Marie Swiftwater smiled to herself, curling up on her bed. Her tail flicked idily as she became more engrosed in the book infromt of her. After a while, she paused and rose, looking outside her bedroom window. He was late, which meant that he was out drinking again. She gave a start as she heard the door slam downstairs, and quickly hid the book. He didn't like her reading, he said it would give her ideas that she shouldn't be getting. But despite that, she enjoyed reading, and she sometimes dreamed of having one of the gentle, caring husbands that were so common in the books she read. Reaching for the door handle, she braced herself for whatever he had in mind to do to her. The door swung open, and she gasped. She caught only a glimpse of her husband before pain engulfed her..

***

Garret Broadtail pushed open the heavy oak doors of the Salamandastron Dance and glanced around the practically empty hall. There was that blind otter, Soquan, and a couple of beasts he hadn't met yet. Seeing his friends by the bar, he grinned and vaulted over to talk to them. "It's been gettin' a lot more quieter in 'ere since the fire eh?" A light brown squirrel towards his right nodded while taking a drink of his whiskey. "Yeah, if you ask me, this place is on its last couple rounds around the drain..." The other squirrel beside him chuckled as he took a swig of his ale. "Nicely put there, Rave. The way you put it, just makes it sound so poetic." The first squirrel laughed and shoved the other off his barstool. The wolfmaid, having up to this point been silent, laughed and made some comment about 'idiot males' as the two squirrels wrestled on the ground. The four friends remained in the hall well into the night, untill just themselves and the otter remained

***

Marie's footpaws thudded alond the dirt path as she ran. She glanced fearfully over her shoulder, making sure he wasn't following her. His degrading insults still rang clearly in her mind, causing her to choke out a sob. i She whimpered as the male's footpaw came in contact with her ribs for the upteenth time. "You're nothing but a wench you hear? All you're good for is a bit of knocking around." He continued to kick her repeatedly, a smirk spread across his features. She groaned and gasped, struggling to take in a breath. /i She continued to stumble her way along the path, shuddering at the memory. Holding her ragged clothes tightly around her, she tried to blink away the tears that blurred her vision. She was soon rewarded with a light shining further up ahead and spead up, turning towards it. After some time she arrived, panting heavily from her run. Pushing open the double oak doors she ran inside, casting one last glance over her shoulder. With a grunt, Marie suddenly ran into somthing solid and warm. Immediatley she recognized the scent as male and she looked up with one fervent wish. i'Please don't let him be angry.'/i Inspecting him briefly she realized this male was blind, i'but still capable of hurting you..'/i she added as afterthought. The male placed a paw on her shoulder, causing her to practically leap backwards with a startled yell. She backed away from the other otter, shaking visibly. Feverent prayers ran through her head as she backed against the wall, she whispered one softly as she bowed her head "please don't hurt me..."

***

The Sali's doors swung open with a bang, causing Garret to jump slightly. He glanced over his shoulder and watched the scene unfold near the door, then rose and walked over. " 'ey? Is everythin' alright ovah 'ere?" Marie jumped, startled by the seemingly sudden appearance. She whirled around so she could see both males, unknowingly backing herself into a corner. Garret turned towards the blind otter, an eyebrow raised questiongly. "Geeze Soquan, Wha'd yeh do t'scare 'er so badly?" Soquan shook his head, shrugging slightly. "I don't know, one second she runs right into me, the next, she's freaking out..."Garret nodded, first looking towards the female that was now cowered against the wall, then crouching down to her level. He slowly reached for her shoulder, an unconcious comforting gesture. The female shyed away from his paw, keeping her head bowed as she slunk further into the corner. Garret frowned, speaking softly to the obviously frightened creature in front of him. " 'ey...'ah don't know why yeh're so jumpy, but yeh need 'elp. Yeh're pretty beat up..." He stretched out a paw, offering it to her. Marie watched the male, eyeing him silently. He didn't seem threating, but then again, neither did the other. She rubbed her eyes tiredly, she just couldn't shake the angry words her husband had yelled at her as she ran from the house. i"You may find somebeast else, and he may seem nice. But that's only to get you're guard down and you into bed!"/i Going with her instincts, she placed a shaky paw in Garret's. He smiled and gently pulled her to her feet. "C'mon, let's get yeh fixed up." He helped her shuffle her way towards one of the many couches in the hall. As he helped her lay down, he motioned for Fallon to come over. Marie watched through half closed eyes as the two beasts talked. "Fallon, do yeh ' 'ave yeh're 'ealer's bag 'ere?" Fallon shook her head slowly. "No, I'm sorry, I don't." Garret frowned, looking at the wolf maid eagerly as he motioned towards Marie. "Can yeh go get it please? she needs 'elp..." Fallon nodded and raced out of the hall, the oak doors slamming as they closed behind her. Marie fought to keep her eyes from closing, yawning widely. Garret looked over with a grin touching his scruffy features. "Get some rest, Fallon'll be back soon..." Nodding, Marie's eyes closed slowly as she drifted off to sleep.