Description: Gabriel has apparently decided to 'test' Talia. Talia isn't a willing subject.
What just what was the fanatical Kai Gabriel up to these days? Saving the world.. one person at a time..? This was something of a problem for the self proclaimed crusader of light. People just didn't listen. She heard about Mimiru's injuries and was curious as to who could do that to Mimiru. The smaller girl had gotten rather powerful lately and Gabriel needed to do something with her time.. So here she was.. In that special place. Not so special. Here she was though. Doing what? Looking for Talia, based off a brief and small description.
It's another delivery day, and Talia is here on schedule, receiving another shipment of .. something. The courier service doesn't know, nor should it care, as it's good money for relatively easy service. Package in hand, Talia steps out of the shop; she's totally unaware that yet again, delivery day is going to be interrupted. Not realizing that Gabriel is either here or looking for her, Talia starts her way down the sidewalk further downtown, the long package braced against her shoulder.
This brings Gabriel right in front of the other girl while holding her composite drawing. It's actually very well done. Though Talia might not realize at first that she is the target of the girl whom seems to position herself directly in front of her, that Gabriel reaches out and smoothly tries to give the composite drawing to Talia should be a clue that something is wrong. On that expression, placid, almost polite, but too nice, really, it's weird. She has hard cold eyes, a gentle calm face and otherwise no expression.
When Gabriel puts herself in Talia's path, the shorter girl's initial reaction is to stop, looking to see if the obstruction is passing. On realizing that this is a deliberate encounter, Talia gives Gabriel a more comprehensive examination, ending with the proffered drawing. Instead of accepting it, Talia simply stares at it for a moment before looking back to Gabriel with a similarly inexpressive gaze. "Can I help you?"
"Why do you fight?" Gabriel asks, her hand on her hip as she considers Talia, almost lazily, " Do you do it for meaningless persuits, or for the sport of it?" She seems to be studying Talia, as though expecting some sort of answer. Does she mention Mimiru? Not yet, why bother, she has her own reasons for coming after all. If anything Mimiru just led her here.
Talia simply returns Gabriel's gaze, her visage remaining emotionless. She stands in place, silent for several moments, then finally, "I am afraid I don't see the relevance of the question. Pardon me, I have business to attend to." With that, Talia takes a step to the side, moving to walk around Gabriel.
"Why did you fight the girl with black hair?" Gabriel persists, "That was my team mate and I want to know the point behind the encounter." She doesn't really seem to have any choice but to bring out the Mimiru card. Was that just some stupid match? Somehow Gabriel doubted it, but she didn't know the specifics either. Oddly she seemed more inclined to ask a stranger.
At this, Talia pauses, turning to glance at Gabriel again. While nothing shows in her expression, it's clear that Gabriel has Talia's attention. There's another span of silence before Talia responds, "There was no specific reason for selecting Mimiru as an opponent, if that is what you are asking." While the tone is even, the hesitation may make it clear that Talia is uncertain what, precisely, is being asked.
"An opponent, so you merely fought her for sport. Just like her. There is no meaning to your battles." Gabriel chides, but her expression is one of mild disappointment, as though she hoped there was something more here. Instead she shrugs and murmurs to herself, "Yet another sinner.. there is truly no end to my struggle, Goddess forgive.."
For a moment, Talia's expression shifts, and puzzlement might be visible if Gabriel is looking close enough. The moment quickly passes, however; Talia returns to her flat gaze and tone as she replies, "I did not say my fights are without meaning. I said that there was no specific reason for selecting the girl for an opponent." She makes the distinction, although she still isn't precisely sure what this is about; that side comment is particularly perplexing.
"Why do you bother then, what purpose do you engage in fights and why do you leave your opponents unchanged?" Gabriel inquires, moving so it's clear she'll continue to be an annoyance at least until Talia answers all of her questions. She looks a little more stern just now and lets the picture drop to the ground. If Gabriel notices the shift in expression.. She doesn't show it for even a moment.
Talia shifts her gaze past Gabriel, beginning to take a better look at the immediate surroundings. While her face doesn't shift, there's a slight edge of sarcasm to her next comment: "I wouldn't consider intensive care to be 'unchanged'." There's a slight shift in Talia's posture, as she adjusts the positioning of the parcel; she's no longer certain this encounter will end peacefully.
"Intensive care is failure to finish a job, and you have failed to answer my question." Gabriel says sternly, who wears a rather large coat decides to read Talia's look a certain way and from her jacket pulls out from behind it a sword in a sheath and secures it to her waist. She rather likes that weapon so it would seem.
Talia's only physical response is to slide one foot back, turning slightly so that the parcel is farther from Gabriel than it was initially. Verbally, she remarks in a tone that is only vaguely recognizable as impatient, "I do not have time for this. State your business with me, or allow me to complete mine."
