[Memory] Escape

[Arkash]

47th of Ash, 112

It was cold. Far too cold for Arkash to be out as long as he was. The furs that he dressed in could only insulate so much heat, and the rest bled from his body in clouds of white breath. That was to say that his breath had been visible in the air some hour or so prior, but as his body cooled, it showed less.
In the cover of the alley, the biting, leeching winds could no longer rob him of his precious warmth, but his run through the cold air had taken its toll on him. His joints were stiff and his focus steadily waned, which normally wasn't too big an issue, as he could just return home or stop by an open fire to warm up, but he'd landed himself in a predicament where neither of those were available.
In an effort to escape a scabby pair of thugs with a foreign lady, Arkash was made to run into the territory of The Black Boar Chargers, a feared and revered gang in Lower Nivenhain that dealt in all sorts of contraband from hard drugs to firearms, and they didn't take well to trespassers. It was a gamble to run that way; what if the scabby couple had been part of the gang? What if the chargers were patrolling when he entered their turf? By luck alone, neither of those were the case.
The woman he'd dragged halfway across the district, the foreigner, he knew almost nothing about her. The only thing he knew about her was that she could rot people's flesh with her mind. He'd seen it happen to the thug's arm back on the street, and she threatened a similar fate to him if he went back on his word. "Gods, 'at was 'ew?" He asked when they were finally under the cover of the tall alley walls. His body shook. Whether it was from fear or the cold was uncertain, but he trembled while he stood opposite her in the alley. "I-i'm sorry! I p-p'omise I won'!"
He'd crossed his heart with his claw prior to her threat, which was the most serious level of promise Arkash knew of. How else could he convince her not to rot his body? There was no time, they hand to move. As soon as he could, he pulled up his hood once more and withdrew his claws into his long, furred sleeves. He couldn't lose much more heat. "We g-gotta go 'fore some'un fine's us, jus'... dun rot me if we fine' t-trouble, an' stay back."
He didn't know his way around those parts; it wasn't a place he was familiar with. Still, instinct told him to head deeper into the alley; many of the dirty passageways in Lorien had both an entrance and an exit, as they curled around the buildings. It was only after he lifted the thick fabric of his scarf over his mouth that he spoke again. "Th-this weh."
Every breath was a waste of warmth, as his lungs grew colder and colder with every word he spoke, so Arkash resolved to keep quiet as he turned rigidly to the right, then willed his stiff legs to move. If they did run into trouble, Arkash wouldn't be able to escape. If he slipped up then, it would be the end of him, and possibly the foreigner, too.
The alley itself was fairly typical. The buildings that surrounded them were built from hefty bricks and bared several pipes and their rusted supports. A glance up would reveal that the pipes were water spouts that connected to drains along the edges of the roofs. Broken, rotting crates and barrels of various shapes and sizes lined the walls, along with oddly shaped clumps beneath the snow. In the cold, however, the smell of feces and urine wasn't too potent, but it was notable. Arkash struggled by the mess casually, as if it were normal. And to him, it probably was.
The alley turned at a sharp ninety-degree angle ahead of them, and it appeared to be the way Arkash was headed. Once the two turned the corner, it would reveal a long, dark passage with an opening at the end. If one listened closely, chatter could be heard from somewhere on the street ahead; there were others nearby.

[Mannon]

