Description: Sometimes, people say it's hard to get others to really do what you want... or anything, for that matter. All too often they show up in some fight or another, proclaim some interesting gimmick (or lack thereof), and then suddenly disappear before they can ever really impact the world stage... or be a pawn for the real movers and shakers. Hyena's got his own little game to play, but first, he's got some contestants to gather... the first of which just happens to be enjoying the tastes (as opposed to the sounds and sights) of the Metro City slums.
The lovely slums of Metro City. The one place where if you are lucky you might only lose your wallet and take a nice beating and manage to wake up in a ditch outside of town on a good day. Haggar can clean up a lot of the parts of town, but the slums will always be the place where the lowest of the low manage to hide out and make a dishonest living. It was the last place one man really wanted to be. He wanted to be somewhere posh and suitable for his exquisite attire and good looks. Not scouring the worst part of Metro looking for something....someone.
It wasn't long after Duke's tournament had started that Hyena had a message given to him. Duke actually had the audacity to not even meet Hyena face to face to give the orders. Instead it was some hobo that almost vomited on him in the process of handing over the note. A list of names and how important Duke felt they could be in his grand scheme that involved taking back Southtown. It seemed like chump work. Something well beneath what Hyena should be doing. As he was looking at the list he came to realize something.
It seemed so simple. The list of names needed to be reversed and in doing so that might hold the key for Hyena to finally overthrow Duke and take command and make everything right in the world. Obviously those on the bottom are the true gems. The ones that Duke must fear the most. The name on the very bottom of the list?
Varvara
She apparently had made some interruptions that annoyed Duke and in turn must have frightened him with her prowess. This is the one he must get to Southtown. This is the one that he needs to sway to help do his bidding and help him take down Duke. Then it will be Hyena that rules both Metro and Southtown!
That is what he keeps telling himself right now at least. it is the only way he could convince himself to be in the slums of Metro keeping to the shadows despite his bright green suit giving him away. Or it could be the several gangers following him about carrying heavy equipment. Take your pick. He had a hot tip Varvara was seen around here and he won't go home empty handed.
Varvara Economou. Greek Cypirot, mid-20s, Pankration practicioner famed for being a participant in King of Fighters 2011 despite losing both her fights within the tournament. Financially destitute, struggling to make ends meet. Someone who did not ultimately respect what few boundaries there were to be observed within the Duke's own little blood game, either out of ignorance, desperation, or just sheer disrespect. One would know her when they saw her. She's one of the most miserable people to look at, they would say.
Today, she is very very happy.
"They throw away good food!" She exclaims happily, mouth full of turkey as she enjoys a roast dinner meal all to herself. Metro City has always, always, always had a huge problem with food waste. How much food do they keep throwing away here? She's dirty, she's strangely feeling a little cold despite the moderate temperature, and she doesn't get a particularly warm reception by what few locals come by.
The fact she has hissed and threatened violence on anyone who has come close to her prized meal that was meant for a family of at least four to eat and not a single person probably has a lot to do with the last one, reclining against a brick wall in some dirty trash-filled alley somewhere. The last place almost any woman wants to be caught alone in.
But she does not care, for this turkey dinner is hers and hers alone and by God there will be a feast all to herself as she greedily tears every scrap of meat she can off the bones of the unfortunate bird that was turned into someone's discarded dinner.
She loves Metro City! Until Haggar finds her and throws her out of the country again, but will that ever stop her from somehow getting past customs and homeland security just for another chance at a meal like this?
Fortunately for those looking for her, she is all alone and - arguably - has her guard lowered.
The commmotion doesn't go unnoticed by the men Hyena has wandering the slums with him. A few follow behind him, but many more are spread out looking for Varvara. The look on the green suited man is a dour one when one of his underlings run up to him and whisper into his ear. That is when the expression turns into a sly grin and he nods. "Excellent! It is time to get ready, boys! Onwards!"
Varvara easily goes unbothered by the regulars of the slums. They can usually get their own feast with ease since they know what barrels and piles of tires the meals somehow end up in. That means the young woman has plenty of time to herself to eat and she might even be distracted enough that she doesn't hear the footsteps on both sides of the alley as well as the grunting and hefting of heavy equipment. This goes on for several minutes and given how fast she usually eats Varvara might even be done by the time things go quiet again.
The silence is short lived because suddenly spotlights start to turn on all around and illuminate the alleyway. It isn't blinding, but suddenly it feels like daytime in a area of town that always seems dark and dreary. "Varvara Economou!" shouts a voice loudly before a big puff of smoke is made from fog machines that have been set up. The outline of a figure can be seen as it strikes a pose. "ARE YOU READY?"
Some fireworks go off and the smoke starts to clear as Hyena stands there in all his green suited glory. He holds a plate up with one hand and on it are several hamburgers. "FOR YOU ARE A WINNER HERE ON.....THE HYENA SHOW!" There is the sound of applause from all his underlings who are doubling as fans for his 'show' and he steps forward and slides the plate with ease forward to where it stops right in front of Varvara. "This is just the first of many prizes you have won for your participation!"
