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[Negrek]

The woman succeeded in getting the pokénav out of its holster and leaned more heavily against the wall in order to free her hands as much as possible. Her trembling fingers gave her obvious difficulty in operating the device's click-wheel, but she succeeded in selecting the number she wanted and raised the device to her hand. "I'm getting help," she told Ming as the 'nav she had called rang. She closed her eyes and took deep breaths, obviously trying to calm herself down, but her eyes snapped open as soon as the person she had called picked up. "Thank God, Marian. Where are you?" Considering how broken up she had been just a few moments ago, she did an admirable job of keeping her tone level, though she spoke quickly and with obvious anxiety.

[Moon-panther]

Ming decides to remain silent since it was apparent that the woman wasn't going to answer her anytime soon. She straightens up and glances in the direction that the other woman looked in before running like a rabbit.

"I wonder what she saw..."

She then glances back to the woman when she spoke into the phone. Calling someone named Marian. She wonders whom that could be, but shrugs, looking back at the dark part of the area.

Whoever it was. They'd be here soon enough. God, why do I always get dragged into this weird crap with hard-ass people?

[Negrek]

The woman had run in the same direction that she had looked, namely, past the grimer and the carnage and farther down the alley. Ming couldn't see anything there, though; the gloom of the Docklands rendered anything very far away too shadowy to make out, and the alley took a bend in any case, giving Ming a view of nothing more than the bloody scene she had already taken in. For what it was worth, the grimer appeared to have lost interest in her and the other woman and were now moving farther down the alley themselves.

"Is there anyone else there with you? Listen, something... something's gone wrong, okay? Some one found out, and--" the woman had to pause for a moment to collect herself, "I don't know how many of us are left, all right? It's bad."

[Moon-panther]

Ming folds her arms, letting out a sift sigh.

Seems the woman found the person she was looking for.

Ming then walks back over to the woman and studies the scene once more, getting used to the smell and carnage. As she studied, she listened to what the woman was saying.

Wonder what was found out...maybe a gang fight....nah, this woman doesn't look she'd be part of something like that.

"Though...looks can be deceiving"

[Negrek]

The scene hadn't changed any since the last time Ming had given it a look; the woman continued her phone conversation, apparently oblivious to whatever her savior was doing.

"All right, but make it quick. This is going to take some real clean-up, and I don't know... how much I can really help with that," the woman said. She looked on the verge of tears again, but the sound of footsteps near the mouth of the alley was enough to make her head snap up (though this action was followed by an unhappy wince) and look sharp.

[Moon-panther]

Ming looks towards the mouth of the alleyway, backing away slowly.

This doesn't bode well...

Ming glances over her shoulder at the woman, then returns her gaze to the moth of the alleyway.

"Miss...I hope that's your friend. If not, we may have bit of trouble on our hands"

Ming then takes a fighting stance, keeping herself between the woman and the approaching figure.

I won't let anything harm this woman further...

[Negrek]

The woman glanced over at Ming, pushing herself away from the wall and swaying for a moment as she kept the 'nav clutched to her ear. "No, listen, I've got to go. Get here as fast as you can, all right?"

Hanging up on her phone, the woman stood still for a moment, listening. The footsteps were closer now, and they were accompanied by voices:

"...sounds like it's down this way. Come on!"

"Ugh, the smell!"

Turning to Ming, the woman said, "We've got to get out of here." She took a shaky step forward, then wobbled to a halt, her face going pale and her arms trembling. "You said you wanted to help me, didn't you? Then give me your arm or something--there's no way I'm going to be able to get out of here otherwise."

[Moon-panther]

Ming looks at the woman over her shoulder and nods, moving back toward her. She wraps her arm around her middle and gives the woman her support.

"I have two questions. Do you want me to give you a piggy-back and move faster? And which way should we bloody move so we don't run into the other people."

Ming wait for her answer, keeping and eye on the alley way with people in it.

This Lady better decide soon, or I'll take matters into my own hands and just firemen's lift her out of here.

[Negrek]

"I'm fine," the woman snaps, then winces. "And that way," she adds, pointing generally in the opposite direction of the voices. She sets off without waiting for confirmation, tugging Ming farther down the alley.

