Waiting (( Open))

[Raven Alexander]

Raven was out for a run, keeping herself fit seemed to occupy a lot of her time, downside of being an army brat, it was ingrained in her from a very early age that she would need to fight to stay alive and never give in all this required stamina and speed. Even on her runs she would carry a blade, nothing epic just enough that if she got cornered she could use it to fight her way out of the spot. It was strapped in place in the small of her back, concealed under her hot pink running vest. When she ran she liked to pace herself to a heavy beat, the MP3 player blared in one ear, the other she kept clear so she could hear anyone trying to get the drop on her.
The neighbourhood seemed calm and quiet, rounding the corner of her usual route she heard an almighty crash, something heavy hit the ground of the house 2 plots down, shortly after another loud thud and some kind of commotion, tugging at the earbud she stowed it in the pocket at the back of her running vest and liberated her blade from its hiding place, she didnt slow up until she got close enough to hear what exactly was going on. Two men were fighting in the yard outside the house, one of them looked decidedly younger than the other and was getting wailed on.
"Hey!" she yelled as she drew close to the pair "Put him the fuck down and step away" The kid was bleeding and she didnt like the look of the older guy, he didnt seem to wanna let up, looking up briefly at the window she saw a face at the broken window, did he fall out of the window?
Mentally tagging the kid as possibly more of a threat than she had bargained for, she waited for either one to make a move. "what the fuck have I walked in on" she thought to herself.

[Angel Killer]

While she watched Adrian and Roman down below, Angel's gaze averted to the approaching woman who only by where her gaze was faced she could tell was yelling at Roman who began getting the upper hand in the fight down below. However she was unable to hear from up here exactly what she was yelling about, in fact she was unable to hear anything, that was except for the thoughts of the others. This was something very disturbing to Angel as she turned and looked over her shoulder at Liam who was approaching towards Adrian's friend.

Angel turned completely around to watch the scene between the two who were still inside the house, she looked from where the other girl was standing and where the demon was positioned, she had no weapons, however if she timed herself accurately, she may just be able to push Liam hard enough to knock him down the stairs. It seemed like a good enough plan, but judging from the heat coming off of him, it was going to be a painful move.

Closing her eyes, Angel prepared herself to run forward, she just needed enough leverage on the shove to knock him over, if they managed to get him off of his feet, to get the upper hand, the other woman would surly have the advantage, after closing her eyes for a brief moment, she opened them again, she stared intently on the demon, thinking over the plan once more before her feet lifted off the ground and she ran forward hitting the demon from behind, hoping against all odds that it would be enough to surprise him to knock him down to give the female the advantage.

[Akeelah]

With her knife embedded into her enemy Akeelah quickly backed away from her opponent. Unfortunately she had no other choice but to let go of her weapon instead of taking it with her as she intended to do. There was no way that Akeelah was going to let him grab her while in that form, the last time that happened it didn’t end well for her. She caught the look of utter contempt in his gaze when he turned around to face her, and even his tone had changed from his usual amused tone to a darker, more serious tone. Akeelah matched his fierce gaze with one of her own, if he was pissed off she didn’t care, in fact she was happy to see him upset. He deserved it after all the things that he had done to her in the past.

“Everything is just a god damn game to you isn’t it?” she growled back in response, pulling out another blade as he approached her. It was obvious that he was trying to intimidate her but she wouldn’t let him win so easily, she couldn’t afford to let him. If he passed by her now then he would go after Adrian who if the fall had not seriously injured him, (And she hoped that it didn’t.) was dealing with Roman. Even though Adrian was not human he couldn’t handle two demons at once. No matter what she could not let this demon pass her. Besides this was her kill and there was no way that she was letting someone else take his life, even if that meant that she had to turn on her partner to do it.

“Unfortunately for you I am not playing around, I am not going to let you win his time.” Out of the corner of her eye Akeelah saw the other girl running towards them. The instant that her unexpected helper came in close enough to push him Akeelah quickly side stepped out of the way. Stretching a leg out as she did so to help him topple over. The instant that the demon fell to he ground she would bring her weapon down and plunge the knife deep into the back of his knee with enough force to break his kneecap. This demon might have a high tolerance for pain but it would be damn well hard for him to move with such an injury and that was what she was counting on.

