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Vesuvius was surprised as hell that he was a squire now, but it was fact. He felt more important. now and tried to keep up an air of responsibility. He was patrolling by the waterfront this evening, walking along the beach on the abandoned pier. He didn’t encounter many people and that was just as well as he was enjoying the ocean breeze more than looking for danger. He stopped and leaned against a railing, the salt air on his skin.

He definitely missed his calling to be something else in another time.

That hardly mattered now. One of these days we would need to make his way to Vesuvius, his wonder, and figure out where it was he came from and why in this bizarre cosmos that he was chosen to fill this calling. He still didn’t get it but he enjoyed being of some use. It appealed to the gentleman in him, though perhaps Pappy might disagree with his methods. He didn’t mind getting dirty to save the girl and what else could he do in costume but bring that to a larger scale?

Anyway, he must be doing something right if he was growing.

Malayaite on the other hand, didn't exactly trouble herself with preconceived notions of right and wrong. She was a new senshi… and really that's all she had. She was just fine with that. She patrolled on what she now considered her home, the boardwalk with its piers and little stone ledge that went down to the sands below. Maybe it was a bad idea to stick to where she was comfortable, but right now everything was so surreal it was the only thing keeping her grounded. Besides, she had been assured that no one would recognize her, not even if her own family should she happen to stumble on them.

Malay stepped onto the sand, walking below the pier that was mostly abandoned, when she felt something tickling her senses. She frowned, sliding under the shadows of the pier, close to the rocks, waves coming in and washing over her feet. Oooh, thats what it was… An “Order” person. The Enemy. Okay, so… should she fight him? Malay had no idea about power levels, she had only been powered a few short days, and it was all new.

Leaning against one of the slick posts that held the pier up she leaned out and looked up, noticing a blonde man leaning against the rails. She bit her lips. Oh well… now or never right. She had never been one to shy away from a fist fight, even as a little girl. So she darted under the pier, scrambling over rocks with her bare feet and reflexes that she knew she could attribute to her new magical girl status. When she reached the other side, she scampered to the top of a large boulder, and jumped, almost startling herself when she cleared much higher than she thought, her hands clasping the rails on the other side of the pier, pulling herself over like some creature from the depths, all lengths of blue hair, golden chain, and black pearls.

“ All alone? “ She said, as she slunk down. from the rails, one bare foot touching the wood silently.

Vesuvius was not expecting company but he felt her before he ever saw her. It was a surprise to have her crawling over the ledge, though, and he was startled by it. Ever a man, even as a knight, the first thing he saw was that petite frame and, ahem, assets that did not quite seem to match. She was well endowed, like the mermaid at the bow of an old time pirate ship, and for that he was never going to complain.

Mistaking her opening line, he gave her a saucy grin, adjusting his coat.

“Why, yes. Yes I am.”

He was not thinking of Imara at the moment. She was acting a bit skittish and though he was pursuing her out of costume possibly she would never know his secret and had not committed to being anything to him except for a nice date. He cared for her, but looking at and flirting with another woman was not out of bounds, right? There was no relationship to break. Nevermind that she appeared to be, and felt like, someone chaos tainted.

No harm ever came from looking.

“What on Earth is a girl like you doing out here all alone in the middle of the night? Don’t you know it’s dangerous?”

Malay’s eyebrow quirked. She wasn't exactly unfamiliar with a particular gaze, and considering the very specifics of her outfit, she wasn't all that surprised ( As a civilian she did spend most of her time in a bathing suit anyway ) and so just because Malay was… well… Malay, she did indulge in a particularly deep breath as she slipped down so both feet were on the wooden planks. Apparently that rather flirty attitude stuck, powered or not.

“ You know, thats funny, I was just about to ask you the same thing, cutey. “ And with that, she took the last few steps at a run, aiming a well practiced punch right at his side. She wasted no time, she went right from all the body language of flirting, to try and punch his spleen out in about two hot seconds.

Of course. The cute ones were always crazy. He had learned that earlier with Schorl and yet here he was caught off guard by a pretty face turned crazy person. He wasn’t exactly unpracticed at brawling himself and moved to take hold of her fist, redirecting it toward the wood railing. He was on guard now and though he could not strike a lady he at least allowed himself the leniency to subdue one attacking him.

And it worked. Sort of.

