Description: Niamh gets lost, whilst out walking and ends up in the slums. Razor comes to the rescue, when she meets a rather unfriendly local.
Niamh is starting to panic. She had set off to get some fresh air and escape the hotel room for a bit, but has somehow gotten lost along the way and now finds herself in the slums of Metro City and from what she can see, it's none too pretty. Not that her home city Edinburgh, doesn't have it's problems, drug abuse was a huge issue there and the Scottish capitol has many rough estates,but she and her siblings had been fortunate to grow up in comfortable and prosperous area.
She is starting to regret her decision of wearing tiger print pants too, those combined with her magenta coloured hair mean she can't fail to stand out and that doesn't seem something you want to do around here. Taking a few tentative steps forwards and trying not to look like the lost tourist she is, she pulls her black backpack a little more firmly on her shoulders.
At this time of day, the streets are normally a bit more tame, and even a touch of the old days of this area can be seen as children cluster outside their run-down homes to play. However, the clouds have grown thick and dark, and it quickly starts to rain, sending the young home and leaving only those with business or nowhere else to be on the streets. The alleys, though, and disused bus stops are crowded with all sorts of unsavoury looking types.
Amongst those unsavoury looking types is Razor, who's leaning against an alley wall of an abandoned tenement, just out of the rain running off the roof. He doesn't have a jacket - it's in the wash, still, after getting puked on by a certain American-Brazilian girl, and so his bare arms are folded across his grey muscle shirt. His eyes are watching the street idly, the sudden appearance of tiger stripes drawing their attention.
And unfortunately, the attention of a big man who's standing in the alley that Niamh happens to be passing by. As she is passing by, she'll suddenly feel one of her arms grabbed as she's pulled toward the alleyway by the man - about 6'8" and brawny, with a shaved head, dressed in a wifebeater and jeans.
"Hey there, Kitty, what's your hurry?"
Niamh is too busy worrying about how to get back to downtown, to notice the burly chap approaching. Before she realises he has grabbed her and she feels herself lifted off her feet and pulled towards the dark, foul smelling alley."Just let me go!" she protests, trying to jab at him with her elbows and kick at him with her booted feet. "What is it with this place? I don't even have my iPhone with me today!" America really wasn't doing itself any favours. In all her twenty three years, Niamh had never been the victim of violence, outside karate matches and now she had been targeted twice within the last week.
"My name isn't Kitty either" she almost spits "Kitty is short for Catherine and that's not what I am called.Now if you want money, you are out of luck. I only came out for some air, I wasn't planning on shopping."
COMBATSYS: Niamh has started a fight here.
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Niamh 0/-------/------=|
COMBATSYS: Baron has joined the fight here on the right meter side.
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Niamh 0/-------/------=|-------\-------\0 Baron
The burly man laughs as Niamh speaks, unfazed by her efforts thus far. "Well, you certainly are lost, aren't you, Kitty? It's a long way from England in these parts." The fact that Niamh is actually Scottish seems to be lost entirely on the man. "I'm sure that you've got something that I wouldn't mind getting my hands on." With that, he tries to take her by one arm and twist, to force her to bend forward in a hammerlock position.
Meanwhile, across the street, Razor sees the flash of orange and black disappear into the opposite alley and immediately pushes away from the wall he's leaning against. Why did tourists come to this part of the city, anyway? He moves with purpose and a quick stride toward where the girl had been pulled away, flexing his fingers in anticipation of having to fight.
COMBATSYS: Razor has joined the fight here on the left meter side.
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Razor 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Baron
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Niamh 0/-------/------=|
COMBATSYS: Niamh blocks Baron's Quick Throw.
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Razor 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Baron
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Niamh 0/-------/-----==|
"Why don't you just get lost?" she yells,emphasising the you and her Scottish accent. "I'm not from England either, you're none too bright are ye?" He may not be the smartest guy on the block, but what he lacks in brains, he makes up for in brawn, so when he grabs her, its none too comfortable. Struggling hard, she manages to break free of him, but not before he causes her to yelp with pain.
She turns around to face him, staring into his eyes, with her own blue gaze and pleads "Please Mister, let me go. If you let me go now, I won't call the cops." She moves a little closer towards him, then lurches forwards, attempting to headbutt him.
