[i](Collab with [@Spoopy Scary])[/i]

Fiona was halfway through her cup of something strong when she finally caught a whiff of the disgusting pork sausage. Indeed, she could smell the man as well as hear him, insulting two of her new companions, two that she hadn't immediately found repulsive or depraved or otherwise undesirable. This man, Nolan, was all of those things, and yet Fiona was drawn to him. Her fist was drawn closed, and there was an undeniable attraction between it and the man's pudgy face. She really couldn't stop herself, not once there was drink in her. She didn't even know what drink it was. "Something strong" was all she'd ordered. 

She found herself across the table from the other Imperial, the one that looked even younger than she was. Finch, she believed he'd said. She had no real idea of how he got there, or who sat at the table first, but he was there now, in his rags and general state of dilapidation. She took another gulp of her drink, feeling the warmth rush through her, and then held up a finger at Finch.

[color=salmon]"Excuse me for one moment. This shouldn't take long."[/color]

Finch nodded in Fiona's direction, fully aware of the, quote-unquote,[i] pork sausage.[/i] He had been listening in on them for a while now, without so much as a drink in front of him. Instead, meagerly keeping his hands set on his lap with his eyes still shifting around the room. Nolan was the type Finch knew he didn't stand a chance against - but he also knew that he was the sort whose stupidity could easily be taken advantage of... at least, he thought Nolan was stupid. He looked the type.

Fiona stood, wisely leaving her blade propped against her seat, and made her way over to the table Nolan was looming over, offering a brief nod to Gaela and Kiralla as she approached. Nolan didn't see her until she was right next to him. Of course, Fiona wasn't the type to just blindside a man with a punch. She never did like to make things easy on herself. 

[color=salmon]"Hello there,"[/color] she said rather loudly, hands on hips. [color=salmon]"You're bothering my friends. And me. I suggest you leave."[/color] He turned his eyes on Fiona and they drank her in. She still wore her armor, what there was of it, and he half-smirked, still eyeing her. 

"Maybe we leave together, you and I," Nolan responded, not taking her seriously. "You look a feisty one. Reckon we'd have a good time." He chuckled at himself.

[color=crimson]"Oh yes,.. you should see her stare down a bloody crew of bandits..."[/color] Finch commented under his breath, out of ear shot.

[color=salmon]"I reckon I'd be a bit too much for you."[/color] His smile disappeared, letting Fiona smirk in its absence. [color=salmon]"You strike me as insufficient. In a few ways. Now please, get away from this table."[/color] Nolan seemed to have had enough of being spoken to that way by the women around him, and his response was to immediately throw the first punch. 

To his credit, he was quick, and hit like a truck. His fist caught Fiona across her left cheekbone, jarring her to the point of seeing stars, and sending her stumbling back a step to her knees. While she reeled, Nolan snickered to himself. "Now that's a more familiar place for you, ain't it?"

Finch immediately jolted backward in surprise. Their first stop out on the open road and things were already going south!

Fiona groaned slightly, shook her head, and then rushed back up at him before he could so much as finish his smug line. Her uppercut caught him under the jaw, sending a splash of blood up into the air when he bit his tongue. Before he could recover Fiona had seized his shoulder, rammed her knee into his crotch, and doubled him over, his face having gone purple. 

She seized his collar, and cracked a headbutt against his forehead, stunning him further. Another right hook caught his jaw for good measure, before she grabbed him by the shoulder and back of his head, and rammed him into a support beam, leaving a small bloody stain, and knocking Nolan out cold on his back. 

Huffing a breath, Fiona smiled down at her handiwork, before she realized that all eyes in the place were trained on her, including a guard by the door. Still half-smiling, she shrugged. [color=salmon]"What? You saw it, he punched me first. I was just defending myself."[/color] 

The guard rolled his eyes, and seized Nolan by the collar. Once the sausage had been thrown out the back, Fiona considered her work done. She nodded to the two mages at the table next to her. [color=salmon]"Best to keep the spell-slinging to a minimum in town, I'd say. Wouldn't want to burn down the place."[/color] With that, she tapped twice on their table, and turned on her heel. [color=salmon]"You girls enjoy your discussion."[/color] 

She ran a hand through her mess of hair, a vain attempt to organize it a little, before she rubbed slightly at her cheek. Nolan had hit quite hard, and it surely left a mark, but it was nothing Fiona hadn't endured before. She sank back into her seat across from Finch, and sighed. [color=salmon]"Sorry about that. Can't stand those types. Were you saying something?"[/color]

[color=crimson]"N-not a thing!"[/color] Finch stuttered - but it wasn't out of fear, he had a big old grin on his face and taking something of an awed look at the woman in front of him. He was definitely impressed by the absolute beatdown that the red-headed woman delivered on an asking thug. He watched as the guardsman dragged him out by his collar, probably to spend a night in the stocks. Then again, he probably wouldn't wake until the morning anyways! He made something that sounded like a rueful sigh.