She followed the lizard into the alleyway.
“You gonna rot in there! But betta’ you ‘an us!” Mannon heard their pursuers shout as they disappeared from view.
The corners of her mouth dropped. The underlying stench of faeces and urine, though subtle was prominent in the street. The general disarray and sign of decay painted a picture she remembered all too well from Alfsos. It was appealing then and it certainly wasn't appealing now either. But also, the promise of greater danger unsettled her.
Turf wars. Gangs. Muggings. Seriously, M, get a guide next time, she thought to herself, wrapping her arms around her torso underneath the cape. This was one hell of sightseeing. She should have listened to Salem.
On the canvas of a rotting side street, the two cut out hunched over shadows in the dark moving in relative unison. As dodgy as they'd get and Mannon pulled the hood over her head and into her face.
The piping above and around her glistened in the limited light with more than leaking water and the young woman tried to stay far away from it. Her nose crinkled a little and despite her earlier intimidation of her supposed saviour, she drew closer to lizard. He seemed to know the way, or at least the neighbourhood, better than she did. That made him useful despite the possible, and unconfirmed, threat he still presented..
What concerned her about him though was the sudden shivering that took over his body and how his speech lost its ease and became stuttered by the cold. She didn’t know how lizards worked, but something told her that the low temperature was getting to him faster than it was getting to her. He seemed to be growing weaker. She didn't dare to hazard a guess on how much longer he had left in him. But hopefully, long enough to take her to the border of the district. If that's where they were going.
When they came to turn another sharp corner, Mannon noticed a heap of crates falling apart. Rotten wood and rusted nails which gave her an idea.
She let the lizard go first. She kept her eyes on his back for as long as she could before quickly looking down and picking one of the rotting pieces. Just as she was rushing it into the folds of her cape, the wood collapsed some more with a dull thud. She hopped away from it as though she accidentally hit it when she walked past, arms hidden inside her cape.
She looked at the lizard with a strained smile and no words, hoping his struggle against the cold dulled his wits towards her plans.
If he caught sight of the improvised weapon she picked up and demanded explanation, she’d say a simple word - safety. Since that was not a lie after all.
Past the turn, the passage narrowed some more that the two would need to walk shoulder to shoulder or close one behind the other. At the exit, weak shadows moved across the wall. Voices rose and fell in excited undulation. Yet, Mannon did not sense merriment in those sounds.
Instinctively, she placed her hand on the lizard's arm hiding within furs as though to slow him. She hoped he’d understand that they needed to approach carefully. Though who was she to say. It was just her gut, her intuition whispering ideas into her head.
But the closer they approached, the clearer it was that they weren’t getting anywhere near an easy way out.
“T’is not even half,” a voice growled.
“But it is! That’s wha’ I been tol’ to bring,” a younger voice replied.
“Yea? Tol’ by who? I swear if you lie...” A metallic click bounced from the surrounding walls.
As they neared, Mannon saw a human dressed in rags like their earlier company. But this was not an adult, merely a teenager with red cheeks and nose, scrawny with hair unevenly cut. The boy's posture was tense, his expression likeso too.
“I swears it. Jus’ gimme the payment for wha’s there an’ we call it e’en,” the young boy said and his eyes hopped several points.
He’s not alone, she thought. And given his posture and twitches in the face, he was also in trouble.

[Arkash]

It made sense to have her follow him, right? After all, it was up to him to get them both out of there safely. He had to lead them to the exit in one piece, it was up to him, he had to remain focused. Those thoughts and slurry of others span through his mind while he tried to keep himself conscious. It helped to focus on a singular goal, a direction, an objective. So, as he wandered into the long alley, his focus became to make it to the end.
He didn't pay much attention to the rest of the happenings around him, but the sound of clattering wood echoed and caught his attention. He continued to trudge through the snow for a couple of paces before he turned to check on the lady, who caught up to him with a short jog. His eyes formed a brief squint as he considered what might have happened, and his gaze fell upon the crate. "'ew okay?" he asked. Obviously, she'd accidentally kicked the box or something.
Once he was certain she was well, he continued down the long stone passageway. Where Mannon heard voices, Arkash seemed to miss them. He stared at the snowy ground and walked onward without so much as a slight change in his speed. It wasn't until Mannon grabbed his fur sleeve that he paused belatedly, then turned to look at her with tired eyes. "Wha'?" he asked simply. His voice was quiet, almost whisper-like, and thus, didn't carry through the cold of the snowy Rien Ash.
He was completely out of it, admittedly. His senses dwindled more and more by the minute, and his reasoning only continued wane until that metallic click bounced off the frosty streets. Arkash's eyes widened and he drew a deep breath in a ragged gasp. Quickly, he spun and looked to the source, and saw the boy. At once, he pulled Mannon closer to the wall to put themselves flat against the surface. "Tha's a gun," he whispered. "Someone jus' loaded a freakin gun!" he whispered a little harsher. The sound had at least woken him up, but a lot of his body and mind alike remained asleep.
His subconscious recognized the danger, and his self-preservation instinct took the wheel. "We' gotta go," he spoke for maybe the fifth time.
"I's is a shekdown," spoke another voice. "You's swindlin' us," it came again with the sound of spitting. "'ou knows it too. Jus' give uz th' produc', we give 'ou th' dosh, we all walk 'ome 'appy. Yeah?" Arkash's eyes squinted as he listened to the conversation unfold. A glance from his angle put his yellow eyes on a scraggly-looking blonde man with a patchy grey coat and a bulky sort of elf with pale skin, who aimed a dragonshard pistol directly at the scraggly man's head. The human held his hands open as he stood right before the elf. "Le's forget 'ou pointed a weapon at my guy for a moment-" Spoke the scraggly man in the grey coat.
The bulky elf began to laugh while he held the pistol, and a chorus of jeers and chuckling echoed from behind him. Then, in a flash, the scraggly man dipped beneath the gun and swiped at the siltori's throat. In one fell swoop, he'd cut the elf with a concealed dagger, but it wasn't nearly deep enough to kill him. A symphony of yelling and orders was barked from the elf's side and gunshots boomed across the streets and echoed through the alleys.
Explosions of ether blasted on both sides as runeforged shells detonated on impact with the floor, on impact with people. A shell even ricocheted above Arkash's and Mannon's heads and burst in a flash of light further down the alley. "Ge' down!" Arkash called as he gripped the lady by the sleeve and pulled her with him as he crouched. He could barely register what just happened, one of the men from the gang he didn't recognize had just attacked one of the chargers in defense of a teenage boy about Arkash's age. If it weren't for their grim circumstances, Arkash would surely be inspired.
"Wait til i's clear. Afta they've lef', le's go," he spoke, voice barely audible over the gunshots.

