Bar Fights ::Toshiro/Azlatli::

Aztlatli wiped her brow with her hand before she took a quick swipe of the rag across the dripping table. Everything smelled of ale and stew. If it wasn’t for the fourteen-turn-old’s drudge training, she would have been sick. The men in the inn were supposed to be ‘good’ men of the hold, guards, people meant to protect them. And here they are, on their asses, drunk. How are they supposed to protect us like this she thought, sardonically. Aztlatli unbent herself from the table and started dodging around swaying guardsmen on her way to the kitchen.

Filthy… and I wonder why Ta- her thoughts were cut off rather abruptly as a guard in his late forties swept her up into his arms, causing her to drop the bucket carrying utensils and dirty rags on the floor. “Faranth’s First! Let go of me you sharding dimglow!” She yelled, pissed. Her arms pushed at the guard’s and her gangly legs kicked at his shins, but all she could hear was his slurred laughter.

“Got us a pretty one ‘ere!” he laughed, muscled arms closing in tighter as her hands managed to loosen it for a second. “Oh an’ feisty too! Wha’s yoh name, little girl?”

“Shaffit off you crackskull!” She yelled, realizing now that everyone in the seedy little in must be looking at the pathetic gangly girl in ratty clothes trying to get away from the guy. Some of them were even chuckling, some shouting “Give the girl what she deserves!” What I deserve? Is everyone in this place stupid?

“‘Eh what do ya think ‘bout that, girlie, maybe I will ‘shaffit off’, maybe i’ll do it to you” the marauder said in her ear. Aztlatli did her best not to shudder from the stench of his mouth.

“Try it and i’ll kill you” she replied, renewing her struggles… but only setting herself up to look more pathetic as the man started moving towards one of the private rooms.

Behind the Inn, away from the noise and hidden from the light that brought life to it this late at night, Toshiro had just returned from a mission. Though his sword had been cleaned and his hands washed, he still felt dirty, and so he’d scrubbed them until they began to feel raw.

The conflict that had erupted over political divide, had made life hard for nearly everyone in Telgar, over the past few short turns. There were times that he even questioned his own purpose through all of it; but he never complained. Toshiro’s heart was far too passionate, and far too devout to do anything but follow orders. He’d chosen this life, as a member of the Guard, and he’d come too far now, to look back. All he could do, was hope that there was some good that came of what evil they all carried out -however ironic that thought may be. But whatever good that may be, he’d long ago lost sight of. There was only darkness that seemed to swarm them, now.


Leaning over the bucket filled with water now soiled with the blood he’d washed off of himself, he splashed some over his face, and then took up a hand towel to dry himself as he stood upright. Throwing the towel down and picking his weapon up then, Toshiro turned to move inside the Inn, through that back entrance. Right away, his path was blocked by two of the serving girls huddled together, whispering with worry as they watched a scene unfold in the next room.

Noticing Toshiro come through the door behind them, as he often did appear much later than the other guardsmen stationed there, one of them filled him in briefly on what had been happening. Shouldering his way past them, Toshiro stopped where his eyes could take in the scene with neither apparent concern, nor interest, though it was shortly thereafter that the faintest traces of a frown found their way through his usual, stony visage.

Understanding that the girl was obviously new to the Mistresses’ employ, as she’d not even been given her server’s uniformed dress yet, which would have matched that of the other girls working there, he also assumed that perhaps that’s why the guards who’d gone to drinking, decided to target her. She was perfectly fresh meat; and while the Inn’s Mistress was otherwise preoccupied, they must have thought it would be a good time to take advantage of not having to show their due respects.

Stepping through the door, and into the room that the unruly guardsmen had taken up occupation, Toshiro tucked his sword under the sash and belt that looped around his waist, where they would be secure, before he set a hand nonchalantly upon the lacquered scabbard of it, there.

“Let her go.”

Neither large in stature, nor with the maturity in his voice yet that commanded their respect, it was almost immediate that the drunks shared in another bout of laughter, but this time at him.

One of them spouted words at him through another drink of his beer, “And why would we listen to a runt like you?”