“Get out of here now while you still have the chance!” she turned her attention back at the girl, giving her a serious, commanding look. As much as Akeelah was grateful for the help she didn’t want the girl o get hurt because of this. This was not her fight and she needed to leave now before she was seriously hurt.

[Adrian]

Normally, Adrian would have had no trouble dealing with such a maneuvre, he had run over such scenarios countless times in his mind and devised ways to counter such moves and turn his opponents against themselves. But the injuries he had sustained would have killed your average warrior three times over and his body was straining to simply hold itself together. He retaliated an instant after Roman had released him, pushing himself backwards and stomp-kicking in the direction, the foot heading for Roman's gut. But it never arrived. Something soundlessly struck Adrian's head, pushing it to the side and letting him fall gently, slower than what gravity desired, to the ground. A quiet chuckle echoed through the shadows. "There now, don't pull anything."

From the shadows, about thirty feet from where Adrian was now fast asleep, a figure emerged, grinning wickedly and limping along with the support of a cane. His skin was white as the moon, long black hair tied up in a ponytail and purple eyes glittering in the late night. He was dressed as though he were heading for grand ball in the thirties, black suit with a white shirt and a blood-red tie, topped off with a well-polished pair of shoes and a pair of black silk gloves. When he spoke his voice carried no threat, though he did seem to be enjoying himself. "I suggest that you leave now, and take that fellow spawn of yours with you. You seem to have done enough harm as it is." Two other figures appeared from the shadows, flanking the first one who had paused, resting his weight on his cane. One was that of an bearded, old man dressed in a leather jacket and a hooded jumper, both worn by what seemed like many years of weather and wear. The other was somewhat younger, clean-shaven and carried a lead pipe in one of his hands. His most striking feature was his shirt, bordeuax with light blue sleeves. The later of the two seemed somewhat uneasy, but the elder man's eyes burned with hatred.

[Alison]

Alison kept the letter in her pocket. She had hoped when she had gotten here onto the earth relm that her saviour as he so nicely put it had forgotten about her, but sadly for Alison they had not, and she had awoken to find this letter written by him telling her that Angel was in danger, or going to be in danger. This guy seemed to have a knack for knowing. It was weird to Alison how he just had this odd sense of knowledge and just knew stuff about her, about Angel, about... situations. It was kind of freaking her out, nothing a little pot couldn't handle though Alison thought as she patted the pocket, where accompanied by the letter sat a nicely rolled joint, one in which she would enjoy lighting up and partaking in later.

The closer she got to the house, the more she felt a haunting chill down the spine of her back, there was something terribly wrong at the house, perhaps the letter she had gotten was getting to her, it did say after all that she was to get to her friend, she was in danger. Alison picked up her pace, she broke into a sprint at first, and then once the house was in view Alison's sprint broke into a run, her feet barely getting the chance to hit the ground she ran so fast.

Finally, she reached the house, Alison stopped at the front door, from inside she could hear a struggle, there was no doubt about it, there was definately trouble inside. How did he know? she wondered before bursting through the door, just in time to hear a girl's voice commanding Angel to get out of the house, Alison looked at Liam who was laying on the ground, although she didn't know exactly who he was, she noticed him from Mallet Island, she had dodged from him when escaping from Mallet Island, he was dangerous, she didn't know how she knew that all she knew was that he was a danger and the woman was right. " Angel." Alsion called out, her eyes scanning the area until they landed on her estranged friend. " She's right, come on we gotta get out of her." It was stupid, there was no way Angel was going to get out of her house willingly, especially with Alison, but maybe, if she used force.....

[Roman]

Roman prepared himself to take the blow, watching Adrian's foot aiming at his stomache, however he was taken aback when it hadn't connected. In fact he was quite pleasantly surprised when he seen that instead of the kid hitting him, something had attacked the hunter instead.

" That was cool." Roman muttered to himself looking around trying to find where the blow had come from. This house seemed to have drawn quite a number of vistiors, some of which were starting to get on Roman's very last nerve.

Roman heard a chuckle and his eyes quickly found who had made it, spotting the man emerge from the darkened shadows. Roman looked at him curiously, and listened to the words that came out of his mouth. He was warning him? No, it was a threat, one in which Roman didn't take kindly to getting, weather he was misreading the words or not, Roman did not know, or didn't care. He looked around him and took in his situation, two in the house ( He didn't know Alison was there) and four out here, one of which was useless at the point, Adrian had taken quite the fall. But still, Roman knew he and Liam was out numbered, and knew that they would probably not win this battle. " Fine." He spat out, " We'll go." He looked down at Adrian who was laying on the ground, " But by no means, don't think this is over."

