Shiro walked along the streets of Lomedor, hands in his pockets. He looked around the city. It had been a while since he had last visited Lomedor, but it hadn't seemed to have changed that much. The sun had already begun to set, and night's shadows were beginning to fall over the city.

The young man dug deep into his pockets, pulling out a small pouch of coins. He counted them, sighing. He had enough money to pay for a room at the inn, but he wouldn't have much afterwards. Perhaps one more night outside wouldn't hurt...

Then, it happened. A drop of water fell on him. Shiro looked up at the sky. Another drop of water fell. Soon, it began to rain.

Shiro frowned. He was sure the sky had been clear earlier. Now it looked like he was going to have to stay at the inn afterwards. With a sigh, he entered Wilwarin Inn.

The inn was dark tonight, and its usual crowd of drunks were already assembled. Shiro walked around them, seating in front of the fire to dry off.

Nadine Tempest walked along the dry streets of Lomedor. It was her first time being there and she spent most of her time browsing around the area. At first sight, it was already obvious that she was a traveler. she carried with her a small bag with her things inside, specifically her bow and set of arrows.

She wanted to hide the fact that she was carrying a weapon. She didn't want any fights now. She was enjoying her stroll when suddenly, she felt a drop of rain fall on her forehead. She looked up at the sky and felt more drops of water falling down--it was going to rain.

"Huh?" she wondered. The sky was clear earlier.

Just then, she was brought to surprise when the rain poured hard. She ran her fastest to find shelter. She found a small inn and quickly went inside. Once she was in, she started fixing herself. She was dripping wet.

Shiro looked up as a girl walked into the inn, also dripping wet. Her grayish-silver hair clung to her face from the rainwater as she started fixing herself up.

Unfortunately, Shiro was not the only one who noticed the girl's entrance. Several drunks, upon seeing her, began chatting loudly amongst themselves. As he watched, one drunk stood up, placing his arm around the girl's shoulders.

"Heeeeeeeyyyyyyyy, tttheeeerrrrre," he said, speech slurred, "Whaaat briingsh a prreeettyy llaaaddyy llike yyouurrssheelff hherree on a nightt llllikkkke tttthiiissshh?"

Shiro stood up as the other drunks got up. The drunks surrounded the girl and the first drunk. They laughed drunkenly, pointing at them.

The young man walked behind one of them, taking his sheathed katana and striking the man across the back of the neck. He slumped over. All of the other drunks turned to him.

"WWho tttheee helll arre yousssh?" one of them asked, in slurred speech.

"Just an observer," said Shiro, calmly.

"Yoouu wannt to picck a fiiight, kiiddd?" asked the drunk with his arm around the girl's shoulder, flexing his fists threateningly.

Shiro kept silent, glaring at the drunks calmly. One of them charged forward, fists at the ready. Shiro jumped up, using the drunk's head as a springboard. He jumped towards the drunk who had his hands around the girl's shoulders. Shiro punched him clear across the face. He let out a groan, hand slipping off the girl's shoulders as he fell to the ground.

Shiro rubbed his fist with his other hand as he landed nimbly on his feet. He turned to the girl. The drunks began crowding around them.

"You all right?" he asked, glancing at her out of blue eyes.

Nadine was busy fixing herself when she felt an arm on her shoulder. She stopped and looked up to see a drunk person beside her.

"Heeeeeeeyyyyyyyy, tttheeeerrrrre," he said, speech slurred, "Whaaat briingsh a prreeettyy llaaaddyy llike yyouurrssheelff hherree on a nightt llllikkkke tttthiiissshh?"

"Uh...Um..." She couldn't utter a thing.

She started feeling a bit frightened so she tried to free herself from his hold but he wouldn't let her. Soon, his other drunk friends came closer.
She couldn't escape. The drunk men began laughing.

"Let go of me." she finally said.

Suddenly, one of the drunk men fell down, unconscious. There was a guy standing in front of them, holding a sheathed Katana. And that's where the fighting began. This guy and the drunk men began to fight but he took them out one by one. To her surprise, he punched the first drunk man and she was finally free of his grip.

"You all right?" he asked, glancing at her out of blue eyes.

