Dread almost boiled over in Oleander as she felt a hand on her shoulder. There was only a minor respite for her heart that the voice wasn’t Darcy’s, but that did little for her overbearing worry flooding her mind. He had men in that tavern, some she didn’t get a look at and most of them she didn’t hear before her escape. Her apprehension was something she felt more than justified to.

And she wasn’t the only one with that apprehension. The stink eye the senior officer was giving the man behind Oleander was intense, and his tone was equally sour. 

“It's a bit odd for a young lady like her to be in the company of someone like you.” He gestured to the man behind Oleander, not even bothering to give him any respect.

“Oh, how you wound me.” The man responded, still keeping his nonchalant tone, as he practically taunted the officers, “I offered to show her back to the main street since a little fight broke out at The Thirsty Fish. She ran ahead a little faster than I expected when things got a little too hairy. Now certainly you can’t blame her for being a little lost, right?”

“I swear it's every other week with that place…” The senior officer grumbled, turning his attention back to Oleander, “Is this true, Miss?”

She felt she would be damned no matter which way she answered, but playing along with the stranger over the officers was an idea that she quickly found herself mulling over. Even with the risk of the stranger knowing she used magic he would be the easier option. The officers in Colchester were often equipped with a few anti-mage tools, and more prepared to use them than any of the common thugs Darcy used enmasse.

At the end of the day it was also just a simple matter of numbers. One was easier to deal with than two. The only hurdle was the lie she already set in motion before he arrived.

“The fight was a little harrowing and I lost my bearings after we got separated. You two gave me another fright catching me out alone, so I panicked when you put me on the spot.” A lie on top of a lie, but it was all Oleander could muster.

She did what she could to avoid some eye contact, feigning a damsel's panicked mannerisms as she took a few tentative steps backwards to the stranger. He already made her whole escape from the district more complicated than it already was. At this point she was more than ready to use him to get out of the metaphorical pit. 

Before either of the officers could scrutinize, let alone protest her answer a loud explosion rumbled behind them from the direction of the tavern. The near deafening sound then echoed through the streets, shattering more than a few windows. What followed next was the cacophony of screaming from the frightened locals of the slums as they stampeded up the street.

“Might want to go and deal with that.” The stranger pointed at the officers and then behind himself, before whispering to Oleander, “Get ready to run.”

The junior officer looked shocked while the senior was clearly frustrated, firing a glare at the pair of them, “Oh, for the love of–...I’ll find and deal with you two later.”

Blowing on their whistles, the officers ran around and past the pair towards the oncoming stampede. Oleander barely even had time to glance back at what was practically a horde of mostly humans and elves before she felt a strong tug on her arm. The stranger, unlike her, was not willing to linger at all as he forcefully pulled her by the hand up the street.

At least for a little while.

With the residents flooding the street behind them she picked up the pace with her stride, catching up to run beside the man instead of being dragged behind him. It also gave her a chance to get a decent look at him, for all that it was worth with his otherwise lanky body being covered in his own cloak and leather armor. His muffler, even while it was pulled down from his mouth, kept the hood of his own cloak up. It was only by the luck of the streetlamps they were passing under that she caught the glimmer of his strawberry blond hair peeking out, and his thin facial features that it framed. 

Before she could think much more on his looks she found herself being swung back as they rounded a corner. Even as she opened her mouth, he covered it in response, and silently shushed her before pointing around the corner to a trio of patrolling officers.

“Can you climb?” The stranger whispered to her, slowly removing his hand from her mouth as he continued to watch the officers.

“More or less. It depends on what you mean.” Oleander kept her eyes on him rather than the officers, even more guarded around him than before.

“Just onto the rooftops nearby. Would be easier than getting lost in a maze with all the city watch.”

“I’d really prefer to stay on the ground.” She found herself glancing up to the edge of the roof above them, her nervousness bubbling up again.

“You wouldn’t. Closer you get to the central and northern district, the more dirty officers there are. Those idiots before didn’t know you but I can guarantee the assholes ahead likely would.” He moved back a bit from the corner of the building he’d been peering past at the officers, frowning at her.

Oleander scoffed quietly, jabbing her elbow into his side, “Excuse me if I’m not inclined to trust you. You’re just a little too convenient.”

“Maybe. You’re well within your rights to distrust me...” He moved back a little more, giving her one last motion to follow him down the nearby side street, “But you should know I’m against Collins as much as you are. That sorry excuse for a nobleman is…Well a lot of things.”

“The enemy of my enemy…” Oleander muttered, letting out a heavy sigh as she followed the man reluctantly.

He had made a point, but it was one that was prodding at the raw wound that she was doing her best to ignore right now. She didn’t want to think about what happened in the tavern right now. Maybe later, but certainly not now.