Ras and Dee - ]8|
Who: Rasmus and Dee
When: While the posse are running round town (so around the 9th?)
Where: The streets
Rating & Warnings: There's some swearing and some violence. PG-13.
It was not safe outside.
Ras toyed with the pages in his ledger. He would have to go out and patrol soon. Ravindra had told him to before he'd gone off to talk with the Lieutenant. It made no sense to. It made no sense NOT to. He would be one of the first they expected out there. But would they turn on him? he wondered, twirling his pencil in his fingers slowly, the movement difficult due to the small pencil and his large fingers. He was an Other. Not explicitly known, but it wouldn't be a far stretch for many. Anything unnatural would be frowned upon, but perhaps he could just slip by, being uniformed as a guard.
The station was busy, and no one there gave him a second look. His stomach felt heavy. They all knew him, were so used to him, the sheer size of him did not phase them. Humans were not entirely bad, he considered. Anything with self-awareness was too complex to put into a tiny little box labelled "good" or "bad".
He finished writing his note to the Magus, then shut the ledger and tucked it into his leather breastplate. He glanced outside. It was noisy outside, too. He'd heard of fires in the streets, random attacks. An inversion of the Fest only a week past. He hoped Cosimo showed up soon so they could get this over with. It was going to be a long night, and for once he did not look forward to his patrol.
Dee's first stop had been to the Golden Hour.
Her mother was still frail, but her brother could hold the house should anything happen. He was good in a fight, a scrapper like she was. He could defend the both of them. It was her baby sisters she worried about, both working in the Hour. It was almost a desertion of her duties, but once she was assured of their safety she raced back. The streets were quiet in places; too loud in others. It was the quieter streets she'd run through. There was something uncanny about the way the houses had closed, like the dead faces of giants all lying in rows. It gave her the creeps.
For once, her dog had been good too. He'd followed at her heel, snapping at anyone who got too close. People steered clear and their rush back to the guard's barracks had been uneventful. She wasn't going to be looking forward to going back out, she realised, touching the door. "Rasmus," she called, patting Simon's head.
Dee prepared her crossbow as she waited for him. She'd be aiming to disable, but if need be she'd shoot to kill, she thought to herself grimly.
"Here," he rumbled, standing from the overlarge chair usually reserved for higher-ranking visitors, but being the only one that could fit him, was automatically his until someone of such a rank came into the station. He had no crossbow as Cosimo had, but he had a pike strapped to his back, which he hoped he would not need. Likely he could subdue most of it with his hands alone. He would simply have to worry about it when the matter arose.
"How is it outside?" he asked, picking up his helmet from the desk. They had made custom armour for him some time ago. Almost three years now, he figured. He was not the smartest, but he was loyal and dedicated, a useful asset to the Guards. Would they defend him if anything happened? Could they? He swatted the thought away and reached down to pat Simon on the head, watching the dog pant from his excursion outside. They must have run. He hid the deep breath he took as best he could. "Let us start. Perhaps it will be uneventful," he muttered, not believing his own words the moment they escaped him. He fitted the helmet on, noting hers was already on, and with a nod stepped outside onto the streets, taking a look around. He had barely stepped out, under some pretense of work, but he could not escape the work he was actually good at anymore.
"Some streets are quiet, some are not so quiet." That was the best way to explain it, she figured, leaving out the eerie creeping quiet of some of the deserted streets.
Dee kept a step or two behind Rasmus, crossbow ready to aim. She didn't have a pavise, but her fellow guard worked just as well. There would likely be nobody out there today with ranged weapons that could pierce his armour, and if they were attacked by someone up close, she could hurt them before they could hurt him.
The dog followed them - she could hear a growl forming in his throat as they stepped onto the streets and she touched his neck to calm him. They were tense, both dog and master. "I came straight here from the Hour. Has anything else happened?"
"The station has gone untouched for the most part. There was a group demanding answers earlier. What for, I am not sure. I stayed out of it."
For someone who was usually so gung-ho about getting involved in such matters, he'd been very quiet that day. "Your family is all right? "he asked, glancing back to her, recalling belatedly that such would be the only reason for her to go to the Hour at such a time. He could hear nothing very close by, but knew the groups were moving, few of them staying in any one place. He heard something getting louder down the streets to their left, and he hesitated before he marched off in that direction, trying not to hurry. He heard something break, a scream, some laughs.
