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"Hmm..." Owle considered this for a moment, then shook her head. "You haven't seen what I can do. Since you asked me to fight without my powers, it might be fair to ask you to fight without those crystals near us."

They weren't on the same level, and she'd warned him about that in the beginning. With her powers, though, she could hold her own for a little while at least.

"If you'd want that. What if you get into a situation where you're without them?"

She'd be willing to do the first blood thing, but she'd lose pretty quickly without the use of any supernatural power. She was, as she had demonstrated, somewhat clumsy in her human form.

"There's not a situation I can see where someone will get these boots off my feet. They can't really be parried or disarmed like a weapon, or have some sort of field placed over 'em."

Jacked looked at the both of them with a bit of confusion.

"Besides if I did that, I'd have to use my guns and s**t to make it fair. I'm already offering to go with no weapons while you use them. If you used powers, I'd have to get all my weapons and s**t to make it even since you'd have powers and weapons. And really, with my weapons, there's a chance of me killing you."

That's like tying a hand behind his back, allowing her to shape shift and stuff while he went barehand, was like asking him to put a blind fold on and put one leg in the air behind him as well. Jack wasn't stupid, you put a man against odds like that, and he is going to get really hurt.

And Jack wasn't being over confident about those weapons, his sabre and ka-bars were tipped in a substance that broke molecular bonds. His guns had ammunition that could paralyze, electricute, and burn objects.

Owle shook her head. "My powers aren't offensive. I'll only use the shapeshifting, and there's nothing I can do to really hurt you like you fear. If you want I'll demonstrate all the abilities I'd even think to use.

"You're an expert at using your fists as weapons, or at least damn good. I can't use the knives for s**t unless I get really lucky. Believe me when I say, that even if you only used one hand you could beat me in a fight without any problems. Even if I used my knives and you only had the one empty hand."

She met his eyes, trying to hold his gaze. "I understand your reservations. Most people who are odd like me can throw around fire and s**t. I can't. At least let me show you what I can do before you judge?" She wasn't asking him anything unfair, in her eyes. She relied on her powers so heavily, and was so inexperienced at combat, that she needed them to level the playing field against even a weaponless man.

"I'd agree to just using my powers, and no weapons. Or to you using your less lethal ones."

((Oops, I realized I forget to post I had walked outside didn't I?))

Owle seemed much happier now that the crystals were away from her. More animated, even. She was bouncing up and down, not in any sort of stance, but just in the happy. God it felt good to be away from that oppressive aura.

"Right then," her voice was much more cheerful than it had been. "You still want to do the first blood thing, or...?"

She wasn't even aware she'd insulted him by implying he was afraid. If he was willing to use near lethal weapons on her just cause she suggested using her powers, what else could the reason be?

True, but did Owle think that?

He could damage her far more seriously than she could damage him, and that made things even on Owle's side. Sure she could do some neat tricks, but would they make her win?

She nodded at his answer, and went to retrieve her knives. If it was only first blood she wouldn't have done so. His fists against tiny kitty claws put the odds in her favor for first blood, she would have needed no knives.

She held them up, each laying flat in one of her palms, so that Jack could see them easily. They melted into her flesh, becoming a black viscous liquid that seeped into her until there was no trace of it left. The message clear: I can make them disappear, so I can make them reappear.

She didn't intend to use their blades, but she supposed Jack didn't know that.

She resumed her position across from him.

"Well, let's get to it, then."

When she saw his left knee rise, she assumed he would kick out at her with that foot, and, deciding she could avoid that easily enough, moved to get out of the way of the strike.

Unfortunately he was kicking with his right, and she walked straight into it, the momentum of her dodge making his strike all the worse. Her right knee was hit, and Owle's leg crumpled from under her, bringing her down to one knee on the sand.

Still she didn't try to retaliate, or maybe she couldn't. She just took the blow, and waited for the next strike to come.

Jack might have noticed something odd...just below her knee, there was something hard waiting for him, and if he could feel it through her jeans he could tell it was the same consistency of those scales. It looked like the ones on her feet continued all the way up her calf, stopping at the knee.

Nothing moving, just something that had been there, covered by the jeans. He might have felt the edge of it when he kicked her, he might not have.

And that hand movement was what Owle was waiting for.

The uppercut would meet black liquid, thick and viscous but not clingy. It would part and flow around his hand, dribbling toward the ground. His left hook would more than likely hit air, unless he was fast enough to catch some of the liquid with it. Even if he hit it, he couldn't stop it as it fell downwards and reformed.

Where Owle had been, a black domestic housecat now sat. The entire transformation, from woman to liquid to cat, had taken about half a second.

The cat, her back right leg smarting, darted forward between his legs, hoping to get behind him before he could turn, then spin to face his back. If she could catch him with his back still turned, maybe she could leap up on top of him...

((I've never had Owle get hit while in between transformations before. What kind of damage do you think should be done in that case?

I was thinking really big bruises, but nothing debilitating.))