COMBATSYS: Baron just-defends Niamh's Headbutt!
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Razor 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Baron
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Niamh 0/-------/------=|
The giant grunts when Niamh manages to pull free, then just sneers when she tells him that she won't call the cops if he lets her go now. "You won't be calling the cops anyway. You already told me you didn't have your phone, rememb-" Then, abruptly, he's cut short by Niamh making a move to headbutt him, but he manages to catch her face and lean back as she does so, remaining unharmed. "Aww, isn't that sweet." He then attempts to grab her and shove her front-first against the wall behind him and pin her against it. It's about at this moment that he notices Rex appearing in the alleyway. "Wait your turn, chump."
Razor doesn't stop walking toward them, though. "Sorry, I don't have that kind of patience," he says, grabbing a tire that happens to be discarded to one side and heaving it at the big man, hopefully creating enough of a distraction for the girl to break free while Razor closes the gap with him.
COMBATSYS: Niamh blocks Baron's Strong Throw.
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Razor 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Baron
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Niamh 0/-------/-----==|
Niamh silently curses, she had forgotten she had mentioned the phone. "I could shout them really loud" she says, in a rather lame attempt to save face. She curses again, this time out loud, as he avoids her headbutt and is then slammed against the wall for her trouble. Acting on instinct, she pushes her palms flat against the brick and pushes herself backwards, to avoid him pinning her there, grazing her skin in the process.
That's when the other guy arrives. "Oh crap, his mate's here now" she says, to herself, but apparently this other man isn't feeling too friendly towards her attacker. Perhaps he means to save her she thinks, hopefully, or perhaps he just wants him for herself. Either way, he appears to be distracting the guy from hassling her, so she decides to take advantage and attempt to throw a punch at him, launching her right fist towards his jaw.
COMBATSYS: Baron blocks Razor's Thrown Object.
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Razor 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Baron
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Niamh 0/-------/-----==|
COMBATSYS: Baron blocks Niamh's Straight Punch.
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Razor 0/-------/-------|=------\-------\0 Baron
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Niamh 0/-------/----===|
The large thug raises a hand to fend off the tire that's thrown in his direction by Razor, causing him to lose any sense of control over the Scottish girl. He manages to get another hand up to block her punch, then shakes it out as the force is more painful than he anticipated.
"Heh, you are a tiger," he says, then, deciding to deal with her swiftly so that he can free his attention for Razor, he aims a hard haymaker at Niamh.
Rex decides to take advantage of the opening created by the haymaker by grabbing a solid two-by-four leaning against the alley wall and swinging it hard at the bigger man's back. "Get out of here, asshole."
COMBATSYS: Niamh blocks Baron's Haymaker Punch.
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Razor 0/-------/-------|==-----\-------\0 Baron
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Niamh 0/-------/---====|
Niamh feels her punch blocked, as he fist smacks into the thug's hand and gains some pleasure from the fact it apparently still hurt him, even if it wasn't as effective as she hoped. "I'm a Celtic Tiger" she says "That's Celtic, not English."
As his haymaker launches towards her, she throws up her hands, to shield herself, managing to do so, but being unsteadied a little, none the less, due to her assailant's bulk. Thankfully the other man is coming at him, with a two-by-four, which gives her a chance to try and get her revenge, with a flying tiger kick. Launching herself into the air, she spins around twice, before coming down to land, with her feet aiming straight at Baron's chest.
COMBATSYS: Baron blocks Razor's Large Random Weapon.
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Razor 0/-------/-------|===----\-------\0 Baron
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Niamh 0/-------/----===|
COMBATSYS: Niamh successfully hits Baron with Flying Tiger Kick.
- Power hit! -
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Razor 0/-------/-------|=====--\-------\0 Baron
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Niamh 0/-------/--=====|
The brute sees the wooden plank being swung toward his back and turns to catch it, preventing it from doing any real damage as it smacks against his meaty palms. "Celtic? You don't look like a basketball fan to me." He doesn't even pronounce it properly, making the C sound like an S. He then tries to duck under the flying double spinning kick, but doing so only brings the man's face in line with Niamh's feet, both of switch smack him square in the side of the head. "Rrruggh," he grunts as he staggers back from the blows, backpedalling deeper into the alley.