The stench of blood recedes as the pair move away from the worst of the carnage, but the smell of sewage increases; beady eyes stare at them as they pass, grimer lining the narrow alleyway, feeding out of rusting dumpsters and oozing up from filthy drains. Occasionally, they have to skirt one that had planted itself square in the middle of the alley--not difficult, considering its continually-narrowing diameter.

The woman is determined, but she still can't move terribly fast; granted, Ming might not be able to move much faster if she tried to support the woman on her back, but as it is the injured woman staggers frequently and is clearly growing woozy from all the moving around.

At least nobody seems to be coming after them--for the moment, at least. There are still the sounds of voices, growing fainter as the pair move deeper into the maze of alleyways that thread their way between the lower-class buildings crowded into the Docklands. Most likely whoever had been coming has been brought up short by the sight of the carnage at the mouth of the alley and not yet thought to go chasing after anyone who might be trying to flee the scene.

"Listen, can we stop here?" the woman asks as she and Ming pass a boarded-up building of some kind, its facade splattered with faded graffiti. Barely waiting for a reply, she leans up against the wall of the building and slides down into a half-crouch, her eyes closed. "Thanks for taking me this far, but you don't have to stay if you don't want to," she says after a moment. "Someone should be here to help me out soon."

[Moon-panther]

Ming skirts around the grimers that blocked her way and followed the woman, ready to catch her if she suddenly tipped to the side. After they walked a few blocks away from the voices, they reached a boarded up building.

She watched the woman slide down the wall in the crouch, telling her that she could leave if she wanted.

"Sorry. Not going to happen. I may not know you, but I can't leave a injured person or pokemon alone...not until I know they are going to be alright by the time they're partner arrives to take care of them."

Ming moves and sits on the ground near the woman, glancing at the street every so often, looking for signs of anyone coming after them from where they were.

"I'm not going to ask what the hell happened...and from the looks of this place, they're used to seeing a bleeding woman walk the streets. That doesn't inspire confidence on my part since I'm new to this bloody region...and why am I tell you stuff that doesn't concern you...odd. I'm not usually this..sociable."

[Negrek]

"Hell if I know," the woman grumbles, then jerks and reflexively swats at a fly that lands on the sticky rim of a gash on her arm. By now most of the woman's wounds have stopped bleeding, but the lacerations and the grime-crusted blood on her clothes still make her look a mess. Ming, too, has gotten a fair amount of the woman's blood on her clothing as a result of supporting her on the way down the alley. For the moment, though, the woman looks content to let Ming talk if she wants--her eyes are open only to slits, and she leans wearily against the doorframe. Loss of blood is clearly starting to take its toll on her.

As time goes on, there is the occasional shout from the mouth of the alley, though none sounds panicked and there is no sign of anyone coming closer to where Ming and the woman are currently waiting. The grimer grow ever more bold in their presence, oozing without a care past them down the alley, though no show any particular interest in bothering either woman.

It is probably about fifteen minutes before the sound of running footsteps comes to Ming's attention, sounding from the far end of the alley. A couple miffed grimer are driven out ahead of whoever is coming, gabbling indignantly as they ooze into the storm drain. The woman jerks out of her repose and stares suspiciously down the alley, only to relax as the runner comes into view around the bend.

A young boy, probably no more than thirteen and scrawny, comes pelting down the alleyway, ill-fitting shoes flapping on the pavement and baggy clothing billowing around him. He skids to a halt upon seeing Ming, eyes darting around for some easy means of escape. As soon as they landed on the woman, though, he jerks back a step, looking even more ready to bolt than before. "God, what happened to you, Sam?" he asks in a high-pitched whine. His shirt twitches a couple of times, as if possessed, and then a small yellow face pops up over his shoulder, peering inquisitively at the woman.

"Later," Sam grumbles. "And what're you doing here, you little weasel? Where's Jan?"

The boy's lip curls. "She's busy, okay? Look, I got Minun--what more do you want?" The pokémon at his shoulder lets out a squeak, then dropps lightly to the ground beside his feet. It scampers towards Sam, tiny sparks of light swirling in the air around its body as it goes. Sam mutters something unpleasant, but makes no move to do anything besides close her eyes as the same motes of light started to wink into existence around her as well. The boy glowers at her for a moment, then wheels around to glare at Ming. "And who the hell are you?"