No one would have thought that Asra would be living in The Heart’s District someday, it seemed as unlikely as him ever defecting from clubs and while the latter would be far more acceptable in the eyes of another faction, the former was what he had decided to do instead. Three years had passed by quickly, his heart now belonged to the person that used to be his best friend and their decision to live together shortly after accepting that fact could have not come at a better time.
However, even if Asra had all those years to adapt to a new way of living, trouble always seemed to be lurking around the corner and it had the bad habit of following the fire elementalist wherever he went, no matter in what part of Kadeu he might be, danger would always find him.
Perhaps it was because Asra stood out like a sore thumb in that faction, if not by his looks, certainly it would be due to his choice of clothing and even if that wasn’t already enough, the way he carried himself and acted was sure to do the trick. Even with that said, Asra had truly made an effort of staying out of trouble at least in that large area of Kadeu, forcing himself not to make the wrong choice that would sooner or later bring him awful consequences.
Once, years ago, he had been reckless enough to cause damage in a faction that was not his own, blinded by the grief that came with the loss of some other lover, his fire had been destructive then, but the punishment he received by the one that ruled that part of Kadeu was something beyond anything that Asra had ever felt and it had been an experience that even after years, he still hadn’t forgotten, a valuable lesson had been learned right then and he had absolutely no desire to relive that kind of pain ever again.
But, sometimes not even his best efforts were enough.
This had all started with a small accidental push, then someone offered to pay for the cleaning of a now soaked silk shirt, someone else got offended, then some unpleasant words were shared and then all at once everyone got angry, a group was quickly formed and a fight broke out.
Asra had no plan as he ran through the streets. He knew that he could put enough distance between him and the other group, enough to mislead them and then get lost in between the crowd and forget this ever happened. No casualties and definitely no burnt buildings. However, destiny had funny ways of working against him and suddenly he was crashing against something solid, before realizing that that something was actually a person.
He did not expect his day to turn out like this, fighting off a group of people in the middle of the street. It was not as if he was unused to this kind of occurrence back at the clubs, but he knew that this was an unusual event in the Hearts’ faction and that it would make some of the people walking by uncomfortable. Perfect, exactly the attention that he wanted.
He had lacked the time to properly apologize for having crashed into someone, even if that stranger had not seemed fazed by the action and had opted for simply leaving the scene quietly. However, an unexpected turn of events happened once again, the fight was back again and Asra had just been punched in the jaw, almost falling to the ground as a consequence, fortunately he had been able to get back to his feet before producing a small flame - enough to burn and cause pain, but not enough so that it would spread wildly and cause unnecessary damage - and slapping some other guys’ face. Everything was just so heated that Asra missed the opportunity to witness Shu-ling’s knife skills, but fortunately he did not miss her offer to help him.
A small, apologetic smile graced his bruised face, he needed help and he was not going to throw that away by telling the truth.
And thankfully, the unknown woman proved to be a valuable helper, because not only was she able to catch onto his weakness and protect it but she was also a much more capable fighter than he could have ever predicted. Unfortunately for Asra, he could only rely on his fists for damage, using fire would have to be very controlled and he was not a fan of that, so instead he moved swiftly alongside Shu-Ling, protecting her back as she fighted off the others while at the same time he tried to disarm a woman that came at him with a sword.
He was not very skilled with those kinds of weapons, but it would have to do, for now, if he wanted to get out of this - not that he planned on killing anyone, unless he wanted to face Joui’s wrath again. What he planned however was to ask Sparrow for some knife lessons afterwards.
Shu-Ling hardly trusted this man against her back, as much as she also did not trust the assailants that were now involving her in this fight. She heaved a sigh and analyzed exactly what her next actions would end up being. Fighting was not something she usually did outside of training grounds, or while sparring Laela and Clayton. This was unusual, she hadn’t had to truly engage herself in the streets like this since she’d been 10, yes, indeed--ever since the moment she’d entered the military ranks. So if there was one thing she was not going to do was spill more blood than she already had.