"That's it, enough playing around."
Reaching over to one side of the alley, he grabs a beaten-up old city mailbox that some vandal must have left here previously, hoists it over his head, and hurls it at the pair like an angry gorilla. "Catch!"
COMBATSYS: Razor just-defends Baron's Huge Thrown Object!
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Razor 0/-------/-------|====---\-------\0 Baron
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Niamh 0/-------/--=====|
Razor is used to having everything and the kitchen sink thrown his way, as well as responding in kind. When the mailbox hurtles down the alley toward himself and Niamh, he puts his hands forward to block the improvised missile, catching it and redirecting its momentum to fling it over their heads. "Right. Now my turn. Stay down." With that he runs through the rain at the taller man and lunges forward, throwing a hard haymaker of his own aimed right at the big man's midsection.
Niamh protests "I'm not a basketball fan! I'm just a Celt, like you learnt about in history, or didn't you got to class?" As her feet smack into his head, she adds "Perhaps that will knock some sense into you" and lands on the ground gracefully.She snorts a little as Baron makes his threat "I didn't realise we were playing, I was being deadly serious." Her faint air of smugness soon vanishes though, when she sees the mailbox flying towards them "Oh crap" she cries "Duck!" Apparently Razor has no need to duck though, since he manages to deflect it and then follow this up with an attack.
Seeing Baron is distracted, she decides to further his knowledge of Celtic history. "Hey, thought you may need some more lessons on the Celts" she says, clearly pronouncing the C. Pushing the centre of her necklace, she releases the hidden throwing star, from the demon skull and launches it in the direction of their foe.
COMBATSYS: Niamh successfully hits Baron with Celtic Cross Toss.
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Razor 0/-------/-------|======-\-------\0 Baron
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Niamh 0/-------/-======|
COMBATSYS: Baron blocks Razor's Haymaker Punch.
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Razor 0/-------/------=|=======\-------\0 Baron
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Niamh 0/-------/-======|
The tall man growls when the thrown weapon is deflected, then raises his guard to deflect the punch thrown toward him with the prowess of a boxer, sliding back on the alley floor with the force of the blow. He's about to retaliate in kind when the bladed star hits him in the shoulder. "The hell?" he says, then looks down and realises that he's bleeding. "Shit! I didn't sign up to fight no goddamned Seltic ninjas!" Pulling out the throwing star and tossing it to the ground, he turns tail and beats his feet down the alley through the gathering puddles, his long strides carrying him faster than one might expect such a big man could go.
Razor starts to pick up a bottle from the alley floor to throw after the man, but then lets it drop back to the ground, standing back up to his full height. Turning to Niamh and raising an eyebrow slightly as he looks her up and down, he remains silent for a long moment, letting the rain fall down on them both, before speaking.
"So, uhhh... you lost?"
COMBATSYS: Baron has left the fight here.
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Razor 0/-------/------=|======-\-------\0 Niamh
COMBATSYS: Razor has left the fight here.
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Niamh 0/-------/-======|
COMBATSYS: Niamh has ended the fight here.
Niamh watches the scene unfold, letting out a whoop of delight, as her throwing star hits it's target. As Baron starts to make his escape, she calls after him "Bye then, kick your arse some other time" but as soon as he is out of sight, her attitude is dropped and she breathes a huge sigh of relief. Fetching her star from the ground, she slots it back into her necklace and then looks up at Razor. "You could say that, yes. I sure as hell wasn't planning to come to this part of town."
She puts her hands in the pockets of her tiger pants and says "Thanks, by the way,for helping me." She starts to smile a little, then her mouth quickly changes to a frown. "Unless you scared him off, so you could mess with me." Her blue eyes go wide, as she starts to back away from him slowly.
When Niamh starts to back away from him, Razor slips his hands into the pockets of his own pants, shaking his rain-soaked head. He wasn't too surprised that she'd be intimidated by him, with the scars on his face and body. "Nah, I'm not that kind of person. I just wanted to make sure you were okay. Most people around here aren't always... hospitable." He nods his head toward the street as he turns in that direction, beckoning her to follow him. "Hey, why don't you tell me where you're trying to get to? I know my way around the streets. I'll make sure no one messes with you on the way there. Wouldn't want you to have to go all ninja on them."
