Red Sonja

Renee confirmed her attendance at the Halloween party the following day. Tracy's reaction was positive, albeit restrained, not much more than a show of surprise followed by a slightly awkward smile and a "I'm glad you're coming." Renee's costume idea was something based on Red Sonja; she assembled the outfit herself, which consisted of a base made from a sports bra and simple pants, and an elaborate armor and sword that she made at the Fellows of the Hammer club. Needless to say, assembling the armor and sword was the most fun part for the redhead and her patron.

"Wow, this looks really good," Renee said on Halloween day while trying on her costume. Looking in the mirror, she looked like a true warrior. Maybe if she felt more comfortable, she would wear more revealing outfits under the armor, but she definitely preferred it this way, and screw anyone who didn't like it; the costume was HERS, made by HER, and FOR HER. The only person who had the right to have an opinion about it was HER.

Moradin, on the other hand, had adapted better to the reality of his shell. Renee could now hear as well as Moradin had, perceived her surroundings much better, and was stronger and more resilient even without the direct intervention of her patron. For this very reason, she knew precisely which fools insisted on plans to undress her at the Halloween party, and she planned a little prank using paintballs that she would carry hidden in the boots of her costume.

As night approached, she sent some messages to her fellows. All the blacksmith apprentices would be going to the Halloween party with at least one item they had made themselves, from some who made small axes to dress up as Gimli to some who made their own Excalibur or their own helmet.

Renee received some offers of a ride to the party, but ended up refusing, wanting to enjoy a walk on a quiet night, see the creative costume ideas of others, and appreciate a pleasant atmosphere.

Or at least... that was the plan.

Renee grabbed a jacket to put over her shoulders over her costume; it was a little cold, and her arms didn't have much coverage. It wasn't like it was a big problem; she could just take the jacket off when she got to the party. She left early, wanting to be one of the first to arrive. Both she and Moradin wanted to enjoy the possible food and sweets.

The way there was, for the most part, peaceful. She saw children in elaborate costumes of Frankenstein's monster and Dracula, couples in matching costumes, and even a boy with an apple in his hands and wearing a loincloth made of leaves in an Adam costume. Everything was going well until she heard it. Far from where she was, probably a couple of blocks away, it was a muffled sound, but she still heard it. It was someone trying to scream. It sounded like a woman, young, probably not much older than her. It seemed familiar somehow. She heard laughter. A situation that now seemed strangely familiar... terribly familiar, actually. She ran, crossing the blocks at an impressive speed, the moon was already set behind her, if it weren't for the angry expression on her face she would seem almost angelic with the moon as a halo behind her head.

She approached the sound, seeing a small group of teenagers in an alley, in the center a girl her age, her arms were tied behind her body and tied to a fence, her feet were tied together, gagged, her blonde hair fell over her face, she was naked except for a pair of white socks, now soiled by the alley floor. Tears of shame and pain fell down her face as she murmured pleas for help, muffled by the gag. The teenagers around laughed, some began to pull out their cell phones, one girl in particular had bent down and started to explore the girl's body with her hands. One of them even said "Why aren't we recording yet?" And another retorted "Let's make this girl go viral then."

Renee had seen this situation countless times. She had already been the one humiliated and tied up more than once. She'd had enough of that in a lifetime.

Renee didn't scream. She didn't argue. She didn't try to threaten, yell, or reason. She simply walked up to the first guy who was starting to record the situation, snatched the phone from his hands, and used the device to punch him in the face.

What followed was a redhead in a very elaborate Halloween costume beating eight teenagers with punches, kicks, and maneuvers to dislocate and break some bones.

Four of the teenagers tried to fight back, but Renee seemed relentless. She made sure to damage the phones and ensure that each one was punched in the nose at least once.

After a federal beating, the teenagers were allowed to flee. Renee knew she wouldn't be reported; if the local police cared, then she herself wouldn't have been a victim of such situations so many times.

Gasping with a strange emotion, the redhead turned to the blonde, breaking the ropes that bound her with her bare hands and placing the coat she was carrying over her shoulders, removing the gag from her mouth. She realized she didn't know exactly what to say, only wiping away a few of the girl's tears with her thumb.

"You're safe now," murmured the redhead. The blonde tried to calm herself, still frightened by everything that had happened.

Deep within her soul, Renee could hear Moradin saying, "Dignity begins when someone is called by their name." The redhead understood and asked, now in a calmer voice, "What's your name?"

The blonde hesitated a moment before answering.

"Mystra... my name is Mystra."

The redhead smiled before replying, "Beautiful name... My name is Renee."

The two remained silent for some time. Renee helped Mystra get back safely and away from prying eyes to her house, giving her her number in case she needed a witness (even though Renee herself didn't trust the local police).

They spent some time talking, not about the situation, Mystra didn't want to talk about it and Renee understood. In the end, Mystra felt safer and the two ended up saying goodbye after some time. Finally, Renee left, knowing that she would arrive at the party about an hour later instead of half an hour earlier, but at that point it hardly mattered.