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“Hey!” A female voice, one marked with a Nevarran accent, cut through the darkness.
While a part of Nicolette was indignant by the intrusion - this was her fight, after all - another part of her was glad for it. She was outnumbered, and whomever had come to her rescue had impeccable timing. The small cluster of young men standing above her looked around to try to find the source of the voice.
“Get away from her!”
Nicolette craned her neck around the barrel obscuring her vision, in time to see a shem woman barreling down the alley, her expression absolutely livid. The men looked over their potential opponent, but seeing that the stranger was smaller than them, their fearful expressions shifted into smirks and amusement.
“This elf one of your friends?” their apparent leader, a brawny blonde, asked.
“She doesn’t have to be. You have no right to treat a woman like that. Especially one who was minding her own business.”
“Unlike you, you mean?” One of the heavier-set men asked, poking a pudgy finger at the stranger’s chest.
“Exactly. We’re just rabbit-hunting,” the blonde added, swinging a rough kick towards Nicolette’s abdomen to add emphasis to his point.
The redheaded elf groaned, curling in on herself as she clutched at her stomach.
“You’re disgusting,” the stranger said, her voice dripping enough venom that it caught Nicolette’s attention once more.
The blonde closed in on the stranger, leaning in close to her face as he asked, “How about we hunt you next, chérie?”
His friends laughed and nudged each other, reveling in their perceived prowess and witty humor. As their comments and laughter died down, the Nevarran woman let out a heavy sigh and shifted her weight.
“Idiots,” she told them, before she reached out to grab the collar of the blonde’s shirt, and pulled him towards her in order to slam their heads together.
As he staggered back and the others took time to process what had just happened, the stranger took a few steps back and drew a dagger from her boot. She gripped the handle tightly, her knuckles nearly white, before she leapt into her next attack. She targeted the blonde first, ducking under his outstretched arms so that she slash her knife along his side. He clutched at his side, letting out a stream of Orlesian curses, as she turned towards her next opponent.
Nicolette pushed herself up into a sitting position, eyes wide as she watched the scene unfold before her. The stranger’s passion was obvious throughout each of her movements, but it was also a definite surprise. She had never seen any human jump to the defense of an elf.
After a few more moments of chaos, the woman that had leapt to her defense finally tackled the heavyset man to the ground, digging her knee into his stomach as she held her blade to his neck.
“Run along home to your mother. And maybe next time you’ll think about giving another woman such atrocious behavior.” She nicked his skin for good measure, and got to her feet. She glared around at all the men, declaring, “That goes for all of you!”
They got to their feet and ran off, though the blonde made a point to glare at the stranger. “You’ll be sorry for this, bitch.”
“Oh, you’re welcome to try. I am actually trained as a hunter.”
He spit at her feet, and she stepped towards him threateningly, flashing her blade. He finally turned and ran after his companions. After a few silent moments, the woman turned towards Nicolette and kneeled down in front of her.
“How are you holding up?”
The elf glanced down at herself. Angry red welts marred her pale skin, and she suspected that by morning they would slowly bloom into yellow and purple bruises, like some grisly flowerbed. The men had slashed at her face with a knife, and blood trickled down from the wound, making the entire right side warm and sticky. She licked her lips to wet them, and tasted the tang of iron at the corner of her mouth. Overall, it could have ended much worse, and if she had a mind to use her magical abilities to speed the process along, she would be more than fine.
“I’m alright,” she replied. “And while you didn’t need to help, I thank you for giving it.”
“Don’t mention it. I was just doing the right thing.”
“You’re a strange shem,” Nicolette muttered, and braced herself against the wall behind her as she tried to push herself up to her feet.
The stranger offered her hand. “Here.”
Nicolette eyed the hand suspiciously, but figured that this strange woman had helped her so far. Letting loose a sigh, she gripped the hand offered to her, and she was helped into a standing position. The two women stood there in silence for a few moments, looking each other over.
“So…To whom do I owe my thanks?”
“Zahra. Zahra Tahan. If you hadn’t already guessed, I’m from Nevarra.”
“You’re a little ways from home, Ser Tahan.”
“Eh, I’m a merchant. I get around,” she replied with a shrug and a playful wink.
Her comment drew a chuckle from Nicolette, which surprised the elven woman.
“Might I have your name, as well?”
“…Nicolette Fabre.”
“Well, Nicolette, it’s a pleasure to meet you.”
“Likewise, Ser Tahan. Likewise.”