[Oba] The Edge of the Brawl [Nyx/Lori]

[Fluffesu]

The lower city where Talori called home was not exactly anything anyone could label 'upscale.' The streets where Water families could afford to reside weren't pretty. They weren't brightly lit as those in the noble quarter were. They weren't clean. They weren't quiet. They weren't safe. But even as a youngster, Talori had never cared about any of that, and for all of her mother's usual concerns about her well-being, she didn't think Malila cared either. Two brazen women were not about to show fear toward their own home. They'd lived tougher lives than that.

Still, when her mother's rough voice from the kitchen came through the walls, "Lori, get the trash outta here," Talori couldn't help but squint at her window and think there was nothing she'd like to do less.

Even if she wasn't afraid of any standard street ruckus, it was still a bit of a journey to head down the stairs to the lower levels of the complex, down the street and into the back alleys where the bars and taverns disposed of their waste. It was dark already, with a desert night's chill setting in, and the quiet that her home didn't have? Yeah, the people who kept it from being as such were starting to come out.

"I'll do it in the morning," she shouted back. "Once I'm on my way to class."

For the span of a heartbeat, Talori thought that would be good enough. Malila didn't shout back at her- But oh, wait, before the thought could even finish flitting through her mind, the sound of feet scuffling along their clay floor reached her. Her mother's head poked into her room. "Nu-uh. Now. I'm trying ta make dinner, and these shells and shavings keep piling up. Get it out of here so I don't have to deal with bugs in the morning."

Talori groaned and rolled her eyes and wanted to argue that it was too cold at night for bugs to come out, and it would be fine if it waited until the morning, but they'd had this argument before, and she did actually want some of whatever her mother was preparing, but she was only going to put in the barest of efforts, and that was that.

So even though Talori groused and muttered under her breath as she trekked through the house to collect the sack of trash from the kitchen, she did eventually make it outside and into the street.

In a feat of petulance and laziness, she'd decided to go without shoes or warmer attire for the night. The sand was cool beneath her toes, and the wind whipped granules of sand at her skin. A handful of drunkards, as well as a smattering of those who were well on their way to being so, mulled about, and dim lights flickered from the nearby taverns. No one Talori knew at a glance, though, so she skittered quickly down the street and ducked into the garbage back-alley. She wanted nothing more than for this to be the quickest trip possible.  

[MissMisnomer]

“Ah well, that barkeep just doesn't wanna hear that we all KNOW he's watering down his drinks. Prissy oaf can't even handle a bit of the truth when ya spit the cheap swill back in his face!”

A trio of young matoran men came lumbering out the back door of the bar, in various states of disarray as they filled the alleyway with their voices. The one who'd spoken tugged at the edges of his vest, trying to straighten it out after the man-handling he'd received inside.

“I'm just glad someone finally had the balls to do it, the look on his ugly mug as you sent it spraying is gonna keep me going all night!” his aqua skinned friend crowed, smacking him on the back.

“He looked like the rear-end of a senile aldabuk that had sat in a week old puddle, his scraggly beard could use the washing,” the leafing girl in their midst sneered as she came swaggering out after them. “I say you did him a favor!”

“Thanks, I'm just bummed we got kicked out. It's gonna take weeks for him to get over it! Guess we'll just have to hit up another bar till then,” he whined, arms crossed over his chest. As Nyx came over, he side eyed her, bumping the girl with his hip.

“Not much of an introduction to Oba, is it? Swear we're more exciting than that…how about we have some fun away from all those smelly drunks, eh Nyx?”

“It's no big deal, old farts like that are a buzzkill no matter where you are. We could let everyone on your street know what a bugger he is?” she proposed, making a one-eighty as she squinted at the piles of refuse. “Bet it would be hilarious to draw an aldabuk arse on his front door…we could totally find something to draw with in all this junk…”

She took a step away, when a hand at her wrist stopped her.

“Nah, I think we could have more fun back here. Help keep ya warm in this desert chill…” he purred, reaching to thumb along the hemline of her low leather shorts. “Crazy girl, showing all this pretty brown skin at night. Never seen a leafling this close before…”

“Uh-huh, yeah, bit too close there,” Nyx said, hand at his wrist. “Should keep better track of your wandering fingers, or you might lose em. Off. Now.”

The other two snickered while their friend’s hand remained right where it was.

“She's a spicy one, ya think all the girls up north are this hot?”

“Come on Nyx, don't be like that,” he slurred, closing distance with his hand migrating around to cup at her butt. “Weren't we having such a good time earlier? You were the one doing all the flirting. So stop being such a prude, I know you aren't like that―”

“You have no idea who I am,” Nyx hissed, looking over her spiked shoulder as the other two got closer. Then her eyes were back up at the foreign face in front of her. “Drunk or not, you dicks have no excuse now. Last chance. Let go.”

He clicked his tongue down at her, gripping his perky handful. “The little mynx wants to play at being tough. That's fine, it's more fun that way~”

The next sound in the alley wasn't words, but the sound of cartilage crushing as her fist made direct contact with his nose.

And as his hands flew up to cup at his gushing face, she sprung backwards, the spiked crystals running down her spine stabbing into the fleshy torso of one of his startled friends. The moment they connected, she grabbed at his arm, using momentum to toss the man over her weaponized shoulder onto the sand below.

Blood was already flowing freely from his multiple wounds, along with the busted skin at Nyx's knuckles. Her eyes flashed dangerously, like a feral animal cornered.

“Try me, you ******** class="quote">

Fluffesu