05-31-2018, 04:16 PM
The trio strode out of a small structure with a large purple bell hanging overhead, Caret all but jamming the last of her crunchy, flat meal into her face. “You’re seriously missing out,” she said to the woman lazily following after her, bits of yellow shell and ground beef tumbling out of her mouth. “Crunch wraps are the best thing man has ever created.”
It appeared as though several more competitors had arrived since the nameless woman and her retinue had come onto the scene, and the main hall was over spilling with reporters, gawkers, and all manner of other invasive, nosy people. She was glad she had jumped the rush.
Some of the cameras and the bobbleheads attached to them had followed some of the others from the primary facility and into the restaurant section of the building. In particular, the cameras loomed around a blue-grey woman with horns and a fantastic Mohawk and her new pals, Jak and Dax. The bandit smirked, folded her arms and leaned against a wall, more than pleased to stay out of the limelight. Caret on the other hand, seemed enraptured.
Balanlara, on the other hand, stood behind. There was a bristling energy flowing from her every feature, despite the fact that if you were to look at it from afar you might assume it was blissfully serene. The nameless woman furrowed her brows and looked over to her, a bit concerned. “You aight?”
The eldar nodded. “Yes,” she said flatly. Where usually her voice reverberated like plucked harp string, it instead resounded more like a fist pounding into the keys of a piano. “That woman. She reminds me of something back home.” Her eyes wandered away, locking on some far away memory that she gazed upon with horrible placidness. She blinked and jerked her head away. “I must excuse myself,” she apologized, her flowing cloak already sweeping up as she turned away. “You may find me in the training hall.” With that, she was gone.
The pink haired woman didn’t need the bandit’s permission to go over and speak to her, and she didn’t ask. Instead she strode headlong through a sea of bustling onlookers, Syntech employees, and paparazzi, directly in from of the strange, stormy-eyed woman. "Oh, are you and Dax an item or something?" she asked bluntly, not bothering with the pleasantries that a normal person raised in a normal setting might have.
Dax seemed a little preoccupied with attempting to make full-body contact with the grey-skinned woman’s body. "This stud muffin?” she replied in lieu, “He sure is.” Her fingers gracefully scratched the underside of his chin, eliciting a satisfied purr from the furry creature.
Caret nodded nervously to Dax. "Oh cool! You're a cute couple," she said, her voice a bit uncertain. She extended her hand to Ash, "Hey, I'm Caret. You look like a prime. Are you here to compete?"
The unknown woman’s expression was a bit soured, but she wiped it away and took up Caret’s hand and gave it a relaxed shake. "Yes."
"I'm Caret, I'm just here to watch." She smiles a bit sheepishly, "So like, what's your name? What's your native universe and stuff?"
"Ash," she spat out another answer, not even looking at the mechanic and instead rubbing Dax’s belly. "My world isn't all that special."
Caret bobbed her head up and down, searching for words. "I'm from the Dunes. Born and raised, I guess." She kicks her feet a bit oddly, tapping the metal pipe that supported the table. "So uh, I just had a 'Crunch Wrap Supreme.' You, uh, ever have one?" She stammered, clearly a bit flustered.
Ash seemed to perk up a bit at this, though she didn’t divert her attention. "No, I haven't. I know someone from the Dunes. A nobleman. He helped save me from bandits."
Caret grinned widely, obviously overjoyed to have a positive response. "Oh man, both me and the bandit are from the Dunes!" She pointed back to the hulking woman in spiked armor. The unnamed woman offered an awkward half-smile and a short wave without leaving her post. After the non-introduction Caret looked back to Ash. "Who's the nobleman? What happened?"
Ash glanced up and attempted a friendly half wave to the stranger who seemed content from across the room. "His name was Erik, him and his friend came running after Skull-Face demanded the whole city as ransom for me. He threatened to do some unspeakable things to me if Gilgamesh didn't give into his demands. I guess a fight broke out, and Erik's page came to rescue me from the cell I was locked in. I watched Erik cleave Skull-Face's head in two, so he won't be coming back."
The bubblegum mechanic smiled, and did her best to put the "oos" and "aahs" in the right places. "That sounds rather, uh, tough,” she attempted a compliment, “I have no idea who Skull-Face is." She glanced back to the looming shadow on the outskirts, "Hopefully nobody we liked.” When she saw her attempt at humor failed to land, she shook her head, hair tumbling about. "Probably not," she laughed nervously. She frantically searched for something to talk about. "So, uh, are you just here for fun?"
The seductive stranger paused, collecting her thoughts. "Sure. You can say that. And the contacts. It’s nice to know some people in case I need saving from a bandit boss named Skull-Face."
Caret laughed obnoxious and looked back to her friend and apparent overseer. "There are plenty of skull faced bandits out there that you might need saving from.”
The woman’s gaze was about as spiked as her shoulder plates from the other end of the room. "Careful,” she growled, just loud enough to be heard.
