"Mn. Yeah. Soun's good," Recheov said to her.

He was already in the process of changing his shirt, actually. It was all he needed to do. Were this shirt not drenched in sweat, it would've been just fine. Problem was, this was that new shirt Kali got for him. Oh well. Something would happen to make it better. Whatever the hell that would be was a mystery to him. He'd never actually washed clothes before. Didn't care enough to look into the inner mechanics of it, either.

Recheov pulled the new shirt off and dropped it on the arm of the couch. He searched a good while for his old clothes, then. He'd just sort of dropped them off somewhere, last he remembered. In a corner, maybe. It took him about a minute to actually find them and his old ripped up shirt, which he slipped on with the same gusto as he would a brand new, clean linen.

By that point, he'd long since forgotten where they were going for food stuffs. They'd decided awhile back, but that was hours ago. Recheov's short term memory span did not last that long.

"Uh, dumb question," he cleared his throat, "But, er, where're we goin', again?"

She watched him intently as he shirtlessly (Yeah, I made that word up! What of it!) searched for his clothes. He wasn't exactly the prime example of the perfect man, but he was real, and around here that was worth its weight in gold, or at least it was to her.

“Anywhere. I suppose it doesn't really matter to me.” She leaned her backside against the wall and slipped her feet into her boots that she didn't tie. “There's all kinds of places close and far away that have great food. We might not have much around here to offer, but the food is excellent.”

She was a bit less bubbly. A touch of seriousness stealing her all too innocent features as she spoke, and as she looked at him. She couldn't put her finger on the emotion that was coursing through her body, and the only thing she was certain of in this moment was that she was confused.

Anywhere? Well, that was fine with him, but Recheov didn't know east from west, north to south, or up to down in this place. Ah well. He shrugged his shoulders, made sure his pants were buttoned up, made sure his boots were laced up (albeit ready to fall apart at the seams), and content that all was in order, he started for the door, opened it, held it open, and held his hand out to motion for Kali to go first.

"Lead the way, doll."

And indeed, he was up for anything. Right now, food was a great idea. The more food he could pack into his belly, the happier he was going to be tonight.

Though, if it helped any, Recheov casually reminded Kali on their way out that he liked spicy foods. "The more whiskey I gotta drink t'put the fire out, the better," he'd said in regards to that. But that was probably to be expected. When it came to Recheov, whiskey was a functional substitute for drinking water. Provided with a case of it, he'd probably go through it all by week's end and feel all the better for it.

As if studying some sort of work of art, she continued to watch him through stray locks of hair. He looked fine, and didn't smell nearly as bad as he thought. There was something appealing about the aroma of a man that had spent the day working hard, though she would never admit that out loud, if only to keep herself from looking silly. More silly then she did already...

With a forced smile she nodded and headed out the door. “Right. Whiskey. Check.” She didn't turn to speak to him, though she did pause to listen for the door to close behind him.

While she was in no hurry, she walked quickly, but that was just Kali. She took a sharp turn once they left her place and headed to the south end of town. It wasn't a far walk, but she knew there was an establishment with food even Recheov would find spicy.

Dinner was actually pretty nice. Romantic, even. Recheov bought for them both, and was mostly a nice guy. He tried to be sweet about it, too . . . which wasn't too hard, actually. Around Kali, he felt relatively compelled to be kind and compassionate, even when he was drunk. Which he was. By the end of their dinner, he'd all but drank himself away from sobriety for a solid week, yet he was still somehow a gentleman.

Somehow.

Leaving, though, presented an odd challenge. Recheov was able to walk just fine, if not better than he could when sober, so that wasn't a problem. The issue he encountered was a ruckus. He and Kali were just leaving the restaurant, and just happened to walk right into the mess . . .

There were about four men, each with their backs turned to Kali and Recheov. They all wore rags for clothes-- Recheov would've blended with them perfectly, except the color of their skin was much darker than his. They were distinctly yelling at someone. Recheov glanced at it once, but rolled his shoulders. He was more than willing to walk around.

She managed to get through dinner with relatively little talking, which even drunk, Recheov should have found odd. It was a nice meal that did in fact have a romantic air about it, something that possibly made her even more quiet.

