Tolkalee glanced back at her for a moment. He then smiled and nodded. He lit the paper and kindling then wiped his hands off and stood up straight. "I had a friend who had an arranged marriage. She went through with it, and ended up stuck in an abusive relationship with some rich dude. So I understand you not wanting to get married. Especially to someone you don't know," he replied nodding in an understanding way. "There is some bread in that cabinet over there if you want. Or I could make something." He gestured to a cabinet door across the room.
Vera's stomach growled at the mention of food. When was the last time she'd eatten? Her first night in the shant town all her money got stolen. She hadn't been able to stomach the thought of eating from a dumpster. And she most defiantly didn't have any luck begging.
The thought of eatting over-road any sense of caution Vera had, and she nodded her head. "Bread would be, amazing" she defiantly needed the carbs, her small frame could confirm it. But her oversized jacket hid most of her.
Tolkalee slipped past her to the cabinet and pulled out a small loaf of bread. He cut some off and handed it to her, then he placed it back, and walked back to the door. He pulled his hoodie back on. "You can go ahead and make yourself at home. And if you want to leave feel free, but I need to go and get some things I'll be back in a little," explained.
Vera bowed her head in thanks to his offer, but she would not be staying. As much as she wanted a dry place to sleep the night, a strangers home didn't seem very safe.
She wait about five (5) minutes after he left before she did the same. The bread already in her stomach.
The thunder boomed, making Vera jump. It seemed the rain had only picked up. On the bright side, at least it washed away the stench of the slums. Even if she was shivering- it seemed better than what might have happened had she stayed.
Tolkalee got back almost and hour later. Coming in dripping wet, limping much harder now. Looking around he instantly noticed that Vera was gone. He sighed and began stiffly pulling his hoodie off. He winced and bit his lip as he shifted his torso. After some struggle to get his wet clothing off her studied the bad bruising that was forming along his ribs. "Why do you always get into trouble for other people?" he sighed to himself. He then examined his leg, several of the stiches had broken and he was bleeding again. "Great."
Instead of trying to stitch it up again he wrapped it firmly and pulled his torn cargo pants, that had been drying by the fire, back on. He didn't pull his shirt on because it was still wet. It was raining hard enough to soak through his hoodie and his black t-shirt.
Part of him was kind of worried that Vera wouldn't be able to find any other shelter. The other part of him was glad she didn't see him as banged up as he was. She would likely ask questions, and while he wasn't going to lie or be rude to her, he wasn't a huge fan of answering all the questions in the world.
Vera's teeth clatered together, her clothes soaked through with rain. It hadn't taken long for her to hind a place for the night. Though the safety of it was in question.
Vera had some how managed to convince an inn keeper to give her a room in exchange for work. Of course this same innkeeper had seen her around the past few days, and had finally taken pity on her.
The room- if one could even call it that- had barley enough space for the small bed cramped in the corner, let alone for her. But it was better than nothing.
In her old life she never had to worry about where she was going to sleep, and she hoped soon things would change. Especially since she had managed to trade work for a room.
As she curled up on the stiff bed mat her mind keep wondering back to Tolkalee. Wandering what he had to go do. If he had made it back okay. The slums where dangerous at night. That was something she had learned fast.
Tolkalee pulled the knife he had out of his coat pocket and began cleaning it off. The knife was honestly more like a medieval dagger than anything else. It had a curved blade with a gold stripe down the middle. The handle was a silver color with a red ribbon wrapped around it.
Once he was done cleaning his knife he set it down and decided to get some rest, even if he was unlikely to sleep. Little rest was better than none.
When Vera awoke the next morning she had little to no idea of the time, as the room didn't have a window. However she did know it was late in the day. She could tell as much from the bustling kitchen.
The down stairs of the inn was less of a lobby, and more of a bar. Its round tables seeming a bit to close together, and the serving area seeming a bit to dirty.
But who would care in a place like this?
Tolkalee had been up for a while, mostly wandering, but also keeping an eye out for the young woman he'd met the night before. He just wanted to make sure she'd found a safe place to stay. He hadn't been here for very long, but he already knew how dangerous this place could be at night. At least it wasn't raining. The sky was still clouded, but it always seemed to be covered in clouds.
Vera had been able to grab a quick shower before the innkeeper showed her what she'd be doing to earn her keep. It wasn't much, and she defiantly knew she wouldn't be payed, but she still dreaded it.
The thought of being in a room full of drunks- especially after what'd happened the night before- didn't seem pleasing.
Vera found herself hoping to see Tolkalee again. He had saved, feed, and even offered her a place to sleep the night. Even if most people wouldn't, she wanted to repay him.
Tolkalee limped along the streets with his hands in his pockets. He was very sore, nd his leg throbbed, but the only sign of weakness he would ever show was his limp.
He came across an inn and paused. He didn't need the shelter, but a drink would be nice. He walked in and scanned the room for a moment, before sighing and finding an empty table near the back of the room. There were lots of people there and most of the men were drunk.
Vera quickly found a rhythm for getting between the too close tables, and dodging the fair amount of drunks that reached for her. And in the few short hours she'd actually been working, she'd managed to spill more than enough liquids on her apron.
Vera saw out of the corner of her eye as someone entered, and sat towards the back. She quickly made her way over to the table. It's not like there weren't other servers milling around, but because of her clumsily demeanor, they had her taking orders rather than serving.
"Hello," she said in a way to chipper voice, "welcome in sir- Tolkalee?" Her chipperness gave way to surprise.