"Answer my questions, that is my business, that or purify you. I would not be so proud to speak of intensive care.. it is meaningless to me ." Kai Gabriel says with a faintly ironic tone to the threat issued.
Talia considers Gabriel's statements a little longer before replying evenly, "Pride is not a factor. Beyond that, I see no need to discuss further." With that, Talia turns again to take a longer route around Gabriel, although this time she makes it a point to be aware of the immediate surroundings as she does so.
Gabriel makes her first aggressive action of the day, though not likely to actually hurt Talia any, she pulls out a bottle of water and tries to douse her with it. This might suck for the package she is carrying but Gabriel doesn't seem to care.
Realizing that Gabriel is taking some form of action, Talia drops from her casual walk into a defensive spin. Adjusting the positioning of the parcel to ensure its safety, Talia puts her swirling coat between herself and Gabriel even as the spin puts more distance between the pair. Once Talia comes to a stop, she realizes that it wasn't an attack in the traditional sense. Confusion colors her expression for several moments as she looks at the moisture on one sleeve before looking back to Gabriel. It's obvious Talia has no idea what that was meant to accomplish.
In a fluid stroke Gabriel draws her sword, "When one is purified in body, purifying them in soul is the best thing you can do for them, prevent them from harming their new cleanliness. Perhaps you can show me why you bother to fight, or perhaps I can kill you." Gabriel says, almost indifferent to the surroundings, a girl begging to get arrested it seems.
COMBATSYS: Gabriel has started a fight here.
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Gabriel 0/-------/-------|
Matching Gabriel's motion, Talia slides back a full meter without a significant change to her defensive stance. Her confused expression has well since passed, and she's back to the impassive visage from before, unwilling to share her thoughts in any way other than the few words she gives. "... I do believe you are making a mistake." There's a faint cautionary tone, but the majority of Talia's attention is on the immediate surroundings. Sidewalk. Building. Alley. Pedestrians. Fortunately, the last are all scattering now that a weapon has been drawn, so there aren't any immediate dangers of someone being harmed. Regardless, Talia takes it all in, considering all facets of this encounter.
COMBATSYS: Talia has joined the fight here.
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Gabriel 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Talia
COMBATSYS: Talia focuses on her next action.
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Gabriel 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Talia
"Tsch." comes Gabriel's simple reply. She doesn't seem to care if she is making a mistake or not making a mistake. She just instead makes an action, a quick jerk of her hand and a palm thrust toward the face with a crisp snap of energy around it.
"Confess." she says, coldly.
COMBATSYS: Talia blocks Gabriel's Serpent Snap.
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Gabriel 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Talia
At this point, Talia has nothing left to say; her only objective is to end the fight, and ensure she's walking away from it. Gabriel's state depends entirely on her choices. When the hybrid technique comes at her, Talia raises her empty arm into a spinning forearm block, again putting some distance between herself and her opponent. At some point during the spin, her empty right hand has become full. Talia fires off three shots in rapid succession at Gabriel, trying to place them fairly close together for a good tradeoff between effect and probability of striking her target.
COMBATSYS: Talia successfully hits Gabriel with Burst Fire.
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Gabriel 0/-------/-----==|==-----\-------\0 Talia
The shots manage to land in a few places around Gabriel, causing what you might consider pops, but lowering her arms from the attempt to guard she gives a Tsch sound and shakes her head.
"Attacks that weak will not be able to defeat me.
And with that Gabriel leaps into the air and tries to come down on Talia's head with a stomp.
COMBATSYS: Talia interrupts Light Kick from Gabriel with Nerve Lance EX.
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Gabriel 0/-------/--=====|====---\-------\0 Talia
Once Gabriel moves to an aerial approach, Talia shifts into a crouch, not moving out of the way so much as putting herself in a better supported position. Taking the short moment she has, she raises her pistol to take careful aim on her descending target, firing on a critical point in Gabriel's thigh. The point in question is targeted in an attempt to reduce Gabriel's mobility, as well as reducing the force of the impact of the stomp. Due to the posture shift, the foot strikes Talia on the shoulder, forcing the smaller girl into a side roll to recover her stance.
Taking a bit of a plunge, Gabriel hits the ground, picks herself up, dusts herself off and then looks back at Talia for a moment,
"Having strength and purpose are not the same. You may be able to deal some damage, however you will never defeat me with such empty spirited attacks."
And Gabriel doesn't attack, she instead stays in one place and waits.
COMBATSYS: Gabriel takes a breather.
