Iliadra Castaniel smiled as she knelt to aid the broken man. His head flopped as he looked up at her, addled eyes reflecting her face. His hand moved weakly beneath the tattered robe he wore.
"Food," he croaked.
"You will be given it, and all else you need. We will help you. Please, just stand and walk a little farther." Iliadra spoke confidently and soothingly, her voice ringing across the alley.
"We need food now! Kill!" The man's Companion hissed, his voice rattling even more than normal for his kind, and raised a clenched fist. Even beneath the grime covering his hand, his skin showed dark blue, marking his kind's nature. The beggar man's eyes widened at his Companion's urging, and a rusted dagger flashed from his rags.
Iliadra stifled a cry as it pierced her arm, seizing the man's wrist in her other hand. She hauled him bodily to his feet as he began to slump again.
"Please," she repeated, struggling to keep her voice even. "We will help you. You will have food. But you must follow me."
"Lies! Filthy Exalted lies! Look around you, how could they have enough?" The Companion stood with his master, hissing in protest. He held back from touching Iliadra - they all knew the laws - but instead threw gobs of filth from the street onto her white uniform. She turned away from him, yanked the dagger from her flesh and let it clatter to the ground, and picked up the beggar as if he were a child. With a few hissed expletives, the Companion helplessly followed, but not without a glance at the weapon.