Why hello there! This is my first fanfiction so hopefully people will find it ok, I tried not to make it painful to read but I do like to torture people XD
I'd love some feedback so I can improve!
Shuddering from the cold breeze Rossi pulled the collar of her jacket tighter. The worn leather didn't provide much warmth but it shielded her from the blunt chill of the wind and for that she was grateful. Stepping carefully she flinched each time her heels connected with the concrete; her plan was to sneak, be unnoticed. When she'd commandeered some clothing she hadn't had time to be fussy and in her haste had grabbed a pair of leather boots. They weren't comfortable, in fact she was having a hard time imagining how her toes had fit into the thin shoes, but she could live with the discomfort. It was something she'd become accustomed to. It was how noticeable they made her, how they clicked at every step that was unbearable. The noise cut through the silence like a knife but she kept walking, she could only move at night and she had a lot of ground to cover.
Favouring the less trodden path Rossi had mostly stuck to the shadows, winding through the alleys with acute precision, analysing her surroundings and planning routes before she even had to think about it. Second guessing everything had been drilled into her mind and become second nature. She knew to read between the lines and if necessary get what she needed from people. If a person smiled and offered her a token of goodwill she'd discard it. Seeing the tightness around their eyes and the pull at the corners of their lips was enough to know anything given was a gesture of pity and accepting it felt like the sting of a slap across her face. She'd rather steal than be at the mercy of humans and their fake smiles.
Shaking her head she rubbed her eyes tiredly, silently retracing the mental path she'd laid earlier that day. Pausing at a map of the city had given her an opportunity to architect a route through the tall buildings of New York and with each step she repeated the random turns and twists in hushed whispers. She'd accounted for everything; getting lost, having to cross into the lit streets and even planned places where she could sleep safely if her way was blocked. What she hadn't planned on was running into company.
Beneath the dim glow of an old light; clinging to the brick wall by frayed wires, stood three men stirred by the echoing of her steps as she'd approached. For a moment she cursed her footwear knowing it would have been to her advantage to walk barefoot, but quickly shifted her full attention to the men before her. They were clearly thugs, torn clothing and skin littered with paint made that obvious and just like she feared they were bigger, likely stronger and carrying weapons. Taking a steadying breath Rossi shook the anxiety from her fingers; she couldn't afford to be nervous; one moment's hesitation could result in her untimely end and it wasn't an outcome she was going to welcome with open arms.
The men seemed to notice her change of demeanour; the slight panic replaced with a steely look, and stared her down; grins faltering slightly. They'd expected her to run, turn around and begin the chase, that's what they all did. But she didn't move. She stared back from beneath the fringe of her hat and waited. If they wanted to be goaded into a damsel in distress situation she wasn't going to give them the satisfaction.
The largest man took a step forward, scoffing at her bravado and pressed a fist into his hand. His knuckles popped at the strain, the noise eliciting no more than a flinch as he made his way closer and crouched to her height. His breath reeked of alcohol, the clouded look in his eyes telling her he'd unwittingly given her an advantage. At the very least it made him sluggish and rash, qualities she could take benefit from.
Carefully she watched as he moved; taking in every slight gesture and motion as he made his burly speech. The one she was supposed to be scared of. To admit she wasn't would be a lie, but fear was what he wanted, what people like him craved to inspire in their victims. If only for the cheap thrill and power trip it gave. He moved closer, his face almost touching hers as he choked out a drunken laugh. He'd jumped his fair share of women, the fragile creatures usually scuttled around like bugs with no direction and no hope. But this girl was different, what he could see of her face was shrouded with shadow, the faint curve of her mouth not showing fear or anger. Her breathing was even and her body was loose and he was going to correct that.
Rossi's silver orbs followed his every move, scanning his face for signs of intention and flicking to his wrists as he stretched them. He did exactly what she was expecting; what his mannerisms had told her, and moved to touch her, violate her and leave her beaten and broken in the gutter. And she took it as an opportunity.
Knowing her build was little to be desired and the likelihood of her overpowering the man was close to naught she did the next best thing and shoved the base of her palm into his nose. The sickening crunch made her stomach uneasy, she'd put enough force behind the strike to shatter bone and cartilage and the blood pouring through his fingers didn't help settle it. He fell back choking through the red fluid that dripped down his throat and neck as she readied herself for retaliation. The man's friends were horrified, immediately gripping their weapons tighter and lurching toward her. Apparently no one had fought back before.
In the few seconds she was spared in their shock Rossi had formed a plan, it wasn't a great one but she didn't have many options. She couldn't fight and had no training, but she was smart and could protect herself if she had to. Crouching slightly to allow her better agility she waited as the first man reached her. With an angry snarl he swung his arms in a large arch to bring a thick bat down upon her head, but he was equally clumsy if not as intoxicated as his friend and she took the moment of exposure to her advantage. Without a second thought she swung her leg up hard and fast between his. The man howled, immediately buckling and dropping to the floor with a small whimper. If she'd had time she'd have celebrated how good it felt putting them in their places but the third man had reached her and in the seconds it had taken her to grab a nearby trash can lid he'd already made a deep cut across her side. She hadn't even realised he'd been carrying a weapon, the thin switchblade having been tucked tightly in his sleeve.
