Her time in Hargeon, for as much as she felt that it would have been awkward, even perhaps, terrifying had yet to really be just that. It felt as though she were from a completely different version of Hargeon, one in which the likelihood of survival was more akin to being forced to deal with the hardships that went with just trying to survive one day further at a time, it was not something in which she felt like she had to worry about here. Perhaps it had been as the times changed, or perhaps more it was that there was a change to her, herself. Leyaria was not the same little girl who had once lived in this place, who did not know anything that stood outside of the poorer realms of the city, who indulged herself in the fantasies of the docks and the stories that were relayed between rounds of drinks.

She was her own person now, a stronger woman. One who could function on her own, who had not only survived, but managed to some degree to even thrive within this place, or more appropriately this world in which she was now in. Hargeon, yes it was a daunting one, one in which could be at the very least, intimidating towards someone who may not have been familiar with it, but it paled in comparison to what she had seen in Fiore, of the challenges and successes in which she had managed to achieve as well. Yet, even in spite of this, she could not help but feel as though she were out of place here, as though who she was now was fighting against those memories and feelings which she long harbored and resented when she was a child.

For as much as it were the same place, so too was it different. Though, in areas like these, where whatever exposure she had had of the past if any at all, it no longer held great weight other than the vagueness to which things just seemed to either click or otherwise within her head. And even in those cases, her memory of them were spotty at best. Establishments built, structures, and even entire parts of Hargeon seemed foreign to her, to the point where it was as though she were in a new place altogether. The only thing constant that there seemed to have been were the alleyways, both reminescent of her time, not only in Hargeon, but much of what she had come to live much of her life with, only recently having had things change.

To Geth though, it was a completely different story. Much of what it had seen of Hargeon was for the first time, all new. Nothing of it was anything to which the creature had before experienced, and the intrigue to which it had conveyed were nothing short of amazed. From the ships that docked and departed from the Hargeon Docks to places elsewhere throughout the city, it took much of Leyaria's concentration not only to ensure that it did not get itself in trouble, but also that it did not lead the pair down a path that they did not wish to venture.

Unfortunately, that effort was for naught when something had managed to catch the attention of something, something in which Leyaria was not able to catch but the golem-like creature was clearly able to see. In what seemed like a blink of an eye, Geth was off running towards an alleyway, leaving Leyaria stunned at what it may have been that caught its eye. Geth had run off before and she recalled the last time that that had happened; she was not about to allow it happen to a second time. "Geth!" she called out as she stormed through the crowd of people, into the same alleyway that the creature had wandered into.

She had not taken more than a few steps into the dark alleyway before she felt the heavy presence of force put onto her shoulder and the sharp point of something nudge just gently enough into her backside such that she could feel its presence. Her body locked up with terror as she realized just what was happening, wishing that she could have done something more than just accept the reality as the point pressed slightly deeper into her back at the slightest bit of tension she exerted on whatever - or whomever - was holding her.

"Now now dear, we wouldn't want anything to happen to you, would we?"

There weren't many options for her to do. Even the slightest amount of movement that Leyaria attempted to exert, the woman who seemed to have taken control of her only further exerted pressure against her back. Whether it had been the twitch of her shoulder in attempt to alleviate the woman's grip or the turning of her neck, she was only met with the blade poking deeper and deeper into her backside, the question of when she would pierce through the flesh being a legitimate question, one in which she wasn't looking to ask.


"Please, I don't have anything. Just let me go," her mind raced as she tried to comprehend just what it was that the woman wanted. The only logical thing that came to mind was that this was a pickpocket, something that she had heard more than enough of in the past, but not so much within Hargeon. Era? Certainly. But Hargeon was more known for pirates than anything else, and there was nothing that led Leyaria to believe that this woman was a pirate. There wasn't the slightest hint of alcohol in the immediate area outside of that of the crusted scent that seemed to linger throughout the city.

Her eyes darted down at Geth, stunned at what was going on, struggling itself to comprehend just what it was that was going on. Undoubtedly, a level of guilt and fear overwhelmed it, perhaps believing itself that it was to blame for putting Leyaria into such a compromised position. Even from its vantage point, Geth could not see what it was that the woman was doing to her, but that did not stop it from seeing Leyaria's face, the fear which was painted right upon it. It just stood there, seemingly helpless.

"Oh, I don't want anything. If that was your worry, you needn't," the voice spoke again, her words fluid, almost sensual. It was a very curious thing. To a degree, it left Leyaria conflicted, as much intrigued as it - or more appropriately, the woman's actions - which had her worried.

"Then... What do you want?" It was all that she could seemingly ask. It wasn't as though she had any options at her disposal to fight back. No Magic that could be used without causing significant harm to either herself, Geth, or anyone who may have been nearby and otherwise not involved. Nor could she have even afforded to fight against this woman, lest she find herself potentially harmed herself. The way that this woman was able to time the pressuring of her blade towards even the slightest movements of her body, it was impossible to believe that a sudden move would not be met with a much harsher strike. And if this woman were serious, it wasn't likely that Leyaria would even get enough time to take a strike at her. All she could do right now was simply comply with the woman, for better or worse.

The woman's interest in Geth, it wasn't something that took Leyaria by a bit of a surprise. Given that it were not a mugging incident, she was more inclined to believe that this woman had explicitly targetted Leyaria. But if that were the case, why would she be unaware of whom Geth was, especially after for so long that the two of them had been travelling together. That this woman did not know who Geth was at all, it was odd.

