<div class="floatright">(https://i.pinimg.com/736x/db/e9/cf/dbe9cf5fe0e93ceb0b2c4707e6679664--character-portraits-character-ideas.jpg)</div>The evening was brimming with unfamiliar and more importantly, unwelcomed new experiences for Sophia and feeling ale seep its way into her undergarments and trickle down her scalp was certainly up high on the list, but it wasn't the most surprising. That title was reserved this evening for Lesniya. The short normally bubbly redhead stood between her and the pig-headed asshole like a pit bull, even as her words quivered and her eyes shimmered with tears. If not for the fact that the man's actions had cut the Evenember so deeply that she was hemorrhaging self-pride, Sophia would have been more than a little impressed.<br/><br/><em>“There are bigger swords out there, Soph. C’mon …”</em><br/><br/>As Les's hand gripped her soaked and scratched shoulder and tugged, the raven-haired girl felt her shock ebb away, especially when she saw the tears spattering the otherwise determined face of her oldest friend. She rose to her feet, her battered and bruised curves screaming in protest at the all too brief rest. She was right though, Les... they couldn't just sit there in a puddle of their own embarrassment while this pea brain brawler made fools of them to a tavern full of people that were far far below the pair of them.<br/><br/>Wrapping a protective arm around Les and taking the boot in her other hand, she shot the man still towering over them a look of the deepest dislike she could muster. Her own amethyst eyes were slick with the threat of emotion but at the last minute, the tears halted, as if her pride was pulling them back by their leashes. A million seething insults bubbled just below the elegant curve of her throat but she hadn't the energy or the stomach to open her mouth, the only whisper of her unspoken words was the quiver of her lip.<br/><br/>"Let's go, Les."<br/><br/>She managed coldly after a moment, tugging on the shoulder under her arm and steering them both towards the door.<br/><br/>"Don't cry, k? Don't worry. I'm sure we'll figure something out... somehow."<br/><br/>It was awkward, walking with only one boot and the effect had Sophia limping and sounding more like a table with one leg cut too short than a dignified lady, but she tried god damn it!<br/><br/>That was it, they'd lost their touch she thought dully to herself. Every single man had turned them down and this one before they'd even gotten a chance. You could add that to the mounting list of shitty new experiences for the pair. That and the fact that for the first time in her entire life, Sophia had no idea where they would go, what they would do or where they would sleep.<br/><br/>Fear. Real and tangible gripped her gut like it had been dunked in ice water as she shouldered open the heavy tavern door. Somehow the night seemed much colder and much much darker than it had just half an hour earlier and she squeezed her friend closer to her side.<br/><br/>"There's always the... the...  stables..."<br/><br/>She stammered, holding the door open and reluctantly looking down the street in it's direction.<br/><br/>