"It has been quiet. And not so quiet," he answered, echoing her earlier sentiments. The Coil wasn't very far from the barracks, one reason why it was so popular with the Guard. Not to say it wasn't popular with others. Part of him hoped that all the noise was coming from outside and not inside- he was sure the owner had sense enough not to willingly open at a time such as this.
Dee had to swallow as they went towards the screams. Her saliva felt like glue and her heart was pounding in her chest like a drum but - if you couldn't overcome these things, what sort of guard were you? You had to use the adrenaline that came with fear. She'd learned that early on. Fear was useful for the rush.
"I wonder what the citizens will think of us after all of this?" Nothing good, probably, she thought bitterly. Somehow, whatever happened, the guards came off worst. "My family is fine," she answered finally. Everyone was somewhere safe - or so she hoped. there was still her eldest brother. Despite the grudge between them she couldn't help but feel a twinge of nervousness in her stomach.
"Are there any estimations of how many have been injured or killed yet?"
"Bullies, dogs, batsi," he said, slipping into his own language. "The usual. Keeping the peace is the last thing they will see it as. It is not something we can think on, Cosimo. We have better things to do than concern ourselves with public opinion."
He hated to say it, but it was the truth. He slowed before turning the corner. Yelling had started as they'd approached, and there seemed ot be a hysteric argument going on now. "Three more confirmed dead since the vintner," he said softly. "Injured... who knows. Quiet," he said, and slowly turned the corner.
A group of eight, or nine, pressing three against a wall, broken glass around them. The three- one man, two ladies- were barefoot, shivering hard enough to see from a distance. The larger group jeered, at least one holding a torch. It was dark, but Rasmus had a feeling that he had been holding on to the flame for some time.
"Well, if you aren't an Other, come on over here!" said one, stepping closer, crunching glass under his feet, dangling a pair of shoes in his fingers. "And if you bleed red when you step over, we'll believe you."
"I dunno," said another. "That one has the look of a faerie. I heard about 'em... I bet she could just float over if she wanted to!"
"Get that away from my sister," the frightened man snapped, pressing both of the women to the wall behind them, looking warily at the pipe one of them was starting to inch closer and closer towards them.
"I hear they don't like iron," said the man softly, wagging it at them.
"Perhaps," Rasmus interjected, his voice a low rumble, rivalled only by Simon's growling, "you should do as he says, and step back while you are at it." All of them had jumped at his voice, and all of them shuffled back as he stepped forward, afraid. Ah... he hated that part. "The Guard also asks you do these things."
Simon's growl broke into a loud, vicious bark, Dee scowling behind Rasmus as she lowered her crossbow to aim at the leg of a man holding a weapon. "Drop that in the name of the crown," she told them, voice loud. Her heart was thudding in her throat and Simon's muscles had tightened, ready to leap forward and bite, rip and tear. "If you know what's good for you, you'll come quietly!"
They probably did not know what was good for them, she noted watching the man's grip tighten defiantly on his pipe, watched his eyes move to the people he had cornered, then back to them. Of course it looked easy; two guards, eight or so men. They discounted her strength, most likely, that of Simon too.
But a crossbow bolt could bite through the metal of armour. Shatter bone. Rasmus could probably break their necks with one swipe. Dee dug in her heels and aimed. "Drop the pipe now!"
"We s'posed to be afraid of a midget an' a mountain?" Yelled one of the men defiantly. Half gave him a "yeah, yeah!" rally, the others looking a little less certain. The man with the pipe narrowed his eyes.
"Stop that one," Rasmus told Dee over his shoulder, eyes never leaving the group. The words had barely left his mouth when the man struck out, glass crunching under his feet. Rasmus didn't worry- Cosimo was a good shot, no matter what she was feeling. He trusted her implicitly.
When the first man moved, the others followed suit, except they came at the two of them. Rasmus could feel the veins in his neck bulge as he tensed up, ready to charge. He had to be careful- too much and he would slip. The last thing anyone needed was to know, for certain, that an Other occupied a spot on the Guard. As the group approached, not all but a fair chunk, he pushed off and ran at them, surprisingly fast for his size, and holding his arm out knocked them off their feet, all but one. They had all shied when he'd come at them, mercilessly bowled over, but the one he'd grabbed by the throat and hoisted up.
He didn't have to say anything; she was already loosing a bolt.
