OPEN THREAD PROMPT
[SHOP PURCHASE 1/2]

Starting to feel a bit nervous about returning home, Rhyme Rivenn stops for a little liquid courage and unexpectedly gets tangled up in a big bar brawl.

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R

hyme Rivenn had been captured, beaten, mildly tortured, and exchanged all of that for five years of servitude to her captors. She had been through a lot in the past, but she had a real kick to the gut when the carriage crash happened and one of her worst fears about traveling began to unfold around her.

Yesterday she had reached Thisbe— and had seen nothing of her siblings, which she was quite greatful for. She wasn’t quite ready to face them after they’d thought her dead for the last five years.

Now, as she sat in the pub with a cup the size of her face, fingers clawed around the handle due to the rising anxiety within her, she was determining what had to be done. She could leave and live out her days as a maid in another’s employ, or as a traveling mercenary… or go back to the castle and the family she loved very much.

The courage any of those options would take evaded her at the moment, so her only plans were to get plastered and maybe take a young lad up to her rooms for the night in order to get her mind off the whole ordeal. ”Fuckin’ coward,” She muttered under her breath, looking about at the other drunks in the tavern.

Someone begind her have a hearty chuckle before a hand gripped her hair and pulled her off of her chair. She was already quite drunk at this time, so she stood on a wobbly pair of legs as she peered up at the lad in front of her. ”The fuck do you want?” The princess glared up at the man, eyes ablaze that the indecency of the action performed against her.

”Jus’ a bit of fun, lass! Whaddya say? Wanna hea’ up to me room?” The man was cute she did have to admit, but she wasn’t about to let some rotten little creep tell her to get into his bed.

Rhyme plastered on her sweetest smile, eyes squinting at him. ”Go get your pussy someplace else you fucking twat,” Her saccharine smile paired with the innocent voice she used on the brute seemed to make him hesitate in his understanding of what she’d just said. A rejection? How could anyone ever reject him? She could practically see the thoughts spiraling in his head as his face began to get redder and redder and redder until he lifted his fist and swung on her.

She took that as her queue to leave and began to dodge when another fist came in from the other side and caught her in the stomach. The man was a solid half a foot taller than her, so her first choice was to punch him in the groin. When you’re as small as the princess is you have to take measures to protect yourself, and a lot of the time that includes playing dirty.

And she loved getting her hands dirty.

She moaned as his punch landed, flying to the side but being caught up as a ring formed around them to encourage the brawl. Another lad shot out, presumably to help her, and tackled the brute to the ground— giving Rhyme her opening to exit the situation. She promptly took it, a small smile gracing her face as the lass made her way back to the bar to finish her beer while the barkeep just gave her a rude look.

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tag: open thread to anyone! multiple participants is encouraged!

It wasn't so much a tackle that Kerr threw at the man as a solid and vicious hip check, taking full advantage of his momentum and armored weight to impart unexpected inertia to the drunk and presumptuous man that was already trying to figure out if his balls would live. The man went head first into the bar, bounced, and ended up unconscious on the floor at Kerr's feet. Doing a little one night stand as a bouncer in a rowdy bar usually worked this way, and Kerr had years of experience at the work anyway. He'd seen the man grab the inattentive woman by the hair and pull her back from where he'd been leaning against the wall by the door. She'd handled herself well... he took a moment to deal with the not unexpected punch somebody had thrown at his head by lifting his his arm and catching their knuckles on his bracer, their yelp causing the others with similar thoughts to reconsider whatever course of action they'd been drunkenly considering. He was armed, armored, and not at all inebriated.

He gave a hard look to the remains of the gathering and they all drifted off. A couple of lads dragged away the unconscious fellow, either because they were his friend or to rob, murder, and sell his corpse to the knackers. Kerr forgot about the guy entirely as he stepped to the bar next to the young woman but facing the bar-back. "Another tea, Chuck." He placed a small denomination coin down and the man poured him a steaming brown liquid from a metal pot into a small wooden cup. "You did well, miss. That's experienced brawling if I've ever seen it." Idly curious whether she was really drunk or faking it for some reason. Either was possible, he'd seen more than one man who was actually better when he'd 'had a few' as they so often quoted. Not that it mattered, he supposed. As long as she wasn't there to start fights he wasn't being paid to keep her from defending herself, his natural curiosity was just getting the best of him. Besides, she was pretty and he was... well, him.

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R

hyme watched as her assailant was unceremoniously knocked flat on his behind, turning back to her mug as the barkeep gave it to her. She'd not drank much while in servitude, but she had gotten into many scuffles over food, clothing, drink, you name it, she likely fought for it. She hadn't just been a camp maid– she'd been the punching bag. She learned how to dodge, block, and return blows quite quickly and overcame her aversion to violence in the same span of time.

"I know I did well– otherwise I'd've been on the other side of the tavern right about now." Her eyes found his, a striking honey brown in the low light of the tavern, as his gaze turned curious.

"I've been in my fair share of brawls, hon." She smiled, tucking a strand of fly away hair behind her ear and sipping from her mug again.