Eyes narrowing at the pain Rossi heaved the metal plate into the man's head with a small shout, knocking him to the ground as she made her escape. In the back of her mind she hoped he'd landed on his knife, if he felt what she did then it would be enough to slow him down at least. Pressing a hand to her side she ran and evaluated the situation. She'd incapacitated her attackers for minutes at the most and out of her few options the best was to hide and hope they didn't find her.
Skidding around the side of a building she took a moment to catch her breath. The lack of light made the brief glance at her wound particularly unpleasant, the blood that had seeped through her clothes a dull black and she felt a wave of nausea at the sight. Blood wasn't her forte, she'd seen enough of it to last a life time and watching it pool across her clothes brought back unwanted memories she'd rather be left forgotten.
A small shudder ran through her limbs as the chill of the cold returned, the adrenaline disappearing from her body with a groan as the severity of the situation dawned on her. With a shaky breath she scanned the alley, eyes locking on a metal disk in the middle of the concrete. Moaning in displeasure Rossi decided that perhaps crawling through sewage was better than the alternatives and stumbled to the manhole cover. With more effort than it should have taken she heaved the metal plate open and descended into the tunnels beneath the city before replacing it and returning the sewers to darkness.
A few moments passed and no noise from above alerted her to the presence of the men in the alleyway. Luck had favoured her escape and had likely given them to good sense to realise getting their friend medical attention was a better idea than trailing her. The sudden wave of relief forced a sigh from her lips as she pressed her palm harder against her side, by now her hand was slick with blood and grimacing at how it stuck to her side she shambled further into the tunnel searching for a source of light. Tending to her wound was a bad idea in and of itself, her knowledge of anything medical in description was severely lacking and doing so in the dark was just tempting fate.
Slowly she made her way to a sliver of light across the damp wall. Stumbling she kicked her feet free of the encumber some boots and stretched her toes relishing the feel of the cool water while trying to keep her mind off of what might be floating within it. To her surprise the sewers were cleaner than she'd thought they'd be, the usual stench of sewage replaced by a damp musty smell of moss slowly making its way up the slick bricks. But despite the strong smell it wasn't enough to overpower the metallic scent as she peeled the leather jacket from her skin. Releasing the breath she'd been holding she assessed the damage, leaning against the wall for support as once again the sight sent a wave of unpleasantness through her skull.
The material of her jacket had brunted some of the force of the attack, but the dagger has still sunk deep. In the few moments of contact he'd managed to slice a thin line across her side between the soft plates on her stomach, any deeper and he'd likely have hit something important. Cursing at her misfortune she placed her hand back against the wound; fingering the pliant shell that was supposed to protect her abdomen. Funnily enough she found it didn't fulfil its role and time again had left her with bruises and cuts that should have been nothing. For what she was she wasn't normal; even though that was the last word she'd consider using in describing herself, but what she did have wasn't developed properly. Her plastron was soft and malleable and her shell hadn't formed; the scales where it should have been merely darker and tougher than the rest of her skin.
Peering down at her reflection in the water lining the sewer she grimaced slightly at the scales littering her forehead and surrounding her eyes. They were darker and shone a faint blue, highlighting the pale silver of her eyes but instead of admiring the faint beauty she pulled her hat down further and turned away. Slowly she made her way through the tunnel hand clasped firmly at her side in a meagre attempt to stop the blood flow, had she any sense she'd have used her jacket as a makeshift bandage but throwing it to the side had likely covered it in sewer water and using it as such would probably make things worse. So she continued.
She didn't know where she was going and her detour into the underside of the city had ruined her finely crafted route but she wasn't about to stop moving, walking in any direction was progress and as her pace slowed and dizziness swarmed through her mind she repeated it.
"Walking is progress…" She slurred, blinking at the brightness of the light that shone through grates in the roof and stumbling deeper into the sewers. Pausing Rossi rubbed her eyes, sticking her tongue out at how sticky her hand was. By now the blood had run down her side and coated the leg of her stolen jeans, added to the three fingered hand print now on her face she gathered she probably looked like walking death. The mental image amused her and with a garbled laugh she slipped on the wet stone and sat in mild confusion as she let the new found bruises sink in.
Furrowing her eye ridges the female turtle stood; hand bracing her against the wall leaving a fine print in red upon the pale stone. Skidding through the blood on her feet she continued ever slower through the tunnels, occasionally peering back at the spots of blood and footprints she'd left. It was getting harder to see and her limbs felt sluggish and heavy, her side stinging with a sharp pain. The dizziness from her apparent lack of blood sent her once more to the floor in a heap, mumbling a faint tune into her arm. She didn't get up; merely peered at her surroundings marvelling at the dome like area she'd stumbled upon. Beside her was a large pool, pipes from the walls pouring more water into its depths and several dark tunnels branched off from where she lay. In her mind she chose a route and with bleary eyes tried to follow the dark turns, her mind wandering but her body firmly in place. It didn't take long before she'd slipped into an empty and dreamless sleep.