Windstrider

Stranger Danger

     Beneath his gloved hand, Ilvyia held back a whimper and she attempted to move away from his hand which she was successful in as he allowed her to speak.

     "O-okay..I'll help..Just..Please, can you remove the dagger?" The girl blinked away tears, trying to regain her composure. She felt him remove the dagger from her throat slowly and hesitantly. Taking the open opportunity, Ilvyia pulled her dagger from her sheath and hit the man as hard as she could in the jaw with the handle and took off, leaving the elf momentarily stunned. 

      The man let out an audible growl and chased after the girl, quickly catching up to her. Once in range, he knocked her to the ground and kicked her dagger out of the reach and threw the other away aswell, disarming her completely. Ilvyia let out a cry as she fell to the ground, her head hitting the side of a bench. Tears of both freight and pain streamed down her face as she held her head in pain, stars dancing across her vision.

      "That was not very clever now was it?" The cat-like elf leered at her and then heaved her onto her feet, pushing her against a wall, dagger once again pressing against her throat, this time drawing tiny beads of blood. He snarled as the girl attempted to kick him, only to have her head hit against the wall, leaving her momentarily dazed. Fresh tears sprung from her eyes as she continuously blinked, trying to clear her vision.

     "Like I said, I wasn't asking for your help. You're helping me, like it or not." There was an undeniably dangerous tone to his voice and Ilyvia knew that if she tried to run again, the man would without hesitation slaughter her. Holding back a whimper, she clenched her eyes shut for a brief moment before opening them again to look at him.

     "Let me go..Please.." Her voice failed her, barely a quiver as she desperately tried to make the elf leave her be. "I won't tell the guards." Tears once again were brimming in her eyes but she managed to hold them back. Her eyes met his and she could tell that it wasn't happening. Hanging her head in defeat, Ilyvia simply nodded, the pounding in her head practically screaming at her.

     A hand took hold of her chin and lifted her head up, carefully albeit forcefully making her look at him."If you help me, I promise I will not hurt you." The stranger said, an almost sympathetic look in his eyes for a very brief moment. He received a look of gratitude from the girl and he quickly averted his gaze, moving his weapon away from her throat.

     "What's your name then?" The man asked her, glancing over at her for a brief moment as he awaited her answer.

     The girl hesitated before she spoke, fear still very apparent in her voice. "Ilyvia."

     He nodded in response and then put away his dagger, knowing that she would not try to run after that. "Althaelen." The man lowered his hood and then turned his head at a sudden sound nearby.

     Ilvyia took that moment to look over his features. He looked like the everyday elf of her kind, with the undeniably handsome overall features of an elf. Althaelen had dark brown hair that went just below his shoulders and had a small braid on his left side. She would never have guessed that this man was anything but the average civilian if she were to judge him by his looks. The only thing out of the ordinary was a large scar that ran from just above his right brow, cutting through it, missing his eye and going down to just below his cheekbone.

     Without warning, Althaelen suddenly took hold of her wrist and lead her away, clearly alarmed by the sound of what was probably guards nearing, probably because of her previous cry of pain. He said nothing as they walked through the now fully darkened streets, leading them to one of the less fine parts of Nimathrad, a part that she didn't like to spend much time in, and to a tavern of sorts. Giving the owner a knowing nod, he was passed a key and the two walked up a flight of stairs and into one of the tavern rooms. He sat her down on a seat before sitting down on a seat opposite to her. She had a confused look on her face and raised a brow at him slightly.