Niamh nods her head slowly, as he shakes his. "Okay,I'm sorry, I didn't mean to presume, I'm just starting to get a bit of a complex. This is the second time this week I have been given aggro. First some crazy guy tried to mug me near the arena and now this." She waves her hands around, to indicate the alley. "I was trying to get to downtown" she tells him. "I was just going to do some window shopping, or maybe find a nice park to sit in. Not that it would be much fun to sit in it, now it's raining." Her hair is dripping wet and she is starting to shiver a little, from a mixture of the shock of being okay and her clothes being soaked through. She starts to follow him out of the alley and her face breaks into a smile again, as he refers to her as a ninja. "It's fun to be a ninja sometimes, though" she jokes, then holds out her hand to him. "I'm Niamh, by the way.
"No, you're probably right to assume the worst around here, most of the time," Razor tells Niamh as the two of them start to walk through the rain. "This part of town's probably not the best for window shopping, though. Most places don't even have windows." He sees the girl starting to shiver a bit and cringes a little at his inability to offer assistance, due to his lack of a jacket or anything else to offer other than empathy.
"Name's Rex," he answers her when she tells him her name, turning to take her hand in his much rougher one and give it a firm shake. "Most people call me Razor though. Don't worry, nothing to do with cutting things, really." He releases her hand and sticks his back into his pocket. "I'm kind of surprised anyone'd get mugged by the arena. Guess times are kinda rough all around. Hmm. Anyway, downtown's this way, away from the river. If you got a particular street in mind, let me know and we can probably find it."
Niamh wasn't expecting him to play the gent anyway, he had already done enough for her, for one day. Besides, she had more clothing on than him. As well as the tiger pants, she is wearing a black tank, a black bomber jacket and some lace up black ankle boots, with wedge soles. She is already five feet ten inches, so with their three inch heel, she is almost as tall as him.
"Razor Rex" she says "That's a cool name, I don't really have a nickname, well besides the Celtic Tiger" she adds, shrugging her shoulders a little. "I'm not sure of the street name, just downtown in general. I just set off from the hotel and started wandering, probably not a great idea on reflection."
"I can go back to there if it is easier for you, it's called The Hotel Metro, you probably know it, it's pretty huge. She pauses to wipe a raindrop off her nose, then continues talking" So did you grow up around here?"
"Yeah, I can help you get back there," Razor replies to Niamh when she tells him where she came from. He knew of the building, even if he himself had never been inside. "A Celtic Tiger, huh? Sounds like somethin' you'd see on a fight card to me." He had seen what she could do in the alley with the flying kick, and it was impressive, but she looks too soft to him to be an experienced fighter.
"I did," he answers her question regarding where he grew up. He would be happy to leave it at that, but supposes that he'd better add to it for the sake of politeness. "Ever since I was little. Not always the nicest place to live, but, every now and then, you get to meet a Scottish ninja chick, so I guess it ain't all bad."
Niamh smirks a little, as he says her nickname sounds like something off a fight card. "I fight a bit" she says "not professionally or anything, but I fought for my college karate club." Her pale skin blushes a little "I expect that may sound pretty lame, but I enjoyed it. My sister is a professional, though. Fighter that is" she quickly adds.
She nods as he tells her about growing up here and then grins and blushes some more as he refers to her as a Scottish ninja chick."Brownie points for picking up the accent" she says "That fool back in the alley thought I was English."She scoffs a bit, then adds "Not that I hate English people, I just wouldn't want to be one."
As they round the corner, she noticed some buildings that look a bit more familiar to her. "Oh, I think I came this way" she says excitedly and offers Razor a smile of gratitude.
"Nah, that doesn't sound lame. There's nothing wrong with learning how to defend yourself, and obviously it's paid off. I never took lessons, myself, but I grew up around here, so I learned." Razor reaches up to scratch behind an ear, then runs his fingers through his hair to wipe out some of the moisture.