Tolkalee glanced up when he heard Vera's voice. He gave a friendly smile to her, kind of surprised himself. "Well hello there, I honestly did not expect to see you working in such rough conditions. I trust you found a place to stay last night?"
"I convinced the the innkeeper to, in exchange for work that is." She gestured around herself. She hopped he'd let her keep working in exchange for the room. Money wasn't her need at the moment after all.
She knew she shouldn't have said where she was staying, for all she knew Tolkalee was a creep. But the kindness from the night before still stuck with her.
"I actually wanted to thank you for the bread last night, and saving me. Can I get you a drink? On the house as thanks." She didn't know if the innkeeper would approve, but if it came to it she'd just pay for it out of her tips.
"Just a water would be nice, thank you ma'am," Tolkalee replied with a nod. He shifted, and winced. He'd forgotten about his broken rib, and shifting hurt more than he'd expected. He silently cursed himself for having even slightly showing that he was hurt.
Vera nodded her head. She was ready to retrieve his order, but noticed his expression. "Are you okay?" It was none of her business- but she couldn't help it.
"Yeah," Tolkalee replied. "It's nothing, just some bumps and bruises. I'm fine, thank you for asking though." He bit the inside of his lip and moved again. Biting his lip helped him not show the pain in his core. He scanned the room again to make sure that he hadn't brought attention to himself, or to Vera. The last thing he wanted was for someone here to recognize him, as the man who was always stepped in to stop things. He knew that slowly he was gaining a rep for that, and at some point it was going to cause him more problems than he would be able to handle.
Vera nodded her head and left to retrieve his drink. She couldn't shake the feeling that maybe Tolkalee was lying. She had always had a nact for telling when people lied, that's why she had ended up in this place. Pushing when she didn't have to, asking to many questions. She couldn't help herself. But this time, she'd leave it alone. So mach damage had been done already.
"Here ya' go," Vera set his cup of water down before him. "Anything else?" She knew she had to get back to waiting on the other tables, but she didn't want to just yet. He was familiar to her- even though they had just met the night before- and nice. Which was more then anyone else sitting in this bar.
"No thank you ma'am," Tolkalee responded cheerfully. He took a sip of his water and set the cup down carefully. "You should probably get back to work, before you get in trouble. I'll stick around for a while if you want me to."
"Oh no, you don't have to." Vera waved a hand as if dismissing the idea. "But you are right, I should get back to work. C'ya." She gave a small wave, and left to tend to the other patrons.
How could so many men be so drunk this early in the day? It was almost a wonder this ramshackle town had any liquor in it at all. Of course the owner did have to kick several people out, due to the inability to pay their bill. It was almost funny actually. At least to Her.
Tolkalee decided to stick around anyways. Something in him said that there was a good chance of something happening. He wasn't sure what, but he wasn't going to leave and let Vera deal with it by herself. He figured she could take care of herself, but he also knew that it was nice to have back up on somethings. Just knowing that someone had your back did wonderous things.
The day droned on with little to no incident. A could be bar fight here and there, but the owner always seemed to brake things up before it got out of control.
The only mistake on Vera's part was letting her hard down. Her attention had been on her aching feet, not the drunk that made a grab for her wrist.
"Little mouse," he slurred. Vera's eyes widened at the voice. She would have never expected a run in with this man twice. "I don't have time for this." She desperately forced her voice to be strong, despite her efforts, it still wavered. "Now if you'd be so kind-" she made to pull her wrist from his grasp, he only tightened his grip. Making Vera bite back a cry of pain.
"Why if I'd know- hic- that a pretty little mouse like yourself," he trailed off not finishing his sentence.
"Let the girl go mate," Tolkalee spoke up from his seat not far from where Vera was. "Consider yourself warned. I've warned you once already, and I don't feel very keen to do it again. Besides the bar owner has had enough problems today without you being a part of them." He knew that this was not likely to end well, but he wasn't going to allow a piece of crap like this man pick on anyone. "Either leave," he stood slowly and faced the man. "Or I will make you."
"shouldn' be maken' threats boy." the drunk stood from where he sat, wobbling for a few moments. Vera's eyes darted between the two men. Surely there was a way that could resolve this mess without violence- but it would appear not. "I'll get back to ya' in a second lil' mouse."
The man dropped Vera's wrist and sloppily held his fists up for a fight. In his mind Tolkalee had issued an empty threat, and could easily be taken down. No matter the fact that the man was clearly drunken, he was sure this fight would end in his favor.
But from Vera's perspective this was going to be mess, and someone was going to get hurt. "Gentlemen please, there is no need."
But the drunk was already throwing his first punch.
Tolkalee caught the man's hand and twisted it around, then he grabbed the man's shirt and started moving towards the door of the bar. "I told you mate, either leave, or I would make you," Tolkalee was saying as he escorted the man out. "There is no reason to wreck the barkeeps bar." Once he was out the door he let the man go. "Now, I've warned you once before, and I already told you I didn't feel like repeating myself. I've decided to give you one more warning. If you don't leave that young lady alone, I will make you regret it. Now you start walking your way up that street over there, or you won't be walking at all."
Everything in Tolkalee was grumbling at him. His leg in particular was screaming in pain at him, but he knew that if he showed any weakness now things would end badly for him. With his leg the way it was, his bruised lower back and cracked ribs, a real fight right now would be bad. Yet he felt the need to teach these people to respect the women of this part of the city. He didn't even know why he felt that. He just did, so he would.