[Mannon]

Her hand squeezed around the rotting wood, feeling the splinters peeling off. But those were too soft to do any real damage.
Mannon nodded at the lizard when he asked her if she was ok.
He didn’t see, she thought with relief and quickly joined him again.
Then as they reached the exit from the alley, the lizard seemed to recollect his wits and Mannon found herself pressed against the damp wall.
Her eyes flitted from the boy to her companion and the frown that was on her brow was a concern - for the situation, the sounds, the mention of a gun, but also her guide. How much longer could he go on? And were they any closer to the border?
She tried to swallow through her tightening throat. She looked towards the alleyway exit again. She saw the boy and another man, but no more. She was next to the lizard man who had a better view of the situation.
She didn’t need to see thought. She heard soon enough.
The shattering boom of a gunshot echoed around her. Mannon yelped out in surprise. She pulled her shoulders up to her ears, pressing further into the wall. This was the first time she heard a gunshot and her heart nigh jumped out of her chest.
Then came the shouting, the explosions. Sounds and chaos she imagined to be part of the war of centuries ago.
She was disoriented. She ducked and cowered against the wall, against the lizard next to her. Fear heightened her senses, but confusion slowed her reactions. So when the lizard pulled her down, she gave in easy like a rag doll. The flash of bright light stung her eyes. The explosion shook her bones.
She had no time to check if she was free of injure and adrenaline dumbed her pain receptors as it had done so many times before.
She heard shouts, screams. She saw the yellow eyes pinning her down, saw the scarf moving. But she did not hear his words and she did not have time to ask for clarification.
Another runeforged shell exploded nearby and a man stumbled into their view. He dropped his gun and it cluttered on the floor. The man stumbled backwards in their direction, losing balance.
He nearly tripped over Arkash, if it wasn't for the opposite wall that caught him first. She saw his chest heave before he turned...and saw them
The man's face was smeared with dirt and blood. He had a wound in his shoulder.
His eyes opened wide before the battle mode kicked in again. A sneer took over his expression and his hand dove to his belt as he was coming out of the daze. Mannon didn’t wait to see more.
She was a survivor for so many years, there was no way in hell she was going to expire in a dingy alleyway in no man’s land.
The determination to continue living flooded her body and took over. It coiled the muscles in her legs and sprung her from the crouch like an agitated snake. Her improvised weapon emerged from within the folds of her cape. It cut a shapely curve through the air. Yet, it was more accidental than purposely aimed. Mannon wasn’t a warrior with training. But she was desperate and with a weapon.
The explosion that caused him to stumble to their hiding spot must have impaired his reactions more than she thought. Her swing landed.
The rusty nails buried themselves into the right side of the man's neck. The rotten outer layer of rotten wood gave in and Mannon felt splinters of the core digging into her hand.
The man gurgled in surprise and wavered. Yet the dagger was already on a path of its own, aimed to cut wherever it would land.