Leyaria was not given much time to further reflect on that though before she found a very brief reprieve of the blade being pulled away from her backside, only for the woman to subsequently slam her into the wall, a sense of pain shooting up her backside that far outweighed any sort of pain in which the woman's sword had dealt up to that point. She hoped it would have been the end of it until she felt the woman press her arm up against her, the force at which she applied being enough to cause Leyaria's back to again bounce off of the wall, further causing pain to traverse through her body.

Now able to actually view her attacker, Leyaria was again surprised by what she had come to expect of this person. A part of her expected someone who appeared more like a street thug, an urchin, or somebody who may have been poor or otherwise addicted to some sort of vice. She wasn't expecting that it would have been a beautiful woman who was armed head to toe in high quality armor. The woman kept her eyes fixed largely upon Geth, as she did her sword, seemingly moving it ever so slightly with the slightest of Geth's movements. In the moments where the woman did turn towards Leyaria, the crimson pupils of her looked like death than of anything else.

No passion towards them. Only war.

The woman asked where it was that she had acquired Geth, a question that even Leyaria wasn't sure of. A part of her wondered if there had been any reason to the questioning, if there was a particular answer that she was expected to give or not. Lying didn't seem like it was going to be something that was going to work with this woman, especially given how coldly efficient this woman appeared to have been. She sighed, knowing that there was really only one answer that she could give, though she was loathed to think that it was going to be something that this woman would be satisfied with.

"I... I don't know. I just, one day it... He was there. Back in Crocus, months ago." Her words were serious, the history of where Geth came from still being unknown, the reason for its attraction towards Leyaria being a largely unknown still, even though she was very content, if not outright thrilled that the two had come to travel together since then. If this woman was going to believe her, that was a different story entirely. "He's been with me ever since. I swear."


"Why? Why do you care?"

The violence and the efficiency in which this woman dissed out said violence was unlike what Leyaria had seen before. Certainly not to what she had been forced to suffer herself in the past, but it was wholly apparent at least that there was no stopping to her continuing on with this assault, Leyaria's back having already taken a serious beating which was only further compounded by the shots that were taken by the woman as her palm continually pounded and struck against her shoulder, causing her entire backside to ache in pain, making the ability to focus much more difficult.

It was clear that this woman knew how to fight. She was a capable of fighter, one who took precise shots rather than having to be burdened by wasting shots, much like she had seen within the taverns, two drunken men fighting with each other, wasting energy and making reckless strikes with the aim of doing something. This woman though, she was particular and accurate, ensuring that her efforts were not wasted.

And to some degree, Leyaria could not help but respect that.

Even in spite of the fact that this woman was dominating her physically, Leyaria could not help but respect this woman for her clear skills. Beyond just getting the jump on her, by wholly controlling the scene, not just her but also Geth, it wasn't something that a drunken patron or someone who was simply trying to mug her would be able to do. At least not alone. That this woman was able to, it spoke to her abilities.

Leyaria was almost expecting another strike to come against her and her body was largely tense as a result, though the long pause between her speaking and the white-haired woman pondering her response had her wondering if things were alright. For a moment, it almost came as a surprise that the woman had issued her a proposal than anything else. Looking at the woman right within her crimson eyes, the pupils still looking like that of death, it was clear that this was not something that Leyaria had a choice towards. Rather, it was one that she was going to have to agree towards.

"I guess I don't have a choice. Do I?" Leyaria asked, her question immediately being answered by a small smile which appeared upon the woman's face. She sighed, "Fine... What do you want?"

The pain was something that she should have expected, but nonetheless it was something that was a shocker to Leyaria. But that may have been more attributed to the suddenness of it all than anything else. She had figured that the woman would have struck her again, though all of her attacks up to that point had been focused upon Leyaria's backside than anything else. In preparation for another push into the wall, Leyaria had tensed her back muscles, expecting the blow to occur, so to suffer the knee to the unguarded and vulnerable chest, it hurt more than anything up to that point that this woman had dealt to her.

She fell to the ground, the pain from the blow and the existing pain that ran through her back being more than enough such that there was no way for her to even move, let alone fight if she were even able to. She lifted her head to see the woman walking away, turning her head very slightly to get a final look at Leyaria's defeated body which lay in the alleyway. It was in this that perhaps this woman best memoralized herself within Leyaria's mind, of someone who was strong enough to completely dominate her and all the while one to not waste time for needless drama or effect. She was leaving as she accomplished her task, nothing more and nothing less.

With Geth by her side, Leyaria struggled to her feet, her chest hurting from the knee she took, but that pain was residing quickly. The strike that she had been last dealt was one that delivered a quick amount of pain but at the same time wasn't long lasting. Instead, that was for the shots she had taken to her back, the pain which she felt throughout that being constant and seemingly nonstop. With each step she slowly made, a bolt of pain ran through her body, at points causing her to require time to stop or even just use the wall for support and help herself upright.

As she collected herself and began to limp away into the crowds of Hargeon, the woman having long since disappeared from sight, there was only a single thing in which she was wondering as she headed towards a place to better rest and recover; who was the White Witch-Hunter? And perhaps more importantly, would the two of them meet again, possibly in a scenario when Leyaria would have a better chance than what she did here?

[Exit]