“Now didn’t anyone ever tell you that it’s not polite to hit strangers for no reason?”

He sighed, stepping back and eyeing her more closely now. He officially could not trust her and that was a shame because he damn well liked looking at her.

Well crap, he was strong, much stronger than her, even with her magical power ups. She may be tiny, but in her civilian life, she was a surfer, so her limbs and core, while lean, were strong with fine muscles that belied her tiny form. But he deflected her punch pretty easy.

Her lips quirked in a frown, and Malay turned, her other hand which hadn’t been occupied, and summoned what looked like a cupped handful of water, which she smacked onto his chest “ Oh, my apologies “ She said with a soft pout to her voice, her hand now fisted into the damp material of his shirt.

She hadn't actually tried using her magic in battle. Now seemed like an excellent time to test it out.

Vesuvius was surprised and looked down at his shirt uncomprehendingly, wondering if that was really the best she could do. A little wet fabric was mildly uncomfortable, but nothing he couldn’t handle in the large scheme of things. Then at once he felt like he’d been drinking water and it went down the wrong tube, the salty brine of the sea moving into his lungs in a literal way from the back of his throat. He started hacking, clawing at his throat and he looked at the senshi with malicious eyes.

If it wasn’t for Pappy, God rest his soul, he might have considered hitting a woman.

“You…” he gasped, coughing more to clear his throat but every time he did it only refilled. “b***h!”

He pulled his sword, the bendy metal blade making a sound as it was pulled free of it’s holder. He held it by his side for now, fully intending to use it when, or if, he could. His eyes blazed with anger and eventually his throat cleared of the damnable water which he spat on the pier. He was shaky, but breathing.

“You are so very lucky you’re not a man.”

He pointed the sword at her and focused, calling to his power.

“ Language ‘ She said and made a tsking sound that she was so used to hearing from her mother when similar words slipped from her own mouth. She gave a condescending smirk and the blade. It wasn't even sharp… how sad. So she put no real threat in the flippy little piece of metal.

Her hand, still gripping the damp fabric as he coughed and spat, attempting to yank him off of his footing, but damn it he was so much bigger than her she hadn't really thought this through, so she yanked again and gave a swift kick at his ankle, momentarily forgetting that her own feet were bare and damp, so it wasn't exactly the most effective thing, but she was backed by powered strength. Though she did wonder if he ever stopped talking.

She was trying to kick his a** here.

And then suddenly… she wasn't there. She was in darkness. An endless void, and she blinked into it like someone had just shut off all of the lights in a room. “ What the…. “ Her hands were empty… where the hell had he gone? “ she flexed her toes and felt… nothing underneath her toes. Not the slick wood of the pier, not sand, not water… It was as if she were floating in skin temperature water, but she could feel her own weight holding her solid to the ground.

She heard nothing, not the roar of the ocean, not the call of the gulls, or the dinging of the buoy out towards the horizon ‘ Where the hell am I? “ She carefully held her arms out to her side, fingers stretching, attempting to feel something, anything.

Vesuvius had no idea what his magic did. He had never used it before but something told him that he could now and that there was something to see it do. It was about time, in his mind. At first there didn’t appear to be any effect except for her to release his shirt. Nothing appeared to be happening, except she was reacting. He saw her confused look, her reaching out, and though she should have seen what was there she didn’t appear to.

Had she gone blind? Is that what he did?

He saw her lips moving but no sound came out. She looked, quite honestly, like a very confused mime in a box, trying to feel her way around her new surroundings. He took a step back and watched her, confused, letting the time run out on his attack while trying to figure out just what it was doing.

When the magic ran out he felt it, like water slipping between his fingers. Whatever he had done broke, leaving Malay there possibly confused but still unharmed.

Suddenly it was as if the void around her erupted. If it had been daylight, she would have been blinded by the sudden change, but as it were, the soft moon and starlight left her only having to give her head a brief shake as the roar of what she thought was a previously quiet world assaulted her ears.

She ground her feet to the ground a little bit, as if to steady herself. It was very disorientating, and she narrowed her eyes at the tall…. person. She didn't know exactly what he was, but he apparently could teleport her into a void of some sort. And she didn't like that. Not one bit. But she only knew figured on thing. His magic came from that damn joke of a sword.

She stood there, for a second, arms still held out slightly as they were when she was reaching in the darks, legs stanced wide, narrowed blue eyes on him, and she attempted to relieve him of his sword, lunging forward with a jingle of pearls and gold netting. Shed be damned if she let that happen again, what if next time she got stuck there? He was taller than her, so she attempted to hit his wrist with her elbow, maybe she could get him to drop it. Heck if she was REALLY lucky it would roll off of the pier.

Vesuvius was, if nothing else, a solid mass. He was also a Squire with a higher magical boost than she had and a healthy apprehension about what she appeared to be able to do. He did drop the rapier, it’s magic spent, and it skittered uselessly some feet away from them in the scuffle to lay harmlessly on the pier. He caught her arm, more than fed up by her attacks.

“Now, listen here.”

He reached for her other arm and grasped it, moving to pick her up and press her to the tall light post attached to the pier railing, the lightbulb in the fixture long since burned out. He made sure her legs would be off the ground and in a position where she could kick all she wanted to and not do anything truly detrimental. The nonsense of the night was wearing on him and she, in particular, seemed to be more scrappy than he was used to.

“You are going to cease this at once, woman!”

He grabbed her arm. ******** he grabbed her other arm. Double ******** he picked her up. ******** ******** ******** ******** ******** ******** then he shouted at her but it was just so… so… old timey it actually caught her off guard, the tiny senshi blinking at him startled and wide eyed. She stared at him for a moment, and then a burst of giggles escaped from her. Oh sure she knew this was probably the most inappropriate time to laugh at a man who literally had just plucked you off of the ground like it was nothing and was currently yelling at you. But the those words coming out of someone who didn't have a british accent ( she's not sure why that would have made it acceptable ) was just so unusual and hilarious she couldn't help it.

“ Here now, no need to get all ruffled, I’m just doing my job “ She said, because in all her variations, Zoe was still Zoe. She had the old light post digging into her spine, so she shifted a little bit, like a feline stretching in the confines of his grip. “ I only tried to drown you a little, nothing that would have caused any real damage. You’re a strong guy, you could take it. “ At least… she didn't think. She had just made an unintentional peter pan pun, and she didn't even notice.

Really, if he wanted to hurt her, he could, so she turned up the charm no her favorite pass-time. Taking another intentional deep breath, she gave a faint pout “ You can't blame a girl for doing her job, can you? Bad things happen to little senshi who disobey the negaverse. “ She didn't believe that one bit. She was lying through her teeth, the negaverse was her family. He had placed himself, wisely, so that she couldn't kick him right in his man-bits. But it left them in a rather unique position, so Malay took advantage of it and hooked one shimmer scale clad leg and hooked in daintily around his waist, and wriggling a little bit like his grip was hurting her.

Well God Damnit. This wasn’t fair.

Vesuvius was not a sexist. He did not believe in a weaker sex, only a prettier one. He treated women with respect because he believed they deserved it, not because he thought they could not get along without his assistance. He was a sucker for a pretty face, wanting nothing more than to play the hero of his own story to save the lady and win the day.

But, unfortunately, he could not tell whether she was mocking him or not.

Also unfortunately she had her leg around his waist and her tits were very nearly eye level. <********. Send help. Dear God why was she wriggling like that against his pants?

“Why would you even waste your time with such company?”

He frowned, wondering just what the hell he’d gotten himself into by letting the siren get so damned close to him.

“ Sometimes you don’t always get to chose the company you keep. “ She arched her back a little bit, she would pluck out her own starseed - a nifty little trick she had learned that didnt even hurt, but probably should when you think about it - which, aside from her tits, put the crackle black void on her chest in very clear sight. “ Once they get their hooks in you, you're in. “ She said, letting her voice with its oh so soft accent sound vaguely sad.

She had a feeling she could play him just like her violin. Of course he was a very tall handsome and blonde violin.

“ So your options are engage the enemy, or be punished. “ Still lying through her teeth - at least in her mind - but she was having a lot of fun with it. She could almost see the panic in his face, and she rather enjoyed it, so she carefully folded her other toned leg, with its jingly bangles of pearls and gold, and wrapped it around his waist. “ I would like to say I put up a decent fight, wouldn't you? “ He still had a grip on her upper arms, but she was still somewhat mobile, she reached up and placed her hands on his forearms, petting the sleeve of his coat. “ I would say my duty is done, my handsome pirate. “

She looked up at him from beneath her lashes, but her mind was calculating. Would this work at all?

Vesuvius frowned. He knew little of the other side and how it worked despite being in the war for as long as he had been by now. He did not really go out of his way to find out, preferring instead to stay in the trenches to help people, rather than punish the enemy. His ignorance on the subject could certainly be manipulated and as she spoke he pondered the merits of what she was saying. He could simply put her over the rail and walk away, done with her for the night.

And then she slipped a second leg around his waist.

God, he was a fool, but for once he was trying to do the right thing. He set her on the railing of the pier and gently disengaged her legs from around his waist, noticing the sugared words she was pouring in his ears. He gave her a soft, appearing smile.

“Now, lass, you put up a fine fight though I hope we need not do this again in the future.”

There now, the sensible thing. He was doing it…

For a moment Malay almost didn't know what was going on. Oh sure, her flirting had failed to work a ton of times, in many situations… but she had been SURE that all of her remarks and actions had been hitting home. So when he carefully unhooked her legs from around her and let her slide to the ground, she had this moment of being completely befuddled. He was attempting to be a gentleman - a foreign concept to her, truly.

She blinked up at him for a moment. Now he was being sweet to her. What the hell.

She was doing some of her best work here, damn it.

And she demanded it be appreciated.

At the comment about not needing to do this again in the future, she gave half-hearted eye roll, grabbed a fist full of his shirt, and tugged him down to give him a scorching kiss. No one had ever told zoe that she was anything but direct.

This was no longer about distracting an opponent, this was now about verifying whether or not she had indeed been successful in the attempted seduction of a particularly adorkably naive pluto knight.

Oh, s**t.

He was prepared for another attack when she grabbed his shirt and brought his hands up for a blow that never came. Instead, he felt her lips searing on hers and his mode instantly switched from defense to offense. He picked her up with ease and set her back on the railing, never letting his lips stray very far from hers. Her wrapped her legs back around his waist and groaned softly.

Perhaps it was naive of him to believe that someone like her could be genuinely interested in someone like him, two sides of a feud and all that, but it had happened before, he was sure. Of course, most of those stories ended in tragedy. Still, he had no intention in falling in love with her. But as he reached for her skirt, pushing it up her bronzed thigh, he thought this was a good way to end a rough night.

Against his better judgement he guided his kisses down her neck and moved to get what he wanted.

…

Some time later Malay stretched her arms over her head with a content purr. Well, that was fun. The netting that was usually woven around her hair had been loosened and now lay on the damp planks of the pier, and she tucked her long long locks behind her ears.

For someone whom she wasn't entirely sure she had seduced properly, he had sure been enthusiastic, and she could appreciate that in a man. Even if he did technically happen to be an enemy.

She adjusted her fuku carefully back into place, settling some particularly stubborn lacings around her cleavage back to rights, and cast a glance at her dishevelled pirate. Hmm.. What exactly did one say to an enemy superhuman whom you had tried to drown, but then instead ended up boinking right out in the open on the pier. As well versed in post hook-up etiquette as Malay liked to think she was, this was one situation she had never encountered before.

Vesuvius was not sure what to think about what just happened. Had that just happened? He quirked an eyebrow at Malay as she arranged herself. He supposed there was probably some of that for him to do, his coat hanging over the railing where he left it, dampened by the salt air. The waves had picked up behind them with the tide, bringing the brine closer to where they stood. He felt the chill of it through his open shirt.

He moved to do up his vest, picking up his coat to slide it on over the rest of his ensemble. He still looked FFLed but that was hardly a concern at the moment. The more pressing concern was how to exit this situation in the most graceful way possible.

“Well, you’re welcome.”

No, that was probably not it.

He offered her a smile and would have tipped his hat if he had one. There was no reason to linger so he moved to walk away, leaving the senshi on the pier alone.

Malay blinked at the knight and then narrowed her eyes with a sigh. Well, it had been fun until he opened his big fat mouth. He had his back to her, so the sigh having barely left her lips, she cupped a hand, shaking her head, and summoned her magic. A shimmery form of a mermaid appeared, swimming and swirling around her hand until she tossed it at his back.

He had his back turned, she knew it would hit, so still shaking her head, eyes narrowed, she hopped over the edge of the pier the way she came and took off.

What an a**. Oh well, at least it had been fun.

FIN.