The morning was drawing to a close, but the day was still stretched ahead of her. Mergoux left the square, darting nimbly between people in the crowds, swiftly vanishing from sight as she plotted her afternoon. A meal, then perhaps some hunting before she left the next day. She hadn't been in the city long, but she'd found a few dives where she likely wouldn't be recognized, or at the very least not bothered. 

Her path took her down a narrow alley, dimly lit and grubby. The tall buildings drenched the cobbles in shadow, even as the sun shone overhead, almost at it's zenith. Mergoux liked this alley, as much as she allowed herself to like anything in this city. The alley attracted all the wrong kinds of attention for most folk, but for the Butcher, it was exactly what she wanted.

As she approached the halfway mark, a dirty-looking figure stepped from a doorway and blocked her path. Moments later, another stepped out behind her, effectively trapping her in. The man in front of her was weedy-looking. Obviously an abuser of some kind of substance, his breath reeking of alcohol and rotting teeth. "Alright, y'know th' drill. 'And over all yer coin, else I'll stick ya wif' ol' betsy." he grunted. 'Old Betsy' appeared to be a rather well-made looking short sword. It was rusty and chipped yes, but the underlying gleam of the metal and the ornateness of the hilt made Mergoux think it was not something the man had come in to by any legal dealing. 

She felt the man behind her step closer, then felt the tip of a dagger pressed between her shoulder-blades. "Do 'as 'e said." said a gravelly voice. Judging by where it came from, the man was taller than her, likely more muscular too, but that also would likely make him slower. Mergoux felt that rush that only oncoming violence could give as she opened her mouth to speak. "No."

She jolted forwards, then pivoted suddenly, taking both men by surprise. At first the thinner man had raised his own weapon to defend himself, while the bigger one made a clumsy grab. However as she ducked under his stubby fingers, her boots ground against the cobble. Her arm raised itself, elbow moving to the appropriate height as with a dull thunk she caught the bigger man in the jaw, right where she'd heard his voice emit. The dagger fell from his hand as he staggered back, but it did not reach the ground. 

Mergoux ducked, predicting the would-be-mugger's actions perfectly. She tucked and rolled as he brought down the shortsword in an overhead swing that missed entirely. Coming up with the bigger man's dagger in her left hand, now facing the skinny one, she darted forwards as the mugger attempted to recover from his overswing. Too late however as his accomplice's weapon buried itself in his side. He fell with a cry of pain as blood leaked onto his shirt, staining brown cloth red. 

The big man was still splayed across the alley, groggily rubbing his possibly broken jaw. The woman had hit him harder than he could remember, stars dancing in his vision as pain throbbed in his skull. That was only the beginning though, as while his friend lay bleeding out, the Butcher loomed over him. He saw her raise her boot, blocking out what he could see of the sky as it came down on his face. 

_________

Mergoux walked from the alley, leaving a trail of bloody footprints behind her for a few paces, before the dirt of life in the city coated her soles once more, and she walked off to enjoy good meal at a small tavern that made especially good roasted raccoon.