"Yes." She answered, nodding at him.

She held on her bag tight as the rest of the drunk men gathered around them. This was starting to go very bad.

Shiro eyed the advancing men warily. He knew he could take them, but he had no desire to spill any blood today. Besides, there was no telling what they would do to the girl if he went off to fight his way through them.

Shiro looked up as several men from other tables began standing up, flexing their muscles threateningly and surrounding Shiro and the girl. The innkeeper had wisely decided to escape out the back. This was probably something that he was used to.

“Can you fight?” muttered Shiro to the girl.

He couldn’t see a weapon on her, but he knew better than to judge a book by its cover. Besides, she had walked into an inn alone, and judging from her clothes, she had done her fair share of traveling. That meant that she probably knew how to handle herself.

“If you have some sort of weapon, now would be a good time to take it out,” muttered Shiro.

He looked around as the men advanced closer, some of them drawing swords and other weapons. Now this was getting serious. Shiro stepped in front of the girl, getting in the position used to draw his katana.

“Don’t take another step,” he warned them, “If you do, it will be the last step you’ll ever take. I don’t want to hurt anyone, so please back off.”

The men laughed at his words, and one of them charged forward boldly, sword poised for a strike. Shiro sighed.

“Guess there’s no help for it,” he muttered.

Shiro drew his blade, parrying the man’s strike before making a slash of his own. The sword slashed the man across the chest, and he fell over, probably dead. His sword clattered to the ground.

"Can you fight?" he asked her.

Nadine quickly nodded. She did not wish to fight but seeing that more men joined the scene, they were outnumbered and they didn't have any options left. This guy who had saved her tried to warn the men about what they are going to do but...it didn't work.

The men only laughed and one of them even went forward for an assault. The young guy quickly drew his blade and slashed the man across the chest. Nadine quickly looked away, avoiding to see any blood but she heard the man's fall.

She opened her bag fast and pulled out her bow and slung the belt quiver filled with arrows on her back and took out the first arrow. She aimed it at a drunk man heading towards her. She released the arrow and it hit the man at the leg. This disabled him from going anywhere.

"Oh, what did I do to make this happen?" she asked herself, taking another arrow.

She aimed for another guy and hit him again in the leg. She didn't want to injure them too much. As she took another arrow, she saw a drunk person holding a dagger in his hands, walking slowly behind the guy who was helping her. He was quite preoccupied with those ganging up on him infront.

"Watch out!" she cried, sending the arrow straight at the man's back.

He cried out in pain and then fell on the floor.

Shiro slashed through the tangle of men, his blade whipping swiftly through the air as more of the drunkards fell to the ground. This battle was easier than others he had been in. Their intoxicated state made them easy opponents. Still, he was starting to get overwhelmed by their number.

The girl had pulled out a bow and arrows. She had turned out to be a fair shot, much to Shiro’s relief, and was now shooting at the men.

"Oh, what did I do to make this happen?" she asked.

“You didn’t do anything,” said Shiro, as he slashed his katana in a wide arc, “These men have been waiting for someone like you to walk in that door since they got in here.”

He winced as a sword cut him on the arm. Shiro plunged his sword deep into that man’s gut, blood welling up from the wound. He focused on the battle, his cut on his arm bleeding freely.

“Watch out!” cried the girl.

Shiro whipped around sharply, just as a man behind him fell over, revealing the girl. She was still holding her bow, and had apparently pointed an arrow at the man who was trying to sneak up behind him.

“Thanks,” said Shiro, with a small smile before returning to the battle.

"No problem." she said, returning to her shooting.

It was surely an easy fight especially since they were fighting drunk men but they were still having a hard time because they were outnumbered. The men just came and came.

She was worried about the current situation and she was greatly concerned because this person who was on her side was already getting hurt.

"There is only one way now." she thought.

Quickly, she pulled out arrows, two by two and began shooting rapidly. But! her tactic was different. Instead of just hitting and hitting the men, she aimed to pin them on the walls or either disable them from walking.

"Quick, let's go." she turned to the person who was helping her. She heled out her hand for him.

