Afterwards she heads back to the main street alone. There is still a lot of foot traffic and she has to dodge around quite a few people. The streets are filled with food stalls and stands selling drinks. She can also see the line for the colosseum is a lot longer than when she first saw it.
"People are really getting hyped up for this aren't they? Eleonora said her fight was basically a formality but I wonder about the other fights. Maybe they'll be entertaining to watch. But whatever I'm hungry."
Laura decides to eat at one of the stands that sells food. She surveys the food stalls that are packed with customers and decides against going to any stand that looks like it's too full. She is in no rush so she takes her time browsing and deciding on where to go. When she finally does find a stall that doesn't look too crowded she sits down and looks at the menu. The sizzling of the meat being cooked and the heat wafting out gives off a calming feeling to her.
"What'll it be young lady?" The old cook at the stall asks Laura as soon as she sits down.
Despite having her hood up to hide her horns the old man at the food stand can tell she's a girl.
"Um, what do you recommend?"
The old man points to one of the dishes on the menu. "Try the pork cutlet sandwich! It's the best!"
Laura decides to take his advice and orders one. "Alright, I'll take that. Thank you very much."
"Coming right up." The old man says before plopping a big slice of pork onto the fire.
When it's done cooking it's served on top of some white bread with melted cheese and red sauce. After taking a bite Laura is amazed by how delicious the dish tastes. The tender and juicy meat melts in her mouth and the bread helps soak it all up.
"Oh my goodness, this is delicious."
Laura's eyes practically shine as she eats the sandwich. She finishes the entire thing in just a couple seconds.
"That was amazing."
"Glad you liked it, missy." The old man says with a smile.
Laura pays for her order and leaves the stall happily. She walks aimlessly through the crowd wondering what she'll do next when someone tries to grab her. Laura quickly spins around and slaps the hand that was about to grab her away. Looking up she sees a woman with a shocked expression looking down on her.
"Where have you been?!" The woman yells.
"Huh?"
"Don't you ever run away in this crowd young lady. It's dangerous."
The woman tries to grab Laura's arm again but Laura backs away causing the woman to get even angrier.
"You're coming with me young lady, we're going home now!"
The woman's yelling is attracting the stares of other people.
"What's going on with this woman?" Laura thinks.
Just then a man appears behind the woman.
"There you are sweetie, now let's go home. This festival is getting too crowded. Let's go."
The man forcefully reaches out to grab Laura but she starts running.
"Hey! Young lady get back here!" The man yells as he starts chasing her.
Laura runs through the crowd trying to find a decent place to confront these two weirdos while also keeping at a speed where the two of them can follow her with slight difficulty. After running out of the crowd and into a less crowded part of the city she makes sure the two are still in pursuit. After confirming that they are she tries to find a secluded place to talk.
"Now where should I meet you?" Laura asks herself.
As if answering her question a small alleyway comes into view. She quickly enters the narrow passage between the buildings and runs to the very end where there's no way out.
"Stay right there!" The woman yells gasping for breath.
The man appears a few seconds later with another two behind him. They all start walking towards Laura.
"So, what do you four want with me?" Laura asks, looking at all of them.
"We just saw some random kid walking by herself and figured kidnapping her would be a good way to make a quick buck." The woman replies.
"I see. So you were trying to kidnap me back there. That explains why you were trying to act like my mom." Laura glares at the woman with eyes full of rage causing the woman the shrink back.
The three men surround Laura.
"You just need to come with us and everything will be painless. If you resist then I can't promise we won't have to break some bones."
"Well this is quite the problem." Laura says while tapping her finger on her chin. "Four against one doesn't seem fair."
"Of course so don't resist."
"Oh I was saying it wouldn't be fair for you guys."
"Huh?"
Laura smirks playfully before kicking off the ground straight at one of the men. The man on the her right tries to put his guard up but is stabbed in the stomach by Laura's claws.
"Damnit!" The man screams as Laura tightens her grip on his stomach and throws him at the other two men causing all three to fly into the wall.
"Fuck!" One of the men yells in surprise.
"What the hell are you?!" The other man demands.
They both get up and start attacking Laura at the same time. Laura grabs both of their punches and pulls them both toward her. Laura then uses her small frame to duck underneath the two men who have been forced forward. Slipping out from behind them she jumps on one's back and kicks the back of his head into the ground. The man falls unconscious and Laura watches the last man get to his feet.