[Arkash]

Chaos ran through the street beyond the alleyway while the pair hid from the gunshots and the blasts. Arkash was familiar with the weapons, as he heard their click and immediately knew to hide. Guns, knives and hard drugs were all commonplace in the Lower district, he'd grown up with the chaos in the streets, but normally only witnessed such things through the cracks in his walls from the safety of his home. It was different then, he was in the fight, so to speak.
His companion, on the other claw, appeared to be in a state of alarm while the blasts rang in waves. He watched her for a moment, and his elevated state of awareness began to recede. His focus waned as he slipped into a false sense of security, and the blasts of gunfire fell into a distant muffle while he held onto his ear holes. He could almost fall asleep where he sat as his heart beat slowed, and his eyelids became heavy. Hibernation called to him.
Then, in a stroke of luck, or misfortune, fresh stimulation presented itself in the form of a threat. His heart rate began to pick up again as the bloody, dirty man stumbled by them and looked down upon their crouched forms. In a flash, the lady was on him, her improvised weapon buried itself in his neck. Arkash willed his frozen limbs to move in a haze, which saw him more-or-less throw his body at the human from his crouched position.
It was luck alone that saw Arkash barrel into the man as he drew his knife, and the weight of the rath pushed the charger's dagger into his chest. Arkash followed through and tackled the woozy, wounded man into the wall. Not deliberately, it was only because he didn't have the strength to stop his momentum that he continued. His throat tore open as he was pulled from Mannon's weapon, and warm blood ran over Arkash's fur clothes.
"HANS!!" called a hasty voice from the direction the lady and rath came from. Arkash tried to look, but the world moved so fast around him, it was as though he'd slowed to a crawl, and so had his perception of the world.
A group of men, four of them with races all mixed, advanced upon them from the deeper part of the alley they hid in with blades drawn; the cavalry. They'd been poised to ambush the opposition from the dark of the alley if things went south. And as misfortune had it, the cavalry had caught them killing one of their own. Arkash looked back at the man he'd unintentionally stabbed, then flitted his gaze to the ground.
The firearm the charger had dropped laid in the snow, and Arkash drove for it. Hans, the man they'd mutually stabbed was motionless as he gargled and choked on his own life force. Arkash seemed to fall in the snow and struggled with the weapon before he turned on his back and aimed the nozzle of the pistol at the men... but his claw didn't move. His blood ran cold and left him with stiff, weak hands.
While Arkash aimed the weapon, the chargers rushed the pair from the deeper part of the alley. There was no choice, they had to run through the gunfire of the battle in the streets, but who knew how much longer the rathari had before he fell into hibernation?

[Mannon]

She saw the blade winking at her. She felt its call for blood. She took a slow step back since she had to finght against the momentum that drove her forward. She wasn't fast enough. Wherever the blade was going to fall, she was expecting the pain to flair up any moment.
But it wasn't going to.
The lizard propelled itself like a bullet into the man. The continuous fighting on the street drowned out their joint thud against the wall. But from somewhere above them, droplets of water released and rained down. The pipe nearby shook a little.
The man collapsed on the damp ground, blood streaking from the corner of his mouth. Mannon only stared. She never killed a man. But...was this her murder to count, or the lizard’s who delivered the final blow?
She looked at her companion, stumbling around before a booming voice bounced in the narrow alleyway. A group of men just saw them commit a crime. Men who seemed to be friends with the deceased.
Air caught in her throat and she took one step back, towards the street where death was possible. In the corner of her eye, she saw the lizard drop to the ground and for a second Mannon thought that finally, he passed out.
She cast a quick look towards him only to see his struggle with the weapon.
“Shoot!” She yelled at him, but he looked like a fallen statue - immobile.
She dove after gim. She grasped his wrists, and aimed haphazardly.
The cavalry was charging them. Their shouts were mixing with fight beyond.
Her finger snuck beside his. She never shot a gun before.
The click was indistinguishable from the loud bang of the gunshot. It took her by surprise. The kickback unbalanced her although the majority of it seemed to be absorbed by the lizard.
She did not immediately see the damage they caused.
One of the men was doubled over, holding his face. Another seemed to have a fresh wound in the shoulder. The others ducked somewhere for cover
The pipe. It was shattered. Part rusty like much of the stuff in this place, it gave in under the force and shrapnel pieces launched themselves among the men.
No time. Mannon started patting her companion urgently.
“Up. Up!” She was urging him. While they’re confused.
“We need to go!” Obviously. She dug her hands under him, tried to push him up. But she was petite and physical strength wasn’t her forte. But in that moment, where she lacked muscle, she made up for it with pure determination, desperation and stores of adrenaline.
Once they were standing, she didn’t wait for the lizard to collect his bearings. This time, it was she who grabbed his hand, squeezed it tight. She gathered her skirts and aimed. Heels dug into the ground as she pushed off into a run, pulling and tugging on the lizard’s hand.
She launched them into the street where the main fight was still happening. She heard someone screaming, but she didn't know if at them. She didn't care. She chose a random direction and legged it that way. She had no time to worry which was she was running. Whether it was deeper into this hellish district, or not as long as the fight remained at her back.

