Description: Varvara and Miu meet and discuss the finer points of dieting. One thing leads to another, and Miu starts down the slippery slope towards a life of crime from which she may never recover.
The Daurian Jackdaw. A member of the Corvidae family of birds. A relatively rare sight in Japan, they nonetheless share the same omnivorous tendencies many among their family share. Plant matter, insects, carrion, and even droppings, all is fair game to their continued survival.
It is not entirely unlike a particular woman who is watching a small group of them pick at the dead carcass of a rabbit out in a clearing near the highway that runs north and south about Southtown. A woman whose stomach's rumbling nearly betrays her position. She would have to make due with what's around to sate her hunger, whatever it is.
The young Jackdaws think nothing of what's going on around themselves as they feast upon the corpse of the rabbit, happy enough for the sustenance in their ill-timed visit to Japan.
All of a sudden, there's a blur of movement as something leaps from the bushes and snatches one of the feasting Jackdaws, its cohorts wisely flying away to leave it to its fate as an unlikely predator rolls across the forest floor, the young bird struggling in their grip.
Varvara grins at this successful catch, having already attempted this four times with other birds today as the young thing struggles in her grip. It nearly escapes a few times over, still strongly desiring to live. It will not taste the breath of life for long in her hands.
Where Miu comes from is a mystery. The strange young woman seems to have a talent for arriving unannounced, however. As the majority of the jackdoors flee in a fluttering of wings and feathers, Varvara may well think that the sweet taste of victory is already on her lips... until a shadow falls across her. There's few directions Miu could have come from that Varvara couldn't have seen her from. She must be incredibly fast, or else, something strange is going on...
One of Miu's arms is extended to the side, and on it, three ravens peer, considering the girl with the bird, and the pecked carcass with equal interest. Miu only has eyes for Varvara, though. The dark-haired psychic's expression is cool, but her eyes are hard. Call her sentimental, but Miu has always had a soft spot for birds of all stripes. The struggle of the poor little thing in Varvara's hands touches a particular nerve. There's a palpable aura of danger about the girl. Truth be told, she had been looking for somewhere secluded to train when she had felt immense hunger, and something like that can't be ignored. Miu has no idea if Varvara's hunger is natural, or if she's looking at a dangerous psychotic. Either way, it's all she can do to control herself from striking immediately. The darkly dressed schoolgirl's voice is ice cold... only a whisper, after the fluttering of mad wings in flight has died down.
"What do you think you are doing?"
The Cypirot is seconds away from clenching her fists so tightly as if to crush the poor little bird into nothing more than a broken mass of flesh and shattered bones, delayed only by what little fight in can put up that makes her think it's about to slip out.
So incredibly focused on this one little tiny morsel of food - surely a single bird would not have been enough to sate her hunger - that she hardly notices the shadows or the sounds of another coming to witness - no, protest - her latest meal, as unconventional as it may be.
The voice itself is startling, the little Jackdaw finally breaking free with cries as loud as it can manage while it flies off and away from the clearing, not much in the way of thanks for its unlikely savior beyond maybe the satisfaction of ensuring it can fly another day.
The woman on the ground scowls as she looks up to the young girl with the ravens on her arm. The woman that Miu is looking at is not pretty. A scarred face, a build rather unladylike, and dirtied clothes strike a stunning contrast to the young schoolgirl with a sort of dark elegance to herself.
"That was my food," she snarls as she rises up from the grass and dirt.
"And now it is free to live another day, and you... are going to answer to me."
Miu is not normally one to issue threats. She's not very good at it, too softly spoken and slightly built to be terribly intimidating. But there's a steely certainty in her voice as she glares at Varvara.
It's not the woman's looks which have Miu so eager to fight. As eager as she gets, anyway. She doesn't /look/ eager. She just looks mildly angry. It's the snarl in Varvara's voice, the implication being that she was supposed to be frightened. Miu does not scare easily, though, and she's certainly not going to be intimidated by a dirty thug out to strangle birds. No. She's going to impress on Varvara how much this is a bad idea.
Her ravens flutter off into the sky, and her arms both stretch out. Black feathers so dark as to appear like holes in space start to swirl out of her cuffs, twirling around her in a long spiral. No bright white, this time, just sheer darkness as she calls on her power, letting it bleed out and make itself known.
There's not another word from the softly-spoken schoolgirl, though. The ostentatious display should be more than enough to make her intentions known. She's not going to be the first one to resort to violence, if she can help it, but she's not going to let Varvara get away to terrorize the innocent birds of Japan any further!
In sheer size, Varvara definitely has Miu beat - somewhat rare, given her own short stature in spite of how thick she is. This hasn't served her as well as she would have hoped. Throughout her stay in Southtown, left and right, she's been pushed around by smaller, talked down to by louder, bested by overall stronger. She may have grown up tough by her life circumstances in her home country.