"Hm,” the woman spit shortly, “well I don’t think I’ll have to worry about any more run of the mill bandits anymore.” Her eyes finally peeled off of the ensorcelled Dax, who had managed to worm his way onto her lap and cast a glance to the brooding marauder. “I’m not too concerned.”
The bandit’s heart thumped in her chest and she leaned up from the wall, planting both feet firmly, her hand wandering to her oversized hammer. Caret looked from the cool, calm and collected Ash to her friend and back again. “Uh, hey now,” she protested timidly.
Jak, who had been content to let a conversation between his new friend and an old carry on interjected, sense the sudden tension and slapped his hands together. “Hey, who’s ready for another drink? Ash? Caret?”
The mechanic, flustered, stammered a few times before Ash spoke over her. “Sure.” She stood, Dax automatically curling around her shoulder like a living scarf. “I’d be fine with that.”
Caret, red-faced, stumbled around before she nodded. “Yeah, that sounds great. I just learned I like beer!”
The cool-faced Ash glanced back. Calm. Dispassionate. Uncaring. “Sure, I guess you can come along.”
Caret’s breath caught in her throat and her worn, callused fingers fumbled over each other. Her face turned red, and tiny tears began to well up in her eyes. “I’m-“ her tongue stumbled. She took a deep breath and then threw her hands down to her sides in small, balled fists. “I’M JUST TRYING TO BE NICE!” she suddenly shouted, collecting the silence of everyone around her.
Ash blinked, her expression just as cold and uninterested as it had been the entire conversation. Caret’s eyebrows crunched and she continued to shout. “I thought you looked cool, ok? I just want to be your friend!” Ash opened her mouth, just in time to catch Caret’s open palm across it, her blue skin darkening with the mark of her fingers. “Screw you!”
The thunder of the bandit’s armored feet telegraphed her approach, gigantic sledge gripped with white-knuckles. Her left hand pounded into the table with a catastrophic boom, the power of her stolen magic sending it into a thousand tiny squares that spiraled in every direction.
There were shrieks from the employees, who were no-doubt already on the razor’s edge of panic, and even the camera crews scurried back before refocusing. “Listen lady, I don’t know who the fuck you are,” she boomed, “and frankly, I no longer give a shit. Caret isn’t great with people, and this is how you’re gonna treat her?”
Jak and Dax stared, wide eyed at the sudden and seemingly totally unnecessary burst of aggression and violence. Ash recoiled slightly, “What? I didn’t even do-“
“Shut the fuck up,” the nameless woman commanded and grabbed Caret by the shoulder. “We’re leaving.”
It appeared as though several more competitors had arrived since the nameless woman and her retinue had come onto the scene, and the main hall was over spilling with reporters, gawkers, and all manner of other invasive, nosy people. She was glad she had jumped the rush.
Some of the cameras and the bobbleheads attached to them had followed some of the others from the primary facility and into the restaurant section of the building. In particular, the cameras loomed around a blue-grey woman with horns and a fantastic Mohawk and her new pals, Jak and Dax. The bandit smirked, folded her arms and leaned against a wall, more than pleased to stay out of the limelight. Caret on the other hand, seemed enraptured.
Balanlara, on the other hand, stood behind. There was a bristling energy flowing from her every feature, despite the fact that if you were to look at it from afar you might assume it was blissfully serene. The nameless woman furrowed her brows and looked over to her, a bit concerned. “You aight?”
The eldar nodded. “Yes,” she said flatly. Where usually her voice reverberated like plucked harp string, it instead resounded more like a fist pounding into the keys of a piano. “That woman. She reminds me of something back home.” Her eyes wandered away, locking on some far away memory that she gazed upon with horrible placidness. She blinked and jerked her head away. “I must excuse myself,” she apologized, her flowing cloak already sweeping up as she turned away. “You may find me in the training hall.” With that, she was gone.
The pink haired woman didn’t need the bandit’s permission to go over and speak to her, and she didn’t ask. Instead she strode headlong through a sea of bustling onlookers, Syntech employees, and paparazzi, directly in from of the strange, stormy-eyed woman. "Oh, are you and Dax an item or something?" she asked bluntly, not bothering with the pleasantries that a normal person raised in a normal setting might have.
Dax seemed a little preoccupied with attempting to make full-body contact with the grey-skinned woman’s body. "This stud muffin?” she replied in lieu, “He sure is.” Her fingers gracefully scratched the underside of his chin, eliciting a satisfied purr from the furry creature.
Caret nodded nervously to Dax. "Oh cool! You're a cute couple," she said, her voice a bit uncertain. She extended her hand to Ash, "Hey, I'm Caret. You look like a prime. Are you here to compete?"
The unknown woman’s expression was a bit soured, but she wiped it away and took up Caret’s hand and gave it a relaxed shake. "Yes."