[Arkash]

Who the blame for the murder fell upon wasn't at the forefront of Arkash's mind, the cold had drained him of almost all rational thought, it was entirely possible he didn't even realize a man had died by his hand. He barely thought at all. Threats presented themselves and his body moved the best it could to handle the ever-evolving threat of the battle. So, he dove for the gun, and aimed it, but he couldn't fire. His exposed claw was completely drained of all the warmth it held, it may as well have been made of stone.
When the good lady gripped his wrist, she'd find just that, it felt as though the limb was made of ice. His finger was rigid and took a considerable amount of effort to force, but the result of the click was a fired runeforged shell that exploded in a blast of ether upon impact with the wall beside men. That same blast ruptured the leaky pipe and injured even more of them than they'd anticipated. But that wasn't the end for Arkash, he pressed hard on the trigger as if it would send a second shot at the men. It didn't. All he knew was that he was in danger, and it had to be subdued.
'Up!' She urged, and Arkash drew a deep breath. A flicker of recognition buzzed behind his eyes, and he scrambled his legs to stand with her aid. He could barely run, but he recognized the danger, the urgency. He at least tried his best. Blasts of firearms and runeforged casings boomed across the snowy street while the two bolted, and for a moment, Arkash recognized where they were. The border of their territory was...
"'Iss weh," he motioned with a push, and attempted to redirect the woman to a left turn down the road. He only knew it for the fact that the street beyond was where a few of the local homeless people gathered. Arkash frequented them in the frost, as they always had a fire burning. That was their ticket out, their way out of the warzone that was the charger's turf.
As the pair ran, the motion in his legs ran a radiant heat through his form and gradually loosened his leg muscles. The warmth spread through his blood very slowly, but some of his senses returned. Soon enough, he had the sense to look to his nigh-frozen claw and found the pistol there. He hadn't dropped it, he hadn't been able to. He couldn't run into the streets while he carried the pistol, someone would either panic or try to steal it from him, so he tucked the weapon into his furs while he tried to keep pace with the lady.
Before long, they were in the clear, and Arkash was exhausted both physically and mentally. He'd already spent the entire day in the mines prior to everything that had transpired. From the attempted mugging on the lady to the chaotic battle that ensued over a deal gone wrong in the charger's turf. With the warmth of the burst of exercise in his veins, Arkash looked about the street to spot a distinct amber glow in one of the alleys.
His eyes formed a glare before he looked to Mannon, then motioned for her to follow. Even if she wasn't a lizard, Arkash didn't doubt that the cold air had taken a toll on her lungs. He ultimately couldn't make her follow him, but he did speak "barrel fi-a," to explain his reasoning. His jaw was tense and tired much like the rest of his body, big words and sentences were out of his reach until he was warm again.
Though his legs still ached and pulled with every movement, they operated better than they had at the start of their run. They'd both been through hell, but Arkash didn't yet have the capacity to process all that had happened. He remained focused on one objective at a time, and the next was to get warm.