Southtown breeds even tougher folks, a lesson she has yet to really learn when Miu's softly-voiced threat does not imply the effect she is going for. Miu does not look the part of a fighter to Varvara. Her face is too clean, her body too lithe, and extremely little to her comes off as having had to deal with hardships like herself.
She raises her arms, hands pointed down when the darkness swirls about Miu's arms, a sign that she indeed has a lot more to her than let on. The power of summoning those colors and lights. The older woman among them snarls again at the sight, giving way to the slightest sign of intimidation that this little girl isn't just a spoiled brat trying to impose a naive world view on her.
"If you want to keep that face," she snarls, "ya go away right now and lemme eat."
Well, Miu hadn't /wanted/ to resort to violence.
But she still isn't going to let Varvara terrorize the birds. She's definitely not going to run away, either. Nor, does she consider it her duty to make sure that the woman finds something to eat. The greek is less aggressive than she had thought- she'd expected her to just rush her- but that doesn't excuse those words, and Miu has to impress upon her the importance of not terrorizing the local bird population. Which she, apparently, still intends to do.
So suddenly, Miu hops forwards. She's just as graceful as her small body would lead one to expect, and as she comes around, her foot trails a burning white arc which contrasts against the dark feathers now flying around the clearing, drifting and flying on a strange and otherworldly breeze.
Her foot aims to make sharp contact with the side of Varvara's head, a testament to Miu's flexibility that she can aim so high. If it does, then it isn't just a physical smack which follows, but a numbing jolt of energy. It's not a lot, but it is intended to back up the rather, stern word that the gothy girl gives her. The reply more in the action than the statement, really.
"No."
COMBATSYS: Miu has started a fight here.
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Miu 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Varvara has joined the fight here.
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Miu 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Varvara
COMBATSYS: Miu successfully hits Varvara with Light Kick.
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Miu 0/-------/-------|==-----\-------\0 Varvara
The graceful and elegant forward leap belies what inner strength Miu can bring to bear, the white glow of her foot making purchase upside Varvara's head. The foreigner's head jerks up and back as her heels stumble about the dirt and grass.
The blow is disorienting enough that she crouches on the ground, hand to her forehead as her sight grows blurry. There's a numb, stinging sensation in her mind that just extends beyond the physical impact, teeth clenched in yet another snarl as she regards the resolute schoolgirl who is willing to make a stand for her beliefs - however childish her dissenter might find it.
Rising up somewhat unsteadily, she raises her arms and points her hands down, extending one leg forward slightly raised as she collects herself in the face of the latest of many women who seem to carry so much more power than herself even with the vast differences in their upbringings.
"Erroso," she utters in her native tongue as her eyes narrow.
COMBATSYS: Varvara focuses on her next action.
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Miu 0/-------/-------|==-----\-------\0 Varvara
Cellphones are wonderful things. The technology today is so potent, so powerful... and so small. When Shiden -gave- Varvara the phone, he'd kept quiet about a few of its features. The tracking, well, that's standard, almost--the GPS is always silently active. The broadcaster, letting him know what's going on when she's got it, that's not standard.
But OH so helpful. He'd heard some of the exchange, muffled as it was; extracting himself from a rather pointless social call, he'd left some Triad enforcers to finish the job, and hurried, in a languid sort of way, across the city. He'd have to be cautious--he wanted to observe, not affect, what's going on. And so it is he stands in the branches of a tree, some distance away, watching with a pair of combat glasses.
To himself, he murmusr. "Kurosaki Miu. Should be an interesting fight..."
Miu waits for Varvara to get up. She's not a cruel person, and she doesn't like to attack people when they are down. Especially when they haven't actually done anything to her. At least, not directly. She's no fool, though. She recognizes the preparation of a fighting stance when she sees it, and she gives the shortest shake of her head.
Spinning on the spot, she lets her arm swing up, and in the middle of her arc, a bright white feather shoots from her limb. It slices through the air with simple intent, aiming to crash into the woman's shoulder, and give another dose of that numbing, stinging energy. Purer, this time, a focused expression of her will. After all, if she was going to have to fight this woman, she would bring it to a close as swiftly as she was able; it wouldn't be sensible to drag things out, and she could see no peaceful resolution.
As focused as she is on the business at hand, though, she remains entirely ignorant of Shiden's presence in the area. Although one of the ravens which seem to like hanging around the girl does not, and observes him openly from a higher branch, as though he is a particularly fascinating worm.
COMBATSYS: Miu successfully hits Varvara with Amagakeri.