"I've never met any other Scottish people before, but there was this Irish guy I knew back in the, uh... clubs. He used to make fun of Scottish people all the time, put on this fake accent. So the first time we fought, I pretended I thought he was Scottish. It was a short match."
He gives her a reserved smile back when she smiles his way and the two of them round the corner. "I can keep walking you back if you want." As they reach a storefront with an awning, he stops for a moment under it to shake some of the rainwater off. "So, you here in the city with someone?"
Niamh nods her head "I can imagine growing up around here needed fast fists and street smarts." She pauses for a minute "I hope that didn't offend you." Despite his rather tough exterior, she felt rather relaxed in Razor's company and he was doing her a big favour helping her back to safety, so she didn't want to come off as rude.
"Sure that will be great" she replis, as he suggests walking her all the way. "You can come into the hotel bar for a drink if you like. I can stick it on my room tab to say thank you.I don't think my sister will mind, if I explain, it's her who I am here with. I am supporting her, as she has been in town fighting. I decided to come along for the ride and do a bit of travelling along the way."
"That, and some good friends," Razor replies to Niamh's comment about growing up in the slums. "And don't worry, I don't consider that offensive." Maybe if it wasn't true for him, he might have considered it some kind of stereotype, but it was.
"Ah, so your sister's here. I may pass on the drink, unless they serve water or juice. Not to be offensive, I just don't drink alcohol." Hopefully that isn't some kind of grave insult to a Scottish person. Razor isn't completely familiar with the culture.
Niamh looks slightly dissapointed, when he first says he will pass, until he goes on to explain. "Oh that's no big deal, they have water, juice, pop, tea, coffee, all sorts, I wasn't planning on booze myself at this hour." She looks both ways, as they cross the road. "I'm not offended either, are you offended I drink?" She watches his face curiously and wonders if he is a recovering alcoholic, anti alcohol, religious, or it's for health reasons. She decides to find out "May I ask why you don't drink? You don't have to answer, I'm just curious."
Razor wipes some of the rain from his forearms and looks up at the sky. It looks as if it'll probably be raining till the two of them can get indoors. Looking back at Niamh, he says, "I'm not... offended that you drink. I may be against drinking in general, but I can't take it personally every time I meet someone who does." He takes a deep breath, then exhales. "I don't drink, or do drugs. I have family members who were alcoholics. Brother was an addict. Seeing that take its toll, I just swore I'd never do either."
Niamh nods her head in silence, as he explains "That makes a lot of sense. If I was in your position, I wouldn't drink either, not that I drink a lot anyway." She pushes a wet strand of hair off her face. "I'm sorry about your brother, that must have been rough to deal with." She walks a few steps in silence, then speaks again. "You say was, did he get clean, or is he not with you any more?" She stops short of saying dead, trying to soften it a little.
As they round the corner, the sign for The Hotel Metro becomes visible."Oh look, we are here!" She quickens her pace. "Let's get inside, then you can tell me some more about it, if you would like to" she suggests.
Razor casts a short, but meaningful glance down toward the tattoo on his left bicep as she asks about what happened to his brother. The tattoo is somewhat innocuous, reading simply, 'R.I.P. Alex' in stylized gothic lettering. Looking back up at Niamh, he says, "His name was Alex. I'll tell you more about him when we get inside, if you want." He also hastens to match her quickened pace, splashing through the puddles as the two head toward the hotel, ready to get out of the rain as soon as possible.
Niamh rests a hand on Razor's arm, as she sees the tattoo and says "I'm sorry", giving him a sad smile. "I'd like to hear more, let's go and get us some soft drinks and a table in the warmth." She gives a quick greeting to the doormen, as they reach the doorway and tells him "This guy's with me." The doorman gives Razor a nervous glance, but then nods and waves them through "Very well Miss MacNair, I hope you and your friend have fun."
Niamh leads Razor through the impressive hotel foyer, to the glossy and contemporary bar, passing several tables and chairs, as well as plush leather sofas on the way. Once they reach the bar itself, she turns to him "So, what will you be drinking? I think I will have a nice cup of tea."
Log created on 10:51:19 07/18/2012 by Niamh, and last modified on 13:22:27 07/24/2012.