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'Idiot, idiot, idiot! You're such an idiot!' Sailor Tsui felt that sometimes, a little self criticism was needed. Much needed like a brick to the face at this point. She cared little for her bruised ego at the moment, as all she could think about was trying to survive this encounter. To think, she'd meet her match at the hands of perhaps the most deceivingly adorable pack of youma she had run across yet.

Sailor Tsui, Senshi of Tigers, was out on her patrol, doing the usual thing, keeping her feelers out and moving towards a daycare's playground (the exact location was a blur to her). Youma hanging out in playgrounds? That was more than enough to send Tsui charging towards the playground, and she spotted the menace near the monkey bars. Beaming red eyes caught her attention, and she was going to Tiger Fist Strike the youma without even announcing herself, but when it scuttled out and into the lamplight, she couldn't bring herself to do so. It was... so ridiculously cute!

And of course, that ridiculously cute youma had found a way to ensnare the Tiger senshi, trapping her legs in what looked to be living and breathing sand and trying to pull her deeper and deeper into what she figured was its mouth, at least, she HOPED it was its mouth (the other orafice would have been... pretty bad). She clung to the monkey bars, her last hope in pulling herself out, growling and trying to break at least ONE leg free to kick the deceptively cute youma right in the eye.

She needed help, but if she let go of the bars to grab her phone, she'd be sucked in for sure. What a dilemma... she growled aloud, hoping that fates, God, whoever, would hear hear and cut her some slack. "A little help would be nice... I'd rather not see what's inside of this thing!"

"Oh thank heavens!" Sailor Tsui, proud Senshi of Tigers, had not been willing to admit defeat just yet, and her pride, already tattered by being taken in by the beady red eyes of a inconceivably adorable youma, was not beyond expressing her relief when another person came to her rescue. She looked to her savior, her smile wide and her golden eyes holding nothing but hope, as the youma shot its bright red eyes over to her, just as the vines began to ensnare its form. The moment the vines had gathered around close enough to Tsui, the pulling motion had stopped, and Tsui saw her opening.

She recalled her fight with the black, tar-like youma that she and Ate had teamed up against, and she was prepared to use her Tiger Fist Strike to propel herself out of the sand trap. She shouted a warning to the one that helped her, hoping that she wasn't in the way as she gathered the energy into her arms and shouted, "I think I got this- step back a bit! TIGER FIST STRIKE!"

Unlike the tar creature, she didn't go flying nearly as far as she could have liked, but she lunged forward, just enough to get a higher grip on the monkey bars and pull all but one leg out. Not the type to look a gift horse in the mouth, she kicked at the sand trap youma with her other leg, driving her boot into various spots to find some kind of weak spot to break free. Her growls were feral, much like the animal of her sphere, and she yelled over the howls of the sand trap youma. "I've had just about enough of you! Let go of me, before I get REALLY mad!"

Thanks to her kicks and her savior's vines, the Sand trap youma couldn't get a firm grip, and Tsui had managed to break her foot free, scaling the monkey bars as it thrashed about, trying to escape the vines. At least it was immobilized, for now...

Tsui scoffed at the very notion. Did she have a plan? Of course Tsui had a plan; attack! She knew that the vines wouldn't hold up forever, and Tsui peered into the sandtrap, looking for a sign of the creature's 'head' and highly suspecting that was the weakspot, but even as it thrashed about, it kept the head hidden. If she could just get a good strike on the head, she was certain that the two of them could dust this youma into oblivion.

An idea came to mind, and Tsui actually descended the monkey bars, moving closer towards the creature trapped in the vines. She was certain that her ally though her to be either extremely brave, or foolish, or a mixture of the both, but if she could lure it out, they'd have a much better chance.

"You want me so bad? Then come and get me with that deceitful little head of yours!" Tsui yelled at it, taunting the youma and knowing that she was running on limited time. All she needed was a chance, an opening, and she could see the first sign of its 'head' beginning to poke out, and Tsui wasn't going to waste the opportunity. She called to her ally, jumping off of the monkey bars and prepping her attack once more. "Be prepared to dig me out in a few seconds?"

She was grateful that there seemed to be no cool down time for her attack, and just as the 'bunny' exposed its head in full, Tsui shouted out her attack, white aura igniting around her arms and aiming straight for the head. She was certain that she'd be pulled in, but she had faith in her new ally, as well as her ability to dust the creature or at least stun it long enough for her ally to dust it for her. Either way, it was now or never. "Tiger Fist STRIKE!"

Tsui wasn't sure what to expect once she practically dove into the sandpit, but in the end it didn't matter as her impromptu companion had made the save. She had managed to pull herself out of the sandpit as the youma began to crystallize, and she coughed and sputtered, trying to get all of the sand out of her mouth and nose, and she had begun dusting herself off when Shalott turned to her. And Tsui acted as if she hadn't just dove into a youma's mouth, as she pulled herself back up to her feet and went to take her hand. And the moment she got to her feet, she immediately regretted it, as her knees wobbled and she flopped right back onto her butt.

