Description: Skarlet needs a coat so that she looks like she's actually wearing clothes, but she doesn't understand the concept of money. Hugin, fresh from one brush with death, saves a mall cop, and then gets her second. Valuable lessons are learned about getting between a ninja and her fashion.
Southtown Village is very quiet, it is also very secluded, relatively speaking. The tiny mall here does not get much traffic on a tuesday afternoon, and that suits Skarlet just fine. She needs more casual clothing; her outfit is good for kunoichi work, but it is not subtle in this place. It draws attention - right now, that is a hazard. There are forces at work trying to find her. She will not make it easy.
Every eye in the mall is on her as she walks through it. Crowds part and get out of the way, the pervasive sense of malevolence that follows her works heavily in her favor there. The very first clothing store she finds, she enters, and the worker behind the counter cowers.
Most of the clothing seems ill-fitting, but she does find something vaguely suitable. A blood-red trenchcoat, and she slings it about her shoulders. It is about this time that a mall cop arrives, just as she's about to walk out of the store. The consistent smell of blood, the casually dangerous bearing, mean that the cashier was NOT going to say anything. But this man is either brave, or stupid, because he stands in her way, and he does.
"HEY. You have to PAY for that!"
This concept gets a strange look from Skarlet. Her head cocks to the side, and her eyebrow raises sharply. She doesn't really know what that means. Paying for things? Does he intend to fight her for it?
One long, slender knife starts to be drawn from beneath the new coat...
Speaking of very morbid thoughts, there's a particular mall shopper that is taking some rather dark delight on some gallows humor.
Because as it turns out, dying makes you really hungry.
Meet Hugin Arshe, a person who some might confuse with some one else, but is in reality someone entirely different. Hugin has just managed to crawl her way out of a morgue where she was thought to be dead. A morgue that the people running it were not too keen on letting her go seeing that it was them who put her there to begin with. However, fight her way out again from the bowels of hell she did, and being a person of surprising simplistic thoughts, the first thing that came to her mind after literally reviving was that she was hungry.
There she sat in the mall's food court where her intense violent eyes looked up from the sushi she was eating to stop of scantly clad red head. An eyebrow was raised, thinking that the mall was starting to turn into /that/ kind of place. However, Hugin was simply not the type of gal that worried about those kind of things for long and she decided to return to her meal.
It wouldn't be until much later when she's walking off her food and chewing on a lolipop that happenstance takes her to the confrontation with the mall cop and that same woman dressed in the red ninja gi with big chunks of her uniform missing. Hugin lazily wobbles her way over there out of pure whim, one thumb tucked under the straps of her buckler shield that she wears on her back like a school bag and her other hand resting on the handle of her candy.
Hugin may be absurdly easy going but she's not blind. Perceptive purple eyes glance to the mall cop and then to the woman that reeks of blood and she immediately deduces that this guy is prooobably going to get cut to ribbons. The lady in red is no cosplayer.
"I'd run if I were you, dude." Hugin yawns as she wisely tries to convince the mall cop not to throw his life away for a trenchcoat.
Skarlet is indeed no cosplayer. The mall cop, though, looks confused. Between the thief who can't even be bothered to say anything or even try to hide her stealing, and the girl with the purple eyes, things are getting strange. Even for a Southtown mall, this is an unusual day - usually he just has to worry about keeping an eye on those damn kids from Gedo High.
Skarlet regards the interloper with half an eye, and inclines her head to the other woman. Starting to leave, the cop moves to put his hand on her shoulder - "Now hand on just a minute!" He protests, trying to exert some control over the situation.
"We can talk about-" And then he loses some fingers. The movement is so graceful, fluid and - above all - quick, that he doesn't even realize it has happened until he finds that he can't grasp her shoulder after all. Really, it is remarkably restrained of Skarlet - there's not many Outworlders who would let him get off so easily - and she simply nods her head one more to Hugin.
And aims to continue her walk as the cop collapses to the ground clutching his hand. It is probably good she prevented him from trying a more dramatic intercession!
Hugin knows that's a bad move the moment that the cop touches the weird not cosplayer with his hands.
One moment she's popping the hard candy out of her mouth to warn the cop.
And the next she's getting sprayed with blood all over her face and black shirt, blinking in startled puzzlement.
"Uh.." Surprisingly, she looks extremely calm and relaxed as this happens. Even as the cop goes down on his knees and starts screaming bloody murder, trying to keep the blood from spraying out of his severed fingers. All Hugin can do is look down on him whilst still chewing on her candy. Going wide eyed is the best the sleepy looking girl can manage. "Told you not to do that." She adds.