Pressing a thumb beneath the hand-guard of his blade, so that an inch or so of steel was revealed, Toshiro declared the seriousness of his intent. “I don’t think that the Commander would approve of your lack of decorum, even here, while you take furlough.”

The same man tried to argue, “What do you know of -”

“I know that of those of us in this room, I am the only one who answers directly to the Commander in charge here; otherwise, you would take more care in your actions.”

Toshiro didn’t honestly expect that his words would affect their excellent decision making skills, while obviously quite inebriated, but at least it should distract them from the girl for long enough that she might be able to break free.

He wasn’t given very long to wonder about whether or not she would however, because one of the other guardsmen had already risen from his place at their group’s table, and started in his direction. The man’s intent was clear, and in his first couple of steps, as he reached for his weapon, he had already told Toshiro everything he needed to know, in order to defeat him.

The guardsman’s sword never had a chance to leave its sheath, as even as it was being drawn, Toshiro closed that short distance between then, striking a hand out to impact with the guardsman’s main sword-hand, so that the weapon simply returned to the casing, where it belonged. Twice more, the man tried to pull his weapon out, but each time, Toshiro inhibited the motion, until finally, the man took a swing at him. Of course, Toshiro being smaller in stature, and ever swift to evade attack, there was no way that the punch would have landed, even had the guard not already filled his belly with alcohol. Unfortunately for the guardsman, if he missed, it was all over for him; because that one chance to knock his opponent out, was the only one that he would get.

When the guardsman’s arm swung, Toshiro blocked the attack, grabbing hold of the man’s arm. Giving it an abrupt jerk forward, followed by an equally abrupt thrust back, the drunkard staggered to regain his balance. What sent him to the ground however, was when Toshiro released that arm, stepping just inside the man’s arc of attack to drive heel of his palm under the guard’s jaw. The drunk’s head jolted back, and with feet unable to keep him upright, the man fell back, jarring his head a second time, when he hit the floor.

Turning on the man who’d instigated this entire situation then -the one who’d grabbed hold of the girl- Toshiro returned to standing in place, with left hand nestled upon the weapon at his side. His entire countenance infused by the same kind of quiet calm that filled the skies before a terrible storm, Toshiro let the man realize what error he’d made in picking a fight here, locking eyes with the man for long enough that he could see what small part of the night’s terror he’d just awoken. For, unlike other guardsmen, he would find that Toshiro was far removed from sympathy; and that deep sense of detachment from such feelings, is what made him so frightening. None would ever conjure mercy from one with eyes so devoid of compassion.

But these drunkards had brought it on themselves. Still, in a place like this, where he respected the owner of the Inn, and respected his Commander enough not to kill them, Toshiro had no choice but to control the extent of force he exerted over the other guardsmen. So, in that, they were all lucky.

Bespeaking the man who still held Aztlatli in an uncomfortably tight grip, Toshiro gave him final warning -if only just to feel as though he’d done his part to avoid causing any kind of trouble in the Head Mistresses’ house. Normally he’d never have done so. Toshiro didn’t ask questions, nor did he possess the kind of hesitation that became the cause of death for many. Toshiro’s life was lived largely off of survival instinct. Many would argue that he wasn’t even completely human, anymore. He’d lost himself to something more beastial and unforgiving.

“If you won’t let her go, then I’ll have no choice but to force your hand to surrender her.”


[errrr okay! i think that’s all i got. well. i had more but my muse lost it >D Sooo your turn!!! ]

Aztlatli was just about to reply sharply to the man's barb when a runt of a guard walked into the room and began antagonizing the guards who were antagonizing her. It had not even crossed her mind that the gaurds were doing it while the headmistress was not around, but then again she had scarcely been working there for the past sevenday. She noted, sourly because she was still incapacitated, that the room quieted when he first spoke. Some of the men started up taunting him as they had with her.

Her captor was still holding her tightly, but paying attention to the scene unfolding beyond them. His grip lessened just slightly, unaware that this was not the girl's first time in a hostile situation. She heard the small guard make his threats, and the drunk ones reply, standing up to fight, and heard the quiet sound of the blade being brought out of its sheath, but she was looking, with her hands for something else. The guard's knife rested at his hip.