With his last words he disappeared and then rematerialized beside his brother who seemed to be apprehended at the time by Adrian's friend. " Sorry girl, my brother and I must leave, Perhaps you and Liam can get reaquainted some other time." He looked behind him to see Alison standing there, let out a dark chuckle at the sight of her and then finally, he faced Angel, his face showing no apparent emotion. " Your boyfriend may have came this time pet, but he can't always be around when your in danger." With this he tugged on Liam's arm, preparing himself to take him and Liam out of here, finishing this battle up- for now.

[Liam]

With no time to respond Liam felt himself knocked down and in the mercy of the huntress who took advantage of the present situation with another jab of her blade. " You'll pay for that." He yelled quickly, using as much force as he could to push himself up to a standing position so he could turn and look both women in the eyes meeting their gaze with a firey glare of his own.

He listened to his attacker tell the other girl to run, this he found to be at his amusement and a bemused smile formed on his darkened face. " Oh no Angel, stay. Please stay, it'll be fun to hear the two of you scream in pain." He looked at one girl and then to the other, it reminded him of something, an image of two girls he had once killed, my what he wouldn't do to finish these two off like he had them, but as that very thought crossed his mind two things happened almost simontaniously. First was the introuder, Alison, who had come in the door behind them. Liam turned to look this girl in the face, immidiately recognizing the energy that came from her. " I...." He was about to tell her he recognized her when his brother than appeared by his side, he seemed rushed, " What not having a good time?" He mused as Roman hurridly told him they had to leave?

Something spooked him, was Liam's first thought, this was something strange for Roman to want to back out of a fight like this. Mind you, looking at their odds at this present time, fleeing may be the brightest idea at the moment. " Well, darling, it was great." Liam called out looking at Akeelah, his smile had widened, " We'll catch up soon." He promised right before allowing his brother to pull them from the stairs, leaving the women to stand on the spot.

[Angel Killer]

Angel stood still for a moment, and was about to make a run for it before she heard another voice coming from the front door which made her freeze on the spot, everything thus far felt like time, moving so quickly that it was so hard to focus, it was Alison, the voice coming from the front door, there was no doubt about it that Alison had made her way to the house. Friend or foe though, Angel did not know as she seemed to agree with Akeelah, she wanted her to get out of here too.

Hesitantly, Angel took a step forward, Alison she could take if it came down to it, if it turned into a fight. As simontainiously as her footstep forward was, Liam was now on his feet, looking onto her and and the huntress with some sort of sadistic pleasure in his eyes, sending another set of chills which ran down Angel's spine, and if that didn't make it bad enough, Roman reappeared right before the group.

Angel coward back, there was something about the urgency in his voice as he spoke that made Angel concentrate on listening to him, not the words he spoke, but the ones more inside his head. Using Roman's own power against him, Angel focused, Roman's thoughts were all over the place, she gritted her teeth at the enjoyment he was getting from his battle with Adrian, but then there was something else. There was someone out there with Adrian?!

Angel watched as Roman disappeared with the threat that was Liam and she felt her feet unrooted from the spot that she stood on the top of the stairs and she ran to the open window and peered below to where she found Adrian laying on his back on the ground.

[Akeelah]

There was no time to take any pleasure from causing her enemy pain. Akeelah’s mind was too focused on the task at hand, as much as she wanted to kill this monster it was too risky to try and kill him with the girl here and a no doubt injured partner. They really needed to get out of this place and now but this one was in her way and she just couldn’t risk it. Her enemy managed to get back onto his feet much to Akeelah’s disappointment with very little trouble, it was as if she break the bastard’s kneecap at all. Maybe she didn’t hit him hard enough, oh well she would just have to try a little harder, in any case the chances were high that she hit an artery, with any luck he would bleed to death if she keep things going. When he threatened the other girl Akeelah instinctively stepped in front of her protectively, if he wanted to get that girl he was going to have to go through her first.