[color=crimson]"It might've been worth it to check his pockets, though... a couple septims to tip the innkeeper with and apologize for the ruckus?"[/color]

[color=salmon]"Way I see it, I probably did the innkeep a favor,"[/color] Fiona responded, taking another drink. [color=salmon]"That guy was probably driving away business. Maybe he'll think twice next time."[/color] She leaned back in her chair, intertwining her fingers and resting her hands in her lap. [color=salmon]"I'm not much of a looter, anyway."[/color] 

It was a good little fight, one that left Fiona feeling rather content with herself. The bad guy got what was owed him, Fiona delivered it herself, and she proved she was more than tough enough to take a hard blow and keep fighting. The three pillars she seemed to live by, more or less. Because there were always bad people that needed dealing with, a shortage of people to deal with them, and more than enough people willing and able to beat her down. Such was the life she chose. 

[color=salmon]"So what landed you in irons?"[/color] she asked, eyes flitting back up to Finch. [color=salmon]"Forgive me if I'm wrong, but you strike me as a burglar or some such."[/color] Not a very successful one, though. She supposed he could've just been hauled in for making the streets look less appetizing. His state made Fiona look like a woman well put-together. 
 
[color=crimson]"Heh..."[/color] Finch uncomfortable laughed to himself as he averted his gaze from Fiona. It wasn't difficult to tell from this that Fiona wasn't far off her mark, but Finch didn't take any pride from it. Part of him wanted to make a witty comeback like all the others seemed capable of doing, like, something about burglar and beggar sounding so similar or something. But even if anything were to come to him, perhaps it would be best for him to be as honest as he could without condemning himself. He started to speak, though hesitating.

[color=crimson]"It... it comes with the, uh..."[/color] Finched sighed, annoyed with himself. [color=crimson]"It was a book. That's it, I just [i]took a book.[/i] Then there I was, chained next to actual killers, scheduled for execution."[/color]

The young imperial lad's arms crossed and he shut as his, as if he were still coming to grips with all that has happened. [color=crimson]"I guess they just wanted to throw out whatever trash they could haul."[/color]

[color=salmon]“Well, I guess you and I were in the same boat then,”[/color] Fiona responded, tugging at the hem of her jacket. [color=salmon]“I’d had too much to drink, and this asshole provoked me. Lot like I did just now. [i]He[/i] had backup, though, no easy fight. They got me pretty good, but I got them worse. Got plenty of the tavern, too, and that’s what they threw me in for.”[/color] Seemed like it was just about who could get under who’s skin first, and that guy had definitely known how to get under hers. Still, didn’t work out for him in the end. He was food for crows now, and Fiona was somehow still breathing. 

[color=salmon]“I hope it was a good book, at least,”[/color] she half smiled to herself, and took another drink. 

[color=crimson]"Heh, yeah... quite a novel."[/color] Finch said uncomfortably. He twiddled his thumbs a bit, trying to think of something to change the topic to.

[color=crimson]"Others don't expect... [i]people like me[/i] to read,"[/color] the young man continued, [color=crimson]"they'd sooner think we use them as kindling or dinner plates. Truth is, there are a lot of things that burn easier than books. Plates are novelty, but dignity doesn't come before eating."[/color]

[color=salmon]“Mm,”[/color] Fiona murmured, not really sure what to say to that. It seemed they both didn’t live in steady locations, but somehow Fiona imagined her experience on the road was much different than his. She wasn’t really able to make herself small, so to speak. She tended to stand out in a lot of places.

She took a look at her cup, and found it quite unsatisfactory. [color=salmon]“Well, I think I’ll have another round. Couldn’t hurt too much. Want anything?”[/color]

Finch shook his head profusely, then shyly looking around the table as if that were an adequate hint. With types like Brynn, Cedric, and the orc, the last thing Finch wanted was to be anything less than on his toes. He still did not trust them, and while Fiona got his respect, he still did not know what to expect from her - and she, too, has shown herself to be capable of taking care of others. In the non-motherly sense. He didn't want to get too comfortable around these sorts.

[color=salmon]“Suit yourself,”[/color] Fiona said, before she rose and strode off towards the innkeep. She supposed a tip would be in order, as an apology for the mess not long before. She’d even made sure to hit the man’s head on the support beam rather than the wall, to avoid denting anything.

Fiona was thoughtful, sometimes, while she was clobbering people that deserved it.