Alcoholic And Accomplished
Pinkie was scared.
The air smelt of sweat and several other stenchs that she couldn’t identify, a blessing no doubt, since she feared what they might be. The entire area was full of humans, each one giving off an air of distrust and some unexplainable malevolence. She, a human in form now as well, was struggling to fight through them, desperate for clean air, something so quickly taken away that she now gagged on this false oxygen that she fought to choke down her throat.
There had only been a flash of white from the spell, then she found herself here. Lucky it had been her though, as the other six might be unable to get out of this den as they fought to get accustomed to their bodies. Pinkie, however, was inexplicably able to maneuver as if she had been born in this body. Something she shrugged off as Pinkie sense and moved on, she had more important things to deal with.
Even the most cautious make mistakes though, and she made hers here. She reacted poorly to a shift in the crowd and ended up elbowing a large muscular man in the ribcage, causing him to howl in pain before he whirled to face her with rage in his eyes. “Damn Slut!” He exclaimed, slapping Pinkie across the face with all his might and sending her to the floor. He turned back to his table, rage still burning in his eyes. “Did you see that?!” He demanded of the others.
Pinkie, meanwhile, was fighting back tears, the pain bite into her body and combined with her confusion in a horrible brew that destroyed her mental abilities like acid. Her attacker didn’t notice, as he had started up a conversation with one of the other men at the table. “Shut it Gan, we all know you just like to hit women.” He smiled stupidly and swallowed a swig of his nearby drink. “Tha's what happened to Lisa anyway, isn’t it?”
Red boiled on Gan’s face in reply and he swung a punch at the wise mouth, only to be blocked and sucker punched in return. One of Gan’s friends saw the exchange and jumped to Gan’s defense, tackling the aggressor off his chair, having caught him unexpectedly. Gan’s friend began a frenzy of wild haymakers at his victim and one of the other bar-goers caught sight. Seeking to end the battle he rushed over, and his action was misinterpreted by another in the crowded bar.
Before too long it was a mess of flailing limbs and cusses that roiled over the entire establishment. In the following chaos Pinkie pulled herself together and moved towards where she had seen the wise mouth last, she needed help, and he seemed the most likely to give it to her. As she approached she was surprised when the body of the man came from her right side, landing right in front of her. The one who had thrown him jumped after him and was promptly caught on the heels of his boots. With a powerful thrust of his legs the man went sailing away into the crowd.
Pinkie was stunned for but a second before she reached out and grabbed his arm. He looked at her, ready to attack, but stopped when he saw who it was. “We should go!” She shouted, desperate to be heard over the din. Even with her limited medical experience she could tell he already had several wounds on his face that bruise badly.
“You kiddin’?!” He shouted in return, his volume much louder than hers had been. A smile was constantly plastered to his face. He reached to the side and grabbed a beer bottle. “Things just got fun!” He jumped to his feet and bashed the bottle against the back of the head of a random stranger and laughed heartily when his foe dropped without a fight.
Pinkie tailed him as he went through the mayhem, staying as out of the way as she could. She watched as he caught many of the bar tenders unawares and got free hits in, and as several others did the same to him. One such attack came from the instigator in the first place, Gan.
He pinned the mysterious man to the floor boards and prepared to strike with all his might. Thinking quickly, Pinkie grabbed a nearby chair and smashed it across his head, knocking him out cold. The mysterious man looked up and smiled, revealing a new missing tooth. “Nice hit, lass!”
Pinkie leaned against the solid body of the man as they stumbled from the wreckage of the bar, each with new scars to remember the night. Pinkie’s were limited, but the man’s decorated his arms and chest, losing themselves among his previous collection. They’d fought for a solid hour and Pinkie was just about ready to die. She looked to the man to find he was quite the opposite.
His rolling mirth was infectious and it flooded her body with a warmth carried on his laughs. “Oh damn me, I never did ask your name did I?” He said suddenly, cutting off his out-loud recollection of the bar fight from his point of view. He looked sideways at Pinkie, still keeping their pace on the road as he did so.
“It’s Pinkie Pie.” She said with a smile, which he immediately returned.
“Name’s Jack.” He responded, bringing one of his hands in. Pinkie mimicked the action and he shook readily. “I don’ recognize ya. Ya new here?”
“Just came in today.” Pinkie said, her smile dying slightly.
“Well then, welcome to BransonVille. Hope ya enjoy your stay. Try not to get stuck in any more bar fights though aye? Couldn’ stand to see your pretty face ruined. Why, you’re lucky that I was there like I was, elseways you’d be in a whole heap o’ trouble, ey?”
“I… Suppose?” Pinkie offered, not sure what he meant.
“Ya suppose? Miss, ye be in the murder capital of the world, and ye just suppose ye’d be in trouble? I’d hate to see what gives ya that kind of confidence miss, might kill me where I stand.” Though his tone was jovial, Pinkie felt a rolling feeling of regret bite into her spine.
Not for the first time, but certainly now more urgently, Pinkie wished she was home again. She faked a smile, but it didn’t matter, he wasn’t paying attention to her anymore, he’d gone back to his bar brawl story, and she was happy to be done with the discussion.