The man screamed as the bolt dug into his foot, pinning him to the ground. Dee loaded another as Simon charged at him with a bark that sounded more like one of the hounds of hell than the usually lethargic dog she normally dragged around with her. She took aim at another who'd tried to sneak around Ras and catch him from the rear; he gave a shout and fell, holding his arm. She swung her crossbow back, loading another bolt, only to see that Simon was busy subduing her original target - he'd bitten deep into the man's arm and was now standing on his chest, growling into his face. He was too heavy to throw off and the man was making angry, scared noises. She could leave them and trust Simon would be okay - instead she aimed at the men Ras was dealing with. She could cover him if need be.
Even while he held on to one, three more swarmed him. He didn't really notice the fact they were hitting at him, some of them with things that were not their fists, but it would become bothersome sooner rather than later. He threw the man he held onto, higher rather than lower, and did not stop to watch the man land on the slanted roof to their right. One of the men on him fell off in surprise, skittering back with a shocked look on his face. The other two, barely even coming to his collarbone, coontinued trying to do some harm to him with whatever they had on hand- one batted at him with a now-extinguished torch. The other gave up with his fists and ducked quickly to pull something from his boot- a knife, likely. Rasmus kicked at him before he could get it out, sending the man sprawling, then taking the other one by the collar and dragging him up into the air. Log #3 for lifting people up off their feet!
"Are you part of the group that murdered the Other?" he asked the man, who had dropped the torch and now grasped on to Ras' hand in case he decided to let go. It looked like a long drop from where he was now. The man on the ground was struggling up. One with a bolt in his arm, the other with a hellhound in his face, another on the roof. It seemed one or two had gone missing in the ensuing scuffle. The three still huddled by the side of the building, but with looks of absolute shock that had, for the moment, wiped away their fear.
"Wh-what?? Wh-what's it to ya," the man said, kicking his feet desperately. Ras curled his fist, tightening the man's collar. He shrieked. "M-maybe! Maybe we are, maybe we aren't!! What's the problem with that, huh??? Freak got what he deserved!"
"Rasmus, calm down," Dee kept her crossbow trained on the remainder of the men. "We have to take them to Duchess Bharquite!"
Not that she wanted to. That woman was a bitch. She'd either kill them, or instruct them to kill more, in Dee's opinion. One of the men on the ground made a move to run and Simon stopped him with a snarl. Dee aimed at his legs, just in case he tried again. "We need to get them to the Hold."
She eyed her fellow guard carefully. This entire thing - it'd made him so tense. She'd rarely seen him so angry before.
Rasmus shot a look to her, and it was not a nice look. The man's words only made him angrier, but he could not allow himself to lose control here. He looked back to the man sharply, eliciting another whimper, another fit of leg kicking. His nostrils flared and he nodded once, sharply, indicating he had heard and understood what she'd said, and he tossed the man towards her. His cry fell short as he hit the ground and rolled, landing sprawled a few few from her, more dazed than hurt. Without looking back, he turned his head to the three barefoot individuals.
He hesitated approaching them, knowing that the fear in their eyes were not just for the men that had attacked them. He took another deep breath. "You. Are you all right? You will need help crossing the glass."
Dee held his stare when he threw her a look and didn't lower her eyes until the man landed on the ground. Be like that, then, she thought at Rasmus, suddenly angry. She turned, kneeling on the back of the man he had thrown in order to bind his hands together with some rope she kept for this purpose. When she got off him, she gave him a tug upwards and he stood, dazed. Though, almost as soon as he was on his feet he tried to run. Dee used his momentum to throw him off balance, smacking his head into the wall. Simon had ripped open the arm of the man he'd attacked - the dog leaped off when he saw Dee approach and crouched nearby as she tied the wound, then rolled him over so as to tie his wrists together, trying her best to avoid the wound on his lower arm.
That done, she left Simon to look after him while she crossed to the other, keeping an eye on Rasmus.
Forcing calm, Rasmus looked at the scene. Two guards attacked in an attempt to call off a small mob against three- humans? Others? It really didn't matter, he knew, but the idea that they'd thought they were Others was enough to spark anger in him again. Broken glass, a smoking torch. A scattered pair of shoes. He wondered where the other two were.
"We will take you back to the station," Rasmus said, his voice calm again. "And, if necessary, we will escort you to the Hour."
