Besides, if she ran into any order, specifically a stupid sea bunny looking senshi…She was more than prepared to throw a punch or two. Beni was quite essential in helping her to learn how to fight and how to utilize her ballet training to her advantage. Now, she was able to incorporate kicks that actually hurt as well as leaps and twirls to get around her opponent. The blonde frowned and rolled her eyes when she felt the signature of a squire coming closer, sighing. Of course there would be someone to ruin her fun once again… But maybe she could get the jump on them?
That wouldn't make sense… If she could feel them coming then clearly they can feel her as well. Whelp, time to put that training to use she supposed. Running her finger along the palm of her hand, Meinel went to hide behind a tree while allowing her power to activate, hoping to catch the squire off guard.
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Today had been…just one of those days. Not the worst, not the best, but just…blah. She had muddled through as best she could, but her mood had soured part-way through, and she was out on patrol to try and get her mind off of things. Granted, it put her mind on other things, but those were easier to deal with. Dusting a youma was easy, navigating work relationships?
Much, much more complicated.
Hell, even dealing with whoever owned the Chaos signature she was currently sensing would probably be easier to deal with than the nightmare that was her latest coworker. Work had been a revolving door of employees for whatever reason; she was grateful she was able to hang onto her job, but still.
“Well, different kinda work to get to, tonight,” she said to herself as she made her way over.
The forest was as unwelcoming as she remembered, given that the trees tried to murder her and Ilmare a couple of months ago, so she hurried through, shield at the ready in case anyone tried to surprise her. She was coming up on the signature but didn’t spot anyone right away, so she eyed the treeline and sighed.
“Come out, come out, wherever you are,” she called in a sing-songy voice. Whether it was to annoy them or amuse them, she wasn’t sure, but it made enough sense (at least to her) given they were currently in hiding.
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Oh WHY did that voice sound familiar?
Meinel did not want to come out of hiding, in fact she was content to stay right where she was. The stupid civilian was hidden behind a bush so she could finish draining them later. However, maybe if she stayed still enough, the stupid squire would go away and she could finish her quota. A shield came to mind and she shuddered, not wanting to even think about getting hit with it.
The sing-songy voice just served to grate on her nerves…Enough so that she figured hiding would only prolong the inevitable, so she waited till the Squire was close by, quickly dashing from her hiding spot to land a strangely graceful kick to her opponents side. If that didn't hit, she would go back to the bush and use the civilian as a distraction so she could get away. No way was she about to take on that squire again. She was lucky the last time but that didn't mean it would carry over this time.
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The prickle of a headache was starting to come on, which was peculiar timing. Experience told her that it was likely something induced by magic, though no specific person came to mind so for all she knew it was another one of the “symptoms” suffered by all of DC during the holidays. Sighing, she pulled her focus and kept walking and looking around.
Nothing, no one, though she could swear she heard a rustle…
And then before she knew it, a swift kick to her non-shield side.
Ekstrom bit back a swear and dropped down to sweep a leg under whoever it was, not wanting to leave herself open for another hit. She wasn’t exactly okay, but it was to her benefit that sparring and taking hits was something she was used to now. At least she could fight through the pain, even for a little bit.
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Oh! She actually hit her!
Meinel was about to celebrate when she suddenly found herself falling backwards. Swallowing a curse as she fell onto her behind, she quickly rolled back into a standing position, backing up towards the bush the civilian was in. Her power was going to die off soon so she might as well prepare to make a quick exit. “I remember you and your stupid shield…..” She was almost there, just a bit more and….Ah! She moved behind the bush, dragging the body of a civilian that barely looked conscious. “Oh no…Look a victimmmmmm! Whatever will you do?” She struggled a tiny bit, but she managed to bring the man into a standing position.
“You could take this man to the hospital OR you could attempt to get me and risk harm to the guy here…” Low hanging fruit? Yeah but she didn't care, she figured the squire would go for the civilian and then she could get away.
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Ekstrom got herself up and into more of a fighting stance as the other started speaking and…inching toward a bush? Between noticing that and actually seeing who she was fighting, it dawned on her that this wasn’t their first meeting.
That explained the headache. It happened last time, too.
The Squire frowned and was about to rush in to take another swing when she pulled the nearly KO’d civilian out from where she had apparently been hiding him.
“Should’ve known,” she said, but shook her head. “Just drop him and go, I won’t even pretend to go after you. I’m more concerned about his safety than about beating you into the ground, anyway.” It was an empty threat–while she was probably capable, she didn’t have it in her to beat anyone too badly. She was trained because she wanted to be able to defend herself, not pick on anybody.
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Not needing to be told twice and just to be a little petty, Meinel all but tossed the civilian at the feet of the Squire, giving her a salute. “Have fun!” Maybe when she was a bit stronger she could try to take on this opponent in particular. But for right now, since she was literally a rank lower than her, it was best to leave on more…amicable terms. Besides, Lorry would worry if she got too injured and then that would start a domino effect of all her older cousins worrying.
As petty as she was, there was a bit of…..Respect for the Squire in front of her. It was weird but whatever. The corrupt quickly took off, wanting to put enough distance between them when she eventually powered down and drove home.
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Ekstrom stooped to catch the man, hoisting him up and adjusting to support the added weight just as the corrupted senshi ran off. At least it wasn’t as bad as last time, both the headache as well as the way she held the previous victim hostage. She watched her disappear into the distance before turning and heading toward a park where she knew there were plenty of benches she could set this guy down on.
If she felt safe enough she would have hidden to power down so she could take him directly to the hospital, but as things were she had a feeling these stupid trees would try to get her as soon as she was back to her civilian self.
So for now a bench would have to do. She could keep an eye on him until he woke up, and in the meanwhile probably try and sort through her thoughts on work Better to deal with it now rather than let it fester, right?
its_pao
