|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Fri Jul 29, 2011 9:59 pm
  SCENARIOA certain Noble can't help his sticky fingers when a lovely Legionnaire walks by, brand new amethyst pendant gleaming on her neck.
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Kurama no Koishi generated a random number between
1 and 3 ...
3!
|
Posted: Fri Jul 29, 2011 10:00 pm
• [ THE OUTCOME OF THIS BATTLE: ] •
Noble win.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Jul 29, 2011 10:56 pm
His arms folded behind his head as Kiran wandered down a street leading away from the town square. Boredom set in after several hours of lurking in the shadows or on a roof top or in a tree. Today proved to be a rather dull day as the people who passed him rambled on about nothing important except their plans for dinner, an exchange of recipes, the weather, and other mundane topics. Kiran suppressed a yawn that threatened to crack his jaw. He didn't even see one person thus far wearing something of decent value. A few "accidental" brushes with some Lunarians as he passed them told him not many of them carried much money in their purses. They probably only brought enough with them to purchase the few items they needed for cooking supper that night.
When was the last time he managed to make off with a little prize without the unsuspecting Lunarian noticing? Kiran wracked his brain for a memory, but the only one to pop up in his mind was the time he and Sakn conned money from observers betting on their game of checkers. That instance had been a great success, though they had to make a run for it after someone ruined their clever scam. But that incident was long in the past. Lately, he hadn't spotted a Lunarian with something worth taking. Every time he caught a sparkle of light dancing off perfectly cut jewels, a closer inspection proved them to be cheap knockoffs. Either the person was trying to appear richer with imitations or were cheated by the vendor that sold it.
A defeated sigh left him as Kiran toyed with the idea of giving up for the day and making his way home. Not many people strolled along the street he chose to meander down, as it lacked in the number of stores along it. But then something caught his eye. Reflecting the late afternoon sun, a small flash of light flitted past his eyes. Kiran's gaze slid sideways to catch a glimpse of a lovely amethyst pendant dangling from the neck of an equally lovely woman. A grin tugged at the corners of his lips. Perhaps today wouldn't be wasted after all.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Jul 29, 2011 11:50 pm
No one could miss the smug smile on Van’s face as she strutted down the street leaving the town square. This particular town was a weekly stop for Van after the Academy let out, simply because there were so many lovely goods to be had. Earlier in the year she had acquired a radiant blue qipao with her lovely friend Mayu, and the next acquisition she was acutely proud of was the heart-shaped amethyst pendant that now hung around her long neck. Why was this one particularly special? Because she had managed to flirt and haggle the price down to an amazing bargain—she may as well have stolen it. And Van loved it so much that she had to wear it right out of the store, a decision she would later realize was a mistake.
The Legionnaire’s thoughts wandered as she continued in the vague direction of home. In fact, she was so caught up in her thoughts that a certain Noble in the shadows completely escaped her attention.
Van’s smile widened briefly as she thought of how her friends would react when she showed her necklace to them tomorrow at school. Mayu, for example, would probably scoff and claim that it ‘wouldn’t go with her skintone,’ and secretly ask to borrow it later. Van couldn’t help but gloat in situations like these—whenever she got what she wanted, it would inflate her already overinflated ego. Sometimes, such a thing would even cause her to walk into dangerous situations, for she’d begin to overestimate her competence and capabilities. All of this, and no one had put her in her place—yet.
The girl’s thoughts wandered now to how she was going to justify the purchase to her mother. Grades had come out last week, hadn’t they? Certainly they had been an improvement over the week before, if her Battle Ethics grade was any indication. Yes, things were looking up for Van; she was practically walking on clouds. What Van did not know, however, was that she was begging for a disaster to happen.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Jul 30, 2011 12:21 pm
His feet made a quick change in direction as he kept to the shadows, following at a distance, unseen and unobserved. Necklaces, as he found out, were not the easiest of the things to take off a person. The last time he tried, he got caught while trying to deftly undo the clasp which decided to be particularly difficult for him and refused to slip free. The woman, a Lunarian somewhere in her late thirties, soundly beat him with her delicately embroidered and jeweled handbag. It was not one of his finest moments.
