Tilly can be heard muttering obscenities as she hurries down the stairs, in an attempt to get outside and around the building to intercept the intruder. Immalaine, coming out from behind the dresser, rushes out to the door to see where Rastellion has gone. "Are you okay?" she whispers frantically into the hallway, the low light making it hard to see him. She glances towards the direction of the window as she feels the cold breeze brush against her and opens her mouth in a silent o of shock, her hand gripping the handle of he small dagger tightly as she surmises what has happened.
Pushing himself up to his elbows, he nods. "I'm... I'm fine," he manages. "We both are, I think," he adds, meeting the guard's eyes. The fellow still looks a little dazed but he nods, pushing off from the wall he's fallen against and back onto his feet. "Bastard caught me by surprise," he mutters; "an me jus' wantin' t' take a piss!" An incongruous titter greets these words, and Rastellion looks further down the hallway, toward the stairwell. Two serving girls huddle there, almost seeming to float in their white shifts. The giggling one is blushing and turning her head, but the other meets Rastellion's gaze. He frowns at her, seeing nothing funny in assault and theft and - could it be - attempted murder? "What?" he manages to ask, starting to push himself up off the floor. "Beggin' yer pard'd, soir," the girl says, "I was jus' wonderin' if was usual t' fight so... well... unclothed?" He friend, behind her, buries her face in the other girl's hair, trying to muffle her torrent of giggles ... and Rastellion suddenly realizes that this 'cloth' with which he'd disarmed the attacker was, in fact, his breeches, that he'd forgotten to don in the confusion and alarm. He is, in fact, sprawled on the floor of the inn's hallway, clutching a knife in one hand ... and naked from the waist down.
Looking down at the floor where Rastellion is hoisting himself up, her cheeks turning bright pink at the sight of his bareness. Nearby, she can hear the guard chuckle as he too takes in the situation. Sending a sharp look to the two girls down the hall, she steps in front of him, obscuring their view, as she exclaims, glancing around at the spectators watching them. "Get inside th' room an' get somethin' on, afore th' watch decides t' take ye in fer indecency!" She valiantly keeps a straight face and moves aside so Rastellion can get to the bedroom.
Rastellion struggles to his feet, blinking sheepishly as his gaze takes in Imma's stern expression, the chuckling guard beside her, the heads of sleepy and confused patrons peeking into the hall, and the serving girls a pace or two beyond, by the stairs. The bolder girl is on tiptoe, trying to get a glimpse past Imma and the guard. He tugs at the thin cotton shirt that's all he's wearing, but it's unable to stretch far enough to cover anything. He takes a step, bends down to retrieve his torn breeches and the assailant's discarded knife, and then stands, managing to produce a grin despite how fast his heart is beating after the terror of the past minute. "Well," he says, "I may not have gotten a blow in ... but I dare say I shamed him away." He slightly raises and waggles his long knife. "Once he saw that my blade was bigger!" He winks at Immalaine, though his face is still pale, and then hurries past her into the safe privacy of their room.
With a sigh, she shakes her head, looking around the hall and passing the girls another look, before she rushes into the room after Rastellion. "What ... what just happened?" she said hurriedly, the events of the past few minutes mostly a blur in her mind as everything had seemed to happen so fast after she heard the scraping. Outside in the hall, she can here the guard heading down the as he mumbles to himself. One of the two girls out in the hall whispers something to the other as the guard passes them, and they both resume giggling, though they grow properly contrite as the sound of Tilly's voice can be heard filling the hall, tinged with worry and anger.
