Leave Him Alone!
Dawn sighed tiredly as she walked down the street on her way to her apartment. She was starving, having to forgo lunch to save a little bit of money but she knew all that waited for her for dinner was a cup of noodles which weren’t super filling. She’d have to see if she could pick up some more shifts or else she’d have to go without dinner as well if she wanted to afford rent this month.
She paused as she passed an alleyway when she heard some kind of commotion, she glanced in only for her heart to freeze in horror when she saw a kid probably no older than five trying hard not to cry while surrounded by four thugs one of which was holding a knife.
All of her self-preservation went out the window as she marched her way into the alleyway, her desire to protect the kid overpowering any fear she should have had.
“Hey! Leave him alone!” She barked as she approached the group who turned to look at her, the thugs looked annoyed while the kid looked hopeful which just made her protective instincts grow stronger.
“Our business with this brat is none of your concern little lady so get lost” The thug who had greasy-looking hair grunted in annoyance and Dawn’s glare sharpened.
“What kind of business could you possibly have with a child?” She questioned sharply which just seemed to annoy the thugs further.
“He stole our wallets” The thug who had a squeaky voice snapped angrily and Dawn couldn’t help but raise an unimpressed eyebrow at this.
“I gave them back!” The kid shouted indignantly and Dawn had to admire the kid’s bravery even if it was incredibly reckless.
“You got your property back so just leave the kid alone” She stated seriously but the thug with the knife just rolled his eyes uncaringly.
“The brat needs to be taught a lesson” He growled which pushed Dawn over the edge and she lashed out punching the guy in the face before spinning around and elbowing the closest thug in the face with her elbow to keep him at bay so that she could stand protectively in front of the kid.
“You fucking bitch!” The thug she elbowed cried out angrily as he clutched at his nose and the thug she punched spat some blood out before giving her a truly murderous look.
“I’ll give you one warning, leave now before I make you regret ever being born” Dawn hissed dangerously but the thugs didn’t seem all that threatened.
“You’re going to be the one who regrets ever being born” The thug with a stupid-looking moustache growled before he lunged at Dawn who stuck her leg out to trip him and just before the thug fell she gripped his hair and slammed his face into the brick wall with enough force to knock him out. She then turned to face the other thugs whose eyes had widened a little in shock as they stared at their downed comrade.
“Still want to test your luck?” She growled which snapped them out of their trance and they lunged at her. She traded blows with greasy hair and squeaky voice for a while and she just knew that she would be black and blue come morning which would make work tomorrow hell.
Dawn grunted in pain when the thug with the knife got her in the side which caused the kid to gasp in fear.
“Oh, you’re going to regret that” She hissed before she kicked her leg back hitting the knife-wielder in the shin to push him back before swinging it up hitting squeaky voice in the chin and sending him sprawling before turning slightly while her leg was still in the air and cracked it against greasy hairs head leaving him crumbling to the ground which just left the knife-wielder whose eyes had gone comically wide.
“Your little knife ain’t gonna save you” Dawn growled dangerously as she gripped the guy’s shirt and shoved him into the wall before relentlessly punching the guy in the face, she ignored the additional stab wound this earned her from the thug’s desperate attempt to be free as all she was focused on was knocking the guy out.
Once the thug was unconscious Dawn stumbled away slightly before she collapsed to the ground in exhaustion while placing a hand on her bleeding side. The kid shuffled towards her with wide eyes.
“That was so cool, miss!” He gushed cheerfully and Dawn chuckled as she propped herself up against the wall.
“Thanks, kid, do you mind telling me why you thought stealing these thug's wallets was a good idea?” She asked and the kid grimaced slightly.
“They were being mean to this lady at the park so I thought I would teach them a lesson by hiding their wallets but that didn’t go very well” He admitted shyly and Dawn chuckled as she reached up with her free hand to ruffle the kid’s hair.
“That was real noble of you kid but also incredibly reckless” She said warmly and the kid grinned sheepishly for a moment before pouting.
“My name is Ezran not kid” He huffed and Dawn chuckled once again.
“Well it’s nice to meet you, Ezran, I’m Dawn” She said fondly and Ezran grinned brightly once again.
“You were such a badass Dawn! You were so outnumbered but you took them all down like it was nothing!” He gushed eagerly and Dawn grinned before wincing when she remembered her bleeding side.
“Well, I wouldn’t say it was like nothing” She muttered and Ezran glanced down at her wound worriedly.
“Is it bad?” He asked anxiously and Dawn hummed as she gave him a reassuring smile.
“I’ll be fine don’t worry” She said comfortingly but Ezran just pursed his lips together seemingly unconvinced but before he could say anything they both heard a commotion near the entrance to the alleyway.
“Ezran, where are you!” A voice shouted worriedly which made Ezran perk up immediately.
“Sally I’m over here!” He shouted and two people immediately entered the alleyway one was a woman with fluffy white hair and the other was a man with long pink hair.
“Sally, Techy you’ve gotta help my friend she’s hurt real bad!” He shouted urgently and the woman rushed forward while the pinkette followed at a slower pace as his eyes trailed over the downed forms of the thugs curiously.
“Yikes that looks bad” Sally muttered with a wince as she observed the knife wound and Dawn couldn’t help but huff in amusement.
“Feels bad too” She quipped and Sally glanced up at her with an amused smile on her face.
“What exactly happened here?” The pinkette questioned as he walked closer seemingly unbothered with the fact that he had stepped on one of the thug’s hands. Ezran’s eyes sparkled as he glanced up at him.
“These assholes were going to beat me up because I innocently tried to teach them a lesson but Dawn showed up and kicked all of their asses before they could even touch me! It was so cool!” Ezran gushed excitedly once again and the pinkette grunted curiously as he glanced back at the downed thugs with a slightly impressed look in his eyes.
“You managed to take all of these thugs alone and all they managed to do to you was a couple of bruises and a stab wound? That’s rather impressive” Sally remarked with an impressed grin on her face which made Dawn blush slightly as she gave a half-hearted shrug.
“I should have been able to avoid the stab wound but I’m kinda tired and running on very little energy so I was a bit more sloppy than I should have been” She remarked which made Sally’s grin grow before she glanced back at the stab wound.
“We’ll take you back to our place to get this taken care of, Techno do you think you can carry her to the car?” She questioned as she glanced at Techno who nodded while Dawn’s eyes widened in surprise.
“Oh, you don’t have to do that you can just drop me off at my place and I can take care of it myself” She tried to say but Sally just frowned as she gently took her free hand into her own.
“Nonsense, you protected our baby brother at risk of your safety, at least let us help you with the injuries you obtained doing that” She said softly and Dawn went to deny the offer once again but then she caught the pleading look that Ezran was giving her.
“Please, Dawn?” He requested as his lip wobbled slightly and Dawn visibly caved in at this, kids would always be her weakness.
“Okay, as long as it won’t be too much of a bother” She agreed and Sally gave her a warm smile.
“I doubt you could ever be a bother” She said charmingly and Dawn smiled back a little bit as her blush deepened. Techno rolled his eyes before reaching down and picking her up bridal style which made her squeak in surprise.
“Let’s hurry up before blondie bleeds out” Techno grunted as he headed towards the exit of the alleyway and Sally hummed in agreement before she picked up Ezran and trailed after them.