Just then another person entered, calling out to the girl Akeelah was trying to protect. Akeelah didn’t recognize the newcomer but since she didn’t try to attack her right away the hunter didn’t need to worry about her. No point in rejecting what little help she could get. Soon after the new arrivals appearance Roman reappeared before him. Great just what she needed, two assholes to fight while trying to get someone elses ass out of this. Wait, if Roman is here then what happened to Adrian? her blood ran cold, I swear if that kid died on me… she needed to get to him fast and see if he was okay but damn it she just couldn’t turn her back to these creatures right now.

When Roman spoke though her concern for Adrian was pushed by surprise. Liam, the bastard she swore to kill with her own two hands was his brother?! Well, that explained why the demon was here in the first place. She had a feeling that they were connected in some way but didn’t know just how close they were. “Drop dead.” She snapped backat Liam as he and his brother turned to leave. There was no point in chasing them down now, there were more important things that she needed to deal with. The moment that the demons were out of the way Akeelah ran as fast as she could outside of the house to where Adrian had fallen.

“Adrian!” she called out, hoping to god that he’d answer. What she saw when she arrived made her stop dead in her tracks. Adrian was laying on the ground motionless, whether he was dead or alive she could not tell from where she was standing, but he wasn’t alone. Three other men were standing around where he laid, this house really was attracting a lot of unwanted attention. “Step away from the kid before I kill you where you stand.” She warned the group, readying herself for another attack. She was in no mood to deal with more crap from intruders. Her partner was hurt, maybe worse and as long as these guys were in her way she couldn’t help him.

[Raven Alexander]

Raven watched the boy drop to the ground and his captor disappear, her eyes widening in horror as three men emerged from the shadows. "What the fuck" she whispered to herself. Kneeling to check on him, the kid seemed a little torn up but blissfully unconcious now. Wheeling around to the sound of running the girl yelled at the new arrivals to step away from his body. Unsure who to guard against first she stood over him waiting for someone to make a move. "why couldnt you have taken the bloody shortcut? no you had to come down this street didnt you, stupid stupid Raven" mentally scolding herself. "Talk about wrong time wrong place" she said aloud.

[Adrian]

The mismatched trio, after their quarry had opted to vamoose, quickly surrounded the unconscious Adrian and the one with the pipe in his hand knelt next to the unwitting witness. ""Massive trauma, looks like he got hit pretty 'ard." He'll live." The one with the cane spoke, a slight smirk tugging at the edge of his lips. "His death still awaits him, many years from now, this is not the end of him." He chuckled, looking down at the bloodied young man in front of him. "I should know." The one who had spoken before rose from his position and looked to his leader. "And what about the demons?" "We shall deal with those later, when next they show their ugly mugs. We still have our ace in the hole."

Akeelah emerged from the house then and the three turned as one to face her. The old man spat on the ground and took a step towards her, a flickering glow of blue and green appearing about him as he took an offensive stance. "CHARON!" The well-dressed one called, anger in his voice and the smile missing for the first time. "She also has a part to play in what's to come, as you well know." The old, bearded man frowned at the newcomer, then relaxed his stance as the glow faded. "Don't you worry." The leader was chuckling again. "You'll have your fun when next we see the brothers, as promised." "And the rest?" The one dressed as a hooligan curiously inquired, shooting a sideways glance at Raven, but he was silenced by a simply gesture from his leader. There was a pause in which the shadows seemed to grow thicker and stretch beyond their boundaries, the air grew chill and everybody felt something near. Even Adrian twitched in his slumber. "He's here."

There was a sound, like the flapping of feathered wings, and one of the shadows congealed into yet another figure, the darkness clinging for long after it emerged into what remained in the way of light. It seemed tall though the darkness made it hard to be certain, with only two slits of light where there should be eyes. Power emanated from the creature, hitting those witnessing its appearance like a wave of decay. It stopped in front of the leader of the trio, and a voice reverberated through the minds of all those present. Speak. "The quarry escaped before your arrival. The contract will be fulfilled another time." The shadows stretched further and the air grew colder still, a feeling of nausea rolling over all those present. The creature was angry. "You were late! We had a deal, a window for you to pay your debt and you missed it, you've got no one to blame but yourself!" Again, his smile faded to by replaced by anger, perfectly masking the fear in his heart though he too felt the nausea, and something more. The skin around his skull began pulling tight and he found himself hunching over his cane as it became difficult to breathe. "I'm sorry that you've wasted your time here, you'll be called upon when next an opportunity arises. For now, this one needs your aid." Adrian was indicated by a less than casual gesture. The being didn't move, but one could feel it's attention turn to Adrian, then back to the leader. The price must be payed. Again, the alien thoughts grated against the minds of all those present. A look of fear appeared in the eyes of the hooligan.