The three looked to one another, one of the women nodding frantically. "We ... we can't... they took our shoes..." she said, then sobbed. Rasmus tried to keep hold of the sadness in that statement instead of the anger. To humiliate them first... he stepped through the glass himself and then crouched down. "Two on my back, and sir, if you will allow it, I will pick you up until you are clear of the glass."
There really was no room for pride. Unsteadily the women clambered onto his back, hanging on to his neck from the left and the right, feet dangling as he stood again. The man he picked up by the back of his shirt and then he crunched his way back through the glass, taking them towards where the side street opened up to the main street, and crouched again to let them all off.
"Cosimo, how many to take back?" he asked, picking up the man he had thrown and putting him over his shoulder like a light sack of potatoes.
Many of the others had scattered. Dee let them go. Let them be picked up by other guards, or come to their senses. She had no wish to take more than the most aggressive to the hold. She ran a hand through her hair, feeling the mix of dirt on her gloves and sweat on her forehead leave her grimy. "These two geniuses, and the one on the roof."
Maybe they could leave the one on the roof? "Up," she barked at the man left on the ground. He stood uncertainly, trembling. She poked him in the small of the back and Simon snarled. There was blood, flowering over his shirt sleeve. Good. Let him feel pain. Let him feel every consequence of what he'd been doing.
Rasmus nodded, willing to take a back seat now. He looked to the three, who whispered amongst one another, casting glances at the two of them. Were they faeries? He didn't know much of other Others. For all he knew they were capable of taking care of themselves, but he doubted it, looking at them. He shifted the weakly protesting bundle over his shoulder. To the station first. Then to the Hour to drop the three off. Then back out again.
"Shouldn't you be there too?" asked the man, his look shifty, frightened. Rasmus shot him a look and he let the matter drop. "I think there might be some things in the lost and found you can try on. I suspect there is more broken glass on the way," Rasmus answered instead. As though cleaning up for the Fest hadn't been bad enough.
"We should probably send someone back for the third on the roof," he added to Cosimo.
Dee cast a dubious look up at the man on the roof. He might come around and get down from there before they were able to get someone.
It didn't matter. She prodded the man she had custody of forward, nodding curtly. She and Rasmus would have to talk, probably. He was obviously upset. "Let's just head back with these prisoners first. Then we can send out others for the rest."
When: While the posse are running round town (so around the 9th?)
Where: The streets
Rating & Warnings: There's some swearing and some violence. PG-13.
It was not safe outside.
Ras toyed with the pages in his ledger. He would have to go out and patrol soon. Ravindra had told him to before he'd gone off to talk with the Lieutenant. It made no sense to. It made no sense NOT to. He would be one of the first they expected out there. But would they turn on him? he wondered, twirling his pencil in his fingers slowly, the movement difficult due to the small pencil and his large fingers. He was an Other. Not explicitly known, but it wouldn't be a far stretch for many. Anything unnatural would be frowned upon, but perhaps he could just slip by, being uniformed as a guard.
The station was busy, and no one there gave him a second look. His stomach felt heavy. They all knew him, were so used to him, the sheer size of him did not phase them. Humans were not entirely bad, he considered. Anything with self-awareness was too complex to put into a tiny little box labelled "good" or "bad".
He finished writing his note to the Magus, then shut the ledger and tucked it into his leather breastplate. He glanced outside. It was noisy outside, too. He'd heard of fires in the streets, random attacks. An inversion of the Fest only a week past. He hoped Cosimo showed up soon so they could get this over with. It was going to be a long night, and for once he did not look forward to his patrol.
Dee's first stop had been to the Golden Hour.
Her mother was still frail, but her brother could hold the house should anything happen. He was good in a fight, a scrapper like she was. He could defend the both of them. It was her baby sisters she worried about, both working in the Hour. It was almost a desertion of her duties, but once she was assured of their safety she raced back. The streets were quiet in places; too loud in others. It was the quieter streets she'd run through. There was something uncanny about the way the houses had closed, like the dead faces of giants all lying in rows. It gave her the creeps.
For once, her dog had been good too. He'd followed at her heel, snapping at anyone who got too close. People steered clear and their rush back to the guard's barracks had been uneventful. She wasn't going to be looking forward to going back out, she realised, touching the door. "Rasmus," she called, patting Simon's head.
Dee prepared her crossbow as she waited for him. She'd be aiming to disable, but if need be she'd shoot to kill, she thought to herself grimly.