It says a lot about someone when the first thing that comes to mind when their name is shouted is to jealously grab a hold of the turkey and hold it close, cradling the roast bird like a precious child with a very sour face and bared teeth.
"IT'S MINE!" She all but screams. There's that visible fight versus flight reflex coming as she stands up ever so slowly, holding the turkey in her arms as she sinks her teeth into it again. The loud fireworks and fog all make her look ever more the part of some sort of frightening, rabid animal.
The words all go one ear and out the other at the sight of... that plate. That plate full of hamburgers. IT almost makes her forget she's holding onto something already so very tasty and near and dear to her.
The problem is, her arms are already full of turkey-- wait, no, he's just giving her the plate?! She makes good with her precarious situation of having no available limbs for grasping and immediately bows down to just pick up a hamburger in her mouth.
"Hyh? Hddyh hnn? Hm hhdn." She attempts to speak with food in her mouth, but whatever she's saying is probably not important. Eyes are on the man in that horrible green suit, for the moment. He has her attention.
From everything written in the small report about this woman it also seemed to be perhaps the easiest one to coax into helping with the plans that Duke has set into motion. Easy enough to string her along and make it look like she was working for Duke right up until she helps stab him in the back along with Hyena. There is one thing he fully understands about this woman. She loves food and that is often a much cheaper avenue than having to deal with actual money. He just may fail to realize how much food this woman eats.
"What was that? You didn't know you were part of the show!?" he asks and grins widely and reaches into his jacket before pulling out a ticket. "Those fights you interrupted and the chaos created? It entered you into a pool for a prize and you were the name that was drawn! This small plate of burgers is just the first of many things you will recieve."
It is about this time a few of his underlings dressed in snazzy suits and dresses carrying trays of various other foods. A giant lobster, a leg of lamb....even a whole roasted pig are laid out before her. The whole time Hyena keeps up that cheesey gameshow host grin as he steps forward and gently sets the ticket down on the ground and away from the food. He has a feeling if he put it on something it would get along with the food it was resting upon. "To claim the rest of your prize I just require you to come to the wonderful city of Southtown! Just imagine the food that awaits you there if this is a small portion!"
He has to play to her weaknesses. She must indeed be a fearsome foe to be so low on Duke's list. if she got violent did he have enough men to subdue her and stuff her in a crate bound for Southtown? Would he have to show off his own fearsome fighting prowess in the process if that were to happen? He hopes her love for food is enough to make her not think this is some sort of trick. it is a dangerous gamble right now and he doesn't have a backup plan that is nonviolent if food isn't enough.
Turns out Varvara is very good at eating things without her hands. The way she just eats that hamburger hanging out of her mouth, being able to pull in more and more of it into the maw of oblivion itself without having anything fall out might be impressive as she gives the showman that intense scrutiny of someone whose interest may be waning by the second.
...When's the last time she blinked her eyes?
It's kind of hard for her to blink her eyes when she sees what other trays of food are there! Lobster, ooh. Leg of lamb... pig?! She hurriedly gulps down that hamburger in her mouth. She wants /all of it/. The grasp on her turkey is beginning to loosen. Can one woman that tiny actually be able to eat all of that food?
It's a dangerous challenge to make. One could see the saliva running down the side of her mouth. The way she licks her lips - hook, line, and sinker. Hyena didn't have to do that much research to know what she wants, and the reports most certainly did not exaggerate. She beat the total tar out of someone who actually was a part of the tournament over a /candy bar/. Imagine what lengths she'd go to for all of that...
Those servants probably don't like the look that she's giving them. She may well try to eat them /with/ the food. Not... that she's ever been reported to indulge in cannibalism, but with an appetite that voracious she is clearly not too picky.
"Southtown's got... all that food?" She asks, unable to keep any eyes on the man in that suit because he is not wearing some sort of food-shaped mascot suit. Not that it would be a good idea to consider a sudden change of wardrobe...!
"More than... America?" America was supposed to be the land of fast, cheap food! Could her world have been turned upside down at this prospect?
There might be a bit of nervousness in Hyena, but he is an actor and he does not let it show. The underlings on the otherhand are more than fine showing off the fact they are not wanting to be near Varvara when she begins to chow down on all that food. They quickly step back then turn around to bolt away and leave just Hyena on his own while deciding to use the giant spotlights as prorection for themselves.
Hyena mumbles something about 'cowards' under his breath then he clears his throat when Varvara actually speaks up without something in her mouth. A brow is raised and that sly smile of his returns as he nods his head quickly. "Oh perhaps America in general would have more food than Southtown, but does it have more free food with your name on it?" he retorts and does his best to keep the young woman's interest. "You scrounge for something like that simple turkey, but you see what I can bring you. Just imagine what else you may get if you come to Southtown. Let me tell you a story."
