Being diabled had its disavantages, Katie decided. This was one of the larger ones: being victamised. In the case of children, this could be name calling, bullying, or at worst, exclusion. In the case of adults it could be a lot worse, like assult. At the moment it was assult.
	They had picked on her when she had gone into the back ally. Probably a mixture of being new to the area, and her presumed vaunrability, having only one arm. She knew that she could have one of two of them, with her training, but here there were five. Normally there are ways to get rid of a gang of thugs, but in this case she was unarmed, so to speak, and they had extras: Two baseball bats and a large knife, about a 9 incher. When they had started to get physical, she did the only sensable thing, run. Better run then take the second swing on that bat, the first swing had only narrowly missed.
	The timing hadn't helped either. Not in the sence that it was night, that wasn't too bad, considering she was a Racoon. It was bad timing in the fact that this was the last of three days she was spending in Manchester. Tomorow she was moving on again. Moving on to the last stage of her months long journey, to see a renound healer. She has lost her right arm relativly recently.
	She turned a corner, and left the road, panting heavily from her sprint. Beads of percepriation moved down her face, causing a slight itch. She could ignore that, her old job had trained her to do that quite well. Looking around, as she slowed for a recovery, she saw grass around, one street light, and the odd tree, she was in one of the Cities parks. Now walking painfully from a stich, she went to a reasnobal 15 foot high tree, probably an Elm, which sweyed slightly in the small breese. It was a very bushy tree, with a fair few branches off the trunk itself, and in the night light, it appeared dark, almost black. Katie ignored it, she was tired.
	'I should be in bed, not in a night park!' She thought.
	She saw them too late to get away. They had seen her and were heading her way. Before she could start to run properly, they had surrounded her.
	The tallest one spoke first. He was of medium build, and had a mean sneer on his face, one that looked like it never changed. "Well, lookie here. Have we met before lass?"
	She replied without any thought, as per useual. "Not that I know, I havent been to the tip recently." Even after saying it, she felt at ease with the wording. It was effectivly true.
	In a way the comment hit hom. He stood a second, confused, before what she had said actually sunk in. He had expected her to be afraid, possibaly terrified, and in any case asking to be spared. She did none of that, instead insulting him? How dare she? 'Stupid  cow' he thought. Yes, he wanted to hit her for it, but that was probably what she wanted, to catch him out first. Well, he had smarts. 'I gots what she aint. Smarts.'
	"That wern't smart." He said simply to her, before addressing his four frends. "Do her up good."
	They closed in together, not giving her a fighting chance, literally. She knew she could fight them all.
	Something reflected the light from the street lamp. It was clear and bright enough to attract the attention of everybody.
	The stranger was slightly tall, about 6 and a hal feet, and was definatly slender. He held on his right shoulder something long and metal, which was where the flash of light had come from. It had a slight, but noticable, curve to it, and resembled in the night a metal rod that had been bent from a hit. He was, in an odd way, attractive, his snout clean, and his tail well groomed.
	Having perfect night vision, being a Racoon, Katie had a critical edge over here attackers. She saw, almost clearly, that whatever it was that he held, it was too slender to be a stick, it was far too flat indeed.
	The thugs, not seeing the oddness of the object, and probably assuming it to be a metal rod that the Mongoose carried, did see a threat. The two with the baseball bats closed in on him, while the rest carried on withKatie.
	Things were looking up, from Katies viewpoint. As the thug, a beefy one at that, with the nine inch blade closed in, she lashed out into his midsection with her foot. He doubled over, and fell back. The other two, not compleatly lacking in intellegence, gave her a cautious space untill their frends with the bats returned.
	They would not resturn with the bats.
	They came togather, two abreast. The right one lifted his bat first, before brining it down. By the time the Mongoose had dodged the blow, the second thugs bat was raised.
	The Mongoose, ducking from the first attempt, brought his weapon around high, cleanly slicing the bat of the second thug. Continuing the sweep downwards, he turned it into an arc of flashing metal which circuled the left thugs head, and likewise sliced the first thugs club in two, one half falling infront of the thugs face.
	Relising that they were compleatly outmatched, the two thugs fell back, almost literally, to the others, the bulky one with the knife recovered almost compleatly from his recent hammering.
	Sprinting to the group on the toes of his paws, he lashes out in a smooth arc with his sword, but not at the thugs. The weapon did not flash the yelloish orange of the streetlight this time, but seemed to actually glow, leaving a decaying hue of luminious light blue where it had moved.
	The tree's trunk was cleanly sliced through, all four feet of it.
	For a second the Mongoose remained montionless, one knee on the floor, facing the tree with his sword outstreached, symbols on it slowly dimming in their glow. Nobody dared move.
	Except the tree, as it fell down towards the thugs, and Katie. As it, at first quietly but then crashing, came down, Katie had only one thought. 'HEY! If your saving me, it ain't good pratice to get me killed!'
	Before she knew it, she had been picked up, and had the odd sensation of flying in a spin. Looking around as the tree crashed on the group of thugs heavily, she saw the ground spin. She was in a controlled roll, being held gently by the Mongoose. His sword was gone.
	Getting up from the roll effortlessly, he gently put her down, before walking to his sword, three of its four and a half feet sunk into the earth where he origenally sliced the tree. He pulled it out, effortlessly, at the angle that it was buried in.
	Most would have been slightly stunned at their lives being saved like that, most. Katie was an exception. She walked up to the Mongoose, and took stock of him. "Thanks for that, I oue you." She simply aid.
	He bowed. "t is nothing," came his Asian accent. "This is what I do. This is what I am good at."
	"I can see." She came back. "What are you, a runesmith or sommit?"
	He looked surprised. "In one way, yes. I did not expect this of you. Few reconise proper runes when they see them."
	She might have blushed then, but it was hard to tell in the dark. "I used to know about that stuff for... work." She brushed it aside. "Speaking of which, you must be new here. Thats magic, and magic has a habit of being hidden around these parts. Be careful." She warned.
	He smiled, almost sadly. "I wuill. I am. I always am. I know the worst that can happen. Master Suri has never been caught." He said, in a way some sort of explanation.
	"Thats your name?" She asked.
	He nooded.
	"To me your a shining angel. Right now I have things to do, but I would like to help you some time..."
	He cut in. "Alas, no. I work best, for many reasons, alone. Please, carrying on would be what I want. I want to help people. I did that."
	He walked off, rapidly. Before she knew it, Katie was compleatly alone.
	Breifly listening to the quiet soft moans from under the tree, she began to walk back to the leased place the currently slept in. Tomorow she had  an appointment with someone she had heard about in work, a doctor/healer by the name of Hooflef.
	She hoped her former workplace hadn't bothered with him.