"Here," he rumbled, standing from the overlarge chair usually reserved for higher-ranking visitors, but being the only one that could fit him, was automatically his until someone of such a rank came into the station. He had no crossbow as Cosimo had, but he had a pike strapped to his back, which he hoped he would not need. Likely he could subdue most of it with his hands alone. He would simply have to worry about it when the matter arose.
"How is it outside?" he asked, picking up his helmet from the desk. They had made custom armour for him some time ago. Almost three years now, he figured. He was not the smartest, but he was loyal and dedicated, a useful asset to the Guards. Would they defend him if anything happened? Could they? He swatted the thought away and reached down to pat Simon on the head, watching the dog pant from his excursion outside. They must have run. He hid the deep breath he took as best he could. "Let us start. Perhaps it will be uneventful," he muttered, not believing his own words the moment they escaped him. He fitted the helmet on, noting hers was already on, and with a nod stepped outside onto the streets, taking a look around. He had barely stepped out, under some pretense of work, but he could not escape the work he was actually good at anymore.
"Some streets are quiet, some are not so quiet." That was the best way to explain it, she figured, leaving out the eerie creeping quiet of some of the deserted streets.
Dee kept a step or two behind Rasmus, crossbow ready to aim. She didn't have a pavise, but her fellow guard worked just as well. There would likely be nobody out there today with ranged weapons that could pierce his armour, and if they were attacked by someone up close, she could hurt them before they could hurt him.
The dog followed them - she could hear a growl forming in his throat as they stepped onto the streets and she touched his neck to calm him. They were tense, both dog and master. "I came straight here from the Hour. Has anything else happened?"
"The station has gone untouched for the most part. There was a group demanding answers earlier. What for, I am not sure. I stayed out of it."
For someone who was usually so gung-ho about getting involved in such matters, he'd been very quiet that day. "Your family is all right? "he asked, glancing back to her, recalling belatedly that such would be the only reason for her to go to the Hour at such a time. He could hear nothing very close by, but knew the groups were moving, few of them staying in any one place. He heard something getting louder down the streets to their left, and he hesitated before he marched off in that direction, trying not to hurry. He heard something break, a scream, some laughs.
"It has been quiet. And not so quiet," he answered, echoing her earlier sentiments. The Coil wasn't very far from the barracks, one reason why it was so popular with the Guard. Not to say it wasn't popular with others. Part of him hoped that all the noise was coming from outside and not inside- he was sure the owner had sense enough not to willingly open at a time such as this.
Dee had to swallow as they went towards the screams. Her saliva felt like glue and her heart was pounding in her chest like a drum but - if you couldn't overcome these things, what sort of guard were you? You had to use the adrenaline that came with fear. She'd learned that early on. Fear was useful for the rush.
"I wonder what the citizens will think of us after all of this?" Nothing good, probably, she thought bitterly. Somehow, whatever happened, the guards came off worst. "My family is fine," she answered finally. Everyone was somewhere safe - or so she hoped. there was still her eldest brother. Despite the grudge between them she couldn't help but feel a twinge of nervousness in her stomach.
"Are there any estimations of how many have been injured or killed yet?"
"Bullies, dogs, batsi," he said, slipping into his own language. "The usual. Keeping the peace is the last thing they will see it as. It is not something we can think on, Cosimo. We have better things to do than concern ourselves with public opinion."
He hated to say it, but it was the truth. He slowed before turning the corner. Yelling had started as they'd approached, and there seemed ot be a hysteric argument going on now. "Three more confirmed dead since the vintner," he said softly. "Injured... who knows. Quiet," he said, and slowly turned the corner.
A group of eight, or nine, pressing three against a wall, broken glass around them. The three- one man, two ladies- were barefoot, shivering hard enough to see from a distance. The larger group jeered, at least one holding a torch. It was dark, but Rasmus had a feeling that he had been holding on to the flame for some time.
"Well, if you aren't an Other, come on over here!" said one, stepping closer, crunching glass under his feet, dangling a pair of shoes in his fingers. "And if you bleed red when you step over, we'll believe you."
"I dunno," said another. "That one has the look of a faerie. I heard about 'em... I bet she could just float over if she wanted to!"
"Get that away from my sister," the frightened man snapped, pressing both of the women to the wall behind them, looking warily at the pipe one of them was starting to inch closer and closer towards them.
"I hear they don't like iron," said the man softly, wagging it at them.