The knee thing had been a knee jerk reaction, something she was sure she’d have to respond to if words ever got out that she’d been involved in this. It was much too late for that though, what was done was done and to be fair, she couldn’t simply stand by and let herself get beaten up either. That would not look befitting of her, as a Spade or as a soldier, or even as the girl she’d once been in her younger days. So to analyze was simply a way of making sure no one lost their life tonight, her fists would be as light as her stepping on the side, knocking the opponent facing her off their feet and watching them groan and get up again.
To stand down would be ideal for them but of course, she couldn’t expect them to simply do that in a fight. Even Shu-Ling would not suggest that, it was a dishonorable way of losing. She focused as they got back on their feet and charged yet again, it would be best for her to avoid rather than attack, so assuming the man behind her could handle himself with the other woman, Shu-Ling detached herself from his back and rolled on the ground. A calculation that did leave her vulnerable, on her back and staring up at all the ways this could turn deadly if her opponent was quick in thinking of his next move.
The man did seem to understand that it was time to make a decisive move as he rushed to hover over her, a fist aiming at her jaw. A weapon would have been more efficient, Shu-Ling thought as she took in the blow of his punch, which did not stop he from lifting her legs and squeezing them around his midsection. Her hand rapidly rose and she hit his throat with the edge of it, a quick trick to render him unconscious. But a fatal one if the force was not ten times lighter coming from her hand. She prayed that it worked as she saw his head lull and his body slump forward against her. The weight of him, she gently shoved off her with a grunt, crouching in the dust to put her finger against his pulse--still breathing. Great. Shu-Ling had done her part, now to see if the person responsible for this hassle was handling himself well. The man with the bleeding knee was leaning against the wall, apparently having given up, which was wise of him. As for the one who was supposed to be handling himself? Whatever his fight had been like, it mattered none as he was suddenly propelled in her direction, stumbling and losing balance. Shu-Ling rose to steady him, hands against his back as she frowned at the warmth of him, assuming it was due to his lack of endurance and how much he had to exert himself right now.
“You’re weaker than you look.” Her words came out a bit slow and assessing, but she had to quickly shove him to the side before intercepting a sword that would have surely gutted him--or her for that matter, she quickly twisted it out of the woman’s hold, it fell to the ground without much resistance.
“Can we end this now?” Shu-Ling asked as the eyes of the other woman bore into hers, it was too dark to see what they were conveying but if she were in her shoes, Shu-Ling would be gauging the pros and cons of continuing this fight with less bravour and more logic. Most of the chances were against her. It seemed after a while that her survival instincts did kick in, or maybe her wrist was hurting a bit too much from Shu-Ling giving it a bit more of a squeeze, nothing majorly damaging. All thanks to Clayton who had been the perfect guinea pig in how much pressure she needed to cause pain but not break. Shu-Ling released her only when her instincts reassured her that the woman would take off rather than try to retaliate, a bet on her guts she hoped was accurate and it was.
The woman stumbled back and quickly turned to make her escape in the dark. Not without throwing over her shoulder as she gathered her injured but conscious comrade, “This is far from over!”
Shu-Ling observed them with a deepening frown, worry creasing her forehead before she took in a breath and turned where she remembered tossing the other man. The one who had probably caused all of this. The thing was, the shove she’d given him, that one had not been calculated at all, so while she was not surprised to find him on the ground, she did find it alarming when she approached him, “Hey, are you alright?” and tapped him lightly to not get much of a response from him.
Before panic settled in and after a few more light slaps against his cheeks, a quick check of his pulse proved him not dead--just unconscious.
How unconscious and what the true cause of it was, Shu-Ling had no idea how else to figure that out other than to have to transport this body all the way to her horse and then take him to see a healer. Which was, just what she needed right now, another unwanted responsibility. She would send for the old lady who treated her mother to help her out with this one. This incident being something she didn’t necessarily want people knowing among her fellow peers so to act with someone who knew how to keep things quiet was the next best solution. Shu-Ling heaved his body without much effort over her shoulder and proceeded to continue on this rather unsavory adventure.
The road to her mother’s cabin would be bittersweet.