"I accept." He could barely conceal the weight on his voice, but he managed very well. The cold lifted slightly and the entity slid along the ground, it's feet concealed in the darkness the being exuded. The leader's nose began bleeding, and soon after his eyes followed. The being reached out towards him and placed a single digit on his chest, running inside the jacket and resting over where a human would have its heart. He convulsed, his legs gave but it appeared the he was stuck to the horrible creature's extension. It took almost a minute until he was released and slumped to the ground like a sack of potatoes. Then the being turned it's attention to Adrian again. A low sound, like two grindstones running against each other, was heard as it reached out towards him with its other arm, and a slight luminescence surrounded Adrian. The shadows around them lifted slightly, as did the cold, and Adrian began to stir. The price has been paid. Again the alien thoughts forced their way into the minds of all those present, though it seemed as though they had lost the worst of their edge. The creature turned and began walking back from whence it had come, lumps falling off as it began disintegrating back into the same blackness it had come from. Before long, it was gone. Adrian sat up not long after, shaking his head as if affected by a particularly nasty hangover. Then he looked around himself, drowsily until he saw people he didn't know so close to him. He somersaulted away and came up standing in a defensive position. Spotting the one familiar face that was there, he decided he wanted some answers. "Akeelah?! What the hell is going on?!"

[Alison]

Alison watched as Roman and his brother disappeared from the spot where they had once cluttered and then in an instant after they had disappeared she found herself sprinting up the stairs to where she now stood beside Angel who's gaze she followed down below at the group which now formed in the yard. Only two did she recognize. One being Adrian, who she had seen at school, the other was the man who walked with the cane. The later she just so happened to owe her life to. Although she would never freely admit to it, she did have to admit that she owed the man her life.

That thought reminded her of something, it had been driving her insane since she had last thought about it. That was payment. She was surprised that she hadn't been called upon yet by the man with the limp, and was sure it wouldn't be too long before she was, but looking down at Adrian, perhaps he would forget about it, push it back for a while. " Let's go make coffee for our friends." She suggested pulling Angel's arm. " Luke should be back from.... Whatever it is he does soon, right?" she asked pushing a long strand of Angel's hair back behind her ear.

[Angel Killer]

Angel watched as the others from the ground down below as they surrounded the fallen Adrian. She bit her lower lip in concern. She felt a strong surge of power coming from them, though she was not sure exactly how she felt it, she just did, perhaps it was the aftermath of stealing so much of Roman's power. She tried to listen, to concentrate on the others, to listen in on their heads, but it wasn't a task easily done, not with so many of them in one spot, all she acheived was a headache, that and confusion.

Angel turned her gaze towards Alison who was now standing y her side, she (Angel), had not noticed the creature who was down with the others, it was standing in darkness and her eyes found it hard enough to adjust to the light. She looked at Alison quietly, listening to her feeble attempt to make small talk with her. Like coffee would make everything go away. Angel almost felt like laughing, that was until Alison mentioned something that brought her own personal hell back to her. Of course Alison wouldn't know. She'd been away for god knows how long. Mind you know one knew, only those who had witnessed the untimely death would have known that Luke had been shot least of all killed.


" Luke's dead." Angel said, her voice had a flat tone to it as she said this. She looked at Alison, not knowing what to expect. What type of emotion would have crossed her face. From the past, Alison had quite a colorful life. Angel remembered the death of Alison's parents, and the cause..... She shook her head, this wasn't something. It was Roman, he had been the one to cause this, he had told Luke, he had admitted to it earlier tonight. And his actions would be remembered. She would see to it, even make it her life's goal to kill the bastard.

She felt Alison tugging at her arm, where instead of making her way to the kitchen she decided to take a detour outside in the yard to where Adrian was now waking. Her and Alison had made it out just in time to hear Adrian asking the woman, who's name she finally learned to be Akeelah, what the hell was going on. Something she too felt curiosity about, so she stood still, Alison by her side, and listened.

