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Falst was the only one to notice the siren who started tailing them. Of course he was, why would any of them bother to keep their guard up in a city when everything went so well every other time they were in one? His friends were idiots. But they were his idiots, and he was theirs.
“I’m gonna go check out that stall over there,” He announced abruptly. The siren had started getting a bit too close for comfort.
“Do you want one of us to go with you?” Alinua asked with her usual concern.
“Nah, I’ll be fine,” Falst responded, stretching lazily. “Guy’s also ferin, shouldn’t run into any trouble.” She didn’t need to know he was expressly looking for it.
“Alright, be careful.”
“Yeah, yeah, don’t worry about me.”
With that, he dropped back. Their stalker didn’t even seem to notice he had left. He seemed to be focusing on just one of them… Was it Kendal? Or was he just using his size to keep track of the group as a whole?
Falst crept closer to the siren, taking note of the sword on his left hip. If he came up on that side he could stop him from drawing it. And an alley just up ahead was perfectly positioned for a subtle ‘chat’.
In a flash, Falst grabbed the hilt of the siren’s sword with one hand and his shoulder with the other. A tactical spin was all it took to get the guy behind a pile of crates and pinned to the wall.
“WH–”
Falst clapped a hand over his mouth. “Don’t–”
He bit his hand. Hard. Falst pulled back on reflex as the siren tried to go for his sword. Falst managed to hold on to it… until the siren kneed him in the ribs hard enough to knock the wind out of him. It was still close quarters though, so he didn’t have enough room to properly bring it to bare.
“You’ve got some nerve attacking me, ferin,” the siren snarled.
Instead of responding, Falst lunged. The siren managed to dodge so that the blow caught him in the leg. That was fine. Falst was still close enough now to get past his guard and grab him from behind.
It was obvious now that the siren had been trained. He masterfully evaded the chokehold and went to throw Falst. But the narrow alley meant that he now had a thoroughly pissed off ferin on his shoulder rather than over it. Falst grabbed his hair and threw his weight to drag both of them to the ground. It was now a game of strength, which meant–
“That’s enough.”
Kendal’s sudden interjection was enough to make both combatants pause and look up. The demigod stood in the entrance of the alleyway, Alinua hovering at his shoulder.
“Hey guys,” Falst said casually, ignoring Alinua’s withering glare and the fact that he was still entangled with his opponent.
“Oh for the love of–” The siren snarled, trying to get back to his feet, “Let go of me you blithering idiot.”
Since the alley was a dead end and he now had back up, Falst did. He also got to his own feet, much more gracefully than the siren had.
“Shouldn’t run into any trouble, hm?!” Alinua snapped.
“He was following us,” Falst informed her, “Frankly I’m surprised none of the rest of you noticed.”
“I did,” Kendal said, “You could have mentioned what you were planning.”
Falst shrugged. “You seemed busy.”
The siren glared at them. “They’re with you?” he demanded.
Kendal nodded. “They’re my friends. I apologize for Falst, his instinct can to lean towards acting first and asking questions later.”
The siren snorted. “If I hadn’t been sure the rumors were true before, I sure am now. Lord Vash was never so formal.” He studied them appraisingly for a moment. “What should I call you?”
“I’m Kendal.” He gestured behind him. “This is Alinua, and you’ve already met Falst.”
It was about then that something clicked in Falst’s brain. “Wait wait wait wait wait, you know this guy?”
“Of course. This is Alec Meron, Diplomatic emissary of Vash.”
Falst and Alinua stared at him. “What?!”