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Gabriel 0/-------/--=====|====---\-------\0 Talia
Once Gabriel effectively calls for a temporary hold in the fight, Talia shifts back from a crouch to a standing combat stance. She regards the other girl for a few moments before remarking, "I have to question your contact with reality." There's something close to a shrug, Talia raises the pistol to aim for the same contact point as before. From the angle she's firing, it's not likely to do much damage, but it should underscore the point if it hits the right place.
COMBATSYS: Gabriel blocks Talia's Quick Shot.
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Gabriel 0/-------/--=====|====---\-------\0 Talia
Rising from her position reclining for a moment, Gabriel seems able to deflect that shot with a quick slip of her wrist.
"You know, I rather wonder... These attacks you make do not feel empty like a weapon with no soul. Are you putting your own life into these weapons somehow..?" Gabriel considers for a moment and then reaches out to grab Talia by the neck.
"I shall find out.." If she succeeds, she'll go ahead and choke some out of her.
COMBATSYS: Gabriel successfully hits Talia with Quick Throw.
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Gabriel 0/-------/--=====|=====--\-------\0 Talia
Falling again into silence, Talia simply takes in the commentary, seeing no need to respond. She's shifting into another stance, but the unaccustomed weight of the parcel on her shoulder requires her to put more attention on her positioning than normal. When Gabriel reaches for Talia, she's not quite where she would have preferred to be, and the net result is a slightly wrung neck. It doesn't take long for Talia to break out of the hold, but by that point the damage is done. Backing off to regroup, she drops into her defensive crouch again, shifting her hold on the parcel to a more combat ready one, more like she had a quarterstaff braced against her shoulder, rather than a piece of mail.
COMBATSYS: Talia focuses on her next action.
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Gabriel 0/-------/--=====|=====--\-------\0 Talia
Gabriel watches Talia for a moment after the hold is broken and then nods to herself.
"I believe we will make this one interesting. " She says to herself and then launches herself into the air and attempts to uncoil herself into a smooth attack to nail Talia in the throat this time, aiming apparently for vital locations every time.
COMBATSYS: Talia interrupts Serpent Coil from Gabriel with Weighted Matter.
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Gabriel 0/-------/--=====|======-\-------\0 Talia
This time, when Gabriel closes, Talia has a more specific plan in mind. As the strike heads for her, Talia kicks off into another spin. While she's mid-whirl, the parcel slips off her shoulder and farther into her left hand, centrifugal force giving her a grip more suited to the task at hand. She manages to catch Gabriel in the arm, but not quite as firmly as she intended; the net result is that Gabriel's strike is thrown slightly off target, but not enough to miss entirely.
The package, Gabriel might notice, is made of some sort of metal. It promptly returns to its original position on Talia's shoulder as she steps back, the wrapping apparently undisturbed.
Oddly enough after the strike lands, and Gabriel is pushed back yet again, there is a grin on her face. A very rare look for Gabriel to have.
"Predictable.." She says and licks her lips a little of blood which falls down them.
"How long can you keep this up I wonder."
And with that she makes a double palm thrust toward Talia's collar bone.
COMBATSYS: Talia dodges Gabriel's Strong Punch.
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Gabriel 0/-------/---====|======-\-------\0 Talia
As Gabriel continues her banter, Talia returns her pistol to wherever it lives within her coat, shifting her stance more clearly to favor the parcel as a staff. When her aggressor closes, Talia drops down below the double-strike, taking the parcel in both hands to stab upwards with one end towards Gabriel's chin.
COMBATSYS: Gabriel blocks Talia's Random Weapon.
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Gabriel 0/-------/--=====|=======\-------\0 Talia
When Gabriel brings up her sword to bring the attack off of it, she does so with ease. But this isn't a huge shock, it was rather slow. No, instead Gabriel turns and sheaths her sword.
"You're not powerful enough to defeat me yet. Nor are you worthy of salvation. A wild beast like Jiro.. But I still have not decided what is best to do with wild beasts." She looks like she's going to just walk away. Rather suddenly.
COMBATSYS: Gabriel takes no action.
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Gabriel 0/-------/---====|=======\-------\0 Talia
Once Gabriel backs off, Talia shifts her position again, although she doesn't relax her alertness. The words are still puzzling, but what's more important to her right now is that the woman is backing off. Talia takes a moment to examine her package, now that the wrapping is completely shredded by Gabriel's sword. Fortunately, it doesn't appear to have any -clear- damage, but it will have to be examined in her shop to ensure that no stress or minute bending has occurred. A rifle barrel that isn't perfectly straight is bad news.
Talia looks back to Gabriel, then shrugs visibly this time. "Whatever." She lets her disdain show faintly in her tone, and her expression matches. Turning back towards downtown, she starts on her way, favoring any pedestrians in her way with a piercing glare.
Log created by Talia, and last modified on 01:45:11 01/18/2006.