He pondered as he walked, debating the best strategy to go about this. From the distance he followed, identifying the type of clasp on the amethyst pendant was impossible. Either way, getting the pendant off the woman would be difficult, though therein lay the fun of it. The thrill came from the risk of it all, as much as it did in the victory of success. But to get the pendant he would need reason to get close enough to the woman without suspicion. Simply approaching and greeting the woman like they were old time friends would probably not lead to his success. He could already imagine a strange look upon the woman's face as she backed away from a stranger acting overly friendly to her.
Kiran ducked down an alleyway that would looped around and come out just a few feet before where the woman was walking. If he hurried, he could "bump" into her and play it off as an accident. Then it would only be a matter of getting the pendant off in the moment of distraction, if he could be quick about it. Jogging along the alleyway, he ignored the cold splash of water up his leg as he ran through a puddle that he hoped was only from rain water. As he reached the other end, he waited for the woman to approach that point before he stumbled out to bump into her.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Jul 30, 2011 2:18 pm
Van’s pearly smile widened again as she brought her fingertips to the pendant that rested neatly in the middle of her collarbone. This, too, was another compulsion she couldn’t help. Her manicured fingertips traced over every cut and facet of the fine jewel, memorizing its existence. If Van had ever had a nasty streak of covetousness, it was most certainly evident now. One could feel the ostentatious air about her as she continued to walk down the curving path in her imported silks and clearly expensive jewelry. This was only amplified by the fact that Lunaria had fallen into times of abject poverty... the Au family had barely been touched by the sudden economic decline, and so Van continued to stick out amongst those who were not as well off.
Once or twice, though, the Legionnaire felt a pair of eyes watching her. Her senses, though clouded with arrogance, were at least that keen. Stares and looks were not unfamiliar to this girl—she noticed them and enjoyed them. As long as they were not filled with murderous intent, then Van didn’t think much further of them. Still, this feeling that she was being watched was more constant than usual, and Van was getting the notion that she was being followed. She quickened her leisurely stroll, taking on the path ahead at a brisk pace.
She sniffed, briefly tapping the amethyst around her neck once to make sure it was still there. It wasn’t as if it was the necklace that was attracting the stares, right? Van herself was at least more riveting than any jewel could be. At least, this was what she liked to think. There was a sudden blur of ash blue as a boy tumbled in front of her and bumped into her. His greater mass sent her back a few steps, and she faced him, a scowl marring her pretty features.
“Watch where you’re going, will ya?” she snapped. Must be a Noble.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Jul 30, 2011 3:08 pm
Kiran collided with the woman exactly as planned, though he hoped it didn't appear too rehearsed in the eyes of the woman. He stumbled a step or two forward and a hand fell onto her shoulder like he was bracing himself while trying to get his feet under him again before he could send himself face down on the road. Up close, she appeared far more beautiful, like a rare, precious jewel herself, than when he watched her from afar. He would have bet she left a trail of broken hearts behind her, if he had been thinking about it. But his mind was focused more on the jewel strung about her neck. His fingers moved to locate the clasp along the chain.
"My apologies, my lady," Kiran said with an easy smile stretching upon his face. His placed his free hand to his chest as he gave her a half bow. His left hand continued to work at undoing the clasp, though he knew he had little time before she got suspicious of the hand staying too long upon her shoulder. "I didn't mean to bump into you like that. But when I saw you passing, your beauty stunned me to the point that my feet seem to have forgotten how to walk properly." The scowl currently on her face, however, diminished that beauty a little. "Can you blame a man for falling at the mere sight of someone of your class?"
