As the black-leathered boot settled down amid the powdery snow, bright blue eyes looked out from under the cowl of a hood, surveying the land that lay down below the hill upon which she stood. Large, block structures rose out of the white earth so barren of anything but a few trees slumbering away the winter months; the buildings stood in two rough lines that formed the barrier of the main and only street of this small built-up area, not even big enough to be called a town. She shifted her gaze skyward, the soft gray puffs of smoke rising from a few chimneys towards the sky. The largest cloud of smoke belonged to an old inn, perhaps one that had once been of good repute now with a broad, slanted porch at the front and slanted wooden steps leading down to what was the well-trod dirt road; it was a house of cards waiting for a strong wind to bring it down. Nearest to the inn was an even more ramshackle building, one with a window cracked open slightly, and the glass fogged over from the inside. The people of this area were gathered here it would seem, the sole tavern in the town, a collection of drunkards and has-beens just waiting to die along with the rest of their dying town.

She paused for a moment, holding her breath as she considered the options before her. The longing and need for human companionship was growing stronger each day she spent alone; if left to sit and evolve more, her sanity might yet be in danger of being lost. The air fell still about her, the snow at her feet not moving any longer as she stood motionless with her gaze fixed upon the tavern door. The air sliding out from her lips, she felt the cool breeze now slip about her form as she took a step towards the town, snow flitting up about her boot and dancing in the moving air.

Making her way down the hill, her steps seemed to always fall in the right places upon the ground. Landing a foot down upon a harder section of earth, she brushed away at the snow to affirm her assumption that it was tight-packed dirt beneath. Moving onward, the slanted steps of the village pub smirked at her as though it was as drunk as its patrons inside were sure to be. Everything in this town seemed to be slanted and skewed in some manner, she thought to herself as she hopped up to the top step and peered in through the small, fogged-over porthole window, her curious bright eyes looking for any signs of life, intelligent or otherwise.

No one seemed to notice the shadow covering over one of the brightest light sources in the place. She did take note of the only woman in the place, a serving lady, thrown amongst the drunken and stupid men. A hand slipped out from one of the long cloak sleeves and about the door handle, clicking down on the latch to free it, the door opened slightly as the stale odor of alcohol washed over her. Feeling the warm, muskiness of it all, she smiled happily knowing full well there were real live, scum of the earth humans here. Stepping inside quickly, her hands automatically pulled the door closed behind her tightly to lock out the snow and cold, dismissing any glances cast in her direction as she walked briskly to the bar, a single hand raised to grasp the front of her hood and pull it down about her shoulders. A pleasant sigh of relief left her lips as she plopped her ass down on one of the barstools, her bright eyes looking up to meet the staring gaze of the barkeep, his hands paused with a towel half in a glass attempting to appear like he was working.

Not bothering to let her eyes drift to any of the other now-staring patrons, she spoke to the barkeep directly, “Excuse me,” her soft voice fluttering over to him effortlessly as he heard her clearly; his eyes still gawking. Shifting on her stool ever so slightly, while moving one leg to cross over the other, her own gaze washed over the interior of the pub, noting the only other female seemed to have disappeared quiet conveniently. Lifting a hand, she ran a few of her fingers down through her bright red hair, the other quickly rising to pull its full length free of the cloak as another relieved sigh fell from her lips. Hearing the gears of men about her starting to creak into motion once again, the quiet chatter of the pub elevating back to its normal level, she again looked to the barkeep, who seemed to be recovering himself.

“Can I please just get an ale?” her words carrying to him once again. A simple nod was given to her as the glass he had been appearing to dry was made to use and soon the drink was set before her. Sliding a copper coin onto the worn bar top with her left hand, a simple silver band was evident upon her middle finger. Dipping her head in thanks to him, she brought the glass to her lips, taking in a small sip of the liquid, doing her best to drink it down and ignore the burning she felt in her throat. Clunking it back down, a small hint of a smile crossed her lips, well enough for the barkeep to turn about and move down the way to speak quietly with some others, his deep-set gaze shifting back to her once and again. She had been seeking human interaction and had found it, even if it was the lowest of the low.

Shrugging off the feeling of now being the topic of everyone’s conversation, she took another sip of the ale, running her free hand down through her hair once more. Fingers of the one hand slipped through the strands, trying to free the tangles that had interwoven themselves among the deep shades of crimson, and as a cold shiver slid down the right side of her body, a stench rose to fill her nostrils. Turning, she found the ugly, wretched source.

“Hey there, little cutie. What’s yer name?” came the rough voice of the fungus of a man spoke to her through crooked teeth much the same as the stairs that led to this hole in the wall. His potbelly hung over his puke-stained pants, buttons on the top half of his shirt undone, middle-aged and balding completed the drunken portrait of what some might generously call a human. Turning her head forward again to ignore him, she took another sip of her ale, hands folding in a pyramid as her elbows were placed on the bar, eyes looking over to the barkeep once again, whose interest now was on anything but her. The piercing sound of stool legs dragging over the wooden floor made her shoulders jump slightly, the realization that the man was not about to give up.

“Come on, precious, all I asked for was yer name. I’m sure it’s very cute, just like you.” Wrinkling her nose as the stench grew as he spoke, he slid ever so closer to her as though she wasn’t fully aware of what he was trying. Her voice spoke to him, eyes never moving to look upon the shitful excuse for a human.

“My name is none of your concern, sir. I will be here for a moment and gone again the next. Please leave me to my ale.” She kept calm as she always did at first; that blessed curse of patience that could at times be shattered by an ultimate rage, but definitely not worth two seconds of her time with this creature. Raising the glass to her lips once more, she drifted off to ignore his presence, watching the barkeep to see if he would ever turn back to her, doubting he ever would. Her body freezing up suddenly with her teeth biting down onto the glass as she felt pressure on her lower back, a hand slipping about her waist and suddenly pulling her closer to him as her stool tipped onto two legs towards him, the stench of whiskey on his breath causing her to gag.

“Oh, come on now, darling. Give an ol’ guy a chance; we’ve got more experience you know.” He coughed once, causing her to fully engulf and swallow whatever this man had been drinking besides just the whiskey. Thrusting a bony elbow up into his chest, he just laughed at her, sending more of his rotting breath in her direction and reaching to grab the arm with his free hand, pulling her closer to him, his voice deepening as he believed himself to be in complete control. “Just one little chance, dearie,” he softly spoke to her in what he felt was a deep, romantic man’s voice. Yanking her up into him, his lips forced down upon her own as she squirmed, trying to keep control of her temper as she pushed off his stool with her feet, shifting her weight to pull away from him and the bar and onto her own feet. But the man held on as his lust-filled eyes swept over her, reaching out already to pull her back into him.

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