Hugin looks up when Skarlet glances her way tensing up for just a fraction of a second before the red head takes her leave. She mentions to the screaming mutilated mall cop something about 'Putting some ice on that' before she takes a brisk pace to walk next to Skarlet.
"So.. what's your deal anyway?" This girl seems too dopey to know when to leave things alone.
The cop is left to bleed or call an ambulance as he - and the other civilians in the area - see fit. It isn't really Skarlet's problem, and he doesn't seem like he wants to try and touch her again, so that's fine. If he's quick, he might even save the fingers! They can do wonderful things at hospitals these days.
She stops in her step, and gives Hugin another, closer look. The strange eyes are noted. There's something else about the girl - something she can't quite place her finger on. Maybe if she got a blood sample... but is it really necessary? She's just some kid with strange eyes. She obviously doesn't know what Skarlet's 'deal' is, so it is probably better to just leave it be. How can she extricate herself from this situation?
"I do not have a deal."
Skarlet's voice is a deadly whisper, and she leans in close. The scent of blood is even stronger as she narrows her eyes, and they flash red - her mask seems to actually drip, as though it were melting, and then... she whispers one more word.
"Understand?"
And draws back. Whether the strange girl responds or not, she simply strides away back towards the entrance of the mall. At least, that's the intent!
The girl tailing along the bloody ninja stops abruptly when Skarlet turns around and faces her. Even with her decidedly lazy demeanor that literarily drips from the crimson ninja is impossible to ignore. Hugin holds her ground but is smart enough to not push her luck and try to talk back when she's being threatened, she's /seen/ what this woman can do, and if she's willing to slice a cop's fingers off for having the gall of touching her, then there's not telling what she'd do to her if she were to do something more drastic.
Unfortunately, there's only one way to find.
Despite her better judgment telling her this is a really bad idea. Hugin ambles around and in front of Skarlet, spitting her candy away and barring the ninja's way from leaving the mall. "Listen uh.." Even when she's supposed to be in her heroic mode Hugin is so dreadfully lazy about it and she scratches the inside of her ear as if she was trying to remember what she was about to say. "I just don't think you should go around cutting people's fingers off. It's kind of a jerk move, ya know?" Well, it kinna is!
"Maybe you could go back there and apologize so there's no hard feelings?" She's certain that the cop would understand.
Skarlet looks at Hugin curiously as the girl moves to bar her passage. Her quizzical expression is part amusement, part disbelief. Does the girl really think that she's going to be able to stop her? If she had to, she could just dissolve into blood and go through her! But that would be impolite, and uncomfortable for both of them, really. Still, the determination is noted, and she simply shakes her head.
Both blades are drawn, and she twirls them idly. She doesn't move to attack, but she does meet Hugin's eye, and give a light shake of her head. There's no words, but the message is crystal clear; she won't be going back. And if Hugin doesn't get out of her way, she'll be going through the apathetic obstacle.
Most rocks are pretty apathetic. They are still rocks. And they are still in the way.
That's pretty much Hugin to a T. Although she's not particularly inclined to try and stop Skarlet, because hey, if she was wearing that she'd also be slicing fingers off to get some descent clothes, for some unfathomable reason she still feels very compelled to try and stop her. Maybe it's because of what she's gone through already, or maybe because its what her parents would want her to do, but for whatever reason, Hugin is there, she apparently cares, and she's not moving.
"Wellp." The girl takes the headshake and the blades being drawn as a sign that this is going to get ugly and she pulls her shield from her back, strapping it to her left arm.
"Let's go." Her fist bangs her shield as a 'come on' gesture before leaning into a Savate fighting stance.
COMBATSYS: Hugin has started a fight here.
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Hugin 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Skarlet has joined the fight here.
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Skarlet 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Hugin
The girl's gesture is noted, and there's a faint shrug from Skarlet. She can't say she really understands why Hugin wants to fight her so badly, but the girl seems intent on getting in the way. It wouldn't be right to deny her if she's that intent on getting into a fight!
Still, no words. The bloody ninja just steps forwards, and ducks in low. Both blades flash out, and she aims to slash them in across Hugin's stomach, drawing them up in a crossed shape and finising with a flourish as she leans into the slashes. There's several things one might notice right away about Skarlet.
The first is that there's blood pooling around her feet in a slick and spreading pool. The second is that those knives of hers are likewise glowing red as they slash in at Hugin's midsection. The most important, though, is that she's aiming to cut deep and get the blood flowing, unlike some less-intense fighters. It... might not be a surprise given what she did to the cop, but...
She's not messing around. At all.
COMBATSYS: Skarlet successfully hits Hugin with Karnage.