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Miu 0/-------/------=|====---\-------\0 Varvara
Varvara, too, is ignorant of Shiden's presence if mostly for a severe case of tunnel vision. This young girl is standing in the way of her and her next meal, assuming she still has it in her to chase and catch another bird to try and munch on. She may be operating entirely on the assumption that she can knock Miu down much faster than she's actually capable of - if at all.
The latest entered piece of evidence is when she foolishly tries to pitch herself through that single bright white feather. It doesn't look like anything to her, other than just this brightly colored feather that shouldn't have the mass or strength to push back her advance.
It does.
Her upper body jerks back as it makes contact with said shoulder, enough that she has to take a step back to catch herself from falling over as the energy dissipates about her with that further infuriating sensation, a loud groan of pain that should give all the indication Miu needs that for all the muscle mass Varvara has, it's not going to help much against her power.
Shaking her head once more, she snarls yet again as she just takes off running towards Miu. That brief pause afforded by the feather might give her ample time to make her next move, but one ought to be made.
If it isn't, Varvara intends to thrust out with her left hand and get a grip on Miu's right, clenching it so tightly that the faintest hint of chi - something breezy, much like air - escapes from the cracks between her fingers, however tiny said cracks are.
COMBATSYS: Varvara successfully hits Miu with Lion Crush.
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Miu 0/-------/---====|=====--\-------\0 Varvara
Miu lets out a soft grunt as her hand hand is grabbed. She isn't surprised that Varvara can fight back. She is surprised that it is in such an effective fashion. Energy flares, and momentarily stifles her own, which is a strange and painful sensation, until Miu can wrench her hand back, and take a deep breath. She remains as centered as she can, as calm as possible, and tries to focus on easing feeling back into her primary hand. The small psion's power grows within her, coming to the fore.
And with this proximity, she attempts to snare Varvara in turn. The grab with her left hand is clumsy, but it has to be done whilst her right recovers. She aims to almost mimic Varvara's attack, except that her aim is the taller woman's shoulder, and if she can get that tight grip...
Miu's power will /explode/ out of her in a lance of bright white and impossibly dark black feathers. The cone is easily twice the size of the diminutive psychic, and will literally go through the woman before it throws her back. Thankfully, the power is just that, energy, and doesn't carry much physical weight, but it is a clear indication of the amount of psychic force packed into her frame. As though there was much doubt of that before.
COMBATSYS: Varvara interrupts Grasping Yomo from Miu with Hill of Futility.
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Miu 1/------=/=======|=======\==-----\1 Varvara
He doesn't seem to mind the raven's presence; he hardly even acknowledges it. Shiden is far more intent on the fight itself, gatheeing further information on his teammate.
And writing a text message, though he'll not send it in just yet, but wait for the conclusion of the match. Wouldn't do to distract her, after all.
Crushing her hand is just the beginning of what she can do. For Varvara, it's her warning to the younger Japanese girl. The strength in which Miu pulls herself out, in turn, should perhaps be seen as a warning to /herself/ as to what more Miu can do beyond just those lights.
The psion gets her hand on her shoulder without much trouble, the two being as close as they are. There's that painful numbness again that courses through the shoulder, just from that touch. Unbeknownst to Varvara, it's a precursor.
She's not content to let that introduction continue, grasping Miu by that extended arm just as the explosion happens. It doesn't blow her back, it goes /through/ her right in the motion of hoisting Miu over herself and into the ground behind her, a brief pause as she snorts at whatever it was that just went through her. Her grip, somehow, holds entirely through this display.
"Go away," she spits as she goes through the second component of the maneuver to hoist Miu up again and slam her back into the ground the other way and release her, such force exercised that the flexing of some muscles in her legs creates a small run up the outer thigh, "and lemme eat!"
Miu chokes as she hits the ground. That attack had really hurt, and the pain momentarily stuns her. Thankfully, though, Miu has always been quick to keep her senses about her, and she rolls away, putting some distance between herself and her opponent.
She tosses her head back, and straightens her blouse where the impact with the earth had rumpled it some. In quite a lot of pain, she nevertheless turns her burgeoning power inwards, using it to ease the bruising of her muscles, recovering from that unwelcome surprise. It hardly mattered to her that Varvara could hit her hard - she was growing used to being pounded pretty painfully these days, and though it hurt a lot, pain is a transitory thing. That is the realization she is coming to; everything passes, the person who truly wins the fight is the one who doesn't allow fear to rule them.
Her emotions held firmly in check, she gives the briefest shake of her head. "I will not." She states. "I won't let you eat birds like an animal. If you'll agree to find a civilized meal, I'll leave. But not a second sooner." She stops short of outright calling Varvara a barbarian, but her terms have been made clear. There's not really much room for negotiation.
COMBATSYS: Miu gains composure.
