Felicity had never considered herself a duelist. On her break at work she'd do it for fun with a guy who worked at the bistro down the street, but competitively she had no interest. She had the logic and wit to formulate a strategy against any deck without having to alter her own. It took a lot of the fun out of the game for her.
Recently the bistro became unbearable to walk to, as her ex-boyfriend worked across the street and she would have to go by him to get to the bistro. She only just found out he was sleeping with her coworker, Jackie, who she worked with every day, and every day received the same fake smile and the same fake pleasantries from the girl who was just working the knife deeper into her back.
Felicity was throwing the garbage out into the dumpster at the back of the parking lot while Jackie was closing the store up. She tried to ignore the other girl, repeating The Serenity Prayer endlessly in her mind to keep herself sane, reminding herself that she can't control others and what they do doesn't concern her anymore. It still hurt.
"Hey there," a voice called to her. Her head swiveled and she peered into the growing darkness.
A figure emerged from the shadows. His red hair was chopped short in layers, and he wore an odd Gothic trench coat with buckles everywhere and red knee-high boots. He also wore a cropped top, and she wasn't entirely sure of the gender of this individual, but relying on the voice she was sure he was male.
"I'm Alister. I've come to help you."
Her eyes widened; this area of the state was very safe, mostly wealthy tourists. Attacks were very rare and the few that happened made front page news.
"Thanks, but I don't need help," she said, looking around to see if any other stores in the square were still open in case she needed to cry for help. Unfortunately, she found she had been kept late beyond quitting time due to straggling customers and all other shops were closed and their workers long gone. She cursed leaving her knife in her purse and not having it on her like Jessie always nagged her.
"Oh, but you do. I know all about Jessie and what he's done to you. I can help you exact revenge on him for the pain he has inflicted in you."
He had finally caught her attention. "Who are you?" she asked warily.
"Alister. The first swordsman of DOMA."