Aztlatli had to think quickly, keeping up her struggling so the guard wouldn't be suspicious. Her hands moved from beating on the guard's chest to one hand beating and the other seeming to push at him from different spots. Finally her hand hit the blade's handle and right as the small guard turned to face her and her captor, Aztlatli drew the blade and cut him deeply in the side where it wouldn't be fatal, but still hurt the jerk.

The man yelled out, releasing her, and she fell back onto her butt, hands bracing her fall, while one still held the bloody knife. She scrambled to her feet and backed away towards her rescuer.

"Thank you" she mumbled, eyes locked onto the bleeding dimglow. "I'll keep this, you perverted dimglow!" She said, steely, holding up the knife. She had never fought her brothers using knives, though. They had said they couldn't risk her showing wounds so she could still get into the drudge kitchens and bring them food.

She could feel the weakness of her threat, a fourteen turn old waif of a girl who didn't even know how to stand properly with a knife, and here she was telling these big, brawny, trained soldiers that she wasn't going to be bullied into submission. Aztlatli's rational side told her she needed to run, and run fast, but the beast in the world-weary girl told her to stay and hold her ground.... and she listened to that beast more than her rationality.

Before he knew it, Aztlatli has freed herself from her captor's grip, but the man had found his balance again and looked as though he'd prepared to come after her.

Even without looking, it was readily apparent to Toshiro, as the young girl found her way to his side with dagger in hand, that using one in a manner of self-defense did not come naturally to her. His eyes did not leave the brute in front of them for long, as his focus was on keeping the girl safe, so he paid her little heed after that point -now that she was at least beyond the man's reach. With the knowledge that she was safe for now then, Toshiro slid his foot forward to pose himself as a barrier between the two. And as he watched the man and his peers ready themselves, Toshiro had been on the verge of just incapacitating all of them before they decided on their next course of action, but a booming voice from behind them brought it all to an end.

"What kind of guests brandish weapons over dinner? Are you trying to get us all kicked to the street?"

Without looking, Toshiro knew that voice to be the voice of their unit Commander. The man was not a large man but when he needed to to, he could make his voice carry all the authority he possessed, right on the edge of his tone. The look in the eyes of the ruffians before them told him that these too, knew that making the Commander unhappy was not the best decision. So, as the other guardsmen straightened composed themselves more appropriately, Toshiro also stood to his fullest height, turning to meet the eyes of the one who'd taken their attention off the fighting.


The commander stood there in the door until the tension in the room began to dissolve and everyone sat back down to their meals. He must have just come back for the night.

As the room settled, the Commander found Toshiro's eyes, reading into them and deciding that that was enough to know what had happened here. He didn't care about the details.

"Toshiro. Your job is done?" He referred to the mission that the boy had been sent out on earlier.

Toshiro nodded.

"Finish up here then, and leave these poor soldiers to their own wiles. There's no need for you to be caught up with them."

Nodding again, Toshiro acknowledged the Commanders words, continuing to follow the man with his eyes until he excused himself and disappeared from view around the corner. It was in the moment after that then, that Toshiro brusquely reached to take Aztlatli's wrist in his hand, disarming her of the knife she held. Tossing the dagger on the ground then, letting it clatter at the feet of the man it belonged to, Toshiro let the brute catch a glimpse of his eyes once more before turning from the group.

With the girl in tow, as he had let to relinquish her wrist, Toshiro made his way through the door and to the stairs that would lead them up to his room. He didn't trust the other soldiers not to keep themselves in check the rest of the night, so it was better for her to attend him instead.

Pausing at the stairs only briefly, they met another serving girl on her way out from the kitchens to serve the same men, but before colliding as they crossed paths, the other girl stopped to consider them. Meeting the girl's eyes momentarily, she must have understood that something had happened, or that something was going on between he and Aztlatli, because she nodded, and stepped out of their path, not wanting to impede them. Not that it was a lowly drudge's business, anyway. But still, Toshiro kept his mouth shut, giving no explanation as to why he now made off with her counterpart.