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Skarlet 0/-------/----===|=------\-------\0 Hugin
"Aw, hell." Maybe this wasn't such a good idea after all!
Hugin starts to backpedal when Skarlet rushes her, bringing her shield up hight to protect her face which earns her deep gashes across her stomach that tear through her shirt, blood pouring from her abdomen. "Ngh!!" There's a grunt because that sure stings and she shakes her head.
One particular bit of curiosity is that while most people would at least take a moment to pause to try and stop the bleeding, Hugin seems completely oblivious about it. She doesn't even look down at her ruined shirt or maybe seems concerned that her guts might be in full display. The kickboxer just leans back as she's pushed and then comes crashing forward again like a wave, right towards Skarlet.
"HRUAA!" The purple eyed girl can be pretty lively once she gets going. She issues a loud cry of anger and swings her shield in an arch for Skarlet's side to embed the axe blades of her shield into the blood dripping ninja.
COMBATSYS: Hugin successfully hits Skarlet with Shield Swing.
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Skarlet 0/-------/---====|===----\-------\0 Hugin
The ninja is, perhaps, taken by surprise by the shout. She brings her arms around to block, but the blow lands clean and she twists along the floor, leaving a bloody trail, and scooped around to the side. She narrows her eyes, and a faint hiss leaves her as her own blood joins that of Hugin. There's a moment where she looks purely annoyed - there's a nasty mark on her new coat, now - and then she surges back onto the offensive.
Bursting into a cloud of blood, Skarlet ceases to exist, and then comes down from above. Both blades swing sharply, aiming to stab as hard as she can and tear through Hugin's back, before she kicks back at the door with her foot. She's annoyed by this girl's persistance - but once she gets outside, she's fairly confident she can lose her properly...
COMBATSYS: Skarlet successfully hits Hugin with Blood Drop.
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Skarlet 0/-------/-======|=======\-------\1 Hugin
"What the--" Hugin raises a sleepy eyebrow when Skarlet bursts into a cloud of blood and disappears right in front of her eyes.
The girl blinks a couple of times and actually straightens up, totally breaking her stance as she begins to scratch the back of her head. "Huh.. freaking ninjas I swear.."
And then she's feeling searing pain on her back when Skarlet drops down from behind and impales her.
"AAAAAAAAH!!!" She cries out in pain, stumbling forward when the bloody ninja pushes her with her feet. "Ow!! Ow! My lungs! Those are my freaking lungs, man..." Even when she's screaming in pain she still sounds fairly bored. The girl falls on her one knee only to quickly bounce back and whirl around to face Skarlet, spitting blood out from her mouth to keep it from flooding her respiratory system. Seems like the ninja is still making a run for the door.
Pushing through the haze of pain, Hugin rushes right into her opponent, leading with her left arm by bashing Skarlet's face with her buckler's axe blade, and follow it up with a right cross to her jaw. She seems quite insistent on not letting her go even if its costing her a lot.
COMBATSYS: Hugin successfully hits Skarlet with Shield and Sword.
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Skarlet 1/-------/=======|=======\=------\1 Hugin
Skarlet looks confused whe Hugin complains about being stabbed. Isn't that what she wanted to happen? She can't think of any other reason why the girl would keep fighting like this. When she gets back up to her feet, Skarlet is turning away to walk through the now-open door... but she sees Hugin coming in the glass. She starts to jump, but the blade hits her full in the back, and then she's slugged in the mouth.
Most fighters would be annoyed by this, especially as it keeps Skarlet from the exit she was seeking. Skarlet, though, just narrows her eyes at the girl as she steps backwards. The blades are slid into their scabbards, and she raises her hands before her - one pointing towards the ceiling, the other beneath it. She exhales.
"Cease." She whispers, her eyes closing as though calming herself. "You are not ready for Kombat. You have done well. But if you do not stop... I will be forced."
And her eyes snap open, bloody and red.
"To FINISH YOU."
COMBATSYS: Skarlet takes no action.
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Skarlet 1/--=====/=======|=======\=------\1 Hugin
Hugin is just kind of weird like that apparently, she considers it bad form to tear into other people's lungs, but that's just her you know, not judging or anything, okay maybe a little.
The blows collide solidly with the ninja and she starts to move closer still, visibly wanting to corner the crimson clad assassin against the glass door. Hugin stops short of entering Skarlet's circle of defense as she notices that the ninja is making a movement, although she can only narrow her eyes as if she was struggling to see when she's given a warning to back off.
"Wow." She seems genuinely impressed by the display, if still looking kind of sleepy. "That's pretty cool."
And then she's attacking again.
