Sway strolls down Main Street, satisfied with her latest trick. She's just purloined a few silk handkerchiefs from lovely house on the corner. They'll fetch a pretty penny once she removes the monogrammed initials. She fingers them lovingly, delighted by their creamy textures.
She passes by the Diner. Life and warmth spill out of the open door. The people inside are singing a bawdy song, most of them happily drunk. She rounds the corner hastily, rubbing her arms against the oncoming chill of dusk.
A shout pierces the night. Sway hesitates, searching for its source. Three men are taunting a young boy, Irish by the sound of it. The Delancy's are up to their usual dirty tricks.
Sway clenches her fists angrily, then forces herself to keep walking. She knows that it's none of her business. She hears a sickening thud and a desperate cry. Damn. She has no chance against three men, but she can't live with herself if she doesn't try.
She stoops to pick up a loose cobblestone, then stalks back towards the boy and his attackers. She throws it at Morris, hoping to distract him. The cobblestone hits him on the left shoulder with a crack. It unnerves her how satisfying his yell of pain is.
"Quit it, Morris! Your ugly mug's scaring the kid. He'll have nightmares," she says mockingly. The men are now focused on Sway instead. Morris lashes out at her, swearing passionately. Sway ducks his punch nimbly. She's had practice being light on her toes. She trips him with a well-placed foot and a shove. He goes down hard, but his brothers lunge for her before she can regain her balance. One grabs her from behind, and the other manages to land a solid punch in her stomach. She gasps for breath while she gropes for a handhold on her captor. Her fingers clench round his arm. She pulls it over her shoulder and falls to one knee as she jerks forward. The man somersaults over her, landing hard on his back. His head connects sharply with the cobblestones. Sway mutters a quick thank you for the self-defense Shadow made her learn on rainy days.
Morris is back up. Grinning nastily, he slams his booted foot into Sway's side. The air rushes from her lungs and stars burst against her eyelids. "Leave 'er alone!" the Irish boy yells, throwing himself on Morris. Sway stumbles to her feet, but pain knifes through her ankle as she twists it on the uneven cobblestones.
Jack leaves the Diner early, thinking of walking over to Sarah's for a late-night visit. His mind is hazy from the drink and good company, but the panicked shouts coming from a nearby alleyway cut right through. He sets off at a run.
Sway gropes for her dagger; her last resort. The remaining two Delancy's advance on her.
"A lady should know better than to interrupt somethin' that don't concern her." Morris grins a Cheshire smile, enjoying her pain. Sway struggles to force back the blackness crowding her vision. She fervently hopes the kid has enough sense to beat it. She's damned if she's going to go through all this for nothing.
Sway feels oddly disconnected from her body, as though she's another person entirely. She can't seem to get her breath back. She watches her knife flash, drawing a bright line of blood on someone's chest.
Another figure joins the fray with a vengeance, taking the Delancy's unaware. Sway
laughs hollowly. "Ya had it comin', boys," she wheezes. Her knife clatters to the ground as the world falls away.
Jack's eyes swipe over Sway's unconscious form, checking for serious injuries, then drags her out of the puddle that is slowly seeping into her clothing. The Delancy's have scattered, dismissing their victim as too much trouble. Jack rubs his jaw where an angry bruise is starting to form. Footsteps rattle in the street, and he looks up to see Mush and Racetrack rounding the corner.
"Can't let ya outta my sight for more than a minute, can I, Jack? We 'eard the commotion all the way up at Tibby's." Racetrack whistles, seeing his friend clearly for the first time. "Nice shiner!" He can never resist poking fun at Jack's knack for trouble. Jack grins, glad to see a friendly face.
"I don't mind trouble so much when it gets me near a looker like this one," he jokes.
"Too bad ya ain't lookin' so pretty yourself," Mush retorts. "Sarah's gonna have somethin' to say about it if ya get into too many more fights. What was goin' on here tonight?" Jack shrugs.
Racetrack notices the young boy watching Jack from the shadows with admiration shining in his eyes. "Hey, kid." The boys eyes widen, and he folds his arms across his chest protectively. "Ya must be a pretty smart fighter if ya gave ol' Jack here all those bruises," Racetrack says, trying to put the boy at ease. The kid smiles shyly, his shaggy hair falling over one eye.
"Me name's Logan," he volunteers. The two boys continue to talk quietly.
Mush stares at the girl lying at Jack's feet. "Did she try to take on all three of the Delancy's?" he asks.
"Her and a little boy, looks like." Jack can't be bothered with the details.
"I know her," Mush confesses, frowning.
"Good, then you carry 'er back to the lodge house. She needs seeing too," Jack says, happy to thrust the responsibility onto someone else.
"We ain't exactly friends, Jack. I don't even know her name," Mush says. His voice is overly tense, but Jack is too tired and sore to care.
"I don't exactly care, Mush." His words hang in the electric air, an unspoken challenge. Both the boys are worn a little thin.
"Aww, stuff it you two. Now ain't the time," Racetrack says sharply, breaking the tension. Jack sighs and runs his hand through his hair, and Mush bends to lift Sway in his arms. She seems lighter and more fragile in unconsciousness.
Racetrack gives one last piece of advice to the boy, then sends him off with a clap on the shoulder once he's sure that there's no lasting injury. He explains the fight to Mush and Jack as they walk to the lodgehouse, scuffing their feet wearily.