Laura shrugs. "Well I took care of the two extras. Now what about you?" Laura takes another step forwards.
"This is your last chance little girl, give up and we'll let you live. Don't...and well..." The man says while reaching for his knife.
Laura grins mischievously. "Oh? And what will you do if I refuse?"
"Well you see, if you don't cooperate I'm afraid we'll have to take drastic measures."
He draws his blade and looks at Laura.
"Such a shame, you'd probably have fetched a decent price if you'd cooperated. Now I might have to take a limb off. Or maybe two." He smiles menacingly.
Laura laughs. "That's not gonna happen."
"Come on you bitch!" The man runs at her with his knife drawn.
Laura puts her hands out slashes at the man's arm with full force causing him to drop the knife. After a few seconds he also notices that his right arm is gone.
"Ahh fuck!" He screams in pain.
Laura kicks him in the stomach hard knocking the wind out of him causing him to fall. He gasps for breathe while trying to scream in pain.
"You're bleeding pretty badly." Laura notes.
Laura then grabs the man's knife and walks over to the woman. The woman who was frozen in shock notices Laura walking toward her and falls on her rear.
"Wh-what do you think you're doing?! Stop! What are you doing!?" The woman cries out.
"Don't you ever pretend to be my mom."
Laura then takes the knife and jams it into the woman's thigh.
"Guhhh!" The woman screams while rolling on the ground.
Laura then turns around and stares the men down. "You might wanna stop that bleeding soon if you don't wanna die. I'd rather not become a murderer. I am still human after all. Bye."
Laura gives the four of them a friendly wave and runs away.
While dashing through the crowds Laura thinks to herself.
"I am still human, right? Why did I find joy in hurting them? Was it because they were trying to kidnap me? No. Was it because it made me feel strong? No. Is it because of my demon half?"
She was afraid. Afraid of losing herself, afraid of losing her humanity, her empathy, her sympathy, her morals to her demon side that relishes in bringing pain and suffering. She didn't know if she would kill someone in the future, she was barely able to hold onto herself today but what about tomorrow or the day after that.
Would she be able to stay as herself?
She did not know.
Afterwards she heads back to the main street alone. There is still a lot of foot traffic and she has to dodge around quite a few people. The streets are filled with food stalls and stands selling drinks. She can also see the line for the colosseum is a lot longer than when she first saw it.
"People are really getting hyped up for this aren't they? Eleonora said her fight was basically a formality but I wonder about the other fights. Maybe they'll be entertaining to watch. But whatever I'm hungry."
Laura decides to eat at one of the stands that sells food. She surveys the food stalls that are packed with customers and decides against going to any stand that looks like it's too full. She is in no rush so she takes her time browsing and deciding on where to go. When she finally does find a stall that doesn't look too crowded she sits down and looks at the menu. The sizzling of the meat being cooked and the heat wafting out gives off a calming feeling to her.
"What'll it be young lady?" The old cook at the stall asks Laura as soon as she sits down.
Despite having her hood up to hide her horns the old man at the food stand can tell she's a girl.
"Um, what do you recommend?"
The old man points to one of the dishes on the menu. "Try the pork cutlet sandwich! It's the best!"
Laura decides to take his advice and orders one. "Alright, I'll take that. Thank you very much."
"Coming right up." The old man says before plopping a big slice of pork onto the fire.
When it's done cooking it's served on top of some white bread with melted cheese and red sauce. After taking a bite Laura is amazed by how delicious the dish tastes. The tender and juicy meat melts in her mouth and the bread helps soak it all up.
"Oh my goodness, this is delicious."
Laura's eyes practically shine as she eats the sandwich. She finishes the entire thing in just a couple seconds.
"That was amazing."
"Glad you liked it, missy." The old man says with a smile.
Laura pays for her order and leaves the stall happily. She walks aimlessly through the crowd wondering what she'll do next when someone tries to grab her. Laura quickly spins around and slaps the hand that was about to grab her away. Looking up she sees a woman with a shocked expression looking down on her.
"Where have you been?!" The woman yells.
"Huh?"
"Don't you ever run away in this crowd young lady. It's dangerous."
The woman tries to grab Laura's arm again but Laura backs away causing the woman to get even angrier.
"You're coming with me young lady, we're going home now!"