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Miu 0/-------/=======|=======\-------\1 Varvara
It is probably no coincidence - or maybe just sadly ironic - that her given name comes very close to sounding like the very word that could be used to describe her without any real room for ambiguity or compromise. There is no mistaking it with this particular thug. Someone of so little value to society, devoid of many of the inhibitions most people of these parts have. Even some of the lowest scum of Southtown aren't willing to hit the lows she does in terms of deciding what is a meal and what isn't.
The arm in which Miu had blasted the shoulder of violently twitches a couple times as Varvara adopts her fighting stance while Miu calmly addresses her, flexing a willpower stronger than any muscle in Varvara's body in expressing her beliefs and desires in the face of danger. Varvara herself only stomachs her wounds the only way she can - knowing full well the basic need to eat and survive in a world she is hardly suited for, where she has few things to her benefit to get her by.
"Tch," she spits as she lowers her arms to let eyes meet where Miu makes her demands, although mere stares are unlikely to shake Miu's will in the least, "must be really good... gettin' ta choose what ya get to eat," she grouses, and turns away.
She reaches down to pick up the rabbit's carcass, even if whatever meat's on there is too tough to chew and would almost assuredly make her sick. It is also, decidedly, nothing at all resembling a civilized meal.
COMBATSYS: Varvara takes no action.
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Miu 0/-------/=======|=======\-------\1 Varvara
Miu is far too polite to look as disgusted as she feels when Varvara picks up that, thing. But that doesn't change the fact that she is disgusted. Her nose wrinkles lightly, but that's about it. Still. It isn't killing a bird, which means that Varvara isn't actually psychotic. Just, perhaps, an unfortunate soul needing help. To her defense, it had been hard to tell until now.
She doesn't let her power fade away yet, because only an idiot drops their guard entirely after starting a fight, but she does soften her posture just a touch. "... Come with me." She says, at last. Some of the hardness in her tone has faded. Though it is precisely the sort of thing she promised herself she wouldn't do, she could hardly just let Varvara starve because she wouldn't let her kill when she needed to eat. She also couldn't let her eat carrion. Miu dislikes the options presented to her, so she'll just have to shoulder another burden.
"There is plenty to eat in the kitchens at the school. I will do my best to get you entrance, and then I will, turn my back. Then you can, choose what you get to eat." It's not a bad deal, as far as she can see. Though she'd need to think of something to distract the staff.
COMBATSYS: Miu takes no action.
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Miu 0/-------/=======|=======\-------\1 Varvara
For that period of time while she has that carrion, she eyes those crows as if to say 'take a hike, this is MINE.' Even if the source is hardly delectable or desired, food is food. That's a lesson she took to heart growing up when there simply was not enough to go around.
She's already trying to tear off a piece of that stiff meat with her fingers when Miu makes a most generous offer, words so softly said that she almost misses it in her greed to just get /something/ in her stomach. Something, anything at all! The more 'something' and the more 'anything,' the better.
When Miu mentions there is plenty to eat in the kitchens at the school - hers? - a strip of meat barely connected to the rabbit corpse dangles it like a macabre marionette that spins slowly for the approval of some sort of depraved audience before it falls off entirely, leaving the older, hungrier woman with a small rotten strip of meat in her hands.
She turns her head to her with a small frown. She must be so well off she's willing to just give so much away, something that, deep inside, vexes her. And yet, she is hungry, so very hungry.
"Take me there," she replies as the tension in her voice and body fades, aside from the minimum that comes with being hungry.
COMBATSYS: Varvara takes no action.
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Miu 0/-------/=======|=======\-------\1 Varvara
Truth be told, Miu could only afford the school at all by virtue of scholarship. Her brother's medical bills eat up the vast majority of the family fortune, and though she has impeccable taste, the clothes she had were bought out of the money she made on the fighting circuit. She's had enough success to keep herself from looking like Varvara, yes, but she still had to give up the majority of it for her family. The food she's offering, well, that wouldn't be paid for. But isn't it right to steal a loaf of bread to feed the needy? And if she did wind up being disciplined for it, at least she'd know she did the right thing. Assuming that helping Varvara could, indeed, be considered the right thing.
There's nothing more to be said, so Miu says nothing more. Turning her back on the woman, she begins to lead the way. It's a long walk back to the school, and if Miu has her way, it will be one made in an uncomfortable silence.
The raven near Shiden lets out a 'SKWARK!' and then flutters away, to land back on Miu's shoulder. The girl doesn't seem to mind, if she notices at all.
COMBATSYS: Miu takes no action.
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Miu 0/-------/=======|=======\-------\1 Varvara
Log created on 12:49:41 12/29/2010 by Miu, and last modified on 16:11:20 12/29/2010.