Whether Aztlatli rebelled against his drawing her up the stairs behind him or not didn't really matter. Toshiro would have picked her up to carry her if need be -if it got them to the upper level with less fuss. And soon, they were entering his own room; one that had been rented to him for some months now, but was filled with little furnishing outside the bare necessity. Even then, what was in the room looked scarcely able to accommodate anyone.

Dragging the Aztlatli into his room by force if he had to, the Guardsman, looking close to her in age, but a little older, closed the door behind them, making it so that they were alone. At that point, he let her arm go, but did not move from his position between she and the door; though his eyes seemed to lack interest in her.

And in those moments, the young guardsman was quite and still, but eventually he assured her -in that same quiet and still manner- "It is best that you stay here. If they think that you are attending to me, then they will not bother you. If you leave this room, you may be at their mercy again. It's up to you."

Aztlatli jumped slightly when the man spoke up behind her, wishing desperately that she was holding a staff right now rather than a knife she had no idea how to use. The blood on the knife from the man dripped down her wrist uncomfortably as the scene unfolded around them. He must be a commander in their regiment if they're giving him this much respect. She looked at the eyes of the rest of the men in the building before turning back towards the voice, dropping her stance even more.

Azt glanced at her rescuer from the corner of her eyes. So his name is Toshiro? I'll remember to thank you The men began turning away from the scene to their own meals. She was just about to thank him and leave the inn for a while when suddenly her hand was caught up in a twist, and the knife was forced out of her hands. The disarming stung but Azt bit her lip against making a noise of pain.

"Don't show pain, Lati, they already think your weak. You are weak... why don't you just go serve some people and bring back money rather than waste our time as a punching bag? We're not getting better by fighting you" Tazat's common words poked through her thoughts forcing her back into anger at her situation. She almost didn't even register that they were moving, until they reached the stairs. Aztlatli tried to wrench her wrist free from Toshiro but caught the set of his jaw and shoulders, and quit resisting.

She met the eyes of the other serving girl who seemed worried, but Aztlatli straightened her shoulders and held the girl's gaze until she turned away and Azt continued into the room. She slumped against the wall opposite from him.

"What are you going to do to me?" she asked.

"It is best that you stay here. If they think that you are attending to me, then they will not bother you. If you leave this room, you may be at their mercy again. It's up to you." Her lips set into a grim line.

"I don't know how to use a knife and i'm weak, how was I supposed to get away from him? It would have been different if I had a staff..." She looked at her shoulder willing away tears and hit the wall behind her softly with her fist. Swallowing down the lump and blinking out her frustration she stood back up straight and squared her shoulders. "I don't know how to use a knife... but you do..." she let the question hang in the air. Can you help me, Toshiro?

Understanding what it was like to be weak and unable to defend yourself, Toshiro thought that it was that very reason -that at one point he had been weak- that he was now strong. But he'd found his power and learned to wield it. Maybe that was something she could learn to do. 

In any case, he let her handle her frustration in her own way, whether she internalized it completely or not. Toshiro simply acted as though he didn't notice her hand hitting the wall, or the strain in her features as she struggled not to cry. 



The young man, who couldn't have been much older than she herself, took hold of the weapon at his hip as he walked from the door and to a corner of the room adjacent from Azltatli. Though he spoke nothing more right away, his eyes may have seemed filled with thoughts, but he only leaned his weapon there into the corner and then went to a closet where he pulled out a blanket. When he turned back around, Toshiro stared after the girl for a moment before speaking what must have been on his mind, "I'm a killer. That is all I do. You are not. That is why you don't know how to use a weapon... like I do." 

Nor should she, he thought. It was better than women should never have to learn such things, but in these dangerous times, it was understandable that one should want to learn to defend themselves and those who they loved. 

Nevertheless, if anyone, whether it be man, woman or child, were to pick up a weapon with the intent to use it in such a way, they would have to possess the kind of fortitude it took to use it. And the kind of intent meant to kill a person. He didn't say it aloud, but Toshiro wondered if she understood that picking up a knife for that purpose meant that a person was prepared to either kill, or be killed. Knives were not toys like staves and other blunt weapons, which a person could more easily escape without mortal injury.