"I'm Caret, I'm just here to watch." She smiles a bit sheepishly, "So like, what's your name? What's your native universe and stuff?"
"Ash," she spat out another answer, not even looking at the mechanic and instead rubbing Dax’s belly. "My world isn't all that special."
Caret bobbed her head up and down, searching for words. "I'm from the Dunes. Born and raised, I guess." She kicks her feet a bit oddly, tapping the metal pipe that supported the table. "So uh, I just had a 'Crunch Wrap Supreme.' You, uh, ever have one?" She stammered, clearly a bit flustered.
Ash seemed to perk up a bit at this, though she didn’t divert her attention. "No, I haven't. I know someone from the Dunes. A nobleman. He helped save me from bandits."
Caret grinned widely, obviously overjoyed to have a positive response. "Oh man, both me and the bandit are from the Dunes!" She pointed back to the hulking woman in spiked armor. The unnamed woman offered an awkward half-smile and a short wave without leaving her post. After the non-introduction Caret looked back to Ash. "Who's the nobleman? What happened?"
Ash glanced up and attempted a friendly half wave to the stranger who seemed content from across the room. "His name was Erik, him and his friend came running after Skull-Face demanded the whole city as ransom for me. He threatened to do some unspeakable things to me if Gilgamesh didn't give into his demands. I guess a fight broke out, and Erik's page came to rescue me from the cell I was locked in. I watched Erik cleave Skull-Face's head in two, so he won't be coming back."
The bubblegum mechanic smiled, and did her best to put the "oos" and "aahs" in the right places. "That sounds rather, uh, tough,” she attempted a compliment, “I have no idea who Skull-Face is." She glanced back to the looming shadow on the outskirts, "Hopefully nobody we liked.” When she saw her attempt at humor failed to land, she shook her head, hair tumbling about. "Probably not," she laughed nervously. She frantically searched for something to talk about. "So, uh, are you just here for fun?"
The seductive stranger paused, collecting her thoughts. "Sure. You can say that. And the contacts. It’s nice to know some people in case I need saving from a bandit boss named Skull-Face."
Caret laughed obnoxious and looked back to her friend and apparent overseer. "There are plenty of skull faced bandits out there that you might need saving from.”
The woman’s gaze was about as spiked as her shoulder plates from the other end of the room. "Careful,” she growled, just loud enough to be heard.
"Hm,” the woman spit shortly, “well I don’t think I’ll have to worry about any more run of the mill bandits anymore.” Her eyes finally peeled off of the ensorcelled Dax, who had managed to worm his way onto her lap and cast a glance to the brooding marauder. “I’m not too concerned.”
The bandit’s heart thumped in her chest and she leaned up from the wall, planting both feet firmly, her hand wandering to her oversized hammer. Caret looked from the cool, calm and collected Ash to her friend and back again. “Uh, hey now,” she protested timidly.
Jak, who had been content to let a conversation between his new friend and an old carry on interjected, sense the sudden tension and slapped his hands together. “Hey, who’s ready for another drink? Ash? Caret?”
The mechanic, flustered, stammered a few times before Ash spoke over her. “Sure.” She stood, Dax automatically curling around her shoulder like a living scarf. “I’d be fine with that.”
Caret, red-faced, stumbled around before she nodded. “Yeah, that sounds great. I just learned I like beer!”
The cool-faced Ash glanced back. Calm. Dispassionate. Uncaring. “Sure, I guess you can come along.”
Caret’s breath caught in her throat and her worn, callused fingers fumbled over each other. Her face turned red, and tiny tears began to well up in her eyes. “I’m-“ her tongue stumbled. She took a deep breath and then threw her hands down to her sides in small, balled fists. “I’M JUST TRYING TO BE NICE!” she suddenly shouted, collecting the silence of everyone around her.
Ash blinked, her expression just as cold and uninterested as it had been the entire conversation. Caret’s eyebrows crunched and she continued to shout. “I thought you looked cool, ok? I just want to be your friend!” Ash opened her mouth, just in time to catch Caret’s open palm across it, her blue skin darkening with the mark of her fingers. “Screw you!”
The thunder of the bandit’s armored feet telegraphed her approach, gigantic sledge gripped with white-knuckles. Her left hand pounded into the table with a catastrophic boom, the power of her stolen magic sending it into a thousand tiny squares that spiraled in every direction.
There were shrieks from the employees, who were no-doubt already on the razor’s edge of panic, and even the camera crews scurried back before refocusing. “Listen lady, I don’t know who the fuck you are,” she boomed, “and frankly, I no longer give a shit. Caret isn’t great with people, and this is how you’re gonna treat her?”
Jak and Dax stared, wide eyed at the sudden and seemingly totally unnecessary burst of aggression and violence. Ash recoiled slightly, “What? I didn’t even do-“
“Shut the fuck up,” the nameless woman commanded and grabbed Caret by the shoulder. “We’re leaving.”