He took one of her hands and brought it to his lips to kiss the back of it, mimicking something he had once seen a man doing. The woman whose hand he kissed then blushed and giggled sweetly before allowing the man to sweep her off her feet and whisk her away to places unknown. The fine art of flirting was still a somewhat foreign concept to him, but Kiran hoped it would provide enough of a distraction, and perhaps quell the anger in her expression, so that he could get the clasp open then make a quick escape before she realized what happened. He almost had the hoop open, though it was being much harder to do with only one hand.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Jul 30, 2011 5:26 pm
There was a little bit of a shuffle as both Van and the other Lunarian hurried to right themselves. It was then that she found herself eye-to-eye with him, his hand on her shoulder. It was at this proximity that she noticed that he was reasonably good-looking. There was something all too familiar about this situation, but before she could think about it, he had begun to speak.
And then she knew. This was almost exactly how she had met Jun, the boy who had caused her many hours of despair and frustration. Jun, who also wore a wide-open vest, had held physical contact for an inappropriately long time, and who had had the balls to continue to try to sweet talk her. The only difference was that Van hadn’t punched this Noble in the face upon meeting, although she felt that she should have.
Even so, she was above this game now. Sniffing, she decided to humor him for but a second. “You flatter me, love,” she began sweetly, bringing her free hand to her chest, feeling for her necklace, “But I have to be on my way now. Perhaps I’ll catch you around.” Hand at her pendant, she attempted to step around him...
and the necklace came off in her hands. Van stopped in her tracks in surprise—had she perhaps bought a phony necklace? No... the problem was much closer than that. It wasn’t the jeweler; it was this boy who had been following her as soon as she left the market. Her violet eyes narrowed as she realized that she’d been set up. Whirling around, pendant clutched tightly in her fist, Van’s first and immediate reaction was to throw a punch. It looked like this meeting wouldn’t be so different from Jun’s, after all.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Jul 30, 2011 7:49 pm
A smile almost escaped to spread across his face, a smug smirk of success. But he managed to school his expression and keep the victory to himself as he felt the clasp come free. From the looks of things, the woman had yet to notice his actions behind her back. Now he simply had to make his escape with the loot in hand.
Definitely a trail of broken hearts, Kiran thought at the cold brush off that she gave him. Or maybe his delivery had been bad. Or he had chosen the wrong words. Flirting seemed to be still beyond his abilities. Not that it matter all that much at that moment, so long as it provided enough of a distraction for him to pull off the task. "I was merely speaking truthfully," he explained, and it wasn't a lie. After all, she was quite lovely in appearance. Her dismal actually worked to his advantage...
Until her hand reached up to grasp the pendant. Kiran's gaze darted quickly to the amethyst now in her clutch. A sense of panic rushed over him, like a plunge into the river on a cold winter's day. A silly idea, but that hadn't stopped him from doing so once when he was younger. It was a mistake that he regretted when he ended up sick for a week. A distant part of his mind wondered if he would repeat that length of time in bed after this meeting.
With a sheepish smile, Kiran held up empty hands as she spun back around on him. He dreaded to think of the earful of yelling that he would get instead of the pendant. "Is it wrong for a guy to want to steal the heart of something so beautiful?" he asked after noting the shape of the amethyst, but he doubted any amount of sweet talk would wipe the anger from her face.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Jul 30, 2011 11:45 pm
Van struggled to calm herself, to control her breathing. The sudden rush of anger and adrenaline had moved her to take on a fighting stance—if it wasn’t apparent before, it was clear now that she was a follower of the warrior path. One hand was held up, palm facing the other Lunarian. The other was still tightly balled in a fist, still clutching her beloved necklace, as it rested in perfect form next to her hip. In public, she looked absolutely ridiculous in her leopard stance, but at this point she didn’t care—she was pissed. Gritting her teeth slightly, the Legionnaire bit back a slew curses and insults.
She had been working on controlling her anger—she didn’t have to launch a flying scissors attack everyone who wronged her. As a warrior, she’d often been admonished, she should show more discipline, and fight only when she needed to.
And as she listened to what the boy had to say next, she decided that she definitely needed to. Lunging at the Noble, she attempted three quick hits in succession, as was typical of her Leopard Fist. Yelling wasn’t her style, unless she had nothing else to resort to. And now, as she quickly stowed her necklace in a pocket for safekeeping, she had her entire knowledge of Quán Khí Đạo to fall back on.