Dinner went by fairly quickly and Recheov paid they bill. While, she could have very well paid for her own, she allowed him to do so. Before she knew it they were out the door and heading back in the direction of her apartment.

“Thank you for dinner.” She offered him a smile, but her eyes just weren't as bright as normal. The squabble however, caused her attention to go elsewhere. She saw the men, heard they were obviously upset, and closer to Recheov she moved now. “Just....keep walking. Don't look at them.” Her voice was but a whisper as she looped her arm around his...

"Yeah . . ." Recheov replied, shrugging his shoulders.

Way back when, he'd have been pretty excited to come across a scuffle. He'd have inserted himself into it without a second thought, got into the middle of the chaos, and tried to land a hit on just about everyone he could. He wouldn't have even tried to win the fight, he'd have just done everything he absolutely could to make it worse. He really didn't feel like it right now, though. Maybe it had something to do with Kali's request, maybe it was the liquor on his breath, or maybe he was just growing out of that inescapable lust for total and complete madness, but he really had no drive to start an impromptu riot.

As they passed by, though, Kali would be able to see what-- or who, exactly --the men were harassing. Recheov had all but stopped paying attention, though, and failed to check once the opportunity was available. Not that it would've mattered. He wouldn't have cared much, anyways. Kali, on the other hand . . .

The men were not picking on someone their own size at all. They had what appeared to be a young girl cornered. The men were the fundamental type, real firm, even a bit violent, believers in a local religion--and the girl? She had to be no older than sixteen, testing the ideas of liberalism (a mildly low cut shirt and an ankle length skirt), and was essentially scared to death.

“Son of a bitch...”

Kali had all but stopped moving completely when she let go of Recheov. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes for a moment. She knew better. She knew just to keep walking, but that wasn't her way. “You can go on to my place if you like. I should be along behind you shortly.” She smiled and nodded to him.

“Oi there!” Her voice was loud, almost scary sounding. She gave Recheov one last look before approaching the group. “There be a problem here?” She looked at the girl and smiled slightly, then eyed each of the men, and not like a timid woman might. No. She caught each of their eyes, and each struck her as a coward.

“I don't recall it ever being alright for grown men to corner a young woman in a dark street corner. Especially against her will. Might make people wonder what kinda folks you are.” Their was a sharpness to her words, one that would not go mistaken.The thing about men like this, the woman too even...they worried what everyone thought. If this was a good night, Kali may be able to talk the situation down. Hopefully..

Holding her hand out toward the girl, she wiggled her fingers. “Come on sweetheart, let's get you home. I'm sure your father will be wondering where you are.” She put more emphasis on the word father, not sure if it would matter to these types, but none the less...she tossed herself in the middle of something she probably shouldn't.... The difference between the young girl and Kali? Kali wasn't a bit scared.

Recheov stopped walking when Kali did, but said little when she went off to confront the men. It was only then that he saw who these guys were shouting at, but he still didn't understand, and was a bit confused why Kali was okay with ignoring them one second, but completely relentless in assaulting them the next.

Notably, all four of the men stopped talking when Kali shouted at them. The girl looked up to her, expressing (silently) fear and desperation. The men, on the other hand, regarded Kali with disgust, looked her up and down, and visually disapproved of what the woman chose to wear. She was obviously a certain type of women (as far as they were concerned), and this instantly made her less than human.

"I am her father," said one of the men.

He looked to be the most outstanding of the men. Inasmuch, he had the longest beard, and was definitely the oldest of the four men assailing the girl. The girl notably edged closer and closer to Kali, until Kali inevitably became a willing human shield.

“Then you sir, are a swine.” Kali spat upon the ground beside him. She also took note on the disapproving looks upon their faces at her. She leaned closer to one man, an almost wicked smile on her lips. “Like what you see old man?” With a wink, she moved in front of the girl, as the girl slithered behind her.

“You wanna know something about me? I work in a bar, where men ogle my body and tip me for bringing them drinks. But all they do is look sweetheart, because I am neither easy or fast. I dress how I am comfortable, and I like the way it makes me look. My clothes do not determine the person I am, but I as a person determine what I will wear.”