'Well, that was embarrassing...' Tsui thought to herself, scratching the back of her head and not too surprised to find sand flying off of her hair as well. The sand would be EVERYWHERE now, and it was a reminder as to why Tsui never liked going to the beach. Nevertheless, she tried to hide her embarrassment behind a confident smile, and she extended her hand in greeting once more from where she was on the ground. "I'm fine, but... maybe next time I'll think of a better plan that doesn't involve throwing myself at the enemy like that."

She would have poked out her tongue, but there was just so much sand that she didn't want to eat it. "Name's Sailor Tsui, by the way. Senshi of Tigers. And you?"

Tsui wasn't going to hide the damage that her pride had taken in response to Shalott's scolding, as her shoulders immediately hunched and she drew her legs closer to her, much like when the Wicked Witch of the East had curled under the house. Well, minus the whole legs shriveling up and literally coiling into themselves part, but the sentiments felt the same. Tsui wasn't used to others scolding her for her brave actions, so she wasn't quite sure how to respond, and the way she stuttered wasn't anything like the strong, brave, foolish Senshi that Shalott had witnessed mere moments ago.

"Y-yes ma'am... I'll try to be a little more careful the next time..." Tsui hated feeling small, or young, but she dared not snap back at the her. She looked older and she did save her life, so any sort of argument against her would make her seem ungrateful, and Tsui certainly wasn't ungrateful for the assist. Despite the scolding, Tsui was back and on her feet again in a fluent movement, almost as if she had fallen at all. "Anyways, thanks a lot for helping, Shalott. If you don't mind me asking... what's a Squire? You're not a Senshi?"

To say that Sailor Tsui was new was a fair assessment, but Tsui couldn't be too angry with Shalott's statement. It was rather true, and she was awakened as a Senshi and then pretty much left to her own devices, which must have been painfully obvious when she dove into the mouth of a youma with no clear plan or inkling that the risk would have been worth taking. Then again, there was a fine line of difference between being new and reckless, and Tsui couldn't deny this.

So, as much as she wanted to be angry at Shalott's rather harsh lecture, Tsui couldn't bring herself to be. And there was something about her that told Tsui to not argue with her either; an aura of authority, or perhaps some of Tsui's own common sense in the matter. It was like when Maddy got really angry, or her own mother, and while she didn't agree with them, when they got into that stage, the only wise move was to nod her head and say 'yes ma'am' or 'yes Maddy' and let them win. How could anyone manage to hold such an authority when she was the Senshi of Tigers? It baffled Tsui, but she didn't argue. For now.

The topic of knights had interested her more than her scolding or repairing her own pride, and it was a sight to see indeed for Tsui to be so interested in another aspect, something educational, even, though her sister and teachers wouldn't believe it. "So, there are Senshi and then there are Knights. Do you have magic powers too? Is that how you summoned those vines like that, or is that something different?"

It made a lot of sense, Tsui thought, and she rather liked that deal. Tsui was perfect for an all out offensive, and if other Senshi were just as offensive, though hopefully less foolhardy and brash, as her, then having a good defensive unit around such as the knights certainly helped to balance things out. It made perfect sense in Tsui's mind.

"Maybe when you get stronger, you unlock more abilities, like magic, or leveling up," Tsui said, knowing that she only further showed her newbie status and her young nature by referring to something as though it were a video game. She stood up and kicked her feet out, trying to get the sand out of her boots without having to resort to taking them off, and that motion only made her realize just how filthy she now was. Oh, she was going to need a long, long, LONG shower when she got home. "Maybe that's a way of balancing things out, you know? Start off with nothing but through sheer determination and perseverance, you're rewarded with better abilities and magic than those of us who already start with magic."

She had heard of a recent edition of Advanced Dungeons and Dragons that did something similar to that, but Tsui nor her human counterpart had ever gotten too invested in table top RPGs before she had moved on to her next interest, that being video games. Either way, it had made some sense to her, and sometimes that's all Tsui needed.

"Well, I do sort of pity them. They have me and so many other strong opponents as their enemy, but don't worry, I won't take them so lightly," Sailor Tsui said, brushing off the remaining sand from her fuku before giving up. It was likely the most of it would be gone once she transformed back into her civilian clothes, and she felt that she had enough excitement in one evening. Dive-bombing a sandpit youma and barely escaping with her life thanks to a new ally was definitely a night well spent. She had noticed the sadness in her tone, but she didn't quite understand it. She was still too young, too naive and headstrong to really understand, but she bobbed her head anyway. "As far as I'm concerned, the Negaverse and the Dark Mirror Court are my sworn enemies and there's nothing to change that!"

She flashed Shalott a thumbs up and a smile to let her see the resolve on the matter; she may not have been the best, but Shalott had an ally in the Senshi of Tigers!

"I don't think I'll be charging boldly into anymore youma's gullet any time soon," Tsui said, and had meant it. She didn't want to think about how close she might have came to dying this evening, but Tsui was never really worried about the what-ifs that were out there. There were too many. Much easier to simply live in the present and that what is, and not what WILL be, or could have been. Made her life all the more easier to deal with.

She gave Shalott a friendly wave, not really picking up on her weariness or how weak her smile had been. Tsui was much too young, too naive both as a civilian and a Senshi to have picked up on such things, but it would not be too long before she'd understand. But for now, she was content to give the squire a wave and leave the playground that was once her battleground. "Next time, I'll be stronger, and with some luck, smarter too! Cya later, Shalott!"