The man's manner shifted.  No longer a friendly equal -- this was someone who was used to being in charge.  Something about him made her think military, or possibly law enforcement.  At the very least martial arts; he gave off a sense of discipline that indicated some sort of training.  The changed confused the young man beside her, and he fidgeted uncomfortably.  Something seemed wrong to him, but he couldn't put his finger on it.

Amuné felt it too, but it wasn't just the one that had approached her.  When his manner shifted, she'd tapped into her Sight and he wasn't alone.  There were more -- and he was a decoy.  She pulled out her knife even as the man said she might arm herself, her other hand hauling Jareth up and shoving him back so she could protect him.  "Get away from us," she snapped.

The freckled man beside her moved without protest, but he cringed as the creature covered with charcoal scales impaled the guy that had just offered them lunch.  "Holy crud, what the -- yipes!"  Something swept by them, the wind of its passing blowing his hair into his face, and he brushed it out of his eyes.  "Watch behind us, Jareth," his younger friend cautioned, and he gulped and started to turn, only to stop dead with a spluttered curse as the impaled man crumbled into ash.  "Jareth!"

"R-right!"  By all that was holy, he'd had no idea the darker world Amuné sometimes spoke of was quite this bad -- nor quite this close!  He turned so he could watch the other direction, as the girl behind him squared herself to the /real/ man with blue flames inside.  "If you have something to say, say it," she told him.  Was he with the Ring?  Or some other group that thought a Seer would be a valuable commodity?  Those who had rescued her as a child had done everything they could, but the fear that it wasn't enough never entirely left.  And people had come, but nothing particularly organized -- until now.  "But you better make it fast.  I don't like games."

[@TheMinorFall]