"But I can't." She says as she launches herself right at Skarlet, shield raised hight and fierce punch sailing straight for the woman's masked mouth. "Not how I was raised!"
COMBATSYS: Skarlet endures Hugin's Unwavering Defense.
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Skarlet 2/<<<<<<</<<<<<<<|-------\-------\0 Hugin
Skarlet straightens as Hugin comes in for her. She doesn't make any effort to get out of the way, and instead, when the punch smashes into her jaw, she just focuses on two things. The first is drawing her blade. The second, is making sure that by the time the punch has whipped her head round to the side, the puddle of blood she is standing in is about six foot wide.
The blade slashes across her own stomach, and in that instant, Skarlet dissolves into blood. Hugin has perhaps half a second before Skarlet makes her move. The puddle literally bursts up into four columns, each aiming to encase (but, perhaps demonstrating some sort of restraint on Skarlet's part, not actually stab into) each of Hunin's limbs.
If successful, the girl will find herself hoisted up into the air, and Skarlet slashes across her belly. The blow is very neat, very deep, and delivered with utmost precision. The ninja stays beneath her throughout the slashing, and if she manages to get a goodly amount of bloodflow going, will stay to enjoy her work.
Then she'll simply drop the girl back down to the ground, in the puddle of blood, and look down at her with a faintly quizzical cant to her head.
COMBATSYS: Skarlet successfully hits Hugin with Make It Rain.
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Skarlet 0/-------/---<<<<|=======\-------\1 Hugin
"Whoa." That has to be the first time Hugin sees someone stabbing themselves as a defensive maneuver. "You're nuts." She states, not about to stop her if she decides to take the easy way out and go for the Hara Kiri. Hugin seems dreadfully comfortable with death, although having a near death experience just a few moments ago would do that to a person. Or also could break them utterly, if their name isn't Hugin Arshe. She seems to be like Nietzsche's poster child, whatever doesn't kill her makes her stronger.
And that theory is about to be put to the test when blood surges from the floor.
"Oh no!" Turns out half a second is not enough for Hugin to get out of the way and she's then lifted and eagle spread on the air as Skarlet dives into her bloody work. "GRAAAAAAAAH!!" She's like a caged beast now, squirming and trying to pull away as she's slashed and slashed and slashed again, blood pouring out more and more with each strike.
As she falls down on a pool of her own blood, she goes limp. That's it, its over it seems. "Not again..." She's heard wheezing all of the sudden, face prying out of the blood soaked floor and equally bloodied face. "Not... again..." Teeth grind together and she raises to her feet against all odds, surging to fly right at Skarlet to drive her shield's axe blade to jaw.
"I CAN'T DIE AGAIN!!"
COMBATSYS: Hugin has reached second wind!
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Skarlet 0/-------/---<<<<|=======\=------\1 Hugin
COMBATSYS: Skarlet dodges Hugin's Leaping Shield.
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Skarlet 0/-------/---<<<<|=======\=------\1 Hugin
Skarlet raises one eyebrow as the girl gets up again. It is, perhaps, a mark of respect. Skarlet steps neatly around the raising shield blow, though, and instead leans down to touch her fingers to the bloody pool on the floor. The massive amount of bloodshed is becoming quite noticeable. Or more accurately, it was. Within a few seconds, all of the blood has been absorbed, spiralling up into Skarlet's form before she backs off.
"You will." Skarlet says, "And when you do. I will be there."
The way she says it, it isn't a threat, but instead almost a promise. Anyone who can suffer that much blood loss and surge back into the fight is worthy of respect. And so she leaps into the air...
And disappears in a relatively small puff of blood, leaving the girl to muse on her brush with death alone.
COMBATSYS: Skarlet has left the fight here.
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Hugin 1/------=/=======|
Hugin only ends up smashing her shield against the glass door which earns it a nice crack.
Growling with frustration and the threat of being killed /yet again/ causes her to whirl around to prepare for another blow. Only to see Skarlet leaning down to drink all her vital fluids before disappearing into thin air again. Turns out she could have left any time she wanted and she just stuck around to beat on her. What a jerk.
Despite her amazingly apathetic bravado, Hugin was not really in any mood for fighting, let alone giving her life for the safety of the mall. Her shoulders deflate glad that her opponent is gone and then she falls flat on her ass, back leaning against the mall's door.
"My blood.." Hugin says with startled amazement, covered from head to toe on her own blood.
"She punched out all my blood..."
5
COMBATSYS: Hugin has ended the fight here.
Log created on 14:50:41 01/06/2015 by Skarlet, and last modified on 17:35:27 01/06/2015.