The lighting takes on a more somber tone as a violin actually begins to play. Hyena starts to look saddened. "There is a cruel man that has the majority of the food there, young lady. One that would keep it from people such as yourself. Just imagine this horrible beast of a man sitting back in his tower and keeping it all too himself." If she has a heart he is tugging on the right strings at least. "This food must e liberated. Some of it has been already. Food like this available for you if you go, but just imagine. You would be a hero if you liberated the rest of the food being held by that evil man. You would never go hungry again!"
That may highly be impossible, but filling her with the idea that it could happen may be enough. "So, dear Varvara. Are you ready to get all the food you ever dreamed of? Are you ready for the life of food luxury!?"
To be fair, moving away from Varvara whenever she approaches is probably a good idea - if not for threat of violence, for avoiding getting some of that /smell/. When is the last time she had a shower? She pays the comment about 'food with your name on it' with little heed, because anything she can grab and touch with her hands, she declares hers. Kind of like a toddler, in that respect.
A fully-grown, steroid-chomping toddler with an appetite to match an entire American nuclear family, and then some.
She's barely really paying attention to the violin bit other than the nagging feeling in the back of her head wondering where the hell the music is coming from. Is it possible that she doesn't have a heart after all to tug the strings of, blackened and shriveled by... uh... cholesterol and filth?
'You would never go hungry again!' That is a promise.
Something she seems to go a little more silent on with her chewing. Does it take her that long to contemplate the idea of never being hungry again, or could there possibly be more running between her smaller number of brain cells than is let on? What kind of idiot lingers on the thought of being ready for the life of food and luxury if they're already taking free tastes of such great food?
"Y'wanna get me to go beat some guys up," she says, "really?" Doubting? Or would she have somehow settled for less? Someone from a world and lifestyle where she barely makes enough cash between what fights she gets for breakfast. (Her definition of 'breakfast' probably means by raw food volume 'three days' worth of food' but this is digressing.)
"Why the hell didn't you SAY SO," she sneers as she tears off another piece of meat to chew on, "I'd 'a said hell yeah I'd do it," munch chomp snarf gulp. Is she even really chewing her food thoroughly or is she just in a rush to stuff as much as she can until her stomach begs for her to stop?
The time it was taking for Varvara to decide did cause just a bit of sweat to form on the brow of Hyena. Did she see through his acting? No, that is impossible. She would certainly not see this as just way to have her beat up some guys. More matter of fact he wanted her to beat up on Kain's men for a time while he decided the best way to use her against Duke. The way she words the question when she finally speaks makes him tense slightly.
Then she seems more than fine with the request he is made. The decision to offer food for fighting apparently did end up being the right one. Hyena does well to mask his excitement and he just nods. "A very good contestant you are! I am glad you are the winner of this prize. Enjoy your meal and then take a look at the ticket! It will get you to Southtown." As long as she doesn't eat it.
The ticket itself seems to be a one way flight to Southtown and it does involve the one and only downside for Varvara. It mentions a complimentary meal on said flight. Not like Hyena would know the problem with airline food in coach. He is a first class flier.....unless Duke is stuffing him in cargo planes to send him places for cheap. "Will we see you there, young lady?"
Somehow finding it in her to release one hand from the food she has been cradling since Hyena's put on this happy little show, she all but snatches the ticket with the same greed she does with food. She's totally going to eat the ticket, isn't she? ...She can read the ticket, can't she?
Her interest in further conversation visibly wanes with this understanding as she takes another bite out of all the food laid around her. Beat up some people, get a lot of food, have to leave this amazing food-filled city for it. But the food this guy brought is really really good (not that Varvara really discriminates so much between 'good' and 'bad' food... mostly).
"Feh." She waves a hand at Hyena in dismissal. "'m eating. I'll be there." Munch, munch, chomp, chew. At this point she's more or less turned her back on the green suited man entirely. Wait until she actually gets on the flight to learn to her great displeasure as to what's going to be offered.
The ticket has survived longer in her hands than he could have expected. If it was eaten he was going to have to figure out an alternative way to transport her which could have become something of a headache. He smiles as he hears the answer that he wanted and he just nods his head. "Very well! Then we shall have a nice feast prepared for when you arrive!" Just further incentive perhaps for her not to eat the ticket and actually use it for its actual purpose.
This has worked out rather well. An important piece has been acquired this day and it isn't costing him a dime. It is all Duke's money being used to feed this monster of a woman and it is a very good investment that will allow Hyena to finally take his rightful spot that he is letting Duke keep warm for him. "THE HYENA SHOW IS OVER FOR NOW!" he shouts and he throws down a smokebomb and there is the sound of his shoes scuttling across the alley while the lights are shut off.
There are also the sounds of everything being torn down and the shuffling of busy feet as the underlings start to follow their brave and powerful leader. Soon Varvara is left back in the dark alley by herself, but this time with more than just a few day old turkey for her to munch on.
Log created on 10:17:58 06/07/2013 by Varvara, and last modified on 23:03:14 06/08/2013.