"The others will be awake for a while, likely. If you don't want to go back downstairs yet, you can say that we were intimate, later, when the Inn's Mistress asks where  you were at. If it is more believable, then you can sleep here, too. You can have the bed." While she was weak, this was a place in which he could protect her. No one would enter here, who would wish her harm. And were Aztlatli to peer over at the small twin sized bed arranged against one wall with but similarly unremarkable night stand beside it, it was cleanly made  up; it looked as though fresh linens had just been put on it. The night stand however, had been set with a glow basket, which shed a soft light through the room.

Without waiting for an answer, seeing as the girl would do as she liked, Toshiro turned from the girl to sit on the floor in that place where he'd leaned his weapon. It was facing the bed on the opposite wall, so he could see both it and the door, should anyone come through it unannounced. Toshiro was a light sleeper anyway.

The blanket that had been in his hands a few moments earlier was now folded on the floor beside him as he situated himself with back to the wall, his sword leaned into his shoulder, through the crook of one elbow so that one arm rested around it. That was, in case he should need it. The blanket too, was in a place where he could access it should he need it as the night air became cool.

Aztlatli could feel her annoyance rise up in her at his words. "What make you think i'm no-" she started to reply, but he continued on about the bed and not going down stairs like he hadn't heard her. Aztlatli wanted to kick him, make him see what a wherry he was being, but instead she walked to the bed with a huff, clenching her fists, and sat down.

Aztlatli could not care less if a bed was made with pillows and blankets for her or not, she rarely had them to sleep with and actually threw the pillow off the bed (it was too soft and annoyed her) slightly hoping it'd hit the guard for all the good he was doing for her. Lying down on her side facing the wall, she stewed on the words he said. What did he think, that her life wasn't at stake every single day? Life was kill or be killed, she had only gotten lucky about the not killing part.

She rolled over once again and regarded him cooly. "Staffs may be blunt, but if you hit someone with them right, you can kill them. I was eight the first time I had to use one." She looked at him with eyes unlike a typical drudge. There were not dead inside, resigned to a life of work and nothing, they had fire, fight, anger. She remembered the first time she had been attacked, nothing and no one had been around save for a broom that the man broke when she tripped him.

She could remember the feel of the broom in her hands that first time as a weapon. Remember that she had gripped it like it was her life, how the man had paid for her hurt with equal hurt. She was going to make him stop hurting anyone forever and almost hit his neck when her lifeline got snatched from her hands by the Lady and the vile wretched thing lay motionless on the floor but still alive, still breathing.

Aztlatli rolled over onto her back, eyes staring at the ceiling, stomach quietly rumbling like it always did. She didn't even notice it anymore, hunger a constant ache. "We will survive" is what they always said. But who wants to survive when you can live?

Not easily upset by words, Toshiro remained seated against the wall, not seeming to mind whatever it was that she was about to say. If she didn't want to say it, there was no need for him to acknowledge her frustration. Well, that was, until she hucked a pillow at him.

Toshiro didn't know what her problem was; he'd just saved her from being harmed and humiliated at the hands of men who could easily overpower her. She had even thanked him, then. Had she suddenly changed her mind about whether or not she thought she'd have been better off saved?

The man's eyes stared at her hard for a moment, as she insisted on asserting her feelings aloud at him. It seemed to him then, as though she was frustrated more at her own inability to defend herself, rather than being upset at him; but she had no other way of expressing herself at that moment, so it just all started pouring out. 

In the girl's eyes was the same kind of stubborn pride and passion that he himself had been filled with at the time he joined the guard, not long ago. And she couldn't be much younger than him. But, if she thought that she was the only person who, in a time of constant struggle, had experienced hardship, she was wrong. He shouldn't have to remind her of that. Still, seeing her like this he supposed, was better than seeing the rebellion turn her into a frightened and feeble thing, unwilling to try to stand on her own two feet. At least she was trying.

Turning his head from her, Toshiro reaeched a hand up to slide the window open just enough to peer outside of it, letting a little bit of fresh air in. The young man, expression still seeming unmoved by her irateness, continued to gaze out the window as he spoke. Though, he never responded to her previous comments. 

