Ylva tippy-tap, tippy-taps down the shadowed alleyway, her hard-soled boots clicking on the cobblestone, a basket in one hand and the other holding the hood of her red cloak low over her head. Stay hidden. Stay safe. Stick to the plan. The mantra repeats over and over in her head.
Usually, it would be her mother making these trips. But her mother hasn't been well these past few months, and they're in desperate need of supplies and medicines they can't get just living off the forest. Her thoughts turn toward home. Distracted, and with her normally-sensitive ears squashed under her hood, she doesn't hear the footsteps approaching behind her.
Rough hands grab her. Her back hits the hard stone wall. Her hood falls and her fluffy ears spring up in the open air. Her golden eyes widen with fear.
"My goodness, Miss, what big ears you have..." The man's mouth twists into a grin that's all teeth and no smile. But he's not looking at her with the hatred of the normal townspeople. And this clearly isn't an arrest, so he's not a guard. Her eyes fall to the man's thick leather armor and the multiple blades at his hip. At least one of them looks like it might be silver.
Fuck. Ylva's stomach drops. A monster hunter?
So she does what any well bred young lady raised in the Black Forest would do. She kicks the bastard in the nuts and runs like hell.