[Mannon]

It was like she was holding a stone. When she first pushed off to run, Manon nearly swore that she was also trying to pull a boulder along the street. It had to do something with him being a lizard. Mannon wasn't able to find another reason aside from her companion being in a severe state of shock, fear or literally having a death wish.
Of course, when she dashed out of the alleyway, she bolted away from everyone. Any sign of people was a sign of danger so far, so the small gathered crowd to one side did not mean safety in Mannon's mind. So when he tugged on her arm, she resisted. She looked in the direction he wanted them to go and she hesitated.
That moment of pause was long enough to have another runeforged shell explode nearby. Slush, dirt and debris sprayed her side and there was minor ringing in her right ear. But thanks to that explosion, Mannon evaded towards the crowd where the lizard wanted to go.
The human wall had a few gaps and Mannon with the lizard dashed through one of those. People grunted, shouted after them, but Mannon cared not. She wanted to be as far away as possible. So far that when they finally slowed, they didn’t hear the fight anymore.
She cast a quick look behind them and saw no one following. Though their surroundings did not change much, so she did not trust her eyes and decided to continue as though anyone could jump them at any moment.
Who knew that danger was closer than around the corner. When the lizard stared at her with fire in his eyes, tension gripped Mannon’s insides again. She parted with her improvised weapon and only had a bluff for protection. A deep frown imprinted itself on her forehead. The lizard seemed angry, but his concern was for a barrel of fire.
Cogs clicked in her mind. An answer fell into place. He needed the heat. He was looking for it himself but he wasn't guiding them. So there was no immediate danger. For now. Did she really want the lizard to be fully functional?
She gauged him from the corner of her eye. In this state, she could absolutely win a fight. Mainly, because there would likely be no fight. But she also needed him to guide her if his word was true. So for that moment, it was best she helped him.
She was looking around as they walked the streets hand in hand.
“There!” Mannon then saw a flicker, tugging on the lizard’s hand and pointing in a direction. “A barrel fire,” she said and looked at the lizard with hope in her eyes that that was what he wanted. After all, she wouldn't mind a moment of rest either. A lot happened since she left Salem's house earlier that day and she needed longer to establish her standing with the lizard.

[Arkash]

The cold was a cruel thing. Those who'd been claimed by its embrace were usually completely unaware of the looming threat. At some point, its victims would no longer feel the cold, and the idea of warmth receded to a distant dream. It made them tired, sleepy, and the snow that blanketed the paths of its sufferers would appear all the more inviting. The promise of a quick rest was a trap, for those that fell asleep in the snow never woke.
Arkash knew that about the cold, it had been drummed into him since he was a hatchling. 'Never sleep on the floor, never show your scales in the snow, keep your eyes open when it's cold, no matter what.' Those lessons and a plethora of others had prepared him well for life in Lorien, but even the most rigorous teachings couldn't have prevented him from falling asleep in the alley, as he nearly had. It was due to his slow blood flow. The metaphorical ice in his veins was slow to circulate the oxygen his brain needed to remain aware and conscious. If it weren't for the flood of adrenaline in his system, the aid of the lady, and the looming threat of gunfire, he would have fallen into the eternal sleep that the cold tempted all its victims with.
The threat of sleep still loomed, even after the pair had escaped the chaos of the battlefield. With his limited cognitive ability, the lizard sought only one thing; warmth. The street that he and Mannon walked was familiar to him for that reason, and it piqued his attention while they searched for the promised, life-sustaining heat. He told the lady what he wanted, what he was looking for, but he didn't have the capacity to explain why or how they would come across such a thing. it was a good thing he had to, as his ability to actively search dwindled with every awkward, stiff step.
When she did spot a source of warmth, Arkash breathed a shallow gasp and looked. His vision blurred and darkened around the edges, his hearing muffled severely. But he still made sense of that word that he adored. Fire. Combined with a barrel, it became a lifesaver. So, he willed his stiff, rigid legs to move toward the amber glow in the distance, then turned the corner for shelter from the low-speed winds.
In the alley was a number of humans and elves of similar builds; skinny and ragged. A few bared bruises and cuts on their exposed patches of skin while they stood around the fire, others sat and laid about on makeshift mattresses. Outside their tarpaulin shelter was a steel barrel, blackened with soon and burns. A fire raged inside while the gathered less-fortunate warmed their extremities. A few of them cast glances to the mismatched pair as Arkash entered the alley, but none stared too long or spoke toward them, not immediately at least.
So, Arkash moved with haste to the contained fire, then stopped a good three feet from it and held out his claws. The flames made his scales shine in the low amber light. After a moment or two, he turned around to soak in the heat through his back. He was too cold to get too close to the fire, he'd likely burn if he remained on one side too long. Finally, his eyes settled on the human he'd traveled with, and he motioned her closer.
One by one, his senses gradually returned. The stiffened muscles in his face quickly drank the warmth present on his scales, and he let out a shaky exhale, once again, he began to shiver. "J-jus' a few minniss 'ere an-n' I'll lead'ja back t-t' Outa," his declaration almost came across as a request, as though he asked if that suited her. His scattered thoughts and fragmented memories began to piece together while he thought back on what had transpired, though it was unclear how much of what had happened he could recall.
"Y-you okay? No scuffs or b-bumps?" he paused, then turned to his side. The furs on his back more-or-less steamed condensation in the cool air as he returned to warming his front. His shivering quelled soon enough as his body oh-so-quickly drank the warmth of the open flame, and gradually worked toward loosening his joints. "I'm Arkash... Ehh... 'm sorry if I forgo' youer ne'm." He wasn't even sure. Did they exchange names? Confusion began to creep up on him when he realized they were no longer in charger territory, but aside from his sporadic glances and looks, he let none of it show.