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tag: Kerr Blackwood

Not good at taking a compliment, almost defensive about it but in a very 'offense is the best defense' sort of way. Kinda feral, like people got when they spent too much time in one of the penal colonies or a castle dungeon. Isolation, even being alone in the middle of a lot of people, had a deleterious affect on a body's ability to socialize properly. He idly turned the cup of steaming tea with one hand while taking her in. His own brown eyes almost black in the poor lighting of the drinking establishment. She'd been in her fair share of brawls, she stated, and Kerr nodded slowly. "Must be a natural, given you're still stunningly attractive. Most brawlers I know at least have a cauliflower ear or two and a squashed nose from too many breakings." He was curious how she's gotten the experience without the side affects. Military service with one of the roving legions? Some of the bigger bandit camps had that kind of loose but inescapable violence too.

A roar of disorientated pain came from the far side of the room and Kerr didn't even look though it distracted him from his theorizing. He imagined somebody had just poured their drink out on the unconscious drunk's head given the underlying tone of indignation to that sound. He turned his cup again in deep consideration while returning her smile. "I have a mark that says he's gonna get his boys wound up and march right back over here... well, limp right back over here for round two." He produced the coin in question and made it dance across his knuckles in an impressive display of manual dexterity that ended with the coin held between thumb and pointer. He wasn't going anywhere, of course. This time 'the boys' would be expected to do more than throw one drunken, ineffectual punch at him and the closer he was to another chaotic contest the more opportunities he'd have to win despite the numbers.

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S

he nodded absently, having turned to look at the drunken man now struggling to get up from a mere twenty feet away from the two flirting blockheads. "I had my fair share of injuries– I learned right quick, though." She snapped, the flush creeping up her neck and onto her pale cheeks turning her face a rose pink at the compliment. It'd been a while since she'd had the fortune of being admired like this, without outright thoughts of fornicating involved.

"All I've got are coppers," She muttered, sliding one of said coppers to the barkeep– Chuck– after finishing off her current one with a quite unladylike belch. She didn't look quite ladylike, regardless, considering she still wore her dark traveling leathers that she'd had just enough marks to buy when she escaped the camp. Rhyme hadn't felt the need to find alternative clothing since she arrived in Sounnah, so she had been wearing the leathers for a bit over a week now.

The sound of multiple pairs of feet stomping behind them made her turn, only to feel someone grip her forearm and swing her behind them and into another brute. She cursed, one of the worst she knew, as her body was unceremoniously kicked and punched into the tavern's floor. The princess tried the best she could to kick and punch as well, but she could barely breathe with the slugs hitting her ribcage and her hair being pulled.

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tag: Kerr Blackwood

"That's the definition of wisdom," he responded with a laugh. If you didn't learn from the hurt then you were the definition of stupid. No longer ignorant, not showing signs of intelligence. Wisdom was the better course. "And knowledge is power, as they say." He let his eyes wander toward the men getting their buddy up and getting themselves worked up at his insistence. Obviously, he had no intention of learning from the hurt. At least not from the first lesson. There was always remedial school. "We'll have to barter then, won't we?" he said with a grin and took a sip of his tea because he had the distinct feeling it was the only chance he was going to get. A bit strong but piping hot, the barkeep had left on the heat too long.

But that was a good thing, seeing as just about the girl got grabbed and Kerr got shoved up against the bar by two men trying to weigh him down. Kerr removed one by splashing the contents of his tea cup into the man's face. He screamed, high pitched, but that didn't bother Kerr as much as the splash hitting the back of his shoulder. Fortunately, Kerr was prepared for that eventuality and already working on the second man to grab him. Kerr dipped his hip, turned toward the bar, and slammed the heel of his left hand down on the pommel of his sword, lifting the sheath between the second man's legs. This one made a squeak of a sound but that was cut off by the back elbow that hit next, crumpling the man. Kerr turned around and casually kicked one of the men stomping on her in the junk, from behind, before bending his knee and power-kicking him into the others to give her a chance to recover.

"You're all cut off, no more drinks for you." He chuckled to himself.

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R

hyme quickly pulled herself to a standing position once the bouncer had so graciously done his job. "I suppose we will," She smiles, rather weakly for her own standards, and is panting as she says the words. She's going to have to buy ointment for the bruises and maybe even see a physician to make sure nothing is actually broken... but she doesn't have any money. Not enough for what she needs. She really was avoiding going back to the castle, really avoiding seeing her family after all these years... But it can't be avoided any longer. If she didn't get medical attention she'd be in excruciating pain for the next few weeks, if not months, and pain really wasn't her style.

Rhyme turned to the bouncer with a laugh, only to notice he'd completely fucked over the guys on the ground. There was only one or two not clutching their groins, and she couldn't help but chuckle to herself. "Next time you fucks can't take a hint I'll take you to a farmer and let her castrate you like the fucking animals you are." She said, and to her delight that seemed to get them even more riled up. "I hope you're ready 'cause I just poked a bull, love," Rhyme said to the Judicar, smiling in what she hopes is a fierce fuck those guys, we've totally got this! as she gives him a thumbs up.