"How old are you? What is your name? I haven't seen you here, before, so you must be new."

Aztlatli stared at Toshiro, disbelieving. Was it so hard to believe that she had the ability to kill if need be? He completely ignored her. She sat up and watched him open the window then stared after him for a moment after he asked his questions, working her annoyance down. How old was he? She regarded him. Probably not much older than Tohil she decided.

"I'm Azlatli and I think i'm fourteen turns old. I've only been working at the inn for a sevenday or so, the madame gives me a hot meal in return for some drudge work." Sounds started up in the room next to them, making Aztlatli grip the edge of the bed. So they're working it off now? She knew that many of the girls who worked here were also brothel girls for the guards, but the madame had promised that Azt wouldn't have to, and she didn't plan on it. "How old are you? You can't have been working for the guard for very long, yet they all seem to listen to you..."

If her brothers knew that she was working here, she'd probably never get to go home again. The secret felt like a stone in the girl's stomach.

Hearing her out, Toshiro considered her age, and wasn't surprised to learn that hers was close to his own. Her name was more interesting though. It was unique, and he committed it to memory.

Doing so as she went on, her voice filled with undertones of annoyance that she simply couldn't be rid of, again it all seemed to wash over Toshiro with little affect. If there had been a breeze to pass over him, it would have been no different.

Still peering distantly into the sky, where one of Pern's twin moons was visible through the cracked portal of the window, the young man's voice rose calmly as before -almost wistful, "I am younger than them, it is true. But I think you are wrong to suspect that they have ever listened to me. What they listen to, is instinct. They are certainly my seniors; but I am not obligated to listen to them." Though he said no more, that may have been indicative of the fact that Toshiro answered to a higher power. However... he still hadn't answered her actual question. He was being evasive.

Aztlatli wanted to hit the guy. Her brothers acted like she was better off not knowing things too, and her questions and pleas often went on deaf ears to the greater part of her frustration. How in the world was she ever going to be able to defend herself or live a good life without the help of someone capable of teaching her?

She didn't even really buy his story about "not being respected." Even if they didn't listen to his commands, they still knew a good fighter when they saw one... otherwise why did they go quiet when he spoke? She was sick of it all, all the gender dynamics, fighting, solitude, hunger. Aztlatli was a fighter, she could feel it in her bones, she had to live but more than just surviving she needed to be freed from the chains of weakness.

While her mind dwelt on her frustrations about her lot in life, her body reacted to her anger at his dismissal. She stood and strode across the room, pulling her body into a fighting stance. In swift succession, her kicking leg came up so her thigh was parallel with the floor, her toes pointed almost at the floor then kicked with her heel, swiveling the ball of her planted foot so that she kicked him with power to the side.

The form came out perfectly, but she could feel how weak and shaky the execution came out. As her foot made contact with the man, she roared "Answer me!" at the same time as her stomach roared with its own morbid hunger.

Though he sat on the floor, Toshiro was by far helpless. As Aztlatli came to him and took her stance, his eyes finally came to rest on her, quickly reading the movement in her muscles to defend himself.  

Though he suspected that she was angry at her own circumstances still, not at himself, and was likely only trying to instigate him, Toshiro reacted on instinct. It was lucky she hadn't surprised him completely. He may have drawn his weapon in that case. 

Instead, with weapon in hand, the guardsman threw that arm out to the side, bringing the scabbard between them. Effectively blocking her kick where it angled toward his head. Of course, now that she was balanced only on one leg and also within arm's reach, it was easy to set his feet under him, using the power of his legs in that upward momentum to press her back. At the same time, it would have been easy for him to sweep her off her standing foot, leaving her flat on her back. Which he did decidedly attempt to do.

After setting himself a couple of steps back from her again, he remained standing sword still clutched in one hand.

"You should at least know your opponent's strengths before attacking. I'm sure you already noticed my skill is greater than your own, so why do you attack me, putting yourself at risk? I am not someone you should ever hope to face in battle."  Facing him in combat was certainly a risk, no matter how one looked at it.


[annnd that's all i got there   lol  btw, this is the perfect start to their training haha seeing as how he ends up training her like we plotted lol]