Kathy
Craig Gulcher
Stormalong

For weeks the young hunter had been wasting away in this godforsaken shantytown, listening here and there for jobs that might allow him to put his skills to use beyond the typical guard job that had been taken up by so many of his friends from home. The fact that Stormalong was neither godforsaken nor a shantytown didn't matter to him. There were no trees, there were no beasts, and worst of all there were far too many people. It seemed that no matter where he went there was always some foul smell, or some foul person in his way. "How do they live like this?" He often asked himself, all while spending what little coin he had squirreled away on some seedy room and watered down brew. 

This particular night he found himself out on a walk in one of the poorer portions of town. While it was potentially dangerous for some, the young man felt it likely that few would see his tattered cloak and weathered boots as a sign of a high mark while others would assume he would do them harm. Perfect for someone seeking an escape from the endless press of bodies you'd find in the busier sections of town. Despite all this there were still times that he'd be reminded where he was. Take for instance the cackling of drunks or the crying of some poor soul down on their luck. 

Mid way through his stroll Craig found his train of though derailed by the sound of someone shouting nearby. At first he simply rolled his eyes and heaved a sigh, however the sounds coming from this commotion seemed much less savory than the usual disturbances he'd heard. Deciding that he would rather not have some poor soul haunt him for not intervening the hunter checked the knife on his belt and took off towards the sound at a trot, coming around a corner and sliding to a stop at the scene. "Oi fuck off!" He shouted, stalking forward in the hopes that it would be enough to scatter the two men he saw and prevent any more from joining.
Karin
Avril Maddox 
Stormalong

The assailants faltered at Craig's shout and paused for a moment. The one whom Avril had ran right into actually even let her go, but a moment later, his partner's grip tightened on her. The young woman let out a faint whimper as his fingers dug into her flesh, causing tears to well up in her eyes. 

The first man, however, seemed to be a bit unnerved by the sight of Craig. Both of them were a bit drunk, and in his case, it made him a bit more wary. On top of that, Craig was quite a bit bigger than him, and with Craig's rough appearance, it seemed as if he had weathered many storms. Somehow, the man didn't think that he wanted to face Craig.

"Karl, I don't think we should..."

"Shut up," Hissed Karl before he turned his gaze to Craig once more. His breath was foul with the scent of alcohol. So strong, in fact, that Avril felt as if she might get drunk off of the smell alone. "This ain't none of your business. We're just having a bit of fun with the lady."

As if in answer, Avril used the opportunity to stamp the heel of her shoe down on his foot as hard as she possibly could. His partner in crime hadn't get grabbed her again, so she thought she would take the opportunity. With this strange man to help her, she had a hope of escape. If she could even get him to break his hold for an instant, she could wriggle free and run to safety.

The man grunted in pain and, for a moment, Avril thought her chance had arrived. It had not. His grip only tightened on her as he snarled, "You little bitch!" A vicious slap came out of nowhere, leaving her dazed and disoriented, her cheek throbbing. She started to reach to clutch her burning cheek, but he grabbed her arm and wrenched it painfully behind her back, effectively immobilizing her and causing her to cry out. 

He took this opportunity to reach up and snatch the hood from her head, revealing her pointed elven ears for all to see. Her cheeks flushed with shame and embarrassment. How she hated her ears! Her assailant seemed even more triumphant at this revelation and crowed gleefully, "An elf! Ha! A little shitblood. No, worse than a shitblood!" He grinned at Craig and continued, "Bet you don't want to help her now!" 

Avril's heart sank and tears flowed freely down her cheeks now. Her hero would abandon her now... Why would he risk anything to save her? Most people hated elves and anyone that wasn't human...
Kathy
Craig Gulcher
Stormalong

For a moment the thought did cross his mind to simply leave the knife ear and mind his own business, however watching the two men made him realize that right now he hated this city and the people associated with it more than he disliked any elf. "You see my predicament here is that as soon as you're done with her you'll just move onto someone worth a shit. So how about we let the knife ear go and you two just stumble back off to whichever ditch you call home eh?"

The hunter stopped about 10 yards from the scene and stood with folded arms, scowling and daring the two to start a fight.
Karin
Avril Maddox
Stormalong

The way he spoke made it obvious that he hated her and her, but at the same time... He was still standing up for her. It was obvious it wasn't out of honor or anything, yet she didn't care. All she cared about was surviving this predicament!

The cowardly man spoke up again, whining, "Karl, I don't think this is a good idea... Some stupid little elf isn't worth it! I don't even want her! She's gross!" Clearly, that decision was made after seeing that she was indeed an elf, which Avril was glad for. The lest interest they had, the better.

The other man shook his head and shoved Avril aside, sending her tumbling to the earth as he approached Craig, a stumbling swagger in his step. "No one's going to come around here and tell me what to do!" He declared. Admittedly, he already had obeyed Craig in a way, for he had let Avril go... But his drunken mind was too stupid to realize that.
Kathy
Craig Gulcher
Stormalong

As the two argued about what should be done the hunter glanced to check on the young woman who'd been tossed, more so to be sure she was out of the way of any street brawl than to check on her wellbeing. His apparent apathy stemmed more from his lack of concern for anyone who dwelled in Stormalong rather than the shape of her ears, at least he told himself that.

Once the fellow was only a few steps away Craig drew his hunting knife and pointed it directly at his face, his scowl turning into sneer as the cowardly assailant begged his partner to leave. "Probably best you listened up to your boyfriend and ran along, Karl. As much as you'd like to make a fool of yourself I'd rather not have to put my hands on you."