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tag: Kerr Blackwood

"For instance, I know a fair bit about healing." He couldn't help but notice that she'd taken a fair drubbing while he handled the two that had tried to pin him against the bar. He knew how to handle that kind of thing, he'd been attending to his own healing since he was a boy. First with things taught to him by the surgeon that worked for his father's mercenary company and free tidbits from the village wise women he'd encountered. Later, the Judicar training and anything he could pick up as he traveled the world as he knew it. He figured he could put her to rights pretty quickly as long as this brawl didn't get too out of hand... and even if it did. He knew how to sew up a knife wound as well as soothe a bruise or set a bone break.

Kerr made a snip-snip motion with the pointer and middle finger of his hand to back up her threat to have the men castrated for getting handsy again. Of course, they were already too angry to be sensible about things so the whole threat just riled them up more. "Well, don't leave me fighting alone and I'll make sure that if you can't walk right in the morning it won't be because of the fight, darlin'." He gave her thumbs up a wink and turned in time for one of the men to come barreling into him. Kerr didn't have time to sprawl out so he went with the momentum. In fact, he added to it as he sat down, rolled back, and threw his hips upward. He and his assailant rolled, switching positions and ending up with Kerr on top of the man. A man who's night quickly ended as he caught a slashing elbow with his face from his mounted opponent. Kerr was pushing to his feet and looking for his new sidekick within a heartbeat.

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R

hyme's face was beat red when the other winked and rushed into the fray, and so she shook it off and rushed in along with her brand new sidekick, perfectly content in the blows that she dodged and the kicks she aimed. Two of them were on her, but the adrenaline was pumping and her heartbeat was beating it's drum as her fists met skin and her hips met cloth. She heard a cry through the haze she'd gone into, a smile creeping across her face as one of her punches connected with a surly males abdomen, sending him hunched over onto the floor to hold his testicles, to keep them away from her maniacal hands.

The moment the other man went down she would turn quick and fast, throwing her hands up in front of her face with her fists clenched and blood trickling from her nose. The one that was in front of her was lanky and not at all built like the other. Soon she had taken a couple blows-- given a couple of her own, too-- and learned to move quicker on her feet, to move forward-- throw a punch then get out of range quickly. The sneer on his face promised she wouldn't be getting out of this unscathed if he could help it. And trust her, he wasn't going to be able to help it.

Rhyme shot out one last time, skirting the other's punch as it slid by her face and nicked her ear, getting in close faster than the lanky bastard could think to block her she would go up and inside of his arms, knocking the twat in the chin with the top of her head. He would fall back, anger and shock on his face as he did so, and try to right himself-- but Rhyme wasn't about to let him get his bearings. She got in close again, this time swinging around behind him, and put and arm around the mans neck. He scratched at her as she held firm, cutting off his airways until he was purple in the face. When he finally went limp, she would drop him to the floor and turn back to look at her little side kick.

Apparently, he'd just let her do her thing and sat back. Weirdo. "So you gonna buy me a drink or just stare at my face all night?" She rubbed her sore left cheek-- the one blow the surly one had gotten on her had hit her square in the cheek. That fucker deserved to be holding his testicles on the ground. Dick.

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walking | "Talking." | tag: Kerr Blackwood

As he rose up from the man he'd floored with the slashing elbow he saw the woman in the thick of things, unfortunately with two men moving in to flank her. Kerr moved smoothly, and thus quickly, swiftly kicking one man in the back of the knee while hauling back on his collar to dump him on the floor while backhanding the other across the face so swiftly it was almost done simultaneously. The smack resounded and the man's jaw dropped open in shock as his hand came up to his cheek. At which point Kerr gave him a stiff left jab to his solarplexus and a right heelpalm strike to the jaw in quick succession.

The man that had been dumped on the floor had managed to roll to his hands and knees and seemed to testing the knee that had gotten buckled by that kick. Kerr short stomped one of his hands and, when the man snatched the hand to his chest and opened his mouth to give a sharp cry of more shock than pain, Kerr promptly kicked him in the jaw. Both men were down and unconscious because they didn't know how to take a blow or protect their heads. Kerr turned and found his new friend choking out one of the last men. He struck a pose, looking for all the world like he'd done nothing at all.

Buy a drink or stare at her all night? "Hopefully both," he said with a small smile as he stepped to the bar. "Two, the good stuff, and a cool clean wet cloth for the lady's contusions." The bartender started to move before pausing and giving Kerr a bit of a confused look. "It means bruises." The man gave the 'ah' face and went to get the requested items while Kerr put a silver coin on the bar that he'd produced through a bit of slight of hand from who knew where. "So, I was thinking after a night in this esteemed establishment... I could really use a hot bath. Ease the aches in my muscles, chase the chill from my bones, truly a restorative experience... wouldn't you say?" He continued to gaze at her as the drinks were brought and a cloth that had been dipped in water and wrung out, set in a bowl, were set on the bar top beside them and the silver coin disappeared.