[Mannon]

Yet another alley. Yet another litter of humans. Mannon looked over them briefly so as not to cause questions or provoke someone with lingering stares. But at the same time, each person was briefly inspected to assess their threat level. Mannon's experience with dangerous people was limited, that much showed today. So she wanted to be careful going forward. Thankfully, the residents they were passing by all seemed preoccupied with either their own daydreams or worries. No one so far seemed to be wanting to take advantage of whatever opportunity they thought they saw approaching the barrel.
Mannon’s guesses about why the lizard needed heat were varied, but the theory she preferred the most was that the cold bit into the lizard’s body too much. She’d understand. She disliked feeling cold. She remembered it too well still and just at the thought of it her body shivered and she nodded at the lizard when his invitation came. Not that she was waiting for it, but her companion seemed to be more eager for the heat and so she gave him space.
Whilst Arkash was rotating on the side of the barrel like a skewered piece of meat, Mannon tried to subdue her nerves.
She’d lie if she’d say that her mental state was unmarked by what happened. Thankfully, no one asked her. She had her thin arms and bony fingers extended towards the fire, standing closer than the lizard. The heat of the flames on her skin was delicious. Perhaps she was standing closer than most people would, but she revelled in the warm burn. That's how she knew she was warm. It was like a comfort blanket. Even her cheeks began to redden with the heat.
When the lizard spoke, she looked at him but it took her a moment to give him a nod. if he needed more time, she had no reason to rush him. It wasn't like she was able to find her own way out.
With some distance to what happened with the two vagabonds in the street and then the fight, she re-evaluated her companion. He seemed more and more like a stranger who came to help her. Why? She didn’t know and she’d rather not talk about rewards lest he’d demand a hefty price she couldn’t pay.
However, even if Arkash was harmless, it did not change the fact that the place put her on an edge. And so she kept looking around and at the faces that weren’t looking at them. So far the hospitality in this district was scarce. She estimated it was one in ten and she already had that one next to her.
His concern touched her , but she smiled on the inside, whilst still staring at the flames. “No, I’m good,” she said before looking at the yellow eyes. The word formed at the back of her throat, but it was hard to speak for the doubts were still there. “You?” She pushed out eventually. After all, Arkash did not abandon here even in the heat of the battle. Not that he was able to looking back at it now, but it still meant something that he didn't sell her out to save his own hide.
When he asked for her name, Mannon blamed it on the fire thawing her frozen heart as well. Though she was still cautious about making friends with still a potential predator, she wanted to maintain some form of decorum and finesse. At the end of the day, he kept his word thus far. So Mannon shifted from one leg to another, withdrawing her heated hands into her cape.
“I didn’t give it,” she told him first and a soft smile played across her lips. It could have been humorous. it could have been polite, or even thankful. It could have been anything. “My name’s Mannon," she introduced at the end. "I’m glad you came when you did, Arkash.” And those were honest words because she was.
“So…you live here?” She asked casting a quick look around the street and its peoples.