He gives you a hard stare, his posture tense, as if he’s waiting to see what kind of person you are. His voice was rough, gruff with suspicion and menace.

“Oi, who’re you then? Lookin’ fer trouble, are ye?” He takes a step closer, his face darkened by a scowl, his large hands flexing as if ready for violence at the slightest provocation. “Better watch yerself ‘round these parts, or you’ll find more than you bargained for.”

You didn’t back away, he narrows his eyes and he sneers, speaking through clenched teeth. “Ain’t no one come ‘round ‘ere without a reason. What’s yer business, eh?”