The woman's yelling is attracting the stares of other people.
"What's going on with this woman?" Laura thinks.
Just then a man appears behind the woman.
"There you are sweetie, now let's go home. This festival is getting too crowded. Let's go."
The man forcefully reaches out to grab Laura but she starts running.
"Hey! Young lady get back here!" The man yells as he starts chasing her.
Laura runs through the crowd trying to find a decent place to confront these two weirdos while also keeping at a speed where the two of them can follow her with slight difficulty. After running out of the crowd and into a less crowded part of the city she makes sure the two are still in pursuit. After confirming that they are she tries to find a secluded place to talk.
"Now where should I meet you?" Laura asks herself.
As if answering her question a small alleyway comes into view. She quickly enters the narrow passage between the buildings and runs to the very end where there's no way out.
"Stay right there!" The woman yells gasping for breath.
The man appears a few seconds later with another two behind him. They all start walking towards Laura.
"So, what do you four want with me?" Laura asks, looking at all of them.
"We just saw some random kid walking by herself and figured kidnapping her would be a good way to make a quick buck." The woman replies.
"I see. So you were trying to kidnap me back there. That explains why you were trying to act like my mom." Laura glares at the woman with eyes full of rage causing the woman the shrink back.
The three men surround Laura.
"You just need to come with us and everything will be painless. If you resist then I can't promise we won't have to break some bones."
"Well this is quite the problem." Laura says while tapping her finger on her chin. "Four against one doesn't seem fair."
"Of course so don't resist."
"Oh I was saying it wouldn't be fair for you guys."
"Huh?"
Laura smirks playfully before kicking off the ground straight at one of the men. The man on the her right tries to put his guard up but is stabbed in the stomach by Laura's claws.
"Damnit!" The man screams as Laura tightens her grip on his stomach and throws him at the other two men causing all three to fly into the wall.
"Fuck!" One of the men yells in surprise.
"What the hell are you?!" The other man demands.
They both get up and start attacking Laura at the same time. Laura grabs both of their punches and pulls them both toward her. Laura then uses her small frame to duck underneath the two men who have been forced forward. Slipping out from behind them she jumps on one's back and kicks the back of his head into the ground. The man falls unconscious and Laura watches the last man get to his feet.
Laura shrugs. "Well I took care of the two extras. Now what about you?" Laura takes another step forwards.
"This is your last chance little girl, give up and we'll let you live. Don't...and well..." The man says while reaching for his knife.
Laura grins mischievously. "Oh? And what will you do if I refuse?"
"Well you see, if you don't cooperate I'm afraid we'll have to take drastic measures."
He draws his blade and looks at Laura.
"Such a shame, you'd probably have fetched a decent price if you'd cooperated. Now I might have to take a limb off. Or maybe two." He smiles menacingly.
Laura laughs. "That's not gonna happen."
"Come on you bitch!" The man runs at her with his knife drawn.
Laura puts her hands out slashes at the man's arm with full force causing him to drop the knife. After a few seconds he also notices that his right arm is gone.
"Ahh fuck!" He screams in pain.
Laura kicks him in the stomach hard knocking the wind out of him causing him to fall. He gasps for breathe while trying to scream in pain.
"You're bleeding pretty badly." Laura notes.
Laura then grabs the man's knife and walks over to the woman. The woman who was frozen in shock notices Laura walking toward her and falls on her rear.
"Wh-what do you think you're doing?! Stop! What are you doing!?" The woman cries out.
"Don't you ever pretend to be my mom."
Laura then takes the knife and jams it into the woman's thigh.
"Guhhh!" The woman screams while rolling on the ground.
Laura then turns around and stares the men down. "You might wanna stop that bleeding soon if you don't wanna die. I'd rather not become a murderer. I am still human after all. Bye."
Laura gives the four of them a friendly wave and runs away.
While dashing through the crowds Laura thinks to herself.
"I am still human, right? Why did I find joy in hurting them? Was it because they were trying to kidnap me? No. Was it because it made me feel strong? No. Is it because of my demon half?"
She was afraid. Afraid of losing herself, afraid of losing her humanity, her empathy, her sympathy, her morals to her demon side that relishes in bringing pain and suffering. She didn't know if she would kill someone in the future, she was barely able to hold onto herself today but what about tomorrow or the day after that.
Would she be able to stay as herself?
She did not know.