Rastellion is sitting on the bed, still undressed, his dagger-slit breeches discarded on the floor. "I ... I think someone was tryin' t' break into our room," he says, "an' Halfrid there caught him at it." He grips the bed frame till his knuckles go white, but his breathing has nearly returned to normal. "Must've been a sneakthief, hopin' to prey on th' Inn's patrons and grab a bit o' coin or th' like." He leans down and picks up the assailant's dagger, where it lies discarded with his breeches, but he sees nothing noteworthy about it and lets it drop. "I'm just glad he didn't get in and hurt you!" he says, eyes moving over her. "You're okay?" He hold his hands out toward her and she grabs his hands, leaning down to brush a kiss along his cheek and she nods. "Scared th' fire outta o' me it did, but I'm alright. She moves closer, briefly eyeing the torn trousers to see if the can be fixed, , before moving to sit on the bed next to him.
Rastellion wraps one arm about her waist and gives her a firm kiss. "Good." He takes a deep breath. "Suppose we'd best ask Halfrid what he saw, then go down t' see if the Watch can catch the man."
"Though perhaps," she says as she looks down at his lap, a lilt of humor in her voice, "Ye might try puttin' something on afore ye go out again." She hugs him, still shaking from the attempted breakin, and leans her head on his shoulder briefly as she tries to relax.
Rastellion chuckles. "I suppose I should at that." He gives her a reassuring squeeze, then stands, scooping up the sliced clothing as he does. "And 'course it's the only pair I packed," he mutters. "Who'd think they'd need a second?" He examines the garment, then holds it up for Imma to see. The diagonal slice in the material cuts right across the crotch. "Well, now I'm damn glad I wasn't wearing these at the time," he says, before pulling them on. He looks down, ruefully. "Fraid it'd not much of an improvement. That's going t' need stitching."
Immalaine purses her lips, but a giggle escapes anyways as she sees the state of Rast's trousers. "Mebbe Tilly can help wit' that, or mebbe one o' the guards has an extra pair ye can wear til yer's are fixed?" she offers suggestions, turning as she hears the sound of Tilly's voice at the doorway.
"E'eryone okay in there?" she calls into the room, peeking her head inside. He picks up his outer shirt, knotting it about his waist to cover the gaping hole at its front. ''Even I don't need a gap that big,'' he whispers to her before turning to nod at Tilly. ''We're fine,'' he answer, stepping toward the hall. ''Did you catch him?'' Tilly swears a bit, and shakes her head. "No, sneaky bastard got away. But th' watch'll be keepin' an eye out fer him, dun ye worry. He'll be caught, one way or another." She glances at the two and seeing that they were safe, she turns and heads up the hallway to check on other guests. "They didn't catch him," Immalaine says, looking up at Rastellion from her seat on the bed.
"I'll go ask Halfrid if he saw anything else and, ah, about those pants, too." He's gone several minutes, and return shaking his head, to report failure on both missions. He undresses, then nudges her over in the bed as he slips in under the covers. "Door's locked; Watch is on guard. S'ppose we should get some sleep as we'll still want t' be leaving early, if we're t' make it back to Bree in a day."
Scooting over in the bed, Imma gets under the covers and lays down, turning on her side to face Rastellion. "We'd better at that, or we'll be sleepin' on th' horses backs tomorrow."
Rastellion grins and runs the fingers of one hand through her hair. "Think I'd rather be sleeping on you," he comments, smiling, and bends in for a slow kiss. "Just wish we knew for certain what that fellow was doin' ... whether it was us he were after, or just any room that might have coin in it...."
Immalaine smiles at him warmly, before snuggling against him. "Ye dun think he were after us especial?" she says, a bit worried at the mention.
Rastellion shakes his head. "Nah, I think he was just huntin' for coin. No reason for anyone t' be after us after all." He kisses her again, then snuggles down close against her to sleep. "An' those that know you, well, they alll glad t' see you! So don't you worry. Was just a common cutpurse.
Immalaine nods and yawns sleepily. "I'm sure as yer right," she murmurs, closing her eyes. "I love you Rast ..." and in the dark, Rastellion smiles back and whispers. "Love you too," hoping that, after all this, whether he really will get back to get back sleep. He's still considering this when he falls asleep ...
(Credits and love go to Rastellion, who provided the voice of the male characters in this story. *Blows kisses to Rastellion and grins widely*)
