monochrome night [eleanor] [open to monsters]

there are things in the dark that even the bravest of souls hesitate to confront.

old town is infamous for its crime and poverty, but as part of the imperial army it is eleanor's duty to make rounds, at least once in a while. championhood only gives so much privilege; even while waiting for the opportunity to kill a monster and fulfill their duties, champions are still expected to pull their weight. it means that eleanor is the one to wander old town's streets at night, blades slightly out of their sheathes and ready to draw.

it means that eleanor is the one to be ambushed in the night, left floundering in surprise before she can fight back.

training and the salt witches' supervision can only go so much. later, the only thing that she will be able to recollect is hard eyes glinting in what streetlights there still is and the sound of her skull cracking across the cobblestones. and perhaps, if she concentrates, limping her way down the streets, clutching at the slash wounds at her hip and ignoring the bleeding from her skull, she will remember somehow finding a free place to heal.

some might have walked past the clinic, trusting the imperial doctors over one of old town's likely mediocre ones. but eleanor has always preferred to believe the best in people first.

she almost trips at the doorstep - since when has the world tilted sideways? - and she makes far more noise than is appropriate at this time of night.

"i apologize, but i was wondering if you were still open?" she calls out into the main room, still lingering by the doorway to the outside. eleanor has never believed in lady luck, and she is not about to start now. "just some bandages and i'll be on my way, i swear."

FRANCIS DE LEON