Shiro nodded at the girl, backing up as he continued to slash at some of the men who weren’t hit by her arrows. He reached her, standing with his back two her as he fought off several more blows.

Now that the floor was more or less clear, he could see the extent of the damages brought about by the fight. Tables had been knocked over and broken. Chairs had suffered the same fate. The floor was littered with blood and broken glass. Some of the drunkards had even broken the windows. The innkeeper would no doubt charge for the damages, and Shiro didn’t want to be around when he did. He didn’t have enough money for a room at the inn, let alone to pay for the inn.

"Quick, let's go,” said the girl, extending a hand out to him. Shiro nodded, taking the hand. He pulled her out of the inn and into the street. The rain beat down hard on both of them, but Shiro preferred the rain to the fight inside. He pulled the girl into an alley, wincing as the rain hit his wound, causing it to sting.

The young wanderer flattened himself against the wall as some of the men ventured out into the street to search. Finding nothing, they eventually went back into the inn. He sighed in relief.

“Are you okay?” he asked, turning to the girl.

Nadine ran as fast as she could away from the inn. The rain was pouring hard on them and it was definately as cold as ice but...the only thing they can do now is run. she allowed herself to be pulled by this guy and into an alley. Once they were there, she kept quiet, hearing footsteps of the men who were looking for them. After awhile, the men surrendered and went back to the inn.

“Are you okay?” he asked, turning to the her.

She faced him, still panting.

"Yes." she answered in a whisper, "I am."

She then looked down and saw that blood was gushing out from the wound in his arm and the rain was washing it away. This alarmed her.

"Oh, your arm." she said, holding his injured arm, "We have to treat that."

She quickly grabbed his other arm and pulled him away with her. She looked for even a small shelter for them to go to and luckily, she found one. It was an abandoned stall. She went inside and guided him to sit down.

"Hold on, I have something here." she said, taking something from her bag.

She took out a couple of healing herbs and bandages. She squeezed the juice out of the herbs on his arm and then, started bandaging after it was done.

So sorry...Double posting accident... :unsure:

Shiro stood there with his back pressed against the wall, panting slightly. The adrenaline from the battle had faded away, leaving him with a sense of fatigue and exhaustion. His katana still lay in his hands, blood dripping off the blade and mixing with the rainwater.

He looked up, watching as the girl stared at his wound in alarm.

"Oh, your arm." she said, grabbing onto his injured arm. Shiro winced at this. The sudden movement hurt him slightly. "We have to treat that."

“Huh?” asked Shiro, puzzled, “No, it’s all right. I’ve—.”

His protests died in his throat as she grabbed onto his uninjured arm, guiding him through the alley and finally stopping at what looked to be an abandoned stall.

The stall’s owner had left it years ago, and it had fallen into disrepair. The roof leaked, and the wood was rotten in places, but it still provided shelter from the rain. Shiro sat down as the girl indicated, careful not to collapse the old wooden crate.

Shiro bit his lip as the girl placed some sort of juice on his wound. It really stung. He winced slightly as she started bandaging the wound, but he had to admit that it felt better now.

“Thanks,” he said, “That feels better. You’re a pretty good healer, do you know that?”

He grabbed his katana, sheathing it once again, before turning to her.

“By the way,” he said, “I’m Shiro.”

"There, all done." Said Nadine, finally finishing up the bandaging of his wound., "You'll be fine now."

She moved back a bit, giving him more space.

“Thanks,” he said, “That feels better. You’re a pretty good healer, do you know that?”

She smiled and kept silent. Although she was too shy to admit, she would always be alarmed when someone gets injured and she would rush to help. She watched as this guy sheathed his Katana, her eyes focusing on the sword. That meant that there wasn't going to be any battle...for now.

“By the way,” he said, “I’m Shiro.”

Nadine turned to him.

"Shiro." she said, smiling, "My name is Nadine."

“Nadine, huh?” he asked, “Nice name. So, if you don’t mind my asking, what were you doing out here on your own anyway? It’s not exactly safe out here.”

Lomedor wasn’t the safest city on Arda. Sure, its crowded population contained a fair amount of decent, respectable people, but it also had an equal number of thugs and low-life scum hanging around. He wondered what had brought someone like her here.

