Sorin tied his blond hair back in a loose ponytail and splashed his face with cool stream water to wake himself up. It was a slow day today, and Cadmus had left to go hunting or...whatever it was the gryphon did whenever he went off, so it was a boring day, too. No one to bother. No way to entertain himself. Just...sit around and watch the camp and wait for his partner to return with the spoils.
He yawned, then filled his cupped hands with water again so he could drink--but the water never reached his mouth. He thought he heard something and froze, straining to listen. Hmm...it had almost sounded like a person, or persons, but maybe it had just been his imagi--there it was again! A female voice, sounding frantic though he couldn't quite make out more than 'stop!'
Jerking to his feet, he scooped up his sword and baldric and slung it over his shoulder, then took off in that direction at a jog, the sounds growing louder. The hell was going on? As he grew closer, he started to make out male voices, mixing with the female one, and he picked up his pace and reached for his sword.
The scene he burst into was...almost comically pathetic.
A small girl was waving a stick at three big men, who were laughing and taunting her as they closed in, clearly not frightened, though they were sadistically humoring her--or had been. The laughter was wearing off, jaws setting as they grew bored and prepared to get down to business. One man, a rotund red-head, finally lunged forward and grabbed the end of the stick, snapping it.
That was when Sorin stepped into the open and drew his sword with a metallic hiss. "Not another step!" he barked, holding the sword level with the red-head's torso and moving cautiously forward, toward the girl. "Not if you know what's good for you."
