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[h1][color=lightblue][b]Jess Tauri[/b][/color][/h1][/center]
[center][color=lightblue]Location - [i]Some dirty alleyway inhabited by thugs. Joy. [/i]
Mood - [i] Too old for this shit.[/i]
Status - [i]Fine as a horse with cancer.[/i][/color]

[hr]


Jess sipped his morning coffee as he surveyed the alleyway he found himself in. The stench of waste and bodily fluids burnt his nostrils just by standing by the alley. Rubbish littered the ground with the occasional rodent dragging rotten food off into the darkness. Shouts of people and the screaming of backed-up vehicles echoed in the background. Jess glanced up to see towering buildings into the cloudy, dark sky. He took another sip of coffee and smacked his lips.

He had not expected to be randomly teleported to a dirty alleyway this morning, but he’ll roll with it. Must be some inopportune Lucidity moment that transported him from the frontier inn he was lodging into some major city he hadn’t heard of yet. At least it wasn’t raining from the ground this time. Always got his clothes wet.

The former outlaw kicked a discarded can down the alley. His only complaint was why this passage hadn’t been greened up yet. What was this, some underdeveloped state? 

But he rolled his shoulders and picked out a garbage dumpster for scavenging. There had to be something worth selling if people just dumped their litter all over the place. Only thing he’d need to worry about were Watchmen patrolling about the place. Lowest on the police rung they may be, but they were as vicious and zealous in their enforcement of the law as any other officer. Jess didn’t need to be subjected to another song about the health risks of dumpster diving alongside being slapped with a hefty fine. 

So Jess strode over to the dumpster. His ears perked up and sourcing the background noise for any approaching footsteps. And not even five steps did he hear mocking laughter and stomping footfalls. Jess rolled his eyes. He could already tell who these idiots were. Local thugs thinking themselves hot shit.

His assumption was confirmed when a trio of men emerged from the darkness of the alleyway. Each one wore scuffed up shirts and baggy pants. The weapons they brandished were dull knives, a spiked ball, and a rusty crowbar. The one upfront held a wide grin plastered on his face. He examined Jess in a predatory fashion.

“What do we have here, some fucking cowboy?” He outstretched his arms as if to mockingly embrace Jess. 

 All Jess did was stare at the idiots in response. The other two thugs flanked him on both of his sides. His hand twitched towards the kukri hidden under his coat. Jess took a breath to steady his nerves. Not yet. 

“Ya think you’re some tough-” The leader of the thugs made the mistake of stepping too close to Jess. The former outlaw thrusted his knee straight into the leader thug’s groin, but before the thug or his cronies could react or even scream, Jess whipped out his kukri and pressed it against the thug’s neck. The metal gleamed from the waves of sweat rolling down the leader’s neck. Jess heaved the thug off the ground and brought the idiot up to his deadpan, bored face. 

“Listen ‘ere partner. Murder’s a messy bussinus and I ain’t keen on getting in trouble with the law of the land. So I’m gonna break yer bones.” Jess said before a wet and sickening crack echoed throughout the alleyway. Blood dripped from the handle of the kukri as Jess tossed the unconscious thug onto the ground like the piece of litter he was. 

A yell from his left grabbed his attention. He whipped about, catching the rusted crowbar swinging down onto his head. Jess tilted his head to a side, giving the thug that attacked him a questioning look. The thug heaved with all of his strength to rip free his crowbar whilst Jess kept his kukri pointed at the other, trembling thug. A few moments of this standoff past before the trembling thug took the opportunity to run for his life and out of the alleyway.

Jess quirked an eyebrow and cracked a smile. His head slowly turned to the last remaining thug.

“How quickly the tide turns.”

“Was that a fucking-” The thug didn’t finish when Jess knocked the thug out with his kukri as he did with the leader. He released his grip and the man collapsed into a heap.

The former outlaw flicked the blood off of the handle of the kukri and sheathed it back under his coat. He strode over to the still unconscious leader of the thug and crouched over the body. His hands padded the thug down, feeling for any wallets or valuables. All the while Jess hummed a little tune, content in his own little world. After all, if he still got into trouble with the local law then he could pull a few strings or cash in a favor to get himself released.

How unfortunate that he didn’t know he was no longer in his own world. 

@Open for interaction, just beware of Jess's trigger-finger   

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