"Perhaps," Rasmus interjected, his voice a low rumble, rivalled only by Simon's growling, "you should do as he says, and step back while you are at it." All of them had jumped at his voice, and all of them shuffled back as he stepped forward, afraid. Ah... he hated that part. "The Guard also asks you do these things."
Simon's growl broke into a loud, vicious bark, Dee scowling behind Rasmus as she lowered her crossbow to aim at the leg of a man holding a weapon. "Drop that in the name of the crown," she told them, voice loud. Her heart was thudding in her throat and Simon's muscles had tightened, ready to leap forward and bite, rip and tear. "If you know what's good for you, you'll come quietly!"
They probably did not know what was good for them, she noted watching the man's grip tighten defiantly on his pipe, watched his eyes move to the people he had cornered, then back to them. Of course it looked easy; two guards, eight or so men. They discounted her strength, most likely, that of Simon too.
But a crossbow bolt could bite through the metal of armour. Shatter bone. Rasmus could probably break their necks with one swipe. Dee dug in her heels and aimed. "Drop the pipe now!"
"We s'posed to be afraid of a midget an' a mountain?" Yelled one of the men defiantly. Half gave him a "yeah, yeah!" rally, the others looking a little less certain. The man with the pipe narrowed his eyes.
"Stop that one," Rasmus told Dee over his shoulder, eyes never leaving the group. The words had barely left his mouth when the man struck out, glass crunching under his feet. Rasmus didn't worry- Cosimo was a good shot, no matter what she was feeling. He trusted her implicitly.
When the first man moved, the others followed suit, except they came at the two of them. Rasmus could feel the veins in his neck bulge as he tensed up, ready to charge. He had to be careful- too much and he would slip. The last thing anyone needed was to know, for certain, that an Other occupied a spot on the Guard. As the group approached, not all but a fair chunk, he pushed off and ran at them, surprisingly fast for his size, and holding his arm out knocked them off their feet, all but one. They had all shied when he'd come at them, mercilessly bowled over, but the one he'd grabbed by the throat and hoisted up.
He didn't have to say anything; she was already loosing a bolt.
The man screamed as the bolt dug into his foot, pinning him to the ground. Dee loaded another as Simon charged at him with a bark that sounded more like one of the hounds of hell than the usually lethargic dog she normally dragged around with her. She took aim at another who'd tried to sneak around Ras and catch him from the rear; he gave a shout and fell, holding his arm. She swung her crossbow back, loading another bolt, only to see that Simon was busy subduing her original target - he'd bitten deep into the man's arm and was now standing on his chest, growling into his face. He was too heavy to throw off and the man was making angry, scared noises. She could leave them and trust Simon would be okay - instead she aimed at the men Ras was dealing with. She could cover him if need be.
Even while he held on to one, three more swarmed him. He didn't really notice the fact they were hitting at him, some of them with things that were not their fists, but it would become bothersome sooner rather than later. He threw the man he held onto, higher rather than lower, and did not stop to watch the man land on the slanted roof to their right. One of the men on him fell off in surprise, skittering back with a shocked look on his face. The other two, barely even coming to his collarbone, coontinued trying to do some harm to him with whatever they had on hand- one batted at him with a now-extinguished torch. The other gave up with his fists and ducked quickly to pull something from his boot- a knife, likely. Rasmus kicked at him before he could get it out, sending the man sprawling, then taking the other one by the collar and dragging him up into the air. Log #3 for lifting people up off their feet!
"Are you part of the group that murdered the Other?" he asked the man, who had dropped the torch and now grasped on to Ras' hand in case he decided to let go. It looked like a long drop from where he was now. The man on the ground was struggling up. One with a bolt in his arm, the other with a hellhound in his face, another on the roof. It seemed one or two had gone missing in the ensuing scuffle. The three still huddled by the side of the building, but with looks of absolute shock that had, for the moment, wiped away their fear.
"Wh-what?? Wh-what's it to ya," the man said, kicking his feet desperately. Ras curled his fist, tightening the man's collar. He shrieked. "M-maybe! Maybe we are, maybe we aren't!! What's the problem with that, huh??? Freak got what he deserved!"
"Rasmus, calm down," Dee kept her crossbow trained on the remainder of the men. "We have to take them to Duchess Bharquite!"