Were she to have to vocally give Kiran a piece of her mind, it would probably be something along the lines of how boys stealing hearts of girls and not giving them back made them worse than pieces of dung. It was a sentiment mostly shaped by one purple Legionnaire boy, but it was a fitting alibi for her behavior as of right now.
Recovering from her attack, she turned again to the blue-haired boy, assessing the damage and waiting for his move.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Jul 31, 2011 11:14 am
Kiran frowned when he noticed the stance she fell into, and only quick reflexes saved him from the triple kick onslaught. Crossed arms braced him for the attack, absorbing the blow instead of his chest. But the hard kicks gained a wince in response. He needed to remember to wear something to protect his arms from attacks because fighting with bare arms was idiotic if he kept using them for blocking. He was lucky to never have broken his arms during a fight. He shook out his arms while she recovered, taking the time to do similarly.
A quick glance up and down her body showed no signs of a weapon, which was a relief as he remembered the black eye he received from Yue's meteor hammer. He really needed to practice fighting against ranged weapons, or weapons in general.
He held up his hands with the palms open; one hand close to his chest and the other outstretch before him. He noted with a certain relief that she didn't seem to be planning to give him that earful he expected. But he knew he couldn't go easy on her, like some other men might when facing off against a woman. Her kicks were proof enough that she had strength to do considerable damage if he got sloppy and let her land a deadly blow. At least this time, the sun was up, and they weren't being pelted by the pouring rain. Despite the puddle he ran through earlier, the ground here was mostly dry. He wouldn't have to worry about his footing and accidentally slipping.
He observed her with keen eyes, watching her movements for a moment. Then he struck, thrusting his right arm toward her as he aimed for her left shoulder. His left hand came around in a fast secondary attack. His gaze kept alert for her reaction. How would she defend or counter? He waited to see before rolling into a third strike.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Jul 31, 2011 2:58 pm
Van studied the other Lunarian as he recovered from the barrage of attacks she’d started the fight with. He didn’t seem too shaken, but she had made her mark, if the livid red splotches on his forearms were any indication. At least now he knew she was serious—he had picked the wrong pretty girl to mess with, because this one had a nasty bite. Her feet shifted below her into her normal fighting stance as she watched the boy raise his arms into one of his own. Now they were getting somewhere.
Her focus was now completely on the battle at hand. Narrowed purple eyes followed his moves carefully, waiting for the sudden muscle twitch, a sign of the hits to come. There it was. And Van braced herself—it wasn’t a move she was familiar with, probably because she was versed in a different discipline. She was not expecting the hit to her shoulder, and shot back a few paces because of it. When the second attack came around, the Legionnaire saw it coming, and was able to shift her body around to deflect the brunt of the force, avoiding cracking her ribs.
She grunted. That one had smarted, and she now knew that this one was not one to toy with, either. He had been well-trained in the fighting arts just as she had been. Now, the girl threw herself into another series of rapid punches, aiming for the stomach, ribs, and face. His third hit found its true mark though, and Van found herself flying back on one knee, gasping for breath.
Scrambling to her feet and falling once again into her Leopard-style stance, she readied herself for the next round. The ragged pace of their breathing was the only sound that rocked the still air. “You should’ve just stuck with stealing from old ladies, boy.”
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Jul 31, 2011 7:46 pm
Kiran saw as she moved back as his first attack came. He slid a foot forward, reaching farther as he moved into his second strike. It didn't hit where he had planned, but he felt it connect with something. He didn't let that brief, barely a hit go to his head. This woman was no mere pushover, and he doubted she would sit back after that brushing blow. Then he caught movement as she retaliated. The punch to his stomach landed, and he stifled a grunt, wincing slightly. That would hurt later. He caught the fist aiming for his ribs and knocked aside with an open palmed hand.
He was already into his third attack by the time her third punch came at him. The fist connected with his jaw hard enough to make him worry that she might have cracked something. He stumbled back with a hand cupping his chin. His gaze remained on her as she flew back. Pain bloomed like fire from the spot where her punch landed. He opened his mouth and moved his jaw back and forth in the brief moment that they took to recover from that round. It hurt, but nothing felt broken to him.
