You settled on the stool beside Anne's, leaning against the bar as you furrowed your brow, realising that while you'd evaded having to answer questions about what had happened at the guild house, you were likely going to have to do so here. So much for your first day away from captivity being one that you could simply relax through, one you could enjoy.
You could see that Red's question was just a thinly veiled attempt to move from the less awkward inquiries into your well being, to questions about what had happened. Had Anne alerted more than just the Clockworkers and Technomancers to your capture, in an effort to get as much help as possible for you?
You figured that you may as well play along for the time being, as it would allow you to at least get the questions that you wanted handled out of the way, too. It was probably a good idea to at ensure that what you told him left him with little else he could latch onto, to continue such inquiries with. At least that way you could keep things focused on what you wanted to know.
"Oh, you know, I spent three days strung up, being whipped by people who didn't seem to know what they were doing. They were persistant though, i'll give them that as they didn't even stop while I slept."
Red gave you a funny look. "ye got whipped while ye'slept?" He asked, turning his attention briefly to Anne as she held out a number of coins and pointed towards one of the bottles on the bar surface.
"Yes, while I slept," you responded, watching as Red poured out a measure of a burnt amber liquid into a shot glass, passing it to Anne who downed it without hesitation. "It wasn't exactly a pleasant experience as you can guess, though there's little to talk about other than how limp wristed their technique was."
"Aye, sounds like ye've not been left worse f'wear o'er it though, lad."
"The place seems a little more packed than usual today, Red," you paused, glancing back at the crowds of people packed about the tables. "They celebrating the fall of the Enlightened?"
You knew that news of this sort travelled fast, that it was something that would explain the fact that people were out celebrating like this. It was the fall of one of the evils that had been painted up as a major threat to the city when deep down, you knew they were less of a threat than the things that went bump in the night. Sure, they were unpleasant, sure, they were hostile towards people in general and followed some insane agenda. Despite this, you would have listed them beneath the creatures of the night as major threats.
There were things out there in the night that you had yet to encounter, too.
"Aye, that they be, s'good f'business ye know?" Red stated, pouring another shot for Anne as she passed over a few more coins. "Probably f'the best that th'Clockworker people rescued ye, as th'people I know wouldn't o'stood a chance."
"That's a load of crap, they mopped up after me," Anne huffed as she picked up her shot glass again. "I lead the way, and their useless tin-men followed me after i'd disabled three quarters of the Enlightened myself."
"Anne-"
"You might not want to be recognised over your role in it, but I want-"
Anne fell silent as she turned to face you, pouting as she took note of your stern expression before downing the next shot, folding her arms atop the bar and resting her head atop them. She clearly knew better than to argue with you on this point, it seemed, though she was going to sulk if she couldn't get her way.
"How about the things that go bump in the night, have they been any more-"
"Get your hands off me!" Anne snapped from beside you as a clearly intoxicated man stepped over, leering at her as he looked down at his nose at you, snorting at you.
"Why don't ye come with me 'oney, ye don't look too 'appy wi'that pathetic li'l man o'yers," the man slurred, trying to put his arm about her shoulders as she tried to push him away from her.
"Excuse me a second, Red," you sighed, slipping from the bar stool as you stepped around Anne, tapping the man on the shoulder as you did so. "Me, you, outside. Now."
"Get out o'my face ye worthless li'l-" The bar shuddered, bottles and glasses rattling as you slammed the mans head into it, slipping your arm about his neck as you hauled him from the stool as he recoiled from the forceful blow that had caught him off guard and started to drag him towards the door as he thrashed against you.
"I'll fuckin' kill ye!" the man yelled, reaching for his belt as he grabbed for his knife, only for you to deliver a swift kick to his wrist as he started drawing it, sending it flying from his grasp, skittering across the floor. "Ye'r so dead!"
You tightened your grasp, ignoring the glancing blows that were directed back against you as you dragged the man out the door, kicking him away from you as you took a few steps back, evading his initial clumbsy swings, giving him a moment to stand as you guestured to the streets leading away from the pub.
"I'll give you one chance, and one chance only. Get out of my sight before I put you in the river to cool off."
The man merely screamed at you as he charged forward, swinging for you as you ducked under his outstretched arm, slipping behind him as you span about. One hand grabbed the back of his shirts collar, the other the waist of his trousers as you wrenched him off his feet, bringing him down on your knee as you drove it into his side.
The man was winded, too stunned to stop you as you grabbed him by the feet and dragged him towards the rivers edge. Your feet pivoted against the ground as you started to swing him around, as you gained momentum, twirling about as the man screamed for you to stop. With a final motion you flicked him upwards, sending him sailing through the air and into the shallows of the river leaving him thrashing as he fought to get to his feet, as he started to make his way back towards you.
You stared at the man, your expression daring him to make the mistake of coming back after you, threatening him with more than just humiliation if he tried to get in your way again. This time your expression was laced with the intent to kill, your body language, your very presence reinforcing that as the man faltered, edging sideways through the shallows as he made his way back to the street. The man gave you a wide berth as he made his way back to the pavement, before running into the alley ways, his body language betraying how he was afraid to provoke you further now.
The crowd that had gathered to watch this parted as you made your way back inside, settling down beside Anne again as she huffed at you, her prior pout deepening.
"I was going to handle him," she muttered with a slight slur. "You let him off easy, I was going to make sure he could never have children again."
Red shifted uncomfortably behind the bar, clearly not liking the mental image that Anne had given him, before his attention once more fell on you. "I see ye've not lost yer touch when it comes t'andlin' a man at least lad."
Anne snickered.
Did you plan to stay, to catch up with the local events now that the drunks had been given a clear message not to give you any more trouble, was visiting Oak at his farm while you waited for night more appealing, or was there something else that needed handling?