Not that she wanted to. That woman was a bitch. She'd either kill them, or instruct them to kill more, in Dee's opinion. One of the men on the ground made a move to run and Simon stopped him with a snarl. Dee aimed at his legs, just in case he tried again. "We need to get them to the Hold."
She eyed her fellow guard carefully. This entire thing - it'd made him so tense. She'd rarely seen him so angry before.
Rasmus shot a look to her, and it was not a nice look. The man's words only made him angrier, but he could not allow himself to lose control here. He looked back to the man sharply, eliciting another whimper, another fit of leg kicking. His nostrils flared and he nodded once, sharply, indicating he had heard and understood what she'd said, and he tossed the man towards her. His cry fell short as he hit the ground and rolled, landing sprawled a few few from her, more dazed than hurt. Without looking back, he turned his head to the three barefoot individuals.
He hesitated approaching them, knowing that the fear in their eyes were not just for the men that had attacked them. He took another deep breath. "You. Are you all right? You will need help crossing the glass."
Dee held his stare when he threw her a look and didn't lower her eyes until the man landed on the ground. Be like that, then, she thought at Rasmus, suddenly angry. She turned, kneeling on the back of the man he had thrown in order to bind his hands together with some rope she kept for this purpose. When she got off him, she gave him a tug upwards and he stood, dazed. Though, almost as soon as he was on his feet he tried to run. Dee used his momentum to throw him off balance, smacking his head into the wall. Simon had ripped open the arm of the man he'd attacked - the dog leaped off when he saw Dee approach and crouched nearby as she tied the wound, then rolled him over so as to tie his wrists together, trying her best to avoid the wound on his lower arm.
That done, she left Simon to look after him while she crossed to the other, keeping an eye on Rasmus.
Forcing calm, Rasmus looked at the scene. Two guards attacked in an attempt to call off a small mob against three- humans? Others? It really didn't matter, he knew, but the idea that they'd thought they were Others was enough to spark anger in him again. Broken glass, a smoking torch. A scattered pair of shoes. He wondered where the other two were.
"We will take you back to the station," Rasmus said, his voice calm again. "And, if necessary, we will escort you to the Hour."
The three looked to one another, one of the women nodding frantically. "We ... we can't... they took our shoes..." she said, then sobbed. Rasmus tried to keep hold of the sadness in that statement instead of the anger. To humiliate them first... he stepped through the glass himself and then crouched down. "Two on my back, and sir, if you will allow it, I will pick you up until you are clear of the glass."
There really was no room for pride. Unsteadily the women clambered onto his back, hanging on to his neck from the left and the right, feet dangling as he stood again. The man he picked up by the back of his shirt and then he crunched his way back through the glass, taking them towards where the side street opened up to the main street, and crouched again to let them all off.
"Cosimo, how many to take back?" he asked, picking up the man he had thrown and putting him over his shoulder like a light sack of potatoes.
Many of the others had scattered. Dee let them go. Let them be picked up by other guards, or come to their senses. She had no wish to take more than the most aggressive to the hold. She ran a hand through her hair, feeling the mix of dirt on her gloves and sweat on her forehead leave her grimy. "These two geniuses, and the one on the roof."
Maybe they could leave the one on the roof? "Up," she barked at the man left on the ground. He stood uncertainly, trembling. She poked him in the small of the back and Simon snarled. There was blood, flowering over his shirt sleeve. Good. Let him feel pain. Let him feel every consequence of what he'd been doing.
Rasmus nodded, willing to take a back seat now. He looked to the three, who whispered amongst one another, casting glances at the two of them. Were they faeries? He didn't know much of other Others. For all he knew they were capable of taking care of themselves, but he doubted it, looking at them. He shifted the weakly protesting bundle over his shoulder. To the station first. Then to the Hour to drop the three off. Then back out again.
"Shouldn't you be there too?" asked the man, his look shifty, frightened. Rasmus shot him a look and he let the matter drop. "I think there might be some things in the lost and found you can try on. I suspect there is more broken glass on the way," Rasmus answered instead. As though cleaning up for the Fest hadn't been bad enough.
"We should probably send someone back for the third on the roof," he added to Cosimo.
Dee cast a dubious look up at the man on the roof. He might come around and get down from there before they were able to get someone.
It didn't matter. She prodded the man she had custody of forward, nodding curtly. She and Rasmus would have to talk, probably. He was obviously upset. "Let's just head back with these prisoners first. Then we can send out others for the rest."