[Akeelah]

The trio turned their attention towards the girl but no one made the move to run for it. One of them, the older looking one took a step towards her, a bluish green light emanating from his body as he got ready to attack. Akeelah stood her ground sending a fierce glare towards him. Bring it. she thought and prepared for the man to make his move. If it was a fight they wanted then it would be a fight that they would get. Though Liam was gone and her instincts were telling her to run while she still had the chance there was no way in hell that she was going to leave Adrian behind with a group of strangers that might kill him if he was still alive.

Before either of them could make the first move the man with the cane called the other off, what he said though was peculiar. A part to play in what? What the hell was he talking about? He addressed her this time which only added to her confusion. Akeelah lowered her weapon and just stared at him. “What?” was all she could say at the moment. Who were these people? Whoever they were they seemed to know some of the people here, and from what the leader said as well they might know a thing or two about her as well. That thought alone was disturbing. Akeelah did her best to hide who she really was, what she did and even where she lived. If anyone had information on her then she was in deep trouble.

Suddenly the air turned eerily cold making her skin crawl, she felt something but she wasn’t sure what but something was nearby. Her grip on her knife tightened when she heard something coming, she looked around for the source of the noise. Just what she needed, more freaks showing up and making things worse than they already were. Out of the darkness came a creature that Akeelah had never seen before. It looked as if it was formed from the darkness itself, it was dark with no discernable features of its own beyond the tiny orbs of light that were the closest it came to having eyes. The thing that struck her the most wasn’t what it looked like but what she felt from it. The aura of power surrounding it hit her like a ton of bricks. It was unlike anything that the girl had ever felt before, even more powerful than Liam was and though she would never admit it that scared her. This thing scared her; the aura of power surrounding it hit her like a ton of bricks. It was unlike anything that the girl had ever felt before, even more powerful than Liam was and though she would never admit it that scared her. This thing scared her but she didn’t run away, she couldn’t even move it was as if she was rooted to the spot against her will.

The thing stopped in front of the trio to face the leader of the group. A voice emanating from the creature, not out loud but in their mind. The leader spoke, making the thing angry and she could feel it. So did the others it seemed. It was difficult to focus on what the leader of the mysterious group was saying past the wave of nausea that hit her. Just the things presence alone made her sick to her stomach; it was a miracle that Akeelah didn’t throw up yet.

She felt its attention shift from the man to Adrian, heard it speak again in her head. At first she was worried that it wanted to do something to the boy and she almost made a move to stop it, but it didn’t go after Adrian. Instead it reached out towards the one who addressed it. Akeelah watched as the man convulsed and collapsed onto the floor. The thing turned back to Adrian again, a sharp noise could be heard as it reached out towards the boy. Light surrounded the fallen boy as the cold started to lift, as Adrian began to stir the thing backed off and eventually ‘left’, leaving the rest of the group behind. The second that the thing left Adrian was already back onto his feet as if nothing had even happened. He turned to her and demanded answers but she couldn’t respond. Akeelah’s gaze shifted from him to where that creature once stood and back again a look of confusion in her eyes as she looked at him. “I have no fucking clue…” she said.

It was true, she really had no idea what was going on. She didn’t even know what to do now after all that had happened. But now was not the time to lose her sanity there was a few things that had to be dealt with first. Akeelah turned her attention back towards the other group. “But I am sure that they do.” She said returning back to her usual demeanor, he wasn’t the only one that wanted answers. “Would one of you mind telling us what the hell is going on, or do we have to beat the answers out of you first?”

[Raven Alexander]

Staring almost blankly at the shadows where the creature had disappeared, she didnt like the feeling of someone elses words in her head, somehow up to now she had gotten off light, of all the many battles she had fought, none had ever managed to shake her like that.
Raven wheeled around to the motion of the kid getting to his feet and taking a defensive stance, "Oh good, I was right, I under-estimated this one" she thought to herself.
The girl who had now been identified as Akeelah had drawn attention to the bloody-nosed commander of the group, calling him out.

For the first time in 8yrs Raven felt unsure of herself, questioning her ability to reason which of these people was OK to trust, the creature that had left had stripped a tiny bit of her self confidence. Certain that she didn't want to tussle with anyone without due cause, she looked down at the blade in her hands, the runes etched into the blade had an eery sheen in the moonlight. Resolving to only fight back against any who attacked her she stood poised, ready for almost anything - or so she thought. Silently wishing she had not tried to play good samaritan this time.