most call me Raven because of the brand marks the slavers gave me when I was twelve. A fat slaver would take my right arm and cut me from wrist to my shoulder."

Raising up her sleeve on her right arm to reveal some of the scars. Once he saw some of the wounds, she lowered the sleeve again looking at him.

"As for Third. Slavers rarely go into Bern because of all the conflicts going on. Not good for their business. "

The sounds of people running was heard coming from the alley way they just left from. Sighing out loud, she grabbed the pink haired man's hand and ran through the back door to a pub. Closing it quickly, she used her lock picks to lock the door. "That will buy us some time...mister...?" Claira said while also hinting for his name.

[Jude]

Jude's face went red as the woman told him to stop shouting. He hadn't realized that he had been, but then... It was typically how he reacted to things. He was loud and passionate; what could be helped? He sighed, letting himself slack back, his eyes narrowing lazily as he calmed down a bit. He waved his hand in an attempt to dismiss her, but kept his eyes trained on her. "Yeah, yeah... Like you're my mother." He smirked, turning his head to the side. Jude folded his arms like a petulant child.

As she explained her name and origin, Jude's eyes went wide again. It was like a wreck he couldn't stop himself from watching-- the cuts ranging the entirety of her arm were indeed a bit much for him. "Gross," he said plainly, clearly intrigued by what was before him. How on earth was she still alive? He wondered. There was no way a child with that kind of past had a soft shell. This girl was very likely tougher than she looked, which maybe didn't say much, but to Jude it was enough to keep his aggression at bay for the time being. He could settle down; he didn't feel in danger in this girl's presence, but it still didn't stop him from wanting to leave.

"Right, uh... So... But Bern--" Before Jude had a chance to object again, which he absolutely would have, the girl grabbed his hand and pulled him to the side, into a tavern. She sure acted like she knew where she was going, and despite being one to object to almost everything that wasn't his own decision, Jude had by this point realized that he was going to pulled along by someone his entire life. Mel, the Mountain, Ryuzaki... he practically had no autonomy. And such was his way. He bit his lip as he thought about a way to take control of the situation, but he didn't have time before this Claira spoke again.

Scratching the back of his head confusedly, Jude turned his red orbs to the girl. "Uh, Jude." He said, plainly. The disdain that normally plagued his voice wasn't present. He stood from his crouched position and surveyed the area. They were in what looked to be a storage unit, and coming out into the tavern from here would likely cause a big fuss. It was, after all, technically a break-in. That wouldn't be good for business, which meant Jude probably couldn't get a drink. He sighed again, and turned to the woman.

"Whatever. What are your plans now, anyway?"

[Claira]

"Ok Jude. My plan is to get outta here alive. If you want to tag along then fine. If not you can take your chances with the slavers who are rather good at tracking people." Walking over to the other door, she gently opened it just a crack and saw that the tavern owner busy keeping up with the drink orders and orders for food. Getting low to the ground, she gently opened the door enough for her to get her slender frame through.

Crawling out, she placed her back to the bar counter and pulled out a few gold coins from her coin purse. Standing up quickly she yelled out to the bar owner.

"Bar keep, a tanker for me." The man turned around and saw her and looked embarrassed that he missed her.

"Sorry miss, didn't see you there. One tanker coming up." As he looked down to pour the tanker, she took her free hand that was below the counter and waved Jude forward. Once he got to her, she would look down at him and say out loud.

"Lose something did we or are you admiring something else?" It was to be used as a cover story for Jude when he stood up.

[Mel]

"Admiring something else, thanks."

Slim arms wrapped about Jude's middle, holding him gently as a pale face peered out from behind his back. Mel looked over the girl who had addressed her companion in bemusement, gaze raking over her shabby appearance with disdain. The corners of her lips curved slightly and she leaned her head back to meet Jude's eyes.

"What are you doing lounging about? I looked into the job, we should be on our way soon before it's taken from us." She frowned, swinging around to stand between him and the strange girl. "I finished all the preparations on my end, did you get everything you needed?" Mel gestured with her chin at a sizable bundle she had been carrying under her arm, the plants she had wandered off to acquire. "It'll take us a few days to travel over to where the client is, and if we follow along a river it'll take even longer..."

The girl trailed off, gaze drifting over his shoulder as she momentarily lost herself in thought. Had she told him to get supplies earlier? Or had she simply dashed off in search of mugwort before the idea had left her mind. To be quite honest Mel couldn't quite remember between scavenging for new supplies and finding new weapons. Leaving their things had been quite the financial burden. Replenishing stock honestly wasn't any sort of financial strain, but everything at once... If only she could slap the blame on Jude and be done with it, but he himself had lost quite the number of possessions in their little misadventure.

"Are you ready to depart?"

[Jude]

"Hey, I ain't your tag along," Jude said just as plainly as before, though with more certainty in his voice than before. Following the girl into the tavern, he looked around some more. Seemed pretty normal-- nothing out of place, everything as it should be. It was far more normal than what he'd been used to, and fortunately, from the looks of things, no one recognized either of them from the scuffle earlier. Maybe they could finally lay low. Maybe, pray to the gods, Jude could finally sit down, have a drink, and have a godsdamned normal day for once in his hectic life. No Ryu, no Mountain, no one throwing him around like a human weapon, and no Mel! This was practically a life of leisure, as far as he was concerned. Though... Something did weigh on his mind. Did he have a job to do? What was he missing?