Slowly, she was making her way away from the group, if they realized this or not, she wasn't sure. Sadly though, even if she did get the young girl away...she would probably have hell to pay from her father, but none the less, Kali wasn't willing to back down.

“I don't live my life to suit you, gentleman. Neither does anyone else. I don't question your ways.” With that, Kali turned to walk away, shoving the girl in front of her.

It was clear that Kali had upset these men. It was also clear that the girl she was defending was a lot more shaken than she originally appeared. With Kali essentially taking the lead, the girl began clinging to the woman silently. The men, on the other hand, looked angry enough to raise their hands against a woman. Which would have been problematic, what with there being four of them and one of her . . .

"And the kind of person who'd wear such clothing," said the man that Kali addressed mostly-- the older man next to the young girl's father, "Is a whore."

Kali made her way past the men, and soon enough, she passed by Recheov as well. Recheov, however, merely stood there, confusedly watching.

"You get back here, woman!" shouted the girl's father.

"We're not finished with--!" shouted another.

But his words were cut short. All of them stopped walking entirely. They were struck, staring wide eyed at Recheov, who with his back turned to Kali, appeared to be mostly unoppressive. He shifted his hands into his pockets soon after, turned, and began to follow behind Kali.

She'd not humor them by telling them that all her virtues were still in order. That was none of their business, not that they would listen anyways.

As she passed Recheov she nodded toward the direction of her apartment silently telling him it was time to go home. A few feet past the men, Kali grabbed the young girl by her arm. “Run, wherever you wanna go. Run. Far away from here.”

In this place one had to be strong enough to stand their own ground, and it was clear this young girl simply wasn't. Digging her hands deep in her pockets, Kali pressed on, just wanted to be home. Those men had a way of making her feel dirty. Not that she was ashamed of herself in any way, but she knew they would have raped that young girl, just to prove a point, and blame it all on her looks in the process.

Silently, she made her way home. Only passing a glance back once to be sure that Recheov was behind her.

The girl was . . . well, to say the least, she wasn't any less scared right now than she had been just moments earlier. She wanted to cling to Kali, tell her that she had no idea where to go and who to look for, but she couldn't. Kali told her to run, practically pushed her off, and disappeared into the main road crowd, leaving the girl alone and to her own devices. She was shaky, but it wasn't long before she hid herself in the crowd, as well.

Recheov continued following behind Kali. He wasn't one to get lost in the chaos of humanity; limited by no level of bustle, he could keep following a person through any catastrophe . . .

That said, when Kali arrived back at the side of the pub, right at the steps that led up to Kali's apartment, Recheov was right behind her, feet away. He wasn't exactly smiling, though. Not even grinning, for that matter. More than anything else, he looked absolutely confused.

Confused is how he would stay more then likely. Unless of course he followed Kali and questioned her. Into her apartment she disappeared, kicking off her shoes and stripping off her clothes as soon as she entered. From the front door to the bathroom was a trail of what she had wore to dinner.

Within the bathroom, the water splashed loudly into the tub. Mumbling profanities under her breath, Kali slammed cabinet doors as she pulled out what was needed to bath. Nude she stood now in front of a mirror, looking over her sun kissed body.

She was well proportioned, thin but not too skinny. Her breast were the perfect size for her build. Her long ebon hair was well cared for, neat and clean she was, in most folks eyes, a beautiful young woman.

For a moment she wanted to break the mirror in a million pieces. She remembered what it was like to be harassed on a daily basis by the religious freaks of her world. And randomly to this day she still would run into one here and there. Maybe that's what lead her to Keepers place. A sanctuary of perverts and thieves. But also a sanctuary for her. Where no one judged her, but usually because they wanted nothing more then her to go home with them at night. It made her wonder what it was really all for...

Recheov felt . . . very uncomfortable, to say the least. He'd taken to sitting on Kali's couch and staring at the wall. Much of what just happened didn't make a lick of sense to him. What Kali had done was one thing--what he had done was another.

He mulled it over whilst she bathed, tried to make sense of it. Kali put herself in serious danger for someone she didn't even know--why? And he . . . he'd never stood up and protected someone like that before. Those men were going to come after Kali and he simply was not going to let them. Why?

Had he been looking into a mirror during these thoughts, he'd have punched it and walked away.