He tossed her a grin, a cocky one, as she got back to her feet. "Old ladies aren't very good at picking out real jewels," Kiran explained with a roll of one shoulder. It was partly true, in his opinion. A number of the old ladies he passed all wore cheap jewelry, hardly worth the material used to make them. He certainly wasn't going to confess the handbag incident to this stranger, though that woman hadn't really been an "old lady." He fell back into his usually starting stance as he watched her.
"You're sounding a bit breathless," he teased. But he wasn't breathing easy either. The punch to his stomach made him gasp, and now each breath pinched his side uncomfortably. "Shall we end this quickly?" He dug a foot into the ground as he brought his other leg up and thrust his foot toward her stomach.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Jul 31, 2011 9:00 pm
The Legionnaire was pleased now to see that her hits had also been fairly effective. Van had hoped to land a hit on his ribs, as that would have quickly shifted the battle in her favor, but the battle was not over yet, and she still had plenty of chances to deliver. Mistaking the boy’s shoulder roll for the beginning of another attack, Van nearly bolted forward, but stopped as she heard him speak. Of course she knew how to pick out real jewels! She’d been taught well by her mother—there would be no fakes in the Au household. The Legionnaire ended this train of thought with a brief, derisive ‘Hmph!’
“I could say the same of you, hun. Another minute and you won’t be breathing at all~” she retorted, a smirk creeping up on one side of her glossy lips. Although she hadn’t been in the mood for flirting earlier, she’d always be able to carry on with battle banter—it was much more exhilarating. The smirk widened as heard his next words. Running at him, she continued, “I’ll be more than happy to oblige!”
Van whirled herself around as she reached the other Lunarian, swinging one leg up to complete the rest of her spinning kick. But it was not to be. She had underestimated Kiran’s height, and his foot landed in her stomach before she could touch him. The girl rolled onto her back, choking as she tried to fill her lungs with air again. She had just eaten her words, but she couldn’t let the boy have the satisfaction of the victory just yet! Bracing one arm on the ground, she spun around on her back, hoping to catch one of his legs with her own—but the gravel they were fighting on slipped out from underneath her and she fell back onto her side. Damn it.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Jul 31, 2011 10:15 pm
Kiran's attention never left her. Even as he spoke, he thought he saw a flicker of something in her, like she was about to leap at him. He tensed in preparation for the attack that ended up not coming. Despite that, he didn't relax, knowing that she could and would attack at any moment. Only a fool would relax his guard in the middle of combat. Uncle had drilled that into him with constant surprise attacks to keep him on his guard while training. Of course, there were still times when that lesson failed to stick with him.
Hesitation didn't enter him even when he saw his opponent rounding up for a kick of her own. He attacked, swift and powerful, not even thinking of holding back simply because his opponent was female. But when he saw her gasping after taking the blow, he almost cringed with a shudder of regret. That feeling did come in large part to her gender. For a brief moment after the kick landed, he could almost imagine his sister in this woman's place. Old memories of tormenting his poor sister tried to snake their way back into his mind, but he shook them off to focus on the fight. His sister had, in her manner, forgiven his past actions, but the regret wasn't easily forgotten.
He shuffled back a step out of reach when he saw the woman recover. Afraid she would manage to knock his feet out from under him, he was actually surprised to her tumble back onto her side. He saunter around behind her as the cockiness returned to his face. His arm snaked around her neck, holding it in firmly but not tight enough to choke her. It was merely for insurance that she wouldn't be tempted to try another attack.
"Thank you for being so obliging," he said with an air of triumphant over winning the fight. He almost reached in search of the pendant, the whole reason for the fight, but decided against it. He already beat her in battle. Somehow, it felt like cruelty to steal the pendant off her in addition. He released his hold on her, offering a small salute as he stood. "This was fun. Perhaps I'll catch you around," he said, repeating her earlier words. Even though he departed empty handed, the fight broke up what was either wise an incredibly dull day. He tossed a departing wave at her as he started down the street. His senses remained keen, just in case.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Reply