Following the woman, he was about to order a drink when the barkeep turned from him right as he raised a finger. Angry, he decided he would pay them no mind and no money. He would drink elsewhere. This always happened. Nothing could go one hundred percent right; there was a huge margin for error, and here he was, living it. Naturally.

Then she spoke to him, and everything changed. "Admiring wha-- WHAT? MEL? GODS DAMN IT, WHAT--"

He felt her small arms slip around his mid section, much like they had in some of the duo's previous encounters. Jude had no time for games. His anger was revving at full throttle. "ARE YOU KIDDING ME? DO THE GODS HATE ME? CAN I NOT GET A DAY OFF?" He sighed, gently pushing her off of him despite his eagerness to be a little more rough with her. He was immediately unconcerned with the slave girl he'd been following, and turned and look down over Mel, who seemed far more prepared than he.

Oh. That was his job. To prepare.

Jude sighed again, rubbing his temple with his gloved hand. "I, uh... No. I know there's a job, I know we have stuff to do, but come on--" He said, finally gesturing towards his new friend. "Look! I found a runaway slave. We, uh, had a scuffle with some guys and now we're here ducking the town guard. Do me a favor, half-pint, and get a drink and relax for a bit. We can handle not leaving for a few more minutes, gods."

The pink-haired boy motioned to the both of them and took a seat at the table, kicking his feet up upon it. Before long, he was yelled at to take them down, and so reluctantly, he did, and sighed angrily, blowing a lock of hair out of his face. "Whatever. I still have sh*t to buy, but give me some time. I'll get it together. C'mon," he motioned towards Claira. "Sit down. Ain't no rush."

[Claira]

Her jade colored eyes went from the one called Mel to Jude who now blew up on the other female. When Jude mentioned the word slave, she quickly cleared her throat. Looking back at the bar keep, she tapped her tanker and held up two fingers, then aimed them at both Mel and Jude. As she was about to take a sip out of her tanker is when Jude asked Claira over. Putting a few gold coins down to cover the three drinks, she walked over and sat down at the table.

"Wouldn't want to anger your seemingly close friend with jealousy Jude." Looking at Mel, Claira smiled a bit. "Names Claira. Some call me Raven. What's yours?" Sipping a bit from the Tanker, she would look at the door and the crowd to try and see if could spot any slavers. So far,none shown. A good sign.

[Mel]

Mel released a drawn out sigh at Jude admitting sheepishly that he had gotten sidetracked from their goal. She wasn't particularly irritated by it, merely eyeing his previously injured leg as he slouched down into a seat. They were both still recovering from the injuries sustained during their little mishap. And as much as she wanted to shove on forward to the job the girl knew that it would be of little use. They would cover more ground in a shorter amount of time with him in fully working condition. However, this didn't stop her from trying to prod the pink-haired male to admit he wasn't fit to travel very far yet. Jude was stubborn and wouldn't stand to lose face. He'd walk through fire just to prove something petty. He certainly wouldn't own up to weakness. She wouldn't admit to being worried.

"We'll leave at the end of the day tomorrow, for a few coins we can likely ride in the back of a merchant's cart that follows a route in our direction." Mel slipped into a chair beside him and tucked her legs up under herself, far too tired from a day of foraging to listen while Jude snickered at her toes just brushing the tavern floor. She flexed her right fingers idly as she relaxed back, gradually working through the stiffness her injury had left her. It was far too soon to tell if there had been any permanent damage, but for the moment it was responding well enough that she didn't see the need to worry needlessly over it.

Suddenly gripping Jude's elbow she raised his arm for him, wildly waving it for a few long moments before he wrenched it away to gain the barkeep's attention. Quickly she motioned out a meal and after falling still in silence for a moment she motioned for three instead. If she was going to run out on paying for one meal what harm would there be in doing so for two others? Mel decided Jude wouldn't care all that much. She had met him as a pickpocket after all, there was no self righteous moral high ground for him to perch and preach.

Her eyes followed Claria as she reapproached the table with three tankards brimming with thick foam and sweet golden ale, arms folded on the table as she rested her chin on them. Mel didn't care much about slaves one way or the other, it wasn't her problem and there was no need to waste time brooding over it. She'd much rather be watching linens dry in the snow rather than have some sort of inner monologue battling for moral dominance.

"He's always angry. Why or how is never a question anyone should trouble themselves with. Delicately Mel flicked the side of the tankard with her nail, slouched over comfortably onto the table as she observed the other patrons out of the corner of her eye. "My name isn't important. Rather I feel we should discuss your name. Raven is quite a silly name. I'd rather be named after a plant than a bird that reeks and...."

She craned back her head and let out a loud yawn, slumping a little further once she had resumed her position. It had been a long few weeks between the two of them. And between burning through her meager savings, buying new gear, and replenishing her entire stock of plants, she had been missing an impressive amount of sleep. Faint circles lay under her eyes.

"Either way it's still a silly name...."