A drop of water trickled from a leak in the barely adequate roof of the stall, landing on Shiro’s hand. He looked up, watching as water began to leak from various small holes in the ceiling. He didn’t much like the idea of staying here until the rain died down, but it seemed better than going back into the inn. From here, he could still here the sounds of angry shouts coming from the drunkards as they went back to a night of drinking. And there was still the matter of who would pay for the damages to the inn.

He looked around the stall, his Infravision allowing him to see in the dark. There were several holes in the walls where the wood had probably rotted away. Spiderwebs interlaced between crates of old merchandise directly across from them. Various old and dusty bottles were scattered across the ground. The stall’s owner seemed to be a bit of a drunk himself.

“I don’t suppose you would know any other place to get out of the rain, would you?” he asked.

“Nadine, huh?” he asked, “Nice name. So, if you don’t mind my asking, what were you doing out here on your own anyway? It’s not exactly safe out here.”

Nadine sighed before answering him. How many times has she heard that? People always told her that.

"I'm travelling and I happen to land here." she finally answered, "Yes, it's not safe out here but I have no choice. I travel and where will I go to?"

She knew every bit of danger in this world and she had prepared herself for it. She may look like an innocent and helpless girl but she isn't. she will fight if she had to.

"Um...Thank you for helping me." she said, "I'm very grateful. I owe you one."

Then, Shiro began glancing around the old and leaking stall. It just hit her that they couldn't stay there for long. The both of them were wet and out in the freezing rain. They could get sick any second.

“I don’t suppose you would know any other place to get out of the rain, would you?” he asked.

"Um...I don't really know much about this place but I met an old man and his wife earlier." she said, "Maybe we can ask them to stay in their place just for tonight."

Shiro grinned at her.

“This old man and his wife wouldn’t happen to be indulging in any alcoholic pursuits, would they?” asked Shiro, “I’ve had enough for drunks tonight. Oh, and don’t worry about owing me one. You helped me out a lot back there, so I guess this makes us even.”

So this girl was a traveler like himself, was she? He wondered what other places she had been to. After all, Arda was big, and he was pretty sure that she had been places he hadn’t.

“You travel as well?” asked Shiro, “Where do you usually go?”

It was always nice to meet a fellow traveler. Most of the people he met in cities had no idea what it was like to travel and see new places. Most of them looked at him like he was insane for not just picking one place to stay and staying there.

But it was impossible for Shiro to stay in one place long. Arda was big and there was always something happening somewhere else. Besides, he got to see a lot more things than other people did, even if he got into a lot more trouble.

Nadine slowly stood up and turned to him.

"No, they are not engaged in alcohol." she said, smiling, "They're actually pretty nice. They treat me like i was their daughter or something."

Somehow, every elder she has met always treated her like a daughter. There was even one who offered her to live with him and his wife. They were a nice and kind fmaily but Nadine couldn't stay. She wanted to travel. Speaking of travel, Shiro also asked her where she had been going.

"Um...actually, I've just been travelling a year or two." she answered, "I haven't explored much. I'm sure you have."

She went outside the old stall. Rain was still pouring as if there wasn't going to be any tomorrow. She signalled Shiro to folllow her.

Shiro breathed a sigh of relief. He wasn’t sure that he could handle seeing another drunk for tonight.

“That’s good,” he said, getting up. He rested his hand briefly on an old counter, frowning as it crumbled beneath his fingers.

“This old stall won’t hold up much longer,” he said, by way of observation. The young wanderer brushed the dust off his hands, turning to Nadine. She had already stepped out of the door.

He watched as she raised a hand, signaling him to follow her. Shiro nodded, taking a step out into the pouring rain once again. He could foresee a cold coming in the morning, what with all this getting wet, and getting dry, then getting wet again.

”So?” he asked, “Where’s this old guy and his wife?”

((OOC: Since we’re not in Wilwarin Inn anymore, do you think you could start a topic in Lomedor proper? Thanks. :lol:))

Ok, I have made the topic. (open for all)
Here is the link: Out of the Rain :yes: