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Her fingers still didn't flex quite right. Yet that hadn't been enough to prevent a starseed or two from falling to it's grasp. One bad battle had really been all she needed to inspire her to blossom. A little inspiration went a long way with Tantalite. Jade had been the first push and really, there was something in Tantalite that was eager to rise to expectations.

Was it unsightly that she had been very much unsophisticated that week? Maybe.

But bad behavior was all she had to vent her feelings with until she could bend all of her fingers properly. Nothing had ever made her feel violent before. She quietly turned a starseed over in her hand, pondering if she was ready to go back out into the night or....settle in with some tea and maybe a musical.

Oh, but why let television rot her brain.

Her green eyes turned up towards him slowly, after a long pause that would have implied that she hadn't heard him at first. Yet that was not the case as Tantalite looked to Midgard, seeming to appraise his intentions despite the fact he had clearly stated them. He wasn’t part of the Negaverse. Not dressed like that. The uniform also didn’t seem to say ‘Senshi’, which at least made one thought relatively clear to her: he definitely wasn’t playing for the same team. Which to be fair, was all Tantalite needed to know.

She clasped her hand shut around the starseed and summoned the violin bow with her other. How strange to hold it so, she much rather would have been using it as it was intended instead of this blasphemy, but those were the brakes. “Absolutely not.” She replied, her tone frank.

Tantalite was simply reflecting who she had been before her awakening. Or perhaps Cerissé Belcourt had always been a reflection of Tantalite. Calm, calculated, observant. It was why she was drawn to detail-oriented tasks where the real flourish was putting in the extra effort. If it just made Midgard uncomfortable, she'd likely relish in the knowledge.

Quietly, she regarded the tonfas, as if playing out how this song and dance was going to go. They'd allow him both more reach than she had and they were made to legitimately hit with. Which meant she likely didn't want to try and go at him head on. A shame, she'd like to see him get more nervous with her presence.

"Then you can leave. This is a fight of your choosing, not mine," she answered, tucking one arm behind her back and holding the bow out so the screw end was pointed towards him. Frankly, it was the most painful surface it had to offer.

Oh, so bold, Tantalite thought almost mockingly to herself, pondering where the little pluck of courage had come from. She continued to hold up her weapon (her blasphemous weapon, she felt torn by its form), maintaining eye contact. So he was going to be a little white knight and come rescue that which was in her grasp.

Quaint.

"I've got it right where it needs to be." With her. Which wasn't where it was supposed to be at all, but it was obvious that she wasn't just going to straight up relinquish it over to him because he'd asked in a slightly stern tone.

Three things were clear: He had longer arms than she did, the tonfas just increased his reach, and his weapon was made to actually hurt. So rather than avoid an attack altogether, Tantalite braced for it, wincing as he struck her.

Yep, definitely hurt, but that also made him step into her, enough that she stepped forward in turn, looking for the nicest, meatiest section of his hip to jab her violin bow into.

She didn't have a weapon that was meant to be lethal, but she could at least be inconvenient and painful if she hit it just right. If he stepped back it would be another thing, though.

When Midgard grabbed the bow, she relinquished it. She’d allowed her fingers to be jammed in it once and they’d hurt for over a week (and oh, certain people had heard how much she hated being unable to play her violin), thus the lesson cemented.

Releasing and stepping away holding up both empty hands with a grin. She knew that game. It was likely that he knew that she wouldn’t remain weaponless for long.

“So aggressive,” she taunted, pondering if she’d be better suited to continue fighting back or perhaps playing a different game with the starseed in her possession.

"Oh, so threatening," she teased, almost flirtatiously. "And what will you do if I continue to refuse?"

Could she summon the weapon back to her while he was holding it? As he swung it at her, Tantalite couldn't help but try, opening and closing her hand in the same way she did every time she had tested pulling it back to her.

If it didn't come so easily, it'd at least be a nice square hit that she wasn't aiming to counter.

Aaaaand there she was, pinned up against a wall by a tall, handsome stranger. Not that she actually considered him too handsome – he was, after all, not part of the Negaverse and didn’t have the ‘Dark’ going for him to really seal the look.

If she was supposed to be startled and concerned for her wellbeing, she was too busy debating how to make him potentially uncomfortable. Green eyes gazed up at his hands, then down to his face, then appraisingly down his body. Pointedly, Tantalite took a long time to draw her gaze down him before finally looking up at his face.

“Was that supposed to make my heart flutter? I wouldn’t have guessed you had it in you to talk like us with a face like that.”