Posted 09 September 2011 - 04:36 PM
"Woman...?" he asked with a tone of sincere confusion in his voice, despite the fact that he knew exactly what he was talking about.
"And, what exactly do you want with this woman?" The mummy man asked the group as he eyed them down. Lenny was at a distinct disadvantage of not knowing what was going on. He needed information badly, but he didn't just get it from what they said. He studied their body language and facial expressions, trying to read their whole hand, not just the cards they threw away.
The man who had been talking was as far up the steps as he could be with out stepping through Lenny. He had good posture, standing up right and tall. He looked angry, even while he was apologizing to the dragon.
Of course he was first to speak again, "We want to make her pay for her crimes!"
"What exactly did she do to you to get you this fired up?" Leonard asked wondering if he had the right to intervene.
"We don't have time for this! She's getting away!" the man screamed putting a foot on the top step to be face to face with Leonard, grabbing him by the collar of his shirt. The makeshift Lost held his ground and kept a neutral expression on his face.
"S-she burned down our clinic! She could have hurt people..." A young looking man peeped out from behind a few others on the steps. He was hunched over, almost cowering. He held his arms in front of him, pressed desperately to his chest. He seemed uncomfortable, and just didn't seem the type to lie.
"Could have...?" He picked up on it. "You mean she didn't?" Leonard pressed the point.
"N-no one was inside at the time... B-but.… there easily could have been," the timid man responded quickly, but with uncertainty in his voice. As he did, he slowly shrank behind the man standing before him, hiding away from Leo's cold stare.
"Quite the coincidence, that there wasn't," he pressed again.
"You're right, it's just arson. Oh, well... We'll just go back home and start turning away all the sick and injured people of the city. All is forgiven," a third man spoke up, the one the timid one was hiding behind. He shrugged as he talked, and the infliction in his voice showed that he was obviously being sarcastic.
"The Hel, it is!" The first man barked, right in Leonard's face, while griping his shirt tighter.
"What exactly do you plan to do with her when you catch this... Woman?" Leonard continued his interrogation with out missing a beat.
"Thanks to you and your damn questions, we won't catch her!" The first man barked again, he raised his fist like he was about to attack, but he stoped at the last second and eyed the dragon behind Leonard wearily. He adjusted his footing nervously and stayed his fist, but he didn't lower it until his brother called out to him and he turned from Leonard to look to him.
"Don't worry, brother," the third man to speak called out.
"I had some of the guys circle around and make sure no one would get off of this roof," He explained.
He then looked to Leonard.
"We plan to take her out for a nice night on the town. You know, show her a good time," He said sarcastically once again.
"We're going to beat. Her. To. Death..." The older man said as he slowly turned back to face Leonard. He glared straight into Leonard's eyes, and Leo knew he wasn't bluffing or exaggerating.
Leonard agreed that she should be punished, but no one had actually been directly hurt by her. Killing her was excessive, but Leonard knew that the wrath burning in the man leading the others would make him deaf to any pleas for mercy.
"I can't let you do that," The Lost said quietly and calmly.
"That so...?" The man gripping his shirt by the collar responded, mimicking his calm attitude despite the fact that he was obviously seething with rage.
Still gripping his shirt with one hand, he raised his other in a fist again and pulled it back. It was a telegraphed move, Lost had been preparing for. Before that punch could be thrown, he sprang into action. He stepped his right foot back to move into his stance, while bringing up his arms. He grabbed the wrist of the arm holding his shirt, and held in place, while he brought his other arm in for a fast short right hook. The punch landed hard on the mad man's elbow. The punch easily dislocated the joint. In some of the underground arenas his master took him to for practical training, Leonard found out the hard way that some Dracovari were 'mightier' than they looked. One punch from some of them, and he'd be out, but it didn't matter how strong they were, because their joints were equally as weak. That's because joints are nothing but gaps.
"Gaaahdesss, damn it!" the man screamed in pain, not expecting it. Despite the pain, he had gotten his punch out, but the impact that had dislocated his elbow had staggered him so hard, that the punch had no form at all. The tall proud man's stance crumpled from the pain as he screamed.
"Big brother!" the timid man called out in shock.
"You sonna'va..." the man in front of the timid one screamed in protest as he and the other men began to rush the stairs.
OOC: Sorry for high jacking the thread for a bit, and the npcs, I wanted to get to the point were Aria could post if she felt like it, and also to where Leonard could decided that he would fight .
To those who go the way, he who has strayed from the path, shall be known as The Lost.